[Off-Topic] Community Chat Thread

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Sanity_Eclipse
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Post by Sanity_Eclipse » 3 years ago

As a feel good, the Archive versions of cards are definitely reminiscent of the tarot card artworks from Dragon Age Inquisition, which is a plus in my book.
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Post by materpillar » 3 years ago

cryogen wrote:
3 years ago
I also have spoiler fatigue and haven't even processed Kaldheim yet. Luckily I could completely ignore TSR.
I'm in the opposite boat. My brother and I really like old sets. He bought an entire case (like 6 boxes I think?) just to draft with... but we can't right now. *Curse you pandemic* So I'm extremely hyped for TSR... but that hype won't pay off for months probably.

On the other side of things. TSR literally just came out and we're already getting Strixhaven cards? I got some mental whiplash about that for sure. Still I'm pretty hyped about the alternate art cards, not because I want them or will buy them. Just because they're hella pretty and I like looking at them (also, I'm a huge fan of old cards).

Strixhaven itself is encouraging spellslinger which I never find to be a particularly fun archetype to play against. So I'm pretty meh about the set so far.

cryogen wrote:
3 years ago
But be sure to check out the site on the 30th. We have another preview card, so please please please give the article a click to help get us good view count numbers.

I obviously can't say anything about what is being previewed, but I've seen the draft of the article and the author did a really good job with it.
Neat!

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Lifeless
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Post by Lifeless » 3 years ago

I've only been picking things up about once every 8-10 months lately and it's actually been much healthier since it gives me some emotional distance from the hype. I spend a lot less and only get cards that I actually really want since I frequently decide to pass on cards that initially looked really exciting but ultimately don't hold my attention.

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Post by Dragonlover » 3 years ago

If I don't acquire a card at the prerelease, I'll just drop a bit of the giant pile of store credit I have at my LGS on what I need. Most of my current decks are definitely in the 'odd tweak every few sets' stage of life nowadays though, so I'm usually only after one or two cards.

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Post by SocorroTortoise » 3 years ago

I've picked up a decent chunk of stuff recently. Largely old border legacy staples from TSR, but I am sitting on a couple boxes (CMR and TSR) to draft with the group once we can actually sit around a table.
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Post by Legend » 3 years ago

I have long been fatigued because
Where there was once anticipation, there is now spoilers.
Where there was once mystery, there is now storyline.
Where there was once discovery, there is now notifications.
Where there was once time to adjust, there is now another release date.
Where there was once creativity, there is now net decking.
Where there was once a puzzle, there is now a solution.
Where there was once exploration, there is now delivery.
Where there was once community, there is now Amazon.
Where there was once fellowship, there is now Arena.
Where there was once magic, there is now marketing.
“Comboing in Commander is like dunking on a seven foot hoop.” – Dana Roach

“Making a deck that other people want to play against – that’s Commander.” – Gavin Duggan

"I want my brain to win games, not my cards." – Sheldon Menery

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Post by RxPhantom » 3 years ago

My store ran out of TSR, so last night I was finally able to draft Mystery Boosters. Holy crap it was fun! It really did evoke the same feeling as a chaos draft or cube. I've also never had to make so many tough decisions. P1P1 was between Grasp of Fate and Aurelia's Fury. P3P1 had Gideon Jura and Aura Shards. P1P2, I was passed a Tireless Tracker (I discovered later he took the foil Mindslaver). Gift of Estates wheeled! I ended up making a valuetown Selesnya deck that did really well.

I had so much fun, but it was followed by the sad realization that three of the best products in recent memory (Mystery Boosters, JumpStart, Time Spiral Remastered) were hobbled by obscenely low print runs. It really bums me out.
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Post by TheAmericanSpirit » 3 years ago

RxPhantom wrote:
3 years ago
My store ran out of TSR, so last night I was finally able to draft Mystery Boosters. Holy crap it was fun! It really did evoke the same feeling as a chaos draft or cube. I've also never had to make so many tough decisions. P1P1 was between Grasp of Fate and Aurelia's Fury. P3P1 had Gideon Jura and Aura Shards. P1P2, I was passed a Tireless Tracker (I discovered later he took the foil Mindslaver). Gift of Estates wheeled! I ended up making a valuetown Selesnya deck that did really well.

I had so much fun, but it was followed by the sad realization that three of the best products in recent memory (Mystery Boosters, JumpStart, Time Spiral Remastered) were hobbled by obscenely low print runs. It really bums me out.
I feel that, man. Limited was my avenue to get my competitive kicks and all three of those sets I wanted to draft. But I will never get the chance. I'm probably just gonna buy a bunch of old boosters and try to jam some chaos drafts when the pandemic lifts.
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Post by Legend » 3 years ago

I opened Mana Crypt two of my three times drafting Mystery. Never saw it the first time. Second time, I played it 9 out of 12 games, 2 of which were turn 2, 3 of which were turn 1. Other memorable cards from that deck were
Tireless Tracker x2
Swords to Plowshares x2
Beast Within x1

Two games were
turn 1 land, crypt, tracker
turn 2 land, investigate, swing for 4
Removal, swing for 4, removal, swing for 5 etc. onto victory

One of the most busted decks I've ever drafted. It felt like Tier 2 Legacy. I won three rounds and top 4 for 1st place.
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“Making a deck that other people want to play against – that’s Commander.” – Gavin Duggan

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Post by RxPhantom » 3 years ago

TheAmericanSpirit wrote:
3 years ago
RxPhantom wrote:
3 years ago
My store ran out of TSR, so last night I was finally able to draft Mystery Boosters. Holy crap it was fun! It really did evoke the same feeling as a chaos draft or cube. I've also never had to make so many tough decisions. P1P1 was between Grasp of Fate and Aurelia's Fury. P3P1 had Gideon Jura and Aura Shards. P1P2, I was passed a Tireless Tracker (I discovered later he took the foil Mindslaver). Gift of Estates wheeled! I ended up making a valuetown Selesnya deck that did really well.

I had so much fun, but it was followed by the sad realization that three of the best products in recent memory (Mystery Boosters, JumpStart, Time Spiral Remastered) were hobbled by obscenely low print runs. It really bums me out.
I feel that, man. Limited was my avenue to get my competitive kicks and all three of those sets I wanted to draft. But I will never get the chance. I'm probably just gonna buy a bunch of old boosters and try to jam some chaos drafts when the pandemic lifts.
Great minds, my friend. I set aside at least three packs of every single set for an eventual chaos draft or grand melee sealed event. I've been doing it for years, and I think I'm gonna throw something together when the pandemic subsides. It's gonna be awesome.
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Post by TheAmericanSpirit » 3 years ago

RxPhantom wrote:
3 years ago
TheAmericanSpirit wrote:
3 years ago
RxPhantom wrote:
3 years ago
My store ran out of TSR, so last night I was finally able to draft Mystery Boosters. Holy crap it was fun! It really did evoke the same feeling as a chaos draft or cube. I've also never had to make so many tough decisions. P1P1 was between Grasp of Fate and Aurelia's Fury. P3P1 had Gideon Jura and Aura Shards. P1P2, I was passed a Tireless Tracker (I discovered later he took the foil Mindslaver). Gift of Estates wheeled! I ended up making a valuetown Selesnya deck that did really well.

I had so much fun, but it was followed by the sad realization that three of the best products in recent memory (Mystery Boosters, JumpStart, Time Spiral Remastered) were hobbled by obscenely low print runs. It really bums me out.
I feel that, man. Limited was my avenue to get my competitive kicks and all three of those sets I wanted to draft. But I will never get the chance. I'm probably just gonna buy a bunch of old boosters and try to jam some chaos drafts when the pandemic lifts.
Great minds, my friend. I set aside at least three packs of every single set for an eventual chaos draft or grand melee sealed event. I've been doing it for years, and I think I'm gonna throw something together when the pandemic subsides. It's gonna be awesome.
You know, that 3 packsper set thing ain't a bad idea. I believe I may have to steal that. Grand Melee chaos sealed sounds awesome!
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Post by vandertroll » 3 years ago

Legend wrote:
3 years ago
I have long been fatigued because
Where there was once anticipation, there is now spoilers.
Where there was once mystery, there is now storyline.
Where there was once discovery, there is now notifications.
Where there was once time to adjust, there is now another release date.
Where there was once creativity, there is now net decking.
Where there was once a puzzle, there is now a solution.
Where there was once exploration, there is now delivery.
Where there was once community, there is now Amazon.
Where there was once fellowship, there is now Arena.
Where there was once magic, there is now marketing.


So much this. Maybe it sounds like the "old man yells at cloud" meme but it feels like the game is being milked for short term profits (i.e 5 years) leading to its demise. I see new cards and I can't even keep up with the set/release date.
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DirkGently
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Post by DirkGently » 3 years ago

Legend wrote:
3 years ago
Where there was once magic, there is now marketing.
It's hard because, at the same time, even when there are so many things to hate about magic, there are a lot of positives too, and because we all love the game it becomes too easy to focus on the positives even while the negatives wear away at the foundations.

Legend design looks really cool in strixhaven across the board. Power level of precon legends seem like it's found a more comfortable middle ground after years defined by Animars and Korvolds. The Japanese Mystical Archives styles look incredible.

But then I'll pull out my Rith, the Awakener|INV and think...damn, I've never gonna get that feeling again. The feeling that used to be magic.

(fwiw, as much as I like to lay the blame at the feet of WotC, I think the general cultural shift towards internet groupthink has made it much harder to keep any mystery within a popular game like magic. Even if we were on 4 sets a year like it's 2005, the metagames would still be solved and posted for everyone to see, regardless of anything WotC does. The thrill of discovery within magic is just never going exist in the same way as it did back then - not for anyone, ever. And I think you can apply a similar view to things like movie franchises - now we know about every movie a decade before it comes out, and everyone involved with it, and all the drama on set. It's a transparent world, and the only mysteries left are fake garbage for the gullible. %$#% that cloud, man.)
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Post by Rumpy5897 » 3 years ago

DirkGently wrote:
3 years ago
the general cultural shift towards internet groupthink
While I don't disagree with you, I find it funny that as primer authors we're doing our part here :P

It's still possible to have that thrill of wonder in EDH in 2021. You just have to be fresh to the format. A guy in the group introduced one of his friends to the game a couple years back, and it was refreshing to watch him take various legends and make decks with them. Sure, in the grand scheme of things Rosheen hydras/fireballs or Windgrace landfall aren't anything exciting or original, but watching a new player figure that stuff out and have fun with it is nice. We're all entrenched enough to talk about EDH on an internet forum, we've been around the block a few times, so yeah - we don't get to feel the newbie chills anymore. But it's a nice shift of perspective to watch someone else do so.
 
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Post by Legend » 3 years ago

DirkGently wrote:
3 years ago
Legend wrote:
3 years ago
Where there was once magic, there is now marketing.
It's hard because, at the same time, even when there are so many things to hate about magic, there are a lot of positives too, and because we all love the game it becomes too easy to focus on the positives even while the negatives wear away at the foundations.

Legend design looks really cool in strixhaven across the board. Power level of precon legends seem like it's found a more comfortable middle ground after years defined by Animars and Korvolds. The Japanese Mystical Archives styles look incredible.

But then I'll pull out my Rith, the Awakener|INV and think...damn, I've never gonna get that feeling again. The feeling that used to be magic.

(fwiw, as much as I like to lay the blame at the feet of WotC, I think the general cultural shift towards internet groupthink has made it much harder to keep any mystery within a popular game like magic. Even if we were on 4 sets a year like it's 2005, the metagames would still be solved and posted for everyone to see, regardless of anything WotC does. The thrill of discovery within magic is just never going exist in the same way as it did back then - not for anyone, ever. And I think you can apply a similar view to things like movie franchises - now we know about every movie a decade before it comes out, and everyone involved with it, and all the drama on set. It's a transparent world, and the only mysteries left are fake garbage for the gullible. %$#% that cloud, man.)
/agree with everything.
Magic is still the best card game ever, IMO, and it isn't even close. And the best thing about it is the players. That's what, er who, keeps me playing.
FTR, I don't blame Hasbro for the entirety of my list, just for being obnoxiously obvious about their greed.
Rumpy5897 wrote:
3 years ago
DirkGently wrote:
3 years ago
the general cultural shift towards internet groupthink
It's still possible to have that thrill of wonder in EDH in 2021. You just have to be fresh to the format.
I was literally thinking this as I typed the list. Specifically of a "kid" (19 years old) I know whom started playing Magic last year. He's a natural that took to the game fast. I've regularly witnessed his unadulterated enjoyment of Magic, despite my list. In fact, he gladly embraces the relatively new aspects of exploration and discovery, Arena, Amazon, net decking, solved metas, etc. as the enjoyable norm, having never known any different.
vandertroll wrote:
3 years ago
So much this. Maybe it sounds like the "old man yells at cloud" meme...
I guess I'm just a Magic Boomer. LOL
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“Making a deck that other people want to play against – that’s Commander.” – Gavin Duggan

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Post by DirkGently » 3 years ago

Rumpy5897 wrote:
3 years ago
While I don't disagree with you, I find it funny that as primer authors we're doing our part here :P
Lol, I'm pretty sure my primer has made very very little impact.

At any rate, if I'm being totally honest, I wrote it more as a way to organize my own thinking, get contributions from other similar thinkers, and generally propose the model of the format that Phelddagrif exploits. If anyone's out with a c/p of my list, then gl to them but that wasn't really my goal. Having my Phelddagrif list showing up at every LGS sounds like a nightmare lol. Its uniqueness was always a big part of the draw for me.
It's still possible to have that thrill of wonder in EDH in 2021. You just have to be fresh to the format.
This is going to sound very cloud-shouty, but I think the onboarding process is VERY different for new players today than it was for me. I spent years playing 60 card jank against other people at my highschool...I'd give anything to look at all those decklists with my savvy eye now, it'd be really interesting to see who actually knew what they were doing. I played a 4c, near-zero fixing, 80 card garbage pile for a long time and gradually built less-stupid stuff. It wasn't until about 2 years in that I built my first competitive deck, control affinity (which ofc got immediately blown to hell by ravager affinity when darksteel came out, lol). Most new players today seem to get in on commander or standard, and either way they're usually starting from a precon of some kind which (not to start up another argument) are pretty reasonable out of the box.

It's really rare for me to see a proper jank pile anymore, but that was my whole experience for years and it was kind of great. Every new card I came across was a whole new discovery that I had to decide for myself it was good or bad, and what to do with it. Every new opponent I got to see some new way of playing the game. Now it's trivially easy to put together a very competent deck without needing to understand the whole game starting from first principles.

Obviously that method of learning is a huge pain in the ass, but it also really prolongs the excitement of learning about the game imo. I feel kinda sorry for people who start playing the game and have a completed deck within a week. I understand the urge to get into the action, but I think it's a really satisfying feeling to drag yourself all the way from the primordial ooze up to the top of the food chain.
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Flux Decks
Gollum - Lobelia - Minthara - Plargg2 - Solphim - Otharri - Graaz - Ratchet - Soundwave - Slicer - Gale - Rootha - Kagemaro - Blorpityblorpboop - Kayla - SliverQueen - Ivy - Falco - Gluntch - Charlatan/Wilson - Garth - Kros - Anthousa - Shigeki - Light-Paws - Lukka - Sefris - Ebondeath - Rokiric - Garth - Nixilis - Grist - Mavinda - Kumano - Nezahal - Mavinda - Plargg - Plargg - Extus - Plargg - Oracle - Kardur - Halvar - Tergrid - Egon - Cosima - Halana+Livio - Jeska+Falthis+Obosh - Yeva - Akiri+Zirda - Lady Sun - Nahiri - Korlash - Overlord+Zirda - Chisei - Athreos2 - Akim - Cazur+Ukkima - Otrimi - Otrimi - Kalamax - Ayli+Lurrus - Clamilton - Gonti - Heliod2 - Ayula - Thassa2 - Gallia - Purphoros2 - Rankle - Uro - Rayami - Gargos - Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa - Ashling1 - Angus - Arcum - Talrand - Chainer - Higure - Kumano - Scion - Teferi1 - Uyo - Sisters
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote
Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena
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Post by SocorroTortoise » 3 years ago

DirkGently wrote:
3 years ago
This is going to sound very cloud-shouty, but I think the onboarding process is VERY different for new players today than it was for me. I spent years playing 60 card jank against other people at my highschool...I'd give anything to look at all those decklists with my savvy eye now, it'd be really interesting to see who actually knew what they were doing. I played a 4c, near-zero fixing, 80 card garbage pile for a long time and gradually built less-stupid stuff. It wasn't until about 2 years in that I built my first competitive deck, control affinity (which ofc got immediately blown to hell by ravager affinity when darksteel came out, lol). Most new players today seem to get in on commander or standard, and either way they're usually starting from a precon of some kind which (not to start up another argument) are pretty reasonable out of the box.
I actually stumbled across one of my old casual decks from around middle school or high school (late 90s, early 00s) when cleaning some stuff out from my parent's place a while back and still have it together, complete with (now-broken) rubber band. I had already been playing for a while so it's not the most janky thing I've ever built/played, but it's still fun to look back on.
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I'm not positive what the last 3 cards were, but I want to say there might have been a second Tradewind Rider and more Cloud of Faeries. Looking at it now, it's actually a pretty coherent bounce plan, aside from the complete lack of card draw and any kind of protection for whichever creature got suited up with Sigil of Sleep. Not nearly as terrible as it could have been.
I also remember a friend beating me up with Limited Resources and a bunch of Stone Rain effects, then killing with Monstrous Hound. That deck was probably the one that got me to move from piles of junk that did nothing until I could drop a Scaled Wurm to decks with actual gameplans.
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Post by Sanity_Eclipse » 3 years ago

That Archive Japanese Primal Command looks like a scene straight out of Princess Mononoke.

(link - cards/mystical-archive/64520-primal-command)
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Post by materpillar » 3 years ago

DirkGently wrote:
3 years ago
This is going to sound very cloud-shouty, but I think the onboarding process is VERY different for new players today than it was for me. I spent years playing 60 card jank against other people at my highschool...I'd give anything to look at all those decklists with my savvy eye now, it'd be really interesting to see who actually knew what they were doing. I played a 4c, near-zero fixing, 80 card garbage pile for a long time and gradually built less-stupid stuff. It wasn't until about 2 years in that I built my first competitive deck, control affinity (which ofc got immediately blown to hell by ravager affinity when darksteel came out, lol). Most new players today seem to get in on commander or standard, and either way they're usually starting from a precon of some kind which (not to start up another argument) are pretty reasonable out of the box.
Once I forgot my EDH decks when I went to visit a friend. I threw together a super janky mono-blue Lu Xun, Scholar General deck literally out of his box of draft chaff. Playing with that deck was hella fun. It was even funnier that I won a couple of games over their legit decks. That's probably the closest I've gotten to emulating this throwing together jank feeling that I first had when I started playing. Mostly because I had no idea what was in his box of commons/uncommon/quarter rares so it was an exploration in trying to create something functional out of a mystery box of cards.

I bet if you could find a group of newer players you could still experience this newness through them. That's a really difficult task though.
SocorroTortoise wrote:
3 years ago
I actually stumbled across one of my old casual decks from around middle school or high school (late 90s, early 00s) when cleaning some stuff out from my parent's place a while back and still have it together, complete with (now-broken) rubber band. I had already been playing for a while so it's not the most janky thing I've ever built/played, but it's still fun to look back on.
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I'm not positive what the last 3 cards were, but I want to say there might have been a second Tradewind Rider and more Cloud of Faeries. Looking at it now, it's actually a pretty coherent bounce plan, aside from the complete lack of card draw and any kind of protection for whichever creature got suited up with Sigil of Sleep. Not nearly as terrible as it could have been.
I also remember a friend beating me up with Limited Resources and a bunch of Stone Rain effects, then killing with Monstrous Hound. That deck was probably the one that got me to move from piles of junk that did nothing until I could drop a Scaled Wurm to decks with actual gameplans.


Here's my favorite 60 card casual deck from my super early highschool metagame.

Let me tell you, casting Gifts Ungiven in response to Braids, Conjurer Adept's trigger feels fantastic. The decklist isn't actually that awful, it's way light on lands but the Glen Elendra Archmage into Braids, Conjurer Adept curve is real.


In slightly related news, I've tried to build an interesting Braids, Conjurer Adept EDH deck and they always turn out incredibly unfun to play and it bums me out.

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vandertroll
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Post by vandertroll » 3 years ago

Legend wrote:
3 years ago
vandertroll wrote:
3 years ago
So much this. Maybe it sounds like the "old man yells at cloud" meme...
I guess I'm just a Magic Boomer. LOL
We both are :D
Ertai, Wizard Adept counts as a Wizard.

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DirkGently
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Post by DirkGently » 3 years ago

SocorroTortoise wrote:
3 years ago
I also remember a friend beating me up with Limited Resources and a bunch of Stone Rain effects, then killing with Monstrous Hound. That deck was probably the one that got me to move from piles of junk that did nothing until I could drop a Scaled Wurm to decks with actual gameplans.
Haha, my friend had a similar deck. Except he'd always kill me with magnivore.

If I spent a day looking through gatherer maybe I could remember most of what was in my deck. The cards that come to mind are Grotesque Hybrid, crush of wurms, deadly insect, Birds of Paradise, avatar of woe, divine lightand Taste of Paradise. Yes, I played taste of paradise, for reals. I thought I needed to have a way to gain life in my deck, so I refused to cut it until I found a better way to gain life. This is the sort of glorious pseudo-logic I think you can ever really find (and outgrow) when you figure out the whole game on your own with very little assistance. These days, any new players would be disabused of such ideas three minutes after setting foot inside an LGS.

divine light might be even worse. I think I eventually took it out. But my initial thought was "hey, it's like Fog, except it only prevents damage to MY creatures! That's way better, right!" Again, the logic of someone figuring the game out with no help whatsoever lol.
Perm Decks
Phelddagrif - Kaervek - Golos - Zirilan

Flux Decks
Gollum - Lobelia - Minthara - Plargg2 - Solphim - Otharri - Graaz - Ratchet - Soundwave - Slicer - Gale - Rootha - Kagemaro - Blorpityblorpboop - Kayla - SliverQueen - Ivy - Falco - Gluntch - Charlatan/Wilson - Garth - Kros - Anthousa - Shigeki - Light-Paws - Lukka - Sefris - Ebondeath - Rokiric - Garth - Nixilis - Grist - Mavinda - Kumano - Nezahal - Mavinda - Plargg - Plargg - Extus - Plargg - Oracle - Kardur - Halvar - Tergrid - Egon - Cosima - Halana+Livio - Jeska+Falthis+Obosh - Yeva - Akiri+Zirda - Lady Sun - Nahiri - Korlash - Overlord+Zirda - Chisei - Athreos2 - Akim - Cazur+Ukkima - Otrimi - Otrimi - Kalamax - Ayli+Lurrus - Clamilton - Gonti - Heliod2 - Ayula - Thassa2 - Gallia - Purphoros2 - Rankle - Uro - Rayami - Gargos - Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa - Ashling1 - Angus - Arcum - Talrand - Chainer - Higure - Kumano - Scion - Teferi1 - Uyo - Sisters
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote
Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena
Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6

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materpillar
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Post by materpillar » 3 years ago

DirkGently wrote:
3 years ago
SocorroTortoise wrote:
3 years ago
I also remember a friend beating me up with Limited Resources and a bunch of Stone Rain effects, then killing with Monstrous Hound. That deck was probably the one that got me to move from piles of junk that did nothing until I could drop a Scaled Wurm to decks with actual gameplans.
Haha, my friend had a similar deck. Except he'd always kill me with magnivore.

If I spent a day looking through gatherer maybe I could remember most of what was in my deck. The cards that come to mind are Grotesque Hybrid, crush of wurms, deadly insect, Birds of Paradise, avatar of woe, divine lightand Taste of Paradise. Yes, I played taste of paradise, for reals. I thought I needed to have a way to gain life in my deck, so I refused to cut it until I found a better way to gain life. This is the sort of glorious pseudo-logic I think you can ever really find (and outgrow) when you figure out the whole game on your own with very little assistance. These days, any new players would be disabused of such ideas three minutes after setting foot inside an LGS.

divine light might be even worse. I think I eventually took it out. But my initial thought was "hey, it's like Fog, except it only prevents damage to MY creatures! That's way better, right!" Again, the logic of someone figuring the game out with no help whatsoever lol.
It's interesting that you remember playing such terrible cards in such a fond light. I learned how to play with my brother so I always had someone guiding me away from playing complete dumpster piles. He was reading Inquest magazine (I still have Inquest #76, reading prices is hilarious maybe I should post some here this weekend), so he had some exposure to what other people were playing in tournaments and such. My first deck ever was a casual rebels with Mageta the Lion and Diving Griffin. My brother trounced me with Masticore/Forbid + Shard Phoenix/Squee, Goblin Nabob control. I also remember playing him online (with some free program like cockatrice) and he was playing a Yawgmoth's Bargain + Skirge Familiar + Drain Life combo deck with Black Lotus and all the moxes. That was a fun match exactly 0 times. I got thrown into the deep end real fast. XD

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Post by DirkGently » 3 years ago

materpillar wrote:
3 years ago
It's interesting that you remember playing such terrible cards in such a fond light. I learned how to play with my brother so I always had someone guiding me away from playing complete dumpster piles. He was reading Inquest magazine (I still have Inquest #76, reading prices is hilarious maybe I should post some here this weekend), so he had some exposure to what other people were playing in tournaments and such. My first deck ever was a casual rebels with Mageta the Lion and Diving Griffin. My brother trounced me with Masticore/Forbid + Shard Phoenix/Squee, Goblin Nabob control. I also remember playing him online (with some free program like cockatrice) and he was playing a Yawgmoth's Bargain + Skirge Familiar + Drain Life combo deck with Black Lotus and all the moxes. That was a fun match exactly 0 times. I got thrown into the deep end real fast. XD
I definitely didn't play anyone doing that sort of degeneracy. It wasn't until a year or two in that I even knew infinite combos were a thing. Blew me away when I realized it. I remember building two combo decks, one around Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Intruder Alarm, and the other around Griffin Canyon + Animate Land + Imagecrafter. I kinda want to try a Golos deck to relive the glory days of the infinite damage griffin canyon swing lol.

I remember one of the "elite" players had permission decks that I was terrified of - basically just 30 counterspells, fact or fiction, and Morphling. I'm really not sure what percentage of people knew what they were doing. Most of my closer friends were playing non-standard 60 card piles, though I think most of theirs had more synergy than mine (certainly than my original 80 card pile of junk). Anyway, regardless of whether it was actually true or not, I remember feeling like I at least had a chance of winning and it always felt amazing when I was able to actually beat someone.

Something I've gotten into arguments with my ex gf about is the structure of platforms like Arena, where matchmaking ensures that you inevitably end up playing someone of comparable skill level once you've played enough games. I get why it makes sense, it keeps everything fair...but oh my god do I haaaaaate it. It basically disincentivizes getting better at the game, because the rewards for reaching a higher tier are essentially nil and you'll always end up winning 50% whether you're a scrub or a pro.

I much prefer the "RPG" model where every opponent is of basically random skill level, so I get my ass handed to me until I "level up" and am able to win more often. I guess that's easy to say as someone who already has their years of losing behind them, though. Don't get me wrong - I like having a challenge too, if I go to a GP or PTQ or whatever. But when I sit down to play a casual game, I like knowing that my proficiency gives me an advantage (ofc, I do offset that advantage somewhat by self-limitations in terms of deckbuilding in commander, at least. For limited it's go hard all the way).
Perm Decks
Phelddagrif - Kaervek - Golos - Zirilan

Flux Decks
Gollum - Lobelia - Minthara - Plargg2 - Solphim - Otharri - Graaz - Ratchet - Soundwave - Slicer - Gale - Rootha - Kagemaro - Blorpityblorpboop - Kayla - SliverQueen - Ivy - Falco - Gluntch - Charlatan/Wilson - Garth - Kros - Anthousa - Shigeki - Light-Paws - Lukka - Sefris - Ebondeath - Rokiric - Garth - Nixilis - Grist - Mavinda - Kumano - Nezahal - Mavinda - Plargg - Plargg - Extus - Plargg - Oracle - Kardur - Halvar - Tergrid - Egon - Cosima - Halana+Livio - Jeska+Falthis+Obosh - Yeva - Akiri+Zirda - Lady Sun - Nahiri - Korlash - Overlord+Zirda - Chisei - Athreos2 - Akim - Cazur+Ukkima - Otrimi - Otrimi - Kalamax - Ayli+Lurrus - Clamilton - Gonti - Heliod2 - Ayula - Thassa2 - Gallia - Purphoros2 - Rankle - Uro - Rayami - Gargos - Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa - Ashling1 - Angus - Arcum - Talrand - Chainer - Higure - Kumano - Scion - Teferi1 - Uyo - Sisters
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote
Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena
Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6

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Post by materpillar » 3 years ago

DirkGently wrote:
3 years ago
Something I've gotten into arguments with my ex gf about is the structure of platforms like Arena, where matchmaking ensures that you inevitably end up playing someone of comparable skill level once you've played enough games. I get why it makes sense, it keeps everything fair...but oh my god do I haaaaaate it. It basically disincentivizes getting better at the game, because the rewards for reaching a higher tier are essentially nil and you'll always end up winning 50% whether you're a scrub or a pro.

I much prefer the "RPG" model where every opponent is of basically random skill level, so I get my ass handed to me until I "level up" and am able to win more often. I guess that's easy to say as someone who already has their years of losing behind them, though. Don't get me wrong - I like having a challenge too, if I go to a GP or PTQ or whatever. But when I sit down to play a casual game, I like knowing that my proficiency gives me an advantage (ofc, I do offset that advantage somewhat by self-limitations in terms of deckbuilding in commander, at least. For limited it's go hard all the way).
I disagree pretty heavily. I've found that getting better at games after a certain point dramatically reduces my enjoyment of said game. I played Overwatch a lot when it came out, and I eventually hit Platinum. That's not that high really, but it was getting to the level where if you weren't playing meta-champions then you were putting yourself at a pretty noticeable disadvantage. All of my enjoyment of the game just vanished even though I was constantly improving. Didn't help that I mostly played Mercy and I just got constantly Genji ulted what felt like every teamfight.

Similarly, with League of Legends I'd rather be bad and playing in the hot mess that is Silver/Gold than in the highly tactically Diamond+.

Getting completely pubstomped is never much of a learning experience for me. I'm pretty happy staying bad at games that I play semi-regularly at most. I've got a pretty good grasp of how much time and effort it would take to hit Diamond in League of Legends and I just have way better things to do with my life.

In terms of MTG I find the highest level of competition to be soul draining. I hate when clock management and rules lawyering becomes an integral part of mtg. I'd rather be "bad" and have people forgiving my missed upkeep triggers every now and again than ever hear "No, you missed that trigger" and then lose the game because of it.

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Post by pokken » 3 years ago

materpillar wrote:
3 years ago
I disagree pretty heavily. I've found that getting better at games after a certain point dramatically reduces my enjoyment of said game
100% true for me too. The learning journey is the fun part for me, once it becomes about mastery I'm out :P

It's a nice thing about EDH for me that the social experience combined with the truly incredible complexity makes it difficult to ever approach mastery at the rate that I play.

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