magic the blathering

King of Posters
#1

@ferrets got me into this obscure card game called magic: the gathering, has anyone here played it? it’s like a deckbuilding game but the gimmick is that you build the deck before the game starts

the only tcg i ever played was yugioh as a kid and if there was a dumb shonen anime on tv about mtg i would have gotten so into mtg. coming from powercreep number inflation hell, the fact that this game has kept such small numbers blows my mind

i’ve only played teaching games of drafted standard. i have very little idea of what constructed is like and am both excited and scared to find out. i feel like i’m the last person on earth to start playing this game and i want to be careful about how i get into it because like

  • memories of getting discouraged playing tcgs as a dumb kid

  • i want to be social but am nervous about looking for queer spaces in arizona, oops. and talking to people

  • i feel like i should probably restrain my impulse to powergame and deep-dive on meta and stuff if i want to have fun and avoid getting cynical or burnt out but it’s hard because i do that with like, everything

  • i feel weird about luck components in “competitive” games? like, i’m still trying to figure out what the healthiest mindset for it is, i guess

  • i’m bad at shuffling

  • what if this becomes a gateway drug to… hearthstone…

anyway this is my first thread in kop in what feels like at least a year and it’s not about a videogame, i am the hero selectbutton deserves

7 Likes
#2

I don’t know how much the physical cards are what appeals to you, but there is in fact a videogame!


I don’t know much about it at all, but it might be a nice way to get a feel for the game without investing money into cards or time into proxies (also shuffles itself).

My personal advice is to play only with counterfeit copies of cards from Ice Age and before, which is why I’m not offering any advice.

4 Likes
#3

Drafting is absolutely the best way for new players to play and definitely the least overwhelming and discouraging. I’m actually thinking of picking up some boglins for a mono red standard deck today so if you wanna get a feel for some constructed decks then I’d love to do that with you. I’m really happy you are liking magic so much

3 Likes
#5

Also paging @Sakurina because he’d probably be more than happy to talk about magic stuff but dont quote me on that

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#6

I have three beta codes for Arena. Please take them from me.
Now I’m gonna leave this thread before I start rambling about EDH

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#7

heck yeah

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#8

I’m barely willing to acknowledge this fact in face-to-face interactions with people, but I fucking love Magic. I definitely understand anyone who isn’t able to get over its flaws or its cost; I spent way too much money on this game in my 20s. I think it’s a testament to the game’s quality that my performance back then was every bit as awful as it is today. Not that I play much these days, since my usual group split up and local scenes can be pretty bad. I made the switch to Hearthstone, but I 1000% guarantee I’ll always have a couple shitty vintage decks at any SB gathering.

I keep telling myself I need to sort through my collection and put together a cube for drafting. Maybe someday.

2 Likes
#10

the game shop in front of my house where they sold mtg closed in february :confounded::confounded: i think the people who ran it graduated from college. so now it sucks because i was also excited to dive into the game as A Social Thing To Do but that’s no longer an option, apparently.

i played the magic: duels game on steam and it’s very streamlined. maybe i’ll try this arena thing though.

i don’t know what “drafting” means but tbh all i wanted was to play pauper with some buddies . . . oh well,

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#11

I’ve got FIVE closed beta keys if all the aforementioned keys have been claimed.

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#12

Drafting is a way to build a deck and play. Exact methods can vary, but the standard booster draft has you and 7 or so other people buy 3 booster packs. Open the first pack, pick a card you want, pass the rest to the next player. This selecting continues until you’ve distributed all 15 cards; now you open the next pack and continue, passing in the opposite direction. Once you have all 45 cards selected, take out as many cards as you want and add any number of basic lands to create a 40 card deck you’ll use for your games. It’s fun! I stopped doing it though because the cards I usually want to build decks with are not the ones which make you more likely to win in a draft tournament, so it just makes more sense for me to buy singles.

2 Likes
#13

The last time I had a group to play with, which was about seven years ago, I tried to get them to try “pauper” but they never would. They were too attached to their Time Walks and Moxes and things.

I have about ten decks that will probably never change at this point. I pull them out every few years when the opportunity arises. The last time I played was at the SB thing.

2 Likes
#14

ooooh i see, i did that once when younger! the name of course was different

i used to play pauper because of the environment i was in, although at some point most of us got around to standard (in some shape or form at least…). had some friends who attended regional / state-wide championships who were also picky about this stuff.

1 Like
#15

Hell yeah @jsnlxndrlv and @wourme let’s oldie Magic it up. Our decks will be completely incompatible.

You youngsters can join in too.

2 Likes
#16

I think Commander / EDH is the most palatable format for anyone who’s not into competitive play. It requires the right group and mindset, but I’ve found that playing the game as a social event is a lot more interesting and enjoyable than the competitive scene will ever be. There’s also a lot more freedom, and things like proxies are typically allowed so you don’t need to spend tons of money just to play with other people (or, in the case of people I play with, any money at all - since we all build proxy decks frequently just to experiment with the game).

1 Like
#17

Hello I am reporting from Japan with a limited data plan

A lot of what formats are available to you will depend on your playgroup or the community that exists around you. EDH/Commander is the main format around where I’m at, with Standard in second and Modern and Draft tied for third. Multiplayer gives me great anxiety and I would prefer to play formats like Pauper (commons only) or Brawl (60-card Standard rotation variation of Commander) but right now this isn’t really viable, and it’s part of why I’m enjoying Japan’s Magic scene while I’m here. Hell, there are multiple weekly Legacy tournaments where I’m staying which is unheard of. Too bad I don’t have a several thousand dollar deck to play at one of those.

Arena is a really nice client and I play it every once in a while on my lunch break at work. I managed to recreate the Amonkhet Standard counterburn deck I have in paper in there and it has been surprisingly effective in the current metagame. Harnessed Lightning might be my favorite burn spell due to its flexibility over the course of the game.

I don’t know where I’m going with this but these are my thoughts for now

2 Likes
#18

Only read up to this post. Do you still have one? I’ve been trying to get into the Arena beta for a while now but no luck. PM me if you do, please!

#19

Yeah there were no takers yet

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#20

Wait if I can do it on my phone heck yeah!

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#21

I will build a mid-2000s deck or two to bring along.

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#22

You’re really making me wish I could make SBcon 2018