The General Magic: The Gathering Thread

[Prospero101]

Okay. That's it. I'm done. I'm done with paper Magic. I'm just gonna play limited on MTGO from now on.

[WickedBoy6]

Plus, isn't the whole point of Commander it being a "casual" format in the first place? Yes, there's some competitiveness to it, but that could be said of any card game match, friendly casual Magic included. Hell, I'm making a Commander deck of technically no colors. Is that broken? Probably not, I'm sure I'm gonna have terrible mana issues, but it'll also be fun as hell to play.

[Duckay]

It's all perspective, I suppose. I think of a consistent turn 4 or 5 win as being not in the spirit of Commander as a casual game, but I prefer to play only one or two colours (and don't consider that colours affect the spirit of the game as such). Others obviously disagree.

[WickedBoy6]

Agreed. Those quick-win Commander decks are rarely fun. Well, maybe the one piloting it, but not for everyone else that couldn't even get 25% of their deck going by that point. The colors don't matter, as long as it's fun to play and is fun in a multiplayer environment. It's like when I used to play a 100-card Mana Mastery deck in DotP 2013. Did it win a lot? No, because everyone ganged up on me, but when I did get to actually play, it was fun as hell, even if I didn't win - which, surprisingly, wasn't often.

[korvys]

At my LGS, there's a group of people who play Commander in the fun spirit that most do: Themed decks, crazy stuff, random piles of cards,etc, and there's the other, smaller group, who's games tend to involve things like a turn 2 Sylvan Primordial, or infinite turn locks, and so on.

The thing is, both groups understand the dynamic, and tend to keep to themselves. They are referred to as the big kids and little kids tables (which sounds insulting, but tends to be a term of endearment). Both tables understand that they don't enjoy playing for the same reasons, and it's a nice balance, everyone having a place to play, without feeling like they're totally outclassed by, or outclassing, everyone else.

It's nice, and the inability of some people to appreciate that other might play the game for different reasons is something that really bugs me. You even get it here, with people complain about net deckers, or people who take the game too seriously, or "aren't fun".

There's more than one way to enjoy magic. If you enjoy building decks, playing crazy combos, not caring about winning or losing, etc, then more power to you. I'm not going to tell you you're wrong. If you enjoy finding the tiny advantages to be found in a mirror match of the most highly tuned deck around, even if you didn't build it, or you enjoy tuning a deck and deciding if your metagame warrants the 4th Thoughtseize or the 3rd Doom Blade, then great. Enjoy the game you want to play.

And yes, there are assholes who will tell you that if you're not playing a tier 1 deck, you shouldn't be playing, or make fun of you for using a pet card, or whatever. And there are assholes who will call you a tryhard if you try to build the best deck you can, or copy a deck and try to learn to play it the best you can. But the fact that both of those people are assholes has nothing to do with netdecking, or being a spike or a johnny, or whatever.

And I probably should have put this in the venting thread, but oh well.

EDIT: To get back to the topic, super powerful commander decks can be fun, if you know what you're in for.

[Phosphatide]

I can see how BDM would be against monocolored decks in Commander, as the immense consistency that comes with it can make the game, more or less, "unfun". BDM is the same guy that I almost played with in a Commander side event at a GP but we watched a guy drop black Braids on turn 2 causing BDM to immediately scoop in frustration, so I've already heard a bit of what he thinks is not cool to use in the format (while getting up from the table he also mentioned his distaste any kind of Eldrazi).

I guess anything that makes it too obvious which player will have an advantage is something that he doesn't enjoy. Maybe monocolored falls under that?

[Duckay]

I guess I should know better than to half-ass my feelings on something, because I end up sounding like a huge dick. My point wasn't that anyone who takes Commander seriously is a horrible person or whatever. I was trying to expound upon the mono-coloured point by using an example of things that I personally don't like, to make the general point that especially when it comes to a supposedly "casual format", perspectives are going to differ. Deeply, sometimes.

I'm sorry, because I realise now that I didn't actually say that and instead said something assholeish.

[Duckay]

Also, I have a confession to make. I am really picky about who I like to play Magic with. I drive over an hour each way just to play FNM at a specific store, and it's not because people anywhere are doing it wrong or right. It makes me sound horrible (and it kind of is, let's be real) but it's for two reasons. I hate feeling like I'm not taken seriously, and I find it hard to trust groups of people I don't really know.

I love the game and I love playing very competitively, but that's why I'm so unwilling to play at different stores and why I only go to big events with friends.

[WickedBoy6]

Honestly, that's why I haven't participated in any FNMs since the Dark Ascension release. I don't know anyone out here, and the people that I do know that play don't even play casually anymore, and also live 75 miles away. I feel like I am an island unto myself...an island made out of Time Spiral block cards.

[ArchieO]

Glad that I'm not the only one who disagrees with BDM over this, also interesting to note that this was the question put up after the Command Tower article on the mothership this week

[Lord Hosk]

I got a phone call last night. I have been invited to a Grand Rapids Area tournament.



I'm ranked in the top 50 Limited players spread across the 9 stores that loosely work together.

out of


over 3000 DCI players about 400 of which are "regular players" im 28th



I'd like to thank the academy, and the resources, and the nummy, and of course the LRR and the runners.

I'm not playing its two days, one day sealed one day draft and a $50 entry fee, and I simply dont have the time.

[jkefka]

It's as easy to build a nasty hyperfast winny multicolor commander deck as a mono-color one. I have a mono-red Goblin deck that, well, it's faster than most commander decks but in multiplayer it doesn't win all that often, because it simply runs out of steam around when other people get their big stuff going. I have a friend with a mono-blue Ambassador Laquaatus deck and let me tell you friends that thing can durdle with the best of them right up until your library suddenly vanishes. Again, less powerful in a multiplayer format.

But I have seen far, far meaner things happen out of a Kaalia of the Vast deck than any mono-colored deck I've made or played against (by turn five, bouncing multiple bigass nastys in and out of play with devastating ETBs). I don't think color identity is the relevant factor. How you build the deck matters a lot more.

I frequently build decks that I think will just be for fun and they end up stronger than I expect them to be. In the end I've just got a sort of internal tier system for my commander decks, and try to pull from the appropriate tier depending on the people I'm playing against. It's happened that the people I play with most frequently have done something similar, and so we can choose whether we want our slower more durdly decks that do funny things or our faster, stronger, nastier decks.

TL;DR I think the only dickish thing to do in Commander is to deliberately shoot for a much stronger deck than your opponents use. It's fine to want to win, but if everyone else has a Pheldaggrif screw-around deck and you're tutoring for your blightsteel and playing it for free on turn 5...maybe you made some poor choices.

[Dix]

Shame you're not able to make it but damn... thats awesome you are ranked that high Hosk!

[Duckay]

I'm just asking hypothetically, if I show up and claim that I am you, Hosk, will anyone know the difference? Should I utilize some sort of faux-facial hair?

(Well done on your ranking.)

[korvys]

I guess I should know better than to half-ass my feelings on something, because I end up sounding like a huge dick. My point wasn't that anyone who takes Commander seriously is a horrible person or whatever. I was trying to expound upon the mono-coloured point by using an example of things that I personally don't like, to make the general point that especially when it comes to a supposedly "casual format", perspectives are going to differ. Deeply, sometimes.

I'm sorry, because I realise now that I didn't actually say that and instead said something assholeish.

Assuming this was directed at me, or at least in response to my rant, I didn't mean you in particular Duckay. Just the forum can get a bit negative in general towards competitive players.

Your other post about finding a group you can trust makes my other point pretty clearly. Ideally, everyone should find a group they enjoy playing with. It doesn't always work, especially if you don't have a large enough community to support multiple types of players, but it's good when it does work.


Also, congratudolences Hosk?

[Duckay]

I'm very glad that the first group I started to play Magic with turned out to be the right kind of people for me. It isn't just that they shaped the way that I play the game, thus spoiling me for other people; I've never felt judged or anything there, which is a very good start.

Also speaking of events and whatnot, I know it's possibly the biggest long-shot ever, but is anyone else going to GP Melbourne?

[korvys]

I was planning to, but I didn't get my shit together in time, so not any more. A few people from my LGS are going, though.

I'd really like to make it to the August (Septemeber?) GP in Sydney though.

[WickedBoy6]

A while back, I wrote this:

I'm trading in some of my cards, and I'm getting about $75 to the place I'm trading it into. Thing is, my original plan was to go booster box of Theros, take the good chase cards to trade in for a box of BotG. Thing is, I was told to go the opposite route, and get a box of Born, and trade chase from that into Theros. Which do you think would be the best option?

Now that I have the store credit - $76.25 - I'm wondering if I should still go for a box of THS or BNG. Now I'm wondering if I should use the credit, nix the box idea, and just buy artifacts for my Bosh Commander. Thoughts?

[Duckay]

I'd really like to make it to the August (Septemeber?) GP in Sydney though.

August, I believe. Core set sealed. I assume at this point that I'll be going, but I also don't live too far away from Sydney, so that helps.

[phlip]

A limited GP in Sydney, I'll definitely hope to make it to. A constructed GP a state over... not so much. Game Day is more my speed when it comes to constructed, anyway.

I missed the last Sydney GP due to nonsense keeping me up to 3am the night before, and I didn't feel like trying to run through a GP on 3-4 hours sleep was the best plan ever. Still bitter about it, and really want to make up for it at the GP this year.

[korvys]

As we know from LRR, GPs are mini magic conventions. Any format you want to play firing on demand, artists, merch, getting to met other magic players or, in my case, judges from all over. The main event is the least interesting part as far as I'm concerned.

[Duckay]

My intention is to play the main event, but if that doesn't pan out, it's drafting time. Or enjoying Melbourne time. I haven't actually decided yet.

[Dix]

Anyone have any good ideas for a relatively cheap control or midrange deck that I could throw together by game day? Can't get too crazy with expensive cards.

[Kapol]

Honestly, cheap and control are pretty hard to swing if you want a competitive deck. For cheap mid-range, I'd recommend mono-green. There's a decent number of cheap parts. The expensive parts are pretty expensive though. Nyleas, Nykthos, and Garruks. You might be able to make a decent, fun mono-red midrange deck pretty easily. Other than that, I dunno.

[guidance]

If you want control and cheap may I suggest GR land destruction? (It's what im going with) I hope you don't really plan on winning though, but you will get to put people on tilt.