FRIDAY NIGHTS: Constructed

[Matt]

1) SAYS "GOOD GAME, WELL PLAYED" IN FULL INSTEAD OF ACRONYMS?

Counter-intuitively, saying "good game" in many contexts in Magic is actually considered a real asshole thing to do.

I find the idea totally bewildering, but there are, like, huge internet treatises written about when to GG and when not to GG.

-m

[RytelCSF]

Thank you SO MUCH for taking the piss out of those players who simply can't comprehend why anyone would ever play a deck that isn't what the top Pro Tour players are using.

I don't mind losing. I'm not that great a player in the first place, so even with a top deck I'm never going to be a champion. But getting stomped, telling me my deck sucks and is awful and the only way of fixing it is to throw it in the trash and build a $300-400 netdeck like you did? No thanks. Even if I had that much money to blow on a Magic deck that might help me win, I'd rather spend it on something else, and besides, I would rather play a deck I actually enjoy playing.

That mentality at Pro Tours and Grand Prix Events is one thing, but when it trickles down into FNM... well there's a reason I don't play competitive Magic at all anymore.

(At least, I certainly hope you're taking the piss out of them. If that's how Alex actually thinks he's lost a lot of my respect.)

Counter-intuitively, saying "good game" in many contexts in Magic is actually considered a real asshole thing to do.

From what I've seen, it's basically that if you say "good game" when the game wasn't remotely competitive (opponent mulligans to five, gets only one or two land out and your aggro beats them with little if any resistance, for example) you come across as a smarmy douche, which I can actually understand.

Some people do take it too far, though.

[LogicSword]

Still found it hilarious, but some bits went straight over my head.

[Matt]

From what I've seen, it's basically that if you say "good game" when the game wasn't remotely competitive (opponent mulligans to five, gets only one or two land out and your aggro beats them with little if any resistance, for example) you come across as a smarmy douche, which I can actually understand.

... which is, frankly bullshit, because the intent behind a genuinely offered "good game" in any other sport is "thank you for taking the time to play with me"

I've taken to saying "thanks for the game" in Magic, but I am bewilderd that it was ever actually an issue.

-m

[Graham]

I usually see "gg" used as a concession on MTGO.

[RytelCSF]

I've taken to saying "thanks for the game" in Magic, but I am bewilderd that it was ever actually an issue.

-m

Honestly, "thanks for the game," in the context given, actually sounds worse. Maybe it has to do with tone of voice which I'm obviously not hearing, but that could easily be parsed as "thanks for the win, loser."

The point is, if the outcome of the game was clearly due to poor luck (not just a well timed topdeck, but never getting out of the gate) any sort of "good game" variation makes it sound like you're rubbing said luck in the opponent's face.

Edit: Actually, are you saying this from a casual or competitive perspective? When playing casually I see no problem with "good game" et al. from any position. However, competitively, the assumption is, to be blunt, that any non-vital conversation is either an attempt to extract information from your opponent or an attempt to put him or her on tilt. Saying "thanks for the game" after a game 1 stomping feels strongly like the latter.

[Lord Hosk]

I suspect the problem is that people put so much time, energy, and money into the GAME that is stops being a game to them.

I have avoided magic, paintball, most games online especially FPS for this reason. When I saw people get pissed off and stomp off because their random cards were, RANDOM, I put my cards (all 100ish) in the "take a card leave a card" bin which was back in 97-98ish.

[Under_Score]

This one was more confusing for people who don't know the rules, but still funny.

Honestly, I think that was somewhat intentional as much of it is from Paul's perspective, so they just go with these completely outlandish strategies to show how disorienting it can be for a new player. Essentially they're saying pros will sound confusing and crazy, just play what you want for fun, which is pretty much Kathleen's advice. On the other hand, I could be misinterpreting. It's hard to tell for sure from my position as someone who's still getting into Magic, but has a pretty good understanding of it.

[DewKnight]

All of the recent mentions of MTG in the videos have made me more interested in getting back into the game. This episode sealed my fate. I'm back, and now I just need to convince my friends to play with me.

[Matt]

I've taken to saying "thanks for the game" in Magic, but I am bewilderd that it was ever actually an issue.

-m

Honestly, "thanks for the game," in the context given, actually sounds worse. Maybe it has to do with tone of voice which I'm obviously not hearing, but that could easily be parsed as "thanks for the win, loser."

I meant a genuine "Thank you for the game".

-m

edit: and no, I don't play competitively.

[pearcey]

I loved the episode! Please keep these coming, THEY ARE AWESOME!

[RedNightmare]

I usually see "gg" used as a concession on MTGO.

I've seen it used the other way as well:
Opponent: gg
My thought: But I'm not dead yet. [opponent plays card] Right, yeah, now I am.

[Geoff_B]

I usually see "gg" used as a concession on MTGO.

I've seen it used the other way as well:
Opponent: gg
My thought: But I'm not dead yet. [opponent plays card] Right, yeah, now I am.

So gg is up there with "Game over, moonpie"?

[WAYF]

SCUMBAG WAYF

PUTS WORDS IN GOOD OPPONENT GREG'S MOUTH.

Personally I find it a bit insulting when somebody says "GG". I've only ever played against two people who play Magic that seriously, but I thought that if they were going to be courteous in that way, they could at least say it in full instead of as an acronym.

Sure, people might take offence to "good game" (particularly if it was a curb stomp), but doesn't that make "GG" even worse? It kind of seems like a distinct lack of effort to me...

I could be completely wrong of course, but I'm still fairly new to Magic... :S

[WAYF]

SCUMBAG WAYF

PUTS WORDS IN GOOD OPPONENT GREG'S MOUTH.

Personally I find it a bit insulting when somebody says "GG" to me in real life. I've only ever played against two people who play Magic that seriously, but I thought that if they were going to be courteous in that way, they could at least say it in full instead of as an acronym.

Sure, people might take offence to "good game" (particularly if it was a curb stomp), but doesn't that make "GG" even worse? It kind of seems like a distinct lack of effort to me...

I could be completely wrong of course, because I'm still fairly new to Magic...

[General Meh]

I know your pain Matt, a friend pulled Angelic Destiny from a booster last week. Can't seem to convince him to part with it. This happens all the time in my group, watching people pull out awesome cards and I get the lesser rares.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I play purely for fun, but at the same time I don't like constantly losing, so I build decks that are fun but also effective. Saying that, a good half of my decks are silly combo decks.

[JayBlanc]

Coming from the world of Go matches, I always prefer to say "Thanks for the game" or variation of that, winner, looser, circumstances of the game regardless. *And* I'd consider an invitation to discuss the turning points of the games after the match. (I see this happens in Magic Pro Tours)

"GG" comes from the world of e-sports, where you had limited time to put in something before the game quits after a win. And it has kind of turned into a rote thing there.

Etiquette actually can matter to game play too. Failure to act socially, and not being able to have some self control, turns into "Tilt" (loss of a game because of emotional state) very quickly. Just ask Moscow 5.

[camo1989]

when it comes to magic it seems paul is a hyperbolic version of me, though i must confess unlike most of commadore hustles characters and viewers i'm not quite as psychopathically obsessive, not saying it's a bad thing

[Lord Hosk]

There has got to be a future video somewhere in this thread.

[Akyho]

I am a Yugioh player. I have played two matches of Magic (Drunk/Hungover + up all night + plus terrible at maths + bad memory + plus magic = Massive headache) however, Alot of that bleeds into Yugioh and surely other card games.

I may not play magic however I still chuckle for the same reasons.
I take the Kathleen road. Make a deck I want then rework into a working deck and that's me. Sometimes for fun Ill make a deck that's has an awesome one hit kill....except the chances are poor on doing it.

Yeah playing with people that want to win. You see the exact same decks all the time, One deck had them pick and choose cards from my hand and from my deck and discard. It was pretty horrible since they just lunge over and snatch things without asking or letting me know what was going on.

[Jamfalcon]

My style is similar to Kathleen's. My current decks are red critters with way more dragons than any 60 card deck should have, an almost entirely artifact deck with the "of Empires" set and unwinding clocks, and a proxy goblin commander deck. They're all pretty silly to play, but since I only play within a small circle of friends they do well enough.

The series continues to be excellent, I can't wait to see the next one

[Pigmy Wurm]

1) SAYS "GOOD GAME, WELL PLAYED" IN FULL INSTEAD OF ACRONYMS?

Counter-intuitively, saying "good game" in many contexts in Magic is actually considered a real asshole thing to do.

I find the idea totally bewildering, but there are, like, huge internet treatises written about when to GG and when not to GG.

-m

I generally say good game although if one of us had a bout of terrible luck I might edit it a bit like,"good game, although I'm sorry about you getting no lands," or if someone offers me "good game" after a match that I didn't feel went very well I might respond "well no, but thank you."

One thing I have just realized is that most of the time you say good game it's actually the end of a match. The main time I can think of people using good game in the middle of a match is as a concession, like graham said.

As far as deck building: I build fairly competitive decks but I build decks for the metagame of my friends, not the pro tour. Most pro tour decks are so hyper designed that if you throw them in a random casual environment, that has a decent power level, they will have a hard time.

Although I will say that life gain is often "trash" as Alex says.

[Flewellyn]

I have this strange feeling that, when we do see Paul play against the others, he will solidly trounce all of them. Probably in a highly scientific fashion.

[tamaness]

Huh. now I want to build a lifegain/millstone deck.