The General Magic: The Gathering Thread

[vxicepickxv]

I had a deck I thought was great, with multiple ways to win by turn 4-5 I thought it was fast and good, but then when faced with people who could afford to buy 10 boxes at once, and who then were complaining about how they didn't get a full playset of the cards they wanted. anyway, I went 1-3, it was my first standard FNM in years, but damn man. my one good match, I got my turn 4 win combo off, but all the others I always kept drawing into more mana every turn, or I was starting with only 2 lands, and never drew a third.

The deck curved out at about 4 mana, with mostly 3 mana and lower stuff, it was very red aggro, but it wasn't a RDW. It's also frustrating playing against people with 700 dollar decks with my small budget deck.

anyway, I usually have work on friday nights so that was a once in a long while thing for me, but I'm working on a couple other decks now that should be better. Naya human aggro and miracle Gro.

I'm one of those guys, but instead of buying 10 boxes, I generally wait a month or so to buy singles of what I want. Or buy a playset of the expansion.

Can someone explain to my why a playset of Alliances only costs about 50 bucks more than a single booster box?

[Jenelmo]

I am not sure but the reason i think that a playset of alliances is only a little bit more expensive than a booster box of alliances is that the "only" money card in the set is an uncommon Force of Will, so you pay a little bit extra to be sure you get four.
Or you could pay a the price of a force less(around 50$) and not be sure how many you got, but if you were lucky could get more as there is/was 108 uncommon cards in a booster box and there was 43 different uncommons in the set.
I'm not sure but that is my guess

[Volafortis]

Can someone explain to my why a playset of Alliances only costs about 50 bucks more than a single booster box?

Because, let's be honest, all you want with either is 4x Force of Will.

(Okay, maybe Elvish Spirit Guide, too)

You're guaranteed 4x Force of Will in the playset, but you might get even more in a box, considering the booster packs of Alliances are only 12 cards, but you get 45 packs in a box, so, better chances at opening multiples of a certain 70 dollar uncommon (that I happen to own a playset of )

On a more modern note, last time I bought a box, I actually bought 6, and it was Innistrad. Been buying singles from DKA, AVR, and M13, but i think I'll pick up another 6 boxes of RTR, and 6 again for Gatecrash. 5 to open, and 1 for drafting.

I mainly don't get boxes because I work too much to play constructed on fridays, so my only times I play constructed are game days, and the occasional PTQ.

[Kapol]

Does anyone else have the same problem as me? I keep end up having copies of the same card near or even right next to one another. I shuffle my deck over and over, pile-shuffle and such, and cards always seem to end up together. It's not even my four-of cards either. It happens to cards I have only 2 of a lot. They seem to always end up if not right next to each other only one or two card away.

For an example, I had two Guilded Lotuses right next to each other in my deck. On top of that, all four of my Rootbound Crags in the bottom 15 cards of my deck, as well as 3 of my Sunpetal Groves. This is after I pile-shuffled, normal shuffled, and just fanned them together.

It's weird and annoying.

[Lord Hosk]

Does anyone else have the same problem as me? I keep end up having copies of the same card near or even right next to one another. I shuffle my deck over and over, pile-shuffle and such, and cards always seem to end up together. It's not even my four-of cards either. It happens to cards I have only 2 of a lot. They seem to always end up if not right next to each other only one or two card away.

For an example, I had two Guilded Lotuses right next to each other in my deck. On top of that, all four of my Rootbound Crags in the bottom 15 cards of my deck, as well as 3 of my Sunpetal Groves. This is after I pile-shuffled, normal shuffled, and just fanned them together.

It's weird and annoying.

Quick! depressurize the main shuttle bay before you crash into Kelsey Grammer!

[phlip]

Does anyone else have the same problem as me? I keep end up having copies of the same card near or even right next to one another. I shuffle my deck over and over, pile-shuffle and such, and cards always seem to end up together. It's not even my four-of cards either. It happens to cards I have only 2 of a lot. They seem to always end up if not right next to each other only one or two card away.

This is normal. Randomness doesn't mean perfectly evenly spread out, it means random... proper randomness tends to have clumps much more often than human intuition usually expects. The chance that your copies of any particular card are all bunched together is low as you'd expect, but the chance that some card is bunched together is much higher. I'd give actual numbers, but it depends on the structure of the deck (how many 1-ofs, 2-ofs, etc).

[Kapol]

It's not so much that it happens often as much as it seems to happen nearly every time with at least one of my 2-ofs. I see at least two of the same card always within 2-3 cards of each other when I look through my deck. It just seems strange to me is all. *shrug*

[vxicepickxv]

Can someone explain to my why a playset of Alliances only costs about 50 bucks more than a single booster box?

Because, let's be honest, all you want with either is 4x Force of Will.

(Okay, maybe Elvish Spirit Guide, too)

You're guaranteed 4x Force of Will in the playset, but you might get even more in a box, considering the booster packs of Alliances are only 12 cards, but you get 45 packs in a box, so, better chances at opening multiples of a certain 70 dollar uncommon (that I happen to own a playset of )

On a more modern note, last time I bought a box, I actually bought 6, and it was Innistrad. Been buying singles from DKA, AVR, and M13, but i think I'll pick up another 6 boxes of RTR, and 6 again for Gatecrash. 5 to open, and 1 for drafting.

I mainly don't get boxes because I work too much to play constructed on fridays, so my only times I play constructed are game days, and the occasional PTQ.

I wouldn't rule out Helm of Obedience, Library of Lat Nam, or Thawing Glaciers as bad cards either.

In the right deck, there are uses for other cards too. Varchild's War Riders is pretty useful in the right deck. Giving your opponent creatures that can't attack or block can get really funny.

[Volafortis]

I wouldn't rule out Helm of Obedience, Library of Lat Nam, or Thawing Glaciers as bad cards either.

In the right deck, there are uses for other cards too. Varchild's War Riders is pretty useful in the right deck. Giving your opponent creatures that can't attack or block can get really funny.

Library of Lat-Nam is awful, lol.

The others aren't bad, but the only one among them worth really noting for value would be Thawing Glaciers, and since it's a rare, it adds more to the value of the playset, rather than the box. Force of Will and Elvish Spirit Guide are both Uncommons, and therefore push the box value up more than the playset.

[vxicepickxv]

I wouldn't rule out Helm of Obedience, Library of Lat Nam, or Thawing Glaciers as bad cards either.

In the right deck, there are uses for other cards too. Varchild's War Riders is pretty useful in the right deck. Giving your opponent creatures that can't attack or block can get really funny.

Library of Lat-Nam is awful, lol.

The others aren't bad, but the only one among them worth really noting for value would be Thawing Glaciers, and since it's a rare, it adds more to the value of the playset, rather than the box. Force of Will and Elvish Spirit Guide are both Uncommons, and therefore push the box value up more than the playset.

Despite how useful it is, Thawing Glaciers isn't worth anywhere near as much as it used to be. Of course, Force of Will skyrocketed in value, and Balduvian Barbarians value took a nosedive after it left standard.

[Lord Hosk]

how to lose a MtGO M-13 Prerelease sealed event.

Step one: Open your 6 boosters and look at your cards. (look confused) Count your creatures in all 5 colors plus your artifact creature. say "24 huh, this will be a thing"

Step two: build a three color deck that doesnt include your one decent rare, Dragonskull Summit.

Step three: Lose 0/2 three times, then in your fourth round when you lose the first game, sideboard in 2 battle of wits and 228 islands.

I lost 0/8

[Kapol]

You got 2 Battle of Wits at your Prerelease?

...that does suck.s

[LackingSanity]

Well now I feel bad for winning mine 8-0. My pool was straight up nuts, though.

[Duckay]

I feel bad because of a Commander game I won two days ago.

I finally got a Worldfire earlier that night, which I have wanted for a long time just so I could put it in this Commander deck I made, a completely silly mono-red deck with Krenko, Mob Boss as my commander, because I'm sort of infamous in my Magic group for having a bizarre, over the top affection for red goblins. The guy who traded it to me told me that I could only have it if, in the event that I ever got to play it, I ran away laughing immediately.

I sat down to play Commander with five other people shortly after putting Worldfire into my deck, and ended up playing it surprisingly early in the game (I mean, no one had died yet). I ran away laughing as I promised, but then came back to sit down and finish the game. While everyone else was still in position of drawing and being unable to do anything, my next five draws were Mountain, Goblin Fireslinger, Goblin Gaveleer, Mountain, Forked Bolt.

I got high-fives from everyone at the shop but was reminded that after that beautiful showing, it will never happen again, and sternly told that if I ever did do that again I'd get a slap instead. I probably deserve that.

[Rikadyn]

/me looks up Worldfire

Yea, you'd definitely deserve a slap

[Lord Hosk]

http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=367339

OK good players, take a look at that and tell me the sweet deck I missed.

ETA: im serious, if you see anything good I would like to know I would love to see that I was just wrong so I can do better next time.

[Exachix]

Oh yeah, that's pretty bad.

I was unofficially told at our local game club back when I still could play that under no uncertain terms was I to play Thieves' Auction or Warp World when playing commander.

I still have played both, to hilarious results.

[Kapol]

http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=367339

OK good players, take a look at that and tell me the sweet deck I missed.

ETA: im serious, if you see anything good I would like to know I would love to see that I was just wrong so I can do better next time.

Personally, I would have went with this deck myself:

1x Ground Seal
1x Sentinel Spider
1x Spiked Baloth
1x Garruk's Packleader
1x Flinthoof Boar
2x Goblin Arsonist
2x Kitesail
1x Primal Clay
2x Ring of Kalonia
1x Volcanic Strength
1x Dragon Hatchling
2x Furnace Whelp
2x Krenko's Command
1x Mark of Mutiny
1x Titanic Growth
2x Plummet
1x Fungal Sprouting
7x Forests
9x Mountain
1x Evolving Wilds

[Kapol]

It really is a shame your store is set up like that. I know the store I go to does 2 events for FNM, one draft and a constructed(normally standard).

Well, I'm trying to set up a situation where I can get together with 4 people or so every week and do draft. It's not ideal, but it's something.

[vxicepickxv]

Oh yeah, that's pretty bad.

I was unofficially told at our local game club back when I still could play that under no uncertain terms was I to play Thieves' Auction or Warp World when playing commander.

I still have played both, to hilarious results.

You sound like someone who would be fun to play. I should work on getting my "funtime" deck set up for commander.

[Kapol]

Warp World actually seems to be the exact same as the Morphic Tide phenomenon card from the Night of the Ninja deck. That cards a pain in the arse.

[Lemegeton]

had a lot of fun at FNM tonight. we were 1 short to have an official FNM so just played some standard. played 3 games with a guy who has just come back to magic after a long absense so we were perfectly matched. bought my first binder too and got some boosters. they were mostly meh but did get a FOIL Odric Master Tactician. had 1 guy begging me to trade it to him, lol.

[vxicepickxv]

It's not going to do much more than make people cringe, but here it is. My "Funtime" Commander deck.

http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=367364

[Kapol]

Another week where I just got destroyed. I just don't get it... deck runs good during practice and non-match games. But as soon as I'm in an official match, it just does alright. Had a bunch of people look at it and they said it was a solid deck. I can say with confidence that I really can't wait for the Scars block and M12 to cycle out though.

Bleh... well, next week I'm trying out a new shop for FNM. Hopefully I do better there.

[vxicepickxv]

Another week where I just got destroyed. I just don't get it... deck runs good during practice and non-match games. But as soon as I'm in an official match, it just does alright. Had a bunch of people look at it and they said it was a solid deck. I can say with confidence that I really can't wait for the Scars block and M12 to cycle out though.

Bleh... well, next week I'm trying out a new shop for FNM. Hopefully I do better there.

If I had an answer that would make any sense at all, I'd let you know.