Magic: the Gathering |OT| Guilds of Ravnica - We built this city on blocks of gold
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It does seem to love mirror matches, which is absolute torture when playing things like Aziz's Mono-Chromatic Black list. I really don't want to see someone who's never even fully read Mastermind's Acquisition trying to run non-Blue Control.
I'm seriously tempted to run nothing but Boros just so I can (hopefully) get opponents who can finish a turn without burning rope.
I'm seriously tempted to run nothing but Boros just so I can (hopefully) get opponents who can finish a turn without burning rope.
I know I'm super late but nonetheless, congrats Ashodin on becoming a featured streamer!
Yeah most of the actual Magic plotlines with the planeswalkers would make great manga if you got the right writers and artists. But I guess it would be too hard to coordinate with the actual card game releases if you start tapping into the plotline while if you do a manga about "kids playing cards" its easier to do whatever you want separate of what's going on in the card game.
Yeah most of the actual Magic plotlines with the planeswalkers would make great manga if you got the right writers and artists. But I guess it would be too hard to coordinate with the actual card game releases if you start tapping into the plotline while if you do a manga about "kids playing cards" its easier to do whatever you want separate of what's going on in the card game.
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"Destroy All Humanity. It Can't Be Regenerated." seems like it's more intended to be a quirky romance, like the creators' other works, that happens to use the early Japanese Magic scene as a backdrop.
BTW, I generally like to keep track of threads that pop up on EtcetEra, and this is one.
BTW, I generally like to keep track of threads that pop up on EtcetEra, and this is one.
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So what do you guys think the odds are of Merfolk upgrading from a fringe standard deck to a legitimate tier 1 contender next set, since their colors are up in the next set? Because honestly I've loved the art on them of late, and they have plenty of great cards with solid synergy, but they're just not quite there from what I've seen. I guess the biggest issue is that a single Cleansing Nova or Ritual of Soot will pretty much dismantle them, and to a lesser but still troublesome degree the same is true of Deafening Clarion and Settle the Wreckage. Obviously they'll at least get a consistency boost from the shockland, but this is my first time around with Ravnica, so no idea if this is a stupid question due to what the guild focuses on or whatever.
I don't think Pirates will get better but the other 3 Ixalan block tribes will get better from the next set even if its just a mana base bump. Merfolk and Dinos left unchecked are very explosive and i think Merfolk will be the one to watch. Pick up your Merfolk card pieces while they are cheap, Deeproot Champion and Deeproot Elite are very cheap now and can potential got up. Even if they turn out to be duds they are that cheap at the moment where you can put some casual deck together.
Ravnica Allegiance planeswalker art
Hey, so two questions. First off, is there any way to actually reliably look for Ultimate Masters draft events around me outside of contacting all the various stores nearby? Kind of want to try it once for the hell of it with a buddy, but it's been kind of a pain trying to track down.
The other... I'm considering the idea of going after a second Commander deck to go alongside the cats one that I modified for an equipment focus. Just off the top of my head, I'm thinking Merfolk (I want to build SOMETHING with them at least, just no idea what), Allies, or maybe Dinos. Just want something dumb and fun with cards that seem neat. Any thoughts on which to go with, or any other cool options? Main concern is budget honestly, as I don't really want to escape the $100 range. Also... one of the 2 consistent, always around players in my tabletop group plays full on white/black control. Like he nukes the hell out of crap, and 99% of all cards get exiled rather than sent to the graveyard. So that's a thing. (Would also say Angels would be on the table as I LOVE MTG angels, but I already have a friend who plays Gisela... and I'm sure that deck would probably break the budget, too.)
The other... I'm considering the idea of going after a second Commander deck to go alongside the cats one that I modified for an equipment focus. Just off the top of my head, I'm thinking Merfolk (I want to build SOMETHING with them at least, just no idea what), Allies, or maybe Dinos. Just want something dumb and fun with cards that seem neat. Any thoughts on which to go with, or any other cool options? Main concern is budget honestly, as I don't really want to escape the $100 range. Also... one of the 2 consistent, always around players in my tabletop group plays full on white/black control. Like he nukes the hell out of crap, and 99% of all cards get exiled rather than sent to the graveyard. So that's a thing. (Would also say Angels would be on the table as I LOVE MTG angels, but I already have a friend who plays Gisela... and I'm sure that deck would probably break the budget, too.)
Angels is way more expensive than Dinos, yeah.
I have a friend who plays Dinos (he's played both Zacama and Gishath), and it wins more often than it probably should, mostly because it's a pretty unassuming deck and doesn't tend to present much of a threat until it gets a value engine online. Allies is similar, but honestly it seems like people are better at identifying when it's about to shift gears from "lol that guy's playing allies" to "oh shit all the things"; it's the sort of deck that "gets" people once when they really don't know what it's trying to do, and then probably never again.
I would recommend Elves over Merfolk personally, as Merfolk top out at "trivial" in terms of Commander whereas Elves actually sort of goes somewhere, and they're otherwise virtually identical. Merfolk is more of a Canadian Highlander deck than an EDH deck.
That said, you seem to be sort of fixated on tribal decks, and while I love tribal decks that's a really narrow band to be working in, especially if you're just automatically disqualifying the tribes that have actually been well-represented in Commander products for whatever reason (Vampires, Zombies, Dragons, etc.). You might want to try looking at mechanic-driven decks rather than tribal ones.
I have a friend who plays Dinos (he's played both Zacama and Gishath), and it wins more often than it probably should, mostly because it's a pretty unassuming deck and doesn't tend to present much of a threat until it gets a value engine online. Allies is similar, but honestly it seems like people are better at identifying when it's about to shift gears from "lol that guy's playing allies" to "oh shit all the things"; it's the sort of deck that "gets" people once when they really don't know what it's trying to do, and then probably never again.
I would recommend Elves over Merfolk personally, as Merfolk top out at "trivial" in terms of Commander whereas Elves actually sort of goes somewhere, and they're otherwise virtually identical. Merfolk is more of a Canadian Highlander deck than an EDH deck.
That said, you seem to be sort of fixated on tribal decks, and while I love tribal decks that's a really narrow band to be working in, especially if you're just automatically disqualifying the tribes that have actually been well-represented in Commander products for whatever reason (Vampires, Zombies, Dragons, etc.). You might want to try looking at mechanic-driven decks rather than tribal ones.
Ah, thanks for this, and thanks to everyone else who replied too! I'm trying to hit a overlap of cards that seem cool to me/I like aesthetically with budget and of course just not sucking. Zombies aren't really my kind of thing at all, and vampires and dragons are sort of "taken" in my local group (though I may be able to force dragons). Elves is an interesting one I wasn't considering, though. But yeah, definitely open to non-tribal, just less sure of where to approach. I know Storm is a thing, but that feels like the kind of thing that just gets everybody angry at you and sorta ruins the environment from what I hear, and my Cat deck is honestly really actually an equipment deck. But I was out of Magic for so long that... I honestly just don't know what else there is out there. Any suggestions/particularly good ways to look (that'll ideally also make it clear if something is outside of my budget)?
Storm's a deck you probably get to go off with once and then spend the next 5-6 games you play it getting taken out early because it durdles around too long and no one's really buying your "I just didn't draw any action" act anymore, yeah. If I'm playing a creature-heavy deck I tend to just roll over our local Storm player to make him either change decks or at least keep him "honest" (making him play early removal instead of just sitting around until he goes off).
The easiest way honestly is to just browse potential Commanders (ie, Legendary Creatures) and just ask yourself what kind of deck you might want to build around them. Like, looking at Gonti, Lord of Luxury you just sort of naturally say, "Oh, I could play a deck that's more about playing my opponent's cards, and I'd probably want effects that blink my own creatures." Looking at Muldrotha, you naturally sort of want to trend toward a deck that plays a variety of permanent types and tries to stock the graveyard, etc.
Most decks can be built on a budget if they aren't reliant on a single-block or Commander-only mechanic (Proliferate, Affinity, etc.), and honestly the difference between budget lists and pimped-out decks in Commander is often pretty trivial. If you want decks that are more likely to be cheap to build, you can narrow your focus to just Commanders that have been printed in the last 3-4 years, as those are likely to have enough cards to support their archetype that are still reasonably cheap from being recently-out-of-Standard.
Like, right now Kaladesh and Amonkhet-centric decks are probably going to be pretty cheap to build, if you want to throw together something like Scarab God, Gonti, Neheb, etc.
The easiest way honestly is to just browse potential Commanders (ie, Legendary Creatures) and just ask yourself what kind of deck you might want to build around them. Like, looking at Gonti, Lord of Luxury you just sort of naturally say, "Oh, I could play a deck that's more about playing my opponent's cards, and I'd probably want effects that blink my own creatures." Looking at Muldrotha, you naturally sort of want to trend toward a deck that plays a variety of permanent types and tries to stock the graveyard, etc.
Most decks can be built on a budget if they aren't reliant on a single-block or Commander-only mechanic (Proliferate, Affinity, etc.), and honestly the difference between budget lists and pimped-out decks in Commander is often pretty trivial. If you want decks that are more likely to be cheap to build, you can narrow your focus to just Commanders that have been printed in the last 3-4 years, as those are likely to have enough cards to support their archetype that are still reasonably cheap from being recently-out-of-Standard.
Like, right now Kaladesh and Amonkhet-centric decks are probably going to be pretty cheap to build, if you want to throw together something like Scarab God, Gonti, Neheb, etc.
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Ultimate Masters art descriptions
I feel like there are more "do whatever you want" descriptions than usual.
I feel like there are more "do whatever you want" descriptions than usual.
Probably fine.
Hearthstone's gone through some pretty trash format shifts. And frankly, I don't think Standard's even that good, it's just a "breath of fresh air" situation after two years of unmitigated Kalatrash.
The bigger concern would be "what if the FTC actually does something about lootboxes?"
Hearthstone's gone through some pretty trash format shifts. And frankly, I don't think Standard's even that good, it's just a "breath of fresh air" situation after two years of unmitigated Kalatrash.
The bigger concern would be "what if the FTC actually does something about lootboxes?"
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So what's the ETA on putting in literally any effort into Arena?
The ladder is still busted, the 5th card problem is still annoying and there's still no actual progression whatsoever even in terms of cosmetic rewards. It's a fucking FTP game that has 12 total avatars and 5 total emotes and the only alternate card art you could even get was the Closed Beta reward Planeswalkers, which you can't get anymore. There is literally no reason those are not in the fucking game. Can't I get at least a unique avatar for getting to Gold on the ladder in limited or constructed? And that's just the low effort stuff - there's no reason why there isn't a higher end tournament with some kind of ladder requirement that has a bigger payout.
The ladder is still busted, the 5th card problem is still annoying and there's still no actual progression whatsoever even in terms of cosmetic rewards. It's a fucking FTP game that has 12 total avatars and 5 total emotes and the only alternate card art you could even get was the Closed Beta reward Planeswalkers, which you can't get anymore. There is literally no reason those are not in the fucking game. Can't I get at least a unique avatar for getting to Gold on the ladder in limited or constructed? And that's just the low effort stuff - there's no reason why there isn't a higher end tournament with some kind of ladder requirement that has a bigger payout.
Right. I'm just pointing out how all the dumb complaints about the interface and other non-economy related details were all over the place and people were whining that WotC was dumbing down Magic or that new players would start doing 45 degree taps in paper or whatever else nonsense people were complaining about. All that stuff vanished once people actually got their hands on it.
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I generally agree with his conclusions. The growth in Magic has mostly been in casual Limited (ie, 10 year olds playing Sealed events) and Commander, both of which are kind of anti-competitive formats. I'm routinely the only one at tables I play at who knows or cares even the slightest bit about professional play.
That might shift a bit with Arena refocusing a lot of new players on competitive play, though.
That might shift a bit with Arena refocusing a lot of new players on competitive play, though.
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