View Full Version : Magic: the gathering thread!
I've been playing some Magic Online again lately. I suck big time, so I was wondering if some of you Magic playes also play online so we can play and you can hand me some tips. And of course I;m interested in strat talk as well.
Obv. I didn't mean to kill this thread. I changed the title into something more attractive, since I know for a fact that there are more MTG nerds errr... fans in our community [shabba]
Shabbaman
14-10-2005, 22:23
Mirage is coming to Magic Online soon! It almost makes me want to get a creditcard and get the game... now I have to do it with regular tombstone stairwells.
Both starcitygames and the official mtg regularly feature articles for complete n00bs like you ;)
SHould some of you play online as well please let me know! We can start a CDZ Magic guild as well. Whoohoo!
Well, I play offline, as both of you know, and PP almost convinced me into opening my own account, but somehow I never managed to get around doing so. Maybe I will in the future again though, will think about that.
However, I must say I think the quality of the recent expansions has not really been up to standards, most likely since my collection contains a large amount of older cards, whereas the newer sets are geared towards people playing with just the cards of the last few recent sets (and thus forcing you to buy a lot of them).
Shabbaman
20-10-2005, 12:00
I feel tempted, PP. However, what I like best about Magic is the social aspect. But playing with you/fellow CDZ might compensate a bit. Money isn't a real issue either, but the main problem is that I don't have a credit card. I don't intend to either. Besides, I'd rather spend the money on real cards.
And I like older cards better. That isn't much of an issue with the release of Mirage though. Actually, that's the main reason I was tempted to start with online magic. But then again, Invasion is probably my favorite block (not set, that's Alliances) and those cards are unimaginable expensive (online, that is).
But there's no difference between irl and online magic, so that wouldn't prevent a discussion. What's your main problem PP?
And Kemal, there are a lot of ways around not owning the newer cards. Unless those people only want to play standard, that is. Standard (read: type 2) sucks.
Sure, but usually all the newer sets are set up towards one specific keyword or creature type, be it amplify or slivers or whatever, and have good synergy with other cards from that set, resulting in forcing you to get more of that set if you want to be able to use them effectively.
In older sets, that was much less the case, I think.
Spending money on online cards doesnt mean you cant get those cards offline as well. There's a redemption program, so you can convert your online cards to real cards. You do have to redeem per set (iirc, could also be block) and you pay postage.
My main reason to play online is that IRL hardly any people I meet regularly play magic. Online there's always plenty people around. I would enjoy playing a lot more should people I know join (hint, hint) Also the league and tourny format provide a format where people with few cards can compete on equal footing with people who own heaps of cards. I like that as I own just a few cards anyway.
My problem : I lose, I lose a lot
Tubby Rower
20-10-2005, 13:14
I used to play this in college. I had a couple of awesome decks too. I had a green deck and a black/white deck. Problem is that I couldn't find anyone to play with after some of my friends quit. So I gave my cards away....
I might look into this when my goofing off load decreases a bit....
Shabbaman
20-10-2005, 13:24
OK, but you lose with what? Drafting? What format?
Kemal, for example, if everyone's playing with artifacts (affinity, mirrodin block), build a deck with four main deck meltdowns.
There are a lot of powerful older cards that screw with new mechanics. Onslaught block was a lot about creature types, but if you look at today's extended, legacy or vintage formats you won't find any of that strategy (aside from goblins, which is just plain evil and damn good...). The solution? Play four wrath of gods and four engineerd plague.
I'll search for an article about exactly this problem which I've read recently. Don't despair. Unless everyone wants to play standard, no one forces you to buy new cards. Nothing beats the power of first turn ritual/hippy anyway :)
(ok, storm combo)
(ok, every other type 1 deck)
(but you get the point)
I'm all for a good magic thread, but we need some focus. I could write on and on about magic (or hattrick), but that's kinda pointless.
Ok, back to work.
Tubby Rower
21-10-2005, 04:00
I'm d/ling the free trial it's 362MB [eek]
I'll let it run overnight. I might get back into this, but when do you guys play.. I don't want to spend money on this and then everything just sits and collects virtual dust.
Shabbaman
21-10-2005, 06:52
The charm about magic online is that it's really easy to find someone to play with.
quote:Originally posted by ProPain
My main reason to play online is that IRL hardly any people I meet regularly play magic. Online there's always plenty people around. I would enjoy playing a lot more should people I know join (hint, hint) Also the league and tourny format provide a format where people with few cards can compete on equal footing with people who own heaps of cards. I like that as I own just a few cards anyway.
My problem : I lose, I lose a lot
Hmmm, can't remember that from our office games.
@swingue: lol
Well, we used to be pretty even untill I drew some nice cards from boosters, which tipped the scales in my favor. And that also announced the end of our Magic days at the office. [lol]
Shabbaman
21-10-2005, 12:31
From your words I deduct that you're having problems with the preconstructed deck format (in league and tourney formats) amiright? I can give you some advice on that, and I know some decent articles in that category as well. If you're having problems with drafting I'm out, not only do I suck big time at it but I find it unimaginably boring as well. Just curious, are you reading anything online?
Yes I play preconstructed format only atm. More precise I play leagues only as I dont have enough time to play a tournament that takes up a large chunk of a day. I Havent played draft for that same reason, dont have the time play in a draft tournament.
I spent some time looking for articles but I didnt find anything decent. NOw I just try a lot and see what works and also watch games in my league's with high ranking players. Seeing what cards they use and how they play has taught me quite a bit as well. BUt still I'd like to read some good strat articles, so tips are very much welcomed.
I always found trying to find out about certain card combinations myself the most fun part of deck construction... because of that I ended up with the most weird and unsuccesful combinations (Epic struggle/Liege of the Hollows/Ashnod's Altar anyone?), but those decks are the most fun to play with, imo.
Shabbaman
21-10-2005, 13:52
Personally, I like consistency in my decks. When I started to play my decks sucked because I couldn't get hold of 4 sengir vampires. Back then I thought that that was the defining card of my deck, so I needed 4. Obv. when I got them my deck still sucked, so I had to get hold of Baron Sengir ;) Now I know that it'd been wiser to go with white and serra's but hey, white sucks. But today I like 4-ofs in my decks, that's why I like the constructed formats more than the limited formats.
PP, here's (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/bs9) a pretty basic article about league play. You'll find a lot more on MOL in that series. The basic stuff about building a sealed deck is probably more important, but I have no idea how advanced you are in that category. Stuff like the right amount of lands. Nevertheless, take a look at this (http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/424.html).
Kemal, this (http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/archive.php?Article=Abe+Sargent) is one of my favorite writers. His decks are always really budget and wacky. He likes theme decks, focused on specific cards. So do I, my tombstone stairwell deck rocks ;)
I wouldn't mind playing a game irl. But I really don't see the point of paying exactly the same amount of money to buy a few digital 1's and 0's. At least there's some logic to an actual card being rare (there just not that many around), which explains the high costs. With Magic online it's the exact opposite, because of the fact that the costs are high, it's a rare card.
@swingue, you can take my deck to the office to change to balance again
quote:Originally posted by Energy
@swingue, you can take my deck to the office to change to balance again
Yeah great, playing against you really felt hopeless
at least i had the idea i had a chance against PP.
No, my Magic days are over for the moment, I try to ease down on the games, takes too much time. And when civ4 comes out, I'll be spending some time anyway.
@Tubby. I play on and off and have been for over a year or so. Normally I play casual or league as those are the least time consuming formats. Having more CDZ'ers online means we can also start our own league :) That would of course not be MOTG supported but we can keep score on CDZ.
@Beam: Depending on how you look at it playing at MOTG costs you $10 or nothing. You pay an initial fee of $10 to open an account but you get a certificate for that so you can spend those $10 on cards in the online shop. Also you can just play the 9th edition theme decks for free without an account (Tubbys free trial download) The Free trial download is just the normal download but once you pay $10 Wizards will give you an acccount that is valid as long as MOTG is in business. After that you can spent as much or as little money as you desire on cards.
Tubby Rower
22-10-2005, 14:47
I played in the "free league" last night for ~ 2.5 hours. I won about 50% of my games. The decks people are using is the same so, you can know what to expect from the other players after they lay out their first mana.
I'll prolly buy an account today :)
Shabbaman
25-04-2008, 14:01
Is there anyone still playing? I haven't bothered to install MTGO on my new computer (about a year ago...), but now the new version is released. It's still pretty crap I read, so I'm not sure if I'll bother. OTOH I've started building an Elder Dragon Highlander (http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~geduggan/EDH_rules.html) deck. Choose a legendary "general" and build a deck of 100 singletons (besides basic land).
I've played a lorwyn league a few weeks ago, finished middle of the pack, after a long absence. Dunno if I'll pick it up again, I just don't have enough spare time to make it worth my while these days.
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