Magic: The Gathering

[RWBladewing]

Does anyone else here play this, either paper or online? I've been playing since Revised with several extended breaks scattered throughout. I've recently come back from one such hiatus and am looking for possible opponents or just people's opinions regarding the game (favorite format, opinions of top decks, discussion about the just-finished World Championship, etc.)

My favorite format is limited, specifically draft. I really like the strategy involved in picking, building, and playing, and all the different possibilities and choices present during the entire thing. It's also nice to be able to use a lot of the cards in a pack that would otherwise never be played.

I don't really have a constructed deck at the moment. Was waiting to see what did well at Worlds before deciding on anything.

Feel free to post if you don't play but are curious about the game also. Wouldn't hurt to put all my useless knowledge regarding it to some purpose, heh.

[roriconfan]

I tried to play some years ago but my interest was soon lost when I saw the WOW and 5 Ringd mechanicks.
The game is surely one of the best card games in existence but I favor complexity over tactics.
By the way I no longer play any card games.

[RWBladewing]

The game was quite a bit more complex a long time ago. As of late they've simplified things a lot though and blue has gone from the best (and most complex) color to worst, with creatures taking the place of spells. It is a bit similar to the WoW game now with its emphasis on creature tactics which is kinda unfortunate but I still enjoy it. Which mechanics did you mean specifically? I know I definitely could have done without "Mythic Rares" (= epics from WoW).

[Zwei]

I used to be addicted to this game. I used to play IRL and MODO all the time when I was like 11 or 10. I remember starting when Onslaught was being released but I stopped after Mirrodin got extended, I think.

I sold everything in the end.

EDIT: My favorite deck had to be Psychatog and Tooth and Nail. =)

[-KarumA-]

Used to play this game as well, never played it serious though
Some of my friends played it so they decided to teach me, cause I remembered the game from very long ago
When buying a boardgame there was a card package inside as well as an introduction to Magic and I really liked the drawings on the cards but was too young to understand it all
My friends taught me and I set up a zombie deck, however they all bought cards online (specific cards) which I didn't do cause I wasn't THAT serious about it, I just wanted to play it for fun not to own people with the awesome deck I set together with 3 months worth allowance
Eventually I stopped cause they all had much better decks and strategies and I didn't feel like pursuing this hobby as I got others and didn't want to spend that much money on new decks and cards, seemingly all the people I came across to that played it always played it to win and never to just have some fun. I still have the cards, I decided to keep them like my old pokemon cards, partly for the drawings partly or perhaps a rise in value
I remember my friend got this booster from his gf for his birthday and he really wanted a card of a dragon of sort.. I think it was a black one.. all I know was that it is expensive we all thought he was taking this hobby too serious and started joking around until he almost cut the pack in half with a pair of scissors, he decided not to and when he opened it he found the card he had wanted and that was expensive lol wouldn't want to know what he'd done if he had cut it in half

[Proto]

I used to play on internet on a private server... thoguh I don't remember the name of the program. I was never very good but I had some very nice fun decks, like a squirrel deck, a discard deck, and my favorite, a sliver deck

[einhorn303]

I've been playing for 12 years now, though I've spent a lot less time on the game as the years go on. T2 holds no interest for me, so the only Constructed format I play is Legacy. I think Legacy is the purest distillation of the game's essence. But Legacy has the problem of obscenely expensive cards. My Landstill deck costs $450, for just 60 pieces of cardboard...at a certain point, enough is enough.

Then again, there's always casual and other formats you can play for free. Mental Magic, making up your own expansions and proxying them...it's a game with limitless options.

Plus, you can always play online for free on Magic Workstation. lymmect09, with "Magic Online" you actually have to buy virtual cards. But there are third-party programs that just give you infinite access to everything and just let you play in an infinite sandbox.

Btw, shouldn't this be in the "Games" sub-forum? (And if you say MtG isn't anime or manga related, there are already two different Magic: the Gathering manga...)

[Proto]

Oh yeah, Magic Workstation, that was the program I used to use.

Btw, shouldn't this be in the "Games" sub-forum? (And if you say MtG isn't anime or manga related, there are already two different Magic: the Gathering manga...)

Well, we got a mahjong thread in there, so I'd say its fair game.

[brocko]

I still play. Not as much as i use to anymore. Mainly i just rock up to pre-releases with my brother because i kinda get "sponsored" by him. He pays, we play, and he keeps the cards

My bro use to play quite a bit back during Mirage and laid off at around Tempest or so. I still played every now and then with my neighbour who still loosely followed the game until about Urza or so.

I started playing again when some new neighbours moved in and they started getting into the game around Invasion and Judgement or so. We were really into the game by Onslaught and Legion. My bro got back in when Scourge hit. Next thing you knew everyone was playing Mirrodin and that was probably the period that i played the most magic ever lol Interest for me started dying out after Kamigawa and Ravinica, though i really did like the Time Spiral block.

Now a days the only magic i ever play are just random drafts with my brother and his friends (whenever they ever need an extra guy) or at pre-releases. My brother still loosely keeps up-to-date with the cards, but that's just because he's looking out for the latest dragons, angels, worms and/or demons to his collection. I've got this random zombie deck i keep just in case i meet someone who might wanna have a game sometime

[risingstar3110]

Yeah i and my brother used to play this as well. Our main deck (and first) was Darksteel. Was quite passion for a long while and only start giving up when that Japanese deck out...

I thought it was due to exam that we gave up. But the actual reason was: we collected too many cards, and have too many combination to try out that... well you can guess it... we start to get tired of sorting them out ^^

[Echoes]

I played it for around three to four years, but I haven't really touched it since 2007 now. The community here is, to be frank, filled with mostly jerks.

It's a great card game, the only one I've ever enjoyed as an adult, but it's become ridiculously expensive as of late. Sort of makes me glad I don't play it anymore.

I might pick it up again some time in the future, the mental exercise you get from playing a couple of games with intricate decks is really fun, and as others have mentioned there are virtually limitless combinations to be found with the sheer amount of available cards and formats.

I never got quite the same feeling from playing it online, though. I need to hold the cards in my hand while I ponder my next move to really get into it.

[Cipher]

Its been 4 years. I played it and spent hundreds or dollars tracking and buying cards and collections. Don't wanna go back there.

[Evil Rick]

I used to play it, I liked the game itself but I never put much efort on finding "rare" or "powerfull" cards, haven't played it in 5 yeras.

[gl0w_]

I currently play the game a ton. Been into it since mercadian masks and with the exception of one small break around mirrodin its been pretty constant. If you interested in playing over MWS or need any advice about the current metagame for standard or extended those are my two formats of choice and id be happy to help or play with anyone who is interested.

[Alchemist007]

I was into it in the 10th-early 11th grade. I still remember a bit of how it goes but since everyone else fell out of it I did too. Still have my deck though.

[Liddo-kun]

Used to play MTG a lot, it was my obsession before I got into anime.
Would spend long afternoons playing with my cousins.

Well, everything has it's limits... realized one day that I've spent too much already.
So I finished my last project (Elvish Piper + Progenitus deck) and quit buying cards expensive cards after that.

[brocko]

yea magic is a pretty damn expensive game to get into to be honest =/

[Alchemist007]

I think I had been exposed to that from Pokemon so I was pretty prepared and didn't buy more than 1 starter pack + 3- boosters in all. Ironically did pretty decent against more hardcore players with it.
I remember back when I wanted to buy some booster packs for Pokemon the cashier was like "That'll be crapload dollars please" I was like "holy crap" but I wasn't the one paying so I was ok with it.

[LynnieS]

About 6-7 years ago, I bought (maybe) 2 of those "sets" that got pushed out whenever a major tournament was over - with the winner(s)' decks being issued. No one I knew played the game, though, so I stopped; as everyone had mentioned, it was also fairly expensive to put together a competitive deck.

MTG does seem to be fairly popular in Japan as well, though, but there is also a lot of competition. Not sure how that affects its popularity, however.

[RWBladewing]

Originally Posted by einhorn303

I've been playing for 12 years now, though I've spent a lot less time on the game as the years go on. T2 holds no interest for me, so the only Constructed format I play is Legacy. I think Legacy is the purest distillation of the game's essence. But Legacy has the problem of obscenely expensive cards. My Landstill deck costs $450, for just 60 pieces of cardboard...at a certain point, enough is enough.

Btw, shouldn't this be in the "Games" sub-forum? (And if you say MtG isn't anime or manga related, there are already two different Magic: the Gathering manga...)

I originally intended to put this in the Games forum but PM'd a mod before posting it and was told to put it here.

Yeah, the barrier of entry for Legacy is pretty expensive but there comes a point when T2 ends up being more expensive overall if played for long enough. With T2 you have to constantly buy new cards every year to keep an updated and legal deck whereas Legacy is more of a one-shot deal. Especially the current T2 where a single Baneslayer Angel can cost upwards of $50.

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

Was quite passion for a long while and only start giving up when that Japanese deck out...

Yeah, that seems to have been the case for a lot of people. I took a break myself around the time that block (Kamigawa) was released. Of course, now that I'm pretty interested in Japanese culture, I'm very sorry I did as the block was absolutely overflowing with it.

Originally Posted by Echoes

The community here is, to be frank, filled with mostly jerks.

I never got quite the same feeling from playing it online, though. I need to hold the cards in my hand while I ponder my next move to really get into it.

This is an issue I find myself dealing with also. I enjoy the actual card game a lot more but there are so many jerks playing it around here. And it doesn't really get any better at higher levels of play either. I'm constantly seeing articles by pro players bragging about how they tricked their opponent into passing priority or convinced them to concede the game by pretending to search for a particular card that would win the game in that situation but wasn't even in their deck. Completely legal but such a lame way to win. There's also the issue of people refusing hand shakes or a "good game" because "only the loser is allowed to extend the hand" or "it wasn't a good game because I got mana screwed". Pathetic.

Online solves those issues pretty well (still a ton of poor sports but it's a lot easier to ignore them at least) and also eliminates the shuffling which at high levels of play seems to take longer than the actual game, but it feels a lot more mechanical overall. Playing normally with just friends instead of the "community" works, but unfortunately in my case most of my friends are pretty terrible at the game; beating them down repeatedly doesn't really help me improve and isn't all that much fun after a while. I have one friend who is just below pro level and we always have good matches but I don't get to see him that often.

Originally Posted by glow

I currently play the game a ton. Been into it since mercadian masks and with the exception of one small break around mirrodin its been pretty constant. If you interested in playing over MWS or need any advice about the current metagame for standard or extended those are my two formats of choice and id be happy to help or play with anyone who is interested.

I've never actually used MWS but I'd be interested once I figure it out. I'm pretty interested in trying out the Land Ramp Ultimatum or the Spreading Seas decks that they covered at worlds. So sick of Jund, heh. Normally that's completely my style of deck but it's fairly boring seeing it everywhere. At least it got beat in the finals of worlds.

Originally Posted by LynnieS

MTG does seem to be fairly popular in Japan as well, though, but there is also a lot of competition. Not sure how that affects its popularity, however.

Japan is pretty dominant on the pro scene. The Player of the Year title has gone to a Japanese player for the last 5 years. From everything I have read and watched, yeah, they are very serious and competitive. Was a big surprise when the national team just missed the finals this year. (I did mention I had lots of useless knowledge regarding the game in my opening post )