Tag: opinion

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Bruce Gray - April 1, 2016

Christmas in April

Casual Encounters – Christmas in April

 

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Eldrazi Menace = Affordable MTG?

Usually I get excited for new sets during spoiler season, but something has got me super excited. Sure, going back to Innistrad seems cool and I can’t wait to find some more sweet werewolves for a deck I built 4-years ago…but that isn’t what got me truly excited. No, I’m super excited right now for the MTG world in which we live right now. Things are sweet and I want to tell you why.

Most people are bemoaning the fact that Modern sucks right now as we are overrun by Eldrazi and silly lands like Eye of Ugin and Eldrazi Temple. The pro tour was a bit of a train-wreck if you like to see a super diverse Top 8 because the format kind of got busted. Legacy hasn’t been far behind with the Eldrazi deck sliding over and giving everyone fits with super fast decks. I mean, any deck running an Endbringer and casting it on turn 3 tells me things are broken. The Eldrazi Winter is truly a thing and lots of players are pretty upset. These eternal formats aren’t supposed to be broken so easily…and yet thanks to Oath of the Gatewatch that is exactly what has happened.

Now, I’m not relishing the state of these formats, but I am super pleased that the MTG world has been so preoccupied with the Eldrazi and non-rotating formats that they have allowed Standard playable cards to tank in value. I don’t think I have ever seen so many excellent cards cost so little. Thanks to a focus on acquiring Modern staples and things that can port to Eternal formats, players have opened piles of OGW, (not to mention looking for the Expeditions,) and in the process helped depress the prices of OGW and BFZ. We’ll look at a few examples in a bit, but to a fringe constructed player or someone who plays casually this is music to our ears. Affordable MTG? Yes please!

A similar effect has happened with Battle for Zendikar and prices have been seriously reduced because everyone has been hunting furiously for the Expeditions and opened up tons of product. Mythics and highly sought after rare cards are affordable making rotation seem almost palatable.  C’mon, who doesn’t like having access to things like Drana or Undergrowth Champion at reasonable prices?  Right now these cards are indeed things that can be acquired without much trouble making piecing together what you want for a future deck much easier than in the past.

Similar effects are being felt in other Standard legal sets that are going through the usual pre-rotation lull before they leave Standard, but even in Dragons of Tarkir, a set that is NOT rotating out in a few short weeks, we are seeing prices drop to a point where they are reasonable. When premium, Standard playable powerhouses are falling to very reasonable prices you know something kind of cool is going on.

The one exception is Magic: Origins where prices have stayed high and continue to soar upwards.  Jace, Vrynn’s Prodigy alone continues to skyrocket and is listed at close to $90 a card! However, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Liliana, Heretical Healer, and Abbot of Keral Keep are all quite expensive.  Some of the pressure on Origins  is tied to the fact that it was released mid-summer, historically a low time for sales, meaning not as much of it has been opened as some of the other sets and that is forcing the prices to be higher.  

So, what does it mean?  The combination of a focus on Eternal Formats, an over abundance of some sets on account of the “Expedition Effect”, and the Modern season with a number of GP’s has really helped to force the price of Standard cards down a lot. This is great news for budget-conscious players who play casually because you can jump in and grab a number of really powerful Mythics and Rares without putting a hole in your bank book.  Check out this list of Mythics from Battle for Zendikar Block that cost ~$3!

*Please note that the price information I am using is in Canadian dollars and is subject to change according to the whims of the multiverse. 

Crush of Tentacles 2.15
General Tazri 1.03
Inverter of Truth 1.51

 

Akoum Firebird 0.80

 

Greenwarden of Murasa 1.85

 

Omnath, Locus of Rage 2.54
Part the Waterveil 2.29
Quarantine Field 1.86
Sire of Stagnation 1.81

 

There is a whole lot of casual appeal to these cards!  And this trend seems to buck a trend even for kind of janky Mythics.  If you go and pull up a set from the last 4 years, like Gatecrash for example, you will see that the price of Mythics rarely sunk this low. Now, I know Gatecrash had no Expeditions, but in many regards it was a fine set that even had Shocklands making it fairly sought after, and was drafted as a stand alone set 3 packs at a time meaning it was opened in good quantity. Despite this,  Aurelia didn’t fall below $4 while she was in Standard.  Master Biomancer was a house and held good value! Even things like Lord of the Void seemed to hold more value.  Something wonderful is happening right now that is making BFZ block much cheaper for those of us looking to play casually or on a tight budget.  

Will it stay like this for long?  No.  I can’t imagine we’ll be able to grab these sorts of cards at this price for much longer.  Once Shadows over Innistrad starts to get spoiled everyone will start to focus back in on Standard again as players look to rebound from the new Spring rotation.  However, in the meantime we have the chance to grab a strong number of very playable cards to help settle your casual appetite and get you brewing all sorts of funky decks.

So, if you are a casual player, take advantage now while the prices are good and get the cards you’ve always wanted!  This is a pretty special time, almost like Christmas, and now is the time to jump in a get what you need.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by next time for another Casual Encounter.

 

Bruce Gray

@bgray8791 on Twitter

 

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Gregoire Thibault - March 30, 2016

Prerelease the Kraken Horror!

Optimum Jank – Prerelease the Kraken Horror

 

IMAGE - KRAKEN - Svetlin Velinov - Stormsurge Kraken

 

Shadows Over Innistrad Prerelease – Everything New Is Dead Again

Culminating one of the best spoiler seasons in recent memory, Wizards has finally unveiled the complete set for Shadows Over Innistrad (SOI), which can be found here. The set looks absolutely phenomenal. Powerful cards at all rarity levels and flavour that’s off the charts. I have a feeling this will be one of the most bought, most talked about sets since the original Innistrad.

As always, with the arrival of a new set comes a new season of events, starting with this weekend’s Shadows Over Innistrad Prerelease! What is a Prerelease? It’s an event that allows players to jump into the new set one weekend before its official launch date. You’ll be able to purchase, play with and take home cards from SOI before anyone who hasn’t attended a Prerelease event. For that one glorious week, you get to be the object of envy and ire of all your Magic-playing friends who didn’t go to a Prerelease as you brazenly brandish your sweet new loot in their faces. MOO HOO HA HA!

Ahem… I mean… provided that gloating’s your thing, of course.

Before you can let that power get to your head, though, you’ll have to attend a Shadows Over Innistrad Prerelease event at your friendly Local Game Store (LGS)! You can sign up for a Prerelease event in-store or even online (provided your store has a website which allows you to do so). Smaller stores may have a limited number of spaces available, so you’ll want to sign up as early as possible if you want to take part in an event.

Prereleases are fun, exciting, and much more casual than almost any other Magic tournaments. There will predictably be some more competitive players that will have laboured over the card gallery prior to arriving hoping for that competitive edge, but those players will fortunately be in the minority. Most players at a Prerelease will be reading the cards for the first time at the event and discovering the set the same way you are: By playing at the Shadows over Innistrad Prerelease.

Everyone will be reading everyone else’s cards, everyone will inevitably be making mistakes, and everyone will be helping each other out as they navigate this return to Innistrad. If you’ve ever wrestled with the desire to dive into a more competitive environment but were unsure of when or how to start, I cannot recommend Prereleases any more than I already am. You should absolutely attend one.

 

IMAGE - STRANGER - Ryan Pancoast - Kindly Stranger

 

The First Rule of Prerelease Club

Fellow Bag of Loot contributor Kyle A Massa wrote an article on Monday with some useful Prerelease advice to keep in mind should you decide to attend one. I would highly recommend checking out his article before continuing here.

In addition to Kyle’s tips, here are a few things I have found to work for me. These tricks have aided me for most Limited events: From Prereleases to FNM Drafts to Grand Prix. Keep in mind, you don’t have to do any of these, but I’ve certainly found that doing a few – if not all – of them make events much more enjoyable and much less stressful.

1) Pre-sleeve Basic lands and bring them with you

 

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I’ve gotten into the habit of bringing my own Basic lands to Limited events which are already sleeved and ready to go. Bringing your own Basics allows you to forgo joining the mad rush at the land station which often resembles a travelling tour group at an All You Can Eat buffet.

Almost every LGS will have a land station with Basic lands ready for players but believe it or not, I’ve been to a few that didn’t. I’ve also been to LGSs that ran out of a certain land type.  One of the reasons stores will run out of Basic lands is that people often forget to return them at the end of an event. Those stores have to refill the land station and sometimes they simply run out of Basics (unless players donate lands to them). Not only does bringing your own Basics help your LGS, not needing to return your Basics at the end of the event is one less thing you’ll have to remember to do before leaving.

Having your Basics pre-sleeved also cuts down on sleeving time and allows you more time to read your new cards during deck building. I often see newer players frantically sleeving their decks during the first five minutes of round one because they took the entire allotment of time during deck-building to read all their cards, build their deck, and figure out their mana base. With your Basics pre-sleeved, you only need to sleeve 22-23 cards instead of 40 and it makes an enormous difference.

Having your own Basics can be a form of personal expression as well. I know a number of players love their full art Basic lands. You can sleeve those and play with them at the Prerelease! Personally, I’ve been using foil Basics as my go-to Limited Basics. Inevitably, I’ll end up playing someone who asks: “Are your Basics foil?” Why, yes, yes they are. Thank you for noticing.

As a rule of thumb, I carry 12 of each Basic which means 60 in total. I keep them in their own dedicated deckbox. While there have been times when I’ve needed more than 12 of one particular type of Basic land, those times have been few and far between.



2) Bring snacks and drinks and remember to eat

I’ve been to Prerelease events with anywhere between 4 to 6 rounds plus the time it takes for deck building, (which is usually anywhere between 30-45 minutes). Roughly speaking, you’re looking at a 4-5 hour event. Some stores will hold up to six Prerelease events over the weekend. I’ve done six event marathon weekends before: They’re very tough… Especially if you forget to eat.

Some LGSs have in-store eateries you can purchase food from. Most don’t, so be sure to bring snacks with you or, at the very least, make sure you know where you can purchase food nearby. It is very easy to forget to eat when you’ve been concentrating on Magic for a few hours and getting lost in friendly discussions of new cards. Making sure you’re well fed is not only healthier, but will keep you fresh which will allow you to play better. Keep this in mind if you’re thinking of doing multiple Prerelease events, especially if those events are on the same day.

I would also highly recommend bringing water with you to keep yourself hydrated. Make sure your water bottle is distinctive enough to be easily identifiable in case you misplace it at the event. A good water bottle should be easy to carry and must be resealable. The last thing you want is to accidentally pour water all over your brand new cards or worse, the cards of those sitting around you.

 

3) Pace yourself

Attending multiple prerelease events is a blast until they end and the adrenaline that’s been pushing you through the day comes crashing down. You will have been challenging yourself with complex lines of play and multiple convoluted calculations over numerous lengthy matches. When all is said and done, you will be exhausted.

With this in mind, try to make sure you’re well-rested before attending events. If you want to challenge yourself by participating in multiple events, that’s fine, but understand what you’re getting yourself into. You’re looking at somewhere between 8 to 10 hours of Magic per day.

Remember that you don’t have to do all the events. Nor do you have to finish all the events. After two losses, your chances to win prizes decreases tremendously, so if you’re tired and need to drop to get some rest, no one will fault you for it. I’ve seen players push themselves too hard to marathon through events and those players end up getting sick. Even worse, they’re miserable through the Prerelease, which is the exact opposite outcome you’re hoping for when attending.

Know yourself and your limits. If you’re getting to a point where you’re not having fun, don’t be afraid to turn it in for the day.

 

IMAGE - WREATH - Jason Engle - Wreath of Geists

 

My Zombie Pappy Always Used to Say…

Those first few days playing with a new set is incredible and getting the chance to do so with a bunch of like-minded players is exhilarating. If you happen to be in the Montreal area, this is your friendly reminder that Three Kings Loot will be hosting their own Shadows over Innistrad Prerelease events this weekend! If you’re interested in attending one (or more!), you can preregister at the store or online here. As always, if you liked this article or have any questions, feel free to leave a comment in the Comments section below! I wish you all a wonderful Prerelease!

JP Vazquez – Optimum Jank

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Kyle A Massa - March 28, 2016

5 Quick Prerelease Tips

Heir-of-Falkenrath
Play the Ten Drop – 5 Quick Prerelease Tips


Ah, the prerelease. The first time we get to play with those shiny new cards. It’s also one of the few times of the year that we get to play Sealed deck (which may or may not be an exciting prospect, depending on your tastes.) Eh, whatever
––just hope for a bomb.

If you’ve never been to a prerelease before or just want a refresher, here are some quick tips, tricks, and suggestions for having a good time!

 

Do a Little Research Beforehand

You’ve probably already checked out the spoiler, but it never hurts to go a little deeper. Consider the strengths of the colors, the possible synergies, the cards you’d be thrilled to open and the cards you’d rather not see. For instance, if you made a vampire deck, it might help to consider a hypothetical ratio of discard enablers to madness spells. This helps for faster and better deck construction.

 

Find Your Bombs

Sealed deck, more so than draft, is a bomb driven format. A bomb is basically a card that, if unanswered, will win you the game by itself. Think Archangel Avacyn, Arlinn Kord, Sigarda, Heron’s Gracethose kinds of cards.

A word of warning: don’t be deceived by rarity. Despite the above examples, a rare (or even a mythic rare) does not a bomb make. Altered Ego is a great example. Sure, it’s a big, splashy spell with a unique effect, and it’s rare. But is it the kind of card that’s going to win you the game all by itself? Eh, probably not.

 

Be Kind

I see a lot of new players showing up for prereleases, which is outstanding. I think it’s because prereleases are generally a little less intimidating than, say, Modern tournaments. People are usually pretty laid back about the whole thing.

That said, I still see experienced players being totally unforgiving at prereleases. They just roll the new players and then walk away.

Am I saying that you should let the new player win? No, absolutely not. You paid good money to play, so you absolutely have the right to play hard and win. Furthermore, if you let the inexperienced player win, they’re not really learning how to play and they’re not getting any better.

However, if you notice that your opponent made a huge mistake in games one and two, you can definitely try to give a little advice. A lot of new players will appreciate it. You can say something like, “Hey, I’ve found that this works pretty well,” or, “I tried doing this and I love it.” Sometimes it’s tough to give advice without sounding like a know-it-all, but it can make a huge difference.

 

Throw Out Your Packaging

Maybe this is just a pet peeve, but packaging always seems to gravitate toward the middle of the table, where it clumps and turns into a gigantic mess for the store owners to clean up. You might say, “Who cares? They can just throw it out.” And sure, they can. But remember that these people are giving you a place to play Magic every week, and that they work long hours for not a whole lot.

Do them a favor. Show your appreciation by walking to the trash can and throwing out the wrappers. It’s not that hard.

 

Have a Good Time

I think this one’s pretty self-explanatory. Magic is the best game there is––but it’s still just a game. Just go and have some fun. If you win, you win, and if you lose, you lose. The most important part is having a good time.

 

In Parting…

Have any amazing prerelease stories? Did you flip your Westvale Abbey into Ormendahl? Did you make a successful investigate deck? Did you kill someone with Triskaidekaphobia? Tell us your prerelease story in the comments below!


By Kyle A. Massa – Play the Ten Drop

You can reach Kyle at @mindofkyleam on Twitter or through his site www.kyleamassa.com

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Kyle A Massa - March 18, 2016

Optimizing Your EDH Fun

Play the Ten Drop – Optimizing Your EDH Fun

By Kyle A. Massa

evacuation

When most people sit down to play a game, they play to win. That axiom is true of sports, video games, board games, and, of course, Magic.

But I’ve been playing Magic for thirteen years now, and the more I play, the more I see what makes the game special: you don’t always need to win to have fun.

No other format illustrates this notion better than Elder Dragon Highlander. For those who don’t know about the format’s origins, a bunch of judges dreamed it up to pass time between rounds at tournaments. If there’s one tenant which EDH was built upon, it’s casual fun.

Now when we talk about fun in EDH, it’s not just about you having fun. It might be fun for you to pull off one of your numerous Niv-Mizzet combos and wreck boards. But how fun is that for your three friends? Or what about that Derevi stax deck you have that taps down the whole board, destroys lands, and generally makes life miserable for everyone? Sure, you’ll win most games with it. But if your idea of a good time is slowly killing your friends, you probably won’t have friends to play with for much longer. Also, you might be a sociopath.

Instead, why not try something that’s fun for the whole table?

Let me give you an example. I built a Zedruu the Greathearted deck a few years ago that focused on giving away the absolute worst permanents you could think of. I’m talking stuff like Grid Monitor, Aggressive Mining, Statecraft––basically, R&D’s cruel jokes that somehow made it through to release. The deck played well and won me plenty of games.

But here’s what I began to notice––first off, no one liked to play against it. In fact, my friends would groan whenever I took it out, and then they’d just start attacking me right away. The fun of those games seeped away because the objective for all my friends changed from “How do I win?” to “How do I not lose to the goat overlord?”

So I tried something new. I deconstructed my perfectly serviceable Zedruu deck and created something much…stranger, we’ll say. I added cards with Will of the Council on them, fun creatures like Arjun, the Shifting Flame, and just plain wacky stuff like Warp World. When making the deck, I went in knowing it wouldn’t win many games. But that wasn’t the point. The point of the deck was to make each game unpredictable, and fun––and not just for me.

So I brought my deck back, and when I took it out, I got plenty of groans again. And then on turn two, I played Liar’s Pendulum, which is definitely not what one might call a competitive card. Everyone knew something was different.

After we played, all anyone wanted to talk about was the Zedruu deck and how much fun it was to play against. They loved the interactive cards, the way I gave away fun creatures, and how they felt challenged––but noticeably not frustrated––when playing against it.

And it was a funny thing. I didn’t win the game. In fact, I didn’t even come close to winning. If you judged the deck on game performance alone, it was horrendous. But, that being said, I and my friends  actually had more fun playing with the ostensibly worse version of the deck.

Thanks again, goat lady. You’ve given us all so much.

To reiterate, there’s nothing wrong with playing to win. You wouldn’t show up to a GP with a Hedron Archive deck, right? (Well, actually, I might do that, but that’s not the point.) All I ask is that you try building an EDH deck that’s main focus isn’t killing everyone immediately. You might be surprised at what you find.

Here’s a decklist for those interested in trying it out!

 

By Kyle A. Massa – Play the Ten Drop
You can reach Kyle at @mindofkyleam on Twitter or through his site www.kyleamassa.com

 

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Bruce Gray - March 10, 2016

Why All the Salt?

Magic the Gathering Etiquette

Casual Encounters – Magic the Gathering etiquette

by Bruce Gray 

This is going to be a bit of a departure for me. Usually I spit out some new janky brews, or crack a pack and check out the art. Today I am going to focus on how we, as players, treat each other when we play and why we can’t avoid being salty when we lose. I’m not going to propose any great solutions, but I hope to provide a little food for thought and perhaps urge each of us to be just a little kinder when we sit down to play. I think a little Magic the Gathering etiquette is order.

In one of the many online forums that I routinely check out I came across the story of a player out at his local LGS on the weekend. They were playing in a Standard tournament of some sorts and he was playing Dark Jeskai, one of the premiere decks of the format right now. His opponent was on some sort of a home brew and took game 1. However, the player on the Dark Jeskai deck side boarded correctly for the match-up and won games 2 and 3. At the the end of the match the losing player said some hurtful things and really demonstrated their “salt”. Now, for those new to Magic, “salt” is the common term given to being particularly unhappy and/or grouchy about the eventual outcome of the game. It could be anything from some sour comments, refusing to shake hands, telling your opponent that they were lucky, insults, to name a few.

Now, I hardly know the player who was insulted at the end of the match but I felt like the story proved to be a very interesting exchange if only because it seemed so unwarranted. Sure, we’ve all been a little salty at times, but the exchange recounted by this player seemed like it crossed the line and it got me thinking. Why DO we say such things to each other?

 

 

Why we get Salty

The simple answer is because we are emotional creatures. Humans are defined by our emotions and how we choose to control them. Some people cry when they get emotional. Others get angry. Yet more laugh. Other people do all three, or do none and do something totally different. But we as humans all have emotions and we use these emotions to help us when we act. We can funnel those emotions into energy and heightened states of alertness. We can use those emotions to help us better understand the grief of our family and friends in times of great turmoil. Our emotions can be hugely powerful and immensely useful to us and one of the most important elements in each of our personalities.

However, to claim that we say mean and hurtful things to each other simply on account of our emotions does not do us enough credit. We can control our emotions and harness those powers when it suits us. Heck, as a teacher, I spend a good portion of my day helping young people channel their emotions to help with their learning and to learn how to treat each other in a respectful way. So, I refuse to accept that we let our emotions get the better of us when we play Magic when all day we keep those emotions in check while at school, at work, and even at play. So, what is different about playing Magic that we see and experience such negative sportsmanship?

My personal belief is that people get so emotionally and intellectually invested in Magic that they lose their filter and ability to control their emotions. The process of building a deck, any deck, and then taking it out to play against others is an intensely cerebral activity. We all like to think of ourselves as clever and that we have found that secret mix to make our prized deck that champion deck. Because it is so intensely cerebral and an environment where you essentially pit your wits against theirs there is a strong element of pride inherent in any match. When your deck fails to allow you to conquer the problem at hand, namely defeating your opponent, you feel betrayed and deeply wounded. And the closer you perceive the match up, the more the wound hurts.

So, after we’ve got the cerebral and intellectual component of Magic out of the way there are a few other factors that can push a player towards engaging in some pretty unsavoury behaviour. Once you sprinkle in a little competition, some variance, and more than a healthy dose of stress in a tournament things can really get out of control. The combination of all these elements, along with the intellectual challenge of the game, and suddenly you have a very volatile situation that is just ripe for some salty exchanges. Now, we have heard horror stories from sports where many of these same factors can impact the participants, but the one thing missing from Magic is the adrenaline rush from an athletic pursuit can produce. However, even without the massive adrenaline rush Magic has many of the same elements to produce some really nasty exchanges. If you’ve been around this game long enough you have probably experienced some.

 

 

To the people who experience others being Salty.

Now, as someone who is on the receiving end of one of these exchanges you have a couple of options. You could take the bait and engage in the same salty behaviour right back. However, name calling and insulting one another has never been a very good solution to solving anything. You need to recognize that your opponent is experiencing a mix of all these variables all at once and isn’t controlling his or her emotions very well at the moment. By not reacting to the exchange or by letting your opponent know that it really isn’t necessary to take this in the direction they are taking it would allow the exchange to end as soon as possible. Perhaps having a chance to speak with them later might yield better results, particularly if you are in a smaller environment like an LGS. If you feel very strongly about it you could speak to a member of the judge staff or store owner and see if they can help. You might find that the player in question is guilty of this regularly and steps can be taken to address.

The long and the short of it is that you need to treat that disrespect with the respect that the person deserves regardless of how they are behaving at the moment. That’s hard. I know. I spent 20 years refereeing ultra competitive hockey and to have people yell obscenities in my face day in and day out was tough to take, but sinking to their level helps exactly no one. Treating their disrespect with respect does not make it ok to engage in salty behaviour and you are not endorsing it, but what you are doing is not making a bad situation worse. It goes against all our instincts to sit there and take it and try to be reasonable, but in the long run it is ultimately what is going to make this ugly situation come to a conclusion more quickly and let you get back on with trying to enjoy your Magic experience that day.

 

 

To the Salty players out there in the multiverse

I like to believe that most people are inherently reasonable and that if we ask those reasonable people to try and reflect on their actions they will usually come around. If you are one of those people who tends to get on the salty side I am going to ask that you keep a few things in mind before you say something. I am going to ask that you remember that Magic is ultimately a game. It is played for fun. Sure, there are times when the stakes are higher, but at its core Magic is a game designed to be fun for both players. If you feel like you need to say something that is going to be insulting or derogatory towards your opponent remember that they are a human being, just like you, and they have feelings and may not be appreciative of whatever hurtful comment you are about to make. If you have said something that is hurtful or intended to hurt them then you are in the process of ruining their experience and their fun, something that you have absolutely no right to do. Go outside, vent to your friends, take a walk down to the corner store and buy a bottle of water, but don’t sit there and ruin their event too. I know, it’s so tempting to say something and try and stick it to them. Those competitive juices make you want to get that last word in edgewise, but the effect on your opponent, and Magic as a whole, can be very negative. Sure, maybe they slough it off, but maybe they can’t. You owe it to them to bite your tongue and move on.

Of course at the end of the day you can only control your own actions. If you run into someone who is a little salty it is your own actions that will dictate how the exchange will be in the end. You will ultimately come out ahead if you let them say what they want and then let them move on. If they can’t hurt you because you have your own “shields” up then they can’t touch you and it is easy to treat that disrespect with respect. Don’t give them the satisfaction of being hurt by that thing they just said. Should they be behaving like that? No. Not a chance. But by not taking the bait you have only made the situation worse. No, bite your tongue and don’t let “that guy” spoil your fun.

Why so salty playmat

Playmats offerered at Three Kings Loot

Thanks for taking the time to stop in and have a read. Like I said at the start, I don’t really have an answer or an ultimate solution. However, hopefully if even one player reads this and takes pause to reconsider what they say when they play then I have helped a little bit. It’s no fun to have someone get all salty with you and no one should really have to put up with it. Let’s see if we can all help make our MTG communities a little bit better for everyone. Let’s show a little Magic the Gathering etiquette amongst our colleagues and fellow players.

Take care and be sure to stop by next time for another Casual Encounter.

 

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791 on Twitter

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Dan Erickson - March 3, 2016

How To Save Time and Confuse Your Opponent

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How To Save Time and Confuse Your Opponent

By Dan Erickson

“High roll?” These are often the first words spoken to or by an opponent, (although they should always, of course, be preceded by a friendly greeting.) These words are generally said while holding two D6 or a D20, sometimes even while starting to roll. We all know what they mean, and why our opponent is doing this, but let’s break it down using every Magic player’s best friend: The Comprehensive Rules (last updated January 16, 2016).

“103.2 After the decks have been shuffled, the players determine which one of them will choose who takes the first turn. In the first game of a match (including a single-game match), the players may use any mutually agreeable method (flipping a coin, rolling dice, etc.) to do so.”

So what does this mean? It means that saying “High roll?” is actually the player saying “Do you agree that we are going to be determining who gets to choose who starts the game by rolling these dice?” Exciting!

Another important part of that sentence is the term “mutually agreeable method.” Prior to actually reading this section of the rule, I had assumed that random had to be part of it, but apparently not! Theoretically, you could determine who gets to start by arm-wrestling, having a singing contest, or by who can eat the most ghost-peppers before passing out. Heck, you could even play another game of Magic (although to stay consistent you would obviously need to play another game of Magic to decide who started the deciding game, and so on and so forth until the universe just collapses in on itself.)

Let’s be clear: I’m not actually advocating that you should do any of these things, and I’m sure the spirit of the rule is that the method should be quick and random. But a small part of me imagines a universe where all games of magic devolve into Shahrazad-like ridiculousness, and that part of me smiles.

Right, so aside from advising you not to pointlessly exploit a loophole you didn’t know about for absolutely no reason, why bring this up at all? Good question! We all just assume that high-rolling is the only way to determine who has the choice to go first, but it’s not! And now that we know that, what if there were better ways to determine this? Ways that still kept within the spirit of the rule (quick and random) but were more efficient! Wouldn’t that be great? (Spoiler alert: it would be.)

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Dan’s Top 2 mutually-agreeable methods of determining who gets to decide who goes first


#2
Rock Lobster, Paper Tiger, Scissors Lizard

This method is used by a friend of mine, and while it takes more time than #1, it definitely has style. First, obtain a Rock Lobster, Paper Tiger, and Scissors Lizard and sleeve them (we’re not Barbarians, after all.) Next, put all three face down in front of your opponent, and have them pick one for themselves and one for you. You then both turn your cards face up at the same time (for dramatic effect, of course.) Who ever wins gets to decide. Yeah! And if you’re not sure who wins, ask someone who actually had a childhood whether rock beats paper or not. Geez.

 

#1 Odd or Even

This method still involves using one of the fancy polyhedrons you brought with you, but using superior dice-rolling technology we ensure that only one player rolls one die once! No more rerolls because of ties, no more rerolling the reroll while saying “wow, what are the odds.” Just a brief moment of confusion while you ask your opponent “Odd or Even?” and then sweet sweet Magic the Gathering time! It’s fast! It’s efficient! It’s the new sensation that’s sweeping the nation! Reinvigorate your pre-game seconds with Odd or Even! For even more value, feel free to make as many puns as possible depending on your opponent’s choice and the result (“Hmm, odd choice. Who knew, you can even!”)

 

Dishonorable Mention: Poker Dice

Want a more complicated and less efficient method involving more dice? Of course you don’t, because you’re a reasonable individual. Don’t be the Poker Dice person. I love Poker and have played it for years, and even I don’t want anything to do with Poker Dice before a game. Poker Dice: Not Even Once.

Wheel-Of-Fortune

And there you have it! A comprehensive (or at the very least, comprehensible,) list of some spicy new pre-game deciders that are both more efficient and more fun than seeing who rolls higher. They also both have the added benefit of not triggering that guy who always insists that you re-roll a different D20 because Spindowns aren’t random enough. Everyone wins!

Dan Erickson
@erickson_dan on Twitter

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Kyle A Massa - February 25, 2016

10 Bold Predictions for the Future of Magic: The Gathering

1000_Quiet_Speculation
10 Bold Predictions for the Future of Magic: The Gathering

by Kyle A. Massa – Play the Ten Drop

One of my favorite things about Magic: The Gathering players is our unwavering interest in what lies ahead. No sooner is a new set spoiled than speculation begins for the next one, and the next, and the next.

I’m right there with all you speculators. To me, there’s nothing more fun than trying to guess the theme of the next set, or which mechanics they might use, or whether we’ll see yet another version of Jace.

So, without further ado, let the Speculation begin…

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1. The enemy fetch lands will make their return…but not in Shadows Over Innistrad

I hate to start with a downer, but I’m pretty certain of this one.

Why? Well, for one, let’s think of the enemy fetches from a marketing standpoint. Wizards is trying to make as much money as they can with their new products, which means they’re more likely to print cards that they know people will want to go out and buy.

Thing is, because of the success of original Innistrad, Wizards of the Coast (WoTC) already knows that the sequel will sell, regardless of what they put in there. So why would they add must-have items to an already must-have set? I think it’s much more likely that these cards will appear in a new, unfamiliar world, similar to what they did in Khans of Tarkir. That way, WoTC can be sure that players will buy the new set, even if the world is unfamiliar.

Furthermore, they’ll never allow all ten fetches to be in Standard at the same time. I mean, at that point, you’d have to think of a reason not to play five-colour good-stuff…

2. We’ve seen plenty of sequel blocks…so what about prequel blocks?

Wouldn’t you want to see the story behind Karn‘s creation of Mirrodin, or a set exploring the formation of Ravnica‘s original guilds, or the true story behind Nicol Bolas‘s summer reading projects? Enter the prequel block.

This is not totally unprecedented. Just look at Fate Reforged, which depicted Tarkir 1,200 years before the Khans, or Magic Origins, which told the stories of the core planeswalkers before they were planeswalkin’. Personally, I think a prequel block would be super fun–so long as there’s no equivalent character to Jar-Jar Binks, that is.

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3. Emrakul will return, only this time on a planeswalker card

The fact that Emrakul wouldn’t appear in the new Zendikar block was probably the worst kept secret since Oath of the Gatewatch (because of all the leaks…get it?). It seemed like every other flavor text on Battle for Zendikar cards read something like, “Hey, haven’t seen that freaky jellyfish in a while. Wonder where he is.” Also, it’s been hinted that he has the ability to travel to different planes.

We get it. He’s not on Zendikar. Which would mean he’s on another plane. Which would mean he’s a planeswalker.

Well, not so fast. Wizards has said that Emrakul isn’t actually a planeswalker. But if the dude’s walking from plane to plane, how else do you express that in-game if not with a planeswalker card?

4. Elspeth Tirel is not really dead

Was Gandalf really dead? Or Captain Barbosa? Or any character in any comic book? The only thing more fun than killing a beloved character is bringing them back in glorious fashion, which is exactly what they’re going to do with Elspeth. ‘Nuff said!

5. Someday, we’ll have a steampunk-themed set

WoTC has already played with this aesthetic a little bit with the Izzet guild of Ravnica, but I think there’s still plenty of interest among players. I mean, ever since William Gibson’s Neuromancer, this has been a popular subgenre of speculative literature. Who wouldn’t want to see a set full of cities in the clouds, airships, complex contraptions, and ridiculous goggles? If enough players are interested, they’ll make it.

6. We Will See Wedge-Colored Gods in the Sequel to Theros Block

Of all the predictions on this list, this one’s my favourite.

First of all, let’s look at this from a story standpoint. We’ve already established that gods can be made and gods can be destroyed––just ask Xenagos. So when we return to Theros, what if we find that all the previous gods have been overthrown and replaced with new gods, gods that represent not just one or two colors of magic, but three?

Come on. You know this would be awesome. They’d have something like 10 devotion in order to turn into creatures, and then another bunch of wacky abilities to go with it.

Furthermore, players love the wedge theme. Head Designer Mark Rosewater said in his podcast that a wedge set was one of the most requested sets around, which is why they made Khans of Tarkir. Plus, the original Commander set featured wedge commanders, many of which are still very popular today. This prediction might not pay off for a while, but I’ve got my fingers crossed.

kamigawa-minamo

7. Speaking of returns…we’ll return to Kamigawa, and soon

The new two-block paradigm proves one thing to me: we’ll see a lot more return blocks. Heck, we’ll already have back-to-back returns this year alone. And that’s awesome––with so many amazing worlds in the backlog, why not revisit them?

But you might be wondering this: why Kamigawa? That block wasn’t quite so amazing.

I’d have to agree with you there. It was sort of a train wreck, only with ninjas, samurais, and weird anthropomorphic rat people. The cards don’t play well outside of the block, and there are so many legendary creatures that it almost ruins the whole point of legendary creatures.

However, purely from a worldbuilding standpoint, there’s a rich template there. And, just when you thought they’d abandoned that world altogether, Kaseto comes along in the new Commander product. To paraphrase the great Bill Engvall: “There’s your sign.”

8. The Commander release after next will be Four-Colored Commanders

Sigh. This is probably my least favorite prediction on the list, but also the most likely. Actually, when asked about this very subject on his blog, Mark Rosewater wrote, “the question is ‘when’ and not ‘if.'” They did enemy colors in 2015, so I’m guessing they’ll do allies for 2016, and then off to four colors.

EDH is my favorite format, so I’ve got to admit, I’m a little nervous for this one. The flavor for quad-colored cards seems exceedingly difficult to get right. Case and point: the Nephilim from Dissension. In my opinion, the Nephilim kind of capture the feel of three of their colors, but there’s always that fourth color that might as well not be there.

On the bright side, I think we’re in a golden age of Magic. Design and story have never been better than they are now, which gives me hope for this one. Let’s see what happens.

exploding borders

9. There will be some sort of bizarre planar clash set in the near future

I’m talking Lorwyn versus Zendikar, New Phyrexia versus Ravnica, Dominiaria versus Innistrad––stuff like that. War of the Worlds, Magic style.

Okay, I know it’s wacky. But this sort of thing isn’t totally unprecedented in Magic’s history, either. Time Spiral block played with older sets and planes converging. With New Phyrexia, we’ve also seen that old planes can reappear in new places.

And come on. Wouldn’t you want to see Squee take on Grimgrin? You know you would.

steamfloggerboss

10. Wizards will someday reprint Steamflogger Boss

Just to troll us.

In conclusion…

Hope you enjoyed this article! Am I  a visionary genius or simply insane? Let me know what you thought of the predictions in the comments below! And remember… always Play the Ten Drop.

By Kyle A. Massa – Play the Ten Drop
You can reach Kyle at @mindofkyleam on Twitter or through his site www.kyleamassa.com