What Dark Ascension Should Have Been Like January 30, 2012
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I will introduce three new mechanics (and corresponding cards) that should have been in Dark Ascension: (more…)
How to Make Your Own Magic: The Gathering Set January 13, 2012
Posted by James in : all, random, design , add a commentI have discussed how to make your own Magic cards, and now I will discuss how to create your own Magic set. It can be a daunting task to create an entire Magic set (including 150 or more cards), but what I have to say might make it a lot easier. In particular, I suggest that you can make a Magic set one step at a time. Some steps are larger than others. There are five major steps required during the game design process: (more…)
My Top 5 Articles of 2011 January 2, 2012
Posted by James in : all, random , add a commentRecoculous.com isn’t as active as it once was, but I still had some interesting things to talk about. My personal top 5 for the site are the following: (more…)
Scars of Mirrodin Critique January 24, 2011
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Ravnica, Time Spiral, Lorwyn, and Eventide are my four favorite sets — I think they were well designed and well balanced (for draft and sealed events in particular). Scars of Mirrodin doesn’t quite live up to them, but it’s a well made set. I like it better than Shards of Alara and perhaps even Zendikar. I like the synergy found in Scars of Mirrodin, but I dislike (a) that there are only two major themes and (b) I don’t like how bombs affect the game. (more…)
The Other Power 9 December 19, 2010
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The power 9 is still the nine most expensive Magic cards, but they aren’t necessarily the most powerful. There are affordable cards worth $15 or less and just as good as other cards in the power 9. I will discuss the 9 most powerful cards that I believe meet this criteria best. If you want powerful cards for your cube or just to see what it’s like to play with powerful cards, these are the cards you need. (more…)
A Missed Opportunity for Poison? (Scars of Mirrodin) September 29, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random, design , 8commentsMark Rosewater explained why poison became the “infect ability” in his article, Something Wicked This Way Comes Part 3. R&D decided to make poison as different from a separate life total as possible: (more…)
Stealing & Magic: the Gathering September 9, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random , 7commentsThe worst crime against a Magic player that is actually relevant to being a Magic player is theft. You can and should take precautions against theft, but we also need to commit ourselves to be moral. We need to make a personal commitment to not to steal from others when given the opportunity. (more…)
Alpha/Beta PSD Template is Finished September 5, 2010
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You can now make alpha/beta cards using a PSD file (used with photoshop). This was created by xerent and posted on the MTG Salvation Forum on August 27, 2010. You can download the files here. (An earlier version of the template was used for many of my Power 9 Cards that Didn’t Make It Into Alpha.)
More information about making your own Magic cards can be found here.
Is Magic: the Gathering Evil? August 12, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random , add a commentI have read up a little more on why people think Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons, and Magic are evil. I posted my findings in Is Fantasy, such as Dungeons and Dragons or Harry Potter, Immoral? on my other website. (more…)
$5 Draft at Superstars (Downtown San Jose) August 1, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random , add a commentSuperstars is now offering a deal for each Friday Night Magic in August 2010. If you pay for your Friday Night Magic event and preregister for the main Saturday Standard event simultaneously, you can get to draft for $5 or play in a free Standard event. (Every Friday night you get to choose between drafting or playing Standard.)
Superstars was already giving $10 drafts on Friday Night, but this deal is even better.
Also, this Sunday August 8, 2010 Superstars is having a $10 sealed deck event with $1,000 of prizes. (more…)
Predicting the Future Part 1: Magic 2011 to 2019 June 16, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, reviews, previews, design, speculation , 2comments
The power creep continues to make Magic cards more powerful. I will be suggesting what cards I think we could be seeing any time now due to the fact that cards are getting more powerful and will continue to do so. These cards could appear in Magic 2011, and I expect to see them before Magic 2020. (more…)
Critique of “New” Magic the Gathering & Rise of Eldrazi April 16, 2010
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From Onslaught to Eventide was a golden age for Magic. The sets were extraordinarily very well balanced and fun for drafting and other limited events. Shards of Alara, Magic 2010, and Zendikar missed the mark. What about Rise of Eldrazi? I will examine the design flaws of each of these sets and give my first impressions for Rise of Eldrazi. (more…)
Who is Timmy? January 10, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random , add a commentWe should all know who Timmy, Johnny, and Spike are. In particular, they all enjoy playing Magic for different reasons:
- Timmy wants to “experience something.”
- Johnny wants to express himself and be creative.
- Spike wants to win through skill.
My Top 10 Articles of 2009 December 30, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random , add a commentI have now had a website with regular updates for over a year. I was usually able to think of something I wanted to write every week, and I have no idea how I do it. It might not last forever. Not only have I had many updates, but sometimes I have something interesting to say. You probably don’t want to read everything that I write about, so I will let you know my favorite 10 articles of 2009. (more…)
Why We Like Magic December 20, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory , 5commentsMark Rosewater describes how different people play Magic for different reasons. He has three main categories of people who play it for different reasons: Timmy, Johnny, and Spike. Timmy wants to “experience something.” Johnny wants to be creative and express himself. Spike wants to play because of the competition. The problem with these categories is that Spike doesn’t good reason to play Magic instead of some other game, such as Poker, Chess, Go Fish, Uno, War, and so on. Spike can be competitive at other games, and Chess would actually reward his skill level more than Magic. Here are some real reasons to want to play Magic instead of the other games out there:
- The game looks cool.
- The game creates its own story.
- It helps to know what you are doing.
- There is a random element.
- You can make your own deck.
Magic the Gathering Etiquette Part 2 December 6, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory , 8commentsThis is a list of my personal etiquette rules for Magic: the Gathering. These are rules of thumb based on my personal experience. They are only rules to follow “if you want to have good etiquette” and/or “want to make Magic: the Gathering more fun.” (An obligation of etiquette is only a requirement to have good sportsmanship.) (more…)
Magic: the Gathering Etiquette November 26, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory , 4commentsThe main reason to play Magic is to have fun, so etiquette demands that we constrain our behavior in order to make sure people can enjoy themselves. Not everyone will object to the same behavior, but there are some rules of thumb that will help “lead to the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people.” Although etiquette is not technically the same thing as morality, some actions of etiquette are “right” or “wrong” to a minor degree. There are at least three main categories of etiquette: obligations, above the call of duty, and indifferent. (more…)
Historical Progress of Magic November 16, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, reviews, design , add a commentWe experience a lot of progress in our personal lives. We evolve from someone willing to touch fire and walk into traffic into a much more reasonable kind of person. Society also has progress when it comes to technological improvements. What about Magic? Is Magic better now than it used to be? Consider the following points: (more…)
Why I hate Fetch Lands November 3, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, reviews, design , 13comments
When Revised was around, I decided that I should sell my dual lands for $5 each. They were worth too much money. Then when Ravnica came out the shock duals were worth around $20. That was pure insanity, and we had little choice but get them to play Magic because Ravnica was all about multicolor decks! (more…)
Wizards of the Coast Tried October 30, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, game rules, theory, design, speculation , 3comments
Zendikar has proven to have inadequate mana fixing. The inevitable advice for us is, “Play 18 or 19 lands in a 40 card deck!” Yes, that helps, but then you often end up drawing all lands the whole game. However, Wizards did try. They designed cards that would help with mana fixing, but those cards were rejected… and apparently they were never replaced with appropriate mana fixing. (more…)