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…)
What is Type 3? October 17, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, rules variant , 8commentsWhat is Type 3? Standard (Type 2) but without rares. That’s it. You can play the same cards that are allowed in Standard other than the rares.
Another name for Type 3 can be “Affordable Magic.” (more…)
Expect Smaller Print Runs & Higher Prices October 9, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random , 3commentsMagic 2010 was released a little bit at a time. Stores would only get so many booster packs at a time, and sometimes ran out of them when people wanted to play Magic 2010 booster drafts. The same thing is happening again with Zendikar. (more…)
Zendikar Review Part 1: Mana Fixing September 25, 2009
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, design , 4comments
The Zendikar Spoiler is complete, so I will now begin my Zendikar reviews, starting with mana fixing. Mana fixing comes in three forms. Color fixing, help with not enough mana, and help with too much mana. (more…)
Perverse Sexuality Art Awards September 15, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random , 1 comment so far
Some parents complained that the artwork on some Magic cards were too sexy. They didn’t want their children to know that human beings could be attractive or wear bikinis. This is the wrong way of thinking. What parents should complain about is when the artwork isn’t sexy enough. If children aren’t exposed to sexy pictures, they might attribute sexuality to something kind of scary. These scary pictures all compete for the Perverse Sexuality Art Awards. (Some perverse cards were already shown on my Easter Eggs post.) (more…)
Wizards of the Coast and Profit September 13, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory , 6comments
The bottom line of Magic: the Gathering is profit. It could have existed “just for fun” as a game you play on index cards, but that’s not what happened. This can be a good thing in the sense that it motivates stores to provide us with a place to play, it assures us that the cards look professional, it makes it possible for the cards to use original artwork and keep artists employed, it helps motivate people to provide us with tournaments, and it encourages the game developers to make us a great game. But being for profit can also come with baggage: There are certain tricks that can be played against us in order to encourage us to buy cards. I will discuss the fact that Wizards of the Coast seems more concerned about profit than usual, the positive consequences of the motivation for profit, and the negative consequences of the motivation for profit. (more…)
Why Magic Cards Are Worth So Much September 5, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, speculation , 2commentsThere at least seven main reasons that Magic cards are worth so much money: (more…)
Zendikar: The New Mechanic & The Returning Mechanic September 1, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, reviews, previews, design , 1 comment so farWe now know what mechanic has returned in Zendikar and we know what makes Zendikar such a dangerous place.
Warning: This article contains spoilers. (more…)
Magic the Gathering is the Devil! (Is it Evil or Immoral?) August 23, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, webcomic , 8comments
Is Magic: the Gathering immoral, evil, satanic, or unholy? Is playing Magic a sin? The following is my take on the morality and ethics behind Magic: the Gathering.
Some people think Magic: the Gathering is evil. You might have heard about how Dungeons and Dragons is evil and some of those same people like to stamp just about everything as “evil.” I remember seeing some kind of a national enquirer show like Entertainment Tonight that had a little 2 minute blurb about how Magic is a devil’s game with demon artwork. I thought it was pretty ridiculous and I dismissed it. But then some guy on the internet was making an argument that something was evil “just like Magic the Gathering.” Amazing. Someone actually believed it was evil. (more…)
100 Things I Learned From Magic the Gathering August 15, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random , 5comments
Updated August 16, 2009 with 50 more ideas.
Magic has much to teach us. Here are the first 100 things that come to mind: (more…)
Fake Cards & Alternate Art on Ebay July 23, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random , add a comment
Updated 8-8-2009
Selling Fake Cards & Alternate Art on Ebay is an exciting opportunity for artists… and others. There are at least 8 varieties of these cards:
- Extended art painted on a card.
- Textless art painted on a card.
- Creative art alteration.
- Creative art painted on a card.
- Irrelevant art painted on a card.
- Random girl painted on a foil land.
- Cards made in MSE.
- Picture pasted onto card.
Magic the Gathering FAQ June 30, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, game rules, tips , 3commentsFind out the answers to important questions, such as: How can I play Magic on the internet for free? How can I get free Magic Cards? What is the best budget deck I can make? How can I make my own cards?
After answering some questions on Yahoo Answers!, I noticed that some questions are more popular than others. Here are the answers to some of these questions. (more…)
Infinity: A Future Magic Set Part 2 June 26, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, design , 3commentsBefore reading this, you should take a look at Part 1.
What exactly will Magic look like 50 years from now? I’m not going to show my entire Infinity set here, but I will show enough cards that can give you a pretty good idea what the game will look like. (The rule of thumb: Four casting cost cards will have one casting cost instead.) (more…)
Why Aggro Decks Are Terrible June 23, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, reviews, strategy, constructed, design , 1 comment so far
I have made great creature-based aggro (aggressive) decks for years, but it has become increasingly more difficult to make a good aggro deck. You’d think Lorwyn would have been the ultimate savior of aggro with the huge power creep for creatures, but Wizards has simply not realized something: They can make creatures with almost unlimited power, and it won’t make a difference. The problem isn’t that creatures aren’t good enough. The problem is that anti-control is nonexistent. (more…)
Infinity: A Future Magic Set June 19, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, theory, reviews, previews, design, speculation , 6comments
In October 2008 I decided to make a satirical article series, The Power Creep, about what Magic will be like 50 years in to the future.
Then around February 2009 I started making an entire Magic set based on the Power Creep articles. I was very curious and perhaps a bit power hungry. What would Magic be like 50 years from now if my predictions were correct? What if moxes and Black Lotus were no longer over-powered? I wanted to know. (more…)
Unscrewed Part 4: Satanic Tutor June 16, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, game rules, complecated rules , 1 comment so far
One rule I don’t like: You can’t have another player’s cards in your hand. There is nothing fun about this rule and it limits design space. This is rule 217.1a:
If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner’s, it goes to its owner’s corresponding zone. If an instant or sorcery card would come into play, it remains in its previous zone.
More Rules Updates that We Need June 14, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, game rules, theory, complecated rules, design , 1 comment so farThere are more rules updates starting with M10 (Magic 2010) that haven’t been mentioned yet, and I will mention some of the rules that I wanted changed. Here is what Mark L. Gottlieb had to say concerning the M10 rule updates: (more…)
Magic 2070 Card Previews June 9, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, previews, speculation , 4comments
Here are all the latest Core Set previews:
- Magic 2070 Preview Cards Part 1 (6/3/09)
- Magic 2070 Preview Cards Part 2 (6/6/09)
- Magic 2070 Preview Cards Part 3 (6/9/09)
I posted about a couple of these preview articles earlier, but I decided I could show them all in a single place.
The power creep continues. Although the power level of cards can sometimes decrease, they tend to become more powerful as time goes on.
The power creep has been apparent starting with Kird Ape, and now continues with cards such as Wild Nacatl and Bloodbraid Elf. (more…)
