Critique of “New” Magic the Gathering & Rise of Eldrazi April 16, 2010
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, reviews, previews, design , 6comments
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…)
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 , 2commentsThis 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…)
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…)
Wizards of the Coast and Profit September 13, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory , 4comments
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…)
Magic the Gathering is the Devil! (Is it Evil or Immoral?) August 23, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, webcomic , 7comments
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…)
Infinity: A Future Magic Set June 19, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, theory, reviews, previews, design, speculation , 4comments
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…)
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…)
Predicting Alara Reborn Part 3 March 17, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, theory, design, speculation , 4comments
We know two things about Alara Reborn. One, it will probably take place after the shards unite and become a new world. (Hence the name “Alara Reborn.”) Two, it is supposed to be very unusual. I will take a look at how it might be unusual. We believe that it will be unusual because of hints given by the design team of Wizards of the Coast. Aaron Forsythe gave a hint about Alara Reborn being a bit different when he said: (more…)
Shards of Alara & Conflux Critique March 10, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, design , 5commentsShards of Alara has a clunky design for playing in limited tournament events (draft and sealed deck). Consider the different themes and how they interact: (more…)
Alara Reborn Predictions Part 2 February 4, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, theory , 4commentsSince Alara Reborn is probably going to celebrate five color decks, it is possible that Wizards is already done with Triple Lands (for now). What else can be done to help you get domain? Five color lands with all five basic land types. I thought of two lands that have all five land types: (more…)
Conflux: First Impressions January 11, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, theory, reviews, previews, design , 3comments
The next set of Alara block is Conflux and we already have a partial spoiler that is quickly growing. Prereleases will be held on January 31 - February 1, 2009., and it will be officially released on February 6, 2009. Although some people speculated that there would be “new” three color shards introduced in each set, this was already denied by Wizards of the Coast. So I thought every set of Shards block was going to be permanently about the same 3-color shards. However, there was a twist. The block is transforming into a 5-color theme. We still have the same shards, but we have a lot of “5 color deck” stuff as well. (more…)
Shards of Alara Critique January 9, 2009
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, reviews, constructed, shards of alara block, limited, draft, sealed, design , add a commentWhether you are playing in a Shards of Alara Sealed tournament, Draft tournament, or block constructed tournament, there are some serious unprecedented problems that we face. (more…)
The Meta-Game December 30, 2008
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, reviews, design , 11commentsOne of the most important issue in Magic the Gathering is what decks are the most powerful. In particular, whether or not one deck is the “best deck.” Some people categorize the “best decks” as “the metagame.” Most people talk about “metagame” when they are interested in netdecking. The design team at Wizards of the Coast works hard day and night to prevent the game from only having one “best deck.” (When there is only one best deck, netdecking becomes too easy!) (more…)
Arbitrary Abilities December 23, 2008
Posted by James in : all, random, theory, reviews, design , 4commentsOne of the best parts of Magic the Gathering is the feeling of endless possibilities. The feeling that you can be creative an create an entirely new deck idea. One part of the game that is disrespectful to this fact are “arbitrary abilities.” What exactly do I mean by “arbitrary abilities?” I mean abilities or any part of the game that is “meaningless.” Things that do nothing by themselves and only exist to be part of a “combo.” Probably the best example of an arbitrary ability is “Arcane.” I will come back to this soon. (more…)
Is Magic: the Gathering Realistic? December 16, 2008
Posted by James in : all, random, game rules, theory, reviews, design , 5comments
Originally the creators of Magic prided themselves on making the game at least somewhat realistic. Here the word “realistic” does not refer to reality as we know it, but any sort of reality. Alternate dimensions where “magic” is real, for example. (more…)
Why Tribal is Terrible December 9, 2008
Posted by James in : all, random, game rules, theory, complecated rules, reviews, design , 5comments
When I first saw Tarmogoyf I noticed that some of the card types were from the future. “Tribal” was one of them. For some reason I didn’t make the connection that a tribal card already existed. Eventually I noticed that Bound in Silence was a “tribal” card. At this point I didn’t think much about it. “Tribal” seemed like an eccentric but modest mechanic that couldn’t mean much. (more…)
Strange Rules Part 3 December 2, 2008
Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, game rules, theory, complecated rules, design , 9commentsIn an attempt to make fun of Wizards for having Artifact Lands, someone thought that it would be a good idea to have Conglomerous: An everything land. The most shocking part of it was that it was a creature. This idea was posted here on the Unglued 2 forums. (more…)