Recoculous.com: Magic the Gathering Articles

How Death Will Change The Future of Magic: the Gathering August 4, 2011

Posted by James in : all, game rules, complecated rules, speculation , 18comments

Creatures can die and they can be destroyed. This is something new players will not be happy about. They don’t want to have to know the esoteric differences between the two. Even so, the new rule involving creatures dying can involve some interesting new mechanics. (more…)

DeQuan Watson’s Big Deck: A Magic Format April 11, 2011

Posted by James in : all, game rules , add a comment

In 2005 DeQuan Watson discussed a Magic format he called “Big Deck.” I found out about this format because I know someone else thought of the exact same idea except he only used one of each card. The idea is basically just to play Magic with one big deck instead of requiring players to have their own decks. It’s a great way to play Magic “off the top” given a moment’s notice. I am a big fan of this format, but I prefer for players to split the big deck into pieces. One big deck of 160 cards can be turned into up to four 40 card decks. A 320 card deck can be used for up to eight 40 card 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 , 8comments

What 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…)

Magic the Gathering FAQ June 30, 2009

Posted by James in : all, random, game rules, tips , 3comments

Find 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…)

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.

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More Rules Updates that We Need June 14, 2009

Posted by James in : all, random, game rules, theory, complecated rules, design , 1 comment so far

There 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 2010 Rules Updates & Dual Lands June 12, 2009

Posted by James in : all, game rules, complecated rules , 2comments

Updated (June 26, 2009)

There have been many rules changes to M10 (Core Set Magic 2010) and a few cards have been previewed. You can see the rules changes here. They will be effective when Magic 2010 is released (prereleased) on July 11, 2009. I will discuss the new dual lands, and each of the new changes here. (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 , 9comments

In 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…)

Unscrewed Part 3: Scimitar of Sharing November 25, 2008

Posted by James in : all, random, fake cards, game rules, theory, complecated rules, design , 6comments

After reading the reminder text for equipment, I noticed that it didn’t say anything about equipping several creatures to one equipment. This is what the reminder text for “equip” originally said: (more…)

Strange Rules Part 2 November 18, 2008

Posted by James in : all, random, game rules, theory, complecated rules, design , 12comments

Warning: This article is overly-complected. I have been looking for an excuse to overly-rationalize and justify something in an article about Magic. (more…)

5 Color Magic October 17, 2008

Posted by James in : all, game rules, rules variant , add a comment

When I lived in Berkeley CA I learned about an interesting format called “5 Color Magic.” You make a deck out of 250 cards, and you have to have at least 18 of each color. Multicolor cards can work towards only one color. The official rules can be found here.
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Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH) October 10, 2008

Posted by James in : all, game rules, rules variant , 4comments

I heard about the Elder Dragon Highlander (AKA Commander) format about a year ago, but I wasn’t yet sucked in. It was only in the last month that I decided to try it out. (more…)

Strange Magic: the Gathering rules September 11, 2008