2021 where hast thee been? vart hav they bean feedin ya!

 Wow.

I just realised this is thhe first and possibly last post for 2021

2021 has been a mostly disappointing year. For stuff going on IRL work that kind of thing.

But nothing we can't rectify. 

Just like we rectify in magic with BANS BANS BANS!!

kidding. Well not really.

WOTC now has this habit of printing over powered cards and then dragging their feet when it needs to be banned.

At least until they have bled the set dry.

Exaamples would Oko (rest in peace :p) and I am sure quite a few more, but the current elephant, no correction monkey in

the room is Ragavan.

Now it is debatable should Ragavan be the one to take the hit.

I like Ragavan. I like it alot. When I like them. They are usually bannable :p.

Ragavan, Murktide Regent, Oko, Uro, Wrenn.

So many. So bannable.

Now thing is, if you are already banning cards for power, it needs to be consistent, to mantain a power level.

If you do not wish to ban, then really you should let the format go to hell and let it burn. 

...

clue: it won't.

 it WILL balance itself out ... Just that not everyone will like the outcome.

Remember when I said the Eldrazi and Hoogak (oki maybe not the hoogak, I was mostly absent for Hoogak, saw a few matches, "I like it :D", and it was banned... ermmm... oki...) bans were nonsense.

Well what do you know? With MH1 and MH2, the meta and decks became unrecognisable.

It was mostly becos the power level for modern was low, it was'nt that Eldrazi or Hoogak was too strong (oki they were pretty good), but it was that modern was insipidly weak. Further, the last major tournament before Eldrazi got banned was won by

a coco combo deck. In a field of Eldrazi. That, my friend is the power and prize of innovation. Free RL lesson there (cos in real life things don't just get banned when you cannot take the heat :p).

So what happen with Modern was with the influx of MH1 and MH2, the power levels shot up. Just read the reviews, people love it! At least, people who bought into MHX.

So modern, many seem to like it. I can tell you why, cos the decks are way closer in power level to legacy :)

Welcome to legacy bois and gals.

For Legacy however, the power got ratcheted up. Again.

Usually thats not a problem. Since the problem kinda sits there till it got solved. See Necro Summer, Tolarian Winter?Spring? I dunno, and even Eldrazi Winter, but that got cut short.

But well Legacy got ALOT of interest and you can see dual lands being bought out et cetera. Modern players are shifting over...

and we start to see bans.

It started with Oko.

Then we saw a few more.

And now currently its Ragavan.

I am oki with Ragavan going actually, its just another one to go, possible for the better since we ARE already banning stuff.

The problem as always is too much product, creating a huge churn and influx of cards. And no magic players are not particularly smart, you can tell from the way they rather whine than find solutions. But to be fair, time is not given to solve the problem. Seriously give it a few months, Ragavan will be still powerful but irrelevant. Not because it is not powerful but some other powerful card is revealed and interest waned (or people stop playing hoho).

Thing is if we want to stop banning cards. We need to f**king STOP banning cards. No excuses. No exceptions.

Ditto if we take te BAN path.

Else we get a nonsensical meta that is curated to some rando's whim. That is a meta I have no wish to be a part of.

chill people, have a good rest of the year :)

King Kat 2.0!!

This is an updated version of my ARENA cat deck, KINGKAT!!

I have added Ajani! King of the Kitties!

Well Ajani is pretty moderate to be honest. He is a good fit for the deck, Cat master and all, but he produces little pridemates! Awesome to be sure!

However as a kill plan, he is like superman and not like superman. He is like superman cos well he fits and plays to this deck pretty well. Gains life, makes pridemates and even his ultimate is relevant (this deck can go craazy with lifelink pretty quickly), so he is my onesided , albeit conditional, shatter the sky! But most of all he is like superman because... he is boring. He is one track and can attack only in a certain manner. He does not give me a new angle of attack and my opponent can see the game plan coming from far far far.... very far away (clue: its more of the same :p) which is actually also his plus point so its not that bad. Ajani, lets this deck do its thing with a bit more consistency. So its all good, like super ya. But he is not like super man for the very same reasons, he is just more of the same ... arguable suboptimal plan (hehe). Some planewalker drop and you know the game is kinda over. Liliana, Jace, Terferi, both big and small. But Ajani? Man. Its awesome that I cannot see my opponent in ARENA. I think he is probably giggling.

Oh well. I think I am shitting on Ajani pretty badly. I mean its not his fault that he was made for bad decks like mine :P


And oh ! This deck's highest run so far is up to Platinum tier 3 w00t! I am not sure if I can go all the way to diamond then mythic? But lets see. It is definitely getting harder as now I can drop from tier 3 to tier 4 0.o.

So lets see how it goes.

King Kat!!

So this is Cat deck that I just built on Arena.

Granted. How I built this was by buying a shit load of packs and then opening all at once.

Which is probably a stupid thing to but whatever. I just wanted to see whats in Ikoria and start durdling with the cards. I also partly wanted to see how far 99 USD gets me. Hmmm I actually can't really tell yet. But I think its bad :p.

Probably should do the 70 draft thing before ripping open all your packs.

Anyways my deck in any case is something simple. Its a Cat deck. And thank God, one of the rares is Kaheela, the Orphanguard. My companion of choice for this deck.

I kinda randomly spent 10 minutes with Cats as my theme, and stuck a bunch of removals and cats together and voila!

KING KAT!

My main removal is divine arrow (I hated that card in WAR, mostly cos it killed the Pengasus 0.0) but its cool here. The art is different.

It is mostly a rehash of Ajani Pridemate but with his cat buddies.

Now I do not think this deck is very competitive. It is probably extremely budget. You likely do not need to spend 99 usd, all that did was give me a full set of the commons I need I think :/

But I think right now I have the advantage of surprise? As the cards are still new, companion is new etc.

Oh did I mention the deck has squirrels? Yes! Squirrels! They either get first strike or flying. I normally go with flying since this deck is an offensive deck.

Pacifism is a welcomed tool. The charmed stray is this deck's life link bird that can grow biggar!! But without flying. But Kaheela pumps up the kitties ya, so its all good.

Light of hope has been an all star, from kill opponent creatures or doubling!! the damage output of the charmed stray (easy since it is just a 1/1) it is awesome. Plus it destroys enchantments and or can gain 4 life in a pinch and upgrade the pridemate at instant speed. Very awesome really.

Blade Banish and The Wanderer can suck at times when you face weenies or tymera the terrible? the 2/x demigod. But it has sucked less than it has not sucked. So far.

Anyways I think I need 1 sweeper. Unfortunately I did not open much theros so I do not have shatter the sky :(

Solid is footing is awesome.... until I cast Kaheela... which gives vigilance to all my kitties (and squirrels... oops nightmare).... then it kinda sucks so just be aware. Otherwise a flash permanent +1/+1 is pretty rad.

Last but not least Cubwarden is awesome with mutate. Essentially it is a hasty 3/5 when you mutate it on a creature. And then it makes more kitties w00t! Lifelinking too!

Overall I am in love with this deck so far.

Has Kaheela been oppresive? So far I think not... it makes my deck suck less, that is for sure. Having a 3cc 3/2 at my beck and call allows me to keep shady hands. Like all removal or some shit like that, since I KNOW I will have a threat. Then again so does my opponent. I think the creature and abilities will play out very differently depending on what they actually are and what deck they are fed in.

For instance for Kaheela, most times you do not need to play her as soon as you can. You can hold her back in case of a shatter the sky. Or you can go in for the kill if you happen to get a turn 3 4/4 lifelinker. (turn 1, kitty, turn 2 kitty + some +1/+1, turn 3 Kaheela!, turn 4 Cubwarden!)

So it gives flexibility and allows more playable hands.

Now of course not all companions will be so innocious. Some are higher powered (I still think Lurrus can be overcomed, I am an optimist :) ) . But probably WOTC need to think carefully about the IMPRESSION that companions will give on the outset before they are adapted to. Lurrus I fear is overly biased against to be saved. :(


At lease we still have Kaheela!


Disclaimer:
This deck probably sucks. I am normally not ambitious and will just keep losing till I meet someone who loses more than me. The wonderment of ARENA :p But I think magic is more fun when one can accept losses and change. And maybe that is for all the bruces out there to ponder about. In fact most veteran Legacy or Vintage players don't really care about the meta. It is already changing too fast. It is the Legacy boomers that have brought their bad habits from modern into Legacy and Vintage. :(

A Closer Look at Ikoria's Companion and Formats in general

I do not think Companion as is is broken.

Even as we see Lurrus run amok initially, there are signs that the other Companions are starting to see play. And more than that some decks are still 5-0  without companions (slivers?? and Gifts Storm and an Izzet Control deck, there could be more).

On the third point some may counter that 3 decks (unconfirmed but I think the number is really moot but I'll play along) is a pittance....

But my counter to that is that there are like half of those so-called broken Companion decks that are LOSING as well. Why don't ppl count them?? 0.o

Seriously ppl the bias is really comical. Bruces keep saying that Companion decks are winning and non-companion decks are losing but they keep cherry picking and mashing data to suit their narrative. Just like Eldrazi winter I guess.

Anyway.

I do not think Companion as is is broken.

In fact I think Companion is a very compelling concept.


I always felt the sideboard is a luxury. Thats what people do not realise, a sideboard is kinda already cheating. So if you feel a particular mechanic is broken... ermm yo'll wanna get rid of your sideboard and play fair? Sounds ridiculous right? Exactly. :P

Anyways ARENA kinda took care of that with the best of one with no sideboards. So I am a happy man.


Now why talk about sideboards, Companion obviously.


But thats why Companion feels broken.


It is your sideboard concept on steroids!


Now rewind back to Karn the Great Creator (henceforth KGC).

KGC is like a reverse companion, he literally fetches you a card from the sideboard at will!

BUT you still need to draw naturally into KGC to get the card. That is the "drawback" of being a card in your library (60 cards). That is the drawback of KGC

Fast-forward to Companion... do you see that they removed KGC and you straight up TUTOR the sideboard card?

That is the power inherent in the concept of Companion.


I know I know, I said I like companions and do not want them ban so why am I highlighting a very potentially bannable approach to looking at it.

I am highlighting because I do not think it is broken... yet. I do not think being able to play Lurrus at will once you hit 3 mana is very powerful. It is being able to play Lurrus once you hit 3 mana at will when your opponent's strategy is to board wipe you and hope you have no recourse after you stupidly overextended. Lurrus lets you come back!

What was the point of the para above? Lurrus is only good against certain decks in certain situations. At best, it lets you come back after being wiped, one permanent a turn. At worse it is a 3/2 with lifelink. Don't get me wrong, its a good card. But it is not the end of the world. It can be exiled, the graveyard can be hated on etc.

Aside:
(another point of irritation, ppl.... the sideboard is for you hate out stuff, yes sometimes a deck is dominant you hate on it, maybe an anti-deck arises... its not broken... it is exactly as it should be, it was like that since Necro, since Combo winter, thats what the bloody sideboard is for. And if you say players left then, well players are leaving now too! Thing is the people who cannot adapt will leave, and really this is for Hasbro and WOTC, do you think these people who will never change their deck will buy new products? Or the people who adapt? Seriously.)
End Aside.


So ya I am still pretty pro Companion and like the concept.

But I cannot deny that it is very powerful. So Lurrus is powerful because it is a tutorable effect that does not need a tutor !! Like you can now fetch a card at will without an in between card (like a tutor, e.g. vampiric tutor, demonic tutor etc). It is powerful when it is played against decks that are weak against it.

Now. What if for every sideboard option, you have a companion equivalent.

Thats why companion in its most pushed form, becomes a sideboard on steroids. If we think of a sideboard as a mechanic. You essentially bring in new cards (not in your 60) and you can only play them in your next game and you have the draw back of having to naturally draw into it (and at the cost of a card in your starting 60). Companion lets you have the card immediately.

Now. This is balanced by the fact that you can have only one companion (phew!). So at best you can only have one tutorable sideboard card. (I checked this here, https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Companion).
Now if you can have multiple Companions.. that would be interesting but would likely make more people unhappy :P

But as it is , you can only have one Companion and I think that is a good decision, else it will be even more powerful.

But as it is I think Companion is not broken, it is an advantage at the cost of a sideboard option. If you use Lurrus for example as a sideboard, then yes Lurrus is strong. But you play a random Companion, you get a tutorable creature, not the most impressive. So it is highly dependent on the ability of the Companion.

And again as is... it does not seem brroken yet. And Companion is a rather compelling design space that I hope will not fall victim to the Bruces out there 0.0

Over the next decade perhaps? WOTC should be able to make some really interesting cards using Companion. And conceptually it like a pet 0.0  I think that kinda is appealing too.



Now about Formats (now is just random rambling). This is something that came out as I thought about Companion. If people really hated it that much they could announce before a tournament will it be Standard or Standard+Companion. It will be essentially two formats =D

But why stop there? I believe eventually you will have custom formats. Already you can do this at a casual level with house rules etc. Imagine if the LGS can have its own ban list, and to not kill value, it can regularly shuffle up the list every few months. Now what about all them broken decks!! Should they not burn forever in Magic's Hell? Being a custom format means you can easily have a rule that says a deck cannot contain a certain combination of cards, so for instance if Hogaak and Faithless Looting are too broken together, you can ban this combination rather than ban the cards wholesale. So you diminish the deck. but you do not kill it. And you do not cause collateral damage to other decks.

Of course this would be a royal mess in terms of global deck building and more importantly for global tournaments. I mean if the format is so fluxxy, how are people going to prepare? Well first of all, remember in my last post, I hinted that part of the problem with the data and the meta in general is people just netdeck blindly. You see it in the Lurrus situation, people blindly netdeck and create and artificial bump in the meta numbers.

Aside rant:
 (and some idiots will say the meta is saturated with 30%, it stupid disingenious or moot, pick one. Even if it is 100%, it is moot until a few months and even then it is dependant on players not netdecking -- I have faith that in a few months the REAL brewers will actually come out with something - Hey during ELdrazi winter they actually did it in a few weeks, so ya, I do have faith in some of the Magic Community, kudos to those who keep the game alive by continuing to express your creativity! Go TEAM OATH ;))
End aside rant


So back to how it will be messy globally, well we can still keep standard, modern, legacy or whatever we have in future, and it is important to have these formats to allow WOTC to have a presence. But at the local level, maybe the LGS can be allowed to sanction custom formats. This will allow more flexibility and freshness in the meta. And most importantly. You cannot netdeck. haha. You can still look at the global lists and build a deck and if it fits the custom format, good for you. But if not? You gotta tweak it. I think this will force people to put more effort in deckbuilding and encourage more exploration of cards. It will also kinda obviate globally available lists to the point that you should be able to make the data irrevlevant. Why is that good? You cannot netdeck. haha. Really. Killing netdecking will save the game. It will also divide and conquer the bruces. Having flexible local custom formats will also allow LGS to make every one happy, ban hogaak for a month then next month is a hogaak special etc. Now this concept should not be that strange to gamers. Its like the old online game "mage" something where you build your kingdom, you can PVP other players but at the end of the year thhe server is reset. Think of the meta shifts as reset. (I think this is partly why alot of people get upset when their meta resets... it is normal to online oldish tech people (like myself)... imagine if Chess changed rules every few months !!)

Anyway thats about all I have to rant about today.

Is Ikoria broken?

The correct answer should be :

Currently nobody knows.

However already you already have the bruces baying for blood.

As per expectation, anything playable is deemed broken.

Even if nothing in particular is dominating... incredulously 0.o




Now my opinion:

Ikoria cards are NOT broken.


Now I feel that Ikoria cards can go two ways:

Current mass playing of cards is actually normal, sincefor every new set for the first month or two, people will use it willy nilly.

Whats more, the playbook s almost already written for how to use these cards, so its easy to use them.

Is that a problem? Apparently the usual whiners think so :(


Now the only difference between the past sets and now is that, the decks utilising the new cards are winning.

Does it mean the cards are good? Maybe.


Thing is, some decks are still not playing the cards but are 5-0.

And in fact for Vintage it looks like after thhe initial salvo of decks, there seems to be a drop in the number of decks actually sporting the new companion cards.

For legacy it is less clear.

But again this can g two ways and both with companion cards looking like the way they are now.

1) Its a fad. People are just testing it out.

Now I cannot tell you the number of times a new card is used does well, supposedly fits with a deck. The inexplicably, it is dropped about a month or two later.

I suspect this is what is happening with some decks in modern and legacy. Certainly in vintage.


2) It is actually good.

Now this seems to be the case for some decks in legacy. And I suspect this to be true too. But heres the thing, just because it beats the current decks does it mean it is broken?

Just because you need to play it to win, does it mean it is broken.

Just because you need to adapt, does it mean it is broken.

Now. We are only 2 weeks into Ikoria. Please... what adaptation has there been?

But yet you have jokers that are collating data to say the decks are broken.

Please read the post before this, to know my thoughts on that.

Esseentially, the data is just reflecting current interest in the new cards, and given the net decking addiction, you will see big numbers playing these decks.

Now I think Ikoria decks are truly not broken.

It is just that the companion cards are the new planeswalkers.

The only difference is that back in the days of Lorwyn, the whiners have not become thhe vocal minoriy that we see now. Back in the days of Lorwyn, the data of decklists are not ABUSED. Yes I use the word ABUSE. Because the way we use data is abnormal. Data should be used to finetune your decks. But we are just COPYING the decks.

Magic will DIE not from seemingly "broken" cards, but from the addled minds that cannot build new decks or adapt new decks.

Now why I think companion is not brooken? It is the new planeswalker. there is nothing to answer it. Already you can tell from what players are saying. It cannot be removed by standard modes of interaction, you cannot discard it, you might be able to counter it.  You cannot even cap it.

That it what makes it look "powerful". The fact that it is a new zone literally.

The solution is really to build answers.

The so called broken portion is thhe ability to play it from the sideboard. Once it can be interacted with , it will no longer be "broken" ....

So its not so much that companion is broken, it is more that a new zone of play has been opened and it is not fully developed. (Hence it currently cannot be interacted with).

Now.

Asumming the ability to play from sideboard, and hence "not being able to be interacted with" is so powerful. ANd you have to play it to remain competitive.

Does that mean it is broken 0.o ??


I mean this change in attitude is so strange and defeatist.

1) You have NOT demonstrated desire to adapt.

2) You refuse to play the new mechanic. Is'nt it normal that sometimes new mechanics come and people use it?

This is abit like Oko. Oko was just a little too flexible for its own good.

If it were to cost 1GG or  1UU rather than 1GU, it might have been slightly harder to fit and hence be deemed less ubitiqous.

Its really sad when Oko was banned, UG was still rampant in all the formats that it was banned. What this means is that either URO is equally broken, OR its just that UG has been powered up. :/

So banning Oko does nothing really, except now you do not need to play Oko to have the BEST version of your deck. Now you have to play URO .

You realise how STUPID that sounds. but that what everyone (at least the vocal minority) is asking for.

Its sad really.


Anyways, if anyone reads this. I beseech you to wait at least 3-4 months before banning anything.

The banning of Breach the Underworld in legacy was particularly stupid.


Or don't listen keep banning.


Modern is in a sad state for its bannings, there are more slots in the grave for other formats :)

Eldrazi: The Fifth Awakening

Oki doki.... I am so slow.....

Anyways I am just going to put it out that I disagree with the argument that a high meta-share somehow means a deck is dominant or broken.

A high meta-share is simply that, many players playing the darn thing.

If you see it for what it is... where does that statement say the deck is broken?


Point is, the high meta share is just a number.

Many anti-eldrazi players use the statistic like it is objective and the gospel truth. And you will usually see the same people making sweeping statements with no OTHER supporting evidence. Usually some other dude will prattle on saying the same things with nothing else to add except regurgitating the same BS.

A statistic by itself is objective. There is no doubt about that. The numbers do not lie. People do. There you go. It is the interpretation of that statistic that is suspect!

Hence I treat arguments that that yell that metashare is high hence eldrazi is bahroken!! And at the same time saying that this is evidence based and objective and data driven/drivel (heh) and yet dismiss counter arguments to be highly suspect.

Now.

Believe you me. I think the Eldrazi deck is strong. I do not believe it is unbeatable (in fact if you have been following the whole fiasco, the anti eldrazi team is beginning to see the light too). And I think the interpretation of the high meta-share is a little bit horse-shitty.

Now.

If the eldrazi deck is strong.

CHEAP.

PROs recomment it.

PROs take down a tournament with a meta-call (chalice+SSG) against what was heavily predicted to be a very low cc turn out.

If you were a reasonable man with the means to get the cards. Would you not play Eldrazi?


That to me alone explains the numbers. And does not really have to do with how strong the deck is.


The STRENGTH of the deck. cannot be accounted for by the Pro Tour Oath. As Chalice+SSG is really a meta call and seriously it was there all the while and is a component that can be fitted in any deck? YMMV of course.

Hence it was in the following Louiseville tournament where we have a truer test of the strength of the deck. Again. The meta-share has more to do with accessability and strength and cost rather than just plain strength/dominance.

And the Eldrazi have proven itself a strong deck. Very strong in fact. But the fact remains. Affinity won :)

Say what you like. But I will say it again. Magic players are adept at group think. We will follow what we see. As long as Team Oath keeps winning, Eldrazi meta share WILL dwindle. That does not speak to me that it is a dominant broken deck. Of course Eldrazi might win GP Detroit. But then ... ANY strong contender can.

The logical flaw here is that a strong deck neccessarily means it is broken. It is a logical flaw if you assume that the current crop are the strongest the cardpool in Modern can field.

FACE IT.


Magic is a game of darwinian evolution. The monster that Eldrazi is , when countered will reveal stronger more resilent decks.

I find it funny that the anti Eldrazi crowd seems to think that the current crop of Tier 1 decks must remain untouched.

They say things like only Tier 2 outlier decks can fight Eldrazi. Again I call BS. I see evolution. A new deck slaughters the current decks weak to it, other decks rise, and God forbid the current decks adapt. All this evolution is poo pooed. Boys and girls, it is called a metashift.

I find it insulting. I find it insulting to magic. Sometimes I feel Modern players deserve the format they have. They complain about the bannings, but HOW ELSE can the format be regulated if EVOLUTION is such an abhorrent concept?

I wanted to prove how weak the meta-share argument is :) But I did'nt have the balls to do it. I predicted that the legacy SCG Open Philidelphia will be infested with Eldrazi. And true enough it was =P

I know. I know. Its a stupid prediction. Since everyone kinda thought there was a good chance. I will say it is as stupid as saying the meta-share of Eldrazi will be high :)

It is the same logic.


- Relatively cheap access to Legacy.
- STRONG deck
- Relative EASE of getting the cards (it is mostly a modern port)


WHY WOULD NOT THE META-SHARE BE HIGH?


Is the deck bahroken?


Well. Again it lost.



Now I seem to be dismissing the strength of the deck but I really am not. It is a fact that despite putting up stupid high meta-share.... it is not winning.


NOT THAT IT CAN'T.


But it is not obliterating every other damn deck into oblivion. Like a TRULY broken dominant deck would.


It is just a STRONG, POPULAR deck.


It is annoying. But it may yet be quelled.

Now seriously if you know me personally you would know that I agree that the deck is VERY strong. What I have a grouse with is the fact that people do not think the deck can be taken down and will eventually be adapted against such that it just becomes another strong deck.

...

Yet I also resign to the fact that Modern being what it is, will unlikely be given the time and opportunity to adapt. I strongly believe something will be banned. But my reasons for believing so are different.

My reasons are:

1) Modern is the Purgatory for Standard decks
2) Modern's audience are for the Average Joe (I consider myself here too)



1)'s implication is that the power level will be artificially kept low, so that Standard decks rotating can transit easily into Modern. Remember Siege Rhino, Abzan? Pod? Yah, Standard fare, modernized. This implies bannings. Gollops of it. It cannot be any other way. I think it is not pretty but it generally works. It can be hellish on the pocket, but wizards was never concerned about your pocket. Sorry about that bub.

2) Modern's audience, being from standard means that: Midrange is king. Interaction is using creatures and stuff that removes creatures. And more importantly Modern players generally have better things to do, hence we need pick me up decks! We follow news and brewing is a little less of a thing. This means anything new is viewed with suspicion and as much as we hate the ban hammer we wield it with gusto against anything threatening our current deck. In essence, the format must be customed to our overall taste. Midrangey. Not too high powered. Combo is frowned uponed. Again. This implies bannings. Gollops of it. It cannot be any other way. I think it is not pretty but it generally works. It can be hellish on the pocket, but wizards was never concerned about your pocket. Sorry about that bub.

Hence, for the good of the format. Something in Eldrazi will likely get banned, to bring it's power level lower so that it is less disruptive and will not force the meta to adapt to it. Note that adaptation is already hampered/slowed due to earlier bannings.

Oh this is'nt the fifth awakening.... I leave that for later... and it isn't anythng fancy, others have already mentioned/speculated it and you dear ready might already have thought of it!


I really just hope Team Oath continues the good fight! The Eldrazi scourge will not be long, thump/triumph them while you can :) Bring out the best in Modern!


[20160305 01:03]

The fifth Awakening.


About less than 12 hours when the B&R will be announced :)



Anyways.


The fifth awakening is that.


New blood was pumped into Legacy. And possibly Vintage. (probably not...)


But if you have EVER wanted to play legacy. Sling powerful cards.

Eldrazi. However good or bad for modern. Has opened the doors.


Now just because it is good for legacy does not mean it is broken for Modern. Lets just get that out first.

Delver of Secrets, chalice of the void, Monastery Mentor, all Legacy strength, some not making the mark in Modern :p

So lets just keep that FALLACY out. :)


Any ways , the thing that struck out to me was that the Eldrazi land package, together with the Oath Eldrazi, has opened doors to Legacy in a very big way.

Sure if you are not going to netdeck and use the Ancient tombs and City of Traitors, you will be a little slower, but the deck as is in Modern still gives a pretty mean punch :)


So thats the "fifth awakening" :p

Eldrazi has firmly established itself as a possible contender in Legacy.

This is big news. For the longest time, its tough to break into Legacy. But now, literally almost the whole deck has been given to the community.


If you want to forever flounder in the same power level of Modern (which if you have read thus far, you would know that it is neutered and can potentially get neutered further) or lower and forever be involved in Mid ranged slugfests, you would not welcome the Eldrazi.


let me tell you why haters of Eldrazi hate it. It has literally rocked their world :p

Old decks (which were mostly midrange) got DECIMATED.


That sounds bad.


Really bad.


But in its ashes, 2nd Tier decks previously SUPPRESSED by the ex-current decks now have a chance to shine.

And shine they did.

DESPITE repeated dismissal of the success of non-Eldrazi decks in MTGO, the success is undeniable. Just go look at the results on MTGO.

Every alternate week a non-Eldrazi deck is at the top.

I kid you not :)


Sure its not like the Eldrazi were put down or anything. Its not non-Eldrazi decks are dominating. But the FACT is that the meta was in FLUX for all the time between the last major Modern tournament and now.

That meant the Eldrazi were hardly dominating.

If anything the numbers seem to be dwindling.


Now I know some will say that that is due to ppl selling off their Eldrazi.

Again I agree that that will have some impact. But again I call BS on that logic as being the one to explain the phenomenon.

The reason is this:

less ppl playing eldrazi, less ppl win.


Makes total sense :)

So it should also make total sense that

more ppl playing eldrazi, more ppl win


Yet these same Eldrazi haters deny the second phenomenon, but they are really two sides of the same coin. You cannot claim one and deny the other.

These same ppl will claim t thus:

If Eldrazi came in big numbers if they are not dominating they should be very weakly represented in the top 8.

Thats ABSOLUTE hogwash.

Eldrazi is STRONG. Hence if the number of players are ALREADY high naturally it is going to take that percentage. And we see it in the numbers 50% of meta, roughly 50% of top 8.


Now some will then argue, it should'nt EVEN take up 50%.


I will say WHY NOT?


I think this is the difference between a Legacy player and Modern player.

A Modern player will tell you there is only one varient of Modern Eldrazi hence it is one deck, hence 50% is bad


A Legacy player will tell you there is a variety of strains and there is at least 4 decks.


Thats right Eldrazi is an Archtype.

That is not the fifth Awakening :p unfortunately I saw and understood that quite late. Hence I did not write too much about it, but having seen the results of the past few weeks of MTGO, i can safely tell you there are a few decktypes of Eldrazi.


Don't take my word for it, go check it out.


Thing is if all the Eldrazi are the same, then it would actually be EXTREMELY easy to beat them. It is the FACT that R/G Eldrazi can win certain match ups better than U/W Eldrazi that the meta constantly shifts.

I mean mono-red Goblins can actually do well.


What more can I say :)


I think Modern players dismissing the Eldrazi as broken ought to be ashamed of themselves. I do not know how else to put it. Its one thing to have no solution yourself. It is quite another to PROCLAIM there is no solution. Which is what one is saying when one is supporting bans.

Go see MTGO. There are solutions. Sure not all the solutions work. But AHA! its because there are actually a few different decktypes of eldrazi. If you honestly expect your one deck to beat ALL varients of Eldrazi, I am afraid you are living in Magical Christmas land. It is a truth that no one deck defeats all decks and if that is true it gets the BAN. Eldrazi is not that overwhelming single deck.

And if we follow the notion that Eldrazi is an Archetype rather than just one deck, it begins to make more sense why 50% is alot more normal than the haters think (if they do hoho).

  Thats it boys and girls, RnD unleashed an entire deck Archetype upon Modern.


I will talk more about that in the Aftermath post as I actually think it is wonderful work, and I sincerely hope RnD continues to press the envelope and be brave.

If RnD listens to the whining and becomes fearful of printing strong cards, we only have the haters to blame.

Seriously people. decide what kind of magic you want to play. If you have truly decided that Modern's power level drop and Mid rangyness is what you want (actually it is also what I want ;P) then you have reason to hate Eldrazi.

But if you want in roads to Magic's past. If you want to rev up the power and have the chance to one day accumulate the power into Legacy or Vintage. Then DON"T hate the Eldrazi. Tolerate it, BAN it. but understand that it has to be banned because of what Modern is and not because it is broken (and it is'nt) If you hate it, with enough noise, one day ALL we will get is block level power cards in our standard packs. I will quit buying Magic product on that day. I am currently TOLERATING Modern's existence. but if its presence means the weakening of packs into limited rubbish, then one fine day WOTC will get less lunch money :) . Quite a bit less.


Now what do I mean by "tolerate" power surges like the Eldrazi. There is no doubt in my mind that Eldrazi is not broken. What is clear is that Modern is supposed to be a little lower in power (playwise expectations) and Midrange must be king. Tolerate means to understand that. Understand that, that is why it will be banned and not make inane accusations against WOTC that it sucks and why it did not test for Modern. Because seriously not all cards are for Modern, I think its great that one can get Legacy/Vintage cards in standard. If Eldrazi is too powerful, understand that it is only passing through and will get banned. Modern will simply go back to what it was. And thats not a bad thing as I have previously posted. Tolerating means understanding that bans are not necessarily a bad thing. Modern is an artificial format REGULATED and MAINTAINED by bans. Understand that WOTC will maintain Modern such that players will transit easily to it from Standard (hence power levels must be low and ermm Midrange MUST be KING raaarrrr Rhino!!!). So there is really no need to hate Eldrazi emotionally. It will be banned when Midrange goes down, when Combo goes up, its natural for Modern. Thats what I mean by "tolerate". As opposed to acting like kids and pissing on everyone else that sees a challenge to be overcomed and wants to actually play the game.


When I first saw the chalice Eldrazi, I was in love with it :) It plays so much like my Blitz. It is actually an aggro deck that can run Midrange to the ground easily. Combo is now a legitimate threat in the meta as it can race Eldrazi. Eldrazi showed that all aggro thus far were bad jokes (ok that just me being mean :p - but hey those aggro can't consistently beat the crap out of midrange so they suck :p).


The Eldrazi deck reminded me of my Blitz deck in standard ripping Midrange apart. It was a dream come true really since I have always hated that Modern is a Midrange format. but I am also reminded of the players that went "I did'nt get to play magic" (when beaten by my blitz) rather than actually play magic and find a solution. That is what I have to say to the ppl who dismiss Eldrazi as broken. You have been measured and found wanting when faced with the Eldrazi. That is all. :) The Eldrazi were'nt broken, you were broken by the Eldrazi.



I have no doubt that something from Eldrazi will be banned and the deck neutered. Not because the deck is broken such that it is dominating. It CANNOT. because it is not one deck we are seeing, but about 3 or 4 decks in actuality. So the numbers are exaggerated. Plus the fact that the top 8 in MTGO has been in flux like crazy. But because the desired power level for Modern is supposed to be lower and Midrange is supposed to be KING. Like MC Hammer says:"You can't touch that".



[20160404 02:05]


Oh oh, what is the fifth awakening? (in case it was'nt clear, since I ranted alot...)

Eternal awakens!


So drama ya?


Eternal is a cash cow yo! And I bet WOTC is always thinking of how it can monetise it but does'nt really know how.


I will talk about that later in what I think the business is and hence why there is this angle of the Eternal struggle (so corny!!!).

But this fifth awakening is part of that. Eternal awakens!


Eldrazi has opened the doors, c'mon step right in :)


For a long time, probably years now, Modern is like the purgatory of standard decks. With the power level seen in Eldrazi, perhaps Eternal is another transition destination.

Ya roughly thats it :p

I will update if my mind is clearer, now is bed time....



[20160404 02:35]

Thoughts on Legacy 20150807

Now Legacy is a format I have been following for quite a while.


Ever since it was created.



Back then Faerie Stompy was a thing. And my! a 50 USD card (the 3 mana 4/4 portal card whose name eludes me) was a big thing at that time (circa 2004? I think). And there were other decks like Red Death, which was a R/B stompy if you like.

Then later some decks started establishing themselves. Gobbos with ports (whose name also eludes me) from mercadian masques. Thresh decks. And things like Spanish Inquisition (I might be messing this up with Vintage??).

Gobbos pretty much died slowly but surely after Tarmo replaced erm Werebear. And you got the current Canadian Thresh getting firmed up.

These past few years have been a little more roller coasterly as in the past decade or past five years, a new factor came into the picture. Well two factors.

1) SCG coverage
2) The cumulation of several years maybe even decade? old practice of powering up creatures and neutering spells

Why Standard is not Magic

Magic is so rubbishy these days and reading developing-annihilation-2014-08-15 only kinda confirms it.

We are spiralling into mediocrity.


I am all for balancing power creep, but please don't give me power weep and turn Magic the Gathering into Magic the Gathering: Dust or Tragic the Gathering lol


Now i recently mentioned that Standard is not Magic.

Now that is a loaded statement and probably requires some caveats and definition of parameters to make any sense.

Exactly what is Magic?

I can only define that for myself unfortunately, as Magic is many things to many people.

To me pokemon is not magic, creatures dumping themselves on each other is a subset of magic, but can NEVER claim to be all that Magic is.

Magic to me, is everything that it can be. Think about that for a moment. Circa 1993, the game was broken beyond itty bitty.

But it was fun. It was gorgeous. At that time Vintage was akin to drving a fast car. Well no. Actually Shivan Dragon was King and so was Leviathan and Lord of the Pit. So you have the fire, the pit the meat and the dude who cooks em'! Oh and Force of Nature if you want veggies.



That was cold.



Anyways, magic in its original incarnation was kinda boring I guess. But boring is a good baseline. A good hole to climb out from. The only way is up. Kinda like in Batman. Rise of the Black Knight. Rise, rise and the only way is to lose all inhibitions. So it was the wild wild west. Moxes traded for Dragons. I wished I played then. I only came in when the party was over.


Though Moxes were still only 100 SGD, when I started and Lotus was 300 SGD. I was only a teen with money for Mirage though. So those times, those were out of reach for me. But they were legend.

Then. It enthralled me. The combos that were possible. The first combo. Channel Fireball. Oh it was'nt just a shop front yo. It was the first combo. The first combo deck! Prosbloom! Cadervourous Bloom into Drain Life. and Before that, there was Necro Summer and later on Academy Winter. Those were the heights of Magic for me as information was scarce and Magic was a game where there was a big bad and decks were build to prove their mettle. Innovation was demanded to bring the latest scourge down.




...


Mind you in those days the big bad sat for months or years at the top. Necro was eventually defeated by Sligh (or was it turbo stasis?). Combo Winter? I honestly cannot remember but I am on combo's side so it was never my prerogative to remember :P

I liked the decks in combo winter.


Magic was magic in those days. Power levels were high and with each printing, everyone was looking forward to the next combo, the next great card. The next innovation! The next mechanic. All artifact! All graveyard! All whatever.... and i suspect WOTC just ran out of ideas eventually. Magic was then fresh and ideas were unbounded.


Now mind you, people poo poo at high power levels. But I'll give you a clue. Only when power levels are high, will the mechanics actually make a dent in eternal formats. Look at devotion, and the othe gadzillion mechanics created in the past 3-5 years. Which is prevalent or even standing in Modern (the weakest of eternal). Nada. Why? Because we are spiralling into mediocrity. Mechanics today are watered down and priced very safely. And this is done for a watered down environment. Is it really that surprising that everything goes down the drain and becomes irrelevant in Modern?


I don't know about you but a bunch of cards that are only relevant and played for 2 years plus... and then *POOF* become totally irrelevant is really not Magic to me. Don't get me wrong, I am not wearing rose tinted glasses where EVERYTHING in Standard is playable in eternal format. We are now even lacking the proverbial bone (Okay that was a little harsh we did get some good stuff, Abrupt Decay and DRS -- but still. most standard cards are rubbishy - and personally I like the Gatecrash 1cc dudes... but Theros block  has me floundering tho...). Standard used to bring in new cards that contribute to the playable pool in Magic the gathering (that to me would be the eternal formats, so it must at least make the cut in Modern). Now of course it is still magic in terms of the all things magic. Like playing a random pile is magic. Like ermm like homelands only is playable magic :)

To me, these days, Standard is no longer Magic. It might as well be a different game bought to have fun for two years and then you say goodbye to it. With zero worth to it. Much like a PC game I guess. You could take it out and lose with it once in awhile. Alright I am being very negative here, but I hope you get my point. Sure you and a bunch of pals can play block cube from 2013. Which is cool if thats all you want from ex-standard cards.


And worst of all. I see what is happening in Modern, happening in Legacy now. Strange people who never cared for the format, suddenly pop up to claim that Brainstorm is broken. And that it should be banned blah blah. But seriously, there is no doubt that blue is strong in Legacy. That is not blue's fault, that is a design problem where WOTC did not make the other colours strong enough. Its not that Blue is too strong, but that its basic premise is one of the strongest elements in the game: card draw and variance reducing. It was a WOTC mistake to make it exclusive to blue. It was also a design mistake to make creatures weak (that was a basic tenet before the recent power up of creatures). Already now other colours are making a comeback in Legacy. I see that as a good correction by WOTC. However as the format gets more popular, newer players bring their perception of Modern in (a la ban everything etc etc). Please play another format if you are not able to keep up. But don't expect the format to slow down or dumb down for you. You have modern. Leave Legacy be. Legacy was ground up. Even without SCG or WOTC it will persist (and be better for it). And oh brainstorm is a dollar card. You DO NOT have to play blue. You can splash blue. I see nonsensical arguments like BUG is blue splashing black and green. I would argue that it is as much the other way round... its just that haters will forever see it in a way that benefits them. There is no doubt that brainstorm is pervasive in the environment. But seriously you have people thinking that you should remove a good thing rather than build on it? And damn I am not even a blue player.


In the past people build decks to beat the top dog, these days with a new set every few months and the meta changing so fast, people would rather be spoonfed and get pushed cards and decks or just follow the crowd. And when no new decks or cards that were pushed can beat the current top dog. They whine. "Oh control is too strong" or "I did'nt get to play Magic". People, its simple. You have tried and tested and your deck (and you if you say so) have been found wanting. Thats all there is to it. You can either find a solution or whine. Its kinda sad.


Sorry it was rantish, but that comes from reading inane rants I guess.


[Edit]

This just came to mind:

Recently there seems to be a trend where, WOTC prints modern, legacy or Vintage specific cards in non-standard sets. I see this as a double-edged sword. While it is good in that, it is more likely that we get more eternal playable cards, since they do not disrupt the "balance" in the environment for the cash cow called Standard. It also makes me question if there will be eternal playable cards in Standard. Which is the main problem I see here. If Standard cards are not strong enough to stand in Modern, then is Standard still Magic? Or really just a card board PC game to be bought and forgotten after two years (well sure its mainstream Magic for two whole years. Wonderful stuff.).


And then another scary thought comes to mind since. If you cannot print strong cards to make Standard cards relevant in Modern, the "obvious" (seriously there are people who think this way) solution is to cut Modern down to size (through bannings) and make it like Standard, in terms of speed and functionality.

Which I am fine with, and I say it with kindness.
But please stay away from Legacy and Vintage :p

[Edit 2]

And I still do play Standard, I just don't like the direction it is going ;P

[Edit 3]

I was just thinking why did I reject Standard as Magic. What triggered it? And then it occurred to me that with the way WOTC is going, the Magic that I loved was being rejected. Its not easy to erase 20 years of cardboard (ah yes the trials and tribulation of geeks, wrangling over card board... it amuses me sometimes... oooh the ragin'!) but they try. Modern bannings, the removal of LD, and until recently hand disruption, fast mana, playable hard counters. Alternative resource constriction (I can't off hand give a better name) like sphere effects or even cheap repeatable tap effects. Combo's neutering. Old Magic is being pissed on. To me thats WOTC rejecting the old Magic. It did'nt really occur to me that as a whole that is what they were doing, and that is what riles me. I guess it is to cater to newer players. Who prefer more interactivity (a false premise) through creatures. It took me awhile to realise that since I played for quite awhile, Magic to me is really not the magic they have been dishing for the past 3-5 years. Hence the rant and my question of whether Standard is really Magic, or simply a different game in the form of Magic. (this is even more stark if Standard contributes little to Modern (the easiest eternal format to make a difference to)).

Updates on my Thoughts about Modern Masters

Big.News.





I still think it sucks =)




But here's the kicker.


It was everything I expected it to be.



Its not jammed packed with crazy value cards. It looks balanced and fun. A lot of older cards are seeing print and while I am a spike and love me some lotuses (the black variety), I am still happy with the power level. Its not the second coming of ABU.

But neither is it the second coming of Chronicles.




I don't think Wizards learnt from Chronicles AT ALL.





Thing is this. Their supposed lesson learnt was that prices tanked after Chronicles was printed.


But there was nothing strong in Chronicles. What tanked? The Elder Dragons thats what. I think you will be hard put to say those were stellar. The art by most people today would be atrocious (However I must add the caveat that I find TODAY's art ATROCIOUS. Today's art is a CGI fest, the skill is less in the eye and the hand, but how well you can manipulate software. Sure that takes skill, but where is the TEXTURE, FLAVOUR, and the simple love strokes that an artist confers to a piece, be it a blotch, a mistake, a revelation, an improvision! All LOST.  .... but it does'nt change the fact that the masses seem to love CGI, so whatever. I actually do like the Elder Dragons art by the way. An aside to this aside: thats where the E and D in EDH comes from, Elder Dragon Highlander - Highlander being a pun on the show Highlander that is: there can only be one - referring to the singleton cards).




Now back to the point. The Elder Dragons were not powerful and the rest of the cards kinda sucked. Given the progression of newer and stronger cards, it was inevitable that it tanked. Further, imagine this: Elder dragons were loved by Timmies mostly. You MASS produce it. Please use blain now...... think think think? You are including Spikes and Johnnies and their pet goldfishes. WHY would'nt the price tank?


Seriously they should just fire the marketing fellows.


Modern Masters is really a "best off" set. Constrainted by gameplay balance. Sure reprints hurt, but Bop had to under go so many reprints (all the way from sixth ed I believe) to get from 10 dollars ++ to 3-5 dollars. You are talking about shitloads of reprinting. Not a slow roll release where (hello!) you can alternate cards to reprint. Release it at higher prices by all mean. PLEASE. Profit! (not too much) but dun do limited printings.

Limited print runs DO NOT help Modern as a format.


As it is Modern Masters is a success (well going by whatever was spoiled so far) in terms of balance and interesting cards. It could definitely be mass printed and sold as a summer product or whatever.

It is also a SUCCESS as a vehicle for retailers to price gouge! As a REWARD THE RETAILER scheme, it is a RESOUNDING SUCCESS!!! So wonderful right?


What it is NOT A SUCCESS in?

It is an UTTER FAILURE in terms of promoting Modern Masters. It FAILED in creating more available cards in pool (seriously the richer ones or those with connections will just hoard and hide, price will not change, available cards will not change by much, it is the nature of limited prints). It FAILED in promoting the IMAGE of Modern.

Seriously, do you think the average player likes legacy because it is easily accessible and rather pricey?
No it was the DIVERSITY of LEGACY.

Modern promised DIVERSITY and I think there was a side promise that it would be AFFORDABLE. Modern Masters has FAILED in both promises!


Why you ask? I mean sure the limited print has more or less screwed the price to hell, so to hell with affordability. But you did say that it was nice and balance right.

Yes I did!! I did say that it was nice and balanced. But WHO WILL SEE IT? Who would get to play it? What the average player will see, are average cards, charged at premiums that they will never pay for, hence it just looks like I am paying shitloads of dollars for average suboptimal cards. (Seriously I think Dark Confidant is overly hyped, he was average in the time he was printed, he is still average. There is still the rest of the deck you realised? Dark Confidant is good, but not necessary for Modern. Ditto for dear Tarmo who is going to be outclassed sooner or later with all this creature power creep)

In a nutshell the only message the average player will see is:
Modern is expensive.
Not just in cash, but I have to pay gollops for average cards, so its not even value for money.



What they will not see:
Modern is actually affordable and accessible
Modern Masters is fun and balance
All this will be lost.



It does not matter that you force PTQs to be modern format. You are just hoping PTQs will survive the damge wrought by Modern.



Thats is not to say Modern is hopeless. It is definitely an eternal format worth getting into. But Modern Masters is not helping. In fact I think Modern Masters just bitch slapped Modern a few times in the face, solar plexus and all over. Death by a thousand lashes whatever.

How to help Modern.


Print competitive cards in Standard.

It used to be that Wizards will throw Vintage,Legacy and even Extended a bone. but Modern needs more than a bone. It needs to be the bridge between past and present. So there must be SOME staples that render at least a cheaper competitive deck. Ala Extended or Type 1.5 from the past.

And its not really so hard to imagine Standard decks doing well in an older format. Faeries and Affinity continued to terrorise opponents long after they rotated from standard. I am not sure if they are doing that with Standard. They are so frighten of breaking the game that is almost amusing. They take away Land Destruction, Counterspells and Strong discard. They screw Combo to hell and back. I seriously don't know what defenses a new player in Standard has against Eternal formats.


And as players move from Standard to Modern. Seriously. THINK.OUT.OF.THE.BOX. You don't need to blindly copy the older tested deck list with the artificially inflated prices of the so called older cards. Find substitutes, play a different angle. (And understand that you may not have the optimal card in a particular deck, but seriously, its not the end of the world, you can still give the game a good fight.)

Another point is continuity. By the same token that it is ridiculous to have such high prices for the current older cards, it is also ridiculous to expect the older cards to be dirt cheap due to scarcity. Reprints will over time devalue a card (actually the reverse might be true if reprints help to maintain critical mass and interest - but thats another discussion), and ultimately reprints only solve the problem for the current batch of new players, the next batch will just clamour for reprints AGAIN. Hence my suggestion that the best way is to pave the way not through reprints, but to print COMPETITIVE cards in Standard that can have a good fight in Modern. Stop sandboxing the kiddies, they need to learn to run. They left Yu Gi Ho and Pokemon in good faith. Show them Magic ;)

Disclaimer: I have most older cards. Too many I don't know what to do with them. I am mostly a hoarder. So no I am not arguing for my sake. I just hate to see the game suffer for no good reason. I like Modern Masters as a product. It is not mind blowingly powerful, THAT is a GOOD thing for game balance. The price and distribution however is more likely to bite Magic and Wizards than help. I can build any modern deck. I can almost claim that for Legacy and am working towards Vintage. So no, card stock is not MY beef with Modern. And I do spend alot too much on Magic. For RTR block it was 2 cases per set plus random pack whacks of slightly less than a box a month. I am not showing off. I am not proud of spending that kind of money on cardboard. But I am trying to drive home the point that I am not arguing against Modern Masters because I cannot afford it. I can. But I don't want to support it (and unfortunately by extension Modern.. which is a shame). That all said I will get one box. Because I am a sucker for new sets and art. But I will stick with just one box  (and that is saying alot for me). Even if all my Mythics are Kamigawa Dragons I will stick to one box. There I just jinxed myself to get a point across.


[Edit]


Just an extremely quick update, Modern does not have value unless you got it BELOW 250 USD

Else you are just gambling. and its lossy gambling too.

Also note that with GP Las Vegas coming up there will be a deluge of cards coming in. Will that dent the value? You bet. The question is how much (what is the actual median value) and what is the effect of fear (people dumping) and speculation (people gambling). The previous two effects, fear and speculation will artificially drop or raise the value. Why is this important? I always tell my friends that it does not that take a bad card to have a low price in Standard (or any other format for that matter). The actual power or play value of the card will allow the card to have an intrinsic value. However fear or speculation will drive the card price down or up and the kicker is this:  This price is sticky. Some call it price memory, whatever.

Essentially if it got driven up, it tends to stay up (as long as the people sending it up keep doing so) and if it got driven down it stays down (until someone finds a use for it ---- but lets be realistic here it WILL have to have a place EVERYWHERE for its price to go significantly higher. If a card driven down is actually a good card in a few decks it will likely be a respectable few dollars. Thats is the actual value of an average good card really. It is the hype (and laziness of players in deck building - hence allowing dominance) that drives the insane prices whenever a deck dominates a meta)

If M14 had thoughtseize, prepare to see MM prices collapse (well not really, but with enough fear, it CAN happen).

By the way, it is actually bad practice to buy single packs, especially when  the packs are so expensive. You are better off saving the money and getting a SEALED box. Unless you are so sure your LGS (local gaming store) is very honest.

There are a few ways to cheat:

1) Box mapping
2) Plain statistic. How this is done is once the desirable mythic is taken, the remaining packs are sold. In MM's case it is quite constant, about 3 mythics. Hence a way shops can cheat is to rip through the packs until Goyf or 3 mythics are hit. Then its time to stop. (I am assuming the rares are not as disirable - but lets be serious, if you paid 300++ SGD for Singapore, the rares will allow break even at best and losses usually - *HELLO AURIOK SALVAGER!!!*)


So thats my quick-but-got-ranty update =)

[20130617 0708]

My Thoughts About Modern as a Format

Alrighty, if you are perplexed? Means you dun play Magic the Gathering and are probably a Mousehunter *waves*

Well I'll try to update more on mouse hunting later.


For now my mind is on Modern.  Its mostly cos I read this post/blog on MTGSally where someone expressed why Legacy is unlikely to die off due to the reserved list, but at the same time perhaps bashing Modern too much.

Heres what I think:



I think the purpose of Modern is as what many have pointed out.

1) It is not a replacement for Legacy. It cannot, simply by virtue of balance and card pool.
2) It is a totally different animal!!




Now what do I mean?


See.


There has been so many bannings and always it was to take down the top dog (the last banning was due to time, but I don't buy that why? If you have infinite, the game ends there, your opponent cannot force you to go through the steps, he may force you to do it once to proof you have it but thats it, and did you see Cifka or Holiday play? Slow play, if any, is the player's problem not the deck - further more the deck is VERY resilent)

I am feeling a little miffed since I have invested in a 17USD japanese Second Sunrise. That upsets me, the card has now lost almost all its value.


Just like that. Luckily I already have a playset of  Second Sunrise so I did'nt have to buy more.


So thats Modern for you, where the top dogs get eliminated. What does that leave us?


Interestingly I guess that is what WOTC is trying to do. By shooting down the top dogs, prices are actually kept in control (as soon as silly boys like me wise up to the game). And most decks are affordable! The other side effect is that as the top dogs get shot down, the meta will ALWAYS be in flux. Because only two states can occur in a meta. Flux and resolution, with resolution, there is one or a few dominant decks (something like what Legacy was and to some extent still is), with flux, a deck able to compete at a certain bar would survive.

That is pretty interesting to me.


To hopefully make it clearer. I feel that FNM is a nice place to brew a deck and often times, goofy decks have half a shot of doing decent. The same deck might/will not survive in a more competitive environment like a GP where the meta is more advanced in resolution. By shooting down the top decks (at least those that have dominated for a while or look like they will dominate), the Modern Meta is kept in flux.


And that is what I think WOTC is gunning for. Balanced Meta, achieved through flux and as a side benefit lower prices hence lower barrier to entry (once people start getting wise to the game, prices will not get hyped up so easily, you can actually already see that for the Eggs deck, Lotus Bloom did go up yes, but not like Jace or the fetches and so on, people are more cautious now. I, myself will be more cautious now, having been burnt)


Its not too bad a format actually.  =)