Hello all you Magic:The Gathering users out there.

I stopped playing Magic around the year 2000. I was a casual player anyways. I can’t even remember which set that I stopped on. There were a number of reasons that I stopped. I’ll list them here. Some of them you won’t be able to help but maybe others you can enlighten me on.

1. I started having children. This pretty much precluded me from getting out and playing with other people far away from my house.
2. I got sick of the business practice that WOTC was espousing. You couldn’t compete unless you were up-to-date and within 4 sets (unless you did type 2 and that was expensive).
3. There were constant game-breaking cards that were outlaws, etc.
4. Every four sets, it seemed they were just recycling old cards and their concepts and just putting crappier artwork on the fronts. Call me old-school.
5. The old sets that I liked were incredibly expensive to collect

Anyways. I started looking at Magic again just curious on how it was going and I couldn’t make heads or tails of the new cards and their types? Maybe somebody can explain to me in layman’s terms what has changed recently?

Customer Service is best served with a lightsaber.

What has changed? Well its not Wizards desire to make and sell more cards. You still have set’s created 3-4 times a year. Three of them being the current “block” and either an update to the core set (currently 9th edition) or a stand alone set like “cold snap” that will be released later this year. To play in Friday Night Magic you do need a type two deck (which is the current and previous block, and the current core set) and building a deck that wins isn’t cheap. You can often borrow a deck to play and for $5 get a booster pack and spend an evening playing magic. You can also play either booster drafts or sealed games if you don’t have the cards to build a constructed deck and I find it more interesting because I get to play with more of the cards from the set besides the “power cards”. An evening playing booster drafts (every Thursday night) at $14 a shot isn’t bad, and you end up with cards at the end of the evening. Sealed (the third Friday of the month) is usually $20-$25 and you end up with even more cards when you are done. That said, there are some things that have changed I enjoy.
The previous block was Kamigawa, it was full of interesting cards with a decided flavor to them that was both fun to play as well as collect. The theme encompasses many elements including samurais, ninjas, snakes, spirits and much more. The artwork is much improved for the most part, but I understand magic players always related a card to the first artwork they see of it and the natural tendency to regard any new effort as a pale comparison. The Kamigawa block had several interesting mechanics to it unique to the block incuding one called “ninjitsu” where you could replace an unblocked attacker with a ninja card from your hand - turning an ornithoper into a 5/4 attacker that let you draw cards was a blast.
The current block is all about playing multiple colors, many of the cards are “gold” which means they have two or more colors in their casting cost. They have also released dual lands that are very sought after (average $15-$20 per card if you want to purchase just one - playing a draft or sealed event and opening one of those just about pays for the evening by itself) The set also has Bird of Paridise with a black border, but some people don’t like the new art work (calling it the pastel peacock was one of the kinder references) The new block is very challenging in sealed because of all the multicolored combinations. The new block also has its own new mechanics it introduces and they can be fun as well as powerful to play. The new set also has a theme that is interesting where there are ten guilds in a city/world that spans the globe. Each guild is aligned with two colors, some of them very surprising, like Izzit, the blue-red guild.
The current core set is pretty cool, they brought back some great cards from the past. Overall Wizards looks to be trying to build a card pool for type two that is very “rock paper sissors”, meaning there isn’t one deck that can dominate and the core set adds to this.
All I can say is if you want to get back into it, check out a FNM by borrowing a deck, crack open that first Ravnica booster pack and you could get hooked again.

I understand completely with what you have to say about all of this.

Having a 9-month-old daughter myself, I know what it’s like to have a kid and try to play Magic.

Not much has really changed, perhaps if you wouldn’t mind showing up on a Friday night at the Plano store, a few people, myself included could kind of SHOW you the newer aspects rather than trying to explain them over the ‘net.
Most players in Plano store are friendly, or at least willing to help.

FNM is not all about showing up EVERY friday, I can attest to that… I’m only there 2-3 times a month… its about getting together with people who share a common interest.

~HK~

RGD Sealed Pariah’s Sheild(s) pulled: 17
RGD Sealed’s Played in: 16
(One was shiny...)

I like big creatures and I cannot lie
You other players can’t deny
That when a beast walks in with an itty bitty cost
And your blockers are all lost
You get removal!

Thanks for the information. It would be kind of hard to get to Plano because I live in North Houston. That would be heck on my gas bill.

I still don’t appreciate WOTC money grubbing especially since they stole the rights for Star Wars Card games from Decipher and made a sub-par gaming system to replace SWCCG :(

Oh well. I’ll try and find a user-group here in North Houston.

Customer Service is best served with a lightsaber.

It sounds like you shouldn’t play again. WotC has been much better on #3 - they had over twenty different archtypes at PT Honolulu this weekend for standard. That’s very nice. However, WotC is trying to push FOUR sets a year now, which is hard. Competitive constructed is always expensive, at least standard. Maybe extended is cheaper because your decks stay about the same even with new cards coming in?

Limited is an option too like expressed before. I dislike the amount of money it requires to play ($14 for a possible one game since it’s single elimination for drafts, for example). Also in drafts you have to choose between good constructed rares and a good limited common/uncommon, and that’s hard to decide IMO.

Oh, and having kids will ruin any hobby or free time

I hope it’s true that every snowflake is unique, because I never want to see one like this again.

I beg to differ on the kid(s) aspect. I think my daughter has actually made it more fun, and made me a better player because of it (in constructed...) due to the fact that I have to make SURE I make a fairly fun/COMPETITIVE deck for FNM games, because I CAN’T go every week… it makes me have to think a lil more for my decks… I think the greater challenge makes it more fun!
And it makes getting out of the house much more appealing!

~HK~

RGD Sealed Pariah’s Sheild(s) pulled: 17
RGD Sealed’s Played in: 16
(One was shiny...)

I like big creatures and I cannot lie
You other players can’t deny
That when a beast walks in with an itty bitty cost
And your blockers are all lost
You get removal!

Lol. Anything that costs money, my wife disapproves

Customer Service is best served with a lightsaber.

Well, you can do what I do… and yell and scream at her, and then throw her out the window from a 5th story bedroom…

Err… wait… I think I saw that on a movie… :p

How about you do like I REALLY do and trade-off card(s) you own/win for entry to friends, or other players.
OR you can explain that $5 is ONLY $5 (even tho THAT argument won’t fly with MY wife...)

Sometimes battles can’t be won, but I leave anyways; She’s still there when I get home. Maybe not in a very good mood, but still there.

I think Magic is sometimes worth a visit to the Sofa

Countdown: 3 days until my birthday! w00t

RGD Sealed Pariah’s Sheild(s) pulled: 17
RGD Sealed’s Played in: 16
(One was shiny...)

I like big creatures and I cannot lie
You other players can’t deny
That when a beast walks in with an itty bitty cost
And your blockers are all lost
You get removal!

Better to ask forgiveness than permission, eh? I like the thought.

Customer Service is best served with a lightsaber.

The Ravnica Block is really fun!
There is not just two or three decks that consitantly win, there are many different combinations and possibilities.  That is a good format to have I feel.

advocatus diaboli
Vexilla regis prodeunt inferni

This stuff is cardboard crack. Stay clean my friend… Stay clean.

"Some have said there is no subtlety to destruction. You know what? They’re dead.” -Jaya Ballard, task mage

Let me be your dealer!
come over to the dark side!

advocatus diaboli
Vexilla regis prodeunt inferni

Heheh. I want to start up Decipher SWCCG again if I start anything, I just need to purchase some Reflections III boxes because I stopped right around Endor.

I’ve decided it’s too much money to become competetive back in MtG… Unless its a quick pickup with some friends.

Customer Service is best served with a lightsaber.

Wow, somebody else who plays that version!
Well, I like ‘em both (Wotc and Decipher) but I have waaaaaaaay too many cards from decipher’s… and dunno the rules anymore

RGD Sealed Pariah’s Sheild(s) pulled: 17
RGD Sealed’s Played in: 16
(One was shiny...)

I like big creatures and I cannot lie
You other players can’t deny
That when a beast walks in with an itty bitty cost
And your blockers are all lost
You get removal!

Reflection III are really tough to locate these days, and usually ends up being expensive, but I’ll see what I can do.

I’m all for a playgroup of SWCCG starting up.

The Battlestar Galactica CCG should be solid as well.

Chris Mettler
Madness Games & Comics

“Play the Games because You Love the Game"

Hmm, perhaps we need a random-gaming forum for non-Magic, non-HeroClix topics?

Sorry to continue the tangent, but if timing worked out, I’d love to get involved in some Decipher SWCCG action.  In my perfect world, it would include anything up to and including the Death Star II expansion; the Episode 1 sets were just a money-grab, and the virtual card junk has done nothing for the game in my opinion.

I used to be a SWCCG TO back in the day and would be happy to help get something organized in Plano.  The game was great for sealed, and most product (aside from Reflections III) is still available and cheaper than bottled water.

My time constraints are tough, but even if I can’t be involved, I’ve got a closet full of singles which I’d be happy to use to help out.  I’d also love to get the ol’ Japanese Death Star deck running again (nearly all Japanese, non-foil, Premiere and A New Hope, including Vader. Frick’n nice looking).

Of course, to stay on topic, Magic’s still a good game too
---Mike Ames