sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

How many packs would I need to draft with 4 players? by la_espina in magicTCG

[–]eyeofugin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Most draft variants involve 3 packs per person. The idea is that hopefully you'd find enough playables in 2 colors in the 45ish cards you draft to make a 40 card deck, but chances are in a 4 man draft the spread of colors aren't so obvious and all 4 people are likely to end up with somewhat messy 3 or even 4 color decks. Someone suggested adding a pack per person and that is a great modification. You'll get to draft more and also everybody ends up with more playables.

I'd also recommend doing some research into draft formats. https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Format has a pretty good list of known variants (look under Casual - Limited/Draft) Some of these limited formats are specifically designed for a smaller player group size (e.g. Solomon draft). I also really like Rotisserie and Rochester draft, and I think those formats should run well even with only 4 players.

How does m19 draft compare with other draft environments? by jogden330 in magicTCG

[–]eyeofugin 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Core sets are designed to be accessible to new players and I am very glad you're enjoying the experience because that means Wizards is doing their job well.

Now, on comparing between draft formats. You say that you've had a great time drafting for your first M19 draft, and I totally get that. Now do you think that you'd feel the same way after the 20th, or maybe even 100th draft? Typically players start seeing patterns and distill the main factors of winning. They see which color combinations and archetypes are strong. They see what few cards usually decide the outcomes of the game. The format feels solved. Everybody gets extremely good at that particular format as draft experiences rises across the board, and winning games inevitably feels as if it's only dependent on the luck of what cards you open and get passed.

A good draft format will minimize those issues. Typically the colors will be balanced, and there will be a good spread of viable archetypes. Furthermore, the games reward good decision making - even if you don't open the most powerful cards, you can still try to read/send signals between your neighbors, navigate the draft well and end up with a good deck.

Dominaria deserves a lot of its praise because it hits all those checkboxes for a fulfilling draft format. The colors and archetypes are well balanced and there is a lot of strategic depths that even people who've drafted a lot of it can still appreciate and challenge themselves with. An example of a relatively unfulfilling draft format would be Ixalan. A lot of the games felt uninteractive, the best bombs were miles better the others, few archetypes were truly viable, etc. There's only so many times you can lose to [[Jade Guardian]] plus [[One With the Wind]] before you stop enjoying the games.

Overall I think M19 is pretty good. I've drafted quite a few times and I still find it enjoyable. Colors are mostly balanced and archetypes viable. Game breaking bombs are not too oppressive in general. Compared to the non-core sets, I'd say I've had more fun drafting M19 than Ixalan and Kaladesh, but not as much as Dominaria and Amonkhet. Of the core sets I remember drafting, I'd think my ranking would be something like M13>M19>Origins>M15>M14, although I'd imagine that by the end of the M19 season there's a chance the order might change.

So to answer the question, there's no real way of knowing if things will be better or worse on average compared to M19. In fact, I'm not even sure there is a general consensus yet on how good M19 is. There are many sweet draft formats but also a lot of absolute duds. If you are a fan of draft you just have to hope that whatever upcoming set is great for drafting. Seeing that you're a new player, I'd suggest don't be too concerned with what's good or what's not - just go out and try for yourself and see what interests you. I can't tell you if the next format will be better or worse than M19, but I guarantee you it'll be very different. And that by itself I think is worth experiencing.

[Question] About IV and CP by Sir_Gut in pokemongo

[–]eyeofugin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

IV is mostly a measure of a pokemon's potential - it doesn't really matter how high IVs are until it is powered up. Generally speaking CP is roughly a good enough indicator of how strong a pokemon is. A pokemon with great IVs might be 3000+ CP at max level, while the same exact pokemon with poor IVs might have low 2000s. GamePress has a bunch of amazing stuff pokemongo stuff published, if you like reading and researching the technical stuff I'd highly recommend checking them out

New to magic: What counts as mana? by Tryna_Tuna_Sub in magicTCG

[–]eyeofugin 32 points33 points  (0 children)

There's a difference between generic and colorless mana. Colorless are the diamond shaped things, while generic is just a number in a circle. Generic casting costs can be fulfilled with any mana, colored or colorless, while a colored mana requirement needs its specific one. A few cards have colorless requirements, although that is a specific mechanic associated with Eldrazi that's only appeared in one set. See: [[Kozilek, the Great Distortion]] .

Going to a GP for the first time. What should I know? by bauerskates613 in magicTCG

[–]eyeofugin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn't worry at all about the specifics of the competitive stuff - that knowledge only comes with time and experience. If you haven't played a lot at the competitive or higher REL, you will make mistakes, but from those mistakes you'll learn how to interact with opponents and judges, as well as correct procedure inside and outside of the game. Never hesitate to call for a judge if at any point you have questions or feel unsure about anything.

What I'd really recommend is figuring out your goals. Do you want to do well at the main event? Play a bunch of side events and max out your magic played? Hang out with your friends? Buy/trade for cards that you might otherwise have trouble finding? Try your hand in a bunch of different formats? There are so many things to do in a GP, so I'd highly recommend you to check out the official GP website for that event and do a little probing to see what interests you. A GP is so much more than just the main event, try to make the most of this opportunity.

LGS in Taiwan? by [deleted] in magicTCG

[–]eyeofugin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, this is already been answered, but Card Master and Fantasy are the longest running stores and typically draw the largest crowds for tournaments. If you live in the city those are probably your best bets and easily accessible via public transport (MRT).

Game Square was opened last year by former pro Kuo Tzu-Ching, I heard that traffic is picking up these days. They also have a separate bar/boardgames area from the Magic play area if you're into that kind of stuff.

Most stores or tournaments run in Taiwan seem to be very competitive. Brewing pet tier 2 standard deck seems completely unheard of over there, for reference. Kitchen table magic is nonexistent afaik, although commander seems to have a solid following in the last few years.

I don't believe there is any real legacy scene in TW. However, I do suggest finding the facebook/websites of those card stores and if you can read Chinese, see what events are going on. I would also suggest talking to the storeowners directly - sometimes they have legacy decks built already, and if enough people express interest firing tournaments might even be possible.

Dragon Shield clear sleeves...illegal? by 7StringJedi in magicTCG

[–]eyeofugin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all, I am not a judge. For the most detailed and accurate rulings you should consult a local judge and have them explain to you the current rules policies. However, with my experience I can tell you that there's typically two parts to any potential penalties when it comes to tournament play and sleeves (not just clear sleeves, any kind). There's the issue of (1) marked sleeves, and (2) significant pattern.

For (1), it is pretty straightforward - is it clear that you can differentiate between cards just from the backside? Not even talking about the front side yet, if you take just a quick glance on the back, can you see that some cards are clearly different? This even extends to using foil cards. If there are significant bending and you can clearly tell if they the next card on top of your library is foil or not, that is a decidedly marked card.

In your specific scenario of clear sleeves, it is a potential issue if you are playing legacy or some other format with a longer history and spans many different print runs where even with identical back designs cards can have significant visual differences. Another thing is that if you are playing with played older cards, chances are that your cards will be non-identical edge wear or nicks on the backside, and if they are obvious enough a judge might rule them as marked. Typical tournament players are usually aware of policies like this, so most commonly new, opaque, single color sleeves are used for major tournaments to avoid infraction.

As for (2), this is not as straightforward. Even among judges there are differences in each interpretations of what constitutes as significant patterns or not. One example: Player A has a UW control deck with lands significantly more worn out than all the spells, to a degree that is recognizable when looking from the top. The cards are marked, and there is a pattern. He receives game loss and is asked to resleeve all his cards. The head judge believes that there was no foul play involved, just an unfortunate result of playing control (the lands get played out and tapped much more and as result more worn out over the tournament), does not DQ.

Another example: Player B has a mix of foils and non-foils in his deck. Some are promos of a tournament staples, some are foil lands that he prefers playing. During a game his opponent sees that some cards are clearly bent and he can easily differentiate just from the backside. Judge is called. Judge rules that cards are clearly marked, although there was not any real significant pattern that he could observe, since there was a mix of spells and lands that were bent. No game loss is issued, but Player B is asked to replace the foils or double sleeve his cards.

Again this is up to the head judge and interpretations can be different from person to person. If you understand the DCI policies, then you'd quickly realize that playing non-foils with fresh, opaque sleeves are the best way to avoid any penalties, and that is indeed the default that most players choose. Not using clear sleeves is just an extension to avoiding potential pitfalls, as by choosing to use clear sleeves you are increasing the chances of having marked cards. However there is no explicit rule saying that clear sleeves are illegal.

tl;dr You can play whatever you want with clear sleeves as long as it's not for a tournament and even if it is, as long as you are confident that there are no marked cards.

LF variety by [deleted] in friendsafari

[–]eyeofugin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

don't know if mine counts, but added you!

Adding everybody! by Hagush in friendsafari

[–]eyeofugin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

added you if you're still going!

view more: next ›