Magic The Gathering

[Flexo]

For the most part the entire set is spoiled before the stories even start (I think they have changed that recently) in an age before "CONTENT CREATORS" and websites like mythic spoiler where you can see every card at a click this was a smaller problem because people wouldn't see the full set before things came out. Typically you wouldn't see the major Rares that spoiler story events like Phyrexian Arena unless you pulled it from a pack.

I knew Gideon sacrificed himself before the first War of the Spark story even was posed, now again I -THINK- they fixed this, I don't care enough to look at when the Kamigawa storylines started.

Yes they did release Kamigawa the story before cards (officially) but I'm still not following your point. The story is done before the cards are posted. Just because a chapter or something gets posted one day doesn't mean some author ran off to jot down the details of that moment and upload it. I know it feels like the story lately was done the night before but it really isn't. Books and stuff need a lead time just like the cards do.

I misremembered the order and thought that the Block order was Innistrad, Scars of Mirrodin, Ravnica 2 and then Theros instead of Scars, Innistrad, Ravnica 2 and Theros. I don't like Innistrad 1 really, I think the plane is lame but I am not willing to say it isn't creative because the Storyline is framed by the Horror Tropes rather than the Horror Tropes being shoved in your face.

Unlike Theros where "LOL HELIOD IS A DICK JUST LIKE ZEUS IS AND BETRAYED ESLPETH" but relooking at the order that Blocks came out I think the wheels really came off at Ravnica 2, where they outright Ignored the ending of Ravnica 1, had the second Guildpact Dissolve offscreen, have the Ghost Quarter completely fucking poof offscreen with the only explanation being "THE MENDING" and having the major Lore characters do nothing about the fact that the Second Guildpact is failing despite all being active.

No the Ghost Quarter was dissolved at the end of Ravnica book 3 because it was revealed that it was the Guildpact screwing up the plane's afterlife. Excluding whatever retcons later changed that and how much you want to count Agents of Artifice as canon. (which is a ravnica story in-between the 2 blocks)

Though I think this also just goes to prove how much WotC has been fumbling with their lore trying to do extra stories which may or may not tie into sets. There is an interesting debate to be had on whether sets even need "stories" to them. D&D and their boutique products (Commander Legends, Modern Horizons, etc) would seem to be evidence that story could be optional.

I kind of don't care about "Top down or bottom up" like, Tarkir being bottom up doesn't change the fact that it is just "Ancient China until Sarkin fucks with the timeline then it is just "Dominaria during the Primevals rule except Ancient China"

By that logic we can say magic's always had this problem as Mirage/Visions/Prophecy "was just Africa."

And considering the last times WotC was truly creative in inventing their planes, we got Kaladesh's "aetherpunk" and Ikoria's mutate...

We're better off them stealing other's homework.

IIRC he drank from The Cauldron of Eternity, I don't think they actually put stories out for Eldraine, I could 100% be wrong on that because I stopped giving a fuck about the lore and flavor of the game the moment Gideon died preventing Liliana getting what she deserved.

Earlier I posted a link to the ebook they released.

Yes, if you want to get the full Eldraine story - pay amazon money! (Just like the old days again, except no book to hold in hand.)

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

Yes they did release Kamigawa the story before cards (officially) but I'm still not following your point.

Oh I am saying that the way spoilers worked (until now apparently) made reading the story largely irrelevant. "Spoiler Season" used to basically completely spoil the story because they would reveal all of the major plot points before the short stories even began, like If I recall properly the Short Stories for Ixalan started after the set released.



So this uncommon, that was plastered on the website's card list basically revealed that Jace gets his memories back before it was remotely possible to read the actual story, thus many people didn't even care because they already knew what was going to happen, and that this was a recent problem because back in the day Spoiler Season wasn't even a thing and it has taken WOTC years to apparently adjust to the fact they made Spoiler Season a big ass hype train.

No the Ghost Quarter was dissolved at the end of Ravnica book 3 because it was revealed that it was the Guildpact screwing up the plane's afterlife. Excluding whatever retcons later changed that and how much you want to count Agents of Artifice as canon. (which is a ravnica story in-between the 2 blocks)

No it wasn't, The ending of book 3 had Ghost Argus Kos agreeing to keep Ghost Szadek under control in the Ghost Quarter, becuase Szadek was a ghost so they really couldn't do anything to him.

By that logic we can say magic's always had this problem as Mirage/Visions/Prophecy "was just Africa."

At least that takes place on a world where we can go visit some other part that is different, Dominaria cribs shit but Dominaria is at least developed enough that the various generic places can and did interact with each other. Prophecy is Vikings invading Africa, which is better than Kaldheim which was just "Vikings doing Vikings..OH AND ITS A KAYA CHASING A PREATOR" one nation on a full plane being a ripoff is one thing, but we have had plane after plane that is just "X BUT MAGIC THE GATHERING IP" and we spend 1-2 sets there and fuck off for 5 years.

And considering the last times WotC was truly creative in inventing their planes, we got Kaladesh's "aetherpunk" and Ikoria's mutate...

Kaladesh is India no...really it is supposed to be India Inspired which is a giant fucking retcon given Chandra is a fucking Ginger, and Ikoria would have been interesting if they had leaned into "The Mutating Kaiju vs Humans" thing..except that Vivien was there and they had to simp for Vivien so the monsters just had to be "Empathized with" because Viven is an insufferable PETA cunt that they somehow write as a "GOOD GUY" tm.

Though I think this also just goes to prove how much WotC has been fumbling with their lore trying to do extra stories which may or may not tie into sets. There is an interesting debate to be had on whether sets even need "stories" to them. D&D and their boutique products (Commander Legends, Modern Horizons, etc) would seem to be evidence that story could be optional.

A year ago I would have argued that the Brand and Lore is important, but WOTC is so fucking incompetent that the IP Branding of Magic the Gathering is a complete dumpster fire and has been for so long that they might as well abandon it entirely and just have Magic the Gathering become "FUNKO POP THE CARD GAME" and just whore out to get whatever real IPs will let them make cards to sell.

Earlier I posted a link to the ebook they released.

Yes, if you want to get the full Eldraine story - pay amazon money! (Just like the old days again, except no book to hold in hand.)

Nah, I am good, I don't need to know the details about how The Lannisters found out the Arthur PenNigger wasn't their real father then went to Hogwarts and fought Voldemort with the help of a Necromancer who made a deal with an Elder Dragon and 4 Demons, reneged on her end of the deal..and had no real comeuppance because a Gideon is a Simp.

 

[Retink]

Since we're on the topic of story what is the best set of books for Magic? For me I'd say it's the three Ice Age books which did a really good job in combining three sets with very limited story between them, with one being a complete outlier in The Dark. The four Brother's War books are probably second place.

 

[Nien Nunb]

To be fair, you had Innistrad and Kamigawa in that which were both very much in the same line of Eldraines "FAIRY TALES BUT MMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAGIIIIIIIIICCCCC THE GAAAATHHHERING!!!!!" horse shit.

I'm gonna argue that OG Innistrad and Kamigawa are absolutely nothing like Eldraine. Innistrad had some very obvious references, but it at least made a lot of the references they had subtle and bent them to fit in with Magic lore, not the other way around.

Original had Trepanation Blade, a rapier that's got 3 blades that spin like a drill, and nu-Innistrad has Spiked Ripsaw, which is a literal chainsaw. It has some extra spikes but otherwise is mundane.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

Since we're on the topic of story what is the best set of books for Magic?

Kamigawa is probably the "Best written" it is a very self contained story that made sense given the setting, the Second Legends Cycle is probably the second best with Ice Age in the third, but I will say that the First Ice Age book is the best stand alone book in the entire library and should be required reading for anyone who touches the lore given that it actually explains How..."Lands" work lore wise.

Also Mana Burn but that isn't a thing anymore.

The four Brother's War books are probably second place.

You mean the Urza Saga? cause Brothers war was one book but I would agree that Brothers War/Planeswalker/Timestreams is a really good trilogy..but I remember Bloodlines is bad enough to drag the other 3 down big time.

I'm gonna argue that OG Innistrad and Kamigawa are absolutely nothing like Eldraine. Innistrad had some very obvious references, but it at least made a lot of the references they had subtle and bent them to fit in with Magic lore, not the other way around.

Original had Trepanation Blade, a rapier that's got 3 blades that spin like a drill, and nu-Innistrad has Spiked Ripsaw, which is a literal chainsaw. It has some extra spikes but otherwise is mundane.

They weren't as bad, but they had the seeds of what would eventually start to really strangle the Lore.

 

[derpherp2]

Man, Eldraine. Eldraine has tons of problems creatively. The set is half the most bland, predictable MtG-ification of "The Once and Future King," right down to having Legally Distinct (tm) King Arthur as the buy-a-box promo. The other half of the set is Legally Distinct (tm) Shrek, right down to the most unsubtle fairy tale references you could possibly design. The story for the set is a random mishmash of fairy tale tropes that, as collateral damage, wraps up a plot line that had been on the backburner for literal years, and it does so for no value. Garruk doesn't even follow the twins to Strixhaven when they do the "Harry Potter goes to community college" set, and we haven't heard a peep from him since.

Then there's the worldbuilding. The world isn't quite as nonsensical as Ikoria, but the Shrek-style fairy tale references don't mesh well with the straightfaced King Arthur stuff. Take Gingerbrute. Why does the cookie have haste? Are you telling me a cookie that's smaller than my hand can break the land speed barrier and be totally fine? Why is it alive? Does the magic of Eldraine just randomly animate food items? Did some witch or faerie get bored and decide that making a cookie run around like Sonic on crack would be a sick prank, bro?

I mean, the answer to all of these is obviously that Gingerbrute isn't meant to work in-world, it's meant to be a reference to the Gingerbread Man. I'm meant to see the card, get the nod, feel clever for getting the nod, feel good feelings about the product that makes me feel clever, and then act on those feelings by buying the product. It's not a Mirrodin or a Ravnica where some thought was put into the setting, trying to figure out what would or wouldn't make sense in it and what things would or wouldn't work in that world. The world of Eldraine is totally irrelevant except as a vehicle to deliver memes and references. The only things that exist in the world of Eldraine are setups for whatever punchline the designers have.

I just realized HOW FUCKED Strixhaven got, imagine if Garruk actually followed the twins AND met liliana during her "why am I even alive" shit nd getting hopefucked by the twins.
Garruk would have a crisis where the one person he probably wants killed is being defended by the one person he swore to protect, while liliana probably does some pseudo-suicide shit to get Garruk to kill him.
THIS COULD'VE HAPPENED BUT NOPE HARRY POTTER.

 

[Retink]

Kamigawa is probably the "Best written" it is a very self contained story that made sense given the setting, the Second Legends Cycle is probably the second best with Ice Age in the third, but I will say that the First Ice Age book is the best stand alone book in the entire library and should be required reading for anyone who touches the lore given that it actually explains How..."Lands" work lore wise.

Also Mana Burn but that isn't a thing anymore.

I haven't read the Kamigawa books as I'm just not interested in the setting, but I did just pick up the Legends books as they're the only ones I haven't read of the old series. I remember always seeing them, Johan specifically, at the Barnes and Nobles or EB/Game Stop that functioned as my babysitter while my parents shopped when I was little. Excited to give them a shot after so long of not touching an MTG related book, so it's good to hear they'll be good.

The first Ice Age book could have probably been a major hit if it was a little more refined and not seen as just a Magic book. It really had a lot of good concepts and tied in all the game mechanics without feeling forced, and the only thing that felt out of place was the Stone Calendar but it still played a part. Outside of that it had rather memorable characters with Marzyl, Barl, and the Church members.

You mean the Urza Saga? cause Brothers war was one book but I would agree that Brothers War/Planeswalker/Timestreams is a really good trilogy..but I remember Bloodlines is bad enough to drag the other 3 down big time.

You're right on the name, and the Thran is seen as part of the set. I actually like Bloodlines a lot, because it gave a look into the Keld culture and made a distinction of what a Gathan was in comparison to a normal Keld. That and Gatha was an interesting character, with it being a somewhat nice twist that he wasn't just randomly evil, he just wanted to do his own thing and when it came down to it he was fine handing over his research to Urza as he knew he was dead.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

So I don't know how good it actually is but playing Hinata Jeskai Control feels good man. I saw Hinata in a preview and it set my wheels a-turning. It also seems like it will be really good in commander, which is where I've been playing most of my magic lately.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4603937#arena Is the decklist I shamelessly copied and then swapped several cards around like swapping Jwari for Negate because that card is ALWAYS either useless or a tapped land on turn 6

Also in Arena Devs telling Historic fags to fuck themselves news, they informed everyone that they will maybe someday think about probably adding an Alchemy cardless historic equivalent that may-or-may not be a real queue date to be determined probably (unless they don't).

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

the Legends books as they're the only ones I haven't read of the old series. I remember always seeing them, Johan specifically, at the Barnes and Nobles or EB/Game Stop that functioned as my babysitter while my parents shopped when I was little. Excited to give them a shot after so long of not touching an MTG related book, so it's good to hear they'll be good.

There are two separate stories for the Legends, the First Trilogy is about Hazazeon Tamar vs the Evil Mage Johan and has some issues. (Johan is absurdly overpowered and gets taken out entirely by plot) and the second Trilogy is about Tetsuo Umezawa and is probably the Reason Nicol Bolas used to be really loved as a villain before Amonkhet and War fucked him up.

You're right on the name, and the Thran is seen as part of the set. I actually like Bloodlines a lot, because it gave a look into the Keld culture and made a distinction of what a Gathan was in comparison to a normal Keld. That and Gatha was an interesting character, with it being a somewhat nice twist that he wasn't just randomly evil, he just wanted to do his own thing and when it came down to it he was fine handing over his research to Urza as he knew he was dead.

They can see Thran as part of that set..but Thran was it's own thing that came out between Planeshift and Apocalypse..and I liked the Keld part of Bloodlines..it was just everything else that made me want to pull my hair out.

 

[Retink]

There are two separate stories for the Legends, the First Trilogy is about Hazazeon Tamar vs the Evil Mage Johan and has some issues. (Johan is absurdly overpowered and gets taken out entirely by plot) and the second Trilogy is about Tetsuo Umezawa and is probably the Reason Nicol Bolas used to be really loved as a villain before Amonkhet and War fucked him up.

I got all six of the books as I hadn't read either. I actually like Nicol Bolas because of the Time Spiral books, and read the cliffnotes for Khans through War of the Spark and it was shit. I also didn't like the new Bolas art, it made him look too savage where his original Legends art despite being goofy made him more interesting with all of the books and such. I don't think we've seen something like that in a while with Magic, a powerful character just hanging out and reading, showing off a knowledge is power type of vibe instead of just being ripped or bristling with Super Saiyan glow.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

I got all six of the books as I hadn't read either. I actually like Nicol Bolas because of the Time Spiral books, and read the cliffnotes for Khans through War of the Spark and it was shit. I also didn't like the new Bolas art, it made him look too savage where his original Legends art despite being goofy made him more interesting with all of the books and such. I don't think we've seen something like that in a while with Magic, a powerful character just hanging out and reading, showing off a knowledge is power type of vibe instead of just being ripped or bristling with Super Saiyan glow.

You don't see..much of him, but when he shows up he establishes himself as a very Dio style villain where he is absurdly over the top..but actually has the power to back it up. Which made his desire for godhood post Mending sensible, War and the Elder Dragon Core set1 just kind of Wrote him as a petulant child instead of the..millennia old Dragon, and I agree Magic has kind of lost some of the gravitas that characters like Sorin, Nicol Bolas and Ugin should have, they are thousands of years old and don't always act like it.

Especially Sorin, holy fuck Sorin does not act like he has lived longer than The Gatewatch (Minus Teferi) Combined.

 

[Retink]

You don't see..much of him, but when he shows up he establishes himself as a very Dio style villain where he is absurdly over the top..but actually has the power to back it up. Which made his desire for godhood post Mending sensible, War and the Elder Dragon Core set1 just kind of Wrote him as a petulant child instead of the..millennia old Dragon, and I agree Magic has kind of lost some of the gravitas that characters like Sorin, Nicol Bolas and Ugin should have, they are thousands of years old and don't always act like it.

Especially Sorin, holy fuck Sorin does not act like he has lived longer than The Gatewatch (Minus Teferi) Combined.

That's what made Time Spiral great for me, not only was I grinding competitive and loved the return of old frames as well as the Dominaria look, but also just the story was good. It brought these characters I didn't know much about, but heard of, like Nicol Bolas and Leshrac and gave them the spotlight as actual threats with Leshrac being an interesting character in his own way and Nicol Bolas just fucking with him in an unexpected way before revealing the joke that wasn't just on the nose "And Nicol Bolas was very smart and Leshrac was walking into his plan..." writing. It let you experience the moment and then revealed the truth.

I'll completely agree Bolas just comes off as a whiny bitch in the new story. I preferred the idea of him being strong but nothing special until he killed a Leviathan and just sat there eating this massive mana rich creature which allowed him to ascend. Then he just built an empire and didn't have plans to just do evil things for the sake of being evil, but he did enjoy messing with people. I don't know shit about Sorin and I'm fine keeping it that way.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

That's what made Time Spiral great for me, not only was I grinding competitive and loved the return of old frames as well as the Dominaria look, but also just the story was good. It brought these characters I didn't know much about, but heard of, like Nicol Bolas and Leshrac and gave them the spotlight as actual threats with Leshrac being an interesting character in his own way and Nicol Bolas just fucking with him in an unexpected way before revealing the joke that wasn't just on the nose "And Nicol Bolas was very smart and Leshrac was walking into his plan..." writing. It let you experience the moment and then revealed the truth.

The Leshrac thing was kind of great.

Teferi : "Nicol You need to give up your Godlike Power to seal this rift you made"
Nicol: "How bout...no." *punts Leshrac into the rift* "He can take my spot."

I'll completely agree Bolas just comes off as a whiny bitch in the new story. I preferred the idea of him being strong but nothing special until he killed a Leviathan and just sat there eating this massive mana rich creature which allowed him to ascend.

Eh I don't like the Leviathan thing being the source of his power, I prefer The Old Walkers being powerful because they are so..very old, Bolas as of War of the Spark was 25,000 years old.

He has spent more time taking shits than entire civilizations existed, this being should be dangerous just through having gone through everything several times, he once told Venser "I've survived more apocalypses than you have had head colds" it is a silly line, but...given how old he is it is entirely believable.

 

[Retink]

Eh I don't like the Leviathan thing being the source of his power, I prefer The Old Walkers being powerful because they are so..very old, Bolas as of War of the Spark was 25,000 years old.

He has spent more time taking shits than entire civilizations existed, this being should be dangerous just through having gone through everything several times, he once told Venser "I've survived more apocalypses than you have had head colds" it is a silly line, but...given how old he is it is entirely believable.

His power didn't come from just the Leviathan. He already had the mind rot power and the Leviathan was just raw power, a different sort of primordial beast that existed along side Bolas and the others. It was basically a draw between them and Bolas ended up winning by rotting the creature's mind and then outsmarting it in what was extensive combat spanning days. After that he ate his prize and absorbed the power it had that put him over the top of the others. He was already rather intelligent and powerful in magic, but something like that helped him reach a new level and opened his eyes to what power can be gotten out in the world.

That's what made Bolas great though, the campy nature of him. Yawgmoth was the heartless and brutally efficient villain, Bolas was the guy who like to put on a show and fuck with people, he was sort of a foppish tyrant that wanted to rule and have his ego stroked while he played games with the lives of others. It's why he let Venser, Teferi, and co live, they set him free and he found them entertaining. It's also why he let Leshrac think that Leshrac had the upper hand and he himself was dying under his feet in a miserable pile before standing up and crushing him. That's why his original art worked so well, he's not out there just kick boxing people to death, he's hanging out and having a good time, sometimes he pokes someone and makes them flip out.

 

[derpherp2]

Actually I thought about it even more, and the strixhaven plot could've been improved even more to create an overarching meta-plot like Bolas/Brother's War/idgaf while introducing the twins as mainstays, do you remember how Rowan turned from some scrawny twink into a blond Jon Snow?

Well the transformation happened DMC5 style due to the stress of the Garruk vs Liliana Fight gaining a spark of his own while whatever her name gets shunted into the Blind Eternities (With a hint of becoming more intelligent about Sparks as a whole - a la 'Scholar of the Sparks' but we don't know about it until much later), putting into question if the damage to the spark from the mending is permanent. Making multiple overarching questions that could take an entire saga to answer into the forefront.

Did the elderspell or whatever actually work and instead of fixing Bolas's spark, actually heal a little bit of 'sparks' as a whole? Or did the mass culling of planeswalkers somehow do that instead?
What are these weirdass spark mutations like 'too strong and cant control planeswalking,' 'entity-based spark,' 'twin's spark?' Are those sparks pre-mending in strength?
Where in the fuck is Kasmina.
Will Garruk actually be at the forefront and will new planeswalkers ACTUALLY be a thing now instead of OOO JACE/CHANDRA/IDGAF-SAMA FUCK ME HARDER.

 

[Plant Aqua Mammal]

Seeing all of the lore discussion here really makes me glad i got out of Magic around Time Spiral.. Seems like thats when everything starting dipping.

Man i loved Kamigawa's story(Toshiro is the best protagonist, don't @ me). Subversion of the color wheel was a nice change of pace, having white and blue main antags and your main protag being black-aligned.

Ravnica was a fun ride, going through Kos' world weary detective story was cool. Didn't care much for Teysa, but eh.

Didn't like Time Spiral's story that much.. Can't even remember most of it aside from "Planeswalkers are now just people who can planeshift instead of nigh-omnipotent godlike beings".

The less said about Mirrodin the better. Those books had some nice characters, but it all felt.. Meh. Finding out later that Mirrodin gets taken over and Glissa became evil was jarring though.

Dominaria had alot of my favorite storylines, and Otaria's journey with Kamahl was a journey i love to talk about. Gerrard though.. Ehhh. I can see why people hate him. Wasn't a big fan of him or most of the Weatherlight crew myself..

 

[Oddjob OTP]

A great feeling in MtG is when someone concedes/ropes to you when they would have easily won if they continued playing.

Played my Hinata pile yesterday against a mono white neanderthal, and their board got out of hand before I could adequately slow it down. I get out Hinata, and phase out all creatures for the stall, then when it's their turn again I tap down 2 creatures delete another 3 and create a blocker with Magma Opus. Then on my turn I kill 2 more with Shatterskull Smashing leaving them with only a 2/2 left while I stabilized the board at 4 health with Hinata and a 4/4 token. The one card I knew about in their hand would have exiled my token and got me to 2 because I was trying to speed the game up by smashing with Hinata*. But they had already fucked off so I won a game I didn't really deserve because my opponent was a salt mine. They had 3 unknown cards in hand and I had nothing that could stop them from doing basically anything to prevent them from winning.

*- In Retrospect, I should have been smashing with the 4/4 token because his exile that I knew about could hit the token but not Hinata.

 

[Cats]

Inhales...

...MTG was a fun and large part of my littlekidhood but I feel has been unrepentently faggotted since around the time they changed the card face in the early 2000s. Nothing beats old school magic for card game art, creativity, fun and cool deck design (remember 5 color black from when visions/mirage was in Type 2? Knights, critters with enter play effects, contagion? I always will...or how about Negator decks? Suicide black in type 2? So cool. Sligh, LD, Replenish, Necropotence decks?..freaking WILDFIRE?! There was so much beauty in the game back then....remember the first netdeck to come after the card face change: affinity. Unfortunately I remember that too. How about the first popular Planeswalker deck (I would say decks but it was just cawblade with jace's homosexual ass everywhere) boo. now it is all awful CGI art where all the women are in burkhas or motherfucking fat or trannies and the company absolutely reeks of politics. Even if you pull back a little, modern is full to the brim with ugly concepts and ugly tier 1 ideas. Sometimes I wish I had held onto my old stuff so I could play paper vintage but you know what? It just depresses me thinking about MTG past a certain point in history. And that's the bottom line because Stone Cold E.T. said so.

 

[Retink]

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Inhales...

...MTG was a fun and large part of my littlekidhood but I feel has been unrepentently faggotted since around the time they changed the card face in the early 2000s. Nothing beats old school magic for card game art, creativity, fun and cool deck design (remember 5 color black from when visions/mirage was in Type 2? Knights, critters with enter play effects, contagion? I always will...or how about Negator decks? Suicide black in type 2? So cool. Sligh, LD, Replenish, Necropotence decks?..freaking WILDFIRE?! There was so much beauty in the game back then....remember the first netdeck to come after the card face change: affinity. Unfortunately I remember that too. How about the first popular Planeswalker deck (I would say decks but it was just cawblade with jace's homosexual ass everywhere) boo. now it is all awful CGI art where all the women are in burkhas or motherfucking fat or trannies and the company absolutely reeks of politics. Even if you pull back a little, modern is full to the brim with ugly concepts and ugly tier 1 ideas. Sometimes I wish I had held onto my old stuff so I could play paper vintage but you know what? It just depresses me thinking about MTG past a certain point in history. And that's the bottom line because Stone Cold E.T. said so.



View attachment 2981534

The old Magic frame and art was just amazing in my opinion and I loved that it was this sort of story book hand drawn art that gave off a lot of soul. I really can't stand the modern art as it really looks like two layers made in a program.

I actually bought a bunch of cards to rebuild old Type 2 decks from the Invasion era and just keep it as a board game pretty much. I might expand into other Type 2 formats but it's always fun to pick up a deck and run Junk against Trenches. Magic had a few good Type 2 periods after the card frame changed, but most of it was a rehash of metas in the past such as Ghazi Glare being an Opposition deck in all reality and Wildfire was just Wildfire with Magnavor.

They just had a really solid balance of spells, creatures, and other types of cards back in the day, because sure Flame Tongue Kavu was a major inhibitor, but it wasn't that good. Think about how crazy that is, this card is remembered as being oppressive and it was in all reality pretty balanced against most of the field as it traded with things like Call of the Herd and just lost to counters and bigger dudes like Spiritmonger. Even something like Spectral Lynx would counter FTK. Yet today every creature is better than a 2 for 1 like FTK and the only thing that really competes are things like Planeswalkers.

You also just don't have decks like Balancing Tings / Wildfire anymore, which is silly because it's just so much design space they don't use because land destruction is seen as unfun even if it's not amazingly powerful. Stuff like Ponza and KBBK were pretty fun outside of a small handful of games.

 

[Bonesjones]

Planeswalkers killed Magic, everything else was just icing on a shit cake.