Magic The Gathering

  • Want to keep track of this thread?
    Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
    Create account
Scream Aim Fire said:
Another question for everyone; are there any MTG sets/settings/etc. that I should try to avoid? I know the various IP crossover sets aren't worth it - ironic, given that I first learned about MTG back in 2010 with an AdventureQuest crossover they did - but are there other sets worth skipping for excessive fagginess, for example? I know already there's a lot of freakshit in MTG (it's WOTC, after all), but what should I be on the lookout for?
Click to expand...
Since you're more of a lore guy you could probably build a deck based around some of the older stories or characters if you find a group that's fine with lower power games. The original Phyrexian invasion, Urza being a cunt, Barrin, Venser, recovering Karn, and early Ravnica are all things I enjoyed from MtG's history.

A lot of the modern stuff post Brother's War is closer to plot hole filler and setup than an actual story. Honestly, it doesn't even do that super well but modern WotC writing and trying to remake the gatevengers is a whole other can of worms.
 
Scream Aim Fire said:
Another question for everyone; are there any MTG sets/settings/etc. that I should try to avoid? I know the various IP crossover sets aren't worth it - ironic, given that I first learned about MTG back in 2010 with an AdventureQuest crossover they did - but are there other sets worth skipping for excessive fagginess, for example? I know already there's a lot of freakshit in MTG (it's WOTC, after all), but what should I be on the lookout for?
Click to expand...
You can mostly skip the stuff that happens in Kaledesh, it all amounts to magic Indians do a science fair sarr and the super special dimensional gate gets stolen for the elder dragon Nicol Bolas. The energy mechanic is also not something you’ll likely earn brownie points for bringing to the table in game.

Honestly, a lot of the more recent, post war of the spark (also very bad, those novels suck ass) stories aren’t great. The only exceptions, as I mentioned in a prior post, are the JaceXVraska centric stuff. You do have to deal with the idea of the most emo white guy you know getting it on with the snake lady being brought up, but it beats the other faggy shit for passable writing.
 
Logistical Nightmare said:
You can mostly skip the stuff that happens in Kaledesh, it all amounts to magic Indians do a science fair sarr and the super special dimensional gate gets stolen for the elder dragon Nicol Bolas. The energy mechanic is also not something you’ll likely earn brownie points for bringing to the table in game.

Honestly, a lot of the more recent, post war of the spark (also very bad, those novels suck ass) stories aren’t great. The only exceptions, as I mentioned in a prior post, are the JaceXVraska centric stuff. You do have to deal with the idea of the most emo white guy you know getting it on with the snake lady being brought up, but it beats the other faggy shit for passable writing.
Click to expand...
They managed to Ruin Jace/Vraska by having them break up for no reason after War of the Spark...then get back together next time they showed up.

The energy mechanic is also not something you’ll likely earn brownie points for bringing to the table in game.
Click to expand...
Saar are you shit talking Liberty Prime?
 
SIMON THE PIEMAN said:
Someone in this thread recommended Jumpstart and it's super confusing because for a while every single Magic set would have Jumpstart boosters even though Jumpstart is supposed to be its' own thing. The ones that have their own set are univerally considered to be a terrible product... aside for one set where this is an exception. To make things less confusing: you want the pack to say "Jumpstart", "Jumpstart 2022" or "Foundations Jumpstart" and you should ignore all other Jumpstart products.
I also wouldn't recommend Unfinity, as it is supposed to be a joke set (one of a few that were released through MtG's lifespan) and it won't be a good experience for a beginner.
Click to expand...
Even the "set" jumpstarts are still pretty fun and playable for beginners. They are "terrible" only in that the original compared to them is so great. They're still better than a bunch of stuff released nowadays.

It's like Deus Ex Invisible War. Compared to something like Concord, it's really not that bad of a game. The problem is that it has to be compared to Deus Ex, one of the greatest works of art by mankind. Set-Jumpstarts are a bit like that.

They are often rotting on store shelves nowadays so if a player can pick them up for dirt cheap (especially a new player) I'd definitely recommend giving them a try as they can be great buys for the money.

Noebel said:
I think he means, like, lore stuff and shit, Beavis.
Click to expand...
No he was referring to me, which brought it up at the top of the page.
 
Flexo said:
Even the "set" jumpstarts are still pretty fun and playable for beginners. They are "terrible" only in that the original compared to them is so great. They're still better than a bunch of stuff released nowadays.
Click to expand...
I am just gonna throw in a dissenting opinion in that i think jump start is garbage in actual gameplay.

Having two half precons that you smush together is an interesting idea but half the precons are filled with trash and half are borderline overpowered and if you have two trash ones then you just lose against the first pro tour winning card your opponent plays.

It always feels like a sealed pool where my rares sucked so i just played the best color
 
Flexo said:
They are "terrible" only in that the original compared to them is so great
Click to expand...
They are terrible because they usually have very limitd variety. You will start to get dupes very fast.
 
CompaqOperator said:
Do I buy a sealed odyssey tournament pack for $80-ish?
Click to expand...
Maybe if you keep it sealed? I don't think it really has any value as Odyssey doesn't have any real hits in it. Though I don't know if it would even go up much at all even after a long time.
 
Noebel said:
They are terrible because they usually have very limitd variety. You will start to get dupes very fast.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying buy an entire collection of them. He asked where to get started and grabbing a couple of packs to try out the game and see if it works for him is the best place to start IMO.

After he's gotten a taste, then he can start buying the bundles and such to build out a collection.
 
Noebel said:
Look, m8, if somebody will try to deck you with this thing on field, he deserves a spot on spechial olympics. Unless he'd bojuka you in advance.
Click to expand...
I know the meme is green players can't read, but you'd be amazed at some shit blue players do when they forget about cards that haven't done anything yet.
 
Rich Evans Ayypologist said:
The reality is that the card is pretty good because it has a buyout of cycling for 2 mana. To cycle Blue Sun's or Stroke of Genius, you need 4 mana. It's not great to have to cycle it, sure, but it's just going to rot in your opening hand for most of the game otherwise. It'll be a house in limited. Cycles for two, bad divination for four, refuels you for six, totally refills your hand for eight, and kills your opponent beyond that. That is an insane amount of modality, and there's virtually no situation where it's bad.
Click to expand...
My constructed evaluation is that it's absolutely terrible at 2 or 4. If you frequently cast it at those values it is probably the worst card in your deck. If you're playing at 6 well, it's a sorcery speed version other cards that are unplayable at instant speed and the play pattern only works to refill your hand for a long slow control game you almost certainly have already won. 8 isn't great either, but at least it's finally above the rate you'd expect of an instant. You basically would maybe want this as a one of in some ramp deck to kill someone with decking out as an win con to avoid some specific interaction for your other win cons and just pray you never see it before turn 8.

Commander it's probably fine in Bracket 1 or 2 in commanders that do X spells or create big non-infinte mana. Not really excited about it versus killing the entire table at the same time with a big Crackle with Power or anything.

Limited depends on the format (probably too slow but who knows) but it's helped by the fact making someone draw 16 late or 32 ever will kill them instead of needing to count to 14 mana. It's also probably terrible on yourself at 2-4-6 but hey some times blue card draw is so bad sorcery speed draw is playable.
 
Last edited:
Oddjob OTP said:
My constructed evaluation is that it's absolutely terrible at 2 or 4. If you frequently cast it at those values it is probably the worst card in your deck. If you're playing at 6 well, it's a sorcery speed version other cards that are unplayable at instant speed and the play pattern only works to refill your hand for a long slow control game you almost certainly have already won. 8 isn't great either, but at least it's finally above the rate you'd expect of an instant. You basically would maybe want this as a one of in some ramp deck to kill someone with decking out as an win con to avoid some specific interaction for you other win cons and just pray you never see it before turn 8.

Commander it's probably fine in Bracket 1 or 2 in commanders that do X spells or create big non-infinte mana. Not really excited about it versus killing the entire table at the same time with a big Crackle with Power or anything.

Limited depends on the format (probably too slow but who knows) but it's helped by the fact making someone draw 16 late or 32 ever will kill them instead of needing to count to 14 mana. It's also probably terrible on yourself at 2-4-6 but hey some times blue card draw is so bad sorcery speed draw is playable.
Click to expand...
It being Sorcery speed kills it IMO

Like you are spending your entire turn to sculpt your hand because if you go higher than draw 8 you are gonna discard most of what you drew, alot of the power behind Blue Sun/Sphinx Rev/Pull from tomorrow is that being instant lets you cast them right before your turn and then use some of the cards you drew next turn and hopefully dont have to discard alot.

Edit : before anyone says sea gate restoration, dont forget that card removes handsize
 
Last edited:
Oddjob OTP said:
You basically would maybe want this as a one of in some ramp deck to kill someone with decking out as an win con to avoid some specific interaction for your other win cons and just pray you never see it before turn 8.
Click to expand...
I could see it in standard as a one-off or a sideboard card for grindy matches to break parity. Silver Scrutiny saw some amount of play back in the day, and while the modal option of a draw-3-or-less-at-instant versus reload for sorcery gave it a bit more versatility, I still think the ability to cycle this on 2 when you have no other plays is a significant boon.
Oddjob OTP said:
Not really excited about it versus killing the entire table at the same time with a big Crackle with Power or anything.
Click to expand...
Crackle also has no buyout, really. Both cards pile into the shell, color allowing, but I again think the ability to cycle this one gives it some mileage. It being CMC 2 and being able to be cast for-free while still having an effect are also slight upsides.

I don't think it makes the cut in top-of-the-line bracket 4/5 builds, but it's far from unplayable.
Oddjob OTP said:
Limited depends on the format (probably too slow but who knows)
Click to expand...
Here's where I think it most shines. In this specific format, it's too slow. But Llorwyn is one of the faster ones we've had for a while, and it still has a grindy component. I would slam this card in Avatar or Final Fantasy pretty easily. Unless they completely abandon Lorehold's stupid obsession with the graveyard (which, alongside witherbloom, did not meaningfully materialize in strix limited), it'll probably be a slower format because the clunky design space just isn't going to come together.
 
CompaqOperator said:
Do I buy a sealed odyssey tournament pack for $80-ish?
Click to expand...
Unless you want it as a novelty or a for nostalgia there's nothing in the set you can't get for far less. No sealed product is really worth it unless you're doing it for reasons other than hunting for cards or if it's something really wonky like Alpha-Beta and even then I'm not sure.

Ralph’s Shack said:
LGBT Harry Potter set code is SOS

what did WoTC mean by this
Click to expand...
I really wonder if Stryxhaven is actually popular or if Wizards was really that stupid to go back to it when it's not. I'm guessing Harry Potter is popular enough that even things vaguely related will do well enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom