Any MTG players here?

"ddavidn" (ddavidn)
09/04/2013 at 17:18 • Filed to: MTG

My friend is trying to get me to play Magic The Gathering. Is this going to spend all my money and consume my life? Is it going to turn me into a Satanist?

Actually just wondering if there are any MTG players. I know the answer to the first two questions.

DISCUSSION (22)

PanchoVilleneuve ST > ddavidn
09/04/2013 at 17:20

Just be prepared for all the money you invest to become worthless when the game's horrible power creep renders your formerly powerful, valuable cards to become useless.

Makoyouidiot > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/04/2013 at 17:21

Or they get rendered useless by that one jackhole at a meet whose deck is set up purely to counter any spell you cast as you cast it. Grrrrr.

ddavidn > PanchoVilleneuve ST
09/04/2013 at 17:21

Nice! That sounds like fun!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ddavidn
09/04/2013 at 17:51

I wouldn't know, I just play D&D.

ddavidn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/04/2013 at 17:54

I'm definitely not prepared to get into that... yet.

davedave1111 > ddavidn
09/04/2013 at 17:55

There's a few freeware programmes you can use to play MtG against other people, and then there's no need to waste money on the silly cards. Google 'cockatrice', if I remember rightly.

In my experience*, even 'good' MtG players haven't worked out how the game actually works, so a bit of correct strategy will go a very long way.

[*My experience is quite limited, though. I got invited along to a national tournament once, never having played before, and won. Then I beat the 'top' players again because they insisted it was beginner's luck. I haven't played since.]

My opinion is that the game's trivial, and there are many, many better games out there. It's pretty much like tic-tac-toe in terms of the number of correct options you have, so the correct way to play is completely mechanical. Then again, maybe I'm wrong and it's just that the people I was playing against were all complete idiots.

davedave1111 > Makoyouidiot
09/04/2013 at 17:58

...and that's why I don't play MTG. There's nothing like having a winning strategy criticised for, basically, being correct to put decent players off. Clearly, being able to control the circumstances of the game makes things much more predictable, and being able to predict what will happen is a huge advantage strategically.

ddavidn > davedave1111
09/04/2013 at 18:00

What "better" (better always being subjective) games are there? Just curious. Also, Cockatrice got cease-and-desisted into submission. I'm sure I could find it again, but... yeah.

davedave1111 > ddavidn
09/04/2013 at 18:12

I'd class Monopoly and Connect Four as better games, to be honest. But everything from highly-regarded games like chess, bridge and poker to stuff like Settlers of Catan.

I may be going a little too far here, but it's arguable whether MtG actually qualifies as a game when played correctly. It's more like a pre-determined performance than a game.

ddavidn > davedave1111
09/04/2013 at 18:14

Gotcha. Good to know. Obviously, I'm not going to stop playing Settlers for anything...

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ddavidn
09/04/2013 at 18:19

Actually, I deceived a bit. I also play Shadowrun 4E, have been known to play Vampire: the Requiem, Star Wars Saga Edition, Pathfinder, Paranoia, and have tried unsuccessfully to get into or start other games, including Exalted, Mage, and Final Fantasy pen & paper.

My favorite D&D edition is 3.5, though I also own an 80's Basic set and some 2e books, and have played 4e.

tl;dr: NNNEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRDDDDDS

davedave1111 > ddavidn
09/04/2013 at 18:20

I don't know why I just thought of it, but talking of card games with proprietary decks, did you ever play Fluxx?

http://www.looneylabs.com/games/fluxx

I definitely had a lot more fun playing that than MtG :)

ddavidn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/04/2013 at 18:21

I am a nerd of a different color. Just video games and more "standard" tabletop games for me.

ddavidn > davedave1111
09/04/2013 at 18:23

Yup, I've played that a few times. Always good fun.

Fun has always been relative to the people I'm playing with, though. That is most of the reason I will play a few games of MTG. I can have more fun playing slapjack with great people than any of my favorite games with people I don't like.

Who am I kidding, slapjack IS one of my favorite games!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ddavidn
09/04/2013 at 18:24

I also play my share of strategy games or out-of mainstream boardgames: Ticket to Ride, Dominion, Shadows over Camelot, Arkham Horror, etc.

I wonder if I should start a d20 modern or Shadowrun game online open to Jalops with all the characters as a team of mechanics...

ddavidn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/04/2013 at 18:26

Ticket to Ride and Dominion are a couple of my standard party games, as well as Settlers and Munchkin.

Makoyouidiot > davedave1111
09/04/2013 at 18:31

Hehe. And having such a deck is awesome, provided duders don't murder you in the alley afterwards for ruining their fun.

davedave1111 > ddavidn
09/04/2013 at 18:31

Mornington Crescent !

http://www.mornington-crescent-rule.fsnet.co.uk/mornington-cre…

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ddavidn
09/04/2013 at 18:31

Munchkin is good, but there's another game that's a parody of the "tavern" setpiece rather than adventuring in general that's a load of fun: Red Dragon Inn. It's a game about adventurers being in a tavern and drinking to the last man/woman/thing standing. In fact, I just picked up the third version (different versions have different four "characters", you can combine them for >4 players) at Dragon Con two days ago.

You should try it. It has an "I don't think so" card and dirty mop water as one of the drink cards. Or worse: Dwarven firewater, spiked, with a chaser.

ddavidn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/04/2013 at 18:34

I've seen that! Forgot about it, though. I'll have to look for it again. It looked pretty fantastic.

davedave1111 > Makoyouidiot
09/04/2013 at 18:35

It's not my fault people will insist on role-playing in a card game :)

Eazy-O > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
09/04/2013 at 20:23

3.5 Edition is best edition. In da hizzouse.

Any of ya nerds into Necromunda, Warhammer 40k, Warmachine? Been playing Necromunda for... nngh... errrgh... about 14 years? 40k for about 12 and Warmachine for 4.

I would totally be up for d20 modern, but none of my buddies wanna get in on it. Arkham horror is mad awesome, as well.

As for MTG, when I started in elementary, I was told to buy boosters from Urza's Saga, Urza's Legacy and Tempest. Good times, good times. Still have that stuff around. I think last cards I actually bought were Invasion, though I did procure some post that. Nowadays me and a few buddies just have a big box 'o cards and draft on site when we feel like playing. Of course, some people have to be party poopers and play their god damn replicator decks from high school. Fnergh.