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10 months ago ::
Aug 11, 2012 - 4:08PM
#41
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Date Joined:
Aug 26, 2008
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I was hoping I would see more people suggest this in this thread, but I would love to see an article discussing development's views on the top decks in Standard in the past few years, where they fall, and what that suggests about how balanced the environments were. Basically I guess trying to answer the objections of the people in this thread, or at least saying whether R&D sees them as valid.
I agree
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10 months ago ::
Aug 11, 2012 - 7:45PM
#42
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For whatever it's worth since there's a lot of negativity for seemingly bad reasons in the thread, I want to chime in and say that I for one approve of this article and Zac's suggested framework for how a metagame should be arranged.
The current Standard isn't perfect, but as long as the intent is fine, that's good because that decides how future sets are developed. (Usual complaints: Hexproof everywhere and costed so cheaply is bad, so meh Invisible Stalker & Geist. Part 2: Bonfire is a swingy and overpowered card that is also a mythic, for all that it fights mistake 1. I can see how the goal is for two mistakes might cancel each other out, but meh, just do it right next time. And also go back in time, kill Avacyn Restored, and make Innistrad 3. But whatever. See above, general point of this post is positive!)
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10 months ago ::
Aug 12, 2012 - 12:43AM
#43
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Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2009
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This is probably the most important Magic article I've read in the last 5 years. It's certainly high on the list. I really enjoyed reading this one and was left wanting a follow up with more details about interactions between the "buckets."
Very, very well done, Mr. Hill. Thank you for this one.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 12, 2012 - 12:55AM
#44
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Date Joined:
May 24, 2011
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For whatever it's worth since there's a lot of negativity for seemingly bad reasons in the thread, I want to chime in and say that I for one approve of this article and Zac's suggested framework for how a metagame should be arranged.
Even though I know it shouldn't since it's the Internet and all, the level of anger in this thread really did surprise me. I run a zombie deck at FNM, one that is maybe the cost of two Bonfires total, and I've been having a lot of fun and really don't feel like either Delver/Geist/Snapcaster or Bonfire is ruining the experience for me. If anything I have the hardest time against token decks but that's another story entirely.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 12, 2012 - 7:06AM
#45
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Date Joined:
Aug 30, 2007
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The aim is to make the game much higher variance, which is a bad thing as skill should be rewarded more than drawing the right cards at the right time.
Yes, working out combat maths is a VERY important skill and having this become more relevant IS interesting. But I feel too much of the game has paid the price in order for this to happen.
A lot of players on this forum have only seen one combo deck ever in standard or even none. Yes, there is the current elves deck, but making lots of guys and overrun-ing isn't exactly a combo really.
There have been lots of combo decks over the years that people forget about it, it's not just storm and academy and dredge. Although there's been a lot of different storm decks, dragon, brain freeze, goblin storm, perilous storm, swath storm, TPS etc.
Other combo decks that people forget about, Heartbeat(has been mentioned though), Elves, Sanity Grinding, Juniper Order-Redcap, Painters-backlash, Reveillark(some build were more control, some more combo orientated, especially the WUR builds), Pyro Ascension, Twin, Dredgevine, Time Sieve, Polymorph, Owling Mine, Swans(both builds), Turbo Smog, Quillspike, Pickles, Reanimator, Blink Touch, Project X(Rav-TSP), Enduring Renewal, Hulk(several versions), Fercundity Goblins, Eggs, Gifts Combo, Tooth and Nail, Belcher, KCI, Intruder Alarm......
Need I go on? A lot of these decks were highly interactive, some of them weren't that great, but they all saw some place at decent events, some moreso than others. Do we really want to lose this from standard?
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10 months ago ::
Aug 12, 2012 - 3:59PM
#46
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Out of all the angry nerd geezer rants on this forum, almost everyone is missing the huge elephant in the room: The current iteration of Magic: the Gathering is selling better than ever. You all think WotC is destroying the game, yet it's doing better than ever.
Record sales and an extremely diverse standard metagame (a combo deck got second in scg buffalo) tells me tha WotC knows what they're doing, and the rest of you are just old geezers afraid of change.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 12, 2012 - 5:40PM
#47
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Date Joined:
Feb 23, 2012
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Out of all the angry nerd geezer rants on this forum, almost everyone is missing the huge elephant in the room: The current iteration of Magic: the Gathering is selling better than ever. You all think WotC is destroying the game, yet it's doing better than ever. Record sales and an extremely diverse standard metagame (a combo deck got second in scg buffalo) tells me tha WotC knows what they're doing, and the rest of you are just old geezers afraid of change.
I suppose you've never heard of short-term profitability at the cost of long-term growth before? The reason it's doing well is because they haven't quite managed to alienate the entire old guard yet. Things like the Mythic-to-win format get tons of sales short-term because people need to open more packs to get the cards for tournament-worthy decks, but they're going to eventually kill off the game. My prediction: we'll see a crash in sales after RtR fails to deliver. Let's see if I'm right.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 12, 2012 - 7:07PM
#48
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Cyrus,
There is also still Heartless Combo in Standard. While not up to par with many you mentioned, I think a turn 3 win combo is still worth making the list.
Residual energetic and psychic emenations from the spark of planewalkers going in and out of the blind eternities like it was a windmill eventually coalesced into beings named eldrazi who by their very nature could not consume mundane sources of nourishment to sustain their existence.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 12, 2012 - 8:20PM
#49
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Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2009
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I've been playing since Ice Age/4th Edition and I believe the game is better than ever. This article illustrates a big reason why.
True story.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 12, 2012 - 8:25PM
#50
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Date Joined:
Aug 23, 2007
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Out of all the angry nerd geezer rants on this forum, almost everyone is missing the huge elephant in the room: The current iteration of Magic: the Gathering is selling better than ever. You all think WotC is destroying the game, yet it's doing better than ever. Record sales and an extremely diverse standard metagame (a combo deck got second in scg buffalo) tells me tha WotC knows what they're doing, and the rest of you are just old geezers afraid of change.
I suppose you've never heard of short-term profitability at the cost of long-term growth before? The reason it's doing well is because they haven't quite managed to alienate the entire old guard yet. Things like the Mythic-to-win format get tons of sales short-term because people need to open more packs to get the cards for tournament-worthy decks, but they're going to eventually kill off the game. My prediction: we'll see a crash in sales after RtR fails to deliver. Let's see if I'm right.
Why then? It's been doing well under this model for the past 3 or 4 years, how long is "short term" anyway?
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