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6 months ago ::
Jan 06, 2013 - 7:02AM
#31
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Date Joined:
Aug 20, 2008
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As Magic is a social activity, the nastiest of my casual decks do not see much play, because if I played them too frequently people would stop playing against me. The key is to find what level of competitiveness is right for your playgroup.
That was what I was talking about; I wasn't saying that the object is to play to lose. Instead, my point was that this social interaction stuff can be too complicated for some people, even if they try to be reasonable, and so arguments start about whether people's decks are casual enough.
So an agreed-upon "format", even if it has no sanction for tournament play, is a way to make life simple.
Coming up with weird ideas to make everyone happy since 2008!  I have now started a blog as an appropriate place to put my crazy ideas.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 06, 2013 - 8:22AM
#32
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For me and my 2 playgroups, casual is better defined as the environment, rather than the format. We are all still playing to win. You are still gonna go up against good decks, good cards, and good strategy. Yes, people will get way more creative than Standard or other formats allow you to be, and you will have to face the fact once in a while that you've lost to a deck that would be called "jank" at a tourny table. It's not the decks that make the evening fun, it's the atmosphere. You'll lose a game or 2, and win a game or 2. And that's the point of "Casual" MTG...
At a tourney, 9 times out of 10, you're playing against a total stranger. You're there to win, and it doesn't matter if your opponent is having fun or not. In a casual game with friends, I have no problem watching a best friend of 15 years win once in a while. So while we all play to win every game that is dealt, it's still awesome when we see a friend win too.
As far as "why we like to win", I'm sure it varies from player to player. Most guys like to win to prove they're better than their opponent. It's programmed into human DNA. I feel that for myself, it's more a case of seeing my break-all-the-rules deck designs win. My satisfaction comes from seeing my creations win rather than just proving I'm better than the next guy.
People really need to stop looking at casual as a format. It's not. Coming up with a specific set of guidelines to create the format would in-and-of-itself undermine the term "casual". Nor is casual a place to leave your good cards behind. Respect to not play a certain deck or combo when asked, yes, but dumbing your deck down to be "casual" isn't casual MTG. It's just gimped MTG.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 08, 2013 - 4:16AM
#33
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Date Joined:
Apr 23, 2010
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I agree with Sacrifice above; "Casual" is an atmosphere/environment, not a format, in my opinion. Every casual group plays a little differently. Maybe they have houserules, certain banned cards, maybe certain deck styles are banned outright or just frowned upon(Milling, excessive land destruction, etc). We have a few "unsavory" decks in our group, but they are not discouraged due to being broken or OP, they're disliked because they are just unfun to play against. Actually, each of us has "that one deck;" the one that everybody else hates. The deck that causes sighs, good griefs, and death stares from everyone at the table, the moment it becomes known that it's in play. We tend to reserve these decks for "special occasions," such as when one of us is just having a rough night and wants a win, or when someone else needs a good thrashing. My deck like this has almost started fistfights. In multi-headed giant games(we typically have 3 and 4 person teams), if I dare use this deck, I get the entire other team zero'd in on me. Spoiler:
Show
liquimetal coating  + splinter  = Hand me your deck while I remove every basic land or whatever other card of yours I deem worthy for exile. Viashino Heretic  and Hoard-smelter Dragon  , and a hefty helping of Smelt  's added for extra fun. Lots of green graveyard play( Regrowth  , Elven Cache  ) to pull Splinter's back to my hand and repeat the process. This deck has almost got me exiled from the group.
It's not even that this deck is all that strong; it gets beaten pretty often. Especially in multiplayer games(more than 2 people) it's damn near impossible to put up defense against mutliple sides. It's just apparently really unfun for others to watch me pick up their decks and manhandle them, removing anything I deem a threat, after I've already stripped out every land and destroyed the ones in play.
For fun, casual play, this deck is a big no-no.
But even in casual, we're still playing to win. The end goal of the game is to have fun, but we certainly have more fun if we win more often, than lose. Personally, I don't mind losing. The only time I get frustrated is when my deck flounders and fails; mana-screw, mana-flood, drawing none of my key-cards, etc.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 08, 2013 - 11:49AM
#34
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Date Joined:
Aug 20, 2008
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I agree with Sacrifice above; "Casual" is an atmosphere/environment, not a format, in my opinion.
Don't misunderstand me.
Of course casual is not a format.
What I'm saying is that defined formats in which to play casually are a tool that can help maintain the casual environment.
Sometimes one gets a thread where people debate on whether one should object to the use of proxies in casual play. That might seem to be a different issue, but really it is part of the same thing. When is it reasonable, and when is it excessive, to ask someone to play with a more casual deck?
Even with all the goodwill in the world, you can't expect everyone who shows up for casual constructed play to bring with him decks in 50 shades of casualness. So you're occasionally going to have the frustrating situation where Player A has two decks with him, one much stronger, and one much weaker, than the deck Player B has. It's still frustrating even with goodwill and politeness on the part of both players - and goes downhill fast without it.
If, instead, people who are coming together for play in the casual environment one evening are also agreed ahead of time on a format, then they can play to win without getting into this mess.
Because then they can play for fun without first having fully purged themselves of the non-Casual attributes of ego and competitiveness.
Coming up with weird ideas to make everyone happy since 2008! I have now started a blog as an appropriate place to put my crazy ideas.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 08, 2013 - 2:47PM
#35
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Date Joined:
Oct 12, 2010
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Clever deduction Watson! Maybe you can explain why Supergirl is trying to kill me.
----
Autocard is your friend.
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] = Lightning Bolt 
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6 months ago ::
Jan 09, 2013 - 9:02AM
#36
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Date Joined:
Apr 23, 2010
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Spoiler:
Show
The easy answer is that I had Elven Cache's(Visions) on hand, and I've never heard of Eternal Witness. I just came back to the game last Spring from a 15 year break.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 09, 2013 - 9:32AM
#37
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Date Joined:
Apr 23, 2010
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I agree with Sacrifice above; "Casual" is an atmosphere/environment, not a format, in my opinion.
Don't misunderstand me.
Of course casual is not a format.
What I'm saying is that defined formats in which to play casually are a tool that can help maintain the casual environment.
Sometimes one gets a thread where people debate on whether one should object to the use of proxies in casual play. That might seem to be a different issue, but really it is part of the same thing. When is it reasonable, and when is it excessive, to ask someone to play with a more casual deck?
Even with all the goodwill in the world, you can't expect everyone who shows up for casual constructed play to bring with him decks in 50 shades of casualness. So you're occasionally going to have the frustrating situation where Player A has two decks with him, one much stronger, and one much weaker, than the deck Player B has. It's still frustrating even with goodwill and politeness on the part of both players - and goes downhill fast without it.
If, instead, people who are coming together for play in the casual environment one evening are also agreed ahead of time on a format, then they can play to win without getting into this mess.
Because then they can play for fun without first having fully purged themselves of the non-Casual attributes of ego and competitiveness.
That probably works fine for players who are well familiarized with what the formats are. But my group is casual with a capital "C"; we have players from several different eras of play and doing anything but Legacy means arbitrary codified rules as to what's allowed, what isn't, pretty much mucks up the "casual" part. SOme of us don't even have internet access, let alone any viable way to keep tab on what accounts for which format.
If another group is very up to date with the restrictions of formats, they would likely have not nearly the issues my group would have. I'm in no way saying "our way is the best way." Faaaar from it. I'm just stating what we do and how we have fun.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 09, 2013 - 9:38AM
#38
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Date Joined:
Feb 14, 2010
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Pleasure supplied by endorphins for reaching a conclusion that we are conditioned to believe is correct.
Also, how do you destroy an indestructible token?
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6 months ago ::
Jan 09, 2013 - 9:41AM
#39
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Date Joined:
Jul 28, 2010
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Also, how do you destroy an indestructible token?
very strong scissors
proud member of the 2011 community team
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6 months ago ::
Jan 09, 2013 - 9:45AM
#40
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Date Joined:
Oct 12, 2010
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Spoiler:
Show
The easy answer is that I had Elven Cache's(Visions) on hand, and I've never heard of Eternal Witness. I just came back to the game last Spring from a 15 year break.
Thankfully, it's been in a few precons, so a playset shouldn't cost you that much.
Clever deduction Watson! Maybe you can explain why Supergirl is trying to kill me.
----
Autocard is your friend.
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] = Lightning Bolt
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