Hi, I'm new to MTG. I've come from other games and I find one thing puzzling.
I can't find any complete game histories for MTG high level games.
I mean like you see in chess books, bridge books or poker books....actual complete games, or part of games played at a high level. Or at least drawn out situations with analysis. Everyone seems DECK crazy, like the deck wins by itself. (That and the talk at a level of abstraction way too high to actually benefit a new learner.)
I really want to have a lot of examples of high level play to study in order to learn, along with all my other methods.
Or there is a third option. You could subscribe to Star City Game's "premium" account (I am currently a subscriber, and it's helped my game a bit) which gives you access to articles written by various pros https://sales.starcitygames.com/premium/
The thing with chess, bridge, and poker is that the game never changes. It's always played on the same board with the same pieces/cards and under the same (more or less) rules. To that end, it's easy to sell books because the game is static.
In Magic, new cards are released four times per year and this shakes up the metagame. Every year, half of the available pool in the Standard format suddenly becomes unavailable. There's no way to hone in on a specific strategy that will always work.
The thing with chess, bridge, and poker is that the game never changes. It's always played on the same board with the same pieces/cards and under the same (more or less) rules. To that end, it's easy to sell books because the game is static.
In Magic, new cards are released four times per year and this shakes up the metagame. Every year, half of the available pool in the Standard format suddenly becomes unavailable. There's no way to hone in on a specific strategy that will always work.
That's a good point, but I'm also interested in a high level players "way of thinking" (as well as some specific strategic lines that work in the current game). I'm sure the best pros aren't that thrown off when a new metagame arrives because they know how to think about game situations, and most new cards are variations of known concepts.
Or there is a third option. You could subscribe to Star City Game's "premium" account (I am currently a subscriber, and it's helped my game a bit) which gives you access to articles written by various pros https://sales.starcitygames.com/premium/
You don't have to pay for premium to read old premium articles. This is a pretty important thing to note, since the topic creator can go to SCG right now and read any premium article that's a month old.
That's a good point, but I'm also interested in a high level players "way of thinking" (as well as some specific strategic lines that work in the current game). I'm sure the best pros aren't that thrown off when a new metagame arrives because they know how to think about game situations, and most new cards are variations of known concepts.
Also, thanks for the suggested resources.
Even so, there's still a lot that goes on when a new set is released and it takes time to process. Think about how the metagame evolved from when Innistrad was first released: for example, at the 2012's, Delver of Secrets wasn't even on the map!
Again, take a look at Pro Tour Dark Ascension and see how many new deck ideas there were. I'd bet the metagame looks a lot different in one month than it does now. Even for pros, it takes time to figure things out.
That having been said, I agree that a random Magic pros would be better at Avacyn Restored sealed events on the day Avacyn Restored is released than I am. And yes, that's because there are basic concepts of the game that (for the most part) haven't changed throughout the years of Magic. To this end, Chapin's Next Level Magic that has already been suggested might be something you're looking for. It's available for purchase at Star City Games' website.
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I can't find any complete game histories for MTG high level games.
I mean like you see in chess books, bridge books or poker books....actual complete games, or part of games played at a high level. Or at least drawn out situations with analysis. Everyone seems DECK crazy, like the deck wins by itself. (That and the talk at a level of abstraction way too high to actually benefit a new learner.)
I really want to have a lot of examples of high level play to study in order to learn, along with all my other methods.
BEtched Champion/InfectB
WSoilders/knightsW
WUVenser SplicerWU
RRDWR
GFeed the Pack comboG
WUPool of ExhaustionWU
EDH
GEzuri, Elf OverrunG
BGeth, GraverobberB
UThada Adel, ThiefU
RUrabrask, Big RedR
WElesh Norn, CrusadeW
WUGAngus Makenzie, Bant ControlWUG
Extended
WGElvesWG
Legacy
RGoblinsR
UBGFariesUBG
UBGRaffinityUBG
http://www.starcitygames.com/pages/nextlevelmagic/
Otherwise I would just scour the archives from past PTs and what was known as Worlds.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Downloads.aspx?x=mtgevent/webcast/archive
Or there is a third option. You could subscribe to Star City Game's "premium" account (I am currently a subscriber, and it's helped my game a bit) which gives you access to articles written by various pros
https://sales.starcitygames.com/premium/
UBR Grixis UBR
Of which you can only see one opponents decision tree
In Magic, new cards are released four times per year and this shakes up the metagame. Every year, half of the available pool in the Standard format suddenly becomes unavailable. There's no way to hone in on a specific strategy that will always work.
That's a good point, but I'm also interested in a high level players "way of thinking" (as well as some specific strategic lines that work in the current game). I'm sure the best pros aren't that thrown off when a new metagame arrives because they know how to think about game situations, and most new cards are variations of known concepts.
Also, thanks for the suggested resources.
You don't have to pay for premium to read old premium articles. This is a pretty important thing to note, since the topic creator can go to SCG right now and read any premium article that's a month old.
Even so, there's still a lot that goes on when a new set is released and it takes time to process. Think about how the metagame evolved from when Innistrad was first released: for example, at the 2012's, Delver of Secrets wasn't even on the map!
Again, take a look at Pro Tour Dark Ascension and see how many new deck ideas there were. I'd bet the metagame looks a lot different in one month than it does now. Even for pros, it takes time to figure things out.
That having been said, I agree that a random Magic pros would be better at Avacyn Restored sealed events on the day Avacyn Restored is released than I am. And yes, that's because there are basic concepts of the game that (for the most part) haven't changed throughout the years of Magic. To this end, Chapin's Next Level Magic that has already been suggested might be something you're looking for. It's available for purchase at Star City Games' website.