As the title inquires, why do people refer to it as "the meta(game)"?
For example "if there's a lot of Twin in your meta..."
Doesn't "metagame" mean to prepare to play against the decks you expect to see by playing implementing strategy to directly counter those decks? This makes sense in terms of card choices for tweaking your deck, but why has this term come to mean "what decks are being played the most currently"?
I've seen this also in the League of Legends community, where people refer to which champions are popular, and even the allocation of champions to lanes, as "the metagame"
"The metagame" is just the noun that represents the results of a group of players metagaming against each other. It probably originated simply because there was no other word for it.
My understanding is that it's a back-formation metagame (the noun).
Essentially, the "metagame" is the "game beyond the game".* This as noun refers to the the larger game and decisions beyond specifically playing a game of magic. The word itself could be interpreted extremely broadly, but in MTG usage, it's been jargonized to a specific use regarding tournament composition, and short-handed into "meta". This got shifted into a verb because if you were selecting a deck to counter what was popular, you were playing that game beyond the game. It's unclear if "meta" was back-formed from the noun or the verb though.
*This is actually the literal meaning of the word.
Just got to say, you've definitely earned distinction as an MTGS hero
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Meta overall means "before/after". Literally its the game between actual games of magic.
So you first need to play a game, and after that, you know what everyone played, so thats your meta-game, as you now know what everyone else played, chances are they will play the same deck again, forming your meta-game, as you now can switch your deck to get an advantage against that field.
Example:
Its like we play rock-paper-scissor against 10 people. At first, nobody knows anything, so what they choose is quite random. But then, after the first try, you have some results. Say 9 choose rock and one choose paper. Nobody choose scissor, so the paper guy was winning easy.
Thats our little meta-game, as we now can assume everyone will switch to paper, as that clearly was "the best" to choose, and go rogue by choosing scissor.
If we predict correct, the new field will be like 9 people paper and you are scissor, winning the field "easy" as you outsmart them. But if they dont act like you thought, they might still be rock and you will have to eat that up.
Thats a meta-game in a nutshell, choosing and assuming what others will do, based on results of former matches and results visisble to everyone (like top 8 lists).
As magic is more complex than rock-paper-scissor and people are really not allways choosing the "best deck" , its still possible to outsmart your meta-game, especially if its local and you know people wont change their decks (or you see what they play in test-games, or you see what they are trading/Searching for etc. etc.).
In bigger tournaments or the Pro_Tour that level of meta-game expands, into information from card-dealers, what they sell (to find out everyone buys Splinter Twin, so probably they play it too).
The word meta in that consence is just the correct word, thats what it is, and thats exactly what it describes.
Just an input from someone who spends time on other competitive games, Magic isn't the only game to use the term "meta-game" in the way MtG players use it. Competitive Pokemon for example, which is based around usage tiers, has a banlist, and has a similarly complex rock-papers-scissors style of gameplay uses the term metagame in the same exact context as well. So I imagine the use of the term goes back further than just "some MtG player coined the term and we now all use it" versus a term like mise which is 100% MtG coined.
Just an input from someone who spends time on other competitive games, Magic isn't the only game to use the term "meta-game" in the way MtG players use it. Competitive Pokemon for example, which is based around usage tiers, has a banlist, and has a similarly complex rock-papers-scissors style of gameplay uses the term metagame in the same exact context as well. So I imagine the use of the term goes back further than just "some MtG player coined the term and we now all use it" versus a term like mise which is 100% MtG coined.
Other card games probably aren't the best example for non-mtg usages. Magic was the leader of the entire genre -- the success of other TCGs was largely predicated on the success of MtG and they inherited a lot of their terminology and theory from MTG.
Just got to say, you've definitely earned distinction as an MTGS hero
Quote from Stardust »
Because he's the hero MTGS deserves, and the one it needs right now. So we'll global him. Because he can take it. Because he's not just our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. An expired rascal.
Quote from LuckNorris »
ExpiredRascals you sir are a god-like hero.
Quote from Lanxal »
ER is a masterful god who cannot be beaten in any endeavour.
I am not talking about the Pokemon TCG, I can see I should have made that explicit and that it would get confused but I am talking about the video games. With that being said now that you mention it, it is possible the term could have leeched into the VG competitive scene through the TCG.
Essentially, the "metagame" is the "game beyond the game".
This is the best answer.
Metagaming is not a MTG thing. It applies to virtually any and all activities where opponents and decision making are present, and the term has been around for a long time. Metagaming is, quite literally, formulating game strategy and making decisions based on game information that exists outside of the rules of the game.
Other examples are easy to come up with...Say you have a friend that almost never takes a mulligan...your knowledge of that might influence your decision to keep a riskier hand..That's metagaming. Building a deck just to beat that one guy at FNM who always wins, but typically plays the same style decks....that's metagaming. Choosing to make reckless plays because you're playing against a new kid who is less likely to punish you?....yep, that's metagaming.
"The Metagame" is just a collective noun to summarize all such information. In Magic, the single most useful and prominent piece of information to assist in metagaming is knowing what your opponent is playing, and it applies equally to all players at an event. Since it is the majority, it gets called "The Metagame", even though that's all there is to the metagame, and metagaming.
It is as simple as the definition. The game beyond that game.
In sports you scout. You see what other teams are doing or what strengths they have, and you practice your players to play that type of game for the next week.
In PVP videos games you see what is popular. Say a given character in a fighting game, or give team in a game like Marvel Vs. Capcom. Or roster in pokemon. You develop a strategy that can beat that, and still have a good chance against less popular choices.
You literally play a game of strategy in between individual games of magic (insert whatever your playing)
You do it at least once in every magic round. Sideboarding is metagaming. Changing your deck, or not changing because it needs a leg up on an opponent/doesn't need a leg up. Same for timeouts and substitutions in sports. That is literally metagaming.
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For example "if there's a lot of Twin in your meta..."
Doesn't "metagame" mean to prepare to play against the decks you expect to see by playing implementing strategy to directly counter those decks? This makes sense in terms of card choices for tweaking your deck, but why has this term come to mean "what decks are being played the most currently"?
I've seen this also in the League of Legends community, where people refer to which champions are popular, and even the allocation of champions to lanes, as "the metagame"
Essentially, the "metagame" is the "game beyond the game".* This as noun refers to the the larger game and decisions beyond specifically playing a game of magic. The word itself could be interpreted extremely broadly, but in MTG usage, it's been jargonized to a specific use regarding tournament composition, and short-handed into "meta". This got shifted into a verb because if you were selecting a deck to counter what was popular, you were playing that game beyond the game. It's unclear if "meta" was back-formed from the noun or the verb though.
*This is actually the literal meaning of the word.
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So you first need to play a game, and after that, you know what everyone played, so thats your meta-game, as you now know what everyone else played, chances are they will play the same deck again, forming your meta-game, as you now can switch your deck to get an advantage against that field.
Example:
Its like we play rock-paper-scissor against 10 people. At first, nobody knows anything, so what they choose is quite random. But then, after the first try, you have some results. Say 9 choose rock and one choose paper. Nobody choose scissor, so the paper guy was winning easy.
Thats our little meta-game, as we now can assume everyone will switch to paper, as that clearly was "the best" to choose, and go rogue by choosing scissor.
If we predict correct, the new field will be like 9 people paper and you are scissor, winning the field "easy" as you outsmart them. But if they dont act like you thought, they might still be rock and you will have to eat that up.
Thats a meta-game in a nutshell, choosing and assuming what others will do, based on results of former matches and results visisble to everyone (like top 8 lists).
As magic is more complex than rock-paper-scissor and people are really not allways choosing the "best deck" , its still possible to outsmart your meta-game, especially if its local and you know people wont change their decks (or you see what they play in test-games, or you see what they are trading/Searching for etc. etc.).
In bigger tournaments or the Pro_Tour that level of meta-game expands, into information from card-dealers, what they sell (to find out everyone buys Splinter Twin, so probably they play it too).
The word meta in that consence is just the correct word, thats what it is, and thats exactly what it describes.
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Other card games probably aren't the best example for non-mtg usages. Magic was the leader of the entire genre -- the success of other TCGs was largely predicated on the success of MtG and they inherited a lot of their terminology and theory from MTG.
Body Count: GRRRUUUUUUUUUUU
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This is the best answer.
Metagaming is not a MTG thing. It applies to virtually any and all activities where opponents and decision making are present, and the term has been around for a long time. Metagaming is, quite literally, formulating game strategy and making decisions based on game information that exists outside of the rules of the game.
Other examples are easy to come up with...Say you have a friend that almost never takes a mulligan...your knowledge of that might influence your decision to keep a riskier hand..That's metagaming. Building a deck just to beat that one guy at FNM who always wins, but typically plays the same style decks....that's metagaming. Choosing to make reckless plays because you're playing against a new kid who is less likely to punish you?....yep, that's metagaming.
"The Metagame" is just a collective noun to summarize all such information. In Magic, the single most useful and prominent piece of information to assist in metagaming is knowing what your opponent is playing, and it applies equally to all players at an event. Since it is the majority, it gets called "The Metagame", even though that's all there is to the metagame, and metagaming.
In sports you scout. You see what other teams are doing or what strengths they have, and you practice your players to play that type of game for the next week.
In PVP videos games you see what is popular. Say a given character in a fighting game, or give team in a game like Marvel Vs. Capcom. Or roster in pokemon. You develop a strategy that can beat that, and still have a good chance against less popular choices.
You literally play a game of strategy in between individual games of magic (insert whatever your playing)
You do it at least once in every magic round. Sideboarding is metagaming. Changing your deck, or not changing because it needs a leg up on an opponent/doesn't need a leg up. Same for timeouts and substitutions in sports. That is literally metagaming.
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Rabble Red
Modern
Burn
Infect