Nope, the player created format was Overextended which was a very different format then Modern. Some liked Overextended more, others didnt. I was not a fan of Overextended. Different cut off for sets. Much higher power level, much closer to Legacy lite then Modern is, something I dont believe Modern should be.
I'm sort of wondering if that is going to be Frontiers fate as well. I've got a feeling wizards would want to annex old baggage completely if they started a new format themselves, which would probably include all the fetchlands and such. The only issue is I can't see them doing that as they would have to effectively kill modern completely. I really don't think they are even capable of doing that at this point.
I believe it was stated if Wotc made another format it wouldnt have any fetches.
If I were going to run an LGS it would probably be a component of a mainstream business like a Bistro or diner. Combo Starbucks or Panera with rooms in the back dedicated for card game tournaments, a trades table, and various products needed to handle the games like sleeves instead of going whole hog into tabletop gaming and other details. People could come buy a coffee, lunch, dinner, whatever, then go in back and play in the facilities, or just stop by and stick around to surf the web or something.
So you want to regress back to the late 90s. Players fighting for space to play among customers not there for Magic. It was terrible back then, it would be terrible now too. Its bad enough Magic players have to fight for space with Pokemon and Yugiho. Cant imagine having to deal with non gamers on top of that.
Well, considering there is a place that is basically a retro arcade that caters events right in my own area, I think the business idea is sound. Unfortunately, as the owner of said establishment told me one time during the Christmas event I attended there it was a combination of luck and timing that made the place possible. (Look up Level 257, it's a really cool place to go visit if you want to experience those old arcade cabinets again... and drink booze and have a slice of pizza).
We're living in a time where an LGS has to be more than just an LGS to really stick unless it's a major place like Card Kingdom. Small LGS basically are struggling to even stay alive.
Maybe around you those small LGS are having issues, but around me they are thriving. We have added like 6 more LGS in the last 6 months.
I remember the old days of the comic/sports card/D&D/TCG shops, and it was a mess. Standing at the counter playing for FNM because the sports card crowd is having an auction or the war hammer crowd has all the tables pushed together. I never want to revisit those days.
But doesn't Wizards have theses absurd demands of the physical location? Like that it has to have a street facing storefront, not be part of some other business etc.
I don't think so. Maybe. Fantasy Flight Games doesn't seem to have a problem with that.
I would also like to know what you mean by competitive buy lists. All the stores around here are 50% of cards TCG mid for store credit. Some stores wont buy for cash at all, but if they do, its usually 25-30% of TCG mid. With rates like that, they are more or less forcing players to compete against them on line.
Wow thats terrible, Most store around here offer 50% CASH or 60-70% store credit from TCG mid (or in some cases for higher end liquid cards like duels or high end legacy stables you can hit 60% cash to 75% credit). Sounds like your stores are not moving product.
But doesn't Wizards have theses absurd demands of the physical location? Like that it has to have a street facing storefront, not be part of some other business etc.
Not at all. Hell, Channel Fireball's brick & mortar location is hard to find. Their closest signage to the street is a small unlit vinyl banner on the side of a gym that's between them and the (one-way) street. Their neighbors are also seedy warehouse-like buildings. I'm pretty sure there was a drug deal going on in the parking lot next door the last time I was there.
Wizards doesn't really care what your location is like, they just care how many people you pull in (more players = more free stuff from Wizards for the store, and more limited print run products available to purchase). A storefront facing the street helps get those players in your door, but Wizards doesn't care how you get them.
Bocephus, I think there just isn't a one size fits all answer when it comes to what form an LGS should take, really. Community and location play a big part in these things and it sounds like your area has a burgeoning community going. Personally, I think to really grow the LGS community wizards should push more casual gathering events and reward people for showing up. Give some good promos for players that come to play at the event and maybe even encourage more mini-events like the trial of the gods they did recently.
The other thing I wish they would do is repurpose the deck builders toolkit to have players get past cards using the current mechanics, such as -1/-1 counters, and include reprints of cards from the last big set that happened to use the mechanic. Yes, they wouldn't be standard legal cards, but letting players play with Blowfly Infestation or Crumbling Ashes with newer cards like Ruthless Sniper and Nest of Scarabs can let those new players play with powerful decks for casual play.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Maybe around you those small LGS are having issues, but around me they are thriving. We have added like 6 more LGS in the last 6 months.
It's pretty clear at this point that you live in the oasis of WotC success, and so you don't see things that desperatelly need to be fixed for the game to survive as the premium LGS event in the near future, but everyone else doesn't live in such a privileged possition. Even places that should be thriving enourmouslly like NYC, Tokyo and Mexico City, are showing results opposite to the ammount of attention that has been put into growing those communities.
Magic is barren at the FNM level in NY. Hareruya had to create their own format because anything pre-Khans in unsustainable in Japan and people were playing waifu card games rather than Standard. And Mexico just had the worst GP main event attendance ever because everyone was playing Modern/Legacy at side events.
The game is sick. And just because you live in an ivory tower where the smell doesn't reach, doesn't mean the virus wont catch in time.
I would also like to know what you mean by competitive buy lists. All the stores around here are 50% of cards TCG mid for store credit. Some stores wont buy for cash at all, but if they do, its usually 25-30% of TCG mid. With rates like that, they are more or less forcing players to compete against them on line.
Wow thats terrible, Most store around here offer 50% CASH or 60-70% store credit from TCG mid (or in some cases for higher end liquid cards like duels or high end legacy stables you can hit 60% cash to 75% credit). Sounds like your stores are not moving product.
Yeah, at the stores I mentioned bulk stuff goes for TCG low, but they'll take stuff over $5 at 50% TCG mid in cash or 10% over the highest among CFB and SCG's buylist in store credit, which of course makes sure they always get the best cards in stock.
Not at all. Hell, Channel Fireball's brick & mortar location is hard to find. Their closest signage to the street is a small unlit vinyl banner on the side of a gym that's between them and the (one-way) street. Their neighbors are also seedy warehouse-like buildings. I'm pretty sure there was a drug deal going on in the parking lot next door the last time I was there.
Wizards doesn't really care what your location is like, they just care how many people you pull in (more players = more free stuff from Wizards for the store, and more limited print run products available to purchase). A storefront facing the street helps get those players in your door, but Wizards doesn't care how you get them.
Wizards doesn't care unless others make them care. We had a store that was super cozy and set to be one of the best in the near future but they lost their WPN for allegedly "unfair competition" because they were on the storefront of the owner's house.
If someone reports you for WPN violations and you're not a very large and well supported brand, you're most likely going down even if it's bull*****.
On the brightside said LGS is now a booze and boardgames club and the best place to play EDH.
Well, assuming wizards doesn't tank the game in the process of trying to turn things around, they are bringing back core sets (thank the gods), and pushing three reprint sets all at once this summer and fall. I think they made the right choice going all in on Commander products and hopefully the tribal commander decks feature lorwyn / Shadowmoor blocks heavily to get that set some needed reprints. Also, I would not be surprised if people are giving up entirely on competitive and just going casual or quitting altogether. Maybe not a lot of people, but if attendance is down across the board (which it is even if some people say their lone LGS in the middle of some xyz place is doing great), that's a pretty good indication.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I would say entitled in the sense that WotC seems more interested in maintaining the value of the singles market than making life easier for people starting up in Modern from scratch.
Wizards is ranked as one of the worst companies in the united states when it comes to employment and customer satisfaction (I promise if I find the article again I'll link it). The card prices are completely unnatural outside of the restricted list and are a result of the companies notorious mistake of not supporting magic correctly during its post recession growth period. On top of which, looking at Google shows that they clearly had no clue of the impact supporting modern officially was going to have and exploded the prices due to not enough cardboard on the second hand market.
So in a nutshell, I agree with that sentiment.
The singles market has felt unnatural for a while now. I can remember back to the early days when I started where a lot more uncommons were worth something and tournament quality rares could be had for $5-10. Non-competitive cards were worth something a lot of the time. I started playing during 4E/Alliances, and it was still mostly true during Apocalypse/Odyssey when I stopped playing for the second time. When I came back during Mirrodin block things were different, only tournament cards were worth money, and I could pick up non-tournament singles for almost nothing and competitive cards were more expensive than previously. This wasn't the case before, but has been the case more or less ever since. I'm curious why this is, I never really looked into the why;
Garbage cards across the board. I read an article by Maro awhil back that talks about how every set has to have bad cards to make the good cards good. Fair enough, but I think the designs don't necessarily reflect that. WotC seems so worried about the power levels of commons/uncommons to rare/mythics that they end up with almost all junk for C and U and, because every set needs bad cards, hardly any R or M's worth having. Because, you know, you have to have bad rares to make the good rares good. And when an interesting and fun Common or Uncommon does float to the top such as Felidar Guardian, WotC feels an apology is in order.
I'm not saying commons should always be powerful cards, but rather WotC painted themselves into a corner with conflicting design ideals.
Basically wizards wants all of the cards in your deck at the highest rarity possible and preferably in play sets.
words cant describe how much disdain I harbor for that format. Its friggin awful. Hell, I think the last time I cracked open a booster pack was Tempest
All wizards has to do is promote casual play again by rewarding people for showing up at a game store, not just for winning or staying the entire night. No one would care if they made a mistake card once in awhile if the company wasn't trying so hard to turn their game into a card game with mechanical tightness found in titles like Dota 2. That can't really happen because magic is more than DoTA 2 or other strictly E-Sport MOBA thanks to its casual appeal.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I don't buy packs anymore, I learned years ago it's cheaper in the long run just to buy the singles for your deck. I did crack a lot of packs back in tempest looking for Cursed Scroll and tradewind rider, I should've been hording up wastelands.
I don't buy packs anymore, I learned years ago it's cheaper in the long run just to buy the singles for your deck. I did crack a lot of packs back in tempest looking for Cursed Scroll and tradewind rider, I should've been hording up wastelands.
I think we're all guilty of stupid behavior at one point or another. I cracked about three or four boxes of Ice Age going after Necropotence when i should've used that money for ABU duals or Power 9.
On the topic of LGS.I just swung by a smaller LGS because I didn't want to drive an extra five minutes out of my way to buy sleeves for a new deck. The LGS had closed and the location reopened under new ownership. The new owners don't have any comics yet so they're focusing entirely on TCG and CCG. I didn't ask but it looks like a mother/son operation. The last owner had lost interest in MtG and had lost his sanction and purged nearly all of his singles focusing entirely on Force of Will.
I had expected him to close his doors but had not expected a new owner to pick it up. I wish them luck.
I used to draft competitively and it was in fact the main way I built my collection because you could count on good deckbuilding and good gameplay to keep winning more packs to keep drafting with prize packs, and trade whatever money cards you pulled for cards you wanted.
Then NWO happened, and the best deck in the pool could now be beat by Timmy with a walker. At the start it was only stuff like Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Jace, the Mind Sculptor, genuinelly amazing cards that see Legacy play for a reason. But answers kept worsening and bombs kept becoming more stupid to it's climax in BFZ where Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is pretty much unboeatable and if someone pulls a Dust Bowl you might as well stop the draft right there anc concede all your ***** to him/her.
A lot of people have stopped drafting, because WotC stopped making draft a skill game with a luck component, and made it a full on lottery instead.
I used to draft competitively and it was in fact the main way I built my collection because you could count on good deckbuilding and good gameplay to keep winning more packs to keep drafting with prize packs, and trade whatever money cards you pulled for cards you wanted.
Then NWO happened, and the best deck in the pool could now be beat by Timmy with a walker. At the start it was only stuff like Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Jace, the Mind Sculptor, genuinelly amazing cards that see Legacy play for a reason. But answers kept worsening and bombs kept becoming more stupid to it's climax in BFZ where Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is pretty much unboeatable and if someone pulls a Dust Bowl you might as well stop the draft right there anc concede all your ***** to him/her.
A lot of people have stopped drafting, because WotC stopped making draft a skill game with a luck component, and made it a full on lottery instead.
I agree with you on almost all of this. Limited has gone from a game of skill and sigleing and subtle diplomacy (with minor backstabbing) to a game of chance who got the best mythic blow out, however how on earth is a Dust Bowl effecting your draft that baddly? 99% of drafts I have been in most people use basics for almost all their mana base.
There are masterpieces that destroy limited when they are opened, ever have an opponent drop a T1 Mana Crypt against you in draft, but Dust Bowl isn't one of them unless something really odd happened in your draft.
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That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating. Take it back!
I think the mythic rarity is more of a burden on limited than random inserts. Of course not all mythics or rares are created equal, but its the mythic slot that is prevalent enough and powerful enough to really screw you over with a random Planeswalker or some absurd bomb.
Case in point: I was watching LSV's Amonkhet draft yesterday and the other guy had the new Liliana and rare zombie lord. Lol, it was like watching a constructed vs draft deck match. Even LSV didn't manage to dig himself out of that one.
I think the design issues are important, but the bigger problem is the public image that standard and modern are not card set rules for everyone, but rather for strictly competitive play. They have made bone headed mistakes like this in the past with baby Jace and caw Blade, it's just that the pendulum has swung so far towards pushing competitive that anyone adhering to standard or modern gets dragged into this design conundrum.
I think part of this also goes back to the broken lgs model and the distribution of promotions and rewards. The fact is people need a place to gather to play board and card games, which is why LGS pop up constantly. The issue is that time and again these places are competing with gaming clubs at high schools and colleges and the clientele usually don't have the money or inclination to rent space to play under these conditions, which forces the LGS to, well, sell products like a store to stay afloat and hope the added value is enough to attract players and pay for all the maintenance overhead.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I think the mythic rarity is more of a burden on limited than random inserts. Of course not all mythics or rares are created equal, but its the mythic slot that is prevalent enough and powerful enough to really screw you over with a random Planeswalker or some absurd bomb.
Case in point: I was watching LSV's Amonkhet draft yesterday and the other guy had the new Liliana and rare zombie lord. Lol, it was like watching a constructed vs draft deck match. Even LSV didn't manage to dig himself out of that one.
I think the design issues are important, but the bigger problem is the public image that standard and modern are not card set rules for everyone, but rather for strictly competitive play. They have made bone headed mistakes like this in the past with baby Jace and caw Blade, it's just that the pendulum has swung so far towards pushing competitive that anyone adhering to standard or modern gets dragged into this.
They have always pushed competitive over casual because competitive knows what they want. I have been a casual for 20 years, and can say from experience with other newbies and casuals that they don't know/understand what they want out of the game. What's worse is that non-casuals understand even less about what casuals want.
In an age where too many expect perfection or else, where net decking starts becoming "Oh look, that guy won all that money with that deck. If I had that deck, I'll have all that money too"(simple greed and delusions of "easy money" is what I'm getting at), and they feel like if they whine loud enough, they can have OP cards that let them have easy wins, Wizards got kind of shoe horned into catering to them.
In turn, it's dulling the game as a whole, all because they want it easy. What can you really do, when it feels like they can control everything and dictate all to have it their way?
EDIT: Obviously, I'm not saying everyone is like that. Just simply have noticed a disturbing trend, which to me, started around when KTK first came out. Spoiler seasons are often a good place to see this.
Ive got bad news for em....there's not enough money on the planet to get me to play Limited
Me either, I don't even do prerelease.
Really? I hate draft but prerelease is fun if you skip spoilers.
Prerelease is a lot of fun for some but for me I'd rather spend the money picking up the singles I need. If I had a lot extra expendable money to do both I probably would though.
I used to draft competitively and it was in fact the main way I built my collection because you could count on good deckbuilding and good gameplay to keep winning more packs to keep drafting with prize packs, and trade whatever money cards you pulled for cards you wanted.
Then NWO happened, and the best deck in the pool could now be beat by Timmy with a walker. At the start it was only stuff like Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Jace, the Mind Sculptor, genuinelly amazing cards that see Legacy play for a reason. But answers kept worsening and bombs kept becoming more stupid to it's climax in BFZ where Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is pretty much unboeatable and if someone pulls a Dust Bowl you might as well stop the draft right there anc concede all your ***** to him/her.
A lot of people have stopped drafting, because WotC stopped making draft a skill game with a luck component, and made it a full on lottery instead.
I agree with you on almost all of this. Limited has gone from a game of skill and sigleing and subtle diplomacy (with minor backstabbing) to a game of chance who got the best mythic blow out, however how on earth is a Dust Bowl effecting your draft that baddly? 99% of drafts I have been in most people use basics for almost all their mana base.
There are masterpieces that destroy limited when they are opened, ever have an opponent drop a T1 Mana Crypt against you in draft, but Dust Bowl isn't one of them unless something really odd happened in your draft.
The BFZ common nonbasics are super good in some (and my favorite) draft archetypes, when they're not being blown up making you lose two turns of mana acceleration.
Granted you can't avoid picking Mortuary Mire if you're on GB Syphon just because Dust Bowl and Wasteland are cards that exist, but when it happens you want to slap the opponent's eyebrows off for breaking the draft. Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Ensnaring Bridge, Mind Twist, Dark Ritual, too many masterpieces are a bane on the draft experience and I'm glad I spent all my draft money on masters editions these past two years instead of suffering Kaladesh and Amonkhet from what I saw my friends deal with.
Bomby rares and Mythics are annoying in Limited, but I don't think they've been any better nor worse in the recent past (Innistrad forwards). Game-winners have always been lurking in select packs, ready to bust open what could have been a tightly contested struggle of incremental advantages. What makes them more visible in today's Magic is the detritus that passes for removal at common. AMK Gideon or Liliana would be a lot less scary if Lightning Blast (or some variant that hit walkers instead of players) was the common Red removal spell rather than Electrify.
The real, lurking issue in recent Limited formats is the poor development practices (though design is somewhat culpable as well) that lead to formats that swing around hyper-aggressive (Un)Commons. Stuff like Renegade Freighter, Topan Freeblade, and Hinterland Logger ruined a whole lot more games than any Mythic or Masterpiece. So many cards at lower rarities punish shaky starts and make for more non-games, which not only devalues skill but sharply reduces the fun factor of Limited Magic. I don't like forking over $12 to oops-curve into Freighter and destroy people (or vice versa); that's not really fun.
I used to draft competitively and it was in fact the main way I built my collection because you could count on good deckbuilding and good gameplay to keep winning more packs to keep drafting with prize packs, and trade whatever money cards you pulled for cards you wanted.
Then NWO happened, and the best deck in the pool could now be beat by Timmy with a walker. At the start it was only stuff like Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Jace, the Mind Sculptor, genuinelly amazing cards that see Legacy play for a reason. But answers kept worsening and bombs kept becoming more stupid to it's climax in BFZ where Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is pretty much unboeatable and if someone pulls a Dust Bowl you might as well stop the draft right there anc concede all your ***** to him/her.
A lot of people have stopped drafting, because WotC stopped making draft a skill game with a luck component, and made it a full on lottery instead.
I agree with you on almost all of this. Limited has gone from a game of skill and sigleing and subtle diplomacy (with minor backstabbing) to a game of chance who got the best mythic blow out, however how on earth is a Dust Bowl effecting your draft that baddly? 99% of drafts I have been in most people use basics for almost all their mana base.
There are masterpieces that destroy limited when they are opened, ever have an opponent drop a T1 Mana Crypt against you in draft, but Dust Bowl isn't one of them unless something really odd happened in your draft.
The BFZ common nonbasics are super good in some (and my favorite) draft archetypes, when they're not being blown up making you lose two turns of mana acceleration.
Granted you can't avoid picking Mortuary Mire if you're on GB Syphon just because Dust Bowl and Wasteland are cards that exist, but when it happens you want to slap the opponent's eyebrows off for breaking the draft. Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Ensnaring Bridge, Mind Twist, Dark Ritual, too many masterpieces are a bane on the draft experience and I'm glad I spent all my draft money on masters editions these past two years instead of suffering Kaladesh and Amonkhet from what I saw my friends deal with.
Umm ok Sol Ring and Mana Crypt can be devastating if drawn early in any format, granted they can blow out a match no question their is a reason sol ring is restricted in Vintage and banned in every other format not named commander. However seriously you are upset about some pitiful LD (like wasteland/dust bowl) or Mind Twist or DARK ritual? I have drafted in sets where that was a common pick, it is not that broken. Ensnaring Bridge is a big bomby thing late game, Likely middle of the road. its powerful but still deal with able.
I will guess I will add this as something wrong with todays magic, so much lack of land destruction people are upset about dustbowl.
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Maybe around you those small LGS are having issues, but around me they are thriving. We have added like 6 more LGS in the last 6 months.
I remember the old days of the comic/sports card/D&D/TCG shops, and it was a mess. Standing at the counter playing for FNM because the sports card crowd is having an auction or the war hammer crowd has all the tables pushed together. I never want to revisit those days.
I don't think so. Maybe. Fantasy Flight Games doesn't seem to have a problem with that.
Wow thats terrible, Most store around here offer 50% CASH or 60-70% store credit from TCG mid (or in some cases for higher end liquid cards like duels or high end legacy stables you can hit 60% cash to 75% credit). Sounds like your stores are not moving product.
Wizards doesn't really care what your location is like, they just care how many people you pull in (more players = more free stuff from Wizards for the store, and more limited print run products available to purchase). A storefront facing the street helps get those players in your door, but Wizards doesn't care how you get them.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
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The other thing I wish they would do is repurpose the deck builders toolkit to have players get past cards using the current mechanics, such as -1/-1 counters, and include reprints of cards from the last big set that happened to use the mechanic. Yes, they wouldn't be standard legal cards, but letting players play with Blowfly Infestation or Crumbling Ashes with newer cards like Ruthless Sniper and Nest of Scarabs can let those new players play with powerful decks for casual play.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Magic is barren at the FNM level in NY. Hareruya had to create their own format because anything pre-Khans in unsustainable in Japan and people were playing waifu card games rather than Standard. And Mexico just had the worst GP main event attendance ever because everyone was playing Modern/Legacy at side events.
The game is sick. And just because you live in an ivory tower where the smell doesn't reach, doesn't mean the virus wont catch in time.
Yeah, at the stores I mentioned bulk stuff goes for TCG low, but they'll take stuff over $5 at 50% TCG mid in cash or 10% over the highest among CFB and SCG's buylist in store credit, which of course makes sure they always get the best cards in stock.
Wizards doesn't care unless others make them care. We had a store that was super cozy and set to be one of the best in the near future but they lost their WPN for allegedly "unfair competition" because they were on the storefront of the owner's house.
If someone reports you for WPN violations and you're not a very large and well supported brand, you're most likely going down even if it's bull*****.
On the brightside said LGS is now a booze and boardgames club and the best place to play EDH.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
But they'd really like it if you'd just draft.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I think we're all guilty of stupid behavior at one point or another. I cracked about three or four boxes of Ice Age going after Necropotence when i should've used that money for ABU duals or Power 9.
On the topic of LGS.I just swung by a smaller LGS because I didn't want to drive an extra five minutes out of my way to buy sleeves for a new deck. The LGS had closed and the location reopened under new ownership. The new owners don't have any comics yet so they're focusing entirely on TCG and CCG. I didn't ask but it looks like a mother/son operation. The last owner had lost interest in MtG and had lost his sanction and purged nearly all of his singles focusing entirely on Force of Will.
I had expected him to close his doors but had not expected a new owner to pick it up. I wish them luck.
Then NWO happened, and the best deck in the pool could now be beat by Timmy with a walker. At the start it was only stuff like Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Jace, the Mind Sculptor, genuinelly amazing cards that see Legacy play for a reason. But answers kept worsening and bombs kept becoming more stupid to it's climax in BFZ where Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is pretty much unboeatable and if someone pulls a Dust Bowl you might as well stop the draft right there anc concede all your ***** to him/her.
A lot of people have stopped drafting, because WotC stopped making draft a skill game with a luck component, and made it a full on lottery instead.
I agree with you on almost all of this. Limited has gone from a game of skill and sigleing and subtle diplomacy (with minor backstabbing) to a game of chance who got the best mythic blow out, however how on earth is a Dust Bowl effecting your draft that baddly? 99% of drafts I have been in most people use basics for almost all their mana base.
I think the design issues are important, but the bigger problem is the public image that standard and modern are not card set rules for everyone, but rather for strictly competitive play. They have made bone headed mistakes like this in the past with baby Jace and caw Blade, it's just that the pendulum has swung so far towards pushing competitive that anyone adhering to standard or modern gets dragged into this design conundrum.
I think part of this also goes back to the broken lgs model and the distribution of promotions and rewards. The fact is people need a place to gather to play board and card games, which is why LGS pop up constantly. The issue is that time and again these places are competing with gaming clubs at high schools and colleges and the clientele usually don't have the money or inclination to rent space to play under these conditions, which forces the LGS to, well, sell products like a store to stay afloat and hope the added value is enough to attract players and pay for all the maintenance overhead.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
They have always pushed competitive over casual because competitive knows what they want. I have been a casual for 20 years, and can say from experience with other newbies and casuals that they don't know/understand what they want out of the game. What's worse is that non-casuals understand even less about what casuals want.
In turn, it's dulling the game as a whole, all because they want it easy. What can you really do, when it feels like they can control everything and dictate all to have it their way?
EDIT: Obviously, I'm not saying everyone is like that. Just simply have noticed a disturbing trend, which to me, started around when KTK first came out. Spoiler seasons are often a good place to see this.
Really? I hate draft but prerelease is fun if you skip spoilers.
The BFZ common nonbasics are super good in some (and my favorite) draft archetypes, when they're not being blown up making you lose two turns of mana acceleration.
Granted you can't avoid picking Mortuary Mire if you're on GB Syphon just because Dust Bowl and Wasteland are cards that exist, but when it happens you want to slap the opponent's eyebrows off for breaking the draft.
Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Ensnaring Bridge, Mind Twist, Dark Ritual, too many masterpieces are a bane on the draft experience and I'm glad I spent all my draft money on masters editions these past two years instead of suffering Kaladesh and Amonkhet from what I saw my friends deal with.
The real, lurking issue in recent Limited formats is the poor development practices (though design is somewhat culpable as well) that lead to formats that swing around hyper-aggressive (Un)Commons. Stuff like Renegade Freighter, Topan Freeblade, and Hinterland Logger ruined a whole lot more games than any Mythic or Masterpiece. So many cards at lower rarities punish shaky starts and make for more non-games, which not only devalues skill but sharply reduces the fun factor of Limited Magic. I don't like forking over $12 to oops-curve into Freighter and destroy people (or vice versa); that's not really fun.
Umm ok Sol Ring and Mana Crypt can be devastating if drawn early in any format, granted they can blow out a match no question their is a reason sol ring is restricted in Vintage and banned in every other format not named commander. However seriously you are upset about some pitiful LD (like wasteland/dust bowl) or Mind Twist or DARK ritual? I have drafted in sets where that was a common pick, it is not that broken. Ensnaring Bridge is a big bomby thing late game, Likely middle of the road. its powerful but still deal with able.
I will guess I will add this as something wrong with todays magic, so much lack of land destruction people are upset about dustbowl.