That's correct - right now it is not taking into account curve and synergy/card type. We are looking into implementing these in the future but hopefully that explains the current suggestions you're seeing.
The ratings are all maintained by me and based on experience, professional reviews, pick order lists, etc. Essentially what the rating represents is a "pick one pack one" decision based on sheer power level, with some consideration for color. As you move farther away from P1P1 and start building based on synergy, the engine is still only going to make recommendations based on power and your color commitment, not on synergy with what you have.
I will say about Built to Smash specifically that it is the second best red commonH after Welding Sparks. So part of this depends on your view of the format and the fact that WotC lately likes pushing strong combat tricks over removal, for example.
Channelfireball has built to smash as the second best red common (corresponding to ~2.8) since it's critical to the aggressive red archetype.
In this deck, it's quite powerful and gets in a lot of damage. However, to a certain extent, it is situational (combat trick, requires attacking, likes artifact creatures).
Historically, quality creatures have been in the 2.0-3.0 range and tricks have been in the 1.7-2.0 range. This makes the suggested picks and auto-building lean toward stable, creature-heavy decks.
First, the Renegade Freighter rating has been updated (since we all know how good it is now).
@zenbitz I think that the right way to implement deck composition is to implement an empirical "curve bonus." For example, the first three-drop in the deck gets a +1.0 bonus, the fourth gets a +1.0 bonus, and the seventh gets a -0.5 bonus. This will guide decks towards 5-6 three drops.
To enforce this during the draft, an "expected number" of three drops can be introduced (i.e. if a player has 2 three drops halfway through the draft, they are on pace for picking up a total of 4).
@Cele - at one point I had included autobuilding bot decks, but it was a bit computationally intensive for slow browser. There's a new team in charge of development now, maybe they'll think of implementing something like this
@FTW - yes it's pure power, no synergy. Some of the mathematical details might get posted on the methodology page soon
Goyf is up to $140 now. I'm interested in picking up a set for the long term. Any speculation on when the price might dip? Seems likely wizards will reprint it in modern masters 2 or some other set to make modern more accessible.
Sorry if this is off topic, new to this section :).
Even before deathrite was banned, Noble Hierarch was never close to its current price. I'd speculate that there's a decent chance that they drop once the price stabilizes, so I would look to sell.
Wow, some really great ideas in this thread. Thanks guys.
The general strategy seems to be to first say that you're going to some sort of tournament or gaming event, then dispense additional details when asked.
I was getting into a lot of trouble trying to explain what MTG was and THEN explaining the structure of the tournament scene in a single breath. Sticking to one topic at a time sounds a lot more manageable.
This. You can play FNM 52 night a year. Do you really need to attend every FNM in the year when you're missing out on something that only happens once a year with close friends? Meh, but I shouldn't judge. People sometimes make the choices they make because of reasons some of us can't comprehend unless we were them.
Well, based on your scenario (with the further backstory), I would say you made the right decision, but that's just my personal take on your scenario - there's no real right or wrong in such scenarios, just different takes with a possibility of a majority taking a side.
Since this seems to be a recurring topic, the reason why I went to FNM has to do with the chronology of invites. I was invited to FNM first by some new friends, and I agreed to come. Then, several days later, I was invited to the party and politely told that I would love to attend, but I already had plans for Friday and would arrive late.
I live in an environment where double and triple booking is incredibly common occurrence. Personally, once I accept an invitation, I put it in my schedule and do everything I reasonably can to follow through on it, even if something else interesting.
Now, if I had heard about the party first, I would have accepted that invitation and told my FNM friends that I would be back in two weeks.
I can see how there's a strong pull to go to my friend's party. Reneging on the promise to my FNM friends wasn't really an option, especially since I didn't have their contact info to let them know why I couldn't make it.
The moral of the story is that if you want to invite someone who is very busy to something, try to do so at least in advance.
Although there's no issue with playing in a legacy event on fridays, there is if it's being run officially as "FNM". "Friday Night Magic" can be:
Standard
Draft
Sealed
Block
Modern
Two Headed Giant Standard or Sealed
It cannot be sanctioned as FNM with Legacy.
Interesting, that explains why I had trouble finding legacy events with the FNM finder!
Legacy FNMs arnt that uncommon. Until just recently my LGS had been having only legacy FNMs for the past 6+ years. They called it FNM cause it was friday night and magic, but it wasnt "official" and they just didnt do the FNM promos or whatever.
I'm jealous your store still has it.
OMG, yes. My favorite part of college was Friday night legacy, so I went on quite a search to find one in my new area and found one ~30 minutes away.
Sorry to hear that your store stopped. That's a real bummer!
I usually just say I'm nerding out. And if someone wants to know more, I'll say I'm playing a tournament for a card game called magic the gathering.
[x] Good idea
But I wouldn't miss a friends party just to go to FNM. Happens once a year vs happens every week...I think I'll go to the once a year thing. But that's personal preference.
A little more backstory:
I moved a couple of years ago to start a PhD program and stopped playing magic to focus on school. Recently, I've realized just how much I love the game and built a legacy deck and searched for a place to play. The previous week I had found a store befriended a bunch of great, friendly people and said that I would be back next week.
The next week, I get an email explaining that there's going to be a house party to celebrate a couple of birthdays at 8 on Friday. Which means to show up sometime after 9, the way this type of party runs. Given that I had already promised my new FNM friends that I would come back, I promptly replied to the email explaining that I had other plans and would arrive late.
Turns out FNM ended early and I got to the party around 10:30, at the peak of the party, and stayed until around 2:15. So on the magic versus friends dilemma, I got to have my cake and eat it too --- literally.
I think you should re-evaluate your priorities if you skipped multiple friends birthday parties to go play some FNM. Don't be that guy.
My priority was actually to hold a promise to some new friends that I made at FNM that I would be coming back this week. Birthdays were used as an excuse to host a house party - to my knowledge I'm the only one who brought presents. This sort of thing happens monthly, so it's actually much more of a routine event than a special one.
I was invited to a party on Friday night to celebrate the birthdays of several of my friends. I said that I would love to come, but I had plans running until 11 or 12PM and would make it to the party after, if it was still going on.
My friend G gets a bit curious and inquires as to what these plans are. Now, I wasn't quite prepared to answer so I stumbled over my words quite a bit in explaining what a "legacy FNM" is and why I love it so much.
After thinking about it for a bit, I think I prefer a short and sweet explanation: "I'm playing in a tournament for a game called magic the gathering." And then fielding any follow up questions.
Anyways, what are your thoughts? When people ask you what you're doing on Friday night, what do you say?
Channelfireball has built to smash as the second best red common (corresponding to ~2.8) since it's critical to the aggressive red archetype.
In this deck, it's quite powerful and gets in a lot of damage. However, to a certain extent, it is situational (combat trick, requires attacking, likes artifact creatures).
Historically, quality creatures have been in the 2.0-3.0 range and tricks have been in the 1.7-2.0 range. This makes the suggested picks and auto-building lean toward stable, creature-heavy decks.
@zenbitz I think that the right way to implement deck composition is to implement an empirical "curve bonus." For example, the first three-drop in the deck gets a +1.0 bonus, the fourth gets a +1.0 bonus, and the seventh gets a -0.5 bonus. This will guide decks towards 5-6 three drops.
To enforce this during the draft, an "expected number" of three drops can be introduced (i.e. if a player has 2 three drops halfway through the draft, they are on pace for picking up a total of 4).
@FTW - yes it's pure power, no synergy. Some of the mathematical details might get posted on the methodology page soon
... and finally broke 1950 limited rating on MTGO!
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Jackal Pup
1 Kird Ape
1 Spikeshot Elder
1 Greater Gargadon
1 Gore-House Chainwalker
1 Kargan Dragonlord
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Stormblood Berserkers
1 Tin Street Hooligan
1 Torch Fiend
1 Blistering Firecat
Planeswalkers
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra, the Firebrand
1 Garruk Relentless
Spells
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Skullcrack
1 Shrine of Burning Rage
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Char
1 Rift Bolt
1 Pillage
1 Bonfire of the Damned
9 Mountain
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Stomping Ground
1 Arid Mesa
1 Savannah
1 Treetop Village
1 Mutavault
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Experiment One
1 Stunted Growth
1 Sphere of the Suns
1 Naturalize
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Gruul Turf
1 Stirring Wildwood
Congrats, Sene!
Played five 8-4's. Forced RW every time. Split the finals once, won the other 4.
http://imgur.com/a/A2fTu
Sorry if this is off topic, new to this section :).
The general strategy seems to be to first say that you're going to some sort of tournament or gaming event, then dispense additional details when asked.
I was getting into a lot of trouble trying to explain what MTG was and THEN explaining the structure of the tournament scene in a single breath. Sticking to one topic at a time sounds a lot more manageable.
Since this seems to be a recurring topic, the reason why I went to FNM has to do with the chronology of invites. I was invited to FNM first by some new friends, and I agreed to come. Then, several days later, I was invited to the party and politely told that I would love to attend, but I already had plans for Friday and would arrive late.
I live in an environment where double and triple booking is incredibly common occurrence. Personally, once I accept an invitation, I put it in my schedule and do everything I reasonably can to follow through on it, even if something else interesting.
Now, if I had heard about the party first, I would have accepted that invitation and told my FNM friends that I would be back in two weeks.
I can see how there's a strong pull to go to my friend's party. Reneging on the promise to my FNM friends wasn't really an option, especially since I didn't have their contact info to let them know why I couldn't make it.
The moral of the story is that if you want to invite someone who is very busy to something, try to do so at least in advance.
Interesting, that explains why I had trouble finding legacy events with the FNM finder!
OMG, yes. My favorite part of college was Friday night legacy, so I went on quite a search to find one in my new area and found one ~30 minutes away.
Sorry to hear that your store stopped. That's a real bummer!
In situations like this, I always clearly announce the trigger and options and let my opponent decide.
[x] Good idea
A little more backstory:
I moved a couple of years ago to start a PhD program and stopped playing magic to focus on school. Recently, I've realized just how much I love the game and built a legacy deck and searched for a place to play. The previous week I had found a store befriended a bunch of great, friendly people and said that I would be back next week.
The next week, I get an email explaining that there's going to be a house party to celebrate a couple of birthdays at 8 on Friday. Which means to show up sometime after 9, the way this type of party runs. Given that I had already promised my new FNM friends that I would come back, I promptly replied to the email explaining that I had other plans and would arrive late.
Turns out FNM ended early and I got to the party around 10:30, at the peak of the party, and stayed until around 2:15. So on the magic versus friends dilemma, I got to have my cake and eat it too --- literally.
My priority was actually to hold a promise to some new friends that I made at FNM that I would be coming back this week. Birthdays were used as an excuse to host a house party - to my knowledge I'm the only one who brought presents. This sort of thing happens monthly, so it's actually much more of a routine event than a special one.
I was invited to a party on Friday night to celebrate the birthdays of several of my friends. I said that I would love to come, but I had plans running until 11 or 12PM and would make it to the party after, if it was still going on.
My friend G gets a bit curious and inquires as to what these plans are. Now, I wasn't quite prepared to answer so I stumbled over my words quite a bit in explaining what a "legacy FNM" is and why I love it so much.
After thinking about it for a bit, I think I prefer a short and sweet explanation: "I'm playing in a tournament for a game called magic the gathering." And then fielding any follow up questions.
Anyways, what are your thoughts? When people ask you what you're doing on Friday night, what do you say?