Yeah, I use it and it's a high pick around the table. I modded it to read something like "pick 15 random cards from the pool of undrafted cards and choose one" so we didn't have to explain how it worked to inexperienced players. I use all sorts of Un cards and cards like Common Courtesy are hilarious.
I'd also save your self the hassle of building packs before hand with the worry that colors will be unbalanced. It will work it self out as packs get passed around.
Thanks for your work as well. Unfortunately, I'm having problems.
I tried to download "all sets" with no luck (running Windows XP) and figured I needed to go to the Windows link instead. Tried that, the zipped folder was completely empty again. Figured it might be the Con folder so I tried to download just the Unlimited set. Empty folder with nothing to extract again. Downloaded 7zip with the same results.
I loved both of the Un's when they came out. Looking back, most of the cards are garbage, though (I'm looking at you Landfill). Maybe it was just the snapshot of the game at the time, but most of the cards are useless.
There were a bunch of great cards to come out of these sets, which inspired other cards (like Rocket-Powered Turbo Slug and Fowl Play) and there were a bunch of great cards that should be "real" cards.
I have both Goblin Bookie and Giant Fan in a deck of mine and don't see them "over the top", especially when you have proliferate and Krark's thumb and all sorts of other craziness. Staying Power is a very cool card that I could see being very good in a real set, but not too absurd. Cheatyface, Ashnod's Coupon and Common Courtesy are cards we regularly use and always get laughs, which is what this game is about for us-having fun. Could you see Get a Life be used in a multilayer game? I have, it's awesome.
In summary, many of the Un cards were uninspiring and many of them were great. Sounds like...any other set. We still use them and I'm all for another.
I love how they went beyond the frame with the art and I love the nostalgia of cards like Old Fogey and Blast From the Past. Protection from Homarids? Hilarious.
People want cards they can use legally. Why not make the ridiculous cards silver bordered and the rest black? Mox Lotus can stay silver and be used casually and Timmy, Power Gamer can stay usable. Everyone wins and everyone has fun.
I'm aware if a creature blocks then taps, it still does it's damage (a Prodigal Sorcerer can block, then use his ability-doing one damage to the attacker and one to what ever target was picked), but what about this weird scenario?
Serrated Biskelion has used his ability once already so it is now a 1/1.
But can I declare blocking and then use the tap -1/-1 ability to pick off his elf and kill the goblin, too? Or would just the elf die? Or something else?
So this leaves the enemy colors at a disadvantage because they have one less mana fixing land for each pair. So what would you do? Keep in mind I have a limited card base and can't draw upon the more recent duals.
Here are the options I've come up with so far:
Don't do anything. Who needs perfect balance?
Add in the Lairs. Cards like Rith's Grove aren't too horrible and would help. The downside is it doesn't just help the enemy colors and still doesn't balance the dual lands perfectly.
Use the Tempest CIP painlands. I'd almost feel embarrassed adding cards like Skyshroud Forest but it would get the job done.
Hobble something together. Use the enemy tainted lands (Tainted Wood, Tainted Field) and whatever else I can find to fill in the enemy pairs.
Add more questionable mana fixers. I'm not thrilled with Thran Quarry or Thawing Glaciers, but they could work. Again, they don't actually balance the lands.
Hmmm... I can't add cards from other sets, I don't want to make fake cards, I'm not sure balance is needed, and I'm not sure adding sub-par cards would even help. What would you do?
I'm sure everyone and their mother does things a little differently and I'd love to know. I'm also extremely new to this format and I'm trying to introduce it to all my buddies. I love the draft and understand how it works, but after that there are so many options. What do you do?
Now you are staring at a pile of cards and have to make a deck out of it. Of the forty-two cards you drafted, you'll only be using about twenty-three of them in your deck (the rest will be lands).
I'll lay out the basics as a set of rules here. As with all rules, there are times to break them, but for a beginning drafter, I would stick to these until I was more experienced.
Rule 1. Play a forty-card deck. This may sound obvious, but it can be tempting to play that extra card when facing a tough decision about which card to cut. Don't fall for this trap. Play your forty best cards, and not a single one more.
Rule 2. Play seventeen lands. Do not skimp on this! seventeen lands is the minimum; don't play sixteen even if you think it's okay. You need seventeen lands for your deck to function in a normal Limited setting. Yes, there will be exceptions down the line, but seventeen lands is a great starting point.
Rule 3. Play at least fifteen creatures. This one is a bit more flexible, but if you find yourself with a draft deck containing ten or eleven creatures, you probably went wrong somewhere in your draft. If you have eighteen creatures, that's ok. Creatures are the most important thing in Limited, and having too many is far better than having too few. Again, this is more flexible than the lands; if you end up with fourteen creatures, it's fine.
Rule 4. Play a two-color deck. This is also a more flexible one down the line, but when you are starting out, your decks will perform better if you exercise discipline and stick to just two colors. You will experience better draws, fewer mulligans, and more consistent performance from your deck.
That's it. If you follow these rules, and think about them while you are drafting, you'll draft reasonable decks most of the time,\ and give yourself a shot at winning even if you are new to drafting.
I love the math and probability of Magic. Thanks for a great read. I will say it took me a few read-throughs to understand what the charts meant. Maybe an example of a one drop with the one drop chart, step by step, turn by turn-similar to the Hymn to Tourach two drop example would help clarify things. Until I got to the two drop example, I really didn't understand the charts. Maybe it's my reading comprehension, who knows.
I'd also save your self the hassle of building packs before hand with the worry that colors will be unbalanced. It will work it self out as packs get passed around.
I tried to download "all sets" with no luck (running Windows XP) and figured I needed to go to the Windows link instead. Tried that, the zipped folder was completely empty again. Figured it might be the Con folder so I tried to download just the Unlimited set. Empty folder with nothing to extract again. Downloaded 7zip with the same results.
Any ideas? I'm going to go try on another OS.
Windows XP
Tried on Vista, worked-no problems.
There were a bunch of great cards to come out of these sets, which inspired other cards (like Rocket-Powered Turbo Slug and Fowl Play) and there were a bunch of great cards that should be "real" cards.
I have both Goblin Bookie and Giant Fan in a deck of mine and don't see them "over the top", especially when you have proliferate and Krark's thumb and all sorts of other craziness. Staying Power is a very cool card that I could see being very good in a real set, but not too absurd. Cheatyface, Ashnod's Coupon and Common Courtesy are cards we regularly use and always get laughs, which is what this game is about for us-having fun. Could you see Get a Life be used in a multilayer game? I have, it's awesome.
In summary, many of the Un cards were uninspiring and many of them were great. Sounds like...any other set. We still use them and I'm all for another.
I love how they went beyond the frame with the art and I love the nostalgia of cards like Old Fogey and Blast From the Past. Protection from Homarids? Hilarious.
People want cards they can use legally. Why not make the ridiculous cards silver bordered and the rest black? Mox Lotus can stay silver and be used casually and Timmy, Power Gamer can stay usable. Everyone wins and everyone has fun.
Ah perfect. Any way to kill both the goblin and the elf?
Thanks for the quick response!
Serrated Biskelion has used his ability once already so it is now a 1/1.
Homeboy attacks me with one Goblin Balloon Brigade. He also has 2 Llanowar Elves that don't attack.
If I block his goblin with my Serrated Biskelion, his goblin would die and so would my creature.
But can I declare blocking and then use the tap -1/-1 ability to pick off his elf and kill the goblin, too? Or would just the elf die? Or something else?
Thanks for your help!
We'll see how it plays out and what other people have to say on the subject.
How do you feel about Deserted Temple?
Thanks for your input.
Currently I have:
So this leaves the enemy colors at a disadvantage because they have one less mana fixing land for each pair. So what would you do? Keep in mind I have a limited card base and can't draw upon the more recent duals.
Here are the options I've come up with so far:
Hmmm... I can't add cards from other sets, I don't want to make fake cards, I'm not sure balance is needed, and I'm not sure adding sub-par cards would even help. What would you do?
Thanks!
(Runs!)
Thanks!
Again, thanks for the work involved.