It's no secret that playing Magic online with strangers is a mixed bag. From players who quit at the drop of a hat to players with a tenuous grasp on the rules to players with toxic attitudes, it can often be more trouble than it's worth. It doesn't have to be that way, though. I'm putting together a group of MTGS users who are interested in playing with each other on untap.in.
For those unfamiliar, untap.in is a browser-based way to play Magic with other people for free. While it doesn't have rules enforcement like MTGO or Arena, I think that makes it closer to a real life game.
If you're interested, feel free to register an account and post your untap.in username as well as your time zone in this thread so that I can put it in this post so others can friend you. I've also set up a Discord to more easily coordinate games as well as so that players can use voice chat when playing to further emulate the experience of playing a real life game. Because the Internet is terrible, PM me to get a link to the Discord.
I've played on XMage for a bit and it's just awful. The rules enforcement is spotty and the program itself is buggy and ugly. My experiences with it are largely negative. As for Cockatrice, it's basically the same beast but untap.in doesn't require a download. I suppose I could expand the group to include basically all free ways to play Magic online but I think it would be better for the group overall to focus on a single one so as to not splinter the community.
Agree with this assessment. I've struggled with xmage in the past. And given that most of my time online is not at home I can't download cockatrice. Besides which, I don't have any local pals who play, let alone online. So, I'm stuck with untap. I guess that makes it sound like a bad system - which it isn't, the UI is actually quite good. The problem is finding yourself in a game with toxic players who will troll you with combo or stax when you don't want it, play banned cards, play decks that are scaled well above the rest of the table, or just leave at the drop of a hat.
So yeah, I think this is a great idea, if there's people out there who're looking for reliable untap.in members to play against, I'm happy to put my details down:
Toctheyounger77 - untap u/n toctheyounger77
My timezone is GMT +12.00 for what it's worth - it's good to know what time people have allotted before committing to 2 hours online.
So yeah, I think this is a great idea, if there's people out there who're looking for reliable untap.in members to play against, I'm happy to put my details down:
We got a live one, ladies and gentlemen. Who's next?
My timezone is GMT +12.00 for what it's worth - it's good to know what time people have allotted before committing to 2 hours online.
I've played on XMage for a bit and it's just awful. The rules enforcement is spotty and the program itself is buggy and ugly. My experiences with it are largely negative. As for Cockatrice, it's basically the same beast but untap.in doesn't require a download. I suppose I could expand the group to include basically all free ways to play Magic online but I think it would be better for the group overall to focus on a single one so as to not splinter the community.
I've been using xmage almost a year and my experience has been mostly positive. I think xmage has much better rules enforcement than your average paper edh game. Most of bugs are caused by people with bad internet connection. Xmage really doesn't like when people disconnect mid game. I very rarely find actual rules bugs. I guess it looks kinda ugly but it's not like untap.is is much better. Color scheme is just light blue/white instead of grey.
When I want to play mtg online I'm looking for convenience. With rules automation I can play really fast. I've played best of three matches under 5 mins and not long time ago I finished a 10 person edh game roughly in 1 hour (host also asked people to bring stax decks). If every person has to do everything games are going to last much longer and rules mistakes are bound to happen.
I've tried untap.in a few days back and found it to be a lot worse than Xmage. Yes it may be flexible at enforcing rules manually, but from my experience that's no big deal. Especially considering how much longer it takes to play an average non-rule-flexing game of EDH. Plus having my opponents board in those layers instead of side by side is a lot worse.
Playing on Xmage may come with buggy versions and server downtimes every now and then, but i can't see myself switching over to untap.in permanently. Yet, i may play on there sometimes.
For those unfamiliar, untap.in is a browser-based way to play Magic with other people for free. While it doesn't have rules enforcement like MTGO or Arena, I think that makes it closer to a real life game.
If you're interested, feel free to register an account and post your untap.in username as well as your time zone in this thread so that I can put it in this post so others can friend you. I've also set up a Discord to more easily coordinate games as well as so that players can use voice chat when playing to further emulate the experience of playing a real life game. Because the Internet is terrible, PM me to get a link to the Discord.
The only rule? Don't be a dick.
MTGS untap.in EDH Group Members
GloriousGoose - gloriousgoose (-6.00 GMT)
toctheyounger77 - toctheyounger77 (+12.00 GMT)
Markodatlas - Markodatlas
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
So yeah, I think this is a great idea, if there's people out there who're looking for reliable untap.in members to play against, I'm happy to put my details down:
Toctheyounger77 - untap u/n toctheyounger77
My timezone is GMT +12.00 for what it's worth - it's good to know what time people have allotted before committing to 2 hours online.
Oh, good idea. I'll edit that into the OP.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
I've been using xmage almost a year and my experience has been mostly positive. I think xmage has much better rules enforcement than your average paper edh game. Most of bugs are caused by people with bad internet connection. Xmage really doesn't like when people disconnect mid game. I very rarely find actual rules bugs. I guess it looks kinda ugly but it's not like untap.is is much better. Color scheme is just light blue/white instead of grey.
When I want to play mtg online I'm looking for convenience. With rules automation I can play really fast. I've played best of three matches under 5 mins and not long time ago I finished a 10 person edh game roughly in 1 hour (host also asked people to bring stax decks). If every person has to do everything games are going to last much longer and rules mistakes are bound to happen.
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
GMT +1:00
I've tried untap.in a few days back and found it to be a lot worse than Xmage. Yes it may be flexible at enforcing rules manually, but from my experience that's no big deal. Especially considering how much longer it takes to play an average non-rule-flexing game of EDH. Plus having my opponents board in those layers instead of side by side is a lot worse.
Playing on Xmage may come with buggy versions and server downtimes every now and then, but i can't see myself switching over to untap.in permanently. Yet, i may play on there sometimes.
Yada, yada, see you on there - maybe.