CBS is one of the most fun and skill testing draft formats of recent memory.
High power level = more swingy.
Even if the cards are close together in power, balenced with each other, a higher average power level will still make the game swingier. In high power level formats, topdeck wars tend to be even more random, for instance, because you have less time to recover.
I wish other players would realize this. A well-designed set has no broken cards. The problem is that most players here are Spikes, and Spikes by definition like playing games that require no skill, in other words, high power-level formats, also known as money-spending contests.
That's not at all how it works. Some people like winning tournaments and being genuinely good at magic. This means that they build the best possible decks and then practice such that they are the best they can possibly be at said deck. That's how you win Pro Tours; building the best deck and then playing a game such that your higher playskill allows you to beat all your opponents who think that good decks "require no skill to play"
That's not at all how it works. Some people like winning tournaments and being genuinely good at magic. This means that they build the best possible decks and then practice such that they are the best they can possibly be at said deck. That's how you win Pro Tours; building the best deck and then playing a game such that your higher playskill allows you to beat all your opponents who think that good decks "require no skill to play"
And the only time it becomes "require no skill to play" is when everyone else is playing the same decks in the same tournaments(ala Ravager). We had alot of variety back when Mirrodin first came out, then when darksteel came out, some person decided to make a very controversial deck that will annoy players from all over the globe and as time passed, people saw how powerful this deck is and decided to play the same thing. I mean it always came down to whoever casts ravager and disciple first ala vial/mox wins. Though it requires thinking, it doesnt really require alot of skill to play. $0.02 here
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from Marce »
clergy en-vec read the flavor text prior to looking at the picture...much worse then boros guildmage
______zyrakris's gemstone caverns thread \/\/\/
Quote from ElementalCreatureToken »
Quote from SqueektheWeek »
i think this card is Freakin' awesome just imagine zoo with this even on the draw u flex "Nutz" any mana drawing the extra card u can pitch and turning up the gas on tempo and it still taps for mana easily a 3 of most likely a 4 of
Can somebody translate that please?
Quote from darkhammy »
Hang on, I need my gibber-to-english dictionary. Ah yes, here it is,
I'd like to take this opportunity to ask people to stop discussing "why Saga was too powerful", "Skullclamp wasn't actually broken", and theories about Kamigawa's power level. Please discuss the topic at hand, and keep in mind the following clarification.
This information didn't come to me out of the blue in an email or something - I spoke with the guy who gave it to me. What he meant by power level is this:
Ravnica will have a lot of highly powerful and playable cards.
He didn't mean that there are a lot of broken cards, unbalanced mechanics, combo spells, or spells with the Time Spiral mechanic. People are reading too much into the word "Urza's". The set is simply going to feel a couple notches higher in good-ness.
R&D isn't about to forget to playtest, like they did with Urza's block. They're not out to ruin Magic permanently. Expect a good set, let's leave it at that.
I'm going to throw a wild theory out there. Is it possible that programs like apprentice, MWS, and even mtg:o have taken away the attractiveness of buying the cards so much? I honestly bought a whole box of champions, and everyone was raving about it then. Since then I've registered mws and I play online a lot more. Last time I played was at the bok prerelease, and everyone was thrilled about ninjas. I think that once sok was a bit weak for a finale, people compared CHK to MR block and u shouldn't. R&D kinda realized how powerful mr block was, and so they made a much less powerful block in legends. Legendary blocks like chk or legends have to be less powerful based on dead draws cuz of 1 in play, and powerful abilities. If you could have 2 in play to keep, some creatures would be much more appealing.
That's just my take. Personally I liked chk block overall, much better than mirrodin, but that's because there weren't broken cards left and right. I prefer that
Ah, a fixed Phasing would be very cool. I remember that days of Sandbar Crocodile and Taniwha....mmmmm, Blue fatties...
Again, I expect to see a set that has the playabiliity of the good 'ol days, Ice Age/Mirage/Tempest. And perhaps we'll see the triumphant return of some great cards of that era!
I'm just hoping that the power level in Ravinca will be high all around, as in no one card (like Kokusho or Shackles) can single-handedly win games. I've had many games in which if I had a turn or two more, I would've won, but low and behold a Kokusho hit the table and any hope was finished. Esp with the legend rule comboing to win the game.
I love having powerful cards, just as long as there are powerful cards to counteract them :).
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Also, consider that Liliana counts as occasional mana denial, and it starts to become a significant portion of our strategy.
Hopefully we'll have some good enchantments this time around. The enchantments from the last three blocks really sucked hard-core (Steely Resolve rocked, though).
That, and some cheap instants Burn/Kill/Bounce/Pump.
Wurms have appeared as black creatures before. So why not let them live in the enourmus sewer system in ravnica? or maybe theyll remain green and will live in large park areas inside the city like Mexico's city Chapultepec or Central Park in Manhatan. Or maybe theyll be small and lives in our corn flakes, who knows lol.
Wurms have appeared as black creatures before. So why not let them live in the enourmus sewer system in ravnica? or maybe theyll remain green and will live in large park areas inside the city like Mexico's city Chapultepec or Central Park in Manhatan. Or maybe theyll be small and lives in our corn flakes, who knows lol.
Salud!
Hehe, i imagined a really big black wurm swimming in Chapultepec lake (Local joke)
I can realy see a really well balanced block, or at least to see the blue and red coming back as powerful colors, in this days the best blue card is an artifact, and the red cards are not that awesome. Or at least a block where you can make a powerful 2 color deck, or maybe a block where i dont have to use green cards in a control deck...
I hate green now... I want to see a block where all the colors are balanced.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Será cuando, cuando sea Y mi cabeza caiga Cuando mi sangre corra
Cuando a tu memoria llegue Y domine en la penumbra O el caos termine..."
After two years without Counterspell, and having played for nine, I really don't care that blue is where its at right now. Sure, I admit that it is worse off than the other four colours, but I also know that there's a huge gap in its scale. Either it really sucks, or it's the main deck. It's never in the middle. Years of counterspell have still not calmed many player's frustrations. Give it till next core set for a 3 mana hard counter.
That said, I agree that in draft it doesn't matter what colour is strongest until you're actually drafting. Knowing the strength of colours is a far less useful tool than reading into what your neighbours are drafting.
I'm trying to stay away from "taking requests". When I present info, I like to do so, in its entirety, and then join the discussion just like everybody else. I'd prefer not to act like some distant source of info, who everybody must nudge for more information. Know what I mean?
Like I said, there are wurms in Ravnica City. Big nasty wurms. RARRR!!!
If rav really has Urza block power level, I will be selling my cards and quiting this game to play Warhammer and War Gods Of Aegyptus full time. Invasion power plus URZA power would not be fun, and would keep Kamigawa block from being able to shine in type 2. Which would be sad as it is one of my favorite blocks and is my girlfriend's favorite block ever...
BTW-If this turns out to be true(the uber power level rumor. I am sure the others are true) please PM me if you are interested in buying an Arabian Nights set and a few thousand dollars worth of other cards.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"But then are we most in order when we are most out of order."-Jack Cade
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die."
- H.P. Lovecraft
If rav really has Urza block power level, I will be selling my cards and quiting this game to play Warhammer and War Gods Of Aegyptus full time. Invasion power plus URZA power would not be fun, and would keep Kamigawa block from being able to shine in type 2. Which would be sad as it is one of my favorite blocks and is my girlfriend's favorite block ever...
BTW-If this turns out to be true(the uber power level rumor. I am sure the others are true) please PM me if you are interested in buying an Arabian Nights set and a few thousand dollars worth of other cards.
lol, Herohammer; you old whip, that made me chuckle heartily!
It's just a way of describing (See R_E's posts) that we are going to see a noted shift in terms of the power-curve come Ravnica... that's all! (I.e: a wider range of powerful vs non-powerful cards, rather than quite balanced; a'la Kamigawa block)
...
...by the way, how much would you part with a Library of Alexandria for?
CBS is one of the most fun and skill testing draft formats of recent memory.
High power level = more swingy.
Even if the cards are close together in power, balenced with each other, a higher average power level will still make the game swingier. In high power level formats, topdeck wars tend to be even more random, for instance, because you have less time to recover.
That's not at all how it works. Some people like winning tournaments and being genuinely good at magic. This means that they build the best possible decks and then practice such that they are the best they can possibly be at said deck. That's how you win Pro Tours; building the best deck and then playing a game such that your higher playskill allows you to beat all your opponents who think that good decks "require no skill to play"
And the only time it becomes "require no skill to play" is when everyone else is playing the same decks in the same tournaments(ala Ravager). We had alot of variety back when Mirrodin first came out, then when darksteel came out, some person decided to make a very controversial deck that will annoy players from all over the globe and as time passed, people saw how powerful this deck is and decided to play the same thing. I mean it always came down to whoever casts ravager and disciple first ala vial/mox wins. Though it requires thinking, it doesnt really require alot of skill to play. $0.02 here
______zyrakris's gemstone caverns thread \/\/\/
This information didn't come to me out of the blue in an email or something - I spoke with the guy who gave it to me. What he meant by power level is this:
Ravnica will have a lot of highly powerful and playable cards.
He didn't mean that there are a lot of broken cards, unbalanced mechanics, combo spells, or spells with the Time Spiral mechanic. People are reading too much into the word "Urza's". The set is simply going to feel a couple notches higher in good-ness.
R&D isn't about to forget to playtest, like they did with Urza's block. They're not out to ruin Magic permanently. Expect a good set, let's leave it at that.
I'll post if I can get anything else, as always.
.
FINALLY! After 2 blocks with lame flavor (IMO) we return to a more traditional fantasy setting!
That's just my take. Personally I liked chk block overall, much better than mirrodin, but that's because there weren't broken cards left and right. I prefer that
Again, I expect to see a set that has the playabiliity of the good 'ol days, Ice Age/Mirage/Tempest. And perhaps we'll see the triumphant return of some great cards of that era!
~"Whatever happens, happens"
---
I love having powerful cards, just as long as there are powerful cards to counteract them :).
-MTG Salvation.
Kamigawa: 90/100 (decent. Where else will you get a hilarious name such as KIKI-JIKI? Only in Kamigawa!)
Ravnica: 94/100
By playable R_e i assume you mean cards like STE and SDT. Right?
Mirrodin 90/100
Kamigawa 78/100
Rav 92/100 (hopefully)
That, and some cheap instants Burn/Kill/Bounce/Pump.
~"Whatever happens, happens"
---
Salud!
Hehe, i imagined a really big black wurm swimming in Chapultepec lake (Local joke)
I can realy see a really well balanced block, or at least to see the blue and red coming back as powerful colors, in this days the best blue card is an artifact, and the red cards are not that awesome. Or at least a block where you can make a powerful 2 color deck, or maybe a block where i dont have to use green cards in a control deck...
I hate green now... I want to see a block where all the colors are balanced.
Y mi cabeza caiga
Cuando mi sangre corra
Cuando a tu memoria llegue
Y domine en la penumbra
O el caos termine..."
—Sigma/Lambda
That said, I agree that in draft it doesn't matter what colour is strongest until you're actually drafting. Knowing the strength of colours is a far less useful tool than reading into what your neighbours are drafting.
I'm trying to stay away from "taking requests". When I present info, I like to do so, in its entirety, and then join the discussion just like everybody else. I'd prefer not to act like some distant source of info, who everybody must nudge for more information. Know what I mean?
Like I said, there are wurms in Ravnica City. Big nasty wurms. RARRR!!!
.
Hopefully, they are wurms that are actually worthy of seeing play, such as Shivan Wurm.
Man, that card rocks.
I miss fires.
Twitter
~Viashino mechanic, mmm....
~"Whatever happens, happens"
---
BTW-If this turns out to be true(the uber power level rumor. I am sure the others are true) please PM me if you are interested in buying an Arabian Nights set and a few thousand dollars worth of other cards.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die."
- H.P. Lovecraft
lol, Herohammer; you old whip, that made me chuckle heartily!
It's just a way of describing (See R_E's posts) that we are going to see a noted shift in terms of the power-curve come Ravnica... that's all! (I.e: a wider range of powerful vs non-powerful cards, rather than quite balanced; a'la Kamigawa block)
...
...by the way, how much would you part with a Library of Alexandria for?
Can't Wait for Ravnica. I'm buying 3 boxes the day it comes out.:tongue2: