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 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.