I started playing Magic when I was 16, then I took a break from Magic during college. I got back into the game a couple of years ago at the M2013 prerelease. I'm 35 now, and usually I am the oldest person at FNM. Depending on which store I go to, most of the people are young kids (12-16) or college kids (18-22). It's not unusual to see late 20's/early 30's year olds playing though. Sometimes I even see parents playing in tournaments with their kids.
From my experience playing at three prereleases this weekend:
SWEET:
Silence the Believers is as nutty as you would think. This card single handedly won me at least two games. Even if you aren't hitting bestowed/aura'd creatures, being able to instant speed exile 1-3 creatures is extremely good.
Hydra Broodmaster is also nuts. Untapping with this usually means being able to make three 3/3's, or four 4/4's.
Solidarity of Heroes works well with the green heroic creatures, as the heroic trigger resolves before the spell does, so it will turn a lowly 3/3 Centaur Battlemaster into a fearsome 9/9 with just one spell. It's also neat with green monstrous creatures or hydras.
Doomwake Giant is a beating. It's especially good with ways with flash enchantments or enchantment creature token producers (think of the inspired creature cycle from BNG). Doomwake Giant might actually make God-Favored General playable (dubious).
Despite having gone to every prerelease for the past two years, I've only gone to two different stores for prereleases. The LGS (which has a "casual" crowd consisting of half 12 year olds and half college kids), and another store 30 minutes (has more competitive players, like PTQ top 8'ers etc).
The LGS charges 30 dollars for sealed. They pay out:
4-0: 12 packs (on average, sometimes more depending on number of attendees)
3-1: 6 packs
2-1-1: 2 or 3 packs
The other store charges 25 dollars for prerelease sealed (if you sign up before the day of the tournament) and 30 dollars for the weekend release sealed. I don't know if the weekend release sealed pays out more, but the prerelease sealed pays out:
4-0: 6 packs
3-1: 4 packs
2-1-1: 2 packs
Any lower records get 1 pack.
In both cases, assuming a 16 person tournament, it works out to 30 packs for 16 people, or a little less than 2 packs per person.
I had a terrible streak of mana-screw a few weeks ago. I lost six games in five straight matches due to mana screw. I would keep two lands on the draw and then never draw a third land until turn 7, or keep a three lander of one color and never draw the other color until turn 7. I used to think my opponents ALWAYS curved out 2-3-4 on me. But then I realized that wasn't always the case. There were times when my opponents didn't play a spell until turn 4. This draft format just punishes mana/color screw pretty hard, especially when your opponent gets the nuts Voltron opening.
Nowadays, I take notes about the hands I keep/mulligan, and ask myself why I made the decision I did.
At the LGS (a casual store 10 minutes away) there was a group of younger kids (around 12 years old) who would loudly complain every time I won (and only when I won). I would usually go 2-1 in drafts, with a few 3-0's. It got so bad that people would hatedraft rather than pick playable cards in their own color, if I was sitting next to them. I ended up taking a break from the LGS for now. I would rather drive 30 minutes to go to a different, highly competitive store to play, rather than play with people who get upset about one person winning.
Weekday tournaments are usually Swiss, 3-4 rounds in length. That means you can play all 3/4 rounds (or however long the tournaments last). Keep in mind, that some people might drop out of the tournament if they've lost the two rounds of a tournament, because they're out of contention for prizes. But other people will stick around to keep playing for fun/practice.
I personally wouldn't interrupt two people in middle of a game. If you want to play casual games, you can go to the store before FNM. People usually hang out before FNM to practice. If you see someone sitting at a table alone with a playmat in front of them, you can ask "Want to play a game?". Usually, people will say yes. The worst they could say, is no.
I originally started playing Magic with my high school friends during Revised, but took a break after Weatherlight. I came back to the game during the M13 prerelease (15 years later). I thought it would be weird because I was much older now, but most people were pretty laid back and approachable. My experience is that during FNM or prereleases or casual weekday tournaments (where the prizes are low), most people are there to just have fun.
When I sit down at the table with my opponent, I like to say "My name is <x>, nice to meet you". Usually, my opponent responds "I'm <y>, nice to meet you too". After that, I will ask a casual question like "When did you start playing Magic?" or "When did you start going to this store?". This is the basic way to establish rapport with your opponent.
After the match is over, you can say "good game" or "thanks for the games". If the match ended quickly, you can offer to play another game with your opponent, or if you have a trade binder with you, ask if your opponent has trades. Mutually beneficial trading is another way to establish rapport.
After playing at a store a few times, people will recognize you, and ask you if you want to play a game/do trades.
In my area, drafts are more popular, hands down. The LGS has drafts once every two weeks, and rotates through the constructed formats on the other weeks. So the schedule looks like:
Draft
Standard
Draft
Modern
Draft
Legacy
Draft
Draft nights generally have 26-32 players, while constructed nights generally have 12-15 players.
Is anyone going to the GPT Philadelphia at Anime Imports on Saturday 3/29? I was considering going because it would be an opportunity to practice my sealed deck skills in an IRL tournament. However, I don't actually want to go to go GPT Philadelphia so I don't know if it's worth going.
There's also a 1K Standard tournament at Versus Games on Saturday 3/29 but I don't feel well practiced enough for a 6 round standard tournament with a possible top 8 (meh).
I draft both IRL and online. I enjoy playing IRL for the social interaction. When I play IRL I don't feel rushed like I do when I play online. After matches, I appreciate the opportunity to get feedback on my gameplay or deck construction, something that would be more difficult to get online.
Online is better from the convenience perspective (not having to spend time/gas money driving to a location, being able to draft anytime you want), being able to pay for tournaments in packs won from previous events, and playing against more skilled opponents. However, I don't have as much fun when I draft online. For me, drafting online is just something to fill in the gaps when I can't play IRL.
From my experience, drafts last around 1 hour per round. Whether drafts start on time, depends on the store you go to.
The LGS, where people just show up before the draft time and sign up (6:00 p.m.). They sometimes wait up to 40 minutes to get a multiple of 8 (24 or 32 or 40) so that they can have eight person pods and don't need to give byes or have cross-pod pairings. This store is pretty popular, but usually drafts don't end until 9:40 or even 10:00 p.m. I think this is mainly due to people at the store not being experienced players, and usually at least one match per round goes to time.
Another store I go, requires you to call in to reserve a spot for the draft. The drafts here start sooner, because they already have eight people lined up to draft. However, on slower days/nights, when they don't have eight people who called in to draft (like Mondays-Thursdays) the delay to get eight people to draft may take up to 45 minutes anyways.
At the LGS, parents sometimes use FNM as "daycare" so there are kids who have never played Magic before, let alone played Magic in an organized setting. They'll do stuff like forgetting to untap, or go straight into attack phase without drawing a card, or trying to play an enchantment with no legal target on the battlefield. If they're legitimately new players, I simply explain the rules of the game to my opponent, and let them take it back.
Last year I was at a standard FNM and my opponent was a young kid. He had Rith, the Awakener in the deck (not legal). I was clearly in control of the game, so I let him finish the game, then calmly called the judge over to ask my opponent to replace the card. I would not insult or berate my opponent, in any case.
They have drafts at the LGS once every two weeks, then rotate between constructed formats the other weeks. So the schedule is something like:
Draft
Standard
Draft
Modern
Draft
Legacy
Draft
Because of this, I mainly draft. I usually go to the Standard/Modern events though. I am working on putting together a Legacy deck, though I still need the fetches/wastelands/duals for that.
It's pretty normal at the LGS for employees to be playing in the events. There's always at least one person (non-Magic player) running the counter, though. Presumably, they do this just to keep the number of players even (for constructed events), or to fill out draft pods so there's a multiple of eight.
The store doesn't sell any Magic singles, so the employees playing don't have the advantage of borrowing cards from the store. Regardless, the employees who play Magic all have deep collections with full playsets of any format staples, so they wouldn't need to borrow cards.
I don't have enough time to play Magic each week to get truly bored with it. Between a full time job, World of Warcraft, and family/social obligations, I usually only have time to play Magic at FNM, and the occasional weekend event.
If anything, I would get bored of the local Magic scene. That's why I started traveling to different stores, even if it meant driving 40 minutes away. Interacting with new people in new environments keeps the game fresh for me.
Ha, the biggest complaint I have about the LGS is that half the people at FNM are junior high kids who barely understand the rules of the game, let alone what's necessary to make a good draft deck. That night I just happened to be at the table with mostly older kids who know that gold symbol != valuable or playable.
SWEET:
Silence the Believers is as nutty as you would think. This card single handedly won me at least two games. Even if you aren't hitting bestowed/aura'd creatures, being able to instant speed exile 1-3 creatures is extremely good.
Hydra Broodmaster is also nuts. Untapping with this usually means being able to make three 3/3's, or four 4/4's.
Solidarity of Heroes works well with the green heroic creatures, as the heroic trigger resolves before the spell does, so it will turn a lowly 3/3 Centaur Battlemaster into a fearsome 9/9 with just one spell. It's also neat with green monstrous creatures or hydras.
Humbler of Mortals is a wombo-combo with Archetype of Finality. Makes alpha strikes into chump blockers, no problem at all.
Doomwake Giant is a beating. It's especially good with ways with flash enchantments or enchantment creature token producers (think of the inspired creature cycle from BNG). Doomwake Giant might actually make God-Favored General playable (dubious).
BLEARGH:
Launch the Fleets is underwhelming unless you really need a cheap mass-heroic trigger. Glimpse the Sun God is better for that, though.
The LGS charges 30 dollars for sealed. They pay out:
4-0: 12 packs (on average, sometimes more depending on number of attendees)
3-1: 6 packs
2-1-1: 2 or 3 packs
The other store charges 25 dollars for prerelease sealed (if you sign up before the day of the tournament) and 30 dollars for the weekend release sealed. I don't know if the weekend release sealed pays out more, but the prerelease sealed pays out:
4-0: 6 packs
3-1: 4 packs
2-1-1: 2 packs
Any lower records get 1 pack.
In both cases, assuming a 16 person tournament, it works out to 30 packs for 16 people, or a little less than 2 packs per person.
Nowadays, I take notes about the hands I keep/mulligan, and ask myself why I made the decision I did.
I personally wouldn't interrupt two people in middle of a game. If you want to play casual games, you can go to the store before FNM. People usually hang out before FNM to practice. If you see someone sitting at a table alone with a playmat in front of them, you can ask "Want to play a game?". Usually, people will say yes. The worst they could say, is no.
I originally started playing Magic with my high school friends during Revised, but took a break after Weatherlight. I came back to the game during the M13 prerelease (15 years later). I thought it would be weird because I was much older now, but most people were pretty laid back and approachable. My experience is that during FNM or prereleases or casual weekday tournaments (where the prizes are low), most people are there to just have fun.
When I sit down at the table with my opponent, I like to say "My name is <x>, nice to meet you". Usually, my opponent responds "I'm <y>, nice to meet you too". After that, I will ask a casual question like "When did you start playing Magic?" or "When did you start going to this store?". This is the basic way to establish rapport with your opponent.
After the match is over, you can say "good game" or "thanks for the games". If the match ended quickly, you can offer to play another game with your opponent, or if you have a trade binder with you, ask if your opponent has trades. Mutually beneficial trading is another way to establish rapport.
After playing at a store a few times, people will recognize you, and ask you if you want to play a game/do trades.
Draft
Standard
Draft
Modern
Draft
Legacy
Draft
Draft nights generally have 26-32 players, while constructed nights generally have 12-15 players.
There's also a 1K Standard tournament at Versus Games on Saturday 3/29 but I don't feel well practiced enough for a 6 round standard tournament with a possible top 8 (meh).
Online is better from the convenience perspective (not having to spend time/gas money driving to a location, being able to draft anytime you want), being able to pay for tournaments in packs won from previous events, and playing against more skilled opponents. However, I don't have as much fun when I draft online. For me, drafting online is just something to fill in the gaps when I can't play IRL.
The LGS, where people just show up before the draft time and sign up (6:00 p.m.). They sometimes wait up to 40 minutes to get a multiple of 8 (24 or 32 or 40) so that they can have eight person pods and don't need to give byes or have cross-pod pairings. This store is pretty popular, but usually drafts don't end until 9:40 or even 10:00 p.m. I think this is mainly due to people at the store not being experienced players, and usually at least one match per round goes to time.
Another store I go, requires you to call in to reserve a spot for the draft. The drafts here start sooner, because they already have eight people lined up to draft. However, on slower days/nights, when they don't have eight people who called in to draft (like Mondays-Thursdays) the delay to get eight people to draft may take up to 45 minutes anyways.
Last year I was at a standard FNM and my opponent was a young kid. He had Rith, the Awakener in the deck (not legal). I was clearly in control of the game, so I let him finish the game, then calmly called the judge over to ask my opponent to replace the card. I would not insult or berate my opponent, in any case.
Draft
Standard
Draft
Modern
Draft
Legacy
Draft
Because of this, I mainly draft. I usually go to the Standard/Modern events though. I am working on putting together a Legacy deck, though I still need the fetches/wastelands/duals for that.
The store doesn't sell any Magic singles, so the employees playing don't have the advantage of borrowing cards from the store. Regardless, the employees who play Magic all have deep collections with full playsets of any format staples, so they wouldn't need to borrow cards.
If anything, I would get bored of the local Magic scene. That's why I started traveling to different stores, even if it meant driving 40 minutes away. Interacting with new people in new environments keeps the game fresh for me.