Arena is the newer online client. You can play standard and historic on Arena. Standard works the same as it did when you would have played, rotates in the fall with 2 years worth of cards in its full form. Historic is Arena's "eternal"/non rotating format. Basically the way it works, due to Arena being a pretty new client and not having much of a card pool, it consists of the standard sets that have existed since it was released, as well as a few "Jumpstart" sets, a few anthologies and a few remastered versions of old sets. The anthologies are where they handpicked a small set of cards each time and put them in arena, I believe there are 5? now. Jumpstart sets are larger and are sets you can draft. I believe the only remastered sets right now are Kaladesh remastered and Amonkhet remastered, where they condensed those blocks into 1 set.
MTGO is mainly played for modern right now, which is 8th edition forward. Pioneer is another non rotating format, Return to Ravnica forward. Pioneer is a relatively new format, introduced not long before the pandemic. It was pretty dead for a while due to the pandemic and the way WotC handled the ban lists but it's picking up again. There are also rental services you can use but modern decks post MH2 are pretty expensive.
For paper, commander/edh is a pretty popular format that is mostly casual but can be fun depending if you can find a group that matches the power level you wanna play at. Depending on current covid restrictions in your area, many places are back to running fnm, which can pretty much be of any format now. There are also products that can help you get started with however you choose to play
I was actually having a bit of banlist discussion with friends a few days ago and Jitte was a card that came up and we talked about a lot. My issue with it is that often games just become about it. It's either answer it right away or the benefit it gives even after only hitting once is just so good. It triggers off dealing combat damage, not just to players but to anything. Which is absurd.
I feel you could probably argue pod or twin for hours and still not change your mind just because of how entrenched either side is on their points of view. I feel both are probably fine. Twin does make weird lines of play, but I feel the format is faster now than it was 5-6 years ago. Yeah we've gotten better etb creatures but I feel pod probably is just fine and there are decks that can grind as well as it, especially Lurrus piles.
I don't think any cantrips should be unbanned, eve as a blue player. They're probably just too good, same as any of the storm rituals.
I'm still not 100% convinced anything needs to be banned. Ragavan is really good but not broken. Same with Saga and anything else from MH2. I'd entertain the idea of increasing the cost to move companions to hand or maybe banning the use of companions in some from but still allowing them to be used in the deck.
I feel that forum use in general has slowed down and moved to discord servers a lot, at least from what I've noticed. A lot of mtg discords I use are still relatively active.
The pandemic stopping in store play for so long didn't exactly help either
I feel that having double Innistrad sets so close together really exhausted people tbh. Neither wave of prereleases got many players in my area and packs aren't really selling
At this point I think FaB is too big to be just a fad. I believe they've had at least 1 large event equivalent of a Magic Fest, please correct me if I'm wrong. There have been a few other games that have been a flash in the pan such as Keyforge and Dragon Ball but I found those died off quickly.
FaB has been firing events quite regularly as the local level and I still can't find product at local stores.
so a bit on card choices before I go into my fnm from last Friday. Basic island and forest are so I can answer hate cards easily and cast them through a blood moon (which is everywhere in stores I play in). Leyline of Sanctity is for burn and discard decks. Burn seems like it's on the uptick and I still don't know how I feel about the match. There's a lot of BXx midrange decks in my area. I didn't realize I only had 3 Architects of Will so I need to get 1 more and probably replace the carabids for the last one and maybe another Brazen Borrower // Petty Theft
anyways onto the easy 3-0-1 fnm I got for first at a 21 person event
round 1 got the bye.
1-0, easy mode
Round 2 I 2-0 UWr control, red is for Prismatic Ending . g1 I could have gone off on his 4, when I had 3 mana but I noticed he had 4 mana open and quickly passed. So I didn't wanna play into Cryptic Command . I went up with him and a few buddies and I knew he said he didn't really update his deck much over covid so I put him on it. I drew into a grief, which he countered with cryptic. He then tapped out for a jtms so I went off. G2 I believe he mulled to 6, I forced the Dovin's Veto on my first living end. I drew into a living end so I decided to suspend it. I decided to take a weird line where I cast another cascade spell to see if I could kill him before my suspend went off, because I could just go off soon anyways. I was able to kill him by then using Violent Outburst as an anthem. Note my architects of will showed me the one of Rest in Peace at the top so good thing I took that line
Round 4 opponent offers me the draw, which I accept because I was in first after 3rd round so I figured my standing wouldn't change. Turns out he's on dredge, which isn't a match I really know. While I'm thinking of it, who's favoured in this match?
anyways got first, played against matches I don't know well. I don't know if the build of UWr control is good for me, didn't see chalice but counters galore. I don't know about how the glimpse match should go and dredge feels like it could have been weird
MTGO is mainly played for modern right now, which is 8th edition forward. Pioneer is another non rotating format, Return to Ravnica forward. Pioneer is a relatively new format, introduced not long before the pandemic. It was pretty dead for a while due to the pandemic and the way WotC handled the ban lists but it's picking up again. There are also rental services you can use but modern decks post MH2 are pretty expensive.
For paper, commander/edh is a pretty popular format that is mostly casual but can be fun depending if you can find a group that matches the power level you wanna play at. Depending on current covid restrictions in your area, many places are back to running fnm, which can pretty much be of any format now. There are also products that can help you get started with however you choose to play
I feel you could probably argue pod or twin for hours and still not change your mind just because of how entrenched either side is on their points of view. I feel both are probably fine. Twin does make weird lines of play, but I feel the format is faster now than it was 5-6 years ago. Yeah we've gotten better etb creatures but I feel pod probably is just fine and there are decks that can grind as well as it, especially Lurrus piles.
I don't think any cantrips should be unbanned, eve as a blue player. They're probably just too good, same as any of the storm rituals.
I'm still not 100% convinced anything needs to be banned. Ragavan is really good but not broken. Same with Saga and anything else from MH2. I'd entertain the idea of increasing the cost to move companions to hand or maybe banning the use of companions in some from but still allowing them to be used in the deck.
The pandemic stopping in store play for so long didn't exactly help either
I’ll be locking it
FaB has been firing events quite regularly as the local level and I still can't find product at local stores.
4 street wraith
4 striped riverwinder
4 horror of the broken lands
4 curator of mysteries
3 architects of will
2 monstrous carabid
protection
4 grief
4 force of negation
1 brazen borrower
combo
4 violent outburst
4 shardless agent
3 living end
4 misty rainforest
1 wooded foothills
4 blooming marsh
4 spirebluff canal
2 steam vents
2 overgrown tomb
1 island
1 forest
4 leyline of the void
2 leyline of sanctity
2 fulminator mage
2 ingot chewer
2 foundation breaker
2 mystical dispute
1 brazen borrower
so a bit on card choices before I go into my fnm from last Friday. Basic island and forest are so I can answer hate cards easily and cast them through a blood moon (which is everywhere in stores I play in). Leyline of Sanctity is for burn and discard decks. Burn seems like it's on the uptick and I still don't know how I feel about the match. There's a lot of BXx midrange decks in my area. I didn't realize I only had 3 Architects of Will so I need to get 1 more and probably replace the carabids for the last one and maybe another Brazen Borrower // Petty Theft
anyways onto the easy 3-0-1 fnm I got for first at a 21 person event
round 1 got the bye.
1-0, easy mode
Round 2 I 2-0 UWr control, red is for Prismatic Ending . g1 I could have gone off on his 4, when I had 3 mana but I noticed he had 4 mana open and quickly passed. So I didn't wanna play into Cryptic Command . I went up with him and a few buddies and I knew he said he didn't really update his deck much over covid so I put him on it. I drew into a grief, which he countered with cryptic. He then tapped out for a jtms so I went off. G2 I believe he mulled to 6, I forced the Dovin's Veto on my first living end. I drew into a living end so I decided to suspend it. I decided to take a weird line where I cast another cascade spell to see if I could kill him before my suspend went off, because I could just go off soon anyways. I was able to kill him by then using Violent Outburst as an anthem. Note my architects of will showed me the one of Rest in Peace at the top so good thing I took that line
2-0.
Round 3 I 2-0 the cascade Glimpse of Tomorrow deck. G1 I go off on 3, counter his Glimpse of Tomorrow the win. g2 he mulls to 5, I living end in response to Teferi, Time Raveler . he bounces something but I can cast again anyways
3-0.
Round 4 opponent offers me the draw, which I accept because I was in first after 3rd round so I figured my standing wouldn't change. Turns out he's on dredge, which isn't a match I really know. While I'm thinking of it, who's favoured in this match?
anyways got first, played against matches I don't know well. I don't know if the build of UWr control is good for me, didn't see chalice but counters galore. I don't know about how the glimpse match should go and dredge feels like it could have been weird