- TRAMD
- Registered User
-
Member for 13 years, 7 months, and 15 days
Last active Thu, May, 19 2016 23:58:52
- 1 Follower
- 1,603 Total Posts
- 82 Thanks
-
Nov 2, 2014TRAMD posted a message on Casual Castle: Deathtouch Pingers Part 1I know you probably won't but don't forget about Razorfin Hunter and Sigil of Sleep for part 2. Also, I found it a bit much to focus completely on pingers and deathtouch when I made my UR version. Cards like Fog Bank and Guard Gomazoa (which also has nice synergy with deathtouch) keep you alive until you can create your "lock" and then you can just finish off your opponent with the pingers. I also added Act of Treason with Reckless Abandon as a further way to make them regret playing creatures. Reckless Abandon can also act as a nice finisher on one of your creatures. Add some Lightning Bolts and Preordain/Ponder and you have yourself a pretty workable deck. Unfortunately Basilisk Collar is the best card in the deck but is relatively expensive.Posted in: Articles
-
Apr 14, 2011TRAMD posted a message on [DECK] Mono-Green InfectI have a deck similar to this and canopy cover is the boss.Posted in: darkspellcards Blog
- To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I think you missed the point. I quit 2 years ago because I was spending too much time thinking about and doing Magic.
I am a compulsive person and I had a similar problem with Star Wars Galaxies (before it was ruined). I had a similar revelation then, sold my character for $500 and never looked back. That is part of the reason I was able to look at this as a similar problem and make the change I needed to; I'd done it before to good effect. I will never again play an MMORPG.
I don't like Cube at all. I do play EDH rarely.
I didn't need to get rid of all of my cards and I am fine. Yes, that does increase the temptation some but Magic isn't like alcohol or another drug in its level of harm and I have been able to hold back any urges to get back into it on a grand scale.
HAHA! Sure, they're in the mail...
I like this thread too. Thanks.
I have a degree in Math and Physics and love Poker and am fairly decent at it but I don't really have time for that either. I know you weren't suggesting that for me, however.
I've kept most of my collection except the Power 9 and don't plan on selling anything more. I don't really have friends that play much Magic or that wouldn't prefer doing something else when we're together so I play from time to time, mostly EDH.
I was very social at events and that is something I miss. However, there are better social outlets without all of the smelly and unfriendly people that are mostly male. Certainly not all Magic players are smelly, but the ratio is higher than the general population.
I'm glad you're glad.
Your numbered items are all great
HAHA! I should learn from my dad for some father-son time
But it is! That is part of the problem. It just isn't as good as life!
I loved D&D before I loved Magic and my kids enjoy it too. We don't play much but it is fun when we do.
I necroed it.
What guy? Me?
I sold my Power 9 but am not selling my Legacy cards. I love the format and don't need the money.
Again, not selling the rest of my cards.
I don't really enjoy limited, I am a constructed guy all the way.
Medium to large Legacy, Vintage, Modern or Standard tournament - absolutely no proxies
Small local Legacy tournament with only a handful of local players having competitive Legacy cards - sure, with 10 proxies probably being about right. If you replace "Legacy" with: "Vintage" I'd say 15 proxies, with "Modern" I'd say 5 proxies and with "Standard" I'd say 0 proxies.
Kitchen table Legacy, Vintage, Modern or Standard tournament or testing - absolutely fine, proxy the entire 75 for all I care
Kitchen table casual with Legacy deck-building rules - no proxies; the point is to play less powerful decks and have fun, so use the cards you have. I really feel like the entire deck should be less than many expensive cards cost.
Commander - I'd lean towards no proxies unless you happen to be playing a card in another deck that you have with you and don't want to switch it over. It seems like proxies go against the spirit of the format and there aren't a ton of super expensive cards that are "must-play" and besides, you only need one.
To summarize:
Tournaments - no proxies unless you are having trouble getting enough people
Testing - lots of proxies
Casual - no proxies with only rare exceptions
I won't actively discourage my kids from playing Magic but I also won't actively encourage it or have it be our primary source of bonding.
Thanks again for all the great responses, supportive or otherwise.
I am not saying there aren't some good things about Magic. The basic reason for my decision is that I believe that the bad outweighs the good in my situation. There are some positives to not wearing a seatbelt but when critically evaluated, the positives of wearing a seatbelt outweigh the positives of not wearing one. I am all for maximizing my chances for survival and happiness and for me, I believe quitting Magic will improve my happiness overall.
I was definitely a nerd growing up (no girlfriends, valedictorian, very shy) and while I actually feel that overall it helped make me a better person (not that I enjoyed being unpopular in school), I should probably give my parents more credit because they were/are excellent (this is me agreeing with you). If my kids choose nerdy things, so what? I just honestly don't think I am being the best parent that I can be by encouraging them to play Magic. My parents always promoted academics, being kind and caring to others, honesty, being active (not necessarily sports and winning, just being active) and healthy eating. They tried to get me into music but visual arts were much more my thing; which they were fine with. They discouraged video games (of course I played anyway and turned out just fine). I had no exposure to comics, RPGs and CCGs as a child. I mostly followed what they taught because kids do what their parents do, not necessarily what their parents say. I want to be the dad that is kind to others, honest, hard-working, paints amazing things, has a successful career, eats his vegetables, knows everything about space and calculus, can still dunk at 40, benches 250 lbs and can amaze others with his dance moves with mom because I want my kids to be like that. Is it possible to do all that AND play Magic? Probably. But I feel that I am not living up to my potential (who ever does?) and that Magic is currently the biggest obstacle to that for me. Are there people for whom playing Magic is a net gain? I honestly think they are probably rare. If you believe you are one of those people, good for you; I'm not.
Thus far we've been able to work through any shortcomings in academics (though it hasn't been anything major) but I definitely agree that when learning is fun, it comes easier and I've seen that with my kids on several occasions.
It sounds like you have a well-balanced life and honestly I don't feel that my life is lacking any of those things and I really am very happy but there is always room for improvement and freeing up more time by not playing Magic should help. My parents had a friend in college whom later became a professor. He decided to log how he spent his time in 15 minute increments for an entire year. He "woke up" to all the time he was wasting and changed his life around. He sold a book based on this experiment and even ended up buying a college and eventually wrote the highest selling college textbook of all time. The point is that we all waste a lot of time and that time is precious. In fact, why am I still writing on this forum? I think Facebook is next on the chopping block too. It definitely seems like you have your life figured out and are in a nice place. I am happy for you. Can't you be happy for me that I am working on improving mine? Why is defending a card game so important to you? You decried my "need for attention" but are giving me more than anyone else on here.
EDIT: I also wanted to say that we canceled our cable 7 years ago. We were DVRing everything and were always "behind on our shows" and wasting so much time on that crap. When we watched real time TV I also felt like I was wasting my time not only with commercials but the shows as well. A movie can tell me a good story and provide good entertainment in 1.5-3 hours. A TV show takes many hours to get a story out of. I watch about 2-4 movies per week and that is the extent of my TV watching.
That is one of the beauties of the internet. If I am alone in this and nobody cares, my post goes uncommented and quickly falls off the main page, never to be heard from again (me or the post). If there are others who might feel the same this gives them a chance to consider their own priorities and connect in some way to someone else in a similar situation. Plus, I may gain some valuable advice from other Magic players and those similar to me that will allow me to make a better decision than the one I am going with now.
All of these things were happening countless times before Magic and will continue to happen without Magic:
- Dads connecting with their kids
- People making friends and memories
- Developing mental acuity
- Learning to read good
I would argue that they happen WITH Magic being there, not BECAUSE of Magic being there.
Also, I am not saying that I won't ever pick up cards again or play Magic with my kids again. I think it is unlikely but my keeping the cards is at least a partial concession that I may want to return and am doing this partially as a trial. If my life doesn't seem to improve in any measurable way then why not go back to playing the game that I love? However, if my life does improve, then it is time to rid myself of Magic forever.
Thanks for your thought-provoking response. Every discussion needs dissenters.
-I really don't need the money from selling the cards. I don't have so much money that $30k is insignificant but I already have more excess money than that that I am just investing anyway. Why not keep it in cards which are doing better than any other investment right now?
-My wife is a major factor in this. She, justifiably, feels like she is taking a back seat to Magic and she has no desire to play it with me (trust me, I've tried). She likes to work out so we can do that together. She likes to sing so we can do music together. She likes to play certain video games so we can do that together. I want to find hobbies that we can both enjoy.
-The player on Cockatrice didn't really affect me so much by his behavior as he caused reflection. It was more “why am I wasting my time with this jerk whom I don't know instead of hanging out with my wife/kids/friends?” than “his comments cut me so deep I want to cry and quit Magic.”
-I don't think that slowing down or just keeping a few decks or a cube is the answer. I have already slowed down quite a bit. I used to have cards in hand 2-3 hours per day; now it is closer to 5 hours per week. However, there is still all the time online on Magic sites and thinking about Magic that eats away at me. I have to realize that I am an obsessive person and there are some things that I cannot do lightly. It has helped me in many areas, particularly school and work success, but it can be a detriment too.
-I understand that there is a social aspect of Magic but I honestly don't need it. There are plenty of other ways to spend quality time with my kids and help them grow. Some of my best friends play Magic with me occasionally because they know I like it but most of our interactions are not Magic. I don't really have any good friends that I met playing Magic, just “Magic acquaintances”. I am really at a point in my life where I already have too many friends. Basically I don't even have enough time to devote to my current best friends, let alone 2nd or 3rd tier friends. If you are not at this stage of life yet, you will be some day.
-I do still have fun playing Magic but I have realized that if I play at all, I go so full bore that it takes up too much of my time, even in my mind. That is why I am choosing to quit even though I do have fun playing. I can find something else that I think is fun that benefits me more and hopefully won't become an obsession.
I am boarded in PM&R and Interventional Pain Management.
I would argue that playing guitar, lifting weights and playing basketball are all better for me than Magic. There are some mental gymnastics with Magic but it really isn't that difficult and I would like to find other ways to challenge myself without becoming obsessed.
I don't have a lot, that's why what I do have is so important.
This is similar to what I had found as my one joy. I have put all of my excess rares/valuables into a trade binder and I enjoyed giving them away to young players at tournaments.
That was great, not whining at all.
I think this is truly awesome advice and is exactly what I will do. The standard stuff will only drop in the future if it cannot be played in Modern or Legacy.
I really am ok, don't worry about me. I think that playing guitar fits under "improving myself".
HAHA about the guitar thing. It sounds like you have made a decent side business out of Magic, good for you. The last paragraph is good stuff about family and fitness before hobbies and I agree completely.
There are hobbies that don't cause so much obsession and time suck as Magic does.
My emotional maturity is fine. My general maturity might need some work. I AM reevaluating my life priorities, that's why I am doing this.
Magic is a nerdy game. For better or worse, it is. "Nerd" culture has become cooler in recent years but it is still nerdy. I am a full-on nerd (comics, RPGs, video games, card games, movies) but I call a spade a spade.
Yes, THIS.
I've always had a great vocabulary and spelling ability and I didn't play Magic until I was 30. It happened because I read obsessively as a child.
I have honestly felt a little bit of guilt about this.
I do need to reevaluate my priorities. Again, this is why I am doing this. My kids are fine. I definitely put them and my career above everything else. What was getting left behind was my wife and myself in the evenings after the kids are in bed. I want to change that.
I have never tried a drug in my life. I didn't drink until I was 21 and rarely drink now. I have spent maybe $100 lifetime on gambling. I did have an addiction to Star Wars Galaxies at one time and it was killing my marriage and my medical school grades but I sold my character in a manner similar to this and I have never regretted it.
What kind of doc are you? I hope my story serves as a cautionary tale for you. No.
Yes, this.
I am a logical person. I believe that you can think rationally and intelligently about almost anything and come up with a good solution. If you don't want to read the entire post, I thought long and hard and realized that the positives of continuing to play don't outweigh the negatives.
Some background: I am a 34 year-old married physician with 5 children ages 8, 6, 5, 2 and 10 months. I started playing Magic at age 30 and have spent around $15,000 on cards which are now worth about $30,000 according to the link in my signature. I am an obsessive person and have become overly obsessed with Magic. My wife hates Magic (probably more because of my obsession and my having $30,000 worth of cards than an inherent dislike of the game) and would love for me to quit but respects that I love playing. My oldest 4 kids are all boys and my oldest 3 will play with me but are more into video games currently. I have always been a gamer, mostly video games and then D&D and now Magic (I rarely play the others now).
Here is the conversation that prompted my self-reflection that led to my decision. This happened on Cockatrice.
Opponent (when I was countering everything and beating him down with Delver) - "Nice f***ing God hand"
Me (later when I was losing after drawing my 6th land in a row and watching his Liliana tick up) - "That God hand isn't looking so good now."
Opponent - "That's because my deck is better."
Me - "You're at a place in your life where you enjoy trash talking over the internet about a card game to someone you don't know?"
Opponent - *leaves the game*
Although I thought I'd come up with a pretty good comeback, it didn't feel good. It started to make me realize how often I don't feel better after competing in Magic tournaments. If I play someone who is a jerk, I don't enjoy it, win or lose. If I lose, I don't really enjoy it. If I play someone who is nice and I win, I feel bad.
Then I started thinking about other things.
When I lived in a large city, there were lots of Magic tournaments. There were constant EDH games to get into, 4-5 Standard tournaments per week, 3-4 Limited tournaments per week, 2 Legacy tournaments per week, even 2 Vintage tournaments per year. I always felt kind of blah about the tournament, even if I'd done well (which I typically did not, except in Legacy). Regardless, it was only a few hours wasted and a short drive to be back at home. Now I live in a small town where there is a decent amount of EDH, weekly Standard and monthly Modern. I don't really get to play the formats I love (Legacy and Vintage) except on Cockatrice, which is too often a miserable experience.
I have a huge collection and was working towards getting a complete Legacy and Vintage collection. Why keep this when there isn't anyone around to play with?
I had two reasons for this:
1. I planned to travel to tournaments (Leg/Vin Championships, SCG Open, Legacy Grand Prix, Bazaar of Moxen) at some point in the future. Honestly, however, I would prefer to spend my vacation time and money on something else because I would more than likely not win the tournament (or even top 8) and instead of a few hours, I'd have wasted an entire weekend and lots of money. Plus, when was I really going to do this? My life isn't going to slow down until I'm retired.
2. I hoped my boys(kids?) would get into it and go to tournaments with me. The problem here is that that might not actually be that good for them. Getting into a nerdy game as a kid might not really be what's best for them. When I got into the game I was already a solid adult and it has changed me for the worse. What would it do to a kid trying to figure out who they are? Also, if I am so obsessed with the game that it takes me away from them, they might just learn to hate it as much as my wife.
So if I am questioning whether this is good for my kids, shouldn't I question whether it is good for me? I feel that everyone needs a hobby and I love to play Magic but does it really improve me? The way I gauge that is to think about being 20 years in the future and imagine if I will wish I'd play more Magic. The answer is "heck no!" In high school and college I was very athletic and played nerd games. As I have gotten older and responsibilities have mounted, I've left behind most of the athletics and only play Magic in my reduced free time.
Then it hit me: I'M WASTING MY TIME and there are few things more precious than time. I should be spending my time eating, sleeping, working, developing meaningful relationships or improving myself. If my hobby also does one of these, then it is never a waste of time.
My dad got me a Fender Stratocaster for my birthday recently so I'll be learning to play that, playing basketball with my kids, trying to improve my business/clinic and lifting weights more regularly as my hobbies now.
If you see any of yourself in what I have said here, I implore you to think about if quitting Magic is what's best for you. May you find a hobby that you find enjoyable and enriching.
So what am I doing with the cards? My wife and I discussed this. I initially was going to sell them because it is a lot of money and I really shouldn't have access to them. Then I realized that there is a chance I would regret that some day (as I have talked to many people that did just that and did regret it later) and that they may go up even more in value and I don't really need the money right now. I have instead decided to put them into bins and put them into storage, ALL OF THEM. I will think about selling them again in a year when I see what prices have done and how I feel about that decision at that time.
Thanks for reading if you got to here. I will probably check comments on this thread until they stop and then I will leave this site as well. I thought about trying to get banned but that shouldn't be necessary.