2014 Magic Online Awards
In 2014 so much happened in the Magic Online world, I figure it is time to take a look at these moments and present awards as I see them. One thing for sure is people will not agree with my selections, so in true woof fashion I hope to hear your opinions in the comments below! As many know I am a niche format and vintage player, so this will be slanted towards my preferences. Without further ado, let's start the award ceremony.
2014 Best Mechanic
Nominees
Delve
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Monstrosity
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Heroic
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Scry
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This year presented us with many new cards with existing mechanics and some net new ones. And the winner is:
Delve
So, unfortunately, delve is not a new mechanic but it surely showed its power this year. In almost every format players can pack their graveyards with cards making the delve mechanism fairly easy to leverage. With cards like treasure cruise only then casting one blue mana we see why this mechanic is playable in almost every format at the highest level decks. Not only is it playable but also I find it fun and very interactive as many Delve cards are instants.
2014 Best Product
Nominees
Khans of Tarkir
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Vintage Masters
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Commander 2014
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Journey into Nyx
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And the winner is:
Vintage Masters
Khans of Tarkir was a great set giving us powerful new cards Dig through Time, sac lands like Polluted Delta, commander fun with Narset, Enlightened Master but you know me Vintage Masters has to win the award. Vintage Masters put the old classic format into the history books giving players access to the Power 9 along with a host of other high priced power cards like Force of Will. Overall Vintage Masters took the entire classic scene and the MTGO older card economy and flipped it upside down with a fun draft set to boot.
2014 Best Card
Nominees
And the winner is:
Treasure Cruise
Who doesn't like draw? I mean treasure cruise is played in every format, casual or tourney, and provides players with a great card draw ability. In tourney play people are already calling for it to be restricted but while it remains it sure is fun in almost every blue deck you run including for you EDH players!
2014 Best New Commander Card
Nominees
And the winner is:
Arcane Lighthouse
Arcane Lighthouse is a must add to just about every EDH deck. Your opponent plays Lightning Greaves, no problem, his commander is Narset, Enlightened Master, no problem, you get the drift. Shroud and hexproof are tough abilities to handle for most EDH players so Arcane Lighthouse is here to help.
2014 Best New Multiplayer Card
Nominees
And the winner is:
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
If you haven't tried Teferi, Temporal Archmage in multiplayer games you need to! Whether it is casual Vintage, Legacy or EDH this card is very fun and powerful. I especially have found a cool combo with Teferi, Temporal Archmage, Tezzeret the Seeker and The Chain Veil with any mana artifact for 2 or 3.
2014 Best Magic Online News Source
Nominees
PureMTGO
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Classic Quarter
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WOTC
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And the winner is:
PureMTGO
OK so I admit I am biased as I am a writer here, but come on where else do you find the high quality content for free than here! Big shout out to Joshua Claytor for his tireless efforts in making this site what it is and to MTGO Traders for their continued sponsorship.
2014 Best Bittersweet MTGO News
Nominees
Leagues Delayed until 2015
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Version 4
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Classic Format Ends
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And the winner is:
Version 4
So the Version 3 to Version 4 "upgrade" was very bumpy and MTGO is still plagued with several issues and needed enhancements, but I can say Version 4 is getting better and I have faith that in time WOTC will make it even better. Between the news that WOTC is hiring outside help, is financially stable and supported by parent company Hasbro and the progress to date is encouraging. I have seen some of the players that exited after the migration come back and hope more do in time.
2014 Best Overall Moment
Nominees
Power 9 released
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Sac Lands reprinted
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WOTC provides EDH cards
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And the winner is:
Power 9 released
Well I think everyone knows as a Classic and, now, Vintage player this has to be my biggest 2014 MTGO moment. As I mentioned I am interested in your thoughts (these are mine). Any standard, block, draft, modern, etc.. players want to list out their awards for those formats? One thing I can say, is looking back and thinking about all the Magic stuff that has happened this year I am fairly happy in where we ended up in most areas, but let's hope 2015 is an even better year for us!
Happy New Years.
Woof
4 Comments
Nice work! it certainly was a crazy year. Vintage masters being announced was one of the reasons I wanted to start a mtgo account again. I haven't been able to afford any power, but it sure is cool.
Vintage is certainly very fun, but I understand the costs are high for most. Many vintage/legacy staples are still very cheap though, for people in your situation I would suggest buying those staples like vamp tutor, Tolarian Academy, time vault, sphere of resistance, ancient tomb, etc... at very reduced prices. Maybe take a chance and buy some cards you think will go up in value like Clever Impersonator or Jeskai Ascendancy. In time hopefully you will get all the needed cards by buying low and selling high to assemble your vintage deck of choice. The other alternative which is a good one is build dredge, yes it is not the most fun to play but it is effective. It gets you in the vintage scene to learn and compete and in many cases win. While not as fun you will like it more than you think, the dredge deck has high and lows though so prepare for them (some matches you get hated out). But it will let you gain valuable experience and also win some money back. I also think the cards in dredge could go up in the future. Best of luck!
This is really good work and I hope this can be a yearly awarding but instead of only one person's point of view. I wish every PureMTGO writer or a panel of Judges from PureMTGO will decide who will be the winner. Still Good Work and hope to read more articles from you..
Could be good as a pod cast series for the discussion of the nominations and then open up the comments to voting/commentary from the masses and a final tally and article/cast when all the voting is in.