This is intentional, as there's no way to coordinate generals like there is in paper. You just sit down, join a table, etc and the game starts. They put that in there to keep things from getting broken in online pick-up games.
It was Worth, and the actual statement (post corrections) was that MTGO accounts for about 35% of MTG-America's revenue (or profits... not sure).
So 35% of MTG's Americas numbers come from MTGO, which is likely way, way lower than 35% of the America's player number.
Lours i agree with everything you said. The format is so skill intensive its not even funny. You can eaisly lose the game on turn 1 from putting down the wrong land or tapping your land against certain decks. That being said though it is a skill intensive format for everyone! So were all on an even footing. besides being skill intensive the decks are very powerful and few of them are so unforgiving that simple misclicks or mistimed plays end the game.
The reason I love classic is the busted plays and intracate lines of thought behind each play. I mean what other format can you go
land
petal
dark ritual
darkritual
liliana's caress
windfall.
You take 14 damage from discarding your hand i draw 7 new cards and play out 3 more mana and a second windfall or even a memory jar?
Yea, thats just so much better then khalni garden go... or
forest Noble hiearch.
As for new players, yea its intimidating, but anybody with a serious interest in the format will inquire or watch and learn. Sure oath of druids is crazy to some one who dosent know and goes t1 savannah lions. but he will learn fast. and then when he brings a control deck and the oath player lays out a forbiddan orchard, he will learn another valuable lesson. I already have 2 classic articles in my head, and want to have them out over the next two weeks.
Classic is addictive once your in the inner circle and realize how the format works. I will go so far as to say that classic is the perfect metagame format. Decks exist as teir 1 stratgeys for months to years at a time, so learning there weakness and playing a rouge deck has more benefit in this format then any other.
I hear ketchup goes well with shoe leather...not sure what to tell you if your left shoes got plastic/rubber in it though. That stuff sticks in the craw.
For me that's the draw! I remember my first experience was when some guy I met at the local card shop loaned me a deck to play with a couple other guys. It was Grow-a-tog. I'd never seen cards like Mana Drain and Force of Will before, let alone the moxen flying around the table. It was pretty amazing. After that I was asked if this was more fun than Standard to which I replied with an emphatic YES. So, the guy who invited me talked to me for a bit and told me there was a 15-proxy Vintage event up in Gilbert for which the prize was a playset of Force of Wills, and that if I were to continue playing these kinds of formats I'd need them. He gave me a deck full of proxies and told me to take it home and goldfish. He told me the basic idea, followed by knife threats and whatnot. It was Long.dec.
A week later I had a new love for combo and a new set of Force of Wills!
To the point, it's really not that scary once you scratch the surface, and I think Classic/Vintage splits into archetypes very easily. Combo IS Combo, Control IS Control and Aggro IS Aggro, with few exceptions. Most deck types draw from the same card pool and after that it' just a matter of learning their nuances.
If MED4 doesn't bring P9 and Vintage support with it... I'm eating my shoe. The left one.
Classic is an awesome format. I like it very much, no other format provide to me a similar feeling of powered card, tricky plays & freedom to build. That said, I think that one of the main reason why classic doesnt fire a lot is that the format is difficult to understand (i dont know if that wording is correct). I mean, a so large choice of power card involves that the format requires deep playing skills to perform. That's why I like it a lot btw - i am not especialy skilled myself, but like to put me in danger zone (private joke). But if it is so interesting, it is also a bit scary to enter into. Classic exists only on mtgo, and players cant find easly supports like decks lists or meta analysis ... (except ClassicQuarter.com which is a reference for that). And a new player in the format could find it frustating sometime to pratice as you have to deal with crazy powerful deck ... and without well knowing how these decks work, it is much more complicate and extremly difficult to deal with. I spoke with a player in TP room about that after he tried and said he will stay in legacy for these reasons.
So thank you for these articles, and thank you to players encouraging the format (dangerlinto as well who did/'s doing so much for the format, and some other writers here & there) because it needs work and provide a precious help to many players, inclunding me as well. Just go on and hurra for classic!
Hey, well Happy First Article! I liked reading it, especially since I've been on said losing streak myself XD
That said, I would like drop one bit of advice that's helped me stay published. While a picture may not be worth a thousand words, it's worth at least 20 or so :P Adding visuals to your articles really does make a difference. Then learning to format them with border-less tables adds another great effect. If I didn't use these ideas in my articles people would quickly realize I'm about as articulate as an 8 year old with a speech impedi.. speech impeded... impo... a speech problem! Just some friendly advice, I recommend you level your desk with it.
HIYA! Big shout out to Lythand for being the first to comment! Thank you!
This is my first article being published (the first was being rejected cause it was too short) and I will learn how to link the cards and do some videos too.
I will do a short summary regarding sideboard strategies and brief explanation against the most common decks being played.
RDW: -3 Avenger of Zendikar -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +4 Obstinate Baloth.
Slight bad matchup. Avenger is too slow and Oracle is bad here so a direct swap for Baloths. I might be siding in 2 Back to Nature for 2 Explores against Manabarbs or the red Leyline but I rather ramp and cast my spells instead of drawing dead if they don't play them.
White Weenine: -2 Avenger of Zendikar -4 Bloodbraid Elf -3 Explore +4 Obstinate Baloth +3 Pyroclasm +2 Back to Nature.
Even matchup. Avenger is too slow and Bloodbraid is bad against Kor Firewalker. Back to Nature is against Luminarch Ascension and Oblivion Ring. Lightning Bolts would have to be sparingly used for full effect.
Naya: -1 Avenger of Zendikar -2 Explore -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +2 Pyroclasm +2 Summoning Trap.
This is a good matchup as the deck ramp its way past Naya but they do have explosive starts. Summoning Trap goes in for the surprize element where opponent would go all in, EOT trap for Primeval Titan, and knock them out cold like Mike Tyson.
Mythic: -1 Avenger of Zendikar -4 Bloodbraid Elf -3 Explore -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +4 Obstinate Baloth +3 Pyroclasm +2 Summoning Trap.
This is an even matchup IMO. Unless it is in the hands of an experienced player, ramp would be slightly in favour here. The plan is the same and trap is against counter magic. EOT trap to tempt the counter magic and force them to tap out or tap low and cast your threats at your turn.
UW Control: -2 Avenger of Zendikar -2 Harrow -4 Lightning Bolt +2 Back to Nature +4 Obstinate Baloth +2 Summoning Trap.
Slight bad matchup. Plan here is to cast threats to tempt their counter magic and grind it out. Resolve titan = win.
Pyromancer Ascension: -3 Avenger of Zendikar -2 Bloodbraid Elf -2 Harrow -4 Lightning Bolt -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +4 Back to Nature +4 Obstinate Baloth +2 Ricochet Trap +2 Summoning Trap.
Bad matchup. The normal ramp decks are slower and allows Pyromancer players more turns to draw their combo pieces but I have Elf and Bolts to sneak in some damage and steal games which are very crucial. Almost the whole sideboard comes in as we cannot afford combo players luxury of assembling their pieces. Baloth is kinda good against them.
Jund: -2 Avenger of Zendikar -1 Lightning Bolt -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +4 Obstinate Baloth.
Good matchup. Taking out Avenger to negate Pulse and 1 in the main is good enough. Stall the board and kill with Valakut.
"8. Generals are subject to the Legend rule; they will be put into the graveyard or command zone at the same time as any other Legendary creatures with the same name."
This is not 100% correct!
For example, say my General happens to be Progenitus, and I cast him. If another players casts Progenitus, and it is NOT that player's General, HIS Progenitus goes to the graveyard while mine remains alive! Also, if 2 players happen to be playing the same general, they can BOTH be on the table simultaneously. So in this case, the Legend rule does NOT apply!!
Good stuff. Counters definitely have a place in the game and are very useful. The only problem is if you play too many. Then people will get annoyed or hang up on you. But many times people can be happy when counters come out, like if you get rid of blatant thievery. One unhappy opponent but two happy ones.
Couple of things to notice off the bat. White isn't really worth it. I think there are two cards that you really need to play, the Magma Phoenix and the Air Servant. They are your two strongest cards in the pool, and you have a good shot at drawing them in a 30 card deck even without any card draw. I think black is your strongest color in the pool, with removal and card advantage, and even a little fat. I'd run this.
1cc:
Lightning Bolt
2cc:
Augury Owl
Child of the Night
3cc:
Gargoyle Sentinel
Cloud elemental
Assasinate
Mind Rot
Lilliana's Specter
4cc:
Gravedigger
Nether Horror
Canyon Minotaur
Chandra's Outrage
5cc:
Air Servant
Rotting Legion
Magma Phoenix
Berserker's of Blood Ridge
Land:
6 Swamps
5 Mountains
3 Islands
I went a little land heavy, but the mana requirements of the deck are a little tough(8 black symbols, 6 red, and 3 blue) and there is no fixing to speak of. I'd probably draw with this deck. It makes your discard better and you want the best chance possible of hitting your 4/5 drop. The augury owl helps us find our strongest creatures and I felt it worth splashing, we have a respectable removal suite between red and black, and we have 5 evasive creatures(6 if you count the owl) to get inside.
I'd also be open to changing the decklist during sideboard. Green's double giant spider and naturalize could be very strong against the right deck.
I enjoyed reading the article, it's nice to see coverage of a new format.
Counters do take some of the fun out of the game as playing vs them changes the dynamics quite a bit. However I find that most counter decks do not fare all that well in the format and they tend to not be as unfun as you would assume at first thought. I haven't played in ages, mostly because I have no desire to see Emrakul across the board. (Yes it is easily dealt with but it is a card that imho DOES make magic less fun.) Yesterday I played a casual tribal game with a conscription deck and felt guilty afterward. Annihilator is just so dirty.
use this for your deck lists to both fit in with the puremtgo look and also to flesh out the article a bit. Check the forums if you need more formatting advice.
Interesting games. Which is unusual for me to say since I despise Standard typically. That you ground into nats on the draw each game tells me your deck actually likes the draw.
Not sure if you have done any otehr articles or not. This one seems a little short and I would of liked to see some detailed match reports. Also if you could use the autocard feature to link to the cards so we don't have to go looking for the card in another browser, that would be cool.
other then that I like the decks. I would suggest Ranger of Eos for the white life gain deck.
Making a new comment as I forgot to rate XD Anyway I wasn't so much worried as I was suprised that I had dug so deep so quickly. I wasn't really interested in playing control, and was only running Deprive, Cancel and Counterspell "just in case", but I guess it's all the same to everyone else :P
There are people who try to play a counterspell deck. the thing is once the rest of the group realizes it, they all tend to gang up on you. I ussually only counter game changing spells that negativly effect me. Such as a Wrath of God when I have a ton of creatures out.
If you are worried about decking, run quest for ancient secrets or the new artifact from M11 that lets you recycle the graveyard back into the library and gain 5 life.
Legacy is pretty healthy in terms of eternal. it fires 5-7 de's a week. It has a hard time making a pe fire though.
there is almost always event players in the tp room, although the tp room does not nessicerrally reflect the de meta game.
Urzas packs are not great at all. you can sell the 6 packs u get from 3-1ing a de for about 10-14 tiks, and the uuu drafts dont fire often.
Classic is an inigma. all week the tp room has been active with the people who love the format. Been playing pick up games and against players i know who are good. Its hard to tell u to get mana drains, oaths, and black tutors when i know that we fired 1 event in 2 and a half months. I just hope that the exposure i am giving, and going to continue giving it, plus sol ring and possibly mox diamond will help to make it fire a bit more.
As for necro, well im not in the know in vintage but if im playing with fow the magic number is like 15. If im not i might go for a maximum hand size of 12 when i discard.
Whiffy! I was hoping you'd post an article soon because I wanted your opinion on something. I think I'm about at the point where I'm ready to shed this Standard coil and start focusing on eternal formats. I cut my teeth on Vintage so naturally Classic has an appeal for me. Legacy is also something I very much want to play.
My only concern before I sell off most of my red-symbol abominations, is who's going to be waiting for me on the other end. I'd hate to shake up my investment so much only to be struggling to find people to play with. Do DE's have a lot of trouble firing? What are UZ/UL packs selling for? Is the magic Necropotence number still 11?
Basically, am I worried over nothing or will I really be downsizing in my playtime?
Lours i agree with everything you said. The format is so skill intensive its not even funny. You can eaisly lose the game on turn 1 from putting down the wrong land or tapping your land against certain decks. That being said though it is a skill intensive format for everyone! So were all on an even footing. besides being skill intensive the decks are very powerful and few of them are so unforgiving that simple misclicks or mistimed plays end the game.
The reason I love classic is the busted plays and intracate lines of thought behind each play. I mean what other format can you go
land
petal
dark ritual
darkritual
liliana's caress
windfall.
You take 14 damage from discarding your hand i draw 7 new cards and play out 3 more mana and a second windfall or even a memory jar?
Yea, thats just so much better then khalni garden go... or
forest Noble hiearch.
As for new players, yea its intimidating, but anybody with a serious interest in the format will inquire or watch and learn. Sure oath of druids is crazy to some one who dosent know and goes t1 savannah lions. but he will learn fast. and then when he brings a control deck and the oath player lays out a forbiddan orchard, he will learn another valuable lesson. I already have 2 classic articles in my head, and want to have them out over the next two weeks.
Classic is addictive once your in the inner circle and realize how the format works. I will go so far as to say that classic is the perfect metagame format. Decks exist as teir 1 stratgeys for months to years at a time, so learning there weakness and playing a rouge deck has more benefit in this format then any other.
Glad to see you're back. I love reading these despite never having played in one of the events.
I hear ketchup goes well with shoe leather...not sure what to tell you if your left shoes got plastic/rubber in it though. That stuff sticks in the craw.
Yeah, this is true online. Your commander is immune to the legend rule. I don't know if they are going to ever fix it either.
depends on your playgroup.
AFAIK, the "Official" rules subject generals to the legendary rule just like other legendary cards.
edit:
just found it:
http://www.dragonhighlander.net/EDH_Root/changelog.php
September 9th, 2009:
Major changes:
* Generals are not immune to the legend(rule).
For me that's the draw! I remember my first experience was when some guy I met at the local card shop loaned me a deck to play with a couple other guys. It was Grow-a-tog. I'd never seen cards like Mana Drain and Force of Will before, let alone the moxen flying around the table. It was pretty amazing. After that I was asked if this was more fun than Standard to which I replied with an emphatic YES. So, the guy who invited me talked to me for a bit and told me there was a 15-proxy Vintage event up in Gilbert for which the prize was a playset of Force of Wills, and that if I were to continue playing these kinds of formats I'd need them. He gave me a deck full of proxies and told me to take it home and goldfish. He told me the basic idea, followed by knife threats and whatnot. It was Long.dec.
A week later I had a new love for combo and a new set of Force of Wills!
To the point, it's really not that scary once you scratch the surface, and I think Classic/Vintage splits into archetypes very easily. Combo IS Combo, Control IS Control and Aggro IS Aggro, with few exceptions. Most deck types draw from the same card pool and after that it' just a matter of learning their nuances.
If MED4 doesn't bring P9 and Vintage support with it... I'm eating my shoe. The left one.
Thank, very enjoyable read.
Classic is an awesome format. I like it very much, no other format provide to me a similar feeling of powered card, tricky plays & freedom to build. That said, I think that one of the main reason why classic doesnt fire a lot is that the format is difficult to understand (i dont know if that wording is correct). I mean, a so large choice of power card involves that the format requires deep playing skills to perform. That's why I like it a lot btw - i am not especialy skilled myself, but like to put me in danger zone (private joke). But if it is so interesting, it is also a bit scary to enter into. Classic exists only on mtgo, and players cant find easly supports like decks lists or meta analysis ... (except ClassicQuarter.com which is a reference for that). And a new player in the format could find it frustating sometime to pratice as you have to deal with crazy powerful deck ... and without well knowing how these decks work, it is much more complicate and extremly difficult to deal with. I spoke with a player in TP room about that after he tried and said he will stay in legacy for these reasons.
So thank you for these articles, and thank you to players encouraging the format (dangerlinto as well who did/'s doing so much for the format, and some other writers here & there) because it needs work and provide a precious help to many players, inclunding me as well. Just go on and hurra for classic!
Hey, well Happy First Article! I liked reading it, especially since I've been on said losing streak myself XD
That said, I would like drop one bit of advice that's helped me stay published. While a picture may not be worth a thousand words, it's worth at least 20 or so :P Adding visuals to your articles really does make a difference. Then learning to format them with border-less tables adds another great effect. If I didn't use these ideas in my articles people would quickly realize I'm about as articulate as an 8 year old with a speech impedi.. speech impeded... impo... a speech problem! Just some friendly advice, I recommend you level your desk with it.
Ok! Thanks Paul. (^^)
HIYA! Big shout out to Lythand for being the first to comment! Thank you!
This is my first article being published (the first was being rejected cause it was too short) and I will learn how to link the cards and do some videos too.
I will do a short summary regarding sideboard strategies and brief explanation against the most common decks being played.
RDW: -3 Avenger of Zendikar -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +4 Obstinate Baloth.
Slight bad matchup. Avenger is too slow and Oracle is bad here so a direct swap for Baloths. I might be siding in 2 Back to Nature for 2 Explores against Manabarbs or the red Leyline but I rather ramp and cast my spells instead of drawing dead if they don't play them.
White Weenine: -2 Avenger of Zendikar -4 Bloodbraid Elf -3 Explore +4 Obstinate Baloth +3 Pyroclasm +2 Back to Nature.
Even matchup. Avenger is too slow and Bloodbraid is bad against Kor Firewalker. Back to Nature is against Luminarch Ascension and Oblivion Ring. Lightning Bolts would have to be sparingly used for full effect.
Naya: -1 Avenger of Zendikar -2 Explore -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +2 Pyroclasm +2 Summoning Trap.
This is a good matchup as the deck ramp its way past Naya but they do have explosive starts. Summoning Trap goes in for the surprize element where opponent would go all in, EOT trap for Primeval Titan, and knock them out cold like Mike Tyson.
Mythic: -1 Avenger of Zendikar -4 Bloodbraid Elf -3 Explore -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +4 Obstinate Baloth +3 Pyroclasm +2 Summoning Trap.
This is an even matchup IMO. Unless it is in the hands of an experienced player, ramp would be slightly in favour here. The plan is the same and trap is against counter magic. EOT trap to tempt the counter magic and force them to tap out or tap low and cast your threats at your turn.
UW Control: -2 Avenger of Zendikar -2 Harrow -4 Lightning Bolt +2 Back to Nature +4 Obstinate Baloth +2 Summoning Trap.
Slight bad matchup. Plan here is to cast threats to tempt their counter magic and grind it out. Resolve titan = win.
Pyromancer Ascension: -3 Avenger of Zendikar -2 Bloodbraid Elf -2 Harrow -4 Lightning Bolt -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +4 Back to Nature +4 Obstinate Baloth +2 Ricochet Trap +2 Summoning Trap.
Bad matchup. The normal ramp decks are slower and allows Pyromancer players more turns to draw their combo pieces but I have Elf and Bolts to sneak in some damage and steal games which are very crucial. Almost the whole sideboard comes in as we cannot afford combo players luxury of assembling their pieces. Baloth is kinda good against them.
Jund: -2 Avenger of Zendikar -1 Lightning Bolt -1 Oracle of Mul Daya +4 Obstinate Baloth.
Good matchup. Taking out Avenger to negate Pulse and 1 in the main is good enough. Stall the board and kill with Valakut.
Do let me know on what else to improve. (^^)
"8. Generals are subject to the Legend rule; they will be put into the graveyard or command zone at the same time as any other Legendary creatures with the same name."
This is not 100% correct!
For example, say my General happens to be Progenitus, and I cast him. If another players casts Progenitus, and it is NOT that player's General, HIS Progenitus goes to the graveyard while mine remains alive! Also, if 2 players happen to be playing the same general, they can BOTH be on the table simultaneously. So in this case, the Legend rule does NOT apply!!
Great Article btw, good job! :-)
Good stuff. Counters definitely have a place in the game and are very useful. The only problem is if you play too many. Then people will get annoyed or hang up on you. But many times people can be happy when counters come out, like if you get rid of blatant thievery. One unhappy opponent but two happy ones.
Couple of things to notice off the bat. White isn't really worth it. I think there are two cards that you really need to play, the Magma Phoenix and the Air Servant. They are your two strongest cards in the pool, and you have a good shot at drawing them in a 30 card deck even without any card draw. I think black is your strongest color in the pool, with removal and card advantage, and even a little fat. I'd run this.
1cc:
Lightning Bolt
2cc:
Augury Owl
Child of the Night
3cc:
Gargoyle Sentinel
Cloud elemental
Assasinate
Mind Rot
Lilliana's Specter
4cc:
Gravedigger
Nether Horror
Canyon Minotaur
Chandra's Outrage
5cc:
Air Servant
Rotting Legion
Magma Phoenix
Berserker's of Blood Ridge
Land:
6 Swamps
5 Mountains
3 Islands
I went a little land heavy, but the mana requirements of the deck are a little tough(8 black symbols, 6 red, and 3 blue) and there is no fixing to speak of. I'd probably draw with this deck. It makes your discard better and you want the best chance possible of hitting your 4/5 drop. The augury owl helps us find our strongest creatures and I felt it worth splashing, we have a respectable removal suite between red and black, and we have 5 evasive creatures(6 if you count the owl) to get inside.
I'd also be open to changing the decklist during sideboard. Green's double giant spider and naturalize could be very strong against the right deck.
I enjoyed reading the article, it's nice to see coverage of a new format.
Counters do take some of the fun out of the game as playing vs them changes the dynamics quite a bit. However I find that most counter decks do not fare all that well in the format and they tend to not be as unfun as you would assume at first thought. I haven't played in ages, mostly because I have no desire to see Emrakul across the board. (Yes it is easily dealt with but it is a card that imho DOES make magic less fun.) Yesterday I played a casual tribal game with a conscription deck and felt guilty afterward. Annihilator is just so dirty.
to add to Lythands remarks:
http://jamuraa.com/pure/deck_new.php
use this for your deck lists to both fit in with the puremtgo look and also to flesh out the article a bit. Check the forums if you need more formatting advice.
Interesting games. Which is unusual for me to say since I despise Standard typically. That you ground into nats on the draw each game tells me your deck actually likes the draw.
Not sure if you have done any otehr articles or not. This one seems a little short and I would of liked to see some detailed match reports. Also if you could use the autocard feature to link to the cards so we don't have to go looking for the card in another browser, that would be cool.
other then that I like the decks. I would suggest Ranger of Eos for the white life gain deck.
Making a new comment as I forgot to rate XD Anyway I wasn't so much worried as I was suprised that I had dug so deep so quickly. I wasn't really interested in playing control, and was only running Deprive, Cancel and Counterspell "just in case", but I guess it's all the same to everyone else :P
There are people who try to play a counterspell deck. the thing is once the rest of the group realizes it, they all tend to gang up on you. I ussually only counter game changing spells that negativly effect me. Such as a Wrath of God when I have a ton of creatures out.
If you are worried about decking, run quest for ancient secrets or the new artifact from M11 that lets you recycle the graveyard back into the library and gain 5 life.
Thanks for the article Kai. Your match summaries are always insightful.
Legacy is pretty healthy in terms of eternal. it fires 5-7 de's a week. It has a hard time making a pe fire though.
there is almost always event players in the tp room, although the tp room does not nessicerrally reflect the de meta game.
Urzas packs are not great at all. you can sell the 6 packs u get from 3-1ing a de for about 10-14 tiks, and the uuu drafts dont fire often.
Classic is an inigma. all week the tp room has been active with the people who love the format. Been playing pick up games and against players i know who are good. Its hard to tell u to get mana drains, oaths, and black tutors when i know that we fired 1 event in 2 and a half months. I just hope that the exposure i am giving, and going to continue giving it, plus sol ring and possibly mox diamond will help to make it fire a bit more.
As for necro, well im not in the know in vintage but if im playing with fow the magic number is like 15. If im not i might go for a maximum hand size of 12 when i discard.
Forgot to rate, I love this sort of thing!
Whiffy! I was hoping you'd post an article soon because I wanted your opinion on something. I think I'm about at the point where I'm ready to shed this Standard coil and start focusing on eternal formats. I cut my teeth on Vintage so naturally Classic has an appeal for me. Legacy is also something I very much want to play.
My only concern before I sell off most of my red-symbol abominations, is who's going to be waiting for me on the other end. I'd hate to shake up my investment so much only to be struggling to find people to play with. Do DE's have a lot of trouble firing? What are UZ/UL packs selling for? Is the magic Necropotence number still 11?
Basically, am I worried over nothing or will I really be downsizing in my playtime?