Re: Roil/Bane thinking: I felt it was very unlikely that with GGUU up and four cards in hand that Villain had no play at all other than the Frontier Guide activation, so I'm starting with the assumption that he probably has an instant in hand.
Based on scouting and common sense, the two likely instants were Into the Roil and Summoner's Bane, and when attacking with a juicy target like an equipped blademaster didn't draw out Into the Roil, it heightened my suspicion that it was the other likely candidate, Summoner's Bane.
For those of you who just skim the charts, click on: Oath of Druids (lol, foreslash), Tarmogoyf (yup), Hallowed Fountain (whoa), Mox Diamond (down), and Engineered Explosives (whoa). Lich's Mirror has a broken chart by the way. I'll admit it, I don't click on every single chart either.
MORMIR BASIC TOMORROW DON'T MISS IT! GET YOUR BASIC LANDS READY! You will smile at least once. You might be attacked on turn 4 by a Lord of Atlantis and a NINJA. You might have to block a Black Knight with a Bramble Creeper. You don't have to play all 6 rounds if you don't have 6 hours. Just play 2 rounds, win an avatar, and go home. (Oh, you are home most likely.)
Elf sounds like one of the working guys, not one of the talented visionaries who were let go. (His words.) He transitioned to the D&D team, but then still got cut during the massive cuts? If he left on good terms, and he's interested, maybe bring him back for the Magic team this time? I was going to add "and he has the right skillset" as a condition, but forget that. Real engineers aren't defined by their current skills. A good engineer should be able to quickly pick up any new technology.
Thanks Elf for doing this interview. I've been waiting for this interview for a good while now. It's sad to hear all of the things that happened due to bad management and hopefully things are much better now but honestly it's hard to say. There really hadn't been a lot of client change since the launch of 3.0 but there have been a lot of really good changes to tournaments(ptq's) etc. I still have mixed feelings about how WOTC is currently handling MTGO due to some recent and not so recent things that have happened.
I do however know there are some great people on staff that I do trust but I'm not sure how much influence they have on the system as a whole. Hopefully the management issue has been fixed but I guess only time will tell. WOTC if your reading this please do not let history repeat itself.
Paranoid Magic for the win! Well, it's not completely paranoid if you're choosing the lesser of two risky options. Paranoid would be choosing a less risky play or doing nothing because of an outcome you can't predict.
Godot: "This is strong evidence that Into the Roil is not in hand, which further suggests that Summoner's Bane is." (I'm not clever enough to know why you think this is true, but okay.)
Overly Paranoid: "I'll attack with nothing, or maybe just this one 2/2 flyer, because he might have something."
Your round 2 opponent was pretty awesome, agreed. And hey I'm not spam today! Alright!
Great read hammy.. I'm glad we got some real insight as to what happened during that dark year of V2 to V3 Transition
I liked he said they should allow community players help redesign the client. Hes right Players who love and spend their time on this game will be more apt to provide an interface for other like minded players. I will also help to extend the life of the game. I never did quite understand why MTGO did not get behind the Skin your Dream contest. There was a lot of money given out from members within our community. The forums showed peoples passion and desire for the change. Unfortunately after I ran that contest. I felt bitter towards the management. I had run a lot of contests and events in my time on MTGO and this was the biggest thing ever The players doing the work were not given any aid or encouragement. I know one of the contestants either rebuilt the client or changed it so much that there was serious questions as to what was all changed that he was sent a cease and desist letter. So it is not at all like they were not in tune with what was going on. They just chose to ignore it. That always had me puzzled. Worth and myself talked on a few occasions about the contest. Cuz as it grown and the more people were getting involved i wanted to get MTGO involved. all i got was a cold shoulder. Sad turn of events for that possibility.
Im so glad he brought up Gleemax. Man oh man. What a total waste of time and effort. I dont think i necessarily agree so much with his idea of lacking foundation. The foundation was here. Its inside the fourms. Sometimes even myself forget threes a massive flow of players funneled in and out of the fourms. Cross advertising within the confines of the boards would have helped gleemax in a lot of ways. Course gleemax.com itself wasn't event set to go. It seriously felt like a project thrown out there after someone went drinking one night. There was no focus. And the focus that was present was not pointed at the players but rather the products.
Watching gleemax go down made it easy to implement MyMTGO. Watching how a large company like WoTC can fumble the ball so hard. Put a lot of perspective on what had to happen to make a site like MyMTGO successful. Tweaker had the know how and ability to put up a mini site like they did with a limited focus and make it work. Our game needs tools and an outlet to intermingle with one another. MTG Has always been about the community of players. We all for the most part learned how to play this game in our schools, churches, kitchen tables, dusky broom closets, or at our neighbors house. when V3 came out. the boards were so divided and had become a place of huge contention that the players needed and looked for an outlet. They were looking for a way to reconnect with each other in a different manner then through the game. I don't think WoTC should totally abandon this idea. but they should go to the drawing board this time with the customers as a focus. because all the rest will fall into place.
I don't know much about the situation at Wotc, but I'm curious if Elf would go back to work for them, if they offered him his job back. I would like to start a petition to get this done if he wanted it. I think he was one of the most influential people that kept me playing online during the dark period. He was very upfront and honest with us, on the messageboards.
Read the previous articles, Godot explains the whole Oliver experience from the beginning, including his understandable dislike of black. It's fun, really, worth the time.
Great article. I love the interview. We kind of know what management they have and hope that they have corrected the problem. Unfortunatly we will only know when all what they are doing is fixed( UI, Collection server and others)
State of the program is one of the best article about mtgo and i read everyfriday
More white wouldn't be bad, I guess. I already need it if I'm going to be running Hide/Seek. Pulse of the Fields via Cunning Wish is an excellent suggestion. Thanks.
I really do need to take another look at Cunning Wish, and how to restructure the sideboard to make it more accommodating.
Decks have a hard time dealing with platinum angel, the field is also very combo and thresh heavy. Zoo and burn is kinda meh, and Iona on red just hoses burn.
i dont know if hellkite is strong enough in the format to count as a finisher for a deck that really only holds three creatures. Though with Tinker in the deck and the amount of blue in classic, Im kinda shocked not to see inkwell leviathan
I don't believe your results indicate that crypt ripper is the 'best' card to play.
Your results favor the more powerful cards in a vacuum, regardless of casting cost. If there was a card that cost 10 black mana to play and had the text "*this* is uncounterable, you win the game", your results would point out that it was the best card in the format, since every time it was played, the player that played it won.
But the fact that it costs 10 mana would actually make it a pretty crappy card, because 99% of the time it shows up in someone's deck, it will not be cast.
Obviously, the more powerful cards are the ones you want to cast, as your study shows.
But I think it would be a better study if it showed the cards you want to include in your winning deck. (Just because casting lorthos the tidemaker will win you most games is not the same thing as saying you will be able to cast him most games.)
I would be interested in seeing the results of a study that counted the cards present in the winning decks rather than the cards cast.
Hmm.. why are you worried so much about blessings? I admit I haven't played oath a lot (read ever :P) to know, but can't you just chose to not mill yourself if you don't want to (though I suppose the times where your dudes are the last 1-2 cards comes up a non trivial amount of the time)
Also, would you be willing to discuss your finishers package (ie plats, iona, and progen after board) as opposed to other win conditions? (hellkite, 2 iona etc)?
Hmm.. why are you worried so much about blessings? I admit I haven't played oath a lot (read ever :P) to know, but can't you just chose to not mill yourself if you don't want to (though I suppose the times where your dudes are the last 1-2 cards comes up a non trivial amount of the time)
Also, would you be willing to discuss your finishers package (ie plats, iona, and progen after board) as opposed to other win conditions? (hellkite, 2 iona etc)?
* 4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
* 5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
* 1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
* 1 cup diced ham steak (5 ounces)
Topping:
* 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat an 11-by-7-inch glass baking dish or a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.
To prepare custard: Whisk egg whites, eggs and milk in a medium bowl. Add mustard, pepper and rosemary: whisk to combine.
Toss bread, spinach, roasted red peppers and ham in a large bowl. Add the custard and toss well to coat. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and push down to compact. Cover with foil.
Bake until the custard has set, 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until the pudding is puffed and golden on top, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
To wilt greens, rinse greens thoroughly in cool water. Transfer them to a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and punch several holes in the wrap. Microwave on high until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze out any excess moisture from the greens before adding them to the recipe.
I can't believe you ALMOST played your playwright! What a coincidence. :D
Re: Roil/Bane thinking: I felt it was very unlikely that with GGUU up and four cards in hand that Villain had no play at all other than the Frontier Guide activation, so I'm starting with the assumption that he probably has an instant in hand.
Based on scouting and common sense, the two likely instants were Into the Roil and Summoner's Bane, and when attacking with a juicy target like an equipped blademaster didn't draw out Into the Roil, it heightened my suspicion that it was the other likely candidate, Summoner's Bane.
For those of you who just skim the charts, click on: Oath of Druids (lol, foreslash), Tarmogoyf (yup), Hallowed Fountain (whoa), Mox Diamond (down), and Engineered Explosives (whoa). Lich's Mirror has a broken chart by the way. I'll admit it, I don't click on every single chart either.
MORMIR BASIC TOMORROW DON'T MISS IT! GET YOUR BASIC LANDS READY! You will smile at least once. You might be attacked on turn 4 by a Lord of Atlantis and a NINJA. You might have to block a Black Knight with a Bramble Creeper. You don't have to play all 6 rounds if you don't have 6 hours. Just play 2 rounds, win an avatar, and go home. (Oh, you are home most likely.)
Elf sounds like one of the working guys, not one of the talented visionaries who were let go. (His words.) He transitioned to the D&D team, but then still got cut during the massive cuts? If he left on good terms, and he's interested, maybe bring him back for the Magic team this time? I was going to add "and he has the right skillset" as a condition, but forget that. Real engineers aren't defined by their current skills. A good engineer should be able to quickly pick up any new technology.
Paranoid Magic for the win! Well, it's not completely paranoid if you're choosing the lesser of two risky options. Paranoid would be choosing a less risky play or doing nothing because of an outcome you can't predict.
Godot: "This is strong evidence that Into the Roil is not in hand, which further suggests that Summoner's Bane is." (I'm not clever enough to know why you think this is true, but okay.)
Overly Paranoid: "I'll attack with nothing, or maybe just this one 2/2 flyer, because he might have something."
Your round 2 opponent was pretty awesome, agreed. And hey I'm not spam today! Alright!
Great read hammy.. I'm glad we got some real insight as to what happened during that dark year of V2 to V3 Transition
I liked he said they should allow community players help redesign the client. Hes right Players who love and spend their time on this game will be more apt to provide an interface for other like minded players. I will also help to extend the life of the game. I never did quite understand why MTGO did not get behind the Skin your Dream contest. There was a lot of money given out from members within our community. The forums showed peoples passion and desire for the change. Unfortunately after I ran that contest. I felt bitter towards the management. I had run a lot of contests and events in my time on MTGO and this was the biggest thing ever The players doing the work were not given any aid or encouragement. I know one of the contestants either rebuilt the client or changed it so much that there was serious questions as to what was all changed that he was sent a cease and desist letter. So it is not at all like they were not in tune with what was going on. They just chose to ignore it. That always had me puzzled. Worth and myself talked on a few occasions about the contest. Cuz as it grown and the more people were getting involved i wanted to get MTGO involved. all i got was a cold shoulder. Sad turn of events for that possibility.
Im so glad he brought up Gleemax. Man oh man. What a total waste of time and effort. I dont think i necessarily agree so much with his idea of lacking foundation. The foundation was here. Its inside the fourms. Sometimes even myself forget threes a massive flow of players funneled in and out of the fourms. Cross advertising within the confines of the boards would have helped gleemax in a lot of ways. Course gleemax.com itself wasn't event set to go. It seriously felt like a project thrown out there after someone went drinking one night. There was no focus. And the focus that was present was not pointed at the players but rather the products.
Watching gleemax go down made it easy to implement MyMTGO. Watching how a large company like WoTC can fumble the ball so hard. Put a lot of perspective on what had to happen to make a site like MyMTGO successful. Tweaker had the know how and ability to put up a mini site like they did with a limited focus and make it work. Our game needs tools and an outlet to intermingle with one another. MTG Has always been about the community of players. We all for the most part learned how to play this game in our schools, churches, kitchen tables, dusky broom closets, or at our neighbors house. when V3 came out. the boards were so divided and had become a place of huge contention that the players needed and looked for an outlet. They were looking for a way to reconnect with each other in a different manner then through the game. I don't think WoTC should totally abandon this idea. but they should go to the drawing board this time with the customers as a focus. because all the rest will fall into place.
I don't know much about the situation at Wotc, but I'm curious if Elf would go back to work for them, if they offered him his job back. I would like to start a petition to get this done if he wanted it. I think he was one of the most influential people that kept me playing online during the dark period. He was very upfront and honest with us, on the messageboards.
Really good interview. Its nice to actually hear some truth from wotc (even if its an xwotc employee), instead of all the lies.
Read the previous articles, Godot explains the whole Oliver experience from the beginning, including his understandable dislike of black. It's fun, really, worth the time.
great article as always ham,
those link about promos however arent working
any further word about lifetime points?
Great article. I love the interview. We kind of know what management they have and hope that they have corrected the problem. Unfortunatly we will only know when all what they are doing is fixed( UI, Collection server and others)
State of the program is one of the best article about mtgo and i read everyfriday
2 thumbs up :)
Do you not give your son black cards because you think they'll scare him or something?
Gruyere? Yuck...surely a better cheese exists for this recipe. :p
I'll go over all the creatures and which ones are best
Have you considered Sphinx of the Steel Wind?
More white wouldn't be bad, I guess. I already need it if I'm going to be running Hide/Seek. Pulse of the Fields via Cunning Wish is an excellent suggestion. Thanks.
I really do need to take another look at Cunning Wish, and how to restructure the sideboard to make it more accommodating.
Decks have a hard time dealing with platinum angel, the field is also very combo and thresh heavy. Zoo and burn is kinda meh, and Iona on red just hoses burn.
i dont know if hellkite is strong enough in the format to count as a finisher for a deck that really only holds three creatures. Though with Tinker in the deck and the amount of blue in classic, Im kinda shocked not to see inkwell leviathan
I don't believe your results indicate that crypt ripper is the 'best' card to play.
Your results favor the more powerful cards in a vacuum, regardless of casting cost. If there was a card that cost 10 black mana to play and had the text "*this* is uncounterable, you win the game", your results would point out that it was the best card in the format, since every time it was played, the player that played it won.
But the fact that it costs 10 mana would actually make it a pretty crappy card, because 99% of the time it shows up in someone's deck, it will not be cast.
Obviously, the more powerful cards are the ones you want to cast, as your study shows.
But I think it would be a better study if it showed the cards you want to include in your winning deck. (Just because casting lorthos the tidemaker will win you most games is not the same thing as saying you will be able to cast him most games.)
I would be interested in seeing the results of a study that counted the cards present in the winning decks rather than the cards cast.
That said, good on you for doing some math:)
Hmm.. why are you worried so much about blessings? I admit I haven't played oath a lot (read ever :P) to know, but can't you just chose to not mill yourself if you don't want to (though I suppose the times where your dudes are the last 1-2 cards comes up a non trivial amount of the time)
Also, would you be willing to discuss your finishers package (ie plats, iona, and progen after board) as opposed to other win conditions? (hellkite, 2 iona etc)?
Hmm.. why are you worried so much about blessings? I admit I haven't played oath a lot (read ever :P) to know, but can't you just chose to not mill yourself if you don't want to (though I suppose the times where your dudes are the last 1-2 cards comes up a non trivial amount of the time)
Also, would you be willing to discuss your finishers package (ie plats, iona, and progen after board) as opposed to other win conditions? (hellkite, 2 iona etc)?
I want to find that guy and smack him down with a ham!
Awesome Edits FTW!!!!
i think both rhystic study and replenish are in one of the commander pre-mades. I know for a fact the study is.
Ingredients
Custard:
* 4 large egg whites
* 4 large eggs
* 1 cup skim milk
Seasonings:
* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
Bread & filling:
* 4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
* 5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
* 1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
* 1 cup diced ham steak (5 ounces)
Topping:
* 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat an 11-by-7-inch glass baking dish or a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.
To prepare custard: Whisk egg whites, eggs and milk in a medium bowl. Add mustard, pepper and rosemary: whisk to combine.
Toss bread, spinach, roasted red peppers and ham in a large bowl. Add the custard and toss well to coat. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and push down to compact. Cover with foil.
Bake until the custard has set, 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until the pudding is puffed and golden on top, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
To wilt greens, rinse greens thoroughly in cool water. Transfer them to a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and punch several holes in the wrap. Microwave on high until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze out any excess moisture from the greens before adding them to the recipe.
Seriously, this never gets old :D