I always use Rt-clicking during drafting (selects a card to be picked w/o picking it). It allows me to timeout on the pick and get the card that I rt-clicked.
The mouse-wheel click is also useful to me for zooming on cards. Especially when I am getting used to a new set and still need to read all of the text.
So obviously in game one, the turn-one tiger was an all-star for my opponent, as it will be whenever your opponent mulligans, floods, and can't come up with a body that can block. The problem is, the format is filled with common and uncommon two drops with two power, and when it fails to work out, it can just lose you games.
In a draft last night (which I may or may not cover here, we'll see), I went mountain, go, and Villain went Forest, Scythe Tiger, go. I dropped that 2/1 highlander ally for 1R, he played out a new land and passed. I dropped my *third* land, attacked, he declined to block, and I dropped a Goblin Shortcutter. He played a second land and passed. I dropped a fourth land, attacked with both, he traded his tiger for the highlander, and I played the 4/3 vanilla for 2RR.
Anyway, my point is that this kind of turn-one tiger failure case is pretty devastating, and not unlikely. If you are on the play and your opponent stumbles, a turn-one tiger could effectively win you the game with just a little backup pressure, as in R1G1 here. The flipside is that it can effectively lose you the game, and I prefer to avoid that kind of extreme variance in my cards. I'll take the solid double over the strikeout/home run card any day, which again goes back to why I would run Goblin War Paint and Unstable Footing over Blood Seeker as well.
I got my wife (< pictured) to play a couple times with some Mirrodin precons a few years ago. The experience wasn't great - the cards were a little too complex and the decks were not the most fun.
Lately I've been playing both paper & online a lot and have been trying to get her to share interest. It's tough! She's a gamer (loves console games, and we were both fairly addicted to WoW together - she even likes intricate board games ala Agricola) and thinks she knows the ins and outs of MTG from our previous experience. But she fully clasifies the game as way too nerdy (to her MTG = D&D = no way) and says she doesn't like the high level strategy aspect (add this to the not so fun first experience we had and I'm basically at a roadblock again.)
Anyhow, I eventually managed to convince her to give it another shot. This time I picked us each up 6 M10 boosters fully hoping she'd rip a Baneslayer Angel and have the experience of pulling a $$ chase rare that's also fun to play with. She opened one of course and though reluctant to play she definitely had a synical smile when beating me down with the angel (I gave her a couple turns before showing her what spot removal was, to which she promptly said "No... It doesn't do that!" - guess I should've waited for a couple games!) Besides the BSA she opened a Serra Angel and Lightbringer Paladin, so her White/Black deck is nutty and perfect for a beginner facing the lackluster WG I put together.
I've taught several coworkers to play over lunch using the Zen format. I've found that as long as someone is interested you can give them the game overview and throw them right into playing with all of the advanced cards explaining as you go. For someone that's marginally interested, ie just playing for your benefit, it's best to stick with a core set and basic strategies. It's much better to have a bunch of vanilla creatures with only a couple abilities mixed in rather than special abilities on every card, as is nearly the case in Zendikar.
just out of curiuosity...how accurate are prices for cards that are out of stock? I mean Gatekeepers for a dollar sound reasonable but no one has any, it makes me think once they are available the price will jump up again...
Slight topic shift here - if the 4-8 damage overcomes the card disadvantage, where does Scythe Tiger fall? How much damage does it need to punch through before it was worth the loss of tempo?
I've played it a couple of times now, and if you drop it turn one, it can easily hit for anywhere from 6-12 damage, plus it can block and kill much in the format (or attack into much int he format and kill it) once the path is no longer clear.
Combined with some low-cost removal it can be devastating, but that's simply stating the obvious.
Comparing it with saccing a land for removal, where does it fall between "top tier," "playable" and "junk?" How many hits does it need to get in before it's earned it's keep? Curious what your thoughts are there.
My girlfriend has been getting into magic a bit recently. One tip I'd recommend when trying to get anyone to play is that new players tend to get very attached to certain cards that they've beaten you around the head with! I put a couple of the foil 9th ed. serra angels in my girlfriend's first deck, and sharply took an airborne beating, while having my ground offensive blunted. She rarely builds a deck (alright, she's more into tweaking my decks than building her own) without serra angel now.
I highly recommend making sure her deck has a few blatently obvious massive bombs in it (preferably foil, to make it even more "this is going to win you the game" looking). That foil Rampaging Baloths you picked up at the prerelease is perfect for this, especially if you've got a couple of the proper tokens (as it is massive, and will just win the game on it's own). It's kind of like in the crappy yugioh cartoon where all of the characters have their "signature card". New players tend to get attached to certain cards, and like feeling like their favourite card is going to turn up and get the job done.
(Hell, my foil Rhox from the 7th edition starter game still makes the cut in lots of my decks!)
He does not give +1 to defense.so weaker than shade ,but in mono red you should expect him to get thru w/removal.
And i will add goblin artillery to the cards you want in red.Hope you play u/b flyers, and always nice to back up the artillery with tendrils or early soul wardens.
Ihave had not problem winning or going 2-1 in a swiss with red as a second color.Never been mono red though.
Stone giant is a must have IMO if playing red, and if you can get them-dragon whelp,bolt,ball and minotaur.
I must admit never played mono red so i usually have support w/ aforementioned cards.
Stone giant does work well w/ treason as well as vampire aristocrat.
Sparkmage apprentice i think you overvauled.He hits utility guys..maybe a trick, and good early.But i have no problem running 1 or 2 if i am red.Just that he is weak mid to late game IMO.
If you knew you were mono red the biggest mistake by far was passing the fiery hellhound(red's looming shade)
Congrats on the win ...it's time to draft ZEN..........
My only other add would be for the more techincal minded and try pick up a copy of the old microposse game(it will be downloadable now)
it was and still is a great way to get into MTG, only problem now is getting it to run at a sensible speed.
Also there was a set out called Portal a few years ago not sure if any remain but that was a great intro to the game, but u could easily remake the decks.
I think the 2 of us will be there, but don't worry neither of us would let the other win, it a fight to the death so to speak besides if they win i never hear about anything else for months!!!
I'm very impressed with that video! If they can get this running in a web browser, and looking that good, it will really be the most amazing thing ever. No exaggerating.
About right click. I like it a lot. But if my right click choices are now on the left mouse button then I'm okay. (Left mouse used to be "automatically pick the first option from the context menu, sort of.) They'll have to make a separate menu for "concede/undo/etc". But it'll be okay.
Other than that there's right click: "add 4 copies to deck", "add to buddy list", and "challenge/trade/block". Which are all very convenient right click options. But the new UI could be totally different for those other screens. At worst they could do click+hold to make a context menu appear. (Left click and release = same, or hold the button down for right click.)
Also the last invitational that was held had AWFUL coverage. It should have been a superb opportunity with writeups - if not videos - of almost every match. Instead they didn't even cover every round. It was so bad that cancelling seemed like a good idea (and I always loved the Invitational more than the Pro Tour).
I'd love to see something done online with better coverage on a lower budget. But I have to keep beating the drum that if watching matches is to be beneficial, we need to be able to see the players' hands.
Oh yeah. Well, if it's held online, then no hotel, and pay them in tickets. Maybe not 2,000 of them. Or give them a digital foil set that they can either keep or redeem. A foil M10 or ZEN set is basically a cash prize.
This article is so good, it makes me wish I had someone to teach. The advice is great, especially 2, 4, and "art matters". Even though I can't use your advice I'll give this article 6/5 red fireballs because it was at least that entertaining. I'll definitely link people to this any chance I get.
in the two drafts ive played i have had great luck with the paint especially against green white opponents. Though knowing they arent running Journey to Nowhere and only one Kor Sanctifiers makes it a very tempting card to play t2 on a t1 Goblin Guide...
i never saw it as grating per say and i agree its better than using actual names. I just like to switch back and forth between articles and writing papers..lol. All the villians last week just made it hard to remember where i left off. Though truth be told i should probably finish the paper then read, but the articles are a nice break into between the pages i write.
R1G3: I think after you decided to play for the long game with the Mind Sludge for two, you have to hold out for the 7th land. When you played the magma rift, I think that's the low percentage shot. Villain has a 50% shot of pumping the eel (I'm assuming he's not holding a land or he would have pumped earlier). If he doesn't pump, you have a 50% shot of drawing a land that shifts the board much more in your favor.
Playing the magma rift is winning the turn but losing the war.
Right clicking could probably be replaced with an Alt-click or Shift-click or such. I think it's potentially more confusing though. Windows users are used to right-clicking stuff for context menus. Just like Mac users are used to not having the applications they want run on their computers.
I always use Rt-clicking during drafting (selects a card to be picked w/o picking it). It allows me to timeout on the pick and get the card that I rt-clicked.
The mouse-wheel click is also useful to me for zooming on cards. Especially when I am getting used to a new set and still need to read all of the text.
So obviously in game one, the turn-one tiger was an all-star for my opponent, as it will be whenever your opponent mulligans, floods, and can't come up with a body that can block. The problem is, the format is filled with common and uncommon two drops with two power, and when it fails to work out, it can just lose you games.
In a draft last night (which I may or may not cover here, we'll see), I went mountain, go, and Villain went Forest, Scythe Tiger, go. I dropped that 2/1 highlander ally for 1R, he played out a new land and passed. I dropped my *third* land, attacked, he declined to block, and I dropped a Goblin Shortcutter. He played a second land and passed. I dropped a fourth land, attacked with both, he traded his tiger for the highlander, and I played the 4/3 vanilla for 2RR.
Anyway, my point is that this kind of turn-one tiger failure case is pretty devastating, and not unlikely. If you are on the play and your opponent stumbles, a turn-one tiger could effectively win you the game with just a little backup pressure, as in R1G1 here. The flipside is that it can effectively lose you the game, and I prefer to avoid that kind of extreme variance in my cards. I'll take the solid double over the strikeout/home run card any day, which again goes back to why I would run Goblin War Paint and Unstable Footing over Blood Seeker as well.
You finally got your percentages in percent form!!!!!!!!!
So the second chart there is very pretty! What program did you use to generate it?
I got my wife (< pictured) to play a couple times with some Mirrodin precons a few years ago. The experience wasn't great - the cards were a little too complex and the decks were not the most fun.
Lately I've been playing both paper & online a lot and have been trying to get her to share interest. It's tough! She's a gamer (loves console games, and we were both fairly addicted to WoW together - she even likes intricate board games ala Agricola) and thinks she knows the ins and outs of MTG from our previous experience. But she fully clasifies the game as way too nerdy (to her MTG = D&D = no way) and says she doesn't like the high level strategy aspect (add this to the not so fun first experience we had and I'm basically at a roadblock again.)
Anyhow, I eventually managed to convince her to give it another shot. This time I picked us each up 6 M10 boosters fully hoping she'd rip a Baneslayer Angel and have the experience of pulling a $$ chase rare that's also fun to play with. She opened one of course and though reluctant to play she definitely had a synical smile when beating me down with the angel (I gave her a couple turns before showing her what spot removal was, to which she promptly said "No... It doesn't do that!" - guess I should've waited for a couple games!) Besides the BSA she opened a Serra Angel and Lightbringer Paladin, so her White/Black deck is nutty and perfect for a beginner facing the lackluster WG I put together.
I've taught several coworkers to play over lunch using the Zen format. I've found that as long as someone is interested you can give them the game overview and throw them right into playing with all of the advanced cards explaining as you go. For someone that's marginally interested, ie just playing for your benefit, it's best to stick with a core set and basic strategies. It's much better to have a bunch of vanilla creatures with only a couple abilities mixed in rather than special abilities on every card, as is nearly the case in Zendikar.
Thanks for sharing this, Kathryn!
just out of curiuosity...how accurate are prices for cards that are out of stock? I mean Gatekeepers for a dollar sound reasonable but no one has any, it makes me think once they are available the price will jump up again...
Slight topic shift here - if the 4-8 damage overcomes the card disadvantage, where does Scythe Tiger fall? How much damage does it need to punch through before it was worth the loss of tempo?
I've played it a couple of times now, and if you drop it turn one, it can easily hit for anywhere from 6-12 damage, plus it can block and kill much in the format (or attack into much int he format and kill it) once the path is no longer clear.
Combined with some low-cost removal it can be devastating, but that's simply stating the obvious.
Comparing it with saccing a land for removal, where does it fall between "top tier," "playable" and "junk?" How many hits does it need to get in before it's earned it's keep? Curious what your thoughts are there.
My girlfriend has been getting into magic a bit recently. One tip I'd recommend when trying to get anyone to play is that new players tend to get very attached to certain cards that they've beaten you around the head with! I put a couple of the foil 9th ed. serra angels in my girlfriend's first deck, and sharply took an airborne beating, while having my ground offensive blunted. She rarely builds a deck (alright, she's more into tweaking my decks than building her own) without serra angel now.
I highly recommend making sure her deck has a few blatently obvious massive bombs in it (preferably foil, to make it even more "this is going to win you the game" looking). That foil Rampaging Baloths you picked up at the prerelease is perfect for this, especially if you've got a couple of the proper tokens (as it is massive, and will just win the game on it's own). It's kind of like in the crappy yugioh cartoon where all of the characters have their "signature card". New players tend to get attached to certain cards, and like feeling like their favourite card is going to turn up and get the job done.
(Hell, my foil Rhox from the 7th edition starter game still makes the cut in lots of my decks!)
Bloodbraid Elf, the scourge of skill (and Standard).
Must clarify on the hellhound
He does not give +1 to defense.so weaker than shade ,but in mono red you should expect him to get thru w/removal.
And i will add goblin artillery to the cards you want in red.Hope you play u/b flyers, and always nice to back up the artillery with tendrils or early soul wardens.
Ihave had not problem winning or going 2-1 in a swiss with red as a second color.Never been mono red though.
Stone giant is a must have IMO if playing red, and if you can get them-dragon whelp,bolt,ball and minotaur.
I must admit never played mono red so i usually have support w/ aforementioned cards.
Stone giant does work well w/ treason as well as vampire aristocrat.
Sparkmage apprentice i think you overvauled.He hits utility guys..maybe a trick, and good early.But i have no problem running 1 or 2 if i am red.Just that he is weak mid to late game IMO.
If you knew you were mono red the biggest mistake by far was passing the fiery hellhound(red's looming shade)
Congrats on the win ...it's time to draft ZEN..........
Unicorns might be a good start but as you already know faeries are a top deck then maybe that should be where you begin your building career.
My only other add would be for the more techincal minded and try pick up a copy of the old microposse game(it will be downloadable now)
it was and still is a great way to get into MTG, only problem now is getting it to run at a sensible speed.
Also there was a set out called Portal a few years ago not sure if any remain but that was a great intro to the game, but u could easily remake the decks.
I think the 2 of us will be there, but don't worry neither of us would let the other win, it a fight to the death so to speak besides if they win i never hear about anything else for months!!!
I'm very impressed with that video! If they can get this running in a web browser, and looking that good, it will really be the most amazing thing ever. No exaggerating.
About right click. I like it a lot. But if my right click choices are now on the left mouse button then I'm okay. (Left mouse used to be "automatically pick the first option from the context menu, sort of.) They'll have to make a separate menu for "concede/undo/etc". But it'll be okay.
Other than that there's right click: "add 4 copies to deck", "add to buddy list", and "challenge/trade/block". Which are all very convenient right click options. But the new UI could be totally different for those other screens. At worst they could do click+hold to make a context menu appear. (Left click and release = same, or hold the button down for right click.)
Also the last invitational that was held had AWFUL coverage. It should have been a superb opportunity with writeups - if not videos - of almost every match. Instead they didn't even cover every round. It was so bad that cancelling seemed like a good idea (and I always loved the Invitational more than the Pro Tour).
I'd love to see something done online with better coverage on a lower budget. But I have to keep beating the drum that if watching matches is to be beneficial, we need to be able to see the players' hands.
Oh yeah. Well, if it's held online, then no hotel, and pay them in tickets. Maybe not 2,000 of them. Or give them a digital foil set that they can either keep or redeem. A foil M10 or ZEN set is basically a cash prize.
This article is so good, it makes me wish I had someone to teach. The advice is great, especially 2, 4, and "art matters". Even though I can't use your advice I'll give this article 6/5 red fireballs because it was at least that entertaining. I'll definitely link people to this any chance I get.
in the two drafts ive played i have had great luck with the paint especially against green white opponents. Though knowing they arent running Journey to Nowhere and only one Kor Sanctifiers makes it a very tempting card to play t2 on a t1 Goblin Guide...
i never saw it as grating per say and i agree its better than using actual names. I just like to switch back and forth between articles and writing papers..lol. All the villians last week just made it hard to remember where i left off. Though truth be told i should probably finish the paper then read, but the articles are a nice break into between the pages i write.
It is inconsistent with the anatomy and neural control of the human vocal tract. ,
R1G3: I think after you decided to play for the long game with the Mind Sludge for two, you have to hold out for the 7th land. When you played the magma rift, I think that's the low percentage shot. Villain has a 50% shot of pumping the eel (I'm assuming he's not holding a land or he would have pumped earlier). If he doesn't pump, you have a 50% shot of drawing a land that shifts the board much more in your favor.
Playing the magma rift is winning the turn but losing the war.
Needs more Skewt Mawb
Right clicking could probably be replaced with an Alt-click or Shift-click or such. I think it's potentially more confusing though. Windows users are used to right-clicking stuff for context menus. Just like Mac users are used to not having the applications they want run on their computers.
Great Article. I'll have to keep this in mind if my GF shows evem an inklimg of interest in the game.