No problem and glad to help. I agree that a simple snapshot is probably the most useful. Also you may just be able to to the Sum chart and forget about the individual packs. If you are drafting it only would matter what the EV for the whole draft set is and not each pack individually. Although during release events it would certainly be relevant to show RRR for example.
No one seems to be pointing out how atrocious the AI on DotP is, which is fine if you're only going to play it on XBoxLive, but then you need to point out you DO have to pay a subscription, and you DON'T get access to even a sliver of the full spectrum of cards ("Oh boy I unlocked Dragon's Claw!" /sarcasm).
Considering that my deck was mostly budget I'm lucky I made it to the top 8 at all but it is interesting that I was the only pure Jund deck. I guess most games just boil down to remove threats and play the best possible threats and while Jund is good at removal it can't match G/W in creatures. Is a pure Jund deck even viable?
That's pretty much what I've heard from everyone who's played it: it's a good value for the cost and it's a lot of fun for those who just want to 'unwind' with some low stress MTG fun. Glad to hear you're enjoying it!
It makes perfect sense, and thank you for the feedback!
Going in kind of reverse order:
I made the 'complete' chart first and noticed how busy it was, which is why I made the next few to break it apart.
I agree, I'll probably just start doing snapshots of the current average card prices each week, so that folks can use it to figure out their personal EV's. :)
And I think that once I do those two things, I won't need to line graph it at all, since it's going to be better in bar graph form. :)
Once, again, thank you for the feedback! This article is best when it's providing useful information.
I picked this up on LIVE and have been cracked out on it since.
I played, and collected, the 1st edition and subsequant expansions for years and then quit/sold everything (huge regret).
After playing the Xbox version this week I am going to be signing up for the MTGO tonight! Can't wait to play more... man, talk about falling of the wagon...
This was a brilliant move by WOTC. Cymatyx is my LIVE tag if any want to play... usually late (kids).
I like playing DotP .. mostly I like playing single xbox 2hg.
Yeah I come from a MTGO background, but i love that the format is really well balanced. All the games have been interesting so far. (haven't played online.. go figure.. the computer can't concede)
Ironically your pack bar graphs this wee would be better as line graphs. The difference is that this we you have multiple points in time and you can theoretically use the line to determine values between the points. While this sort of works with a bar graph you will find that using a line graph you can fit far more data points and track the price changes for a longer period of time. You will max out your horizontal room pretty quickly using a bar graph. What you would do for a line graph is to track each item as its own colored line on the same graph with the other things you are trying to compare to. For instance you would have a separate line for Shadowmoor, for Eventide, and one for sum SSE. What you tried to do last week was connect a line between Shadowmoore, 10E and Shards, which didn't make sense because there was no relationship between them. Now that you have multiple time points there is a relationship that you can track with a line graph.
That said you may find that it is not even that useful to track the pack values over time because the lines look like they would be fairly flat and I would imagine most people using this are using it to determine what draft they should play. If that is the case then it should just be a bar graph showing the one point in time so that you can see the current relative values.
Also, I think that the first of these graphs has a bit too much information going on. There are just too many bars and there would be too many lines if it were a line graph. What may make more sense is to do a separate line graph for each current block as you did and then do one that compares just the sums of the blocks instead of all the individual sets.
I hope all of that makes sense.
One final comment would be to add titles to your graphs so that people can refer to them specifically when they mention them in comments.
Sorry for the wall of text, just trying to help make these articles even better.
Ah, I still remember playing Mirage block limited and constructed back in the days. Constructed was dominated by ultra fast Black/Blue decks with Ertais' Familiar and reanimation.
Was lucky to win the online Mirage/Visions/Weatherlight farewell event and got the complete block in foil...
Definitively a fun format.
Did I say good times?
I think you are confusing competition with card supply.
You say the reason you play is to make money out of winning. You can earn more money while good cards are in short supply. With subscriptions you could not make money, so you would have no reason to play.
That's not actually anything to do with skill level.
I am one of the old gamers that you are referring to!
I played the card game about 12 years ago and enjoyed the game a lot - I went to sealed and constructed tourneys, booster drafts, and played weekly with some friends. I shied away from MTG about 2 years later because it got too darn expensive to keep playing, constant rules changes/errata and time.
I stumbled across the free demo one day when I had a precious few hours free up during my busy schedule (having kids does limit your time). I really enjoyed it. It really took me back, that is for sure. I decided to purchase the game because it was so cheap - can't get a decent dinner for $10 anymore it seems. The game is rather fluid and helps to keep things organized, yes. The preconstructed decks are a nuisance though. I prefer a land heavy deck and some of the spells were puzzling choices, so not able to modify that is a bummer...
But being able to pick up and play when I have a spare hour will be nice. And as I said... $10? I'm sold and having fun.
The I guess you're missing the point. Being good at magic and obviously in MTGO gives you the edge since you can convert your winnings in cards. Being able to have all the cards takes the competition almost out of the equation. And I don't really think that they would gain more with the 15$ montlhy. IF you make the calculations it becomes almost stupid that statement.
Even set to Planeswalker (the highest setting) it's still at least as bad as the old Shandalar game.
Also for sealeds, which use more packs than draft... although they could certainly piece that data together from the table of prices. :)
No problem and glad to help. I agree that a simple snapshot is probably the most useful. Also you may just be able to to the Sum chart and forget about the individual packs. If you are drafting it only would matter what the EV for the whole draft set is and not each pack individually. Although during release events it would certainly be relevant to show RRR for example.
Darn tootin, I will!
Woo!
For those of you who only get your MTGO info from the State of the Program, MTGO Player Rewards info was finally posted today: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1208920
I'm sure hammy will have comments in the podcast and in next week's article.
you can change the AI btw
No one seems to be pointing out how atrocious the AI on DotP is, which is fine if you're only going to play it on XBoxLive, but then you need to point out you DO have to pay a subscription, and you DON'T get access to even a sliver of the full spectrum of cards ("Oh boy I unlocked Dragon's Claw!" /sarcasm).
I did a couple of huge errors in that game but it was a nice event, next time I will have a sideboard and maybe do better than fifth place lol.
:)
It's worth pointing out that Wargate is the best land search spell in Kaleidoscope.
Considering that my deck was mostly budget I'm lucky I made it to the top 8 at all but it is interesting that I was the only pure Jund deck. I guess most games just boil down to remove threats and play the best possible threats and while Jund is good at removal it can't match G/W in creatures. Is a pure Jund deck even viable?
That's pretty much what I've heard from everyone who's played it: it's a good value for the cost and it's a lot of fun for those who just want to 'unwind' with some low stress MTG fun. Glad to hear you're enjoying it!
It makes perfect sense, and thank you for the feedback!
Going in kind of reverse order:
I made the 'complete' chart first and noticed how busy it was, which is why I made the next few to break it apart.
I agree, I'll probably just start doing snapshots of the current average card prices each week, so that folks can use it to figure out their personal EV's. :)
And I think that once I do those two things, I won't need to line graph it at all, since it's going to be better in bar graph form. :)
Once, again, thank you for the feedback! This article is best when it's providing useful information.
Data is from www.mtgotrader.com and I track it in a personal database. :)
I picked this up on LIVE and have been cracked out on it since.
I played, and collected, the 1st edition and subsequant expansions for years and then quit/sold everything (huge regret).
After playing the Xbox version this week I am going to be signing up for the MTGO tonight! Can't wait to play more... man, talk about falling of the wagon...
This was a brilliant move by WOTC. Cymatyx is my LIVE tag if any want to play... usually late (kids).
I remember the first time I played eager cadet. My opponent threw up his arms and scooped. Now THAT'S a power 9.
Why not play the prosperity-bloom-drain life deck? You had the whole combo!!
"Attack - Trade Block, Trade 1 for 1 - Here's one of the big changes. Instead of being able to get a 2 for 1 with a bounce spell..."
Just a quick note: this scenario is actually a 1 for 1 where you're basically turning your bounce spell into a removal spell.
I like playing DotP .. mostly I like playing single xbox 2hg.
Yeah I come from a MTGO background, but i love that the format is really well balanced. All the games have been interesting so far. (haven't played online.. go figure.. the computer can't concede)
Hammy another great article.
Ironically your pack bar graphs this wee would be better as line graphs. The difference is that this we you have multiple points in time and you can theoretically use the line to determine values between the points. While this sort of works with a bar graph you will find that using a line graph you can fit far more data points and track the price changes for a longer period of time. You will max out your horizontal room pretty quickly using a bar graph. What you would do for a line graph is to track each item as its own colored line on the same graph with the other things you are trying to compare to. For instance you would have a separate line for Shadowmoor, for Eventide, and one for sum SSE. What you tried to do last week was connect a line between Shadowmoore, 10E and Shards, which didn't make sense because there was no relationship between them. Now that you have multiple time points there is a relationship that you can track with a line graph.
That said you may find that it is not even that useful to track the pack values over time because the lines look like they would be fairly flat and I would imagine most people using this are using it to determine what draft they should play. If that is the case then it should just be a bar graph showing the one point in time so that you can see the current relative values.
Also, I think that the first of these graphs has a bit too much information going on. There are just too many bars and there would be too many lines if it were a line graph. What may make more sense is to do a separate line graph for each current block as you did and then do one that compares just the sums of the blocks instead of all the individual sets.
I hope all of that makes sense.
One final comment would be to add titles to your graphs so that people can refer to them specifically when they mention them in comments.
Sorry for the wall of text, just trying to help make these articles even better.
Ah, I still remember playing Mirage block limited and constructed back in the days. Constructed was dominated by ultra fast Black/Blue decks with Ertais' Familiar and reanimation.
Was lucky to win the online Mirage/Visions/Weatherlight farewell event and got the complete block in foil...
Definitively a fun format.
Did I say good times?
I think you are confusing competition with card supply.
You say the reason you play is to make money out of winning. You can earn more money while good cards are in short supply. With subscriptions you could not make money, so you would have no reason to play.
That's not actually anything to do with skill level.
I am one of the old gamers that you are referring to!
I played the card game about 12 years ago and enjoyed the game a lot - I went to sealed and constructed tourneys, booster drafts, and played weekly with some friends. I shied away from MTG about 2 years later because it got too darn expensive to keep playing, constant rules changes/errata and time.
I stumbled across the free demo one day when I had a precious few hours free up during my busy schedule (having kids does limit your time). I really enjoyed it. It really took me back, that is for sure. I decided to purchase the game because it was so cheap - can't get a decent dinner for $10 anymore it seems. The game is rather fluid and helps to keep things organized, yes. The preconstructed decks are a nuisance though. I prefer a land heavy deck and some of the spells were puzzling choices, so not able to modify that is a bummer...
But being able to pick up and play when I have a spare hour will be nice. And as I said... $10? I'm sold and having fun.
The I guess you're missing the point. Being good at magic and obviously in MTGO gives you the edge since you can convert your winnings in cards. Being able to have all the cards takes the competition almost out of the equation. And I don't really think that they would gain more with the 15$ montlhy. IF you make the calculations it becomes almost stupid that statement.
like saying an Eager Cadet is good because your opponent was at 1 and you played the cadet and next turn won because your opponent had no blockers. :p