Path of the Vampire forum

I didn't want to bog the other thread down.

Deirdre wrote:My main thing is, I don't have cards right now. If someone happens to send me any at all, I'll be extremely happy! Best news is, I just got a job, so I can do this a lot easier.

Easy to do.

Cassandra wrote:If people play similar levels/formats, that's probably a good idea. If one person plays competitive Standard and another plays casual Commander, they're going to have a limited amount of stuff the other person needs.

My hubby is teaching me to draft standard and play casual commander. We are waiting for Innestrad to show up in the mail I need a new commander deck to play. I'm thinking white, red, black with planeswalkers, but not so much 'super friends'. The deck I have now is themed on Zombies to sacrifice to Grimgrin, fun but I need something new.

Man, drafting can be SO good or SO bad, depending on the group you're with. Drafting with friends has gotta be one of my all-time favorite things to do. I need to draft some Khans since I haven't done much with it and opening packs just isn't doing it for me.

There's a fine line for me between good Commander and bad Commander. Sometimes I'll end up in games where each person takes like 15-20 minutes to take their turn, and I just wanna pack up and leave. Then again, there's only so many Oloro decks you can play before it stops being fun. I think my favorite decks right now are a mono-green Omnath where I just get to summon 35 different varieties of Llanowar Elf, or a Rith token deck.

I personally play casual Commander and semi-competitive Modern. I can't afford Legacy staples or to keep up with Standard. I still need to get Naya fetchlands for Zoo, and some of the sideboard stuff for UG Infect.

It seems like most of the people in the Exchange thread leaned toward casual play. I'm curious about Madison's player, because I think I could see her playing competitively.

......and yet people say Yu-Gi-Oh is more complicated. To me, you all are speaking Greek. I don't know the differences!!!!!!!





...explainings?

"Casual" means you generally play with a group of friends that are in it for fun, there's usually no prizes involved, or trained judges. You're just there to do fun stuff with what cards you have.

"Competitive" means you're regularly competing in DCI-sanctioned tournaments (like Friday Night Magic) against other players that you don't know at all, in hopes of making it to bigger events and winning better prizes. This isn't NECESSARILY more difficult than Casual, because you could have a group of really cutthroat friends, but generally it is. If you're winning, you're usually putting hundreds of dollars into any given deck.

"Format" refers to what cards are allowed in your deck, and what the rules are for play. Brief synopsis of some popular formats (check out the official site for more specifics):

- Free-for-All: Whatever you've got lying around, traditional MTG rules.

- Standard: Traditional MTG rules, but you can only use cards from a very limited number of sets. Generally anything from the last two "blocks" (two- or three-set chunks, like Theros/Born of the Gods/Journey Into Nyx = Theros Block) and the latest base expansion (i.e. Magic 2015). I don't think there's a banned-cards list for this right now.

- Modern: You might have noticed that they changed the way the card borders looked around 8th Edition. In Modern, you basically use anything with the new card border (or got reprinted with the new card border). There's a few exceptions, and there's a list of banned cards. Traditional MTG rules.

- Legacy: Traditional MTG rules, no restriction on how old a card is, but there's a pretty large banned list.

- Two-Headed Giant: You team up with another player and duel against another pair, taking your turns at the same time. You have a combined life total, and if either player is damaged, it gets subtracted from that total. Usually also labeled Standard/Legacy/Modern so you know what cards you can use.

- Emperor: Teams of three, separate life totals, the player in the middle is the "Emperor" and the two on the outside are "Generals". You can only attack someone one seat away from you, so Generals can only attack the Generals across from them until one of them is taken out, at which point the victorious General and the opposing Emperor can attack each other. Usually also labeled S/L/M.

- Commander: You can use cards from any set, though there is a banned list. Choose one Legendary creature as your "Commander". Then make a 99-card deck (100 including the Commander) using only ONE of any given card except basic mana. These cards can only include the colors in your Commander's mana cost (aka their "color identity"). You play with 3 other people, and have 40 life. Your Commander starts outside the game, in the "Command Zone". You can summon them at any time for their casting cost. If they would go to the graveyard, your hand, or exile, it instead goes back to the CZ and costs an additional 2 generic mana to summon next time. If your Commander deals 21 damage to a player, they're out.

- Draft: There's a bunch of different types of drafting, but when someone says "draft", it generally means opening new packs to play with. You're usually getting three packs of cards, everyone opens one pack, picks one card, and passes it to their left. You then take the opened pack handed to you from the right, repeat. You make a 40-card deck from the cards you pick plus any basic mana you want (which is usually provided), and play with that. You generally have to pay for the packs, and get to keep the cards.



If you're playing at a store, you're probably playing Standard - it's the most popular competitive format, and stores like it because it keeps you buying cards since your old ones rotate out every year-ish. Most stores will run a variety of formats, though. If you're playing with friends, you're probably just playing Casual Free-for-All.

I personally play casual Commander, because I like mucking around with goofy decks and hating on people who try to make it competitive. I also play competitive Modern, because the cards aren't going to rotate out in a year like they do with Standard. Some of the cards get pretty expensive, though, and I substitute cheaper cards for them, which means I'm usually not winning any tournaments. Standard is more popular, cards are usually a little cheaper, but cards rotate out after a while and don't always keep their value. Legacy is less popular, cards don't rotate out, but good leaping lord in heaven those ones get expensive.

If you have a group of friends to play with, just play free-for-all to start out, just have some fun with it. Occasionally kick in $10 each and draft for some new cards and a fun experience. If you really want to go competitive - well, that's a pretty involved discussion, based on your tastes, budget, and what the local play scene is like.

Yeah....Casual Free-For-All sounds my style i general. That is basically how I play Yu-Gi-Oh, aw my deck contains banned cards. >.>

Hmm... just a head's up on the MTG cards my 'buddy'will get? ALL old cards. Not worn old but dated old. Like 10 years old.

Not to speak for your Recipient or anything, but an unsorted, unlooked-at box of really old cards is pretty damn exciting, regardless of which format you play.

Cassandra wrote:Not to speak for your Recipient or anything, but an unsorted, unlooked-at box of really old cards is pretty damn exciting, regardless of which format you play.

Good to know. ;)

My favorite card in my deck isn't on a banned list. I thought this was amusing. But it wouldn't be allowed in a block since it's an older set. >>

I'm willing to trade cards with people if they play casual or use 'older' cards.

Lachy set up a thing. Ten cards in an envelope and we all swap to the other people >>