I have played in several stores in my area. I've driven an hour out of my way just to find a group of people I could gel with. I've found one store I really liked, but before that, I had a lot of trouble with it. As I attempt to describe the stores, I'll leave them unnamed, since they already have a bad enough reputation on their own.
Store #1:
This store sells collectible sports cards. I guess that's still a thing. So whatever, I didn't mind that. For a few months in the summer, they held FNM events. I sucked at standard. I usually went 0-3 every week, but I still showed up. I was playing a Mycoloth deck that just wasn't very good. I tried a few prereleases and launch parties (back when magic still did those). I left that store because I got the distinct impression the owner wanted everyone to buy cards and get out. He didn't want magic players hanging around the store, because magic was a secondary thing he had going on.
Store #2:
I've been to this store a lot of times. It's quite a distance away from my house, but I don't mind that. The main thing that bugs me is the people there. I got good at playing standard with a Vampire Nocturnus deck (last year) and I encountered all sorts of bad behavior. People were touchy about losing. I felt like I was walking through a minefield. I like the owner. He's a nice guy. But I couldn't justify going back because playing the games turned about to be a bad experience. I eventually stopped playing standard (for a while).
Store #3:
This store I've only been to a few times. It's a comics store that does magic on the side. Really, I like the people there. But the magic element just isn't heavy enough. I don't like that a lot of stores do their normal thing and then add magic on the side.
Store #4:
I went to this store maybe once. It's closer to where I live, but the people there were bad. They had a level three judge there (apparently). Yet the store was disorganized. I went to play standard or sealed or whatever they had going on, and I ended up playing EDH instead. Color me disappointed. They actually didn't fire an FNM on Friday because the ownership had no idea what it was doing.
Store #5:
This is the store I've settled on. They do Modern, Pauper, EDH and standard. They also do Pokemon and YuGiOh. If I had to guess, I'd say that this store has a real good shot of being the area's best magic store in the area. It's not magic and something else. The play level is competitive. You can go to a monthly modern event and find tier 1 decks there, ready to go. Some people drive two hours out of their Saturday just to come to this store. This is what a store ought to be like. Most owners really just don't get it, though.
So I'd say it's not really the people. It's the ownership. Good owners will thrive when times are good and survive when times are bad. Bad owners...well, they might have the same group of people showing up every week, but they won't keep outliers like me around if they act like nincompoops.
I couldn't agree with you more, Pete. I actually stopped playing at my local store and created an online account because I'd reached my tolerance limit for the whole lot of misogyny/homophoby on that community. While it isn't exactly hard to stumble upon such things online, it's easier to ignore it.
Just a note on the Commander deck, if you plan on playing this online, expect to wear out your wrist clicking a ton. Infinite combo online is a pain to run. I've noticed that people don't like it when you force them to go through it, but they want to win, so they'll spend the 15-20 minutes clicking through everything to get their win anyway.
"I got five event tix out of my own pocket to the first person that is able to overtake the “regular” winner of these events (this applies to regular season events, not season championships) Shikogpro!"
I just figured I would clarify this, in order to score the five tix, you need to do more than just beat Shikog in a match - you need to place 1st for the event.
Myself and at least 2 other people I know have stopped going to our local store (and stopped playing paper) because the store refuses to do anything about the stench of the players. You are lucky you have a local store thats run well enough to kick out those who reek.
Outer Planes in Santa Rosa = Stinkiest place to play magic anywhere. They also have a judge who doesnt know the rules and higher prices than anyone in the county!
Thanks for giving the PPC attention. The clan is Team DBC and it is a cooperation between Team DBC (Doing Battle with Commons) and MagicGatheringStrat. Everything is hosted on our web site mtgostrat.com
A typo that made me smile (though including a second error as well): "Pauper players, led by clan Team DB, have banned together to create a informal “Magic Online Pauper Players Championship.”" Thanks for this update, which is chock-full of information.
Most people I saw disagreeing with her being picked were just saying that they had never seen her involved with MTGO. They were then saying that WoTC picked her because she was a woman and had to fill the quota.
While I have no idea if that is true I haven't really seen her involved in MTGO but maybe she is? I have read her articles before and they were always good and I personally have no major issue with her going to the cup.
Maybe there was some more sexism going on that I didn't see due to moderation. Either way I think that her being a woman should have absolutely nothing to do with her going or not going.
I missed last week as I was busy with taking people to airports and other family matters. I'll be missing this week because Singleton (And also some family stuff) but should be back for Man Vs. Machine. If you want a hand with insects, I'd be happy to step in.
Update: Just to add that after taking the Invitational by surprise with just 1 event win under his belt, slug went to win 6 more events this year (and counting), of which 3 consecutive! And all with different decks (Zombie, Spellshaper, Goblin, Shaman, Wall, and Illusion). Looks like slug's retroactively trying to do justice to his Ultimate Champion trophy!
Emrakul doesn't have protection from creatures, just spells, so a Sigarda and Fog Bank would hold him off indefinitely. Players often seem to forgot this - I've killed an Emrakul in Momir Basic with a Worldspine Worm because my opponent though he had protection from creatures.
As you may be aware Sundial has been a pet card of mine since its first printing. In fact I devoted an article or two to it. Love the additional ways in which you show us how you like to abuse it. Fun times.
Threads of Disloyalty is one of those cards that perfectly represent building trends and the hysterics of the micro-economy we have to dealt online (and to a lesser extent, the strangely hidden power level of Kamigawa block). For a long time people looked at it and saw a bad Control Magic worth no more than 20 cent. Then it's like someone realized that, hey, wait a minute, that thing steals Tarmogoyf! Oh my God, oh my God, it's super-powerful! And Threads went from 20 cent to $10 in, like, a week.
But that's not the end of the story, because the graph from mtgGoldfish is really something to contemplate. See the two giant mountains at the end? It's because somehow Threads was almost $12 last March, then fell to $3 in June, and now it's nearly $12 again!
All that while the paper price was and still is around $5.
As far as your lecture goes....
I have played in several stores in my area. I've driven an hour out of my way just to find a group of people I could gel with. I've found one store I really liked, but before that, I had a lot of trouble with it. As I attempt to describe the stores, I'll leave them unnamed, since they already have a bad enough reputation on their own.
Store #1:
This store sells collectible sports cards. I guess that's still a thing. So whatever, I didn't mind that. For a few months in the summer, they held FNM events. I sucked at standard. I usually went 0-3 every week, but I still showed up. I was playing a Mycoloth deck that just wasn't very good. I tried a few prereleases and launch parties (back when magic still did those). I left that store because I got the distinct impression the owner wanted everyone to buy cards and get out. He didn't want magic players hanging around the store, because magic was a secondary thing he had going on.
Store #2:
I've been to this store a lot of times. It's quite a distance away from my house, but I don't mind that. The main thing that bugs me is the people there. I got good at playing standard with a Vampire Nocturnus deck (last year) and I encountered all sorts of bad behavior. People were touchy about losing. I felt like I was walking through a minefield. I like the owner. He's a nice guy. But I couldn't justify going back because playing the games turned about to be a bad experience. I eventually stopped playing standard (for a while).
Store #3:
This store I've only been to a few times. It's a comics store that does magic on the side. Really, I like the people there. But the magic element just isn't heavy enough. I don't like that a lot of stores do their normal thing and then add magic on the side.
Store #4:
I went to this store maybe once. It's closer to where I live, but the people there were bad. They had a level three judge there (apparently). Yet the store was disorganized. I went to play standard or sealed or whatever they had going on, and I ended up playing EDH instead. Color me disappointed. They actually didn't fire an FNM on Friday because the ownership had no idea what it was doing.
Store #5:
This is the store I've settled on. They do Modern, Pauper, EDH and standard. They also do Pokemon and YuGiOh. If I had to guess, I'd say that this store has a real good shot of being the area's best magic store in the area. It's not magic and something else. The play level is competitive. You can go to a monthly modern event and find tier 1 decks there, ready to go. Some people drive two hours out of their Saturday just to come to this store. This is what a store ought to be like. Most owners really just don't get it, though.
So I'd say it's not really the people. It's the ownership. Good owners will thrive when times are good and survive when times are bad. Bad owners...well, they might have the same group of people showing up every week, but they won't keep outliers like me around if they act like nincompoops.
Oh yeah haha, i should put the entry stuff there. Haha. Moobawubba above me has it right.
Yes, this information should be in the article, 3drinks.
You can find the tournament in Gatherling, and the message board describing the rules and other information is in a thread within http://community.wizards.com/go/forum/view/75846/135082/Magic_Online_Pla... (for example, the 3.09 thread was http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75846/30021989/The_Gatherlin...!!). If you want more info, you can talk to 3drinks on MTGO, or reach him through this or other message boards. We always welcome new players. And remember, it's free!
Can I please have more information on how to join? Where do I register? Thanks!
I couldn't agree with you more, Pete. I actually stopped playing at my local store and created an online account because I'd reached my tolerance limit for the whole lot of misogyny/homophoby on that community. While it isn't exactly hard to stumble upon such things online, it's easier to ignore it.
It seems I pasted the wrong deck in the Maelstrom list above. My apologies. You can find the proper Maelstrom list that raf.azevedo piloted here: http://www.gatherling.com/deck.php?mode=view&id=13248 Thanks!
Just a note on the Commander deck, if you plan on playing this online, expect to wear out your wrist clicking a ton. Infinite combo online is a pain to run. I've noticed that people don't like it when you force them to go through it, but they want to win, so they'll spend the 15-20 minutes clicking through everything to get their win anyway.
"I got five event tix out of my own pocket to the first person that is able to overtake the “regular” winner of these events (this applies to regular season events, not season championships) Shikogpro!"
I just figured I would clarify this, in order to score the five tix, you need to do more than just beat Shikog in a match - you need to place 1st for the event.
Believe it or not I actually had Oath at the DE, blasphemy I know! Orb is fun though so I am using affiity in the CL.
I vote for port for the land..
Myself and at least 2 other people I know have stopped going to our local store (and stopped playing paper) because the store refuses to do anything about the stench of the players. You are lucky you have a local store thats run well enough to kick out those who reek.
Outer Planes in Santa Rosa = Stinkiest place to play magic anywhere. They also have a judge who doesnt know the rules and higher prices than anyone in the county!
Thanks for giving the PPC attention. The clan is Team DBC and it is a cooperation between Team DBC (Doing Battle with Commons) and MagicGatheringStrat. Everything is hosted on our web site mtgostrat.com
A typo that made me smile (though including a second error as well): "Pauper players, led by clan Team DB, have banned together to create a informal “Magic Online Pauper Players Championship.”" Thanks for this update, which is chock-full of information.
I missed last week as I was busy with taking people to airports and other family matters. I'll be missing this week because Singleton (And also some family stuff) but should be back for Man Vs. Machine. If you want a hand with insects, I'd be happy to step in.
Your Lifebane Zombie opponent made some really strange choices...
Update: Just to add that after taking the Invitational by surprise with just 1 event win under his belt, slug went to win 6 more events this year (and counting), of which 3 consecutive! And all with different decks (Zombie, Spellshaper, Goblin, Shaman, Wall, and Illusion). Looks like slug's retroactively trying to do justice to his Ultimate Champion trophy!
http://puremtgo.com/articles/magical-tidings-infinite-wolves there is one. And I guess the other is still in my head as I couldn't find it elsewhere. lol. So one though...with about 4 decks. :)
Emrakul doesn't have protection from creatures, just spells, so a Sigarda and Fog Bank would hold him off indefinitely. Players often seem to forgot this - I've killed an Emrakul in Momir Basic with a Worldspine Worm because my opponent though he had protection from creatures.
I'd like to see those! Can you send me links? I tried searching this site for your user name and Sundial but nothing turned up.
Some really fun looking decks here - love it! Going to try some of them out, probably starting with the uber-ridiculous last one!
As you may be aware Sundial has been a pet card of mine since its first printing. In fact I devoted an article or two to it. Love the additional ways in which you show us how you like to abuse it. Fun times.
Threads of Disloyalty is one of those cards that perfectly represent building trends and the hysterics of the micro-economy we have to dealt online (and to a lesser extent, the strangely hidden power level of Kamigawa block). For a long time people looked at it and saw a bad Control Magic worth no more than 20 cent. Then it's like someone realized that, hey, wait a minute, that thing steals Tarmogoyf! Oh my God, oh my God, it's super-powerful! And Threads went from 20 cent to $10 in, like, a week.
But that's not the end of the story, because the graph from mtgGoldfish is really something to contemplate. See the two giant mountains at the end? It's because somehow Threads was almost $12 last March, then fell to $3 in June, and now it's nearly $12 again!
All that while the paper price was and still is around $5.
my email is joshua.claytor@gmail.com
They may have also Inquisitioned Mind Spring because Rite of Replication costs 4 mana.
Well. I guess you disagree. I don't see a point in continuing this conversation though.