In response to concerns about “cheating” the Achievements by playing with a partner or second account:
“Achievement Boosting” is healthy for the Xbox because it keeps people interested and involved in games, and developers have learned not to include annoying achievements in multiplayer. And remember, the points you earn on Xbox don’t do anything. For MTGO, where there could be the option to disable Achievements if you’re not in the mood or want to do some serious testing, it’s even better. I don’t think it’s “cheating” to boost an achievement with a friend or a second account because like with the Xbox, the “sanctity of the achievements” isn’t a priority. If I worked for Wizards, I’d be pleased that someone was involved with the game and buying new cards to get new achievements. So while there’d be no reason to encourage achievement boosting, there’s no need to hamper it, either. Let people experience the game how they’d like.
Think of each achievement as an “I experienced this” badge. And if you finish all the achievements in a set and unlock the special Expansion Symbol or whatever, that shows your devotion, tenacity, and interest. It’s certainly NOT a reflection of skill. It doesn’t take Kai Budde to summon the Spirit of the Night or play a bunch of Hondens. Achievements would be a reward for experiencing new aspects of the game, and I personally don’t care how you go about doing it.
There is that other online TCG I still play from time to time and they have something similar to this. But the big difference is that you can play "scenarios" in that game. In that mode you play against the AI which has different decks programmed by the game's publishers.
With each set, they also program 10 new scenarios and every time you win against the AI with a different difficulty level, you get a promo card. After you complete those 10 scenarios in each difficulty level (there are 3 difficulty levels), you get another very rare promo card. And when they release a new set, they also program 10 new scenarios, so you never get bored.
So adding scenarios where you play against the AI, could be the only way of adding achievements to MTGO. Instead of some special promo cards that other game gives, we can get badges or achivement bonuses or trophies or whatever. Because just like others have said, under the current circumstances it is very easy to cheat on MTGO. For example I do have a second account (created for testing purposes) and I can unlock everything in one day if I wish (for both accounts surely).
So I think that we should have first an AI on MTGO and a scenario mode where we can play against it. With every new set, the AI should get those new precons of that new set. We can then select which deck we wish the AI to play, and try to unlock things. We can for example give it an Alara Block deck and try to unlock the "Resolve a chain of 4 Cascade spells" achievement.
Just a thought... as a matter of fact it isn't just a thought, it is something I play from time to time when I log on to that other game. So it's real and it's something already done.
It's a good idea, but there will be a problem with players having multiple accounts, and playing with themselves. It should be somehow limited only to tournaments held by wizards. Maybe a tournament specific achievments like "win 3 first matches without loosing a game" or "win a match with more than 40 life total from each game played" style? Also there can be draft achievment like "draft a deck with X rares" or "don't draft the rares".
...but I think you will get the rank whore with their buddy to achieve all of these in no time. The block achievements are the only ones that don't seem so abusive to gain...and would revive the sales of the block's cards. Here's to rebuilding my 5C Honden!!!
An overall good idea. My concern is that the casual room might become a lot less fun with people hunting for some of these though. I don't want to play against the guy trying to unlock the "win on turn 50" achievement, for instance.
:( lol sorry shard I figured you would have done this one a bit ago after the cool version with cycling, tbh I had this deck sitting around waiting before that PRE and was disappointed I wouldn't be the first to mention insects and that my version may not have the same power of the cycling one lol
After working on this article last week I had a dream where Magic was played using chunks of beef, and that I was trying to unlock an Achievement wherein you get your opponent to eat a steak. A friend appeared in the dream with his new “deck” which was a ziplock bag filled with vegetable beef soup.
Game 2 was a bad draw for me. Game 3, you played perfectly for my deck. By waiting until you could cast 2 Cascade spells in one turn, you pretty much foiled my counterspells. The only counterspells in my deck were Cryptic Command (which doubled for its tap all creatures effects) and Draining Whelk.
It never happened in the tournament, but in the casual room I have managed to pull six consecutive turns of tapping all of my opponent's creatures via Exhaust, Sleep, Cryptic Command. Can't imagine that is fun for the opponent, but at least it is a different form of control than counterspell after counterspell.
I have added a Mystical Tutor and a copy of Inundate to the deck. I think that could be a lot of fun (for me).
I quite like this idea. I think it'd be pretty popular. I'm certainly not a trophy whore or the like, but I do quite like getting that little "trophy unlocked" message (I'm european).
I'm not so keen on the idea of achievements that hinge on a specific card though, like "Tap Tolarian Academy for 20 mana" or "Win with Coalition Victory". One or two of these might be fine, but I don't think people like being told what deck to build. I think people would prefer more "low-level" ones too like maybe for ravnica;
reduce a spells cost by 3 with convoke
dredge 5 cards in a turn
affect 3 permanents with a radiated spell
transmute 3 times
or something, ones like;
"Send one Zubera of every color to your graveyard in one turn"
"Assemble all five Hondens"
seem to pretty much tell you exactly what deck to build, which seems like something you wouldn't really want.
Anyway, it's a good idea (except encouraging the casual room to "win on turn 1"!).
I like this idea. It is a way to add value to the segment of the community that likes it without taking anything away from anyone else. Of course, that section of the community that believes WotC programmers should neither eat, sleep nor leave the building until leagues are back and multiplayer works better will howl at this "waste of time".
The next evolutionary step of this idea would be something like a "MTGO Pro Club" where different levels get you tangible tournament benefits, such as Premier Event byes, free Championship invites etc.
I hate you....i just built red/green insects for tribal on monday. Now you have gone and let the cat out of the bag. Not too mention with a near identical creature. I wont forgive you for this. My fury rages with the fire of a thousand burning suns. Just kidding I like the decks, but still now mine is spoiled :( lol
Definitely shouldn't have kept that hand. Fun little deck, though: lots of counter-abusing constructs, ramping up to strength of the Tajuru and decree of savagery. And yes, my slug deck is awesome.
Yeah I watched one of those games and just shook my head it was so one-sided. But I said to myself...I don't want to see either of those decks in the final round. Bah lost to flips anyway :p
Hmmm solved it and wanted to send you my solution but then realized you have no listed email. Ah well I will just keep it to myself then. I also end up with 2 unused cards in hand and no mana untapped.
I'm also running 4x Knight of Sursi main now, faster...and you win in the air vs goblins and just about everything else...these are insane in the mirror as well, as it kills the aven and skyfisher the first time they cross feathers :) thanks to its flanking fun
I was very lucky against you really. Decks with counters tend to be pretty bad match ups for living end. I drew pretty well I games 2 and 3 and was just able to get there.
Well I wasn't exactly sure about how to report results for one. Mostly though it was my match with kalandine. I was trying to coincide game one, but accidentally conceded the match. Fortunately he was gracious enough to set up a new match so we could play the next two games.
This is due to the insane amounts of teachings B/U decks curently.
Against Goblins, I side out my Removal and add 3x Prismatic and 4x Holylight, if they have damage main, sometimes a Benevolent Unicorn swap for the Shade (as this can go since your not the aggressor)
VS Combo, Same as above, and swap out Aven Riftwatchers for unicorns...as life isn't that big of an issue, and you want constant pressure, not pressure that dies...also, if it's the 3rd turn, cast Prismatic Strands at the end of turn, so you can keep casting creatures and pressuring opp...while still having the flashback goodness of P.strands.
VS RDW is the same as combo, except you take out 4 other creatures...I'd recommend Orders.
VS Teachings, depending if targeted, or untargeted removal...+4 Acolytes - -4 Journey - don't need much removal...and what you have you want at instant speed.
VS Mono Blue...that's tough, if it's faeries, obviously Holy Light comes in to make your removal more efficient.
VS Mirror,...you really want p.strands here...I'd side out the Order's in my current build as most bring in Serrated Arrows, and it's kinda a 1:1 with your bodyguards in that situation. Kor Sanctifiers are great here, if you have the room in your sideboard, as they free up your journey'd creatures...destroy other Razor Golems and S.Arrows...good times.
Hope that's an ok guide :) and thanks for reading! So shocked how many people ask me questions on MTGO - it's an honor!
In response to concerns about “cheating” the Achievements by playing with a partner or second account:
“Achievement Boosting” is healthy for the Xbox because it keeps people interested and involved in games, and developers have learned not to include annoying achievements in multiplayer. And remember, the points you earn on Xbox don’t do anything. For MTGO, where there could be the option to disable Achievements if you’re not in the mood or want to do some serious testing, it’s even better. I don’t think it’s “cheating” to boost an achievement with a friend or a second account because like with the Xbox, the “sanctity of the achievements” isn’t a priority. If I worked for Wizards, I’d be pleased that someone was involved with the game and buying new cards to get new achievements. So while there’d be no reason to encourage achievement boosting, there’s no need to hamper it, either. Let people experience the game how they’d like.
Think of each achievement as an “I experienced this” badge. And if you finish all the achievements in a set and unlock the special Expansion Symbol or whatever, that shows your devotion, tenacity, and interest. It’s certainly NOT a reflection of skill. It doesn’t take Kai Budde to summon the Spirit of the Night or play a bunch of Hondens. Achievements would be a reward for experiencing new aspects of the game, and I personally don’t care how you go about doing it.
The additional cards are intentional. I find it fun to have more than just the necessary pieces to solve the puzzle.
There is that other online TCG I still play from time to time and they have something similar to this. But the big difference is that you can play "scenarios" in that game. In that mode you play against the AI which has different decks programmed by the game's publishers.
With each set, they also program 10 new scenarios and every time you win against the AI with a different difficulty level, you get a promo card. After you complete those 10 scenarios in each difficulty level (there are 3 difficulty levels), you get another very rare promo card. And when they release a new set, they also program 10 new scenarios, so you never get bored.
So adding scenarios where you play against the AI, could be the only way of adding achievements to MTGO. Instead of some special promo cards that other game gives, we can get badges or achivement bonuses or trophies or whatever. Because just like others have said, under the current circumstances it is very easy to cheat on MTGO. For example I do have a second account (created for testing purposes) and I can unlock everything in one day if I wish (for both accounts surely).
So I think that we should have first an AI on MTGO and a scenario mode where we can play against it. With every new set, the AI should get those new precons of that new set. We can then select which deck we wish the AI to play, and try to unlock things. We can for example give it an Alara Block deck and try to unlock the "Resolve a chain of 4 Cascade spells" achievement.
Just a thought... as a matter of fact it isn't just a thought, it is something I play from time to time when I log on to that other game. So it's real and it's something already done.
LE
It's a good idea, but there will be a problem with players having multiple accounts, and playing with themselves. It should be somehow limited only to tournaments held by wizards. Maybe a tournament specific achievments like "win 3 first matches without loosing a game" or "win a match with more than 40 life total from each game played" style? Also there can be draft achievment like "draft a deck with X rares" or "don't draft the rares".
...but I think you will get the rank whore with their buddy to achieve all of these in no time. The block achievements are the only ones that don't seem so abusive to gain...and would revive the sales of the block's cards. Here's to rebuilding my 5C Honden!!!
the idea of a "grand coin flipping planeswalker" is awesome in so many ways
and you were playing this in the casual room right? to see an enchantress deck that close to the tourny version would have annoyed me
deck looks fun, I never really played with any of the coin flip cards, but this maybe worth a try... though what's with your Jaya's?
Right, so I suggested that they be disabled in the create-a-game menu, like spectators.
An overall good idea. My concern is that the casual room might become a lot less fun with people hunting for some of these though. I don't want to play against the guy trying to unlock the "win on turn 50" achievement, for instance.
http://puremtgo.com/articles/five-factors-competitive-play
And you know who gave me the idea to write that out? Someone from WoTC.
They are aware of the concept :)
I'm not sure most people can appreciate the goal of building one of the most annoying decks ever... that being said this article was picture-tastic
:( lol sorry shard I figured you would have done this one a bit ago after the cool version with cycling, tbh I had this deck sitting around waiting before that PRE and was disappointed I wouldn't be the first to mention insects and that my version may not have the same power of the cycling one lol
After working on this article last week I had a dream where Magic was played using chunks of beef, and that I was trying to unlock an Achievement wherein you get your opponent to eat a steak. A friend appeared in the dream with his new “deck” which was a ziplock bag filled with vegetable beef soup.
Game 2 was a bad draw for me. Game 3, you played perfectly for my deck. By waiting until you could cast 2 Cascade spells in one turn, you pretty much foiled my counterspells. The only counterspells in my deck were Cryptic Command (which doubled for its tap all creatures effects) and Draining Whelk.
It never happened in the tournament, but in the casual room I have managed to pull six consecutive turns of tapping all of my opponent's creatures via Exhaust, Sleep, Cryptic Command. Can't imagine that is fun for the opponent, but at least it is a different form of control than counterspell after counterspell.
I have added a Mystical Tutor and a copy of Inundate to the deck. I think that could be a lot of fun (for me).
I quite like this idea. I think it'd be pretty popular. I'm certainly not a trophy whore or the like, but I do quite like getting that little "trophy unlocked" message (I'm european).
I'm not so keen on the idea of achievements that hinge on a specific card though, like "Tap Tolarian Academy for 20 mana" or "Win with Coalition Victory". One or two of these might be fine, but I don't think people like being told what deck to build. I think people would prefer more "low-level" ones too like maybe for ravnica;
reduce a spells cost by 3 with convoke
dredge 5 cards in a turn
affect 3 permanents with a radiated spell
transmute 3 times
or something, ones like;
"Send one Zubera of every color to your graveyard in one turn"
"Assemble all five Hondens"
seem to pretty much tell you exactly what deck to build, which seems like something you wouldn't really want.
Anyway, it's a good idea (except encouraging the casual room to "win on turn 1"!).
I like this idea. It is a way to add value to the segment of the community that likes it without taking anything away from anyone else. Of course, that section of the community that believes WotC programmers should neither eat, sleep nor leave the building until leagues are back and multiplayer works better will howl at this "waste of time".
The next evolutionary step of this idea would be something like a "MTGO Pro Club" where different levels get you tangible tournament benefits, such as Premier Event byes, free Championship invites etc.
I hate you....i just built red/green insects for tribal on monday. Now you have gone and let the cat out of the bag. Not too mention with a near identical creature. I wont forgive you for this. My fury rages with the fire of a thousand burning suns. Just kidding I like the decks, but still now mine is spoiled :( lol
Win a PE with Nefarious Lich.dek
Definitely shouldn't have kept that hand. Fun little deck, though: lots of counter-abusing constructs, ramping up to strength of the Tajuru and decree of savagery. And yes, my slug deck is awesome.
Yeah I watched one of those games and just shook my head it was so one-sided. But I said to myself...I don't want to see either of those decks in the final round. Bah lost to flips anyway :p
Hmmm solved it and wanted to send you my solution but then realized you have no listed email. Ah well I will just keep it to myself then. I also end up with 2 unused cards in hand and no mana untapped.
I'm also running 4x Knight of Sursi main now, faster...and you win in the air vs goblins and just about everything else...these are insane in the mirror as well, as it kills the aven and skyfisher the first time they cross feathers :) thanks to its flanking fun
oh dont worry about the reporting i did forget to mention it like i normally do, but even long time players completely forget about it sometimes.
I was very lucky against you really. Decks with counters tend to be pretty bad match ups for living end. I drew pretty well I games 2 and 3 and was just able to get there.
Well I wasn't exactly sure about how to report results for one. Mostly though it was my match with kalandine. I was trying to coincide game one, but accidentally conceded the match. Fortunately he was gracious enough to set up a new match so we could play the next two games.
Depending on the Sideboard, obviously things/numbers change. I'm currently running something like this:
4x Benevolent Unicorn
4x Holy Light
4x Obsidian Acolyte
3x Prismatic Strands
This is due to the insane amounts of teachings B/U decks curently.
Against Goblins, I side out my Removal and add 3x Prismatic and 4x Holylight, if they have damage main, sometimes a Benevolent Unicorn swap for the Shade (as this can go since your not the aggressor)
VS Combo, Same as above, and swap out Aven Riftwatchers for unicorns...as life isn't that big of an issue, and you want constant pressure, not pressure that dies...also, if it's the 3rd turn, cast Prismatic Strands at the end of turn, so you can keep casting creatures and pressuring opp...while still having the flashback goodness of P.strands.
VS RDW is the same as combo, except you take out 4 other creatures...I'd recommend Orders.
VS Teachings, depending if targeted, or untargeted removal...+4 Acolytes - -4 Journey - don't need much removal...and what you have you want at instant speed.
VS Mono Blue...that's tough, if it's faeries, obviously Holy Light comes in to make your removal more efficient.
VS Mirror,...you really want p.strands here...I'd side out the Order's in my current build as most bring in Serrated Arrows, and it's kinda a 1:1 with your bodyguards in that situation. Kor Sanctifiers are great here, if you have the room in your sideboard, as they free up your journey'd creatures...destroy other Razor Golems and S.Arrows...good times.
Hope that's an ok guide :) and thanks for reading! So shocked how many people ask me questions on MTGO - it's an honor!