Thanks for checking out the article! I imagine there would be a degree of backlash from players if Delver received a ban. The card supports at least three higher tier strategies at the moment. Delver (the deck) keeps Burn in check to some extent, so it's possible that a Delver ban could make similarly stifled strategies more viable.
He shoots, he misses. The Drake yet lives for now. Intriguing thought exercise nonetheless. What if Delver gets the boot alongside Drake a few months hence?
He who takes offense in Germans words from Innistrad has never played against french delays.
Great SOTP,
Would like it if you did it more often so we can get price increase/ decrease from week to week.
Also would love to real investment speculation :)
As another writer that's always wanted to do a Preview Card, I thought this was a very interesting behind-the-scenes piece. There are times that I look at the card you get and think to myself "Oh, boy, how would I write about that one?". It's amazing how often you have delivered under those circumstances.
Hey, Kuma, great job! I have also liked your SotP the most so far, but I think it's been great how each person has had sections that they have done better than others. I enjoyed your Opinion Section and that you were able to do something different in the TECH section by focusing on the PRE players.
When you mentioned that the client is like a town, the image in my head immediately went to Animal Crossing...only a black and white "Sin City" version of Animal Crossing. That's what it's like on there 90% of the time at least.
I do agree that the PRE community does make it feel a little less bleak. It's the closest feeling to a "Local FNM" you can get on MTGO. Some of my favorite times playing online were in the big Blippy events of old: the chat rooms were always zany and friendly, especially when the matches were really close, and almost everybody was very respectful. (Every so often there would be a bad egg, but that was usually taken care of quickly.) It always bums me out that I'm in a time zone that is inconvenient for playing in your events, because they are very well run.
Nothing is less important than which flatware you use. Etiquette is the science of living. It embraces everything. It is ethics. It is honor. https://nathanhorowicz.com
Great SOTP, liked your take on the price table and your deck analysis (while maybe not suited for the grinder, fun for those of us on the fringe).
Along the line of names, I have a daughter Pia that turned 5 a couple weeks back, I was extremely excited to see her name come up in MTG. I was equally elated to know that her card came after the name whereas my brother named his son Jace (based on JTMS). Feels good to be in the cool club of having MTG copy me rather than visa versa.
Either way, if you enjoy the game and are inspired enough to use the names, more power to ya.
Small announcement to go with this. I've made a public folder in which I can dump all of the data for articles like this on Google Drive. I explain this in a teensy bit more detail on my blog, along with a persistent link, so feel free to peruse the data to your heart's content:
Lizards are totally fun. Didn't consider the dredge Lizard, what a great idea :D will definitely see how many I can fit in the deck. Living Death is a 3 of in the deck. Never got to cast it against you because mana issues and you had me dead to rights one game on turn 3. (What I meant about easy button decks just oops/I win moments. Not that you don't have hard decisions sometimes...) I am running the deathtouching 3/3 lizard that just rotated from standard. But it might actually be too pricy at 5 mana to flip and it doesn't really recur very easily. (I do have some manifest cards in the deck but they aren't awesome.) The deck could do with some tuning up for sure.
Glad to play you, any time.
RE: Positivity. I assume what you mean is sometimes we get a little down on WOTC and that is a recurring theme because there is often something controversial to talk about. But we love the game, and its makers and that's why we talk about them and hope we are encouraging them to make positive changes that help the players have a better experience.
Thank you very much for the feedback and listening.
I think the planeswalker names try to be as much fantasy-sounding as possible, at least in the Modern era (with the old names, all bets are off.) But yeah, Liliana is definitely there, despite having an English/French last name for some reason.
And Serra is indeed a pretty common Italian surname (Michele Serra is a famous writer, "Luciano Serra pilota" is a film written by Rossellini, and Serra Riccò is a town not far from Genoa, where I live). Honestly, it didn't even occur to me until now, I guess I was taking it as some attempt at Latin. (And it's also just a common word meaning "greenhouse". So Serra Angel, which is translated "Angelo di Serra" in the Italian localization, sounds like these angels are grown in a greenhouse, which is wonderfully surreal).
Still, it's different to bear the same first name as Liliana, which is possibly flattering, as opposed to the same last name as Daretti (family names are more specific, after all). And the risk of coming off as racist while designing a set rooted in some existing culture is very real. Just think of the kind of blunders a set inspired simultaneously by Spanish and Portuguese and South American heritages could create. :)
There is a need to have a positive outlook. Most especially if you are in business. - Marla Ahlgrimm
It is better to do the usual. Most especially with the other people. - Marla Ahlgrimm
I should think Ghostly Flicker to be a bigger culprit than the drake.
Nix the Flicker and leave the derpy 2/3, no?
yeah I am personally just not playing the format until it's gone. :/
JXClaytor - I've yet to hear anyone commend the decision not to ban. Reddit in particular seems a bit depressed by the news.
Thanks for checking out the article! I imagine there would be a degree of backlash from players if Delver received a ban. The card supports at least three higher tier strategies at the moment. Delver (the deck) keeps Burn in check to some extent, so it's possible that a Delver ban could make similarly stifled strategies more viable.
what is the general vibe of this announcement on twitter, I've deactivated my account for a few days, and I reckon I picked a bad time to do so.
He shoots, he misses. The Drake yet lives for now. Intriguing thought exercise nonetheless. What if Delver gets the boot alongside Drake a few months hence?
I missed you Matt, thanks for the piece!
These are guest pieces until Pete gets back in two weeks, but I'll make sure to pass that on to him :D
He who takes offense in Germans words from Innistrad has never played against french delays.
Great SOTP,
Would like it if you did it more often so we can get price increase/ decrease from week to week.
Also would love to real investment speculation :)
As another writer that's always wanted to do a Preview Card, I thought this was a very interesting behind-the-scenes piece. There are times that I look at the card you get and think to myself "Oh, boy, how would I write about that one?". It's amazing how often you have delivered under those circumstances.
Hey, Kuma, great job! I have also liked your SotP the most so far, but I think it's been great how each person has had sections that they have done better than others. I enjoyed your Opinion Section and that you were able to do something different in the TECH section by focusing on the PRE players.
When you mentioned that the client is like a town, the image in my head immediately went to Animal Crossing...only a black and white "Sin City" version of Animal Crossing. That's what it's like on there 90% of the time at least.
I do agree that the PRE community does make it feel a little less bleak. It's the closest feeling to a "Local FNM" you can get on MTGO. Some of my favorite times playing online were in the big Blippy events of old: the chat rooms were always zany and friendly, especially when the matches were really close, and almost everybody was very respectful. (Every so often there would be a bad egg, but that was usually taken care of quickly.) It always bums me out that I'm in a time zone that is inconvenient for playing in your events, because they are very well run.
Nothing is less important than which flatware you use. Etiquette is the science of living. It embraces everything. It is ethics. It is honor.
https://nathanhorowicz.com
The game will require you to be better. Most especially if you have all the skills. - Morgan Exteriors
There is a need to be involved with the basic details. That is how you drop it. - Morgan Exteriors
Blessing happens anytime. It depends on how you see it. - Bath Planet
The whole world is trying to change it. Most especially when a lot of people are hooked on it. - Bath Planet
The challenge can be experienced. Most especially if people explore. - Marla Ahlgrimm
A lot would want to have business for it. As it is something that give income. - Marla Ahlgrimm
Great SOTP, liked your take on the price table and your deck analysis (while maybe not suited for the grinder, fun for those of us on the fringe).
Along the line of names, I have a daughter Pia that turned 5 a couple weeks back, I was extremely excited to see her name come up in MTG. I was equally elated to know that her card came after the name whereas my brother named his son Jace (based on JTMS). Feels good to be in the cool club of having MTG copy me rather than visa versa.
Either way, if you enjoy the game and are inspired enough to use the names, more power to ya.
Small announcement to go with this. I've made a public folder in which I can dump all of the data for articles like this on Google Drive. I explain this in a teensy bit more detail on my blog, along with a persistent link, so feel free to peruse the data to your heart's content:
https://oraymw.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/ars-arcanum-public-data/
Lizards are totally fun. Didn't consider the dredge Lizard, what a great idea :D will definitely see how many I can fit in the deck. Living Death is a 3 of in the deck. Never got to cast it against you because mana issues and you had me dead to rights one game on turn 3. (What I meant about easy button decks just oops/I win moments. Not that you don't have hard decisions sometimes...) I am running the deathtouching 3/3 lizard that just rotated from standard. But it might actually be too pricy at 5 mana to flip and it doesn't really recur very easily. (I do have some manifest cards in the deck but they aren't awesome.) The deck could do with some tuning up for sure.
Glad to play you, any time.
RE: Positivity. I assume what you mean is sometimes we get a little down on WOTC and that is a recurring theme because there is often something controversial to talk about. But we love the game, and its makers and that's why we talk about them and hope we are encouraging them to make positive changes that help the players have a better experience.
Thank you very much for the feedback and listening.
Thanks a lot to you too, Rick.
I think the planeswalker names try to be as much fantasy-sounding as possible, at least in the Modern era (with the old names, all bets are off.) But yeah, Liliana is definitely there, despite having an English/French last name for some reason.
And Serra is indeed a pretty common Italian surname (Michele Serra is a famous writer, "Luciano Serra pilota" is a film written by Rossellini, and Serra Riccò is a town not far from Genoa, where I live). Honestly, it didn't even occur to me until now, I guess I was taking it as some attempt at Latin. (And it's also just a common word meaning "greenhouse". So Serra Angel, which is translated "Angelo di Serra" in the Italian localization, sounds like these angels are grown in a greenhouse, which is wonderfully surreal).
Still, it's different to bear the same first name as Liliana, which is possibly flattering, as opposed to the same last name as Daretti (family names are more specific, after all). And the risk of coming off as racist while designing a set rooted in some existing culture is very real. Just think of the kind of blunders a set inspired simultaneously by Spanish and Portuguese and South American heritages could create. :)
When we get positive information, we are always more than delighted to share it, the good work done on the MOCS a case in point. :)