There is a difference between playing “kitchen table” Magic, and going to a qualifying tournament. Kitchen table Magic is when you are casually playing with family and friends in a non-competitive environment. Kitchen table Magic is where most players start, and is the most difficult to transition out of. Casual environments are a good place for more fun and quirky decks to develop which, more often than not, cannot hold their ground in a competitive environment. If you are playing to win, you need to be able to remove elements from the deck that are not directly winning or assisting you in winning the game. Knowing when a deck needs a card removed is an important skill in magic, and can require many play-throughs to be able to do effectively. Another problem with transitioning from a casual deck to a competitive deck is changing a deck based on the meta-game. “Meta-game” is what decks make up your play area. A card that strictly destroys an artifact may be good when all the opponents you have run artifact decks, but may be terrible in a competitive environment where no one is running an artifact deck. The important part of transitioning from casual to competitive magic is remember to still try to have fun if you can. Magic is intended to be a fun and friendly, and it is important to keep that in mind when you are building a deck. Do not force yourself to play a deck you do not like solely for the sake of winning.
Dillon Baca
mtgcompetitivemeta@gmail.com
Richardson, TX 75007.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
What is Standard? (How to transition into competitive play)
Magic the Gathering releases each of its sets as part of a yearly themed block with three sets in each block. Along with these yearly blocks, Wizards also releases a core set once every year, making a total of four sets each year. Standard, as defined by Wizards of the Coast, is “the current block, the block that was released the previous October, and the most recent core set…” ("Wizards of the Coast"). Standard is one of the more commonly supported formats for Magic players, and it is hosted every Friday at most comic book stores around the world in an event called Friday Night Magic, or FNM. Most players who are looking to become more competitive start out at FNMs, which give them a change to test out their decks with other players. When making the transition into Standard, the best starting place is to make sure the cards you want to use are from the Standard format. If you do not have cards or a deck already, many comic book stores offer pre-made decks. Although most of these decks tend to not be very competitive, they provide a good starting place for new Magic players. Trying out different decks and different colors will give you a feel on what type of deck you want to be playing in Standard. There are only a few sets in Standard so the different decks that can be made have less variety. However, the smaller card library makes learning cards easier.
Dillon Baca
mtgcompetitivemeta@gmail.com
Richardson, TX 75007.
Sanctioned Formats. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved from http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Resources.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/resources/formats-sanctioned
Dillon Baca
mtgcompetitivemeta@gmail.com
Richardson, TX 75007.
Sanctioned Formats. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved from http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Resources.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/resources/formats-sanctioned
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Introductory Post
The meta-game for the collectible card game,
Magic the Gathering, is constantly changing and evolving. What is known as the “meta-game”
for Magic is all of the different competitive decks that are popular and being
used in the competitive world. Keeping up with all of the differences for the meta-game
in Magic is a challenge, and is often a frustrating barrier to bypass for new
players("TappedOut," 2013). Easily accessible information is difficult to find, and this blog will
change that.
My solution to this problem is to have one location where all of the most recent information is compiled in one place in an easy to read format, hence this blog. Having a Magic blog will provide any player curious about shifts in the meta-game with a single place to look for any information and changes to the game explained by a player who is actively involved in the meta-game. I am an active member in the Magic community and frequently discuss the meta-game with experienced Magic players all across the Dallas area, like Richard Vo, Cameron Watkins, and Nathaniel Lawrence. I have been playing the game for over twelve years, and have the skills and insight to easily condense Magic information for newer players. My extensive knowledge and experience with the game will allow me to present this information in a way to reader’s that is clear, concise, and understandable.
Information on the meta-game for Magic will provide new players with an informative introduction to the competitive world of Magic. Having a solitary, clear, and concise source for players is necessary to allow the Magic community to grow and expand. This matter is important to allow players to begin receiving this information.
Dillon Baca
Players who join the competitive Magic community
immediately find themselves confronted by a variety of different decks. Many of
these decks can be comprised of cards that players are not accustomed to. To become
accustomed to these decks, players try to familiarize themselves by reading
articles about them. Articles can be found online at popular websites like
TCGPlayer, StarCityGames, and TappedOut, which have a variety of different
articles and sources ("StarCityGames," 2013). However, these sources can have a variety of problems in
their articles, ranging from being unclear, full of jargon, and confusing to a
new player. A good example of this is an article featured on TCGPlayer titled,
The Three Best Proactive Decks in Standard by Craig Wescoe, uses phrases and
terminology the reader can find confusing, featuring placeholder names like, “Pro Tour Gatecrash: Jund Aggro,
Geist Deck Wins, and The Aristocrats”
(Craig Wescoe, 2013)("TCGPlayer," 2013). Confusing jargon like this is usually a turn away for
most players, and needs to be eliminated.
My solution to this problem is to have one location where all of the most recent information is compiled in one place in an easy to read format, hence this blog. Having a Magic blog will provide any player curious about shifts in the meta-game with a single place to look for any information and changes to the game explained by a player who is actively involved in the meta-game. I am an active member in the Magic community and frequently discuss the meta-game with experienced Magic players all across the Dallas area, like Richard Vo, Cameron Watkins, and Nathaniel Lawrence. I have been playing the game for over twelve years, and have the skills and insight to easily condense Magic information for newer players. My extensive knowledge and experience with the game will allow me to present this information in a way to reader’s that is clear, concise, and understandable.
Information on the meta-game for Magic will provide new players with an informative introduction to the competitive world of Magic. Having a solitary, clear, and concise source for players is necessary to allow the Magic community to grow and expand. This matter is important to allow players to begin receiving this information.
Dillon Baca
Richardson, TX 75007.
Citations
Craig Wescoe. (2013, February
22). The three best proactive decks in standard.
MTG Deck Builder and Community.
(n.d.). TappedOut. Retrieved from http://tappedout.net
SET. (n.d.). Magic The Gathering
Strategy, News, Decks, Price Guide and an Online Card Store. TCGPlayer.
Retrieved from http://magic.tcgplayer.com/
Star City Games - Articles.
(n.d.). Star City Games - World's Largest Magic: The Gathering Store!.
Retrieved from http://www.starcitygames.com/tags
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