A List of Riptiders Who Actually Play Magic
- Thread starter safra
- Start date
Dom Harvey
Contributor
magic is for nerds
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Well, I'm playing commander this Friday, so right back at ya! 
I uh... play my custom pack wars format on the reg!
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Does arena count?
Damn. Safra got us
I do an FNM draft like once a month!
Actually, I've been playing a LOT since Arena dropped. It's why I'm redesigning my cube from the ground up, because so many of its assumptions were built on theory rather than actual practice.
Now, getting 8 people together to draft, you may as well ask if I've ridden a unicorn lately.
Actually, I've been playing a LOT since Arena dropped. It's why I'm redesigning my cube from the ground up, because so many of its assumptions were built on theory rather than actual practice.
Now, getting 8 people together to draft, you may as well ask if I've ridden a unicorn lately.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
okay but for real i'm really enjoying drafting non-stop in Arena whenever I have free time. I'm not sure if it's that I'm actually good by accident, or (my guess) it takes a while to rank up to the right MMR rating, but according to a post-it note I've been keeping I've won (5- or 7-wins) like 20 drafts, each of which pays for like two more drafts...it's absurd. This means that I have all the random constructed mythics and rares to play a couple different flavours of hot garbage, and I'm crushing the quick constructed and sometimes the comp. constructed queues pretty handily as well.
Pete mentioned in his new Cube redesign thread that he's actively playing a lot more Magic than previously thanks to Arena. Me too! And it's made me really appreciate certain cards that I just wouldn't have if I hadn't played with them in Standard. For example: Vraska's Contempt. It's a four mana answer! I only run a couple of those, and on paper, Contempt felt clunky in a cube already running Hero's Downfall. But getting to play with it in Standard, where I didn't have Downfall, made me really appreciate every element of the card; it's a four mana answer you're always happy to cast, which really is spectacular. The 2 life is so relevant (like most free lifegain), which I just hadn't expected. And so now I'm cubing Downfall AND Contempt.
Anyone else have any cards they're giving a second look after playing with them in Standard?
Pete mentioned in his new Cube redesign thread that he's actively playing a lot more Magic than previously thanks to Arena. Me too! And it's made me really appreciate certain cards that I just wouldn't have if I hadn't played with them in Standard. For example: Vraska's Contempt. It's a four mana answer! I only run a couple of those, and on paper, Contempt felt clunky in a cube already running Hero's Downfall. But getting to play with it in Standard, where I didn't have Downfall, made me really appreciate every element of the card; it's a four mana answer you're always happy to cast, which really is spectacular. The 2 life is so relevant (like most free lifegain), which I just hadn't expected. And so now I'm cubing Downfall AND Contempt.
Anyone else have any cards they're giving a second look after playing with them in Standard?
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Experimental Frenzy has been much hyped by my friends, so I've built mono red on arena to see what the hype is all about.
Drew 3 in my first game (Still crushed it though)
Drew 3 in my first game
(Still crushed it though)
i did just get that one and conclave tribunal. missing fireminds research. didnt do dominaria. this is a pretty great border with the white text
i like whisperwood elemental. metallurgic summoning. primordial mist. qasili slingers is a good spot between uktabi orangutan and mold shambler. and the leonin warleader . feels somewhere right below brimaz
i like whisperwood elemental. metallurgic summoning. primordial mist. qasili slingers is a good spot between uktabi orangutan and mold shambler. and the leonin warleader . feels somewhere right below brimaz
Is it wrong of me to want to hear about what went wrong? I learned a lot from the unsatisfactory aspects the last time I ran my cube, and am wondering if there's any lessons to be gleamed!
Maybe it was just the vibe/crew...couldn't put my finger on it. It's the first time I've cubed and didn't have fun. I'm also not sure that I'm in love with the environment I've crafted...it's a little laborious and intense at times.
I feel that laboriousness is a general problem with MTG sometimes. Funny since it started as a quick and easy game in between DnD sessions. Now I find myself planning out entire afternoons around "Playing Magic". It's a very intense game these days. Which is probably why it's almost fallen completely off my schedule.
I have periods where I'm back into the game and then I'm out again. I'll keep up for a bit, maybe get a little more invested into Modern or EDH stuff, then kind of dip out for a month. Cube doesn't happen as often with most people in my main playgroup having moved out of town after graduating from university in the last two years or just busy with work/other stuff (like me). I try out whatever the new set is at FNM by drafting for maybe 2-3 weeks depending on how much I like a set, but then I lose interest. I mostly just pick up cards to swap in and out of my cube and EDH decks and play too infrequently to really test them out for real. I play EDH like once a month and cube maybe every 3 months or so. It's just too hard to organize a 6-8 man draft with people I actually like, and I don't trust randoms at LGS with my cube because too many Magic players are shitty.
I've roped a few friends into doing a sort of cube month in the near future, as soon as I get those Cubeamajig packs since I bought a set for each of their respective cubes with the condition that we run each of them with the packs.
I've roped a few friends into doing a sort of cube month in the near future, as soon as I get those Cubeamajig packs since I bought a set for each of their respective cubes with the condition that we run each of them with the packs.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
3 rounds of cube is like what, 5 hours?
I've managed to get a good group of like 12 people who happen to be on and off again at different times, so we can usually pull 6 together.
It is a lot like herding cats though
I've managed to get a good group of like 12 people who happen to be on and off again at different times, so we can usually pull 6 together.
It is a lot like herding cats though
It doesn't have to be. Back when I ran weekly 8-mans we would launch at 8 and finish around 11:30. I think a lot of that though was having a set up bracket system ahead of time, so people could just fire off their matches as soon as they were ready, rather than waiting for the whole round to complete.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
We do have 1-2 player who are drastically slower than the rest of the crew