General CBS

[Chris Taylor]

I mean sure, but is that just the nadu problem writ small?
Like they pre-banned Cranial Ram knowing it was going to be a problem, at least Crysalis pushes a previously bad/unknown archetype up?

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

I mean sure, but is that just the nadu problem writ small?
Like they pre-banned Cranial Ram knowing it was going to be a problem, at least Crysalis pushes a previously bad/unknown archetype up?

Sure. I wouldn't say it's any indication MH3 was "problematic". Arguably it did what it indented to do which is shake up existing non-rotating formats.

 

[Velrun]

Sure. I wouldn't say it's any indication MH3 was "problematic". Arguably it did what it indented to do which is shake up existing non-rotating formats.

And rotate out existing cards. This is the most important part.

 

[Rusje]

And rotate out existing cards. This is the most important part.

Rotate? Did you mean make obsolete or did modern change which sets were allowed?

 

[Velrun]

Rotate? Did you mean make obsolete or did modern change which sets were allowed?

Wizards have since Time Spiral block decided what cards are useful in each sanctioned format. They have different tools at their disposal. Among those tools are things like their Future Future League, set rotations and set releases. For formats like Modern, Legacy and Commander they invented a new method or tool not many years ago. They print new versions of existing cards to obsolete (to use your word) that specific existing card and print power crept cards (in the original meaning of the word ‘power creep’) to obsolete other existing cards. The reason why this is a new method/tool is because these sets are created with the format ruling that they go straight to Modern, Legacy and Commander and therefore skip Standard as the previously normal organic way. Fans have called this new method for rotation. Experts, content creators and writers have also. Even spokesmen from Wizards of the Coast have also a few times but don’t ask me to find those quotations. The argument here is that there is no practical difference between Wizards deciding to obsolete cards due to this new method and having the cards rotate like in old times. It’s the same result and for the same reason.

Does this answer your question thoroughly?

 

[TekLazar]

In a way, Yu-Gi-Oh has also been doing the same thing for years. Not sure if I want Magic going that route but I fell out of Modern a long time ago so I don't particularly care.

 

[LadyMapi]

In a way, Yu-Gi-Oh has also been doing the same thing for years. Not sure if I want Magic going that route but I fell out of Modern a long time ago so I don't particularly care.

I think it says something that "Yu-Gi-Oh, but only cards printed up to 2005" and "Yu-Gi-Oh, but only cards printed up to 2010" are the two most popular unofficial formats. Come to think of it, I have seen more people bring up Pre-Modern lately...

(Personally, if I had to make a "time capsule" format for Magic, I'd probably go with Lorwyn (October 2007) to Dominaria (April 2018). Does this have anything to do with when I got into Magic? Maybe...)

 

[Kirblinx]

I mean, there's also



The decision to make this thing a common was an interesting one, to say the least.

Writhing Chrysalis is played in a popular deck in Pauper

Rasmus gets it.

It basically pushed Pauper Ponza to Tier 1, unless things have shifted around a bit in the last month or so (turns out getting COVID messes with you - who knew?)

*Cries in Pauper* (Insert Sob emoji here)

 

[Velrun]

Come to think of it, I have seen more people bring up Pre-Modern lately...

I have three friends who like to play this format also.

I personally think the way Magic were doing things were super fine all the way up to Universes Beyond, Secret Lairs with mechanically unique cards and straight-to-non-rotating format releases.

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

Come to think of it, I have seen more people bring up Pre-Modern lately...

I think Pre-Modern looks cool, but I fear it's one of those "doomed" formats you can't really get your friends to start playing, because some of the important cards are prohibitively expensive and not being reprinted.

Say what you will about commander, but at least it's today a pretty well supported format economically. (I recall Sol Ring being super expensive back in the day, but I have to admit that I think WotC have been pretty good at choosing what cards to reprint for commander).

 

[Velrun]

Say what you will about commander, but at least it's today a pretty well supported format economically. (I recall Sol Ring being super expensive back in the day, but I have to admit that I think WotC have been pretty good at choosing what cards to reprint for commander).

What about Mana Crypt? The card that every Commander deck runs.

 

[gaytransmulldrifter]

I feel like if your friends aren't cool with proxying cards for a format that isn't even sanctioned then your friends suck lmao

 

[Velrun]

I feel like if your friends aren't cool with proxying cards for a format that isn't even sanctioned then your friends suck lmao

We play with proxies. But I believe there are more different kinds of qualities to all the million different types of friendships we humans can have than financial and moral agreement. Some people just believe Wizards deserve money for their products and I am not going to say that they suck just because they think like this.

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

I feel like if your friends aren't cool with proxying cards for a format that isn't even sanctioned then your friends suck lmao

I asked in the local premodern facebook group if they were fine with proxies and several people responded with "it's against the spirit of the format", so at least here in Stockholm the premodern scene is very grognardy.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

What about Mana Crypt? The card that every Commander deck runs.

They do where you play? Almost no one here in my (135 members strong) play group runs Mana Crypt, unless they are running high power list. Competitive commander is a very different ball game though. I'm pretty sure most casual commanders don't run Mana Crypt. Still, there's stuff like Dockside Extortionist that goes for €80, and that is a staple.

 

[Velrun]

They do where you play? Almost no one here in my (135 members strong) play group runs Mana Crypt, unless they are running high power list. Competitive commander is a very different ball game though. I'm pretty sure most casual commanders don't run Mana Crypt. Still, there's stuff like Dockside Extortionist that goes for €80, and that is a staple.

Could it be… and I’m just using my brain here.. that the reason why your friends don’t run it is… the price tag? Kabooom!

Because the card should be run the same as Sol Ring, Mana Vault etc.

It proves my point!

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Could it be… and I’m just using my brain here.. that the reason why your friends don’t run it is… the price tag? Kabooom!

Because the card should be run the same as Sol Ring, Mana Vault etc.

It proves my point!

No, we actually have a sort of guideline here for gauging the power level of Commander decks (we used a publicly available one), and a critical mass of fast mana is actually indicative of a high power level. For out regular commander games we aim for a lower power level, so Sol Ring is actually the only fast acceleration run usually. Mana Vault isn’t run either, for example.

 

[Velrun]

No, we actually have a sort of guideline here for gauging the power level of Commander decks (we used a publicly available one), and a critical mass of fast mana is actually indicative of a high power level. For out regular commander games we aim for a lower power level, so Sol Ring is actually the only fast acceleration run usually. Mana Vault isn’t run either, for example.

Why Sol Ring and not Mana Crypt?

 

[Velrun]

The answer: Mana Crypt is a Commander staple card sitting at 180 Euro as cheapest variant on Cardmarket. Therefore people run Sol Ring instead.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

They do where you play? Almost no one here in my (135 members strong) play group runs Mana Crypt, unless they are running high power list. Competitive commander is a very different ball game though. I'm pretty sure most casual commanders don't run Mana Crypt. Still, there's stuff like Dockside Extortionist that goes for €80, and that is a staple.

Yeah, in my experience casual players don't tend to splurge on cards unless they're "high impact immediately win the game" effects like Dockside Extortionist. Mana Crypt? Mana Vault? Why would they spend money on mana when they could buy more cards they think are "actually good" like Delney, Streetwise Lookout, Roaming Throne, and Themberchaud? Won't somebody think of the Themberchauds??

 

[Onderzeeboot]

The answer: Mana Crypt is a Commander staple card sitting at 180 Euro as cheapest variant on Cardmarket. Therefore people run Sol Ring instead.

People don't run Sol Ring instead of Mana Crypt, they run Sol Ring because it's in every single Commander precon.

 

[Velrun]

People don't run Sol Ring instead of Mana Crypt, they run Sol Ring because it's in every single Commander precon.

And therefore it has become a cheap card. Mana Crypt isn’t even though they are both going into the exact same decks if it wasn’t for the price difference.

 

[Brad]

Check out https://commandersherald.com/games/spellify if you haven't already. Gives a card where all the information is blanked out and you have to figure out what card it is. I thought it was fun. Only 2 cards per day.

Rules and example of the August 26 normal mode card.

I actually got the card in 0 guesses because I recognized the creature type could basically only be one thing and then _ _ / _ _ with two circles in the text box led me to the answer.

 

[Velrun]

How does one guess something using 0 guesses?

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

How does one guess something using 0 guesses?

By knowing and not guessing