Magic the Gathering Tactics Review

[Greg Tito]

Magic the Gathering Tactics Review

Tactics are fun!

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[domicius]

Magic was always about dropping $$$. No surprise that the game hasn't changed.

 

[RvLeshrac]

Magic was always about dropping $$$. No surprise that the game hasn't changed.

Early on, MTG was a game of strategy. You could win with $20 worth of cards, total, even when facing people who seemed to have a substantial advantage in card power.

But, yes, the entire reason I stopped playing a decade ago was because it went from "You can win with raw strategy and mediocre cards" to "He who can spend the most automatically wins."

There was nothing wrong with giving a slight tactical advantage to rarer cards, but there's a point where "slight advantage" becomes "This Card's Controller Wins the Game on His or Her Next Turn"

 

[Optimystic]

Magic was always about dropping $$$. No surprise that the game hasn't changed.

If you want Magic fun without the cashgrab, get Duels of the Planeswalkers from XBLA. You don't have a whole lot of freedom in deck construction but at least you know the guy with the fattest wallet won't automatically curbstomp you either. You can then shell out for the expansions if you'd like a couple more decks available to you.

Captcha: orispa kalgebra - sounds like the incantation for a spell that does my math homework.

 

[Realitycrash]

Sorry, but the last Magic:The Gathering game for xbox got me so disappointed that I will never, EVER buy another one, unless they actually provide around 2k different cards and let you play virtual M:tG online.
Either give me a deck of cards, or stop making these games. Horrib, evil things -.-

Edit:

If you want Magic fun without the cashgrab, get Duels of the Planeswalkers from XBLA. You don't have a whole lot of freedom in deck construction but at least you know the guy with the fattest wallet won't automatically curbstomp you either. You can then shell out for the expansions if you'd like a couple more decks available to you.

Captcha: orispa kalgebra - sounds like the incantation for a spell that does my math homework.

Holy crap, I did not know this. Thanks for the info. Might even pick up my old Xbox Live subscription just for this.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

i just stay with my old duels of the planeswalkers on my old laptop

quite limited in cards and damn hard, but really fun

 

[engermanagement]

Magic was always about dropping $$$. No surprise that the game hasn't changed.

Early on, MTG was a game of strategy. You could win with $20 worth of cards, total, even when facing people who seemed to have a substantial advantage in card power.

But, yes, the entire reason I stopped playing a decade ago was because it went from "You can win with raw strategy and mediocre cards" to "He who can spend the most automatically wins."

There was nothing wrong with giving a slight tactical advantage to rarer cards, but there's a point where "slight advantage" becomes "This Card's Controller Wins the Game on His or Her Next Turn"

Sure, WOTC and Hasbro need to make money to keep the game afloat. If you want a way to play MtG with a low buy-in, do a draft or play a free online program like Cockatrice or Magic Workstation. As a matter of fact, Booster Drafts are probably some of the most skill-testing events in the Magic experience, and are always a flat rate of 10-15 bills.

For the record, Kuldotha Red is a Standard (Type 2) deck that can cost less than 40 bucks. It has one of the strongest matchups against the "super expensive" decks of the format.

Card prices are driven by player demand, not the company that makes them. Sure, mythic rares have driven up the price-curve, but there will always be a "budget" deck. That's how it's always been.

tl;dr: Magic really doesn't have to be that expensive, and it definitely isn't all about the most expensive cards.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

All "collectible"/gambling games should be considered a form of gambling and should be regulated by state gaming commissions, including prohibition against selling them to anyone under 18.

 

[hymie]

I'm pushing 50 hard, and that's how baseball cards were sold when I was a little kid. You got your bubblegum and your random assortment of cards, and you hoped to get the ones you really wanted. It's a little late in the game to start banning this now.

 

[Rack]

It's not just Mythic Rares, since they stopped printing cards like Lightning bolt and Rancor, then slowed the game down to enforce multi colour strategy it's been a while since you could do a deck with more than dozen uncommon/common cards, lands included. People really need to switch to Warhammer Invasion, if someone would do an online version of that then I;d really take notice.

Edit: So I'm pretty out of date after giving up Magic in disgust a few years ago with how money driven it had got. Seeing as how they have Rare dual lands that are just better than basics even in mono it's got a long way to go before it's not quite the money game it was in the day, but they have started printing usable commons.

 

[Mysnomer]

I decided I wouldn't play Tactics when I heard them say, "It has more strategy and depth than the actual card game." No, just no. That was a slap in the face to all the dedicated players of the game, and whoever green lit that should be demoted to janitor. Anyway, I'm off to play a tournament of real MtG, tra-la-la-la-la...

 

[Rey Bangs]

Or you can go play "Heroes of Might & Magic 5".
I wonder why you said nothing about it. I mean the fights are pretty similar looking + better grapics and a free to play campaign (after you bought the game ;-)

Man I really dont like these card games anymore, but still got some Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh cards at home... So much wasted money.

btw. I believe that was my first post so I should say: "Hello Forum"
or what?

 

[chazweber]

I still play MTG online for free with my friends and all of us decided to use cards that are only prior to 8th edition (or when the artwork changed and cards became way to powerful). We have a ton of fun but it is hard to find others who play the game before it got out of hand

 

[Blazingdragoon04]

Magic was always about dropping $$$. No surprise that the game hasn't changed.

Early on, MTG was a game of strategy. You could win with $20 worth of cards, total, even when facing people who seemed to have a substantial advantage in card power.

But, yes, the entire reason I stopped playing a decade ago was because it went from "You can win with raw strategy and mediocre cards" to "He who can spend the most automatically wins."

There was nothing wrong with giving a slight tactical advantage to rarer cards, but there's a point where "slight advantage" becomes "This Card's Controller Wins the Game on His or Her Next Turn"

Sure, WOTC and Hasbro need to make money to keep the game afloat. If you want a way to play MtG with a low buy-in, do a draft or play a free online program like Cockatrice or Magic Workstation. As a matter of fact, Booster Drafts are probably some of the most skill-testing events in the Magic experience, and are always a flat rate of 10-15 bills.

For the record, Kuldotha Red is a Standard (Type 2) deck that can cost less than 40 bucks. It has one of the strongest matchups against the "super expensive" decks of the format.

Card prices are driven by player demand, not the company that makes them. Sure, mythic rares have driven up the price-curve, but there will always be a "budget" deck. That's how it's always been.

tl;dr: Magic really doesn't have to be that expensive, and it definitely isn't all about the most expensive cards.

HAHA, have you even played in the last year, or do you just read the tournament reports. Yes, Kuldotha red is cheap, for the time being. But Goblin Guide and warzones are on the rise. Also, more importantly, the deck is not as good as you think it is. It does have the potential to win on turns 2 or 3, but this is with the god hand. Mediocre hands can sometimes get there, and crappy hands net you with 5 0 power creatures and nothing to do. So the deck's high variance will prevent it from ever becoming a good deck.

Enter Jace, the Mindsculptor, the poster boy of what Magic has become. 100 dollars for 1 of these bad boys, and most decks that play the color Blue play 4. If you play blue and don't play this card, you lose to blue decks that do. This card dominates the format, along with such other pricy mythics like Primeval Titan, and Tezzeret 2.0.

It is ridiculously expensive to make decks. You need to have access to at least 600-800 dollars to make a deck that will consistently win tournaments these days. This game is not going to change that in any way, since everyone would just rather play for free than spend that much money on cards that lose their value in a years time.

 

[tehroc]

It is ridiculously expensive to make decks. You need to have access to at least 600-800 dollars to make a deck that will consistently win tournaments these days. This game is not going to change that in any way, since everyone would just rather play for free than spend that much money on cards that lose their value in a years time.

This is why I only ever play booster draft tournaments.

 

[crimsonshrouds]

Am i the only one having trouble with theses videos? the sound isnt sinc with the video and the video is choppy. i have no problems with ZP, MB, and Extra credit.

 

[engermanagement]

Magic was always about dropping $$$. No surprise that the game hasn't changed.

Early on, MTG was a game of strategy. You could win with $20 worth of cards, total, even when facing people who seemed to have a substantial advantage in card power.

But, yes, the entire reason I stopped playing a decade ago was because it went from "You can win with raw strategy and mediocre cards" to "He who can spend the most automatically wins."

There was nothing wrong with giving a slight tactical advantage to rarer cards, but there's a point where "slight advantage" becomes "This Card's Controller Wins the Game on His or Her Next Turn"

Sure, WOTC and Hasbro need to make money to keep the game afloat. If you want a way to play MtG with a low buy-in, do a draft or play a free online program like Cockatrice or Magic Workstation. As a matter of fact, Booster Drafts are probably some of the most skill-testing events in the Magic experience, and are always a flat rate of 10-15 bills.

For the record, Kuldotha Red is a Standard (Type 2) deck that can cost less than 40 bucks. It has one of the strongest matchups against the "super expensive" decks of the format.

Card prices are driven by player demand, not the company that makes them. Sure, mythic rares have driven up the price-curve, but there will always be a "budget" deck. That's how it's always been.

tl;dr: Magic really doesn't have to be that expensive, and it definitely isn't all about the most expensive cards.

HAHA, have you even played in the last year, or do you just read the tournament reports. Yes, Kuldotha red is cheap, for the time being. But Goblin Guide and warzones are on the rise. Also, more importantly, the deck is not as good as you think it is. It does have the potential to win on turns 2 or 3, but this is with the god hand. Mediocre hands can sometimes get there, and crappy hands net you with 5 0 power creatures and nothing to do. So the deck's high variance will prevent it from ever becoming a good deck.

Enter Jace, the Mindsculptor, the poster boy of what Magic has become. 100 dollars for 1 of these bad boys, and most decks that play the color Blue play 4. If you play blue and don't play this card, you lose to blue decks that do. This card dominates the format, along with such other pricy mythics like Primeval Titan, and Tezzeret 2.0.

It is ridiculously expensive to make decks. You need to have access to at least 600-800 dollars to make a deck that will consistently win tournaments these days. This game is not going to change that in any way, since everyone would just rather play for free than spend that much money on cards that lose their value in a years time.

Bro, if we're going to get specific, I'm pretty sure Cawblade is dominating the format. So yeah, Jace, but mostly Gideon, Stoneforge and Feast/Famine. But whatever, you seem to have an iron grasp of what a "metagame" is.

Honestly though, if you need to spend a grand to win your local FNM, you're doing it wrong, not to mention, you're probably a netdecking scrub with no building skills. Be creative. The sweetest answers to Jace are commons and uncommons. Also, not literally everyone would rather play for free, or they would... and the game would stop getting published.

So, yes, to play professional caliber Magic, it takes a certain monetary investment, much like... anything... professional... but you need to keep in mind that 98% of people who shuffle Magic decks daily don't play on the Pro Tour.

Last, I'd like to ask, lol why you mad tho?

 

[Stammer]

I just downloaded it and gave it a shot. I dunno what's with tactical card games and early-game challenges but I almost got my ass handed to me on like the first 3 levels. Summons an invincible creature that deals 40 damage per turn, what the hell??

It's definitely fun, but I still love Yu-Gi-Oh Duellists of the Roses, and hands-down prefer it over this. It just sucks that it's completely offline.

 

[timeadept]

Magic was always about dropping $$$. No surprise that the game hasn't changed.

Early on, MTG was a game of strategy. You could win with $20 worth of cards, total, even when facing people who seemed to have a substantial advantage in card power.

But, yes, the entire reason I stopped playing a decade ago was because it went from "You can win with raw strategy and mediocre cards" to "He who can spend the most automatically wins."

There was nothing wrong with giving a slight tactical advantage to rarer cards, but there's a point where "slight advantage" becomes "This Card's Controller Wins the Game on His or Her Next Turn"

Sure, WOTC and Hasbro need to make money to keep the game afloat. If you want a way to play MtG with a low buy-in, do a draft or play a free online program like Cockatrice or Magic Workstation. As a matter of fact, Booster Drafts are probably some of the most skill-testing events in the Magic experience, and are always a flat rate of 10-15 bills.

For the record, Kuldotha Red is a Standard (Type 2) deck that can cost less than 40 bucks. It has one of the strongest matchups against the "super expensive" decks of the format.

Card prices are driven by player demand, not the company that makes them. Sure, mythic rares have driven up the price-curve, but there will always be a "budget" deck. That's how it's always been.

tl;dr: Magic really doesn't have to be that expensive, and it definitely isn't all about the most expensive cards.

HAHA, have you even played in the last year, or do you just read the tournament reports. Yes, Kuldotha red is cheap, for the time being. But Goblin Guide and warzones are on the rise. Also, more importantly, the deck is not as good as you think it is. It does have the potential to win on turns 2 or 3, but this is with the god hand. Mediocre hands can sometimes get there, and crappy hands net you with 5 0 power creatures and nothing to do. So the deck's high variance will prevent it from ever becoming a good deck.

Enter Jace, the Mindsculptor, the poster boy of what Magic has become. 100 dollars for 1 of these bad boys, and most decks that play the color Blue play 4. If you play blue and don't play this card, you lose to blue decks that do. This card dominates the format, along with such other pricy mythics like Primeval Titan, and Tezzeret 2.0.

It is ridiculously expensive to make decks. You need to have access to at least 600-800 dollars to make a deck that will consistently win tournaments these days. This game is not going to change that in any way, since everyone would just rather play for free than spend that much money on cards that lose their value in a years time.

Bro, if we're going to get specific, I'm pretty sure Cawblade is dominating the format. So yeah, Jace, but mostly Gideon, Stoneforge and Feast/Famine. But whatever, you seem to have an iron grasp of what a "metagame" is.

Honestly though, if you need to spend a grand to win your local FNM, you're doing it wrong, not to mention, you're probably a netdecking scrub with no building skills. Be creative. The sweetest answers to Jace are commons and uncommons. Also, not literally everyone would rather play for free, or they would... and the game would stop getting published.

So, yes, to play professional caliber Magic, it takes a certain monetary investment, much like... anything... professional... but you need to keep in mind that 98% of people who shuffle Magic decks daily don't play on the Pro Tour.

Last, I'd like to ask, lol why you mad tho?

Hold on i just had a look at "Jace, the Mind Sculptor" I've been away from the game for a bit and i'm not very familiar with Planes Walkers and Exile. Namely Exile though, I looked up the rules for that and it looks like for 12 (counters?) Jace removes the opposing players ENTIRE library from the game? They don't come back over the a period of time or anything, and theres no way to get them back? That sounds incredibly broken for something you can do 5 turns after the card comes into play. But maybe there are rules with the Planes Walkers i don't know about that balances it.

In any case, i'm not exactly stoked about having to buy individual spells or even boosters to be competitive in MTG Tactics. It just seems silly to add in the card collecting aspect to a TBS game. It just doesn't make much scene to me to limit the players abilities to how much they're willing to spend + a random factor.

Idk i absolutely LOVE MTG TCG, but i always felt like i could do just as well with a bunch of commons and uncommon (and a few rares) put together in creative ways as i could if someone gave me an infinite budget to spend on cards. But in Tactics you don't even get the joy of crafting your deck. But then i haven't tried tactics yet, so maybe i'm wrong, but then i'm not planning on spending money on it when I do, so maybe i'll never know.

One last thing though, i've seen multilayer TBS done before, maybe it was just poorly done, but the game took FOREVER if it had more than 2 people, and still a long time if it was just 2, but magic could be long too so IDK.