256: The Magic of Spike and Timmy

[Patrick Jarrett]

The Magic of Spike and Timmy

Magic: The Gathering has been around for a long time, and that's because it appeals to a broad spectrum of players. Patrick Jarrett explains who Spike, Timmy and Johnny are to the Magic design team.

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[crotalidian]

I dabbled with MTG for a while and while I enjoyed some drafting and working with new cards, the format I enjoyed most was the EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) format which involves a deck of 100 cards, where the only card you can have more than one of is basic land and a 'general' which is a legendary creature which can be summoned at any time from out of play (costs more each time) this allowed me to see and experience a huge range of card combinations.

The best part however was being able to play 3,4 and 5 player games which were fun and socaible with plenty of card banter, working together and against each other in matches that could last an entire evening.

I lost touch quickly after moving cities and doubt I will get back to it (time, money etc) but it was a great experience while it lasted

 

[carpathic]

I have friends that have played this game for years. They compare the strategy and subtlety to chess.

I have just never really enjoyed it. Though, sending huge fireballs always seemed fun.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I'm a Timmy. But not with big creatures...with Cancel and it's ilk.

As long as I piss you off with my blue decks, I'm happy. As long as I cancel one thing...I'm happy.

 

[Syntax Error]

I'm a Timmy. But not with big creatures...with Cancel and it's ilk.

As long as I piss you off with my blue decks, I'm happy. As long as I cancel one thing...I'm happy.

I had the best of both worlds. My Blue-based Broodstar-Affinity from way back when combined the Timmy-ness of a turn-3 8/8 Flyer with the control options for the more drawn-out matches (rarely happened, though. My matches back then only lasted 5-7 turns on average. A bit longer if I get a bad hand).

 

[Outright Villainy]

I've only played a few games with my friend but I quite enjoyed it. I might be getting more into it in the future. I've only really played Black and red decks so far, and my friend uses blue primarily. What usually happens is he'll kick my ass for 90% of the game and then the stars align and I find a way to trounce him quickly in 3 moves by the end. It feels damn good!

 

[Ildecia]

i'm a combination of spike and johnny

as a magic player for well over 7 years, its been fun to make a deck and see what all of the combination of cards do.
I'm probably a bit spike only because in my circle of friends, I'm expected to win? and i usually do

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

I think most games have these three player types in one way or another.

Take MvC2, for example, a game I'm very familiar with.

There are the Timmies who choose a cool character and smile ear-to-ear when they manage to land a big combo or spectacular super move. These players are very common in the 'lower levels', but that doesn't mean they all suck - they're often very good at doing exactly what they like, even though they won't win any tournaments doing it.
There are the Johnnies who choose an odd or interesting character and try to be creative and explore the less-popular options. I recall one player who played King almost exclusively, even though she is widely considered the worst character in the game (she's fun to play though), but he still won matches because people never expect King and he was simply very good at using a sub-par character.
Finally, there are the Spikes who use a team like Sagat/Sakura/Blanka or any of the other 'top-tier' combinations and focus on 'mastering' the game.

Most RTS games also have examples like this.
Timmies like to turtle so they can build up a huge army and upgrade it, then try to steamroll the enemy in a glorious charge.
Johnnies like to use synergistic units and units with cool 'special abilities'.
Spikes use whatever they need to win.

 

[gmer412]

Timmy, mostly, with some spike. My first deck was devoted to getting (what I thought at the time were) the best creatures available out onto the field. It's the only original deck of mine which I still have now, albeit with substantial improvements. I dabble in all sorts of stuff at the moment, and have a group of friends who all play during lunch at school. It's a really nice way to see my friends outside of school. I really like that the escapist is recognizing the uniqueness of the profiles; it seems to me that few games strive to recognize the subtleties in their audiences and to appeal to different types. Maybe that's just me.

 

[Ringwraith]

I always wondered where the unglued and unhinged cards Timmy, Power Gamer [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=9786] and Johnny, Combo Player [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=74271] got their names (and abilities) from. Seems they stem from the approach to making the cards in the first place, that also means we have yet to get a Spike, though I suspect the only way that could fit was if it had 'Win the game' somewhere on it, and in keeping with the theme of the previous two, would be far too cheap in cost to be balanced. Not that the Un- sets pride themselves on balance all that much, they focus on being funny or purely bizarre.

I'm a casual player, though I haven't bought a set since Time Spiral, as I found it a bit too expensive to continue buying them, and that was only set that I had any amount of cards from after the Tempest cycle (as most of my cards come from my dad's old collection). I'm probably a Timmy and Johnny mix, due to the fact I've built many a deck that does some crazy things, including one deck that's almost guaranteed to lose (though it does pull a victory on rare occasions). I've had fun with Aluren [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=4747], (which became named the 'Loop Deck' as it could pull off insane numbers of infinite combos, infinite mana [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=136040] in particular), Fool's Demise [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=126294],(with some damageless [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=122442] killing [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=125877] methods for good measure), Mishra [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=113539], (which was the only coloured card in the deck), and even Kher Keep [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=113553], the aforementioned deck that's built to lose. I've had fun building these oddball decks and even more fun playing them, particularity when they manage to win, particularity with some of them which are very unlikely to work. I've even a built a deck for multiplayer (where most of my decks are designed for) whose sole purpose is mess around with everyone's decks and cause as much general havoc as possible.

That's not to say I don't build 'regular' decks, I have quite a few not built around certain cards, but everything almost always has a theme, like a white deck stuffed with flanking knights, or a blue/white deck full of costly flying powerhouses [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=106645].

It's intriguing to know that they have picked up on these ideas and continue to make cards to appeal to the different approaches to the game, there are some cards that I've seen that I've thought it would be fun to build a deck around, either for the sheer narrowness of its use [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=136048] or just for being insanely difficulty to cast [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=179496].

I may grumble about how about the new cards vastly overpower old ones, (I remember the time when you were lucky to get a 2/2 for two mana, I loved the Black [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=2088] and White [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=2371] Knights because of this), but I still love those new cards that are really quirky and are just begging to have a deck built around them.
That's if I'm not already thinking of another way to use my old card collection to outwit the more-powerful newer decks in some creative fashion.

 

[Deofuta]

Hmm different games call for different strategies for myself I suppose. In my favorite genre (RTS) I'd say I am a Johnnie, I love to find a special combination of pure awesome that may or may not win, but sure as hell makes my opponent go something along the lines of "Wait, What?"

 

[Marmooset]

I'm a Timmy. ... As long as I piss you off with my blue decks, I'm happy.

Wouldn't that make you a Tim?

 

[Haywire]

I'm a johnny with a dollop of spike.

Years ago the I'd spend a lot of my afternoons after school building decks in front of the tv. I'd spend 10 hours or so week on my own, just looking at cards, researching possible strategies and most importantly working out what cards were in my budget. I'd make an undulating mess that would expand to fill the entire room as cards were filed according to necessity, utility, proximity to cards that worked well together, and all kinds of other reasons (until my parents came home).

I may also (smugly) add that by the time I hit university I consistently made decks that surprised, infuriated and impressed the people I played with. And always on a tight budget - dual lands and bomb rares were a pipe dream for me (as well as being unecessary ).

Anyway, that's my trip down memory lane, haven't played much since roughly Time Spiral.

 

[Ravek]

Ah, I used to devour Rosewater's articles about game design, even though I had never been an active Magic player. Good times.

 

[Proteus214]

Definitely a Johnny (with a little Timmy too). The decks that I used to play would always have some sort of engine that I would power the victory. Once I started rolling, all the opponent can do is sit there and wait for defeat either by getting drawn out with one spell, getting their entire deck eviscerated so that all they can draw is land (I <3 Haunting Echoes), or just waiting while I draw as many cards as I want and play as many creatures as I want (Expo-HoG FTW).

 

[Crimson_Dragoon]

Oh Magic. Whenever I think I'm done with you, you always draw me back in.

I'm mostly a Timmy, with a little bit of Johnny, though I have no issues with pre-made decks. I currently have a slightly modified pre-made zombie deck that is oh so much fun to play.

By the way, was that the BFM behind the Timmy player's card? If so, then that's horrifying.

 

[nmaster64]

100% pure Johnny here.

 

[Captain Pancake]

I'm a mix of Timmy and Johnny I don't win often enough to be a Spike, but my deck is a weird one, being light and all. Most of my damage comes from my creatures, but it can be almost as insidious as a blue deck with some of the instants I pack.

 

[wikicated]

im definetly not a spike hybrid of timmy and johnny sometimes ill have a game in my hand and continue to build up cretures and the other player will get the card he needs and screw me over when i could've won ten turns ago, why does he do this to himself you may ask? well i have no fucking clue.

 

[Tolerant Fanboy]

A bit of a redundant read, but only because I read MaRo's articles every week, so I know the psychographics as well as I do that he used to write for Roseanne and that restrictions breed creativity.

Also, definitely Johnny/Timmy. I love infinite combos, weird wrinkles, and, in any game, discovering bizarre little twists and extras.