Magic is stale
General forum
Posted on March 8, 2016, 7:14 p.m. by UpperDeckerTaco
So, I've played Standard for a few years now, and have played modern for about a year now. I must say, Standard has reached a very stale environment ever since Khans block was released. No one wants to try different decks. The top decks have been the same since their initial Existence. Talk about boring. Shadows Over Innistrad cannot come at a quicker time. As far as modern goes, Eldrazi running rampant everywhere. At the PT, it was fine because it was a new deck to the public's eye, and now, it's making me lose interest in modern. With the price tag of legacy being so hefty, and modern and standard being boring as crap nowadays, all that remains for me is EDH, and even then it can feel stale at some points because of the lack of diverse playgroups out there. Anyone else experiencing this? Don't get me wrong I still love Magic, but they need to manage it better.
InfiniteParadoX says... #3
Canadian Highlander is, while small, one of the most diverse formats in existence. Events at my lgs regularly get 35 people and the last one had 33 different decks. That isn't unusual. If you get your lgs or playgroup into it it can be incredibly fun.
March 8, 2016 7:34 p.m.
Its not up to wizards to "manage" the meta game they make cards and they balance limited and the players figure out what is good in constructed formats. Standard since khans came out has actually been pretty diverse just because there was always a deck running siege rhinos does not mean that was the only deck or that the meta was not diverse. Modern has definitely been a shitstorm that just happened because of the eldrazi but something IS getting banned guaranteed so that should liven things up a bit. Honestly being stale is all up to the person who is bored if you dont like the top decks just build something you like and if it does not do well then fix it and make it better and have fun in the process. You could also try some new niche formats like pauper and tiny leaders to just liven things up around where you live if you feel like all they do is just play the same stuff.
March 8, 2016 7:38 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #5
EDH has always had diversity and always will. The only issue with its diversity are the people who make the same decks. ANYONE can make a Maelstrom Wanderer deck that's competitive, and thats makes most people want to. People find lists that are good and copy them instead of making their own things and brainstorming like the format should encourage.
get a fun playgroup, one without netdeckers and spikes, one with people who care more about laughing than playing the game, and have fun with them. edh and cube with them, do unhinged edh things, do themes. Whatever is fun.
avoid people who just see a good deck and copy. Avoid people who hold grudges, who bitch and moan about you winning, and who just aren't competent in general.
March 8, 2016 7:38 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME being competitive is not a bad thing though.
March 8, 2016 7:55 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #7
@TreeCat it isn't a bad thing. Its great for winning and giving it all you've got, but in a situation where most of the time its you and friends wanting to have a casual game, ending that shit on turn 5 isn't very fun.
as I like to put it, we came to play, not start the game over repeatedly.
March 8, 2016 7:58 p.m. Edited.
DragonFaceEater says... #8
How I manage is I build a lot of decks and see if they are good. Like, if you look on my profile, you can see a lot of decks and none of them are your run-of-the-mill Eldrazi or Affinity decks. Playing against eldrazi is completely different with a Superfriends deck than it is with a Combo deck or a Zombie Tribal Aggro deck. I don't know if it's just me, but I can't sit there and play with one deck fifty games in a row. I'd like to take a break with one deck and play another for a while. Either that or make my deck different every time you play it. And by that I don't mean making a 100-card deck full of only one-ofs, I mean having a regular deck, but make it so that you can change the playstyle during a game, or inbetween games without changing cards. Like, for example, my Superfriends deck. (for reference click here: Removal? Vraskas are my removal! It has planeswalkers and proliferation. I can, if I want to, make my goal with Vraska the Unseen to final as quickly as possible, or to kill a creature every time she can. Planeswalkers are kind of like commands. When you play them you can choose whatever suits your needs. I could use Kiora, the Crashing Wave to Fog a creature if there's a big threat, or I could use her to draw cards if I need card advantage. So playing decks that are full of cards that do different stuff is like playing a different deck each game, so the deck doesn't get bland. So I guess my suggestion would be to just build different decks and test them out against other popular decks and see if you can find an obscure deck that can kill the pro decks without them knowing it even existed. It's really fun, and can bring some interest back to the game. I hope this helped! :)
March 8, 2016 7:58 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #9
DERPLINGSUPREME: You see the thing is that I have exactly the opposite philosophy. I came to play, not durdle around for 4 hours.
March 8, 2016 8:06 p.m.
I mean I am a competitive person but not normally in edh. I do however work hard to make my main edh deck somewhat competitive and consistent but then for lighter play groups I have 1 or 2 other toned down ones so I can play casually. It just depends on the group and some times it is worth changing to play with that group
March 8, 2016 8:12 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #11
The problem i see here is you're looking at top 8s a lot. Tier 2 can still produce some really fun but effective decks. If you haven't, check out MTGGoldfishs YouTube channel. The guy saffronolive brews up some good stuff and usually on a budget. Mostly modern.
March 8, 2016 8:53 p.m.
UpperDeckerTaco says... #12
It's not that I'm looking at top 8's, it's that everyone else is, and I end up playing against the same decks week in and week out.
March 8, 2016 9 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #13
I still say try the budget decks. Maybe you'll go up against the same decks but going at them with rogue decks will add a level of challenge to the mix.
March 8, 2016 9:12 p.m.
Starting to restrict myself to pauper and EDH due to boringness of other external formats, and budget constraints.
March 8, 2016 9:12 p.m.
Related question;
How do you keep yourself from being bored when you can't go to tournements? I just play some games with a pile of cards from boosters. (The Plane of Reganha) How about you?
March 8, 2016 9:19 p.m.
You cant get upset that people want to play top 8 decks thats up to them or they are decks that are fun to them having fun playing magic should be based around what you play
March 8, 2016 9:26 p.m.
alanwescoat says... #18
You can always spice up the game by playing rogue decks. I do it all of the time.
March 8, 2016 10:04 p.m.
Standard has got to be very stale for me. I definitely am highly Anticipateing rotation. My FNM is almost always just the same 5-8 people, and I play with the same few people all the time at school. Definitely boring after so long of KTK standard.
I don't get to play Modern FNM's often because the store that holds it is too far from my work (working 10-6 Friday nights makes FNM hard and drafting nearly impossible). The local modern meta is diverse though, and quite surprisingly nearly void of Eldrazi. I really enjoy Modern.
March 8, 2016 10:27 p.m.
Play tier 2. Can't change other people but can change yourself.
March 9, 2016 7:33 a.m.
I play in tournaments but I also spend a lot of time playing with my partner, and friends of mine, at home.
We play a lot of different styles: cube, planechase, archenemy, 2HG, free for all, EDH, challenge decks, etc.
Sometimes we will just buy some Intro decks to muck around with.
I got my friends into Magic. It's not difficult if you start them with beginner packs and take things slowly.
Arvail says... #2
I've stopped playing everything other than EDH and Cube due to similar experiences.
March 8, 2016 7:17 p.m.