The Magic of Magic
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Posted on July 25, 2015, 1:50 a.m. by Jay
I'll keep this post on the short side cuz it's very late here and I need to sleep ;)
Recently, I have sort of fallen off of Magic. Regular users may have noticed that I'm seldom on the forums and such nowadays and my rank has been sliding steadily. Many of my close friends, those with whom I was friends before Magic (rather than met through it) have quit recently, and it just hasn't been the same. I've had Magic slumps before- some a week, some months -but have never quit altogether. Today was one of those days that just makes you remember why you have spent so many thousands on cardboard.
Standard FNM, new Elf deck sleeved up and ready to go, first place. Ahh, nothing like being Vindicated to yourself as a skilled player! A wonderful way to start the evening.
EDH afterwards with friends, unveiling my newest foil peel alters (to much praise, nonetheless) and then playing and winning a 3-hour long game with so many swings from the brink of death and back you just lose count. Probably the best game of EDH I've played in these 4 years I've been playing it.
Afterwards, Modern with the freshly completed and as-of-yet tournament untested Through the Breach/Goryo's Vengeance deck: victory against all friends, and more amazing games of course (hardcasting 2 Simian Spirit Guides is only the right move in the best games).
Needless to say, the old flame of love between Magic and I is rekindled. I feel like there's an allegory here for marriage. How about you? Can you relate? Most of us have had periods of boredom with the game or straight up quitting; how did you get back in?
Thanks for indulging my self-satisfied post :)
-Jay
:/ My friends and I strictly played kitchen-table magic, so when people lost interest, there really wasn't anything to (gonna borrow that phrase) rekindle that flame of love. BUT good for you! i still enjoy magic very much. i just don't have anybody to play with...
btw, i'm not sour or depressed
July 25, 2015 2:36 a.m.
I gave up standard back in gatecrash. It was just boring to me. fortunately, this is right when modern was gaining it's feet, so I was able to explore options early and buy cheap staples, like $100 for my Liliana of the Veil playset, and $80 for my Snapcaster Mage playset (which is, ironically, how much one of each cost right now). I currently haven't looked back once on playing standard with the tiny exception of a mono black discard/Waste Not list I saw shortly after dragons came out. And as of last Tuesday, I finally acquired my playset of Force of Will, so I can play legacy!
Usually when I get bored of magic it involves me playing a deck too much in a row. When this happen, I do the most natural thing in response: build a new deck. I'm pretty good at brewing things, so I always seem to find something that'll entertain me until I want to go back to my main decks.
July 25, 2015 3:35 a.m.
My friends and I all used to play Standard. Come Theros, we all lose interest in the game because we don't have the money for Modern nor the interest in Standard. We're all on the verge of quitting.
My best friend (who, unfortunately, goes to a different college) gets back into the game after taking a lengthy break. He rekindles my interest. However, we still have the problem of money and disinterest in Standard. So I suggest building some casual EDH decks to play around with, including proxying what we can't yet afford.
Flash forward six months later, we all love the game again. Except one roommate whom I only see about once a week. Besides the point.
EDH was my saving grace.
July 25, 2015 4:51 a.m.
lemmingllama says... #6
EDH, EDH, EDH. The giant games where it doesn't really matter who wins, but how you play the game and mess with your opponents. I can sometimes get bored when I am playing Modern or drafts, but getting in a good EDH game or two perks up my interest very quickly.
I think the biggest way to stay interested is to play multiple decks. If you only play a single deck, you learn all about it and then get bored. You need new and interesting things to stay interested. That's why EDH is so good. It's a completely different game every time unless you play with tons of tutors, so my interest never wanes.
July 25, 2015 8:48 a.m.
FinchFalcon says... #8
Truth about EDH, lemmingllama. I've got two very good EDH decks that I use when I actually want to win, and two hastily-thrown together decks that are alright, but rarely win... But are still a ton of fun.
July 25, 2015 12:12 p.m.
Dalektable says... #9
I fall into magic-slumps often. Fact of the matter is, I don't have the wallet to keep up with how quickly I get bored of decks especially in standard. I'm just getting excited to play standard again, I'm playing an incredibly hilarious UG Turbofog deck that is an absolute blast to play. I need more friends who play EDH, It's my absolute favorite format and I am never bored with those decks. I have two stores I play at, one is pretty casual at which I always play either 1st or 2nd and the other is very, very competitive. I'm going to start going to the competitive store more now, a challenge is what I need to keep the interest alive.
July 25, 2015 12:22 p.m.
I play Standard all the time, EDH all the time, and Modern and Limited occasionally. I think that being connected to multiple formats keeps me from ever getting bored, in addition to just enjoying the game in all its entirety. I've never had a decline in interest in the game and I don't think I will anytime soon. I can relate to slumps thanks to other games, like League of Legends, but I have no perfect perspective on Magic slumps because I can't fathom one for myself.
The one thing I wonder about the original post, Jay, is if you would have felt as good about your experiences if you had lost most of the games you recounted. I think that's more of what defines a slump. If you still derive joy and entertainment from a loss, you're in good shape. But if you have to win to feel good about playing Magic, you should probably reevaluate your perspective.
The "you" I'm referring to you is of course not you personally, but a generalization of the player base.
July 25, 2015 12:50 p.m.
Oh, the winning wasn't really what made me feel so good. The EDH game and the Modern games were just really, really good games. Winning them was nice too, but they were all just fantastic games (the losing parties agreed). I went down to 1 life on 3 seperate occasions in that EDH game and ended it at 50. Nobody got shoved out of the game (other than a few scoops) and everyone got their deck fully up-and-running.
The FNM, winning was the good part. When you're competing, it's nice to get to open the most packs haha. Plus I've been on more or less a losing streak lately, save the MM2 draft I won. As much as I can appreciate losing games too, it's nice just to win some now and then, you know? I'm not reliant on it, but if I'm gonna keep entering FNMs I wanna know I'm not throwing away entry fees haha. The fact that it was my first time running a brand new deck too was what I really enjoyed. I had barely tested and assumed I was going to lose hard. Low expectations, eh?
buildingadeck says... #2
I remember last winter, I simply did not have time to regularly attend FNM, and I was quite tired of playing against Abzan, Abzan, more Abzan, and UB Control. I really was pretty bored until I found EDH. I really just wanted a more social, interactive format that could be fun. Since then, I have not only become more competitive, but I have Top 4-ed several FNMs with Sultai FogWalkers XD, and I have gotten into Modern. Sometimes it just takes a new format, or a new release of cards. Sometimes it takes big wins like you had, but I must say that Magic has an interesting interaction with life.
July 25, 2015 1:57 a.m.