Whats your "definition" of magic?
General forum
Posted on Aug. 12, 2015, 8:45 a.m. by EmblemMan
So, this is fairly simple and uninteresting but I am sick and its 7am..sue me. Anyway, I just read the card Index and the flavor text and it says, "What good is having all the right answers if you have them at all the wrong times?" And I was like YES EXACTLY THANK YOU. That is basically the definition of magic, and card games in general, for me. You have Stormbreath Dragon well I have Abzan Charm not Hero's Downfall. You have Tasigur, the Golden Fang I have Abrupt Decay not Terminate. Anyway if you could define magic or your magic experience in a statement or sentence what would it be?
weisemanjohn says... #3
PlayMoreBiggerHitFastNow.
AKA
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
With 
as my main, I promise to uphold a more impressive field state than you want to deal with.
August 12, 2015 9:04 a.m.
IN terms of flavor text, it will be Null Rod. All my decks are brewed at home and this text is their initial reaction to my Johnny antics. Sometimes, the end result is the text on Burnout. But a lot of times it is the text on Counterspell, specifically:
"The duel was going badly for me, and Zur thought I was finished. He boasted that he would eat my soulbut all he ate were his words."Gustha Ebbasdotter, Kjeldoran royal mage
August 12, 2015 9:05 a.m.
Me? MY explanation of my magic experience is this:
Ah, shit, I misplayed fifteen turns ago and now he has a 200/200 Primordial Hydra!
So yeah. Misplays 4 Days Untils I Lose The Games
August 12, 2015 10:08 a.m.
buildingadeck says... #7
As far as flavor text goes, as a control player, my magic definition is Dissolve.
You thought only the gods could stop you?
August 12, 2015 10:48 a.m.
EpicFreddi says... #9
"Really? Out of all the cards I could draw, I drew insert card you don't need here"
August 12, 2015 11:10 a.m.
@Maringam, that's now how math works... try 16384/16384 Primordial Hydra (assuming initial x=1). ;)
(winky-face because heck, I'm probably wrong, even after checking four times)
And yes, part of my definition of magic is being REALLY specific about how things work (I spent an hour making sure I would always stack triggers correctly for Hero of Bladehold, same for remembering that if you don't have a sac outlet then Triskelion needs to deal one damage to an opponent and two to itself if you want the Mikaeus, the Unhallowed combo to work).
There is just a particular pleasure in knowing that something really complicated works exactly how I know it works, that even though everything else in life is bonkers this at least I KNOW for sure. It's control, yes, but a type of control that lets me have more freedom because of it, kind of like painting technique or another "craftsman" skill gives greater creative range to the one who has mastered it.
August 12, 2015 11:15 a.m.
Kravian I included that because it actually happened to me in a commander game once - I was running my old Omnath build, and an opponent played the hydra on 25. Scary, sure, but nothing my graveyard tricks and that Beast Within in the bin couldn't handle. Until I get Sadistic Sacramented to steal all my graveyard recursion. Me Beast Withining somebody elses rather large Grenzo then left us all dead on board after the guy dropped a CBM.
August 12, 2015 11:30 a.m.
Fair . . . I just wanted a segway into my main point. I assumed it wasn't a perfect scenario description but I couldn't help thinking of this.
Also, 25x2x2x2=200 it checks out!
August 12, 2015 11:34 a.m.
JohnnyBaggins says... #14
Mine would be Monastery Mentor: Speak little, do much.
I'm a really social person but when I play Magic, I want to play the game. I don't really want to hear if you like your Draft deck or how you played against that Esper Control Deck in the first round. If you deck is great, I'll figure it out. And whether or whether not you beat Esper, really, I don't mind. It's not relevant to me. I also don't care that you play 25 lands and only drew three or play 27 creatures and didn't draw a single one. How many you play doesn't have any relevant content to me and how many lands you drew, I can see that. It might be that I'm generally someone who's not into talking useless stuff at all, but many Magic players freak me out. I also don't want to hear that If you hadn't bolted my creature earlier, I could have given it doublestrike and then you really would have had a problem or If you hadn't thrown that burn spell at me, you would have won! I chose to do the former because I realized that your creature is or might become a thread and I probably already figured the latter out on my own. I love people who play the game clean, calm and straight forward. People who do neither cry around nor cheer big time when they draw their removal. People who have this peace when they play the game. People who announce what they do and what the effect would be, not that they're sorry (Which they never actually are), that it's amazing or whatever. People who take their time to think their plays through and then do a swift, slender play, knowing what they do and what the result will be. I'm just that kind of guy who really values Speak little, do much above it all.
To anyone who didn't know: Speak little, do much is actually a quote by Benjamin Franklin. It has nothing intrinsic to do with Magic but it fits the flavor of Jeskai and along with it the flavor of the Monastery Mentor very well.
This post might make sound like a douchebag, but maybe, just maybe, that's what I am.
August 12, 2015 11:50 a.m.
buildingadeck says... #16
Tidebreaker: It all depends on a person's psychological makeup. You are probably more of a logic-based thinker whereas the people who irk you are emotionally-based thinkers. For them, getting a good play is exciting and not getting cards is miserable. In principle, I agree with what you're saying, but I know that in a tournament setting, I get excited.
August 12, 2015 12:03 p.m.
Also, style points, though not redeemable for wins, do make some people feel good. Admittedly I'm 100% an edh-er, but I've had a lot more fun losses than I've had clean, perfect, calculated wins.
August 12, 2015 12:14 p.m.
Tidebreaker thanks for your insight lol you would love bard narson aka brad nelson as a player he is exactly as you described
August 12, 2015 12:35 p.m.
JohnnyBaggins says... #19
One person I love watching play is Shahar Shenhar. I'm watching Brad Nelso right now on YouTube to see what you mean. :>
August 12, 2015 12:48 p.m.
ThisIsBullshit says... #21
Magic is topdecking a land in burn turn 7 when your opponent's at two.
All the right cards in all the wrong places.
August 12, 2015 1:23 p.m.
Turn one, fetch, shock, Thoughtseize.
Opponent reveals 2 lands and 5 burn spells.
"Shall we go to game 2?"
addaff says... #2
It's like pulling a bunny out of a hat. Sometimes you forget to put it in the hat before trying to pull it out
August 12, 2015 9:02 a.m.