Why do people use the term meta when referring to the deck types most often used?
General forum
Posted on Nov. 3, 2012, 4:28 a.m. by lDruid
I have heard several people use this term including myself. But im not quite sure why its used in this manner.
Meta typically means above or beyond the subject itself. When someone refers to the meta of magic, they usually refer to a specific part of it, like control. Control meta itself has these examples, like counterspells. Counters and creature hate are the control meta, whereas things like milling and damage are part of the rest of the subject.
Another example could be something like a deck meta. Delver was the meta for awhile because it was fast, strong, and hard to counter with a solid answer. The reason you call it meta is because it goes beyond what the game is itself and becomes it's own subject. Delver obviously needs Ponder , a few counter spells, and fuel to flip your guy. Now while every other part of the deck is pretty standard, one card is big; hint, it's the one I linked. Ponder is a necessity because you need to stack your deck, on turn 1 if at all possible. Without Ponder , your chances of winning are pretty much suck. So in terms of DelverDeck meta, Ponder is your meta. Whereas in terms of magic as a whole, DelverDecks are A meta. The same can be said about G/W Humans, or B/U Control, or something of that sort.
Anything that sort of follows a predetermined, standardized pattern can typically be considered meta. How often this follows the literal definition of the word varies. MTG metas typically stick to this pattern rather nicely, where one card becomes the defining feature of a deck, or at least an integral part(Ponder combined with Delver of Secrets Flip , or Gravecrawler in zombies.)
dantares25 says... #2
straight from wiki:
In the popular trading card game Magic: The Gathering players compete with decks they have created in advance and the "metagame" consists of the deck types that are currently popular and expected to show up in large numbers in a tournament. The knowledge of metagame trends can give the players an edge against other participants, while playing (quickly recognizing what kind of deck opponents have to guess their likely cards and moves) and more importantly in the deck building process, by selecting and adapting designs to do well against the popular deck types at the expense of performance against rarer ones. It's also possible to bluff opponents into expecting cards that aren't there, or to surprise the competition with novel decks that nobody is prepared for. The secondary market of cards is heavily influenced by metagame trends: cards become more valuable when they are popular, often to the point of scarcity.
November 3, 2012 4:44 a.m.