MTGO when did casual edh become so competitive
Online Magic forum
Posted on March 27, 2021, 3:43 p.m. by dritchie
Hello all,
I have not played magic in a couple of years but I have multiple edh deck and some of which were very competitive but today I haven’t won a single game all day and I’ve played since 9am this morning for reference it’s now nearly 8pm what happened
Covid. People who could only ever dream of owning an original dual land or a even a mana crypt can suddenly get them at an obtainable price point. It's a VERY tempting offer. And to compound that you have spikes that like to go into casual games and pub stomp. And it becomes an even bigger issue if your playing budget options
March 27, 2021 4:40 p.m.
RNR_Gaming I’ve versed multiple and all seemed to have run multiple land destructions I rarely ever came across games that could spam it, new saga decks seem very over powered in edh. I tried this deck izzet
This deck nek deck
And this deck elf tribal
As well as an Edgar vampire tribal deck which I don’t have on here
shadow63 Yeah I definitely think that COVID has had a massive impact and prices definitely seem different that when I used to play before.
March 27, 2021 4:55 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #5
So, looking at the decks they feel very 2013 - khans era. They have some good includes but need some tweaking to keep up with the speed of today's new "casual" decks. Though I do reccomend talking to your group before including some of the heinous cards that have come out in recent years if you're really trying to maintain a casual environment. Conversation is key.
March 27, 2021 6 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #6
Lol I play pubg and that game had an awful track record of bugs and crashes. Though no other battle royals feels or plays like it. The gun play and the maps trump anything COD or fortnite has put out - I'll admit their games are less buggy and they're able to maintain their servers better; but sometimes how something feels and plays when it goes right is more fun then the stream lined cash dumps.
March 27, 2021 6:40 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #7
Sometimes I wish people would just try to improve at the games they play rather than create circumstances in which they can win more easily - but that's another tangent. I only do tournment play or play against a small group of people with the same mineset; I don't play with casuals because neither of us will have a good time - it's just an XP waste lol.
March 27, 2021 7:26 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #8
I quit magic maybe 23 years ago because of power creep. I remember seeing Kami of Ancient Law and thinking “wait...so it’s a disenchant that’s also a 2/2?” After being away for that (and narrowly avoiding returning once again due to the mana burn change) I was lured back again by some new friends who had also played and quit magic numerous times. It was enjoyable to an extent, but when I gave EDH a try it really struck a chord with me. EDH decks were vehicles for misfit cards that would otherwise be doomed to eternal exile. They were also an opportunity for me to (for lack of a better term) paint pictures of the things I loved about magic. Bringing those decks to game nights promptly sorted out who I’d be playing with; people who liked to talk about magic (and all sorts of other stuff) while playing it and people who didn’t. People who were interested in that social aspect were almost always also relaxed enough to enjoy the weird stuff I would put in my decks, and not be furious if I accidentally backed into a victory. The people who didn’t want to talk were completely disinterested in my decks, and almost resented having to play against them as they weren’t good tests for what they were building. I made a point of never being negative towards them for that, because that is 100% part of magic, and there were plenty of times where they would actually come around other nights to see how I’ve been and ask me what I’ve been building. Great people! But the people who rank winning above all else are going to do just that. And when you strip the social pieces away from magic...that’s really all that there is left. To be clear: that has been 99% of M:tG since the 1990s. It’s not wrong. Winning is why people play games. I’ve started playing arena this past six months or so and it’s fun...but it REALLY made it clear to me just how important the social interaction is for me. MTGO sounds to me like arena but even more arena-ey. While it may be good for testing ideas and getting a quick magic fix...it’s not going to be the same as finding a consistent group that can roll with the punches/ride the waves/whatever. To close it all out: online magic doesn’t appear to me to do anything other than scratch the win-at-all-costs itch. It seems more and more likely (for me) that casual play basically isn’t possible without significant social back and forth. Or maybe I’m just bitter that it’s so damn hard to make a haunted house deck in brawl.
March 27, 2021 8:50 p.m.
RNR_Gaming yeah that was around the last time I played, I’ve been out the loop for a while now.I need to see newer cards that will add to this power curve and possibly lower my Mana curve
Mcat1999 that’s a lot of money, I know I previously put a fair chunk in over the years but never that much. I love debt to the deathless such a fun card especially if you can get all the ramp you just mentioned
FormOverFunction I 100% agree magic is a social thing, I have noticed a lot of MTGO players don’t chat to each other on it, I always try to talk and add anyone who’s chatty on it.
March 28, 2021 3:16 a.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #10
Its definitely a whole new meta. Partners and just some of the new stuff they've been printing have really upped the expectations.
March 28, 2021 4:52 a.m.
I guess my recommendation starts with a question: what kind of aspect are you wanting most from your EDH games? Some people love to win, others just to have fun and a whole spectrum in-between. Currently, I think it is harder to find players who are lower on that spectrum but it definitely can be done!
I personally love building jank decks and the games I have with other jank decks are by far the most fun Magic experiencs I've had! While jank might not be your thing, I think the general principal of finding other people who have similar values and goals in a game will make your experience so much better. I'm not familiar with the MTGO communities but I am sure there are other players/groups out there that are looking for similar experiences :)
March 28, 2021 11:39 a.m.
Peoyogoni play for fun but I like to win. It’s seems like everything I’ve come across so far is just so stupidly over powered that even my competitive decks are getting eaten up. People are legit turn 4 big eldrazi or mass controlling the game and where is the fun in that again I played today from about 9am to 5pm and not won a game like it can’t just be me can it
March 28, 2021 11:54 a.m.
Nope, it's definitely not just youdritchie. It sounds like your experience on MTGO is more amplified but I (and most everyone here, it sounds like) have definitely seen the format get much more competitive in the last couple years too. I wasn't having fun either so I completely went the opposite direction and now build and play super underpowered decks just for fun. This only works though because I found other people that wanted to shift that way too.
Does anyone know if there is a MTGO discord or other outlet for community discussion so you could find other like-minded players?
March 28, 2021 2:13 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #14
I think your best bet is played discord Peoyogon though I'm not 100% sure if they're strictly webcam games - with stores being closed its kinda rough to get a group together with all the same mind set.
March 28, 2021 3 p.m.
marco-piatti says... #16
First of all it depends on the power level of the group. In my playgroup the decks are around 100-300$. So the best decks may be at 400$ and the worst around 80$. Being a multiplayer format with many variables anyone has concrete chances to win.
Of course what said above about the power creep is true. However, i build my decks to be around 50-100$ to start with, by picking the commanders i like the most. Then if i find it usefull i upgrade them slowly. There are a lots of good decks that work well on a budget and don't require constant upgradind to be optimized. Yuriko, the Tiger Shadow it's a good example of a deck that i built for 50$ and it's still good in my playgroup. However winning rate depends a lot on the environment. Also competitive edh decks are structured in complete different way rather than casual decks.
Long story short: the game can get as hard (in terms of power level) as much as you like it to be. Chose what you like playing and try to build your deck accordingly
March 28, 2021 5:38 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #17
marco-piatti - cost isn't the greatest indicator of power level; not saying it's not a possible contributing factor but I've played circles around people with a $50 dollar edric deck - absolutely pooped on this guys $600 Ghave, Guru of Spores deck for a month. He had it packed with token doublers that cost almost as much as my deck at the time. He wasn't as experienced and just jammed whatever edhrec told him to into his deck. Granted, it beat most other decks and players of the same caliber but the bane of his existence was Gudul Lurker which I still find hilarious.
March 28, 2021 9:27 p.m.
marco-piatti says... #18
RNR_Gaming honestly is pretty difficult to explain power levels. On a scale from 0-10 an 8 in my playgroup can be considered a 6 in another. I know well that price is not the best indicator of power level but at least it is objective.
March 29, 2021 2:48 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #19
Just there are a lot of expensive do almost next to nothing. Cool cards like Angus Mackenzie are mega expensive - love this card but it's still a casuals wet dream. Fog on a body lol.
March 29, 2021 3:14 p.m. Edited.
mikorigames says... #20
You can use MTG Duelist to play commander online for free https://sites.google.com/view/mtgduelist/
RNR_Gaming says... #2
Short answer: Power creep.
Long answer:
Lots of new product is coming with some exceptionally powerful cards; whereas you use to have to spend a pretty penny to get any sort of power. Pre-cons have drastically upped their game.
Usually, when you start a game now you'll want to discuss what it is your deck is trying to do - you don't have to give everything away by any means just the jist. Lots of the newer commanders just provide out right better engines and the upper power levels have gone from the turn 2 Hermit Druid deck to the turn 1 Thassa's Oracle + Demonic Consultation decks.
Also, you may want to provide a bit more context about your decks and the decks you've faced - we can probably give you some recommendations that will help.
March 27, 2021 4:23 p.m.