#10 Control

Magic players love control.

They love control because control is essential to a player's development in the same way that thumbs let early humans really get ahead in their environment.

This comparison may seem silly, but thumbs are very serious about control. One only has to look at a politician giving a thumbs up to execute a speech, a sovereign giving a thumbs down to execute traitors, and "I declare thumb war" as brief examples of control.

On the fundamental level, it's easy to see how control and games fit so naturally. Super Mario can't go to another castle to check if the princess is there if there isn't someone to control him through all those obstacles. Sports like basketball and hockey are grounded in drills and practice that involve controlling the ball/puck before anything else.

For Magic players, control goes a bit beyond the manual dexterity it takes to physically handle and grip little pieces of cardboard. Control is best understood as trying to get a handle and grip on what goes on in a game of Magic.

This is a tall order most of the time, because Magic is a complex game and there is a lot going on. A control player tries to simplify these complexities into something more manageable.

For instance, Control players are notorious for getting excited to draw one more card, even though drawing cards is only a small aspect of Magic. Control players might do anything and everything to draw one more card, including skipping their own turns, paying their own life, sacrificing their own cards.

Control players love taking these little manageable chunks of Magic and adding them together. Little advantages here and there, and sooner or later a control player gets to turn the game around completely. This is why it isn't strange to see that a control player's bigger concern is "not losing the game now" as opposed to "winning the game now."



Even if a player doesn't love control strategies, it doesn't rule out the possibility that he might love taking control from a control player himself.

Ask an aggro player if he loves control and he might build an aggressive deck that lets him control and force his opponent's hand to grip a pen and mark a life total that is rapidly dwindling. Ask a combo player if he loves control and he might bring in a surprise package from the sideboard that shows the opponent is trying to control the wrong things.

Magic players aren't born as control players, just like how human beings aren't born with control as a major concern. Being born is probably one of the few things that is out of one's control actually. But soon after, little manageable chunks of life start adding up to make a person very concerned about control.

And in the end, while everything can't be controlled for sure, there's always the hope of turning it all around which is why Magic players love control.

2010 08/19 Thursday Night Magic Online

I had some time so I played in last week's Zendikar Block constructed for ThNM. Unlike Standard, this one seemed a lot less popular, I think there was about 30 or so players.

I don't know why, Block is a format that's really easy to get into (especially when a new set comes out and cards are being drafted like crazy). Perhaps people have focused on M11 since that's the current drafting of choice, but it's not like there's a Core Constructed format.

Anyways, I scrounged up some cards for a Mono White Control deck that uses the landfall mechanic + Lodestone Golem:



I chose this because I figured the sideboard was so strong against any red deck or vampire deck that someone might have thrown together. I liked the deck overall but it had 2 major problems that became very apparent to me:

1) Jace, or White Blue Control.
There are very little ways to deal with Jace, no Oblivion Ring. I maindecked a Kor Firewalker and a Kor Sanctifier to possibly be able to attack and kill Jace. I couldn't simply wait for the chance that I'd draw my Transcendent Master or get an Emeria Angel to stick.

2) Lodestone Golem on the play, on the draw.
Golem is a very good card in the right deck, just look at Vintage. However, if there ever was a game where I didn't get a Chalice opening, I found that Lodestone Golem wasn't as asymmetrical as I liked. On the play he's great turn 3-4. On the draw, coming down on turn 4 wasn't as powerful as I liked because the opponent probably had a better board or was working with 5 mana to get around the tax. Not to mention that on the draw, it'd be improbable that I could play turn 5 Emeria Angel and get an ensured landfall birdie.

Round 1 Game 1, Loss









Against White Blue, going first, mulling to 4.

I could have possibly kept either of the first 2 hands (drawing into a land would have maybe solved it), but I was on the play and am very wary of 1 land hands when playing a deck filled with such high mana costs.

He gets a Jace out quick and fateseals me a bunch so I can't fight back. 2nd game I bring in more Firewalkers, hoping to Journey to Nowhere any Walls and threaten Jace, but I don't see any and he sees his Luminarch Ascension.

Round 2, Bye

This was my opponent for Round 2:



It's a Korean film called Sad Movie, sad like my Round 1. I watched some of my favorite parts since I didn't feel like looking at anything Magic related.

Round 3 Game 1, Win



Against Vampires, my deck actually does what it is supposed to do and goes Emeria crazy. Consuming Vapors would have been good against Lodestone or Transcendent Master, but not against birds.

Round 3 Game 2, Win





Not again! Luckily my mull to 6 was seemingly ok, 2 lands, 2 cantrips to find that 3rd land, easy easy right?



My 3rd land was actually STILL 5 cards away, needing both Wall of O's to find it. Talk about torture.



After that though, the first Devout Lightcaster came down and stalled enough. I get Mindsludged but another Devout Lightcaster joins in and I get to start attacking back for profit.

Fin, 2-1

2-1 again, netting a pack of M11 and another Krosan Grip promo. Next ThNM is a 6pack Sealed, and thanks to my small winnings here and there over the past month, I'll get to play that for "free."

#9 Aggro

Magic players love aggro.

They love aggro because aggro is usually the first kind of a deck that a player builds, that has any semblance of focus in their early career.

This is quite a step up from what decks were like before players collectively labeled and theorized about aggro. Before that, it often meant playing with every single card that one owned (that looked cool) and putting a rubber band around the deck.

Aggro isn't exclusive to Magic the Gathering, but generally is understood as an aggressive strategy, or the best defense is a better offense.

This should be no surprise, as when players learn new games that involve opponents, it doesn't take that long for the question to go from "how do I win at this game?" to "how do I beat the enemy and feast off the wails of their kin?"

For Magic players, aggro also is a great teacher, a great way to start learning all about the game. Aggro has the potential to teach the player about every single step and phase of the game just by its very nature, more than a non aggro strategy.

Most aggro decks try to end the game before it even gets going (preemptive clock), try to take advantage of the combat phase inside and out (tricks) and try to make the fullest use of land/mana (resources).

It's not that hard to see that aggro players generally have an advantage in building manabases and manacurves when looking at Draft and Sealed events. There is a subtle but very strong foundation in math that an aggro player uses because he's realized he has to deal this much damage in this much time, so nothing can be wasted.



Even if a player doesn't like aggro strategies, chances are he will love foiling, preventing and making aggro strategies come to a grinding halt.

Ask a control player if he loves aggro and he might reveal a sideboard that's full of aggro hosers that he would absolutely love drawing. Ask a combo player if he loves an aggro deck that can win on turn 4 on a regular basis, and he might be determined to make his deck win on turn 3. Because aggro even exists, control and combo players can show love for their own strategies and think in ways that wouldn't be possible if aggro didn't exist.

Because aggro is great on all levels across all formats, and was and always will be an integral part of the game's evolution and development, Magic players love aggro.

2010 08/05 Thursday Night Magic Online

(this post was originally slated for August 11, 2010, but due to scheduling issues couldn't be posted in time)

So, my first Thursday Night Magic experience was last week, which also happened to be MTGO's first one too.

The first thing I noticed is that there was a lot of confusion about the format.

It seemed that while people found out about ThNM, only when they were actually logged into the Premier Events room did they find out that this week was only going to be Standard Constructed. I guess some people thought that all the different formats (sealed/draft/constructed) were going to happen every week.

I felt slightly bad for the ORC adepts in there fielding the questions and frustrations.

It was Constructed, so I had to scrounge up a deck. I don't normally play competitively on MTGO. I stick to the casual room, usually never with a sideboard. I have several decks, a decent cardpool, and I generally just like to play whatever appeals to my fancy.

So I took a deck that I already had built from a previous Jacob Van Lunen's Building on a Budget column, basically White/Blue Conscription.



First, before I get yelled at, I realize this doesn't seem very budget at all. But it actually is.. for my budget, my way of acquiring cards, my playstyle and my enjoyment, it's perfect. I'll save the transformation of how it came from the exact deck in the article to what I actually play for a different post in the future.

Second, I know I was being greedy. 61 cards and only 22 lands, even with 3 Borderposts. This will cost me later in Round 2.

Third, I'm terrible at tourney reports, much like how I am terrible at tournies. So I decided to just give some snapshots about what happened.

Round 1 Game 3, Win



This was against Jund, one that ran some ramp spells like Rampant Growth and Borderland Ranger, Master of the Wild Hunt instead of Broodmates.

At this point we were 1-1 and I lucked out with a turn 5 Conscription thanks to Sovereign Chun Li teaming up with Knight of the White Sakura.

Round 2 Game 1, Loss



I was never in either game. While Knight of the White Orchid DID get me my 2nd land like it does on a good opening.. this 2nd land came on my turn 6.

Round 3 Game 2, Win



This was against White/Blue, but one without the Conscription angle. We both boarded in War Priests to handle Oblivion Rings but I wasn't expecting Crystallization too.

Eventually we get Sun Titans on the board but I'm the one who gets the Jace recur first.

Fin, 2-1



In the end I'm 2-1 so I get a pack of Magic 2011 and a copy of the Krosan Grip promo. The next Constructed ThNM will be Zendikar Block so I'll be working on what I'm playing.

#8 Foreign Languages

Magic players love foreign languages.

They love foreign languages because foreign languages are sort of like secret decoder rings that popped out of a cereal box.

While the actual secret was usually simple and irrelevant, the more important thing was that something existed in a form that wasn't readily recognizable. There is a code that has to be broken and understood before it has meaning. It just so happens that Magic players love codes and they love breaking things.

To the rest of the world, it seems as though the whole game of Magic is a foreign language, unrecognizable. Things like "upkeep" and "CMC" have no inherent meaning to someone who doesn't play Magic.

This is a code in itself. A Magic player knows what EOT means, it's a code. If another player nods in understanding to EOT, both of them can nod at each other, a mutual understanding.

After all, one of the coolest parts of secret handshakes isn't the actual handshake itself, but the moment one realizes that someone else is in on it too.

Foreign language printings of cards present a Magic player, even one who is well versed with the game in his own language, with a code to break.

Most of the time, Magic players will default on the identification of the artwork to break the code. While the word upkeep might be unrecognizable in another language, the color blue is blue is blue, no matter where one hails from.



This is why tournament rules allow foreign language cards because the artwork is a huge tool that players have in breaking the code. It is also why any artistically modified or altered card have specifications that a Judge can allow or disallow. The card has to be recognizable.

The other aspect of foreign languages is that it tells a Magic player that somewhere else, someone can naturally read that card.

This is a universally binding appeal to players. While a Japanese player might not be able to read a Russian Baneslayer Angel, he knows that somewhere in Russia, someone might be taking to the skies with their own Japanese Baneslayer.

And in the off chance these two players meet each other, they can plop down their foreign angels and with no other words, nod in mutual understanding.

Foreign languages might seem like barriers and walls between people who can't communicate with each other normally. Magic players however, love foreign languages, because they use that code to follow and adhere to a bigger code. The one that binds them to their world community.

#7 Love At First Sight

Magic players love love at first sight.

(what an awkward opener)

They love love at first sight because love at first sight is probably the best way to sum up how a Magic card appears on a player's radar.

A card is a physical piece of paper that has art and text on it, and it exists all on its own. However, once a player physically looks at it through the sense of sight, the card will exist in that player's mind. If a player doesn't care for a particular card after seeing it, it won't stay in the mind for long.

But if it does, it usually means love. What that love does, who knows. It usually leads to decks, playstyles, collections, wherever the mind of that player takes it.

The actual way a Magic player gets to look at cards is also important.

It is no coincidence that cards are "hidden" at first and then become revealed, strengthening that first sight experience. Booster packs keep cards out of a player's field of view until the very last moment.


Not to mention that Magic players always clamor for sneak previews and spoilers. Some players will search hours and hours for that little piece of evidence or cropped photo or leaked tidbit that even hints at the first sight of a new card, the first glimpse of a new frontier.



Even if a Magic player hates a particular card, there is always chance he might find himself in a situation where he will love seeing it.

Take a sealed format for instance, where a player draws that Mind Control. While the player ordinarily might hate enchantments, hate blue as a color, or hate paying 5 mana for anything, it's a pretty sure bet they are glad it decided to show up when it steals the opponent's bomb.

In a world where first impressions matter and linger, and being able to view things first sometimes has a premium (opening nights for films, plays), Magic players love love at first sight.

#6 MSRP

Magic players love MSRP.

They love MSRP because MSRP adds a tingle of excitement and a smidgen of flair to the game.

In this case, MSRP should not be confused with that "other" MSRP, the one dealing with pricing, the one found in small print on booster packs.

Although, indirectly, Magic players do love that kind of MSRP too, even if it seems weird. Because Magic players love the feeling of getting a deal and making smart buys, MSRP is a good measuring stick on just how great that deal was, how smart that buy was.


The MSRP of this post, instead deals with "May Suggest Role Playing" or some similar acronym breakdown.

This is not entirely out of left field for 2 main reasons.

First, Magic is a game designed by a company who currently is responsible for a variety of other games, including Dungeons and Dragons. Whether one likes it or not, a lot of games owe their development and success to Dungeons and Dragons. Even games that wouldn't ordinarily be lumped together in the "role play" or "fantasy" genre.

Take a game like Call of Duty or Street Fighter. It's really Dungeons and Dragons underneath it all. The various classes, leveling up with experience, map and terrain exploration, different stats for animations and durations of attacks and blocks, modified rolls on special moves.

So many see just a shooter or a fighting game, but really it's just coded pen, paper, dice and some imagination.

Magic is certainly not exempt. Magic is a make believe game. Magic players make believe that they are wizards casting spells, even though they really aren't wizards.

Which brings the second reason. While it might not help a Magic player if he believes or doesn't believe he is a wizard, it certainly doesn't hurt either. Part of Magic's excitement and flair is that players want to believe in the make believe.



MSRP or "May Suggest Role Playing" is something that doesn't take away from Magic. If a Magic player doesn't "make believe," nothing is lost. Magic is still a game grounded in math, game theory, rules, and all that other good stuff. MSRP is a suggestion, and if taken, can add a whole new dimension to the game.

As mentioned before, Magic players love great deals and smart buys. A little imagination offers a huge amount of entertainment and joy in return, a great deal, a smart buy. Because of that, Magic players love MSRP.