#12 Hate

Magic players love hate.

(yes, you read that right)

They love hate because hate often reinforces what a person actually loves. The word reinforce is important because it makes the love stronger than what it was before without any hate mixed in.

Even if a Magic player doesn't fully realize how hate isn't in opposition to the things he loves, the game itself has many aspects that naturally clue him in along the way.

For instance, there exists a scheme of ally and enemy colors, where the color Blue philosophically loves White and Black, and hates Red and Green.

Fundamentally however, the supposed hate can actually create some of the most beautiful, loved cards.

This seemingly odd duality was hinted earlier in three previous posts, notably how a player who hates a certain archetype of Magic can still "love" it, loving when he trumps and gets the last laugh.

A further extension is how the archetypes can blend together to create a reinforced, stronger hybrid. An aggro deck by its very nature hates a fast, non interactive combo deck, but might love combo when it works a combo of its own. A quick example is how Goblins, a notorious tribe for all out aggression, worked with Food Chain to add a "sudden death" element to a strategy that already had a fast clock.



Switching gears from this broader concept to a more practical one, hate is often used by Magic players with a specific meaning in mind.

Players often look at what their opponents might be playing at a given time (or merely are guessing) and select certain hate cards or hate strategies to get an edge. Hypothetically, if tons of decks center around a few important artifacts, then a Magic player might add some hate cards that destroy artifacts in his preparation.

Hate gets a lot more of the spotlight than love, because it is easier to hate. Movie reviews are more exciting and entertaining when the critic hates the movie, the gloves are off. Magic players are no different, able to instantly dismiss a hated card, a hated format, a hated color.

Upon closer inspection however, hate shares the spotlight equally with love in a healthy, reinforced view of the world. This is the same way how hate cards may keep a format healthy from degenerate strategies that ruin the game of Magic, which is why Magic players love hate.

2010 09/03 Daily Event

So with the 2nd and 4th ThNM's for September being M11 Limited, I wanted to pick up some packs to be ready without having to break out the bankroll. I decided to take an average version of Sun Titan W/U Control to a Daily Event:



I ended up 2-1, splitting the last round for 3 packs, which worked out because real life came in abruptly and I probably wouldn't have been able to play the last round anyway.

As much as I was used to playing the "tapout" style and Conscription angle, this is definitely the more consistent W/U archetype, which will very likely still be a contender in Standard for the next year.

I tried out 2 small things, which I'm not entirely sold on, Capsule and Treasure Hunt/Halimar Depths/big Jace. I can't remember doing anything amazing with these additions (Sun Titan always seemed to recur Jace or Tectonic) and I boarded out Treasure Hunt a lot. Maybe if I had more than 1 big Jace there would've been a difference, but I don't so I can't make an accurate call.

The sideboard isn't really out of the ordinary, except maybe the Mindlock Orbs. I wanted to see if it would give me more of an edge against Valakut ramping instead of walking a Flashfreeze right into a Summoning Trap.

Round 3 Game 1, Win

The raw power of Jund is still in its prime. There's not many ways to recover from Triple Blightning, turn after turn, 3 turns in a row.. but I lucked out and drew 3 consecutive counters for my turns.







Round 3 Game 2, Win

I've read various sideboarding tips against Jund, and a lot of the times it's suggested that you take out copies of big Jace because he's not going to survive at all. I wish I could try this suggestion out, but since I only have 1, it seems like shooting myself in my own foot.

Then this happened, which I think was the turning point after the Jund player got to a very aggressive start with Putrid Leech and Sprouting:



He went for the gusto, attacking me instead of Jace or splitting the attack. Maybe it was the open Plains thinking Path (I didn't have one), maybe it was because he had Duress'd earlier and didn't take my Kor Firewalker seriously, who knows.

All I know is that big Jace stuck around for awhile, I got to bounce his Leech a few times, and hold off his Sprouting with a Firewalker long enough until Sun Titan came down. From there I just regained control.



As I mentioned earlier, I split Round 4. Hopefully the next DE I end up playing I'll have the time to actually try and finish for that legit 3-1 record.

M11 draft for this week's ThNM! I'm terrible at draft but the packs were "free" so to speak and I still need a playset of the promo.

#11 Combo

Magic players love combo.

They love combo because combo transforms something as mundane as "the rules of the game" into something awesome like "this game rules."

All games have rules that players can either agree upon and/or some third party will enforce. This is because rules are important and bring legitimacy to who won or lost the game. Without rules, the majority of time spent playing a game would be spent on arguing instead.

For Magic players, combo is a very natural appeal for 2 very strong reasons.

The first, because Magic cards by themselves are mostly unimpressive pieces of cardboard, the next logical progression is combining unimpressive pieces of cardboard with others. This act alone, combining, is dictated by the game itself.

The second, is that every player at some point had to learn the rules. They had to deal with "no, you can't do that" and "it really works like this" and so on. Learning the rules doesn't make a Magic player all of a sudden a success overnight, but it's definitely one of the foundation stones. Even seasoned players still spend time on rules, as seen in many Judge articles and columns that explore all possibilities of card interaction.

Both of these reasons combine together and make combo what it is. In essence, combo players don't want to simply play according to the rules of the game, they want to rule the gameplay itself.

The rules say a player may only play 1 land a turn, so a combo player seeks a combination of cards that say otherwise. The rules say a player may only untap cards once, so a combo player seeks cards that interact in a way that gives the finger to that rule.



Just because a player may not love combo strategies, doesn't mean that they may not love throwing a monkey wrench into another combo player's pipe dream.

Combo is notorious for ignoring aggro decks and racing to find certain, so an aggro player might love attacking the ability to even find the combo. Combo has always been wary of control decks, so a control player might love disrupting that key play that leaves the combo deck nothing but a pile of unimpressive pieces of cardboard.

Because combo exists, it can be said that there is both a game of Magic and a Game of magic. One will make a player adhere to rules and terms to win, while the other will make a player win over the rules on his terms. The best part is that both games aren't mutually exclusive, it's often a one-two punch, which is why Magic players love combo.

#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.