tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479847193762153273.post5086081982160241154..comments2024-03-11T02:32:15.295-04:00Comments on Goblin Artisans: Magic's Terrible Value PropositionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479847193762153273.post-36176069511579362862017-10-31T10:59:55.922-04:002017-10-31T10:59:55.922-04:00This is a very good point. Commander offers a lot ...This is a very good point. Commander offers a lot of variety in play because of the huge variance 60-70 unique cards bring over Standard's 9. It would be very hard to get into, but the pre-cons make it easy, even getting you broken cards like <a rel="nofollow">Sol Ring</a> for cheap.Jay Treathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09428861685923241850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479847193762153273.post-47441611086165547022017-10-30T19:18:57.973-04:002017-10-30T19:18:57.973-04:00You're missing the best value proposition in M...You're missing the best value proposition in Magic: Commander!<br /><br />Precons are $30-40ish and not half bad out of the box. With $20 more and a little research it's possible to turn any of them into something truly unique and fun (and plenty competitive for most playgroups). For that you get any number of fascinating games, limited only by your ability to find opponents. And if your deck starts to feel stale, it's usually only a matter of finding a dozen cards or so to swap out and freshen it up. <br /><br />It's a format where decks hold both play value and monetary value surprisingly well.lpaulsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07772860908442278112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479847193762153273.post-3514248281946931842017-10-30T16:02:14.636-04:002017-10-30T16:02:14.636-04:00MTGO is actually much better for experienced playe...MTGO is actually much better for experienced players looking for a good value proposition with complex game play. Beyond the fact that the constructed formats are much cheaper, phantom formats like cube, historical standard gauntlets, or throwback drafts are great and very cheap with reasonably effective records. I would love love love paper products that could reflect that. Gold bordered products opens up those opportunities, especially for old standard gauntlets or prebuilt cubes that capture historic draft formats. One can only hope.Wobbleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11494097707732649864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479847193762153273.post-37586007512623154402017-10-30T16:01:50.515-04:002017-10-30T16:01:50.515-04:00I definitely spent a disproportionate amount of wo...I definitely spent a disproportionate amount of words talking about competitive play versus casual, doubly so when you look at how much more the game is played casually.<br /><br />Something Chip mentioned on Twitter that's relevant: There is a perception among would-be players that Magic is a game that you win by spending by more money. It's not entirely wrong, and its a big turn-off.Jay Treathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09428861685923241850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479847193762153273.post-55338905671864075302017-10-30T15:55:22.974-04:002017-10-30T15:55:22.974-04:00I think the perspective here is a problem, probabl...I think the perspective here is a problem, probably largely due to the length of time most established players have been playing.<br /><br />For the vast majority of casual players, Magic works more or less like DotP/Arena. You get some cards, build a deck or two, add cards as you get them. Kitchen table Magic. When you're playing like that, a sealed or draft tournament isn't a one and done deal, but rather a large expansion of your collection. Those cards are going to get reused and recycled endlessly. There's no need to haven't tournament support, you're supported by friends who have a mutually agreed upon level of competition that really only exists within your group. It's a hard microcosm to sustain, but it's how the vast, VAST majority of Magic gets played. However once players become competitive, the game experience isn't nearly as satisfying.<br /><br />That said, Wizards also sells products that provide high replayability for casual players like Explorers of Ixalan, Dual Decks or Bolas Archenemy. The key to these products is the key to most of the other games you listed: they're a closed system. Once you start allowing full sandbox control, you wind up in the arms race again. Which results in either eternally escalating costs or a stale format. Those decks get stale soon too, but hopefully they can deliver the 4-40 hours you'd expect it of most board games to casual players. <br /><br />Really experienced players unfortunately don't have a shot at this. The Commander decks come close, as they're willing to have a depth the other products don't and the Singleton nature means there's more variety and variance. The old world championship decks are kind of good with that, although those decks run into problems when they were trying to be released contemporaneously and sometimes just had terrible, unwinnable matchups just lIke real lifeWobbleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11494097707732649864noreply@blogger.com