[Off-Topic] Community Chat Thread

[Hermes_]

so, we introduced someone new to magic last night,he played a game of commander. He managed to take out one player using my 97 forest Omnath, Locus of Mana deck. It was via damage redirection but still.

I have two questions:

1. What are the other two cards?
2. Is this deck even remotely fun to pilot?

Honestly, it's meant to be a joke deck but the other two cards are Lost in the Woods and Abundance I wanna put a Helix Pinnacle in it. It also helped that he started the game with both lost and abundance in his hand. What happened was he swung with omnath which was +35/35, the other player blocked but then used a damage redirection ability to send the damage to another player.

[Ruiner]

Just beat Armored Core 6 (first playthrough at least). Never played one of these games before but it was a lot of fun. Made by From Soft but has little to do with their famous "soulsborne" formula, though it is action packed and a few bosses are pretty challenging. Definitely will be doing another playthrough sometime, apparently wildly different options/paths appear in missions on further playthroughs.

[Dunadain]

So really dumb idea: Codie, Vociferous Codex as the commander. A whole bunch of Dragon's Approaches + Test of Talents, Now I just need to find a pay-off.

Serpentine Curve I suppose?

[Hawk]

So really dumb idea: Codie, Vociferous Codex as the commander. A whole bunch of Dragon's Approaches + Test of Talents, Now I just need to find a pay-off.

Serpentine Curve I suppose?

Serpentine Curve works but you could also jam big expensive fat dragons like Earthquake Dragon, Ancient Silver Dragon and the other ancients, etc, Just gotta hop you don't go too nuts and end up drawing them all from Test? But it's "any number", so you can try to keep it limited to just like 10-15 approaches?

[TheGildedGoose]

Just beat Armored Core 6 (first playthrough at least). Never played one of these games before but it was a lot of fun. Made by From Soft but has little to do with their famous "soulsborne" formula, though it is action packed and a few bosses are pretty challenging. Definitely will be doing another playthrough sometime, apparently wildly different options/paths appear in missions on further playthroughs.

I'm a sucker for mechs and this game has taken over my life lately.

[Ruiner]

Just beat Armored Core 6 (first playthrough at least). Never played one of these games before but it was a lot of fun. Made by From Soft but has little to do with their famous "soulsborne" formula, though it is action packed and a few bosses are pretty challenging. Definitely will be doing another playthrough sometime, apparently wildly different options/paths appear in missions on further playthroughs.

I'm a sucker for mechs and this game has taken over my life lately.

My last mech game was Virtua On for my Sega Saturn (which is a very old sounding sentence).

This one was great and I think has quite a bit of replayability.

I'm definitely looking forward to future playthroughs soon, but this fall is a bit stacked for gamed I'm looking forward to. "Lies of P" and "Lords of the Fallen" come out in the next month, so maybe after those I'll hop back in my mech again.

[Dunadain]

I've got a giant backlog, so maybe I'll get to AC when it goes on sale, I've got plenty of games to keep me occupied until then. How do y'all find the time to play games as they release XD.

[5colorsrainbow]

I just finished "Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller and my heart </3 Very beautiful and well written.

[TheGildedGoose]

This one was great and I think has quite a bit of replayability.

Just finished my first playthrough and I'm looking forward to NG++. Apparently, that's the "real" playthrough, with a lot more agency over how things play out. I just can't get enough giant robot action.

I've got a giant backlog, so maybe I'll get to AC when it goes on sale, I've got plenty of games to keep me occupied until then. How do y'all find the time to play games as they release XD.

I don't. The last game I played this obsessively was D2R. I mostly stick to retro stuff or MMOs these days.

[DirkGently]

Tonight I saw the worst person I've ever seen in a game store.

Me and Jon went down there today, got there pretty early (~3:00). Played a game with some people we knew, then they took off planning to return later. So then we were waiting around for more people to show up. In comes Father of the Year, with his two sons in tow. I'm guessing their ages are probably 13 and 9 or so. Jon asks if they want to play - dad says no, because they're waiting for other people that they've planned to play with, not us (this was not communicated politely). I've complained about people doing that sort of thing before, but whatever, that's rookie-level dickishness.

The other two adult members of their party show up a bit later, and they start playing a 4 player. If you're a whiz at maths, you may have noticed that dad + 2 sons + 2 more = 5, not 4. Is dad sitting out to let his children have fun? Oh no. Him and the older kid are both playing, leaving the ~9 year old to fend for themselves in the game store with some total strangers.

Now, I could partially forgive this if the kid didn't know how to play magic and was unable to join in, but no, he knows how to play and he's got a deck - I doubt it was 100 cards, I noticed at least one duplicate, and he had maybe 15 total sleeves (the rest unsleeved), which were apparently leftovers from his brother. Is it strong? No, obviously not, but y'know what it was functional! Moreso than my first 60-card-casual deck in high school! And of course dad and the older son both have fully-sleeved decks (fully proxied netdecked cEDH decks, according to Jon - I cannot verify). I told the kid he should ask his dad to buy him some sleeves, and he said his dad was "one of those people who could be grumpy if they didn't get enough sleep". %$#% yikes.

After Jon grabs some food, another guy shows up and we get a 4p going. The kid is pretty slow, but he knows the rules decently and makes decent decisions. By the end of the game, though, Jon wants to add some other people (and he's starting to get tired of how slow the game progresses waiting for the kid) so he politely asks the kid if he can sit out. I kinda felt like I should object, but I did want to play some "real" games. There weren't any other tables with spots open, so the kid wanders around aimlessly waiting for his dad to finish. I remember playing against the same kid a few weeks ago, but didn't arrive early enough to see the whole dynamic play out. But now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure this a regular thing.

What. The. %$#%. There was absolutely zero reason that kid couldn't have played with his dad and brother, but instead dad expects randoms at the LGS to do his babysitting? Why, because he's too slow for dad to put up with - let that be someone else's problem? Because "we didn't want a 5p game"? I can't even imagine what sort of %$#% is going through that %$#%'s head.

Anyway, hope that kid turns out alright. Based on what he told me while Jon was out getting food, he's aware that his dad is a piece of %$#%. Hang in there little guy. Next time I'll bring you some sleeves. Matching ones.

[benjameenbear]

*snip*

Anyway, hope that kid turns out alright. Based on what he told me while Jon was out getting food, he's aware that his dad is a piece of %$#%. Hang in there little guy. Next time I'll bring you some sleeves. Matching ones.

Bless you. I'm obviously not there, but make that kid look forward to coming to the game store. And see if you can secretly upskill him so he trashes his dad and brother. Karma for basically abandoning him.

Also, I'm ashamed they play cEDH. It's amazing how many cEDH players are NOT quality human beings...

[TheAmericanSpirit]

@DirkGently I think your impulse to object was correct. You and Jon are adults with income and free time you can use at will. That kid has none of those advantages and from what you've observed, this is probably a regulat occurrence in this kid's life. Go to the gamestore, get booted by Dad and Big Brother, wander the LGS looking for acceptance like looking for a lunch table in the school cafeteria, rinse repeat. Kids like that need somebody in their corner, someone who's willing to play the slow game, humor the teaching moments, and just generally make them feel like they're not enchanted with Pariah.

When I started playing, I had no friends at my local lgs. I was awash in a sea of people and things I didn't know or understand. But this guy Palmer (he was like 25ish then, probably in his 40s now) took me under his wing. He gave me all his draft chaff, taught me a bunch of rules, and most importantly introduced me to the local crowd until I wasn't just "some kid" anymore, I had friends. I know playing against my piles of chaff probably wasn't fun or competitive for Palmer, I know teaching me so many rules was probably tedious too. But man, that guy has my eternal gratitude. His willingness to take that time and have that patience is a big part of why I still love this game and its community 17 years on.

It's not like you owe the kid anything or whatever, but if you can be there for that kid when you can, I'm sure it will have an outsized impact relative to the effort required.

[duducrash]

But this guy Palmer (he was like 25ish then, probably in his 40s now) took me under his wing

Cool story, do you still have contact with Palmer?

I'm 31, I have several magic decks but sometimes when I go to a new place I get intimidated and feel left out, imagine being a 9YO kid in that situation. Embracing is the better thing to do, have at least one more role model so maybe they turn better than their dad. Also its an investment, maybe a couple of weeks of actual game time and he can be on the level of your playgroup

[TheAmericanSpirit]

But this guy Palmer (he was like 25ish then, probably in his 40s now) took me under his wing

Cool story, do you still have contact with Palmer?

Nah, haven't seen the guy since I was 15 or so. I wish I did though, I'd love to thank him personally.

[Dunadain]

"Thanks for giving me an addiction to cardboard crack"

XD

On a more serious note, sounds like a cool guy

[duducrash]

I decided that there is absolutely not a single zombie token that encapsulated what I think Field of the Dead zombies look like, and now I think it is because I have no idea what is going on there. Are these zombies growing out of the ground?

[RxPhantom]

Field of the Dead's art never matched its name. It's more like a Desolate Chasm With a Pair of Zombies Climbing Out of It. Some of the tokens from original Innistrad kinda give me a matching vibe though.

[Hermes_]

I always thought that the mechanic of differently named lands would lend itself to an unset where the lands actually have names like "Fred" "Amy" etc

[duducrash]

I always thought that the mechanic of differently named lands would lend itself to an unset where the lands actually have names like "Fred" "Amy" etc

I was assumed it was, the more we explored the land, the more we found what was burried deep inside

[folding_music]

looking at mtg cards from ten years ago, no real reason. M14 looks like a joke set somehow, with it retaining Wall of Swords and Coral Merfolk and so many nigh-useless creatures in that style, the non-planeswalker Mythic slots more or less wasted on purpose, Cancel Negate AND Essence Scatter together, n a bunch of other things, before even mentioning the sliver redesign. Visions seems more modern to me than M14 does in some ways... like it has the promise that the game, from now on, will be more dynamic. M14 feels more like "you're trapped in this stupid game whether you like it or not"

[materpillar]

I went sky diving for the first time today. That was an awesome experience. Would recommend.

[DirkGently]

And see if you can secretly upskill him so he trashes his dad and brother. Karma for basically abandoning him.

As much as I wish that were practical, he's playing with a pile of draft chaff. I'll let him have a run through of my bulk rares and pull out whatever he wants, but if they're actually playing anything close to cEDH there's not much chance of him surpassing them unless I was spending a ton of money on him (which would be ridiculous). And if I'm building a deck for him, it's not really "his" anymore - I think feeling ownership of one's deck is really important to the enjoyment of the game. Anyway, I enjoyed a slow process of discovery within the game, trying to speedrun him towards competitive play smacks of sports parents who push their kids too hard to succeed.

@DirkGently I think your impulse to object was correct. You and Jon are adults with income and free time you can use at will. That kid has none of those advantages and from what you've observed, this is probably a regulat occurrence in this kid's life. Go to the gamestore, get booted by Dad and Big Brother, wander the LGS looking for acceptance like looking for a lunch table in the school cafeteria, rinse repeat. Kids like that need somebody in their corner, someone who's willing to play the slow game, humor the teaching moments, and just generally make them feel like they're not enchanted with Pariah.

When I started playing, I had no friends at my local lgs. I was awash in a sea of people and things I didn't know or understand. But this guy Palmer (he was like 25ish then, probably in his 40s now) took me under his wing. He gave me all his draft chaff, taught me a bunch of rules, and most importantly introduced me to the local crowd until I wasn't just "some kid" anymore, I had friends. I know playing against my piles of chaff probably wasn't fun or competitive for Palmer, I know teaching me so many rules was probably tedious too. But man, that guy has my eternal gratitude. His willingness to take that time and have that patience is a big part of why I still love this game and its community 17 years on.

It's not like you owe the kid anything or whatever, but if you can be there for that kid when you can, I'm sure it will have an outsized impact relative to the effort required.

It's definitely a difficult position. We drive for over an hour to play at that store, Jon typically picking me up because he wants to play with me, but doesn't generally want to play every game with the kid (and tbf, while I can be patient, I do feel a desire to cut loose and play something that isn't precon tier-, plus waiting for a slow player all night gets tedious even when it's understandable). I'm sure the kid will eventually become a better player, but I don't think he's old enough to really grasp the finer points of strategy, let alone deckbuilding. In an ideal world, we'd reshuffle multiple pods throughout the night so that the kid doesn't feel left out, but also people aren't forced to sacrifice their entire night out to pick up the slack for this jackass. Which, while it's not fair to the kid, I have to admit that I rankle a bit at the idea of sacrificing a lot of my time and enjoyment so that the dad can idly glance over and go "oh, good, looks like I made a fine decision and everything is working out."

I've got a big stack of sleeves I'm not using for him, and I've got plenty of draft chaff rares I'm happy to let the kid pull stuff out from. And I will see if I can push more for setups where the kid is able to be included in games. But there's a solid chance I'll be leaving Auckland soon anyway, so even if I wanted to, I don't know that I'm really capable of being a mentor for him. But nobody else seems to be stepping up =/

Sidebar, but I never understood the flavor of Pariah. Is it supposed to be like a scapegoating thing? It plays a lot more like using a human shield imo. I'd expect a pariah to be more like a donate effect, or "enchanted creature has shadow" or something like that, where they're cast out. For that matter, how are YOU pariah'ing an ENEMY creature? That definitely doesn't fit with the scapegoating flavor, if that's what they're going for. None of it makes sense and it always annoyed me. Seems like they designed the card first and then never thought of a reasonable name.

[duducrash]

I have several EDH Decks with power levels from : "around the level of a bad precon" to "the best I can do within my budget without flat out copying an online list", and its not like im married to my lists, I'll play decks once or twice and move on to a different deck no problem. I was thinking "when does a deck becomes a permanent deck" and now I think its when I order some matching basics for the deck.

Bonus toughts : we've been spoiled with cool lands recently

[Toshi]

I was thinking "when does a deck becomes a permanent deck"

When the second set since building the deck is going through spoilers chances are the deck will live at least a year.

[tstorm823]

I was thinking "when does a deck becomes a permanent deck"

When the second set since building the deck is going through spoilers chances are the deck will live at least a year.

Does it count if the deck has been assembled for that amount of time but never actually played?