Magic: The Gathering Online (MTGO)

[Baraka_Guru]

Magic: The Gathering Online - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Does anyone have this?
Is anyone interested in this?

I've known about this game for years, but I was always reluctant/resistant to play it. It seems like a bit of a scam when you're used to dealing with real cards. A friend and I decided to give it a go, and I really like it! (And it's good timing because my WoW account just ran out.)

The program/interface has a dated feel to it, but it does a great job replicating the MTG experience. Once you get used to the program and how it works, it gets you hooked.

The good?

It's only $9.99 to register, and this includes over 300 cards (currently 10th Edition). And there's no monthly fee! There are thousands of players. Getting a duel set up takes mere seconds, and you can just keep going!

The questionable?

You pay for booster packs like you would with real cards, except they're a bit more expensive because there are no discount retailers. For example, I can get a booster pack in Toronto for $0.50 less than I can online for "virtual cards." But do I care? No. The system is great for well-organized and fast games. You are held to the rules and you don't need to question who's doing what or whether you missed a step in your turn.

Mind you, I will always value the real deal, but I've had trouble finding people who play MTG offline. So this is definitely something I'm into!

I just did some trades with my friend, and now I'm going to go try building a deck.

Does anyone here still play MTG?

If you're into the online play, my user name is Cuchulain.

[blahblah454]

Good god that is tempting!!

I used to play tons of MTG and absolutely loved it! I stopped playing about 5 years ago when I felt the quality of the sets going down. That might of been in my head though, I have not taken a serious look at it lately.

I got into playing the WoW card game a few years back but I have no one to play with in real life, I hope to remedy that when I move back to the city though.

Back to the MTG online goodness. The thing that I would fear with this is spending insane amounts of money on it, I get so addicted to collecting these things and making both good playable decks, and fun theme decks.

Playing online would certainly have its appeal though, being able to play with another human anytime you wanted would be fun. I assume there is CPU matches as well?

[telekinetic]

Pro tip: Never just buy packs, always play draft events. Best bang for the buck that way.

[Baraka_Guru]

I just played for 4 hours straight without realizing it. I'm trying out a deck I built. It's not great b/c you don't get many uncommon/rare cards in the starter pack. But I'm having fun anyway. The beginner room for matches is doable with your starter pack.

Originally Posted by blahblah454

Back to the MTG online goodness. The thing that I would fear with this is spending insane amounts of money on it, I get so addicted to collecting these things and making both good playable decks, and fun theme decks.

I know what you mean. I'm promising myself that I'll spend less on this than I did playing WoW, even it if means only one or two booster packs a month.

I assume there is CPU matches as well?

Not that I know of. I don't think so. The only single-player option I've seen is solitaire. Which is kind of weird; you play against yourself.

Originally Posted by telekinetic

Pro tip: Never just buy packs, always play draft events. Best bang for the buck that way.

Is this an online thing? I know there are events online, but I don't know anything about them.

[blahblah454]

My addiction to this stuff is unreal. Lets put it this way. About every 3-6 months I would order around 10-20 boxes of WoW cards... yes you read that right, BOXES!!! I suppose I do sell all my loot cards, and that generally gives me close to half of what I spend back to blow on stuff on ebay.

Dear lord I have so many now I have not even tried to sort them all out!

Ever since you mentioned this it has been in my mind, I even downloaded it to check it out, and I know it will lead to disaster! I figure I don't really spend that much on anything else, I am pretty good with my money. I also save/invest well over 20% of my gross income, maybe even 30-40%. I suppose spending a little on silly hobbies can't be that bad for me!

Baraka, you may be playing with me sooner than you think!

[Baraka_Guru]

Awesome. Except that you're going to have better cards than me. Ah, there are ways to play balanced games regardless.

They let you play certain decks for free to try it out if I recall.

[telekinetic]

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

Is this an online thing? I know there are events online, but I don't know anything about them.

A draft event is a level-playing field deckbuilding challenge. Everyone starts with 3 packs, and you 'draft' a deck out of them...meaning everyone opens a pack, picks a card to keep, passes the pack to the left (IRL, it's done digitally obviously online), where the next person picks a card. Usually you get the rare out of whatever pack you open, then you get to cherry pick the rest of the packs that get passed by you for whatever stuff you think will work well together. Then you do it again for the next pack!

I think it costs another $5 to do the draft, but you get to play 3 or 4 games with your deck, and if you place decently you can win a bunch of packs as a prize, so you might even come out ahead.

You should read the weekly articles on wizards.com, particularly this one:

Makingmagic Archive : Magic Magazine : Magic: The Gathering

Mark Rosewater's design articles (mondays) are really entertaining...I kept reading those for almost a year after I quit playing (I played mostly Mirrodon, Kamigawa, and Ravnica sets).

[Baraka_Guru]

Cool, and good to know.

I played Ravnica.

[LordEden]

I love playing M:TG, it really is a fun game. I got into it around 3rd edition and got out of it around the end of 5th (I think). To much money for me, you really need to be like Blah and buy cards all the freaking time. Just not worth it in the long run.

I've seen this game out and thought it would be a great idea, but I still don't want to invest the money in it. I'd love to play against you BG, but the money part is holding me back.

Dude, I've finally shook the WoW addiction, you now want me to start a new one? Thanks BG, I kicked heroin and now you want me to do just one little line of coke? What kind of friend are you?

.... is there a demo version of this? Something I can try out?

[Baraka_Guru]

You can play for free with limited cards.

For the $9.99 you get enough for a few decks. You can play perpetually in the beginner's room without buying any more cards. It's only when you step outside of it that you'd get smoked.

Like I said, I'm only going to buy 1 or 2 boosters a month, if that.

For $9.99, you can't go wrong.

If you want to play friendly games where we restrict the number of rares/uncommons or whatever, I'm game for that.

I'm in it for the fun, not the competition.

C'mon, Eden, just try one hit. It'll feel good. You totally have to see Tenth Edition.

[blahblah454]

Well you sucked me in, I am now a part of the online MTG experience.

Online name is the same as my TFP name

[LordEden]

I'm seriously thinking about this, I'm going to talk to cinn about it again. I did find out she actually played a bit in HS.

[blahblah454]

Do it Eden!

[Jozrael]

Alternatively, play on Lackey for free, with unlimited cards.

Your choice, really.

[blahblah454]

Lackey? Care to explain this?

[Baraka_Guru]

I looked into it. Lackey is a software client that allows you to play a slew of collectible card games. It includes MTG.

It has an interface (it appears) similar to MTGO, but it looks quite a bit more rinky dinky (from the screenshot). The upshot is that it's free, and you get access to all the cards.

My issue? It removes the "collectible" and "trading" aspects of the "collectible card game" / "trading card game." If everyone has access to everything, it kind of ruins the game "economy."

It'd be like playing WoW where everyone starts at level 80 with all achievements, has unlimited gold, and has the max crafting abilities (of all crafts) with unlimited materials. Oh, and the auction house would list every item ever created or otherwise made available in the game. Maybe not exactly the same, but you get my point.

Lackey? It's not for me.

[blahblah454]

I agree with you Baraka, its like using "god mode" in games.

[Jozrael]

@BG: The collectible/trading aspect is simply there to make the creators money, from my perspective. It adds nothing to the game. Our most popular gametype among my friends is a draft played on lackey. Free, and the exact same gameplay. The only downside is you don't win awesome cards at the end for use in constructed play :P.

You're right though that the interface is 'rinky dinky'. It's very functional after a game getting used to it, but it could stand to be web 2.0'd :P

[Baraka_Guru]

Originally Posted by Jozrael

@BG: The collectible/trading aspect is simply there to make the creators money, from my perspective. It adds nothing to the game.

I'm not against businesses making money on gaming. I'm not against the concept of an economy. I think it does add to the game in terms of the limitations it places on the cards you own. You have to make do with what you're willing to pay for. It adds to the challenge. It adds to the dynamics. It adds to the collectability.

I understand your position though.

[Jozrael]

"You have to make do with what you're willing to pay for", runs DIRECTLY counter to adding to the 'challenge'. Dynamics, sure, even if they're ones I don't like. Collectability, sure. But I care first and foremost about gameplay. I LOVE drafts which limit which cards you can use, they are my favorite type of play (far more than constructed).

I'm not against businesses making money, either, but I do have limits on how much I'll spend. I spent thousands upon thousands on MtG as a child. I haven't spent a dime on them other than a couple offline drafts with friends in the past ~decade.

I understand your position as well.

[Frankie Zee]

I try to play a game or two a week. I don't spend much money, so my time is usually spent in the new player room and I lose probably 4 out of every 5 games. Oh well, it's still fun and I can keep my spending under control. Never tried a draft event...

[Spanxxx]

I have an account, but haven't played in a long time. I had to rebuild my machine about 4 months ago, and I haven't even put MTG:O back the new box yet.

Warning: You can spend a lot of money on draft tournaments very quickly. They are addictive.

History note: You used to be able to get real cards by "trading-in" your digital cards.

Present note: You can still get real cards from digitial cards, by trading in a full set from a series. This is only available for sets that are RL sets obviously. Some sets are online only.

[Siege]

Originally Posted by Spanxxx

Present note: You can still get real cards from digitial cards, by trading in a full set from a series. This is only available for sets that are RL sets obviously. Some sets are online only.

They must also be in print I believe.

For example, you would never be able to get a Force of Will out of MTGO.

With the addition of foils, you are also able to get complete foil sets.

As for me, I do not play mtgo, but I do play paper magic and occasionally play on magic workstation.

My favourite formats are draft and legacy, and at one point I was actually pretty serious about my rating. But now I don't really care too much.