I might start to play casually again after being out of the game for a long time. anyone know what a half-deck is. I found an ad for cards. here's what it says
Magic the Gathering question.
- Thread starter Flying Spaghetti Monster
- Start date
Hmmm... standard deck size is 60, and Limited uses 30 card decks from boosters mainly. That's the only thing that comes to mind, but I'm not sure WoTC makes such decks for Limited as opposed to boosters. The figures would definitely add up to 30 cards per deck though.
Is there any information as to the age/range of the unopened cards? Also, out of curiosity, when did you play last? There was a big uproar last summer over the changes to the 2010 core set.
Is there any information as to the age/range of the unopened cards? Also, out of curiosity, when did you play last? There was a big uproar last summer over the changes to the 2010 core set.
That's a box of promotional decks that Wizards gives away to tournament organziers to hand out to people interested in getting in to magic. They're just 30 card decks made up of left over junk that wotc had lying around.
It is very unlikely that the person selling this paid anything for it so I wouldn't buy it if I were you. They're mostly older commons (and some uncommons)...no rares or anything good in them. There are planswalkers on the boxes but definately none inside!
It is very unlikely that the person selling this paid anything for it so I wouldn't buy it if I were you. They're mostly older commons (and some uncommons)...no rares or anything good in them. There are planswalkers on the boxes but definately none inside!
a ok thanks.
another question.
If I clone a palinchron can i untap seven islands?
another question.
If I clone a palinchron can i untap seven islands?
Thanks!
what site did you find that ruling?
what site did you find that ruling?
did they get rid of mana burn
Yup.
You also can't play instant effect in response to damage anymore. So Echo Tracer can't return himself to hand after killing an attacking creature anymore.
Getting rid of mana burn is a huge deal, and a big mistake I think.
When I was learning the game, we didn't use mana burn, and at the time I thought it was bd idea, but that was during the time you learn the game. But it's a huge deal to get rid of it.
When I was learning the game, we didn't use mana burn, and at the time I thought it was bd idea, but that was during the time you learn the game. But it's a huge deal to get rid of it.
Mana Burn occurred if you tapped more mana than you ended up using. You'd take damage for each mana...er...point?...that you didn't use. Oftentimes it turned into an excuse to play cards or activate effects you hadn't planned on using, since there weren't many other options at that point.
Why did they get rid of it?
Why did they get rid of it?
It's part of their continual effort to streamline the rules in order to attract more players. (i.e. marketing reasons)
Previous casualties of this kind of thinking-
1. Banding
2. Interrupts
3. "Out of flavor" cards like Wheel of Fortune (though, they did rescind that for one block Time Spiral, also one of my favorite blocks)
Now the combat damage step, and the mana burn thing.
I'm sure I'm forgetting others.
For the most part I agree with these changes or at least think they are "fair" since they affect both sides of the board. It's not like the rule change is only affecting you, it affects your opponent too.
Hm. It's been long enough since I last played that I don't particularly remember Banding. Interrupts could get rather convoluted if I recall correctly, and I think I tended to have some difficulty distinguishing between Interrupts and Instants (I was never -that- active a player).
"Out of Flavor" and "Combat Damage Step" are terms I'm not sure I'm putting in their proper context.
"Out of Flavor" and "Combat Damage Step" are terms I'm not sure I'm putting in their proper context.
Well basically when Magic first came out there weren't any hard and fast rules about which color could do what. Red had card draw in the form of Wheel of Fortune, blue had direct damage in the form of Psionic Blast, white had discard in the form of Balance.
It was eventually decided that this didn't make any sense, and they quit printing new cards that went against what the core color was supposed to do. Except in Time Spiral, when they did all kinds of wacky things because it was thematic to the block.
You can find a (perhaps needlessly elaborate) listing of the "color pie" and what each color is supposed to do here.
By combat damage step I mean that you used to be able to play instants in response to combat damage- for example, if my Hill Giant blocks your Hill Giant I could then cast unsommon in response to combat damage being deal, effectively killing your creature while returning mine to my own hand. This was considered too confusing a mechanic for new players and was removed in Magic 2010, the latest core set and edition of the rules. You can still Unsummon your creature in response to a Lightning Bolt, however, since they are both instants and both use the stack!
Ah. In that case I support the removal of the combat damage step. 
I'm not too detail-oriented a guy...stuff like that always made the game more complicated than I wanted to deal with.
I do remember the different colors being associated with different aspects of magic, though it never particularly mattered to me...I always played whatever colors I thought had the most fun cards, heh.
FWIW, I stopped right after Chronicles. I'd pre-ordered a box of Homelands that got snafu'ed, and my friends had started deliberately buying specific cards to enhance their decks, which made the game less fun for people like me who were content to get whatever they got in packs rather than picking-and-choosing. To me it always seemed a little unsporting I guess, though I could see the appeal.
I'm not too detail-oriented a guy...stuff like that always made the game more complicated than I wanted to deal with.I do remember the different colors being associated with different aspects of magic, though it never particularly mattered to me...I always played whatever colors I thought had the most fun cards, heh.
FWIW, I stopped right after Chronicles. I'd pre-ordered a box of Homelands that got snafu'ed, and my friends had started deliberately buying specific cards to enhance their decks, which made the game less fun for people like me who were content to get whatever they got in packs rather than picking-and-choosing. To me it always seemed a little unsporting I guess, though I could see the appeal.
DonIago I share your philosophy regarding casual play.
I've played seriously in tournament formats from time to time but I find it gets boring quickly. You end up facing off against the same four or five cards game after game.
I'm a collector, so just buying a few cards and playing has long since went out the window.
I should add that I only play online. I have physical cards too, but haven't touched them in years.
My favorite format is 5-color, known as Prismatic in Magic: Online. The premise is that your deck must contain at least 20 cards of each color and must be at least 250 cards (gold cards count as any color in the mana cost). There's also a sub-variant of that called "Prismatic Singleton" with the same rules except that your deck can contain no more than one copy of each card except basic lands. I like that second one the best.
It results in somewhat more unpredictable (and therefore entertaining) play than the typical sanctioned formats.
I'm a collector, so just buying a few cards and playing has long since went out the window.
I should add that I only play online. I have physical cards too, but haven't touched them in years.My favorite format is 5-color, known as Prismatic in Magic: Online. The premise is that your deck must contain at least 20 cards of each color and must be at least 250 cards (gold cards count as any color in the mana cost). There's also a sub-variant of that called "Prismatic Singleton" with the same rules except that your deck can contain no more than one copy of each card except basic lands. I like that second one the best.
It results in somewhat more unpredictable (and therefore entertaining) play than the typical sanctioned formats.
I'm pretty casual myself. I do tend to agree with the complaint about the core change that was involved with the 2010 expansion (the biggest one being combat damage no longer using the stack). Some players feel that WoTC is essentially dumbing down the game to make it more appealing to younger kids. Mana burn was never really much of an issue in most of the games I played, but personally I'd have just left it alone. From what I've read it seems like more of a useful tactic in a format like Limited, where it can be useful for strategy.
I do tend to agree with the complaint about the core change that was involved with the 2010 expansion (the biggest one being combat damage no longer using the stack). Some players feel that WoTC is essentially dumbing down the game to make it more appealing to younger kids. Mana burn was never really much of an issue in most of the games I played, but personally I'd have just left it alone. From what I've read it seems like more of a useful tactic in a format like Limited, where it can be useful for strategy.
Mana burn is essentiual, especially if you are playing blue and using simple stuff like High Tide, or if you are playing black and cast a dark ritual.
