Magic: The Gathering

[cheezMcNASTY]

sure, i used to play in middle school and early high school.
i ran a tunnel vision+jesters cap+junktroller combo which would forcibly deck my opponent.
complete with dream leash, mark of eviction, leyline of singularity, and counters such as hinder and mana leak to slow their play while using draw cards to speed up the combo. once in effect, kiss everything goodbye because there was nothing more satisfying to me in that game than watching an entire deck get plopped into the graveyard and waiting 1 single turn for my victory.

not long after i built it, i realized how dumb it was that the standard pack was 6$ and the average card was worth $.05. that deck that i had spent so much time building is worth around 10-20$ and it has an original jesters cap...one of the most useful cards in the game (until pithing needle was released). it was around then that i stopped playing magic the gathering started doing much more worthwhile things with my social life. no, they weren't new trading card games. yes they involved human beings and not convincing blow-up dolls.

 

[D3m190d]

sure, i used to play in middle school and early high school.
i ran a tunnel vision+jesters cap+junktroller combo which would forcibly deck my opponent.
complete with dream leash, mark of eviction, leyline of singularity, and counters such as hinder and mana leak to slow their play while using draw cards to speed up the combo. once in effect, kiss everything goodbye because there was nothing more satisfying to me in that game than watching an entire deck get plopped into the graveyard and waiting 1 single turn for my victory.

not long after i built it, i realized how dumb it was that the standard pack was 6$ and the average card was worth $.05. that deck that i had spent so much time building is worth around 10-20$ and it has an original jesters cap...one of the most useful cards in the game (until pithing needle was released). it was around then that i stopped playing magic the gathering started doing much more worthwhile things with my social life. no, they weren't new trading card games. yes they involved human beings and not convincing blow-up dolls.

Interesting how everything is experienced different by everyone. As for me, Magic has actually led to much more social-life substance.

 

[L0ki]

I used to play Magic: the Gathering back in Beta all the way to Urza's Saga. I quit for a while, then started back up when Mirrodin came out, then quit AGAIN shortly after. And yes, I do have a few Black Lotus cards, but aren't in mint conditions.

And one more thing, Burn Decks and Control Decks FOR THE WIN!

 

[D3m190d]

I used to play Magic: the Gathering back in Beta all the way to Urza's Saga. I quit for a while, then started back up when Mirrodin came out, then quit AGAIN shortly after. And yes, I do have a few Black Lotus cards, but aren't in mint conditions.

And one more thing, Burn Decks and Control Decks FOR THE WIN!

Mint or not, Black Lotus are quite rare. Hm, beta and urza's aga is quite some time ago. And lol, the current block just happens to revisit Mirrodin. xD Only, not too much brokenness, this time... I'v heard about a lot of bad mechanical issues in Mirrodin.

EDIT: Hm, I see I'm posting rather frequently in this particular thread, compared to my normal forum behaviour. Oh well, I guess I just think Magic: the gathering is ONE AWESOME game which I care about, alot, and thus feel very much involved when people talk about it. ^_^
Epic to see, that there are quite some people that know/play it, around here.

 

[Tsuyu]

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardsearch.php?singlesearch=black lotus

2500 USD.

 

[L0ki]

Mine's no where near mint. Pretty bended, actually. I believe I was in middle school when I got it. Either middle school or early high school. Back before we used deck protectors and the likes. We'd just buy the cards from boosters and pop 'em open and play. No sleeves, nothing. Seeing the prices... I'm beginning to say I was stupid as a child. I'd have never realized a Card Game would have cards to this value (and we honestly didn't think Magic would get as big as it is now).

The good ol' days when TSR still owned Dungeons and Dragons. Lol.

 

[Arseface]

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardsearch.php?singlesearch=black lotus

2500 USD.

That card doesn't even seem that useful.

 

[D3m190d]

That card doesn't even seem that useful.

I hope you're joking. Big time. :blink: I mean, that's hilarious.

 

[Arseface]

How is it $2000 worth of useful?

 

[Tsuyu]

I am fairly sure it is more "rare" than "useful"...

 

[Arseface]

But it's like if I made a one of a kind Pokemon energy card. Sure it's rare, but what's the point?

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

Mine's no where near mint. Pretty bended, actually. I believe I was in middle school when I got it. Either middle school or early high school. Back before we used deck protectors and the likes. We'd just buy the cards from boosters and pop 'em open and play. No sleeves, nothing. Seeing the prices... I'm beginning to say I was stupid as a child. I'd have never realized a Card Game would have cards to this value (and we honestly didn't think Magic would get as big as it is now).

still might be worth looking into... black lotus is so coveted and all, there's probably some sap out there who'd pay over a grand for it.

and @ arse
i agree, the price is terribly inflated. you could build a deck for $50 that could trump a deck with a black lotus. all it does is afford you a head start. it's just so coveted that it's become something of an icon... though personally yeah i see your point. if someone is going to splurge on magic cards with inflated prices, go after timewalk
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=728&type=card

so many combo possibilities that basically prohibit your opponent from having any turns at all. :lol:

 

[HobbeBrain]

But it's like if I made a one of a kind Pokemon energy card. Sure it's rare, but what's the point?

I hear the girls love that kind of thing.

At least, that's what I've been doing for the past 10 years of my life.

:|

 

[L0ki]

still might be worth looking into... black lotus is so coveted and all, there's probably some sap out there who'd pay over a grand for it.

and @ arse
i agree, the price is terribly inflated. you could build a deck for $50 that could trump a deck with a black lotus. all it does is afford you a head start. it's just so coveted that it's become something of an icon... though personally yeah i see your point. if someone is going to splurge on magic cards with inflated prices, go after timewalk
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=728&type=card

so many combo possibilities that basically prohibit your opponent from having any turns at all. :lol:

Oh definitely. I'm going to look into it and see just how much a bended black lotus costs, 'cause I have two Beta Black Lotus.

I just looked up some Birds of Paradise and I have four of the 7th Editions and they're worth $60 USD each. Man, I might be sitting on a gold mine here. I've saved all my Magic, Marvel, Sports, DC cards since I was a kid. So I've got cards dated back to 1988. I should really look into the prices. That's not including all the comic books I have. I think I'll wait three more years 'till I'm 30 to see how much they are, just to surprise myself. Maybe even sell them.

Yes, I'm a big nerd. Haha. Probably one of my biggest secrets.

 

[D3m190d]

Yeah, Black Lotus mainly has it's price in rarity, but it's still a powerful card. I think you'd also play a land on your first turn, in total you would get FOUR MANA in turn 1. That's just... Pretty massive. I dunno what was being played back then, but an Abyssal Persecutor would still significantly increase your chance of winning.
But yeah, it's mainly just a very rare card...

On the subject of powerful cards, though, Jace, The Mind Sculptor is about 75 euros (some more in $). He's doing pretty well.

 

[HobbeBrain]

Try "W**nker".

 

[D3m190d]

I've told cheez that there was a Penny Arcade comic for everything, but cheez told me that I proved that more and more every day so I stopped..... But this one's going to just burst out of my skin if I don't so, yea. Problem with Magic: The Gathering is not the game itself, it's the people who spend the time and money building decks and strategies that are so, so... I want to say advanced, but it lacks the words needed to describe this guy. And 'dickhead' doesn't quite cut it either.

D=<

 

[L0ki]

I've told cheez that there was a Penny Arcade comic for everything, but cheez told me that I proved that more and more every day so I stopped..... But this one's going to just burst out of my skin if I don't so, yea. Problem with Magic: The Gathering is not the game itself, it's the people who spend the time and money building decks and strategies that are so, so... I want to say advanced, but it lacks the words needed to describe this guy. And 'dickhead' doesn't quite cut it either.

I love Penny Arcade. I've been reading their comics for YEARS. Since I was in high school, which was in the 90's. Haha. Along with 8-Bit Theater. Two of my favorite Online comics EVER. And Order of the Stick.

And they're playing the World of WarCraft Trading Card Game, not Magic.

 

[D3m190d]

Yes but the point stands. I used to watch these people, curious and intrigued by what they were doing, studying them. And, some people were just on a completely different level of play that robbed others of a fun experience. It's like playing chess and being beaten six moves in. Good game.

Meh, it's not too big a deal. At least not with the people around here; we just play for fun.
Furthermore, it really depends on skill level: There are combo decks out tere, but the decks require major piloting. Also, in the last few yers of standar, the games were pretty quickly decided, but it still depended on skill. Admitted: it wasn't enticing throughout the whole match. Though, in the current T2 it's less common.

Anyway, it's not a major downside to it. It's an existing downside, but then again: All things have their pros and cons. And this con isn't terrible, considering. Those kind of crappy matches only exist when playing against someone way better than you, but then again: you're playing against someone way better than you. Well, it may not be entirely true, but you should understand that there aren'treally that many people that make a big deal out of it, because it isn't.

 

[L0ki]

Yes but the point stands. I used to watch these people, curious and intrigued by what they were doing, studying them. And, some people were just on a completely different level of play that robbed others of a fun experience. It's like playing chess and being beaten six moves in. Good game.

I know. I'm just giving you a hard time, jokingly.

But yes, I agree with you. I've got a group of friends that all they do is play Magic. One of them is a teacher, single, and blows most of his pay check on Magic cards, so of course, he has insanely built decks (he's been playing Fantasy games since he was a kid and he's 40+ now). So him and my other friends spend the first weekend of every month doing nothing but going to buy boxes of booster packs, sit around a table for three days, and do nothing but build a single deck for each of them.

Then for the rest of the month, go and join every tournament held, and win them all. I'm not exaggerating, neither. I've seen them placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. There's five of us in this little group. I end up feeling sorry for all the kids who lose out on this.