[dschalter]

live mtg: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/s...ianapolis.html

currently in a break, finals will start soon.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Thanks, watching now. Wish I knew the cards better so it was more meaningful though. :(

[An-Det]

I've been watching for a few hours now. I fucking love Bomholt's MUD deck, gives me a reason to use my metalworkers and Welders again.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

How bad is counterfeiting with magic cards? I see some booster boxes for cheaper than other sites on ebay and they ship from the US with actual pictures but I don't know what to look for if they are fake.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Bought a deckbuilder box today, it's not bad to have lands and stuff now so it's pretty good for the price but it's so stupid that they give you M11 as one of the boosters but all the lands and stuff are M10 -_-. Would have been nice if they gave you stuff you could play with in standard format.

[An-Det]

Bought a deckbuilder box today, it's not bad to have lands and stuff now so it's pretty good for the price but it's so stupid that they give you M11 as one of the boosters but all the lands and stuff are M10 -_-. Would have been nice if they gave you stuff you could play with in standard format.

Basic lands are universal. You can play with a Swamp from any set in Standard, even Unglued/Unhinged. Or do you mean some nonbasics? Those could go either way, depends on which recent set.

[dschalter]

remember guys: pro tour paris starts tomorrow! if you are in europe you should go check it out, play in some sweet side events, and maybe play in the GP. if not, there will be plenty of coverage to follow on the main site (and twitter).

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Basic lands are universal. You can play with a Swamp from any set in Standard, even Unglued/Unhinged. Or do you mean some nonbasics? Those could go either way, depends on which recent set.

Well all lands are M10 but also some of the commons in it. Since it's like 5 from each pack in a row so 5 black from zendikar, 5 black from M10, etc.

[ThLunarian]

How bad is counterfeiting with magic cards? I see some booster boxes for cheaper than other sites on ebay and they ship from the US with actual pictures but I don't know what to look for if they are fake.

I've been playing Magic almost nonstop since 1995, and I can say with near certainty that counterfeit cards are either nonexistent, or so rare that it's not worth worrying about. I've never heard of a single instance of it happening. You may have just come across someone who got the box as a prize for winning a tournament and is trying to sell it quickly.

[Insaniac]

ugggh i wish I had the money and time to keep up with the sets they keep pumping out at ridiculous rates...

how do you guys keep up w/ it?

or should I say this:

I love buying boxes and doing drafts and such but I hate all the leftover garbage cards. I have tons of garbage cards that will never get used, and it feels like a huge waste of money... What do you guys do with it?

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

ugggh i wish I had the money and time to keep up with the sets they keep pumping out at ridiculous rates... how do you guys keep up w/ it? or should I say this: I love buying boxes and doing drafts and such but I hate all the leftover garbage cards. I have tons of garbage cards that will never get used, and it feels like a huge waste of money... What do you guys do with it?

Hold on to them/make decks out of them? If you get enough you can usually put together a decent deck.

[An-Det]

ugggh i wish I had the money and time to keep up with the sets they keep pumping out at ridiculous rates... how do you guys keep up w/ it? or should I say this: I love buying boxes and doing drafts and such but I hate all the leftover garbage cards. I have tons of garbage cards that will never get used, and it feels like a huge waste of money... What do you guys do with it?

Any random cards that I get in drafts that I know I wont use, I usually donate to the store or to random newer players there. Makes them happy, and it is less shit for me to carry around/organize.

[Takuan]

ugggh i wish I had the money and time to keep up with the sets they keep pumping out at ridiculous rates... how do you guys keep up w/ it? or should I say this: I love buying boxes and doing drafts and such but I hate all the leftover garbage cards. I have tons of garbage cards that will never get used, and it feels like a huge waste of money... What do you guys do with it?

I've resigned myself to participating in pre-releases and drafts for getting the cards I want. Commons/uncommons are easily traded, and whatever rares/mythics I want I buy as singles, either on eBay or TrollandToad.com.

I only got back into Magic when 2011 came out, and quickly discovered that you wind up with an excess of junk buying boxes (and I split boxes, never bought an entire one for myself). I'm not a competitive player, so I don't have a problem waiting for "money" cards to drop in value. This doesn't work with certain cards like Jace 2.0 (which I'd still love to have, just not at the asking price), but those seem to be pretty rare cases.

Part of me wants a box of Besieged - the process of opening packs and seeing what you've pulled is such a strangely enjoyable one - but the card distribution seems way too random for it to be worth it. So far, I've read people opening boxes with minimal/repeat jank mythics and fat packs with zero mythics. On the lucky end, you have people buying 3 boosters and opening 2 Tezzerets, 1 of them being foil. The fact that it's such a crapshoot and not a core set makes it seem smarter for me to pass on purchasing a box, seeing as I have pretty average luck with my pulls.

I figure I'll just buy boosters here and there and try my luck whenever the mood strikes me. I've bought 6 so far and pulled both crusaders, a Black Sun's Zenith, a Myr Welder, and two Titan Forges (boo, hiss!). Not awful, but anything other than a second Titan Forge would've been nice.

[Zerokku]

Well all lands are M10 but also some of the commons in it. Since it's like 5 from each pack in a row so 5 black from zendikar, 5 black from M10, etc.

Unless things have changed since I played standard, as long as the card has stayed the same, if a newer version is currently in standard, you can play with the older card. I had a fuckton of basic lands from Ravnica because its my favorite block.

Speaking of standard, last time I played was Morningtide, so early 2008.

I'd love to get back into the game, but really have no clue where to start. Any ideas for a deck that I could not only build (relatively, this is type 2 after all) cheaply, but also do so from cards mostly from the latest block so its standard legal for longer? This would only be for playing with friends and the occasional FNM.

[noquarter]

How bad is counterfeiting with magic cards? I see some booster boxes for cheaper than other sites on ebay and they ship from the US with actual pictures but I don't know what to look for if they are fake.

The only boxes I saw on ebay before that were cheaper than other places were 'repack' boxes. They go through and pull the rares that they have orders placed for and replace them with rares they have extras of. You'd still probably get a decent selection of the uncommons and commons, but won't get the 'best' rares.

Part of me wants a box of Besieged - the process of opening packs and seeing what you've pulled is such a strangely enjoyable one - but the card distribution seems way too random for it to be worth it. So far, I've read people opening boxes with minimal/repeat jank mythics and fat packs with zero mythics. On the lucky end, you have people buying 3 boosters and opening 2 Tezzerets, 1 of them being foil. The fact that it's such a crapshoot and not a core set makes it seem smarter for me to pass on purchasing a box, seeing as I have pretty average luck with my pulls. I figure I'll just buy boosters here and there and try my luck whenever the mood strikes me. I've bought 6 so far and pulled both crusaders, a Black Sun's Zenith, a Myr Welder, and two Titan Forges (boo, hiss!). Not awful, but anything other than a second Titan Forge would've been nice.

I've been buying boxes for the past few months since I got back in just to get my card count back up and see what there is (I seem to remember the cards better if I've at least sorted them before) and the box of Besieged I picked up and the one my friend picked up were they weirdest so far. In the past we've gotten decent selections of rares, not this time.

In his box he ended up getting a playset of Inkmoth Nexus and Thopter Copters along with three Decimator Webs I think he got a couple Mythics, but only can think of Blightsteel.

I ended up getting playsets of Mirran Crusader, Red Suns Zenith and Black Suns Zenith. Also get Blightsteel, Glissa and Hero of Bladehold for Mythics. He didn't get any of either of those two Sun's Zeniths. Just seems odd to be getting playsets from a booster box and after two boxes still not seeing a Tezzeret.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

The only boxes I saw on ebay before that were cheaper than other places were 'repack' boxes. They go through and pull the rares that they have orders placed for and replace them with rares they have extras of. You'd still probably get a decent selection of the uncommons and commons, but won't get the 'best' rares. I've been buying boxes for the past few months since I got back in just to get my card count back up and see what there is (I seem to remember the cards better if I've at least sorted them before) and the box of Besieged I picked up and the one my friend picked up were they weirdest so far. In the past we've gotten decent selections of rares, not this time. In his box he ended up getting a playset of Inkmoth Nexus and Thopter Copters along with three Decimator Webs I think he got a couple Mythics, but only can think of Blightsteel. I ended up getting playsets of Mirran Crusader, Red Suns Zenith and Black Suns Zenith. Also get Blightsteel, Glissa and Hero of Bladehold for Mythics. He didn't get any of either of those two Sun's Zeniths. Just seems odd to be getting playsets from a booster box and after two boxes still not seeing a Tezzeret.

I've been looking at worldwake booster boxes and they seem to be going for $160-$170 on ebay and $200+ everywhere else I go to. They're factory sealed so they can't be repacks.

This is an example of one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/MTG-Magic-Gather...#ht_500wt_1156

[The Technomancer]

I've been looking at worldwake booster boxes and they seem to be going for $160-$170 on ebay and $200+ everywhere else I go to. They're factory sealed so they can't be repacks. This is an example of one: http://cgi.ebay.com/MTG-Magic-Gather...#ht_500wt_1156

Yeah, but the prices on Worldwake are ridiculously inflated thanks to Jace. Most other sets run between 60 and 100 bucks.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Yeah, but the prices on Worldwake are ridiculously inflated thanks to Jace. Most other sets run between 60 and 100 bucks.

I know, I was just wondering if cheaper boxes ebay are likely counterfeit such as the one I linked. Obviously if it's like from china or something I wouldn't but an actual picture and within the US makes me think it may be legit.

[blindrocket]

I've heard terrible things from the mtg folks I follow about White Lion. I use Cape Fear Games when I can. Prices are pretty good, shipping is same day and fast. Definitely good if you are on the East Coast.

I placed an order with them, thanks for the suggestion. I've yet to receive the order, but it shipped quickly. They didn't have the most complete inventory, I had to order a few cards elsewhere.

[Takuan]

I've been buying boxes for the past few months since I got back in just to get my card count back up and see what there is (I seem to remember the cards better if I've at least sorted them before) and the box of Besieged I picked up and the one my friend picked up were they weirdest so far. In the past we've gotten decent selections of rares, not this time. In his box he ended up getting a playset of Inkmoth Nexus and Thopter Copters along with three Decimator Webs I think he got a couple Mythics, but only can think of Blightsteel. I ended up getting playsets of Mirran Crusader, Red Suns Zenith and Black Suns Zenith. Also get Blightsteel, Glissa and Hero of Bladehold for Mythics. He didn't get any of either of those two Sun's Zeniths. Just seems odd to be getting playsets from a booster box and after two boxes still not seeing a Tezzeret.

Yeah. Even with Scars and M11 (split a box of each with a friend), it just seems more cost-effective to draft what you want and buy singles later on. You'd have less waste having spent the same amount, or even less if you're patient.

I've been checking the box mapping thread on MTGSalvation and it's all over the place due to it being a smaller set and, perhaps, a different sheet-cutting process. It's why there are quite a few cases of people getting duplicates of mythics in one box, when that's typically impossible.

For those unfamiliar with box mapping, it's essentially a technique whereby people record exactly which rares & mythics they received in their box in a certain way (left column to right, top to bottom). I don't know the specifics as I haven't read the book on it, but basically, with enough sample data you'll be able to get the rares and mythics you want while opening a minimum amount of packs - given a box that hasn't been altered in any way. I'm pretty sure some stores do this to sell good rares as singles and leave the junk boosters for unknowing customers. The map hasn't been solved for Besieged quite yet.

[dschalter]

pt paris coverage: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazin...tpar11/welcome

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

pt paris coverage: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazin...tpar11/welcome

Nice, thanks.

[Ravager61]

pt paris coverage: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazin...tpar11/welcome

Rich Hagon is so fucking annoying.

[hoverX]

If I was to buy a box is it better to buy m11 or just whatever is most recent?

[dschalter]

Rich Hagon is so fucking annoying.

this. in some of the earlier videos it is clear that bdm just despises him*; he has become a bit more composed recently, but i can only imagine how much it must suck to spend time with such an unpleasant person.

*i asked bdm if this was the case once and he gave a vague nod. confirmation.

[The Technomancer]

If I was to buy a box is it better to buy m11 or just whatever is most recent?

Depends? How many other cards do you have? New player, returning player?

[hoverX]

Depends? How many other cards do you have? New player, returning player?

I have a few packs from over a year ago but you could assume I'm a new player

[The Technomancer]

I have a few packs from over a year ago but you could assume I'm a new player

2011 will give you a good generalized basis then, without the focus on set-specific themes.

[Karakand]

ugggh i wish I had the money and time to keep up with the sets they keep pumping out at ridiculous rates... how do you guys keep up w/ it? or should I say this: I love buying boxes and doing drafts and such but I hate all the leftover garbage cards. I have tons of garbage cards that will never get used, and it feels like a huge waste of money... What do you guys do with it?

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazin...om/feature/129

The only format that's fun after you've been playing for a while. (Unless you're a draft dork or the MtG version of laming side's PC community, a Vintage player.)

e: "CARDNAME, you are a land," is the illest diss ever.

[Akim]

Finished my Kuldotha Red deck today, gonna try to take it to FNM tomorrow. Wish me luck.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Hmm, I can either get 2 more deck builders or a single fat pack of beseiged...

[dschalter]

nelson vs. matignon at 3 am EST!

some coverage: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazin...tpar11/welcome

[Ravager61]

this. in some of the earlier videos it is clear that bdm just despises him*; he has become a bit more composed recently, but i can only imagine how much it must suck to spend time with such an unpleasant person. *i asked bdm if this was the case once and he gave a vague nod. confirmation.

I'm sure the dude is nice and everything but he just has this way of speaking in all their coverage videos that I find unbearable. I don't even watch PT coverage anymore really, partially because I don't play much anymore but mainly because of Rich. I still watch the starcity opens if I'm free because their commentators are much more entertaining.

[effingvic]

you guys heard of troll and toad? they have a lot of boosters for $2.50, including mirrodin besieged. what are faction packs though? they seem to be more expensive.

i ordered a theme deck from there a while ago for like 3 bucks. it was cheap but the box was pretty roughed up when it arrived. im thinking about ordering some boosters..

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

you guys heard of troll and toad? they have a lot of boosters for $2.50, including mirrodin besieged. what are faction packs though? they seem to be more expensive. i ordered a theme deck from there a while ago for like 3 bucks. it was cheap but the box was pretty roughed up when it arrived. im thinking about ordering some boosters..

Factions packs AFAIK were packs only distributed during prelease parties and they only contain cards from one faction. So if you buy a beseiged pack it has mirran and phrexia cards but the faction packs are either all mirrodin or all phrexia depending on what it says on it.

And damn troll and toad have nice prices.... I think someone on this page said they used them.

Edit: Shipping kind of kills most of their deals though.

[Totakeke]

I haven't really played in a while, but is there a reason why people are putting one copy of cards in the standard t2 decks now? Like I even see decks in the ptq there with one copy of stoic rebuttal, one copy of deprive which are both counterspells, what's up with that? Not like there's any search for those cards.

[mattoz85]

So I've been playing at this local card/game shop for the last year and a half. They run tournaments 3-4 times a week, and I try to show up twice a week. Lately though, I've been really bothered by people's attitudes and behaviors. To put it simply, it's like experiencing XBox Live in person. Just a bunch of 20-something, uneducated losers cursing, using racial slurs, and being extremely offensive. Incessantly. It makes me really uncomfortable. I don't like listening to that kind of stuff. No one I associate with in real life is like that. If anyone I knew ever saw me with those people, I'd be totally embarrassed.

So my problem is that I've talked to people individually about it, and I've talked to the shop owner about it, but it still continues. At one point, I completely stopped going for over a month. That's when I talked to the shop owner, and he felt really bad about it. It got better for a while, but now it's back to normal. I really want to keep playing, because I find the game fun and challenging, but I just hate the atmosphere.

Why does a game like this attract such horrible people? Like I said, I'd be embarrassed to be seen in that shop with them, with the way they act. Is that normal? Even when I was 14 or 15, I was never as immature as these so-called adults.

If only I didn't have a Mac, I'd just play Magic Online and not deal with such jackasses.

[Judderman]

If anyone is interested, the 2010 Player of the Year Showdown between Guillaume Matignon and Brad Nelson is going on right now. Link here.

[Totakeke]

If anyone is interested, the 2010 Player of the Year Showdown between Guillaume Matignon and Brad Nelson is going on right now. Link here.

It's pretty much impossible to follow if you haven't been following all along because you can't see the cards. ;/

Wish there was a text play by play.

[suffah]

I love how Matty switched decks three times during the super sealed and stole the third game to force it back to standard.

It's pretty much impossible to follow if you haven't been following all along because you can't see the cards. ;/ Wish there was a text play by play.

This is true, but they posted decklists way ahead for the standard portion. A play-by-play like MODO would have been cool, but I can't imagine someone typing it all in real time.

If only I didn't have a Mac, I'd just play Magic Online and not deal with such jackasses.

If the store owner isn't willing to put his foot down, it sounds like you're screwed. I run Linux and play online via virtualization. Check it out, you will love it. (like ANY online game, fps, etc, you'll find sore losers, cursing, etc, though).

[effingvic]

Factions packs AFAIK were packs only distributed during prelease parties and they only contain cards from one faction. So if you buy a beseiged pack it has mirran and phrexia cards but the faction packs are either all mirrodin or all phrexia depending on what it says on it. And damn troll and toad have nice prices.... I think someone on this page said they used them. Edit: Shipping kind of kills most of their deals though.

ah okay. i was worried that those faction packs had exclusive cards and i HAD to buy them.

i guess it depends on where you live since shipping for me is about $4 for 10 boosters. they cost $4 a pop here at most places, so even with the shipping its a far better deal. they might be a bit much for booster boxes though.

i miss the days where i could walk in anywhere and buy a pack for $2 :(

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

ah okay. i was worried that those faction packs had exclusive cards and i HAD to buy them. i guess it depends on where you live since shipping for me is about $4 for 10 boosters. they cost $4 a pop here at most places, so even with the shipping its a far better deal. they might be a bit much for booster boxes though. i miss the days where i could walk in anywhere and buy a pack for $2 :(

For me I wanted a 2011 fat pack they had for $25 which is $10 cheaper but it's $10.68 to ship. :(

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Yay, I played in the sealed league and after losing like every game last week I tweaked my deck and went 8-1! :D There's a draft again this friday so hopefully I do better in that also now that I'm getting a feel for the cards more.

[Akim]

Ended up getting 8th in FNM out of 26. Not bad...but not great. Got 1 pack out of it. I'll try again next week.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Ended up getting 8th in FNM out of 26. Not bad...but not great. Got 1 pack out of it. I'll try again next week.

Was yours standard or draft? Mine was standard this week since they alternate and since I got no cards I got wrecked. :P

[WanderingWind]

So finally reought dome cards. Taught wife to play. Promptly got my ass kicked.

What have I done?

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

So finally reought dome cards. Taught wife to play. Promptly got my ass kicked. What have I done?

:lol Hate when that happens don't you? :P

[The Technomancer]

I don't even play competitive Constructed anymore, I just can't make the investments to build a good deck. Limited and Casual are where its at for me.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

I don't even play competitive Constructed anymore, I just can't make the investments to build a good deck. Limited and Casual are where its at for me.

What are limited and casual as far as rules? And I only played since it's free and I got a free card for playing.

[The Technomancer]

What are limited and casual as far as rules? And I only played since it's free and I got a free card for playing.

Limited just means drafting and sealed. And casual is just that: casual. Playing with your friends, whatever decks you like.