Anyone playing Magic: The Gathering Online?

[Legolas Greenleaf]

So I was bored, and I found the demo disk from Computer Gaming World lying around, and decided for no good reason try this thing out. But the thing that I can't get past is the buying of cards that are just pictures on your computer screen. You go to the Wizards of the Coast store, and click on a deck, and it's $10 for a theme deck and $4 for a booster pack. Plus it looks like there are about a million variations (7th Edition, Torment, Odyssey, and a bunch of stuff I don't even remember). These prices seem kinda high for something you never get to actually touch. Oddly, I would be more willing to pay several hundred dollars for a MMORPG character than I would be to spend several hundred dollars on virtual trading cards. I have to say, the setup they have is really slick, and a breeze to play.

[Union Carbide]

I would have played MtG:O in a heartbeat if they had announced a pricing plan that wasn't COMPLETELY FUCKING INSANE. The whole reason I stopped playing MtG in the first place was due to the fact that you had to spend several hundred dollars a month just to not be a speedbump, let alone be competitive.

I was in the beta, and as soon as they announced the pricing plan, I deleted the game from my system.

The sad thing is, there are reports of people that have already spent up to $3000 on cards. Catass ahoy!

[Mark Asher]

I was hoping that for about $50 we'd get a generous selection of cards. In fact, I was hoping for a base set of cards that would be identical so that the games would be more decided by deckbuilding and gameplay than the willingness to fork over $$$ for more cards.

That was the nice thing about the Microprose version. Everyone had the same cards.

[Andy]

I downloaded it more to exercise my DSL muscle than out of any real enthusiasm. I'll probably want the HD space back soon and never actually fire it up. would love to have seen AI opponents and free access to cards for single-player after a registration fee, basically similar to what was in the MicroProse game a few years ago.

[Tyjenks]

I would have played MtG:O in a heartbeat if they had announced a pricing plan that wasn't COMPLETELY FUCKING INSANE. The whole reason I stopped playing MtG in the first place was due to the fact that you had to spend several hundred dollars a month just to not be a speedbump, let alone be competitive.

Same here. I played in some tournaments and held my own back in the early days. I simply could not keep up with the kids (and adults) with never emptying pockets. Why in the hell would I go back to it for something I cannot even touch? I mean, I guess you can still call it "collectible" if you are collecting bytes, but it certainly is not a CCG anymore.

And wowweee!!! They are going to let you exchange for real cards.... if you get a WHOLE SET! They really do care about their customers after all.

The nearly constant release of expansions, I am sure, has nothing to do with gouging customers. It is all about expanding the MtG universe and enriching the player's experience.

Garfield came up with a great game which has been ruined by the ever present need to bilk folks.

[Mark Asher]

WotC obviously was worried about the online game sucking away revenue from the physical card game if the pricing was different.

It's a shame they had to treat it like that. I guess you could buy one theme deck a month for $10 and build up a nice collection of cards that way and contain your expense somewhat. I'd be worried I'd have the urge to start buying boosters, though.

[Kevin Perry]

Yeah, but there were signs of this problem in the beta, even before the pricing issue. Since all cards were free in the beta, I grabbed some 4000 of them to build my decks.

I *still* got stomped by people who had built decks out of extremely rare combinations of cards.

I really think they nailed M:tG online. The interface, the cards, the playability is top-notch. I especially enjoyed the multiplayer aspects (more than 2 players). It's a shame that the card availability issues will prevent me from ever playing it online again.

[Tyjenks]

I'd be worried I'd have the urge to start buying boosters, though.

Yep! I tried to only purchase cards with cash when I was hooked to ensure that I did not go overboard. It will simply be too easy for kids with their parent's credit cards and me with mine to click "purchase" another five times to get some "good" cards that I did not get in my first ten packs and 3 starters.

[James Galimo]

I wonder if you can get Fallen Empire boosters for $.50 a pack like in real life. But four bucks a pack! I don't think I'm about to spend another $1000 on cards, when (a) they're not even real and (b) they'd pretty much be the same cards I play with my buddies. No, if I'm gonna play cards, I'll play cards. If I'm going to play online, it'll be a "real" computer game.

It seems on average I've been buying about two games a month, last month it was AOW2 and NWN. This month it'll probably Warcraft III (as if there was any doubt) and UT 2003 when they come out. Anyone else excited about the new Unreal this month? (Assuming, of course, it doesn't get pushed back.)

[Erik]

Why does .001 cents worth of cardboard seem so much more valuable to people than .00001 cents worth of diskspace on WOTC's servers? They're both about equally worthless. I guess if you bought a million cards, a difference worth noting might emerge. Although the monetary imbalance in that case would clearly be outweighed by how much easier the online version makes it to hide the embarrassing fact that you own so many magic cards.

[Rob de los Reyes]

I think the difference is the feeling kicking around in the back of your head that someday the current version of MtGO will be obsolete or otherwise terminated. Then what have you got? At least with cardboard, you can shove them in a box and look at them years after you stop playing. Even if you could retain the virtual cards on your hard drive, would you find it as interesting to flip through them later on? Would you specifically save those files as you upgraded your home rig or would you not think it worth the trouble? Both cardboard and disk space may be worth a fraction of a cent, but gamers (particularly those who buy a game a month or more) know how transient disk data is.

[James Galimo]

I started playing Money:The Squandering back in '93, it was just after 3rd ed. was released. My buddies and I played for about two years, then we all got bored. The cards all were packed up. Last year, I come from work and there my roommate and a friend of ours were going the boxes of boosters they had just bought. I sighed.

"You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me." I said. I resisted, for about a day. Then I went and blew $90 on a box myself. We played for about eight months. We started buying boxes of boosters on Ebay, usually for under $60. Eventually, we stopped playing regularly again. Now it's sort of a once a month deal.

I imagine there are a lot folks out there with similar situations. Personally, I can't see the online game doing too well. There's too much competition from other "real" games. (As opposed to a simulated card game.)

[Mark Asher]

You can also play Magic online via Apprentice. It's freeware and doesn't support graphics, as I recall, but if you know your stuff you can play.

[Anonymous]

We used to sell Fallen Empires boosters for $0.19 or so at EB when they really fell out of favor. Picked up a whole box or so for cheap.

Is Apprentice still going? Always thought WOTC would crush it, way back when. 96 I guess.

Let's face, this pricing scam of WOTC sucks giant cow teats. Yes, let's make the player pay the exact same for virtual cards he won't ever get to hold in his hand. Now if WOTC would send you real versions of the cards you buy online (plus a generous shipping cost so they can make a few extra bucks) now THAT might make it well worth the effort to spend money to play online.

--- Alan

[Rob de los Reyes]

Well, I have to eat my words. The more I play Magic the Gathering Online, the more I like it. It took me a little while to get over the hump on the real money/virtual cards thing, the interface, the database (don't get me wrong--I still like holding real cards), but I'm getting those old-time Magic feelings again. I'm cutting up my credit cards in a preemptive move.

[Anonymous]

Well, I have to eat my words. The more I play Magic the Gathering Online, the more I like it. It took me a little while to get over the hump on the real money/virtual cards thing, the interface, the database (don't get me wrong--I still like holding real cards), but I'm getting those old-time Magic feelings again. I'm cutting up my credit cards in a preemptive move.

Agreed. The interface is flawless and friendly, and the leagues (and to a lesser extent the sealed deck tourneys that run 24/7) allow people to compete on a fair level without dropping hundreds of dollars. I've found myself sucked in like a crack baby, buying more cards without thinking about it because I want to sign up for 'one more league' (I am in or have been in a total of 4 in this short time.. sigh).

I've only played one or two constructed matches and got schooled in them, so leagues do me just fine for now.

[Tyjenks]

The interface is flawless and friendly, and the leagues (and to a lesser extent the sealed deck tourneys that run 24/7) allow people to compete on a fair level without dropping hundreds of dollars. I've found myself sucked in like a crack baby, buying more cards without thinking about it because I want to sign up for 'one more league' (I am in or have been in a total of 4 in this short time.. sigh).

I've only played one or two constructed matches and got schooled in them, so leagues do me just fine for now.

Your points are exactly why I am not playing. If I get the notion to start up, I just open up my closet and pull out the dusty binders and boxes with my "real" cards in them. Then I think, "Oh yeah, that is why I quit."

[Erik]

By the end of my Magic career, our group had pretty much given up on constructed decks. We'd get together ten or so people every couple of weeks, all pitch in fifteen or twenty bucks, buy a box of boosters, and have a sealed deck tourney. Twenty bucks for a long evening of entertainment was a good deal. At the end of the evening, most of us just gave the cards to whoever was still hording them. Sealed deck play creates a spending cap and helps keep the casual players competitive with the hardcore people.

I wish the online version would make some sort of budget-priced sealed deck option. Maybe pay three of four bucks to enter and get your cards, but you don't get to keep the cards afterwards.

[Dave Long]

So sealed deck works like it would in the "real" world? You have to buy a new deck each time you want to enter a tourney? With the whole virtual thing, it makes complete sense that I should be able to pay five bucks to play in a tournament but not get the cards to keep when it's over. That's how this whole computer thing differs from the real thing. It should be a strength of the online game but instead it sounds like a hinderance?!

--Dave

[Mark Asher]

If you have restraint and treat Magic Online like an MMOG, you can buy one premade deck each month for $10. After a few months you'll have a nice selection of cards, and you've paid what you'd pay for EQ or another game like that. Of course it's very difficult not to buy boosters once you're hooked.

[Tyjenks]

If you have restraint and treat Magic Online like an MMOG, you can buy one premade deck each month for $10. After a few months you'll have a nice selection of cards, and you've paid what you'd pay for EQ or another game like that. Of course it's very difficult not to buy boosters once you're hooked.

Not me. Those pre-made decks are like a gateway drug.

They say, "Look heeeere. Magic does not cost much. Just by one or two of these handy pre-made decks." You then see some cards you like and decide to get a couple of booster packs. A $500.00 credit card bill later, you are pulling your hair out. Meanwhile, the folks at WotC are rolling around naked with super models on piles of cash.

Ugh!!! Clicking a button online to get booster packs and decks is pure evil. I have restraint and think I could keep a cool head. I can just imagine, though, these teens and college kids with their astronomical credit card limits hovering close to their max limits. If I am in a store and have to hand over my hard earned cash or even sign the MC/Visa receipt, I realize what I am spending. OTOH, left clicking 5 more time looking for the card you want is going to be waaaay too tempting for many I am afraid.

Bottom line: I really do not have the time or money to get back into it. The same reasons I got out of the real thing are the same reasons I am not getting started again. MtG was fun for a while. Once it became a cash cow and the expansions began to be churned out, it lost it's luster as I could not keep up with the suitcase players. Plus, in 5 or 10 years I would have to boot up an archaic computer to gaze at my collection. I would save money on binders and plastic sleeves, though. :wink:

[Dave Long]

Are real world Magic cards worth anything these days? I started playing and collecting around the time of The Dark expansion pack (which I think was the first). I imagine I've got some useful and probably rare cards in the boxes of them I have at home. I know I've got some dual lands, that kind of thing. Anyone know a link to a guide of some kind?

--Dave

[Wader]

So, I am bumping this thread because I dont want to clutter the XBLA game thread with some questions.

The XBLA game has (fortunately or unfortunately depending on my wallet) gotten my interest in Magic back, but unfortunately, I dont have local contacts to play here. Is Magic Online functional yet? I heard that things went really badly around the latest major update, and I havent played since version 2 was released.

Is it worth investing some time/money into? Would there be a way to set up a QT3 draft/sealed deck competition/league?

[LionelThompson]

So, I am bumping this thread because I dont want to clutter the XBLA game thread with some questions.

The XBLA game has (fortunately or unfortunately depending on my wallet) gotten my interest in Magic back, but unfortunately, I dont have local contacts to play here. Is Magic Online functional yet? I heard that things went really badly around the latest major update, and I havent played since version 2 was released.

Is it worth investing some time/money into? Would there be a way to set up a QT3 draft/sealed deck competition/league?

It's functional except for leagues which was my big draw before. Because of that, I speaking from last month's credit card bill, have discovered that sealed decks and booster drafts are way too addicting. That, combined with the fact that you cannot get the online cards at a discount like you can the paper version, has me telling you to stay farrrr away. Oh, did I mention that I spent $172 on stupid ass Magic cards online last month, yeah, stay the hell away.

[Wolff]

I don't know about our own personal drafts or whatnot but the newest client works fine. I've sunk tons of money into it in the past for both my gf and I. It is a perpetual money sink because you have to choose the format you are gonna play in.

Standard = latest cards so all those cards you did buy can't be used anymore also enjoy playing nonstep net decks

Extended = suffers from the same rotational blues as standard but at least you see a variety of decks

Classic = hooray you get to play all your cards, oh wait you are almost always playing some broken turn 3 win deck

The community has tried making other formats but those suffer from power-creep as well. In pauper you play all commons but some commons are of course insane and cost more than most rares.

What I would really like to do is be able to make a cube with a bunch of online folks and just play drafts from there.

What is the cube you ask?

http://www.cubedrafting.com/what-is-the-cube/

It is made of awesome and win and takes away the I spent more money then you so I win, which frankly ruins MTG for me. Even though I am often on the winning side simply because I have a card that does the same thing as yours at half the cost and instant speed.

[Xemu]

The MTGO 3 client is finally usable compared to the 2 one (which wasn't true for quite a while IMO). It still doesn't have drafts, but they do have a bunch of other new-ish formats I like, such as Swiss Drafts (where you get to play 3 games with your drafted deck even if it sucks) and "2-player queue" which is basically constructed matchmaking with a small wager.

I spend most of my time with it doing Drafts (Swiss when they fire, otherwise regular ones or the Nix Tix ones they run periodically) or just making wacky decks that get crushed in the Casual room.

[metta]

I'm just here in case Legolas Greenleaf comes back.

[rossm]

My brother seems to love magic online. He spends his left over money after alcohol and weed on it, which isn't very much (I'd estimate $20-40 a month). If I were going to get into magic, I'd probably play magic online. As far as I know, he mostly does draft tournaments.

[André Costa]

The MTGO 3 client is finally usable compared to the 2 one (which wasn't true for quite a while IMO). It still doesn't have drafts, but they do have a bunch of other new-ish formats I like, such as Swiss Drafts (where you get to play 3 games with your drafted deck even if it sucks) and "2-player queue" which is basically constructed matchmaking with a small wager.

I spend most of my time with it doing Drafts (Swiss when they fire, otherwise regular ones or the Nix Tix ones they run periodically) or just making wacky decks that get crushed in the Casual room.

I'm confused now ... does it have drafts or not? :)

[Cubit]

My brother seems to love magic online. He spends his left over money after alcohol and weed on it, which isn't very much (I'd estimate $20-40 a month). If I were going to get into magic, I'd probably play magic online. As far as I know, he mostly does draft tournaments.

Your brother is truly living the American Dream.