Late To The Party: Guardians Of The Galaxy

I recently finished up the GotG videogame, and I feel decidedly mixed about it. 

On the one hand, the story is solid and the characters are engaging to interact with. They have something to say and a point of view about things. They also repeat themselves a bit, which is unfortunate but I understand why that might happen: Most players probably aren't like me, trying to squeeze every ounce of dialog and character from stories. Redundancies matter if players can skip parts.

As far as the gameplay goes, I can say that I was starting to get the hang of things, learning to combo skills to accomplish the fighting set pieces by the end of the game. But there's a frantic, lightspattered visual element to combat made it challenging to see what was going on.

I died multiple times because I couldn't tell where I was being attacked from and had no sense of what my health was at.

But most disappointing was the failure of GotG to build that gameplay into one where I had to utilize the skills I'd earned and developed in ways that made me feel strategic and smart about the boss fights. 

Instead, I was stuck with old tropes like: This final boss has a triple healthbar and a regenerating shield or Your health bar has been reduced to a fraction. 

That last one was particularly annoying because there was no story reason for that to happen. They just did it to make that fight hard.

So instead of me using skill to navigate these challenges, it was all about endurance and how long I could get lucky. That lead to some frustrating moments-moments they threw in at the end of the game, because by then, they've gotcha, right? You still want to finish this game you sunk 20ish hours into, right?? 

Similarly: quick time events are bullshit. Stop that. But this kind of gameplay issue is the problem I had with the Uncharted series: You don't do something cool that you learned to win. You just QTE yourself into a victory. 

Which is frustrating because there are some cool kernels of play: the huddle mechanic was neat, and I wish there had been more opportunities to fail it. I don't mean that I want to fail it-the game wants you to have a cool moment with a soundtrack as you and your team rally to win. Who doesn't want that?

But it was too easy to read the team and my responses always hit a very similar theme-almost always "stay calm and focus and we'll get 'em!" which...OK sure. Say that 7 times though and maybe it's getting a little old. Maybe if it had been difficult in the early part of the game and got easier as you spoke to and learned about your teammates, that would've been rad. 

I would have loved to have Groot speak in a huddle and have to intuit what to say based on the tone and cadence of his words. That would've made me feel accomplished!

The other highlight is the story which I enjoyed. It gave me moments where the things I said mattered to the rest of the game. Those things always seemed small but they didn't feel unimportant. 

Plus, the story had some consequences for the characters involved and resolving things mattered. The game has to give space for a grieving character and does so. This is something I feel the MCU hasn't done very well lately, so it was a nice change of pace to have this be a thing and have it be important. 

War Ensemble (redux)

I really like Agent of the Fates. A 3/2 with deathtouch for three isn't a bad rate, and the ability seemed good! But like a lot of stuff from Theros, there wasn't really a home for it that seemed to appear. At least not to me.

So, I put it in my War Ensemble deck. This felt like a good idea: I have a reason to target the creature that aligns with what the deck wants to do. I'm going to be able to trade the Agent with dang near anything and when enchanted with a Rancor, the trample effect means more damage goes to the opponent. 

This means there's a chance to really make an interesting move. First, I can add Destiny Spinner as a card to help ensure that I get to play out my stuff.

But what if I could get some bonus off of replaying my stuff?

That is where Braids, Arisen Nightmare comes in.

This does two important things for me. First, this allows me to play cards that are lower on the curve; my last iteration of War Ensemble was overloaded at the three mana spot. Second, a couple copies of Braids gives me another axis to draw cards or whittle my opponent's resources down. Both of these options are good and with six possible enchantments to sacrifice, there's something legit here. 

Goldfishing hands tells me it's still not great. But it's better! I'm also, clearly, still a sucker because I decided to add in Hero of Lenia Tower. What can I say? It's a weakness.

The list I'm currently tweaking:

3 Endless Wurm
3 Troll Ascetic
3 Hateful Eidolon
3 Setessan Champion
3 Destiny Spinner
2 Braids, Arisen Nightmare
3 Hero of Leina Tower

3 Pernicious Deed
4 Rancor
2 Aspect of Mongoose
3 Rune of Might

3 Murder

9 Forest
7 Swamp
3 Golgari Rot Farm
4 Deathcap Glade

2 Night's Whisper

That still leaves me with a problem though. What do to with Agent of the Fates?

The Drinking Song

You know, whatever; it's a silly thing made by someone who loves the game. 

Kinda amazing when you think about it.

Fun

I have been a fan of Jill Bearup's videos for a long time. For those not familiar with her, she is someone who loves stage fighting and the craft of executing stage fights, but also the armor and visual appearance of armor, specifically female armor, in fiction.

Her videos are fun, lightly snarky, and knowledgeable. I dig it. 

And now she's done one talking about the armor from characters on Magic cards. Enjoy!

He's Right, You Know

So, Pleasant Kenobi has a long video about what the future of Magic will look like and at about 17 minutes in comes the prediction that made me sad.

The TL:DR is this-after creating waves of outrage (and attention) for what is frankly a product so greedy it is offensive, WotC will come back and say:

"Wait wait, we now have a NEW product for $500 for four packs instead of $1000."

It will work like a charm. People will have a point of comparison and that will make all the difference. The reaction to this new theoretical product that PK is talking about will be met with excitement and maybe even gratitude. 

How do I know this? 

Well, with the acknowledgement that I can't say for certain, I can tell you that I've read Predictably Irrational. That book is about how human beings make decisions and how marketers use that knowledge to influence how we choose. 

In this case, I can see a very clear path to manipulating the audience. 

Step one, make Magic 30. Here we are: the attention (predominantly negative but attention nonetheless!) to build hype, and the limitation to build FOMO. 

Because it's very clear that the product is desirable: it's merely being slagged because it's insultingly expensive and cruelly gatekept. However, for the past week that's been what the community has been talking about. I am not an exception!

Step two: The apology and new pricing. As PK points out we'll get a 'we did not expect this kind of pushback' statement or some such corpo-speak apology that doesn't mean shit. It will however come with a 'as a way to make it up to the community we're going to ______" where you fill in the blank with the new product being promoted. I'm going with a non-legal reprint of Revised (3rd Edition) because while being a bad set, was the last one where they reprinted dual lands. 

Why? Because this way no one can accuse WotC of undercutting the "value" of the Magic 30 release. But it still gives players something they want: the opportunity for lands they need to play older formats. 

Does it matter that 3rd Edition sucked? No. In the same way that it doesn't matter that the reproduced Magic 30 cards suck-Chaoslace isn't a card anyone wants, but it's still a rare being reprinted in Magic 30. (One thing to note here is that these sets were designed before draft was a thing. So while you could draft this set, your experience is likely to be awful.)

Because the other thing that WotC will do is price it less. So it'll be tiered now-"sure, you can have an opportunity for a Mox if you want to shell out $1000 but hey if you want a Tundra, we're only asking $500."

Still won't be a legal proxy for any format though. Can't do that!

However, because of the new price point, and they might (miiiiiiight, mind you) make it more widely available, people's brains will pull a trick on them-one illustrated in Predictably Irrational. The ability to compare products will get people to buy four packs for $500 because "it's a much better deal!"

It isn't. It won't be. But we'll have been duped into thinking it is. It's a marketing trick that once you see it, you can see being pulled over and over again. See also the recent Warhammer 40k Commander sets. 

Take a look at Card Kingdom's prices. The "Collector's Editions" are more than triple the cost of the regular ones. Do you think the manufacture cost triple? Or is it more likely that WotC can sell the premium product to wealthy people, and everyone else will look at a $60 price point and go: well hell, that's a value! 

Commander decks were $30 once upon a time. Again: has the cost of making Commander decks truly doubled, or do we just have price points that let us think we're getting a deal, because we have points of comparison?

That's the trick, an that's why I'm fairly certain PK is right. 

But also: Fuck all that.

0-2-1

Well, here's a bit of a slide from the last event. 

Rd 1 vs Derek on mono Red prison

G1: my first play was to get a Swamp, but the response was a turn one Blood Moon.

Unfortunately, the next three lands in my hand were a Verdant Catacombs and two Bayous. I could play nothing, while he cast Goblin Rabblemaster. I cut out before he could see what I was up to.

G2: There was a Chalice of the Void set to 1, then another on 2, and I was hanging on until I got a Pernicious Deed, which I cleared most of the board with. Then it was Apprentice, Chain to win.

G3: This time there was a turn two Chalice on 2 and every card in my hand cost 2. I cast a Once Upon A Time in response, saw 2 Pernicious Deeds in the top five and thought: Uh-oh, I’m not going to see another one. I didn’t and that was that.

What I didn't do: Sideboard in Abrupt Decay. That card solves my Chalice problem, along with just about any other problem that deck can resolve and I didn't realize this until after the fact. Next time!

Rd 2 vs Ryan on 4c Control w/Minsc & Boo.
G1: He didn’t seem to get much board presence, and eventually I whittled his hand down to a Chain of Smog on him-which he countered, letting me Chain myself to win. Unfortunately, I don't think I saw a nonland permanent from him this game, so I wasn't sure what to do and merely boarded in three copies of Choke.

G2: This was a grinder of a match. We traded removal and creatures but eventually he got the better of me. He had Uro to recur, so I switched up my sideboard to include Leyline.

G3: While I had the opening Leyline hand, my follow up didn't include enough pressure. He answered my threats but I was able to answer his and eventually, we went to time. Still, interesting match!

Rd 3 vs Chris on UW/r control
Game 1: Not much. Just got Narcet/Days Undoing’d. 

Game 2: I got stuck on two lands. While my turn two and three Hymns did what they were supposed to, I couldn’t draw anything else to help me. Eventually Narcet arrived and I didn't have any pressure. When Day's Undoing was cast on my turn after I drew, that was that. 

I'm not sure I sideboarded well in that last match; I knew my Sudden Edicts didn't matter but would Leyline have been a good decision? It seems like the Day's Undoing decks are notoriously light on threats and many rely on resources coming back from the graveyard. 

That second game I conceded, my opponent didn't win. He might've, given enough time but perhaps if I had been looking for a hand that targeted my opponent's deck's weaknesses I might've hung in there.

Mostly this evening felt like I had some bad luck. Aside from missing the Abrupt Decay vs Chalice interaction I didn't miss anything. Teferi is still a problem and the white removal suite (Swords to Plowshares/Prismatic Ending) is a grinder. I wish I had an answer to that. 

Thragtusk might actually be helpful if I could ramp up mana, but what was suggested to me was Thrun the Last Troll.

It can't be countered and it can't be targeted. Can this do what I need it to? 

Sideboard Margins

 I know I've been talking about what cards-especially anti-Blue cards-might fit into the Yes We Die shell or sideboard. I don't mind the obvious answers but just after I'd posed this question, I saw the Thraben U video putting a spotlight on Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. 

I won't say that it was news to me that the card was good: the stats alone for Sheoldred make her formidable. I also knew from other decks I've built that making players take damage for drawing cards shouldn't be sniffed at. That it could be as punishing as it was, however, was a little eye opening. 

And it fits in with what I'm doing very well. The incremental life gain is extending things to a point where I can combo off, the incremental life loss is shortening the game to where I don't have to.

There is, of course, one problem. 

Sigh. I've said it before but holy crap are cards expensive. 

It's $50 for a card that on day of release was going for close to $40 and now that it's out in the world, is just more expensive. The supply went UP and the cost also went up.

That ain't right. I don't know how the hell singles of new cards spike like this, but it is exhausting to have this game be so damned expensive. 

Part of me just wants to throw in a 'what the heck' card. This is where God-Eternal Rhonas becomes seductive. 

But I think I'll just go with a regular old Thragtusk for now. 

Well How About That

This fuckin' game. 

The upside: the 30 year anniversary of Magic has one hell of a product release. 

Look at all of these terrible cards. 

No seriously, look at it. They are gorgeous, they are being released in new and old frames, and they are for the very first time I can think of, re-releasing Moxes and Dual lands.

That's the hype point. Physical copies of cards that, wink wink, are not for tournament play. 

Every tournament I have ever been to has players using opaque sleeves. So we all know that we're going to see them at tournaments that aren't run by WotC. Every local game store is almost certainly going to allow these "proxies". 

How you get proxies from the official makers of the game is a question that we clearly have no time for! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!!

Or: Do you want people to play Legacy and Vintage or not? If you do, then STFU. 

Which hey, I am fine to do! Whenever it's come up, I've emphasized how important I think it is that cards be available to the widest possible audience. That there should be a price point that children-and Magic is a game that is open to children-should be able to at least dream of. Since they cannot get copies of Taiga, then by golly let them proxy up a copy so they can engage in the format. Stores should allow these cards to be used in events. 

But. 

Again, let's look at those cards. These are going to be random packs of cards from Magic's history that aren't curated. Sure, you might open a Black Lotus. But you also might open a Force of Nature or a Word of Command. Word of Command is a weird card, and I'm glad they're embracing the weird elements of the old sets, but Force of Nature has been utterly outclassed by improved Magic design. 

Which can be said of many of the cards you're going to see. Chaoslace? Evil Presence? Magical Hack? These are not cards that people are hoping to get. 

And, you know; fine. It's part of the history of the game, so you gotta take the the good the bad and the ugly.

But.

30th Anniversary Edition will be on sale for the holidays, available November 28 for $999 on 30thEdition.wizards.com

And.

Each display of 30th Anniversary Edition will contain four packs of pure nostalgia reimagined in a modern context. Each pack contains 15 cards, 13 cards in the modern frame—1 rare, 3 uncommons, 7 commons, and 2 basic lands—plus one basic land in the retro frame, one additional retro frame card, and a token.

It's selling for $1000. A box -four. packs.- of random proxies. Not tournament legal cards. Proxies. Very pretty proxies made by the Wizards of the Coast and-wait wait, man behind the curtain!!! Don't think about this. 

One thousand dollars. That's just unacceptable to me. It should be unacceptable to everyone.