There are those who call me...Manaburn!

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Mar. 1st, 2006

08:37 pm - Many Happy Returns

In November of last year, my brother and I decided to try Magic: The Gathering for a hobby. For me it would be a return to a game I last purchased in the previous century. For my 14-year-old brother Hunter, it would be his fourth try at a CCG, having gone through Pokemon, Harry Potter, and Yu-Gi-Oh with no success.
So we bought the Starter, played some games, and then started playing FNM at our local store (which has since closed). We learned alot during those tourneys, including the fact that FNM was a tournament (quite the shock to me to see Hunter in his third match ever playing in a tourney).
After Hometown closed, Hunter and I tried a Guildpact Release tournament at Pandemonium (great fun that will be remembered later).
For now, a few things I have learned in four months:
1. Creature A is a RR creature with 2/2. Creature B is a UU creature with 1/1 and flying. Creature C is a BB creature with 2/1 and first strike. Both Creatures B & C are “stronger” than Creature A because Creature A can “only” attack and block. B & C are able to either evade or outright kill Creature A and his ilk. Go with finesse over brute strength.
2. Buyback is NOT the same as Cycling; it takes a while to sink in, but it will, eventually.
3. Kjeldoran Dead does not usually make for a good Turn 1 drop.
4. While still being effective, Serra Angel is not the beast she was when your mom used her to kick your tail every week in 4th edition.
5. Umezawa’s Jitte, Brainfreeze, and Aluren, however, WILL make you cry like a baby.
6. Playing Control is harder than Weenie.
7. Everyone’s first decks consisted of every card in their collection, often in the hundreds.
8. Basic Island is the most broken card in the Eternal formats. Example: with one, you can unsummon any creature; with two, you can counter any spell.
9. Beware playing any 9-year-old with 4 Jittes.
10. If you are of legal drinking age and some 9-year-old kid beats you in FNM like he was crapping in your sandwich (often with a Jitte), when you get home you will feel the urge to drink. Go with that urge, don’t try to be a hero, manage the pain. (But please drink responsibly.)
11. Good players play good cards.
12. Great players play great cards.
13. Champions get lucky.
14. 11 or 12 aren’t necessary to achieve 13. But it does help.
15. Flashing foil cards will not get you girls.
16. A well-played Brainfreeze deck will beat a $500 burn deck more often than not.
17. Control vs. Control can lead to this situation:
A: I Unsummon that creature.
B: I Counterspell your Unsummon.
A: I Mana Leak your Counterspell.
B: I Mana Leak your Mana Leak.
A: I Counterspell your Mana Leak.
B: I Remand your Counterspell.
A: I Miscalculate your Remand.
B: I Convolute your Miscalculate.
A: (Pause) Fine, keep the damn Merfolk.
18. Mohawks are stupid.
19. According to Augie, Elvish Champion is shit. According to my 14-year-old brother, it is quality shit.
20. It is always appropriate to pause during a game and yell “Leeroooy Jenkins!!!”
21. It is NEVER appropriate to stand up, rub your butt, and yell “You took it like a MAN!!!”
22. You won’t find the Rat’s Nest Precon for under $20 anywhere. If you do, buy it and then laugh at the seller.
23. When you win a match, enjoy it, but don’t be an ass about it. Act like you’ve won before.
24. When you lose a match, pretend for a minute that the other player was better than you this time and shake his hand graciously. You can whine about bad draws and manascrew later.
25. Never let anyone tell you the “shaggy dog” joke. You won’t be able to get the 10 minutes of your life back.
26. You will then, however, want to tell the “shaggy dog” joke at all your future parties. Doing this will reduce the amount of parties you get invited to.
27. Pillory of the Sleepless is a good card. Ignore the nay-sayers and buy a set.
28. Unless it turns out to be crappy, in which case, hide yours and laugh at the bozos who bought four of them.
29. Never allow the guys to give you the nickname “Manaburn”.
30. And remember, Magic is like golf: you can swear to give up the game and burn all your cards, but eventually, we all come back to the range.

Current Mood: excited

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Jul. 9th, 2005