Having some disillusionment with the game...
General forum
Posted on Nov. 21, 2023, 1:28 a.m. by TheMartianGeek
tl;dr: I have a huge love-hate relationship with MTG and am wondering if I should still continue with it but am at a loss for how to quit elegantly or what to play instead.
Let's start with some backstory. I was introduced to the game by a friend around the second Ravnica block (February 2013, I think). I started with a Selesnya intro deck (okay, technically an Azorius one, but I almost never played that), made some changes to it based on bulk cards that I bought online and eventually specific singles (remember Planeswalker's Library? They hosted my first-ever MTG online order), and eventually built more decks. I didn't start following set releases until Oath of the Gatewatch, and my first prerelease was Kaladesh (and I still say there's never been a set quite like it). I played a lot back in the mid-2010s when I lived with roommates, but my in-person playtime for the game has been sporadic since then.
Now, the game is far from ideal for my tastes. I don't tend to care for games that involve screwing over your opponents. Cooperative games (like Sentinels of the Multiverse) are the best, games where you're competing but each person is doing their own thing (like Boggle) are in the middle, and games where you're actively trying to interfere with the other players are the worst. (Well, okay, I could add one more category below that for games where you don't even know whom you're competing against.) And MTG does it in an especially frustrating way, incorporating not just single-target instant kill spells but things like counterspells (stops all ETB/LTB abilities and can't be dealt with by most colors), board wipes (basically the backward warp zones from The Lost Levels), mind control (you didn't just kill my creature, you get to have it now...insult to injury!), and resource denial (prevent me from even playing the game...fun). Also, I still say that the mana system far too often leads to games that can't even get off the ground (more so in Arena?), and it feels like one misplay often costs you the game (or at least, that's been my impression in Arena lately).
As for deckbuilding, I can't decide if I love it or hate it: while it's fun coming up with my own ideas for decks and takes on existing ones (and frankly, I have way too many decks, some pretty inchoate), I am terrible at actually making decks the recommended size. And it's astonishingly difficult to find any help online about cutting cards; I've read https://tappedout.net/mtg-articles/2020/apr/25/edh-deck-building-process-5-cutting-cards/, but it's pretty specifically for Commander and not other formats (such as Historic) or casual "anything goes", and it still doesn't provide the entire answer. Sometimes, people will say "cut the worst/least useful cards", which isn't helpful in the slightest; if I knew what the worst cards in the deck were, I wouldn't need help cutting them, now, would I?!
I have very mixed feelings about the lore, too. I've quite enjoyed some of the stories; I liked Kaladesh, original Ixalan, original Dominaria (2018), Children of the Nameless, Unstable, and Strixhaven all right (and the Saheeli/Huatli date story was adorable), though I still need to read the Wilds of Eldraine and Lost Caverns of Ixalan story. But lighthearted slice-of-life and heroic adventure stories and settings seem to be outnumbered considerably by dark, gruesome ones, and whenever there's a multiplanar conflict, the latter always take precedence. This is particularly frustrating with characters, who often get messed up even if they wouldn't have been on their own plane. Of course, this all reached critical mass with the last big storyline; the Phyrexians are my least favorite characters in any work of media that I have ever experienced for many reasons. I thought Dolores Umbridge was pretty bad, but the Phyrexians are sort of like if you gave her a god complex, the ability to turn other people into copies of her just by touching them, and plot armor thicker than the Antarctic ice shelf. You'd think that since young teens and children play this game, and horror isn't a genre that can be enjoyed by the majority of people (presumably), they wouldn't make their main villainous faction hit just about every horror genre that exists simultaneously. To add insult to injury, their latest scheme also involved brainwashing one of my favorite characters, who then got ignobly killed off before she ever even had a chance to get a planeswalker card on her own plane as herself, or indeed, any anywhere except Innistrad or War of the Spark. RIP Tamiyo. I get that they're trying to make the stakes high and the plot shocking, and make us really want the villains to lose (and given how popular Phyrexia is, I don't think there's anything they could do that would prevent a lot of people from rooting for them anyway), but I already hated the villains and wanted them to lose. This plot development didn't make me angry with the villains; it made me angry with the writers, for thinking this was remotely a good idea (especially since they went for another planeswalker of a unique species...they really couldn't have killed off one of the generic human planeswalkers instead?!), and even the fans for being so gung-ho about these clearly irredeemable bad guys. It nearly ruined Neon Dynasty for me, and I seriously considered selling off my collection back in early 2022. Then just to rub salt in the wound, even after the heroes won, the story team decided that it was a good idea to despark a bunch of planeswalkers, including my second- and third-favorite characters, and reduce my favorite card type to one per set (not to mention leading off this new single-planeswalker scheme with one of my least favorite characters). If you want a comic-book story where your villains never permanently lose, then the same ought to be true for the heroes, no? And I fully expect these kinds of multiversal apocalyptic threats to keep happening. I didn't like the Nicol Bolas storyline either, but it had nothing on the Phyrexia storyline for feel-bad moments.
I've also had issues with the community at times. Obviously, any fandom has good and bad people, but it's astonishing how often I see people cheerfully and unironically admit to griefing (e.g. "I have more fun when other people have less fun") and have it just treated as normal. I get wanting to do whatever it takes to win in a competitive setting (which is one of many reasons why I hate playing games competitively), but in something like a public queue, I feel like one should at least try not to do things that make people hate you. And complaining about any playstyle tends to get you more hate than the actual griefers. Generally, I find that the most fun I have with the game is when I'm playing or deckbuilding with friends, but I'm rapidly running out of local people with whom to play, and I haven't really had any luck finding new people. Part of it is that I want to play casually, and almost every casual player seems to want to play Commander, which is okay but not my favorite (especially for how prone to board wipes it is, and the fact that it's so easy for one player to get eliminated early and end up sitting there with nothing to do). MTG Arena is the most accessible way to play, but it's also the worst, in my opinion, with basically no socialization, no multiplayer, very limited formats, and a limited number of cards and decks (and with no rule zero in place, it tilts me like you wouldn't believe if I end up mana screwed or against an annoying deck).
I trust I don't need to elaborate on why the financial aspect of the game is problematic. I've spent WAY too much money on it, especially for a casual player. Admittedly, I did discover professional-quality proxies in late 2021, which I really wish I'd known about sooner; they essentially reduce the price of any card I want to about 30 cents, provided that I have enough in mind to buy them in bulk. Still, when so many new and interesting cards come out nowadays, it's shockingly easy to overspend. And some people don't like using proxies (fools, I tell you), so that's something to worry about for the future.
So given all that, you'd think that it would be easy to just do a Marie Kondo on the whole game and never look back, but it's not that simple. For one, I don't dislike everything about Magic. The open-endedness and customizability is a big part of it; while it does run headlong into my chronic analysis paralysis, it's still fun to come up with decks. I like the social aspect of it, as mentioned. I like being able to show off new decks to friends and see theirs in return. I like when I can really get a deck going; even if I lose, I'd rather see it get to do its thing than win because I just happened to get luckier than the other player(s). I like some of the lore and stories. And I've actually come up with original characters and even worlds for the game, as well as custom cards and sets (I even commissioned art for one of them). Also, my collection is pretty big; I probably have the equivalent of about 10 of those 4-row boxes (I do own some of said boxes, but not all of my cards are in them) plus a binder, and most of the cards aren't all that valuable, so even if I managed to sell everything above $5.00, I'd still probably have 95% or more of it left, particularly if I replaced the sold cards with proxies, and I'd still have spent way more than I made. And though it shouldn't affect me that much, nobody in my family approves of my interaction with the game; opinions range from "it's a fun game, but you're taking it way too far" to "it's basically an invention of the devil". Furthermore, I don't know what I'd replace it with. I don't know what other game would have the same level of customizability while being more up my alley where gameplay and lore is concerned.
So...here I am, in a frustrating liminal space. I want to keep playing Magic: The Gathering, and yet I want to quit playing it. I want to buy more cool cards, and yet I shouldn't buy more. I like it, and I hate it. It's fun, and it drives me nuts. I don't know what to do. Help?
The lore is definitely uneven in tone and quality, but I suspect it's going to lighten up for at least the next couple years. All major arc villains are out of the picture, and (I hope) the story will be more grounded, more focused on the events of the planes themselves, and much more lighter than the last couple years. GenCon preview spoilers ahead I'm encouraged by some of the upcoming sets--Outlaws of Thunder Junction seems like it's going to be high tempo, upbeat, and entertaining, while Bloomburrow should have a slower, softer story acting as a breather (although stuff like Redwall and Watership Down can get dark, but I'm predicting it's going to be more Lorwyn-y or Kaladesh-y in tone). "Death Race" doesn't seem to have any external conflict.
As far as gameplay, unfortunately, control decks have been, are, and will be part of the game. I'm very much a control player at heart, and my idea of a good time is ripping the opponent's hand and board apart through discard and removal, but I try to keep a few "nicer" decks on hand. Griefers don't want to play the game, they want to make other people suffer. If my decks are making people not have fun, I'm happy to switch it up. I'm also not too big into Commander, and I don't play competitive at this point, so I get that feeling. Just sit down, play some jank, and have fun. Commander has taken over a lot of casual play, which has definitely made it harder to find a random quick game in any other format.
If Magic isn't giving you the full experience you want, my suggestion is to shake something up. If you want to step away from Magic (and toward the less... weird.. parts of your family), find another non-gaming hobby. There's all sorts of options--cooking, rec sports, theater, drawing, or any of a bazillion more--so there's going to be something else you can get into. You don't have to totally leave Magic, too. Stay with the community, or see if other friends might be interested, so you can keep up with the good bits, but only play when and with who you want to. Try some new or obscure formats with your group--Emperor, Archenemy, and Horde Magic are all different forms of co-op play. Pauper seems to be growing, and is relatively inexpensive. Shake something up, either in M:tG or outside of it.
November 21, 2023 3:11 a.m.
Infatuated_Amnesiac says... #4
TheMartianGeek Oh man can I relate...
I started around Kaladesh as well, similar trajectory here. I cannot fathom how Magic can simultaneously be the worst and best game to play. For me it all comes to the fact that, deep deep down, I love the game.
Doesn't matter that that my opponent is playing the grindiest, scammiest deck that strips my resources and prevents me from playing the game or their mill or their control, or that I'm losing the top deck to flood.
Doesn't matter that it feels in order to compete I'd have to drop a small fortune on the game. Doesn't matter that WotC makes such strange backwards decisions about where they want their business and story to go.
Sure, that stuff tilts me out to no end, and I have a relationship with the game that is definitely unhealthy at times and need to work on that, but at the end of the day it's just that, a game. And sometimes it can help to just take a step away and recollect, remember why you like it and pursue those aspects. It is kind of inevitable that you'll run into opponents who take joy from your suffering. But it do feel pretty good getting those ops to scoop cause you turned it around.
Ultimately for me, I that greatest joy I get is from 25¢ beating +$20 cards and building around jank. And those things tend to happen often enough it brings me back.
If you're needing help with deck building or whatnot reach out, I can give some middling advice!
November 21, 2023 10:27 a.m.
FormOverFunction says... #5
I’ve played since the 90s, and quit twice. Both times I kept my cards, stashing them away for later. There’s nothing that says you’re not allowed to step away, so I don’t think you should feel bad about that. When I came back, after EDH started getting popular, I basically focused 100% on making hyper-casual decks. If you look at my decks you’ll be unsurprised to see that I have something in the neighborhood of a 2% win rate. As I play those decks, though, there have been people who actively avoid playing with me because they’re interested in the competition... and that’s great for both of us. On the flip-side, I’ve been lucky to build a group of random people that enjoy goofing off with me on Wednesday nights at the shop. They range all the way from brand-new out to 90s veterans like me, some are more competitive while some are less. It’s totally wide open. Now: I’m very lucky to live in a great area of Wisconsin, USA for magic. If you’re not in a spot like that currently, maybe you just park the cards for a little while and have fun doing anything else. That’s the main goal of hobbies after all. I don’t want magic to be a negative in anyone’s life, it’s a waste and a shame. Save those cards though; it’s unlikely that they’ll be worthless when you come back. I can say that because when you come back to them, you’ll have a personal attachment to them if nothing else. SIDE NOTE: I haven’t ever paid much attention to the plots and characters. I’ve enjoyed it much more just focusing on doing my own thing. I’ll avoid my standard planeswalker rank, for the sake of the site ;p
November 21, 2023 1:30 p.m.
As someone who started in the 90's, I've taken multiple breaks. If you are feeling burned out on the game, take a break for a while.
Personally I've been really heavily into EDH for the past decade, but certain factors are burning me out. The constant product churn (which is harder in EDH because almost everything is legal there), the increasingly complexity of card design, the power creep acceleration, the Phyrexian story line being pretty bad and universe's beyond just feeling like a cheap money-grab that is incongruent to the feel of magic. It's all weighing down on me. But my local game store has a great community of players of varying power levels and playing the game with that group of people is what's keeping me going right now. I also have to give Wizards credit because even though I feel like some sets haven't been all that great, they still sometimes hit it out of the park. I loved Wilds of Eldraine.
I will push back against some of the comments I've seen other make about lore. If lore and story matter to you that's important. Magic has a lot of different aspects for why people love it, and I think sometimes people don't appreciate how all of those aspects interact with other people, so if it's important to you, let it be important.
November 21, 2023 2:30 p.m.
I really can't add more then, what's already been said on most points.
As far as deck brewing glancing at the deck on your profile your decks lack focus. So, when it comes to cutting cards look at each card ask your self what is your deck trying to and does this card help that goal? If I put a cat lord (like Regal Caracal) how would a card like Shanna, Sisay's Legacy vs say Adorned Pouncer help or if I'm building a deck around card like Sage of Hours how am I going to find it protect it and the other combo parts? "The game has to end", ask your self when brewing how does your deck with and how does each card help do that, its ez just to cramp a deck full of "good stuff" and hope for a win but, normally will never pan out.
As far as what to replace the MTG addiction with well, that's a fully loaded question. If it's the game playing strategy there a lot of great card games (using a 52 playing deck) that are just as fun IMO Yurker is my go to but, a lot of pro poker player play MTG food for thought. Flesh n Blood, Mage wars and Summoner Wars all are close to MTG.
GL HF
November 22, 2023 1:26 a.m.
TheMartianGeek says... #8
Sorry for the code blocks. I wasn't sure how to do quotes. Also, I had meant to reply last night, but I accidentally overwrote the tab, thereby deleting my post, and it was almost bedtime, so I didn't have time to redo it.
When you're newish to the game, deckbuilding is almost always bound to feel overwhelming
Huh, 10 years of play is new?
Find people with mindsets you enjoy being around, and play games with them... a game in a bad-format but with good company will always be more enjoyable than playing your favourite format surrounded by people you can't stand.
Good advice.
if you decisively hate interaction, you can play decks which do their best to avoid it, most notably with a deck like Bogles, or using decks running stuff like Giver of Runes, Spellskite, Counterspell, Veil of Summer etc to protect your stuff.
Well, I have at least one bogles deck in both Arena and paper. I also make sure to include protection in every deck that I can, though some are better at it than others (good luck protecting yourself in a mono-red deck, for instance).
if you get overwhelmed with deckbuilding, a better approach is to use already-created decks that work within whatever meta you're playing
Hm. I don't really use netdecks unless I need them for a specific purpose (such as getting quick wins in Arena when I just can't be bothered). And I'm sure I don't have any precons left.
further to deckbuilding, reading articles and watching videos of competitive players brew and create decks will help strengthen your knowledge around doing that yourself.
Do you have any good recommendations for people to look up?
Proxy stuff. Casual games shouldn't be gatekept. If people don't like playing with well-made proxies, you don't have to play with those people.
I agree with this. Though part of the problem there is that most of my friends don't play with sleeves. (I do, though. Once I started getting $20 and up cards, I figured I'd better protect them. It also makes them way easier to shuffle, since I can't do the normal method.)
I'm very much a control player at heart, and my idea of a good time is ripping the opponent's hand and board apart through discard and removal, but I try to keep a few "nicer" decks on hand. Griefers don't want to play the game, they want to make other people suffer. If my decks are making people not have fun, I'm happy to switch it up.
Well, it's good that you're willing to compromise. I feel like rule zero is really important for these sorts of things. I've had a couple decks that people don't like and generally avoid using, like one that can get infinite turns with a Spellweaver Helix.
Just sit down, play some jank, and have fun.
Jank is the best. I swear I had more fun with the game when we all sucked at it. Even now, I definitely have some deck themes that I'd never use in a competitive setting, like Attractions, a deck where everything only costs 1 mana, a mono-red lifegain deck, and a Chandra "typal" deck.
If you want to step away from Magic (and toward the less... weird.. parts of your family), find another non-gaming hobby.
Well, I do enjoy reading, writing, playing single-player video games, listening to and composing music (including for video games), and when I can, hiking and disc golf. My family has been weird about other things, too, especially my gender exploration.
Try some new or obscure formats with your group--Emperor, Archenemy, and Horde Magic are all different forms of co-op play.
I've never heard of Horde Magic, but I've tried the other two. I'd also like to try Planechase and Oathbreaker at some point.
I started around Kaladesh as well, similar trajectory here.
Actually, I started around Dragon's Maze. I just didn't play in any public events until Kaladesh.
that stuff tilts me out to no end, and I have a relationship with the game that is definitely unhealthy at times and need to work on that
it me
It is kind of inevitable that you'll run into opponents who take joy from your suffering. But it do feel pretty good getting those ops to scoop cause you turned it around.
Responding to a board wipe with Teferi's Protection or Heroic Intervention (if it doesn't bypass indestructibility) is very satisfying.
If you're needing help with deck building or whatnot reach out, I can give some middling advice!
Sure. Thanks for the offer.
I’m very lucky to live in a great area of Wisconsin, USA for magic. If you’re not in a spot like that currently, maybe you just park the cards for a little while and have fun doing anything else.
Well, my city at least has over 70,000 people, which isn't nothing. And I have at least two LGSes that do MTG stuff, though usually just sanctioned events and not much open play. I also live a few miles away from the middle of town, and I don't drive, so it's always hard getting transportation to any of those. The only bus that comes near my house sucks.
If lore and story matter to you that's important.
I feel like at the very least, it's important because it affects the feelings that you get. The same card with different art and flavor text can give very different feelings (unless it's an Agent of Treachery or Stone Rain or something, in which case the feeling is always "FUUUUUU—"). There are some cards that I refuse to play without an alter because of the flavor and/or art; not just Phyrexian stuff, but the original printing of Thought Scour, Curse of Surveillance, Brain Maggot, and Sensory Deprivation come to mind. And even if you don't read the story, it still shows up on cards.
As far as deck brewing glancing at the deck on your profile your decks lack focus.
I need to update my decks on here, honestly. And add a bunch that aren't there. I could use it for Arena as well. I feel like I have a goal in mind at least most of the time, but it depends on how specific you mean.
November 23, 2023 12:50 a.m.
wallisface says... #9
TheMartianGeek replying to some of your comments that were from my previous post
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on ”Huh, 10 years of play is new?” - it can be, depending how your exposure to the game has been. People can play chess for twice that long and still not know what a book-move is. Without a competitive environment to encourage growth, there won’t be any - and your original posting gave the impression you’ve been largely playing at a very casual level - which in general doesn’t lead to getting better knowledge around why game mechanics exist, what effects are strong, deckbuilding considerations etc.
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on ”Do you have any good recommendations for people to look up?” - give AspiringSpike a watch, he’s very good at explaining his thought process.
November 23, 2023 5:48 a.m.
I can’t tell you how to find people to play with, if your friends and family aren’t interested.
I just tell some of my friends that I am going to teach them how to play Magic.
I personally don’t keep too much of an eye on Magic lore, due to them doing things to characters, that I don’t like. I catch up with occasional plot points on the cards.
I personally found it hilarious that Nissa was desparked, because my friend insisted she wouldn’t be, and he is a jerk.
I love asking him, “Who’s your favourite Planeswalker?” and when he inevitably says, “Nissa,” I can now just say, “She’s not a Planeswalker now”.
I like playing casual co-op the best. The co-op form of Magic is called Horde.
The nice thing about it for builders is that you can not only build your own decks to play, but you can build co-op decks to play against! Lots of fun.
However, I don’t think this is that helpful for you right now.
Taking a break from Magic might be your best bet. Don’t play it for a while, and see if you miss it.
There is Magic the Gathering Online (MTGO), which some people prefer to Arena. It’s much more expensive to get started.
I try to only keep four of a kind of any paper card, and sell the rest.
Kaladesh was absolutely the best Magic set.
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It is Chandra’s home world.
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It introduced Vehicles. Vehicles are the greatest thing Magic has ever done. Three words. Skysovereign Consul Flagship. /mic drop
November 23, 2023 7:35 a.m.
I forgot to say something important.
You can only become a better deck builder by play testing your decks against their competition a LOT.
It also makes you a better player, because you will understand the weaknesses of the decks you are playing against.
By a lot, I mean about five to ten games per day. At least.
That is the way you learn which cards to cut.
Play testing helps you to learn when you hope a certain card will come to hand, or when you hope a certain card doesn’t come to hand. That’s how you learn which cards to take out.
I build lots of decks on here just to test them. Some get made in paper, some don’t.
Some I have remade from the ground up.
I used to play competitive Standard for a while. That can make you an excellent deck builder. Pioneer, too.
Deck building can be difficult to learn. It often takes thousands of hours.
You learn it by doing it. Build every type of deck you can think of.
Then start building decks to make your favourite cards work.
November 23, 2023 7:45 a.m.
Pen-&-Paper RPG would have some of what you are looking for. DnD is cooperative, highly social. Arkham Horror would be a coop board-game, though that would be old pulp-fiction Horror-based. Though those things are usually even "weirder" if you have a sortof straight-&-narrow family. I've found DnD has been taking over alot of my playgroup's timeslots together... Probably because upkeep costs ($$) are so much lower & are more able to enjoy snacks & good booze with DnD than we usually get to with MtG.
Power creep & tempo creep are definitely things to look out for in MtG, it is the same reason I keep seeing more all-or-nothing builds where you are talking about a minimal land-base with tons of fast mana.... & absolutely Zero panache to the decks. PERSONALLY, I have been much more into groupslug decks & when you find a playgroup with more sluggers in it you find some really FUN games of magic. It is a bizarre thing where the average meta are trying to accomplish the same goal... controlly wins for example, but as soon as you shift to the meta playing for a race to: "death by 1,000 cuts" you actually find that the average -splash deck is woefully pushed out of that type of game.
I am surprised that you would receive less $$ than you invested in the game though. I have made a bundle of $$ just selling off chunks of my collection to a major vendor (I think I am not supposed to namedrop them on here?). Maybe I just predicted some stuff that I bought low on though. I only ever buy low on singles... So I had like 8x field of the dead for example, because I had a feeling about it
November 28, 2023 11:21 p.m.
There are some ways you can explore to overcome some control strategies, some of them are not what you typically think they are. I've played a TON of games beating very different levels of competition with deck themes that are generally not thought of as the most "winningest strategy" or having the most "staples"
My Atla damage deck has killed many a player in response to their lame cyclonic rifts for example & it does so without a single combo (no combo Atla here) & it does so without a single tutor.
Breena walkers has out-grinded & punched many-a-mouth & almost no one thinks planeswalkers is going to be a huge problem.
November 28, 2023 11:31 p.m.
TheMartianGeek says... #14
Okay, I've finally tried out the deckbuilder again. I'm somewhat getting the hang of it, but it isn't really designed well for importing decks from Arena. It doesn't like the incorrect Dominaria set code, and I haven't been able to figure out how to get it to use Alchemy rebalanced cards, especially in the live editor. Also, is there a way to just drag a card into a category without having to go into its settings?
wallisface says... #2
This post below is all quite long-winded, but you wrote a lot yourself and i'm trying to give it justice :)
Some thoughts/counterpoints on each of your points mentioned:
On "I don't tend to care for games that involve screwing over your opponents" - Your examples here seem to be almost entirely fair interaction (counterspells, killspells etc). While you might not like people messing with your boardstate, its an integral part of the game in order to prevent it just being a race to see who can combo-off first. Without interaction there's no point to playing the game with another person (you might as well be goldfishing the deck on your own). You mention in this paragraph that you prefer cooperative games, and if that's the case then I really don't think magic is ever going to play into your preferred play patterns.
On "As for deckbuilding, I can't decide if I love it or hate it" - this paragraph I think just reads as a frustration with relative lack of experience. Unfortunately the only way to not feel uncomfortable in this aspect of the game is to get more games in. When you're newish to the game, deckbuilding is almost always bound to feel overwhelming, and whatever you brew is almost always going to feel clumsy to play. The best way to get around this is to play with established decks for a while (at whatever level of competitiveness your group plays at). Playing with decks that are proven to work will help you learn what spells are strong and why, and what boardstates are required for various effects to feel stronger/weaker.
I'm not going to comment on the lore. Everyone has their own opinions on what's good and what isn't... at the end of the day, if you find the lore too off-putting you don't have to read any of it - it's not a mandatory thing you need to do to play the game and can be entirely ignored.
Community is also a tricky one to answer, as it's almost entirely down to your playgroup. Find people with mindsets you enjoy being around, and play games with them... a game in a bad-format but with good company will always be more enjoyable than playing your favourite format surrounded by people you can't stand.
On the financial side, I don't think many people are pleased with the costs required to buy a competitive deck. However I can say that it appears that most of the community (at least on here) are all-for proxies - as seen in this thread here. If your playgroup isn't keen for proxies, then it is pretty important that your group decides on an upper-limit on how much a deck should cost, to avoid pricing eachother out of the game.
The vibe I got from skimming through your post is that you're a very casual player, and with that comes the baggage of getting frustrated at the aspects of the game that don't yet make sense. I would think the healthiest thing to do in your current position would be to pick-and-choose the parts of the game you enjoy the most, and stick with them, while blocking-out the aspects of the game which drain you. In particular:
if you decisively hate interaction, you can play decks which do their best to avoid it, most notably with a deck like Bogles, or using decks running stuff like Giver of Runes, Spellskite, Counterspell, Veil of Summer etc to protect your stuff.
if you get overwhelmed with deckbuilding, a better approach is to use already-created decks that work within whatever meta you're playing (all formats have budget options so price should be no issue here). Then, if you're still wanting to indulge in creativity, its a lot easier to make small changes to an established list and see those play-out in playtesting, rather than trying to create something entirely from scratch.
further to deckbuilding, reading articles and watching videos of competitive players brew and create decks will help strengthen your knowledge around doing that yourself. Even if they're building decks in entirely different formats with entirely different budgets, their general building process should help you see mistakes in your own approach.
Lore can be entirely ignored. Or just skip the stories that don't interest you.
Community requires work, but with enough gumption you can get like-minded people into the game. Avoid draining yourself on Arena etc when missing those social interactions are making you enjoy things less. Stick to playing games with those you enjoy spending time with - Magic is a social game.
Proxy stuff. Casual games shouldn't be gatekept. If people don't like playing with well-made proxies, you don't have to play with those people.
November 21, 2023 2:42 a.m.