I get why eternal formats are more appealing
Standard forum
Posted on Feb. 10, 2020, 1:29 p.m. by MalikTheGathering
I just started playing Magic Arena last week. Besides actually having fun growing as a player, it really solidified for me why so many people tend to gravitate to Eternal Formats with wider card pools like Pioneer and EDH.
Besides an odd deck here or there, the limited pool sees a small handful of decks rise above the rest, and then you practically ONLY play against those decks.
I actually tracked my last 10 matches just to see if I was over-exaggerating the issue, but:
1- Orzhov Lifelink 2- Selesnya Enchantments 3- Selesnya Enchantments 4- Black Vampires 5- Bant Thassa 6- Selesnya Enchantments 7- White Enchantments 8- Selesnya Enchantments 9- Bant Thassa 10- Orzhov Lifelink
One particular reason I left Yugioh was because the competitive meta was pretty much the same 3-4 decks with minor variations. I knew it was probably going to be kinda the same for Magic, but seeing as Arena is the only chance I have to play Standard-ish (I'm only free on weekends and my LGS only has Pioneer and Commander on the weekend) it was just something I noticed.
I'm not trying to complain or anything. Just saying, sometimes playing against the same handful of decks feels stale, and I can understand why people beg for rotation and bans, and tend to play the wider pool formats with greater deck variety now.
Gidgetimer says... #3
The whole not rotating thing is my major reason. A wide variety of viable decks is nice too though.
February 10, 2020 3:09 p.m.
skoobysnackz says... #4
If you want more variation, I definitely recommend playing commander on the weekends. Very few decks, even ones with the same commanders, are actually that similar. Also the fact that you play against 3 opponents and that its a singleton format allows for very diverse games even if you keep playing against the same three opponents all the time.
February 10, 2020 3:41 p.m.
It does depend on the "competition" of a meta a bit though. It feels like card pools even in eternal start to narrow to a sort of staleness depending on the table goals... EDH can be PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER!!!.. Itty bitty living space depending on the playgroup.
February 10, 2020 10:23 p.m.
skoobysnackz says... #6
Of course, I can see how more competitive metas and cEDH can become quite stale, but in my experience, most irl players are good at estimating the table's skill and power level. I have never played against a really high power deck in edh without looking for it.
February 11, 2020 1:53 a.m.
Arena uses some algorithm to match similar deck power levels together. None of the decks you mentioned are even in tier 2 of current standard, so you are seeing those decks because you started last week and have a less-than-top-tier deck.
Which is good, since growing your deck means you will see more decks and you do not get stomped by the top decks in your first matches.
The algorithm behind this is pretty vague, but hey you avoided mono red in your first ten matches, which is by far the most played deck in Arena - a success in and of its own.
Additionally, even on Arena, there are events with special rules, Limited/Drafting and the occassional Historic. Compared to Yugioh, which has 1 format, this is a big deal.
Finally, Eternal formats are not immune from this issue. While the possibilities to play a wider range of cards are there, it does not mean those possibilities are any good. So, in Pioneer (not an eternal format, but still), you will not see a black deck without 3-4 copies of Thoughtseize.
February 11, 2020 5:37 a.m. Edited.
Yep, I am not disagreeing with the OP at heart, there definitely are perks to the format. I do think a good amount of staleness in eternal formats stems from arms races; however, you can occasionally see the reverse of this as well. In my playgroup, one of the most competitive & experienced players has seen the light :) & thrown in some pet cards to balance out his usual spiky suspects - Resulting in some of those wondrously surprising events instead of another carbon-copy win for the same guy.
Last_Laugh says... #2
The other reason people prefer eternal formats is your cards don't rotate out and lose 90% of their value. Barring the occasional ban your deck will be left alone.
February 10, 2020 2:09 p.m.