Why is it always standard!
TappedOut forum
Posted on Dec. 8, 2013, 6:51 p.m. by miracleHat
Hi,
You know how there are all of those articles of playtesting their standard decks; like with Spootyone, BeatAll has a new one, and any others that i missed. My question is (as posted above), "Why is it always standard!" I wish that people would do something more sophisticated like modern, or legacy. It would be nice for it not to be standard %90 percent of the time, Matsi883 does include all formats though it isn't playtesting. Second question, would people like having different formats being played to diversify the articles?Does that make any sense?
miracleHat says... #3
@r3v13w, i actually wasn't talking about EDH, i was talking about modern/legacy.
December 8, 2013 7:02 p.m.
miracleHat says... #4
plus, ghost dude (can't remember his name) is already doing some form of EDH.
December 8, 2013 7:03 p.m.
Standard is the most popular format, followed by EDH, followed by modern and legacy. Might be because modern and legacy are generally more expensive, or it could be something else completely. Regardless - fewer people play those formats.
December 8, 2013 7:12 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #6
Our user base is predominantly Standard players. Standard also has the most dynamic meta; it changes frequently as new decks come out and new sets change the format. Therefore, it makes sense that most of the articles will focus on Standard.
You're welcome to submit some draft articles for other formats.
December 8, 2013 7:41 p.m.
notamardybum says... #7
as stated above, instead of ranting about there not being enough articles about modern and legacy, make one yourself.
btw you do realize that you said %90 percent right? on that thought maybe you shouldn't make an article...
December 8, 2013 7:51 p.m.
Monoxidechild says... #10
notamardybum and I were just talking about this. We're planning on doing a similar vblog type play testing system where we'd play a multitude of formats and with different players, then link the games on here.
December 8, 2013 7:54 p.m.
Coming from my perspective, I see too many of the "play a Standard matchup" article. There are two things that might work.
1) Play different formats. GoldGhost012 does a good one with EDH, and I've enjoyed his first two a lot.
2) Play netdecks. This might sound stupid, but I think we don't need three of Spootyone's Showdowns a week (even though they were KrazyCaley's before they were Spooty's...I think). I want to know the ins and outs of my matchup against MBD with MUD and vica versa. That would be a good article, and BeatAll or Behgz should (in my opinion) do that.
I'm not sure that TappedOut is the right site for my articles. I could post them anywhere, however these playtest articles are something I've only seen on TO.
December 8, 2013 8:15 p.m.
Yeh it's getting so excessive with all the Standard deck playtests. Really ridiculous. I thought there were articles before about getting to know certain netdecks? There definitely should be though.
December 8, 2013 8:18 p.m.
KrazyCaley did Showdowns before they were called Showdowns. Read the very last one here
December 8, 2013 8:21 p.m.
I remember that time :) . I miss speaking to KrazyCaley.
December 8, 2013 8:33 p.m.
@Droxium --- The only reason I only play in the standard format is because I've only been playing magic for a week, I'm starting to build my first modern vamps deck right now, and getting the cards is a pain. When I finish building that, I'd be glad to do some modern playtesting as well, just keep in mind I don't have the slightest idea on what the modern meta-game is.
@Matsi883 --- I like the idea about playtesting against the netdecks and I would be more than willing to do this for anyone who asked (well not ANYONE if tons of people asked) and provide my input on what your decks strengths/weaknesses are.
Personally, I like the playtest articles on this site for 1 major reason - they expose the community to otherwise unheard of decks with unique interactions you may not see in grand prix / pro tour top 8 lists. They may not be tier 1, but I play magic to have fun with a deck I love, not to win major tournaments.
December 8, 2013 9:16 p.m.
Oh wow, major typo, I've been playing for 1 YEAR, not 1 week xD
December 8, 2013 9:17 p.m.
Monoxidechild says... #17
"Personally, I like the playtest articles on this site for 1 major reason - they expose the community to otherwise unheard of decks with unique interactions you may not see in grand prix / pro tour top 8 lists. They may not be tier 1, but I play magic to have fun with a deck I love, not to win major tournaments."
Agreed! Your article was very well written and you did a great job navigating the decks, any criticism should be taken positively because it was a solid read through.
December 8, 2013 9:20 p.m.
My article series started out as a spontaneous desire. I wanted to playtest my deck against another popular selesnya deck (back then I called the forum post a "selesnya showdown"). After that, a person here and there came to me and asked if I'd playtest their decks with mine and I did. I actually had no real intention of making anything of the whole ordeal til someone (now I feel bad because I can't remember who) suggested I do so, and thus we have what we have now. I guess I just happened to do so at a time when articles of the sort were at a low or when desire for them was at a high or something because I've really been happy with the feedback I've gotten from them.
So, yeah, that's why I do standard. My knowledge of the game stays strongest in standard. My deck is a standard one and I like the ever-changing environment standard brings, unlike modern and legacy where you tend to see a lot of the same powerhouse decks. I like building my stuff from scratch and fine-tuning it until I have a quote-unquote masterpiece that I can call mine. This is something that is very, very hard to do in those other formats.
December 8, 2013 9:58 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #19
Honestly, r3v13w brings up great points about how difficult it can be to playtest EDH builds, especially with control and combo decks. Should I play the counterspell now? Should I put the first piece of my combo down? What exaxtly should I tutor for?
It can get very confusing at times to know what the proper plays may be. To help with this, I plan to look over the decks for a period of a few days, playtesting it before I do the actual article showdown. And no Dominus - Dreamcrusher Edition right off the bat lol.
December 8, 2013 10:17 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #20
Standard is also a much easier format to understand to newer players. There is a relatively small card base, the games generally last longer than other formats, it is always new and interesting, and for those who just want to play the game, it can be a lot more fun. Many of these reasons is also why EDH is number two.
For new players just entering the formats, modern and legacy can be daunting. There are soo many cards to remember plus all the new ones coming out. Then you have to consider the level of play you can create and face. There is a whole new reasoning for why some cards should be used over others, and a whole new level of interaction to learn between the cards. Games can quickly turn into irritating slog-fests as you lose game after game after game without knowing why because you just started. Standard is quick and easy to learn, but modern and legacy takes a good year or 3 to learn. Each, as I've still haven't learned legacy yet.
I've been thinking of making an article about staples. Basically, how to identify a staple among a plethora of cards to choose from. This would also include a lot of stuff that would make a card a staple, the curve, use of resources, card advantage and the likes. Then, it would tell how to identify which staple is right for you. There is much more I can think of to put in it, but it depends on whether or not I'll actually WRITE it. I'm a terrible procrastinator.
December 9, 2013 3:15 a.m.
Monoxidechild says... #21
When I started playing I read an amazing article about how to spot power cards based on Speed, CMC, Actual Cost, Monetary cost, number of Positive attributes, number of Negative Attributes, what can interact with that card, Color, Why it's so used/unused, and finally it's actual quality (common, uncommon, ect.). It blew my mind and took me from a middle of pack home brewing lump to a top 4 staple. I'ma look for it because it may be out of date, but I think it'd be a useful reference if you ever write something similar.
guessling says... #2
At least as far as EDH goes, I do some playtesting but I always keep in mind that it is harder to run another person's EDH deck the way they would do it if it were really a match between yourself and them. This is especially true when the EDH deck you are playtesting has tutors and combos. You can read the description to help and playtesting can give some idea about weaknesses in your own deck but it may not be a valid way to compare decks. Another issue with EDH, at least, is that it is so hard to simulate the way a pod of players would react to threats and collude with each other that again, it isn't like other formats where you could playtest and declare winners in the same way. It might be interesting just to see what another person might do with your deck, but I'm not sure how much it is worth the time and effort. I do it to help catch up on rules questions that are likely to come up and to find obvious weaknesses in my decks (and to see what I have fun playing with).
December 8, 2013 6:55 p.m.