Magic the Gathering Rating/ Updates...

[Savia]

It first started with Dark Ritual for black, then Lightning bolt for red

Actually, Bolt was removed before Rit, although Rit is much more broken.

I can't believe that they left Dark Ritual in as late as Mercadian Masques. Or that they printed it in the same format as Phyrexian Negator.

In case anyone doesn't know, both of these cards are part of a cycle of 'boons'; instants from Alpha that gave three of something characteristic to its colour for one mana. For reference, here they are in increasing order of power:

Healing Salve- Prevent 3 damage/ gain 3 life. Base set staple. Fairish combat trick, but nothing spectacular.

Giant Growth- Target creature gets +3/+3. Another staple; a much better trick than the aforementioned and a good addition to any deck. Marginally constructed playable in Senor Stompy.

Lightning Bolt- Deals 3 damage to target creature/player. The most cost-effective burn spell ever printed excepting Fireblast, and faster than even that. Very, very efficient and removed from the base set early.

Dark Ritual- Generates 3 black mana. Although probably not as strong as Lightning Bolt, its much longer lifespan has given it a greater influence on the game. R&D have admitted that its presence affected the creation of every 3-mana black card for years- they all had to be considered in terms of a potential first-turn play.

Ancestral Recall- Target player draws 3 cards. With arguable exceptions (Balance, Pact from Below, Black Lotus), probably the best all-round card ever printed in the game.

[the Black Monarch]

Much of the time, Giant Growth is more powerful than Bolt. Bolt can kill one small creature at the cost of a card, giving one-for-one card nonadvantage, while Giant Growth can kill a creature while saving one of your own, giving you two-for-one card advantage. Giant Growth can also get rid of larger creatures than Bolt, assuming that you can get the big creature into a fight with one of your own.

Oh, and Contract from Below is better than Ancestral Recall.

[Savia]

I think that your reasoning is flawed in that Giant Growth is conditional on your opponent entering their target into combat. They get to choose when to risk their creature. With Lightning Bolt, it's all about your choices. It's efficiency and tempo over card advantage. Card advantage isn't everything.

And although Contract From Below is per se better than Recall, I don't list it as such because, as an ante card, it is unplayable in 99.999% of games (figure not exaggerated).

[Propyro]

man i wish ia had somone to play magic with when i was younger ... then maybe i'd be playing it today ... that sucks ... if i had gotten into it as a kid i'd probably play now ... just ignore me ... i'm a young old fart wishing he didn't grow up in a reirement hole for a neiborhood...

[Savia]

I suppose I should open the can of worms that is the 8th Edition card face redesign. For reference, look here. What does everyone think of it? It will last from 8th onwards.

[[AV] ChOjIn 69]

Let me just say this, as much as i think the new 8th edition grafix suxz0rs, i'd still buy it just so i can get my hands on a foil Birds of Paridise

[Savia]

You know that'll never happen, right? I've seen people with some of the largest collections of cards in the country, I've met a guy with 40 foil, signed Gaea's Cradles and know a couple of people who own and run singles trading businesses, and I've never even seen a foil BoP.

[genestarwind21122]

I played at the Regional Championships two years ago and saw a guy with not one but 4 foil Birds of Paradise. That was one thing that I couldn't believe what I saw.

[klinky]

Really, Magic and other card games, whats' teh deal?

Is skill really involved? I guess there could be skill involved what with knowing the most effective way to use your cards. But I doubt even the best player could beat someone who uses the bruteforce tatic of dumping their life savings into getting rare cards.

That's why I never got into it really with my friend. I didn't have any money for it and we'd split his deck, only problem is he wanted all the good cards And there were so few anyways in his deck. It just seems unfair.

Wait wait, maybe there are classes for how much money you spent/skill. That may make sense


oooh

[genestarwind21122]

It may be kinda hard to believe but it is possible to build a deck out of nothing but commons and uncommon cards and still have a deck that could beat the rarest of cards. Anyway the days of getting the old power cards are gone in this type 2 enviornment. There is always a way to win no matter what the odds are. That's what I proved at the State Championships that Serra/Shivan 2.0!!! could go all the way and win it. Unfortunatly I fell back 0-2 in the beginning but by the end I was 4-3 and missed the cut of the final round for a shot at the State Championship by 1 game. Not a whole round but a game. That close from have a shot at becoming the Maryland State Champion but yet so far away. When I compete in 2005. I know I'll be ready this time.