RonVitale.com

Rogue: Magic Multi-Player Variant

Published on Brainburst.com, July 17, 2002

Rogue: Magic Multi-Player Variant

by Ron Vitale

Well, I've ranted a bit about Wizard of the Coast's losing the general Magic audience and the dismal future of the game, but now I'd like to focus on a fun variant that's been around for years. I have never seen an article written on this group player variant before, and although I'm not the game's originator, I thought it would be enjoyable for Magic players to sit down with their friends and have some summer fun!

There Can Be Only One

Rogue is a fairly simple game. Imagine sitting down at a table with four to nine other players. Add intrigue, manipulation, and bluffing all together, and you come up with the game of Rogue. There can be only one winner in Rogue. Each man or woman is out for him or herself. I recently taught a group how to play this variant at a local comic shop and we had about two hours of fun with one game. The Players were able to pick the rules up in five minutes of explaining, and the enjoyment factor was extremely high. Even those who were knocked out of the game early enjoyed watching from the sidelines as the game unfolded.

A typical game can consist of anywhere from 4 to 9 players. Before the start of the game, Players must agree to the style of play (Type I, Type II, or Extended, etc.) and a limit on card deck size. Since the game is a casual game, I would recommend that the minimum deck size be raised to 80 cards. After the group has decided on the basics, each player takes two identical cards (not of their deck) that will represent them in the game and puts one of them face down in the center of the table and the other face up in front of his/her library.

(see Figure 1: Click image for full size)

Typically, Players choose to be represented by a card they enjoy playing (I normally use a Counterspell). Note that two players cannot use the same card. Since the card represents the individual Player in the game, you cannot have two people having the same card. These cards are simply markers and cannot be used in the game in any other way.

Goop: Play another Card Game!

Published on Brainburst.com, August 8, 2002

Heresy: Play Another Card Game!

by Ron Vitale

Have I gone off the deep end to suggest that you try another card game besides Magic? No, I haven't. I want to share this card game with everyone because it'll strengthen your concentration skills, force you to act quickly, help you to adapt to a new playing environment, and best of all-it's fun! What's the name of the card game? Our bunch of friends call it Goop. Some of you out there have probably played this game under a different name. To play the game, all you need is 3-9 players and a set of normal playing cards for each player (each deck must have a different card back).

Why would I spend my time writing a Magic article that's about another card game? Seems strange, right? Well, Richard Garfield has been a lover of games for many years and he's designed Magic, Netrunner, and the new Star Wars card game. And what about some of the other games Wizards has put out over the years: RoboRally and The Great Dalmuti? Playing games, no matter if it's Magic or not, can be fun and a great way to spend those hot summer nights. But the best thing about Goop, is that playing the game forces you to concentrate. Just as you need to be truly observant in a game of Magic to see all the possibilities so that you can win, Goop forces you to view many separate piles of cards at once, and you need to act fast to win.

Here's how to play: The best games I've played have been with five or six people. Gather your friends up and have them all shuffle a deck of cards. (The reason why each deck must have a different back is that you'll need to separate cards at the end of each game-with different decks, players can gather up their cards easily.) After the decks are thoroughly shuffled (doing a five pile Magic shuffle is another way to have non-Magic players ask: "What are you doing?" It's a great introduction for explaining what the Magic card game is). Another quick note on shuffling: This is an extremely important part of the game. The cards must be shuffled really well. If not, then whoever uses that deck will have an easier time in winning the game.

So finish shuffling your cards and then everyone puts their shuffled deck into the center of the table. At that point, the person whose birthday is closest to the current date picks a deck (he or she cannot pick the deck they just shuffled). Then go around the table clockwise, until everyone has a deck they haven't shuffled.

Once everyone has a deck, each player deals out, face down into a pile, 13 cards. Then take the thirteen cards, and put the entire pile face up. You can see your top card but you are not allowed to look at the 12 cards below it. This is your Goop pile. Then, from the cards remaining in your deck, flip over four cards, face up, in four separate piles. Every person's playing field should look like this:

Goop pile, face up, to your left and then four face up cards in four piles to the right of the Goop pile. After everyone has done this, you're ready to start the game. What's the object of the game? You want to be the first person to get rid of all 13 cards in your Goop pile. If you do this, you shout out "Goop!" and you won that hand.

Whoever picked the first deck, has the right to say "Go!" (In subsequent rounds, the person who "gooped," gets to say "Go!") Once the game has started, there are no "turns." Everyone plays at the same time. Look at your Goop pile and the face up cards. If you have an Ace, you can take that Ace and move it into the center of the board.

All players can put their Aces in the center playing area. Since each player has four Aces, there could a good amount of them in the playing area. Any player may place an Ace in the center of the table and anyone can play cards on that Ace. Here's an example:

Player 3 puts an Ace of Diamonds into the playing field. Player 2 has the Two of Diamonds showing in one of her four piles. She can pull the Two of Diamonds from the pile and play it on the Ace of Diamonds (and then take the top card in your Goop pile and put it to where the Two of Diamonds was). If another player also has a Two of Diamonds, then it's a race to see who can get their card on the Ace first. The rule is: Whoever's card is directly on the Ace first can keep it there. The other player must take their card back. Aces in the center area are there for you to build up on. Cards start as Ace, then Two, Three, Four-all the way up to King. Once the King is player on that Ace, then the pile is considered "dead" (no more points can be gained). But if someone else has another Ace of Diamonds, then that Two you had in your face up pile, can still be used.

Getting back to the cards in front of you: The four, separate, face up piles. If you happen to have a card you can play in one of your four, face up, piles in front of you, do so, and then take a card from your Goop pile and play that card where the missing card was from the four card piles. You must have four rows of cards at all times. So if you play a card, replace the card from your Goop pile right away. To get cards out of your Goop pile, you can also play a Goop card onto your four pile of cards. For example, if you have an Eight of Diamonds and there's a Nine of Spades in one of your four piles, you can play the Eight of Diamonds underneath the Nine of Spades.

After you can't play any cards into the center playing area or from your Goop pile, you then take the remaining cards in your deck, deal up three cards, and flip them over (again, you can't shuffle or look through your remaining deck. Same goes with the Goop pile). This part of game plays like solitaire. If the face up card you see can be played in the center of the board or on building off of the four cards next to your Goop pile, then play it. Essentially, you keep playing three cards and then flipping over and playing off of the cards in your playing field until you or someone else says "Goop!" Remember, that you can build off of the four rows of cards in front of you. Let's say you have a Six of Diamonds and a Seven of Clubs in two separate piles.

Remove the Six of Diamonds from the one pile and move it to underneath the Seven of Clubs. You'll then need to take the top card in your Goop pile and move it to the blank spot where the Six of Diamonds had been. Also, if you have a Nine, Eight, Seven, Six sets of cards set up in one of the four rows, you could move that whole pile to underneath one of the other three remaining rows just like in solitaire.

So How Do I Win?

Winning the game isn't easy. You're playing off of the other players in the game as well as playing against their speed and skill. What you want to do is to play cards in the center board because you get one point for each card there. When someone calls "Goop!" and the hand ends, you need to count the remaining cards in your Goop pile. You get -2 points for each card left in your Goop pile. If you're not fast enough, it's not uncommon for you to get caught with 11 cards in your Goop pile (which translates to -22 points). So the object of the game is to be the first person to say "Goop!" and get a lot of points. Once the first person says "Goop!" and cards are separated and counted, then cards are shuffled and each player puts his deck in the center of the table. The person who has the lowest score in the game gets to pick his deck first. The game ends when a player reaches 100 points.

Why Another Game: What about My Magic?!

Look, Magic is a great game, but they'll be times in which you'll need a break from Magic or are with a group who don't play. Goop is a great game to practice your concentration skill. Trust me, if you play the game with nine people, you'll see how hard it is to keep track of what eight other people are doing. The game can become rather fast paced and stressful. As a longtime Magic player, I learned that the best learning skills to pick up in Goop is shuffling and raising your level of concentration to go beyond its normal scope. And you have to play fast. Really fast. If you sit back and don't play any cards, you won't get any points. This reminds me of a Magic tournament I played in: Speed Magic. Essentially, you had one hour to play as many duels as you possibly could. The winner of the most games won the tourney. Goop, unlike Magic, is an easy to learn game. You can teach people how to play it in about 10 minutes and you don't have to spend a lot of money on cards. You can go on Ebay and search for casino card playing decks and buy about a dozen for around $2.00 a deck. And that's all the cards you'll ever need!

Summing It All Up

It's summertime. You'll be on vacation, staying up late, traveling, and having fun Why not bring a couple decks of cards with you if you can't bring your whole Magic card collection with you? If you're a teenager playing Magic, why not impress your parents and teach them Goop? Show them that you're not just in Korn and Papa Roach-I bet you'll surprise them and have a great time. If you're an older Magic player, why not teach your wife and friends? It'll bring you hours of entertainment and you'll have a blast.

So putting it all together, here's a run down of the rules:

• Each player must play with a normal playing deck of cards with a different back face.
• Each player deals out 13 cards for their Goop pile, turn this pile face up, and then deals out four cards, in four separate piles, beside the Goop pile.
• The player who's birthday is closest to the date says go. After the first round, the person who called "Goop!" in previous game, gets to say "Go."
• Any Aces showing as the top card in the Goop pile or in the four face up piles can be played into the center of the board. Players then can play their cards (of the same suit) on these aces: two, three, four-all the way up to King.
• The face up card in your Goop pile can be played in the center of the board if you can build on what's out there (if you have a Nine of Diamonds and you see the Eight of Diamonds in the center area, play that card!) The card in the Goop pile could also be played in one of the four row of cards beside your Goop pile (if you have a Six of Diamonds on your Goop pile and one of the four rows has a Seven of Clubs, place that Six of Diamonds underneath the Seven of Clubs).
• After you can't play any cards, take your deck, deal yourself three cards and flip them over. You can play the last card in the center playing area or on one of your four piles in front of you. Remember, that you only get points for cards you put in the center of the table. It's not uncommon to not have cards to play in the center area so be sure to flip your deck quickly.
• Go through your deck, three at a time, then flip and try to play that card. Remember to look to see if you can play any of your four face up pile cards or your top Goop card into the center of the game. Continually scan the board and the four piles in front of you. You want to get rid of those Goop cards as quickly as you can.
• The first person to play all their Goop cards and calls "Goop!" wins that game. Gather up all the cards in the center, separate them, and hand them back out. Each person gets -2 for each card left in his/her Goop pile and 1 point for each card in the center. The first person to get to 100 wins the game.

A quick note on three player games: It's possible to get into a lock in which no one can play any cards. If this happens, each player can shuffle up his/her deck and then deal three cards and flip. Usually this unlocks the game. As for other rules, players will need to decide ahead of time if two hands can be used to play cards, if players can knock the hand away of another player, etc. Depending on how nice (or mean) you are, adjust the game accordingly.

With the summer heat scorching the Northern hemisphere and school coming up around the corner, savor these remaining summer nights with some fun! Try Goop and the next time you play Magic you'll notice how good your concentration level will be. Enjoy and save a deck for me!

The Code: A Path to Winning in Magic

Published on Brainburst.com, August 19, 2002

The Code: A Path to Winning in Magic

by Ron Vitale

Magic is a game of skill, luck, and a Code of conduct. No matter if you play Black, the color of evil, or chaotic Red, the game of Magic gels around an unspoken Code of conduct. In today's world, we live in an ethical climate in which truthfulness is ignored. Companies such as Enron and Worldcom have falsified their earning records, major athletes use steroids, and more to the average Magic Players' age-level, fellow students cheat on their tests and plagiarize passages in their research papers. What does this have to do with Magic? The game of Magic also has rules and regulations. Without these rules, there would be no structure. How we adhere to those rules and follow a Code of conduct mirrors our personal values to the world.

Let's look at a real world situation. You are at a pre-release and your opponent beats you soundly. You shake hands and go off to report your loss. But what if I were to tell you that your opponent had cheated by adding some cards to his deck? Think it hasn't happened? Think again. Over the last several years there have been some big scandals in the Magic world surrounding misconduct and outright cheating in the tournament scene. I propose that each of us strengthen our Code of conduct in our daily Magic playing. Just as we shuffle our decks and we play our cards, I am suggesting that we, as Players, focus on the importance of using the Code to better our games. In playing Magic, we are not only playing against an opponent but also against ourselves. We have to continually challenge ourselves to: Learn the rules, practice, be honest, and to be wary of our opponent.

The Goal

The purpose of having a Code of conduct is to be honorable and open. Sound lame? Maybe, but hear me out. There's more to the Code than you might think. When you play a game of Magic, list in your head the goals of the match. Are you out to get revenge against someone? Are you looking just to have a good time? Do you want to win at all costs? There have been moments in which I have felt all of these emotions and I believe that they are all important. No matter how good we are, Magic is about winning and losing. It's a game with a goal that we spend a lot of time learning, preparing for, and practicing. But when we can't achieve a win, many turn to being a poor loser. Losing our temper is not going to solve the problem. Rather, if we act inappropriately, we'll lose our friends and our concentration level for the next match. How to solve this problem? I would suggest that you hold your goal in mind before you start the game. If you're looking to pull off some crazy group deck combo, then maybe your goal is to have more fun than winning. Maybe you've built a deck in which you can't win, but are trying to end the game as a draw. Or, if you're in a State Qualifier, you're out to win. You don't care about anything else but that. This is fine, but remember to hold your goal in sight. Focus on the goal and concentrate on achieving it.

What does this mean? It might sound fairly simple, but how often have you been at 1 life and you've given up hope. You're about to lose and want to concede. What should you do in this circumstance? Never give up. Of course, because of a lack of time it might be in your best interest to concede so you can move on to the next game. But if this is not the circumstance, then it's important to not give up hope. Why? It is always possible to pull off a win at 1 life.

Another important trait tied into holding your goal in mind is to be fearless. Never allow your opponent to see you sweat. Even if you are at 1 life and holding land in your hand, do not show fear or concern. I read of one match where a Player conceded because he had lost hope, but his next card would have won him the game. Again, focus on your goal and stick to it.

Cheaters Never Prosper

I've seen people sneak cards in their decks, trade away counterfeit cards, and even lie about the rules to a Scrub. At the end of the day, if you have to cheat to win, then I can only say this of you: You are sad. Pitiful even. Each of us must choose to take the high road or the low road in playing Magic. You can cheat or be cheated by someone else. How much more enjoyable a game is in which neither Player needs to cheat to win! Closely tied to cheating is the discipline to learn how to deal with adversity. From my perspective, I force myself to stick to a strict set of rules. If playing with a friend and am screwed for land, I'll take a Paris Mulligan even when my friend wants me to reshuffle and draw 7. I'll adhere to the rules to see how well I'd do. When I'm playing in a tournament, my opponent is not going to allow me to reshuffle and draw 7. Discipline helps you learn how to win under real life situations. If my deck can't handle this, then I need to rebuild it. How would I ever know this if I kept taking the easy way out and reshuffled to draw 7 cards when land screwed?

Take my example to the extreme and think about how much more a victory will mean if you do not cheat or bend the rules. Going home at the end of the day and knowing that you beat the best Players fair and square is a wonderful feeling. There's something to be said about that type of victory. Or, if you'd rather be like a steroid-playing athlete who cheats his fellow Players, go ahead-just don't go crying when the DCI suspends you or you lose your friends. Magic is a social game. What you do to another Player affects your name and reputation. No matter if you're a Scrub or a Pro, adhere to the rules and be kind.

Let me expound on this. Many Players tend to put on that hard shell exterior to scare an opponent or to psych them out during a duel. That's fine, but remember not to cheat and be sociable enough to shake the Player's hand and introduce yourself at the beginning of the match.

The Bluff

I believe in utilizing mind games in Magic to help you win, but remember that there is a fine line between cheating and playing fair. Here's a common play of mine: My opponent casts a spell and I don't have a Counterspell. I look at the cards in my hand, think for a moment and say, "I choose not to counter." My opponent can interpret this bit of information in many ways. Possibly I don't have a counter and I'm bluffing, maybe I have a counter but I'm waiting for a better card to counter, or maybe I just don't plain know what I'm doing and my skill level shows my opponent that I'm a Scrub. Is this cheating? No. But if I were to tap my lands, pretend I'm countering, and then "change my mind," I would consider that cheating.

Mind games are legal, in my mind, because these moves deal with the strategy aspect of the game. When I'm playing Blue, I tend to tap my lands in such a way so that I clearly leave two untapped Islands next to each other. I like for the two untapped Islands to announce to my opponent: Remember, I have a Counterspell-even if I don't. Or, if I'm trying to be sneaky, I'll leave one Island untapped on the left of my lands, and an Underground River untapped on the right. These subtle plays force my opponent to watch and learn from my playing habits. If she is not observant, then she will fall into my trap. But understand me: I do not condone illegal plays such as hiding a land under another so an opponent cannot see how many land you truly have left untapped. I do not believe in cheating, but in bluffing and in making your opponent think.

Be One with the Code

Years ago I read a several part article in The Duelist concerning the "Art of War" and comparing this oriental philosophy with current day Magic playing. Essentially, the article described how a warrior prepares mentally for an upcoming battle. The mental preparation for a serious Magic duel is the same. A Player needs to concentrate on winning, to hold that goal in one's mind, and to control one's temper when a loss appears imminent. By not cheating and adhering to the rules, a Player can better his or her playing skills and find the true path to victory. A false victory, one obtained through cheating, is not a true win. On paper it might appear that way, but when a cheater needs to succeed in the future, his skills will be lacking. Magic is about mastering the rules of the game, focusing on the strategy involved, and in utilizing bluffing and observing skills to obtain a win.

When I first played Magic, I learned to attack first and then play other creatures after the attack phase. Most new Players never do this. But think about the strategy involved in such game play. Holding back your resources forces your opponent to act or react with limited knowledge. If you attack with all your creatures and play a Giant Growth to kill one of his blocking creatures, your opponent might counter your spell. After your attack, you then might have forced your opponent to waste his Counterspell so that you can now win the game with a well-timed Hurricane. Baiting an opponent to overstretch his or her resources is a legitimate tactic and is closely tied to bluffing. Remember to pay attention to your resources, your bluffing, cards in play, and your opponent's playing strategy. Do all this and you'll be well on the way to success.

Summing It Up

How would I define the Code of conduct? In as few words as possible: Know your goal, remain positive no matter what, follow the rules of the game, and utilize legal strategies (bluffing and resource allocation) to your advantage. These steps will help you become a better Magic Player. Practice being honest, yet discerning in the information you allow your opponent to see, and you will find a path to better Magic games. The Code I propose is not one blindly followed, but a path filled with discipline, ethical choices, practice, concentration, and embracement of the metagame. Following the Code enables you to strengthen your skills, teaches you bluffing and resource allocation techniques, and improves your concentration level. Play by the Code and you will thrive as a Magic Player in ways you did not think possible.

A Guide to Trading Online

Published on the now defunct Grimmoire.com, August 21, 2002

A Guide to Trading Online

by Ron Vitale

You've amassed your several shoeboxes worth of cards and have all your best ones in a binder, but can't find those last three cards you need to complete a deck. What to do?

Well, first, I would suggest that you go to your local comic shops and utilize these great resources. You might discover that the local shop supports Friday Night Magic or runs its own informal tournaments on Saturday and Sunday. For the last nine years, I've supported the local comic shops by buying product there (dice, card sleeves, etc.), participating in drafts, and in spreading the good word about the local shop to my friends. Remember, that support of your local comic shop that allows Players to hang out and play the game is a great resource. If you take it for granted and do not spend any money there, then the shop might close its doors. Before I leave the local shop option, a word to the wise: Watch your stuff! Let me break this down for you newbies out there. The world is field with good people and, unfortunately, those who choose to walk in shadow. I have heard of whole decks stolen and binders vanish without a trace. Never leave your binder unattended. Unless you trust someone explicitly, do not say to a stranger, "Can you keep an eye out for my stuff?" She might agree to do so, but if she gets pulled into another trade, her first priority isn't going to be guarding your cards. Be smart. Carry your backpack or binder with you at all times.

Meet the World

Players often first start trading with friends and then move on to their local comic shop. But when those options are leaving you out to dry, then another option is to trade online. The best thing about trading online is that you can meet people from different parts of the world. I have traded with people in Japan, France, Germany, Malaysia, Russia (just did that today), and here in America. Again, I would like to stand on my soapbox and say: If you won't trade with someone outside the USA, then do us all a favor, and don't come online. The World Wide Web is all encompassing. Magic is not just a game we play here in the USA. There are Magic Players all around the world. If you're going to trade online, please be open minded and consider offers from the rest of the world. You'll find that just as here in the USA, people will be good and others will walk in the shadow. Just because someone is from outside the USA, doesn't mean that they are a bad trader.

Onslaught’s New Ability: Morph

Published on the now defunct Grimmoire.com, September 7, 2002

Onslaught’s New Ability: Morph

by Ron Vitale

I’m an old school player and am proud of that. I’ve ranted and raved about the lack of new ideas coming into the new Magic sets because I want to see the game grow beyond its current, static playing field. I have not been impressed with Odyssey and even less impressed with Torment and Judgment. I enjoyed Invasion’s split cards and will be sad to see them go. I still wish that Wizards would branch out of their limited designs and add new colors to the game. I think trying something new might bring back old players. Almost all of the people I know who used to play Magic have left the game, bored with it, and moved on to bigger and better things.

Why do I remain? I’ve met and played cards with Richard Garfield (creator of Magic) and believe his vision of the game to be imaginative and fun. We’ve seen a lot of subpar cards over the last few years, but I am encouraged by the new morph ability found in Onslaught. First, let’s take apart what the ability does. Here’s the official wording for the Blistering Firecat that has the morph ability:

“Morph RR (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)”

What do I think of the new ability? I like it a lot. The idea is borrowed from the Illusionary Mask that came out in the basic set many moons ago, but I always enjoyed the idea then, and I like it even more now. Given the fact that you can use the morph ability to put out a surprise army and then morph your creatures without a player being able to respond with a card like Shock is a powerful ability.

For me, I prefer to play Blue in Magic because of the bluff factor. I enjoy bluffing or holding onto Counterspells because my opponent needs to gamble: Can she play a spell and I won’t counter it? It’s a difficult choice to make. With the morph ability, a player will be able to put out a creature and use the bluff factor to intimidate an opponent. Having three morph creatures out, can cause some frustration for your opponent.

There are some interesting interactions of older cards with the morph ability. According to Wizards' site, if your opponent plays a Faceless Butcher and use its ability to remove your morph creature from play, the morph creature will leave play face up and then return (if the Butcher leaves play) face up. This potentially weakens cards such a Faceless Butcher. If all you have in play are face down morph creatures that are 2/2, your opponent might think twice before playing the Faceless Butcher. She might play it but then wind up bringing your 6/6 creature into the mix. And better yet, you didn’t have to pay the morph cost!

Wellwisher: Elves Are Back in a Big Way!

Published on the now defunct Grimmoire.com, September 21, 2002

Wellwisher: Elves Are Back in a Big Way!

by Ron Vitale

I attended the Onslaught prerelease and had a great time. Unlike the Judgment prerelease which was in an extremely small room with smelly teenagers, the Onslaught prerelease location had plenty of room and good competition. Being unable to make the first day, I attended the Sunday event and talked with several of the Players there. Many had attended the day before and owned a good many cards. I felt a bit intimated, knowing that I hadn't memorized the entire Onslaught list, but happy in knowing that I was familiar with some of the cards people were talking about. Of course, I heard the usual names of bombs being dropped as Players talked about how great Exalted Angel was and other such cards, but I overhead a bit of conversation that caught my attention. In between rounds, I heard someone mention: "And he had 200 life with Wellwishers out and Clones."

I thought about this phrase that I had heard and couldn't believe that in a limited environment someone would be able to get to 200 life in a match. Then in the second round of the tournament, I played my red, green, and a splash of blue deck, obtaining 30 life. I had only one Wellwisher in the deck! I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I did have a Clone or four Wellwishers.

For those of you who haven't seen too much of Onslaught yet, elves are back and in a big way. Let's take a look at the Wellwisher common and I'd like to make an argument for its upcoming importance in the Standard environment that will go into effect in November.

Here's a breakdown of the card:

Wellwisher
1G
Creature-Elf
Tap: You gain 1 life for each Elf in play.

Feeling Blue: Is Blue Countermagic Still Viable in Standard?

Published on the now defunct Grimmoire.com, October 6, 2002

Feeling Blue: Is Blue Countermagic Still Viable in Standard?

by Ron Vitale

If I had to pick my favorite color in Magic, it would be, hands-down, Blue. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing my opponent’s disappointment as I tap two islands and cast a Counterspell that stops her from playing a game winning spell. Yet with Onslaught cards about to rotate into Standard, I can’t help but wonder: How will my favorite color fare? To be perfectly honest, I’m a bit concerned about the lack of good countermagic in the new Standard environment. In reviewing Seventh Edition and Odyssey block cards, Counterspell, Force Spike, Memory Lapse, Remove Soul, Circular Logic, Envelope, Syncopate, Rites of Refusal, Liquify, Grip of Amnesia, Laquatus’ Disdain, and Fervent Denial are the only cards Players have to choose from, and many of these have limited uses or are extremely expensive to cast. Wizards’ R&D appear to be pushing Players away from strong countermagic.

Long gone are the days of Force of Will and Dissipate. And starting November 1st, Undermine and Absorb will rotate out of the Standard environment. Important countermagic is leaving and what’s replacing it? I’m not impressed with Onslaught’s new crop of counterspells: Complicate, Discombobulate, Ixidor’s Will, and Psychic Trance. Out of the four of them, Complicate and Discombobulate will be the most effective. Certainly, Discombobulate can be an excellent spell (being able to look at and rearrange the top four cards in your library can be extremely useful), but its cost of 2 colorless and 2 Blue make it rather expensive. Even Complicate’s ability has only limited uses. Used best in the early game when an opponent lacks mana resources, Complicate’s cycling ability could help add card advantage for a Blue mage. But the choices involved in such a decision, can be more difficult than they appear. If given a choice of holding onto a Complicate and using it later to stop a bigger threat or using it as a pumped up Force Spike that allows you to draw a card, a Blue mage will need to weigh his choices wisely. Card advantage will help a Blue mage in the long run but not if she used a counter too early and now can’t stop a turn three Grinning Demon.

When I play Blue, the rule of thumb is, if I can’t bounce a threat, then I hold onto that counter. Any good Player is going to bait you with spells to test how many counters you have in your deck. And starting November 1st, the number of extremely effective counters could be few and far between.

Moving on to Ixidor’s Will, a tribal theme begins to emerge. If a Blue mage chooses to play a Wizard deck, then Ixidor’s Will might be extremely ffective. The problem is that your choices are going to be limited. You’re either going to be playing a Wizard deck or not. Those Blue mages who choose not to play with Wizards will have no use for this card. Although I suspect that better Wizard creatures will be available in the next two Onslaught block sets, that day is still far off. Blue mages need options now. November 1st will soon be upon us and what is a Blue mage to do?

Psychic Trance, the final Onslaught counterspell, offers little hope. Again, the Trance’s ability is wonderful, if you’re playing with Wizards. Will we see some Wizard decks? Yes, but the more important question is: Will we see tournament winning Wizard decks? That’s a question that only time will tell.

Granted, we can make some easy assumptions. The Opposition deck (U/G) will mutate and take a different form in the new Standard environment. But as long as Call of the Herd and Opposition remain in the block, I see no reason for players to ditch this formidable deck archetype. Along similar lines, the Psychatog deck is here to stay. That wacky looking Atog isn’t going anywhere. He’s helped too many people win tournaments. Similarly, Black control will modify itself and take the best black cards from Onslaught and strengthen itself.But let’s talk about an all Blue deck? Is that a viable option? I’m not 100% certain that it is. I am concerned that the counterspells available for the November 1st Standard environment are too weak. Potential for a Wizard deck exists, but I’ve not tried to test this theory out yet. Can a Wizard deck be built that will beat the other top archetypes in the new Standard environment? I do not know. Black’s control of the board is amazing. I can see several Players sneaking in one or two Grinning Demons to a Black control deck to add faster beatdown to help win the game faster. I don’t know if Blue’s countermagic will be able to hold off the Black control threat. And with Psychatog and Opposition decks, it’ll come down to who has the mana and counterspell available. An intelligent Blue mage playing against Psychatog will have plenty of opportunities to counter the Upheaval or Psychatog. Again, it comes down to luck: will the Blue mage have the counter in her hand? Chances are that there will be some difficult choices to be made for a Blue mage with the limited number of good counterspells.

And what about rogue decks? A revamped Sligh will most likely be back as well as tribal decks--I still believe that Elves are coming back with a vengeance. Pack in several elves (Wellwishers and Heedless Ones) and a Green mage can have a simple stompy deck. From a historical erspective, Blue decks tend to have a difficult time in countering all the threats that a Green mage can drop on the table. The threats that I can’t predict are what worry me. The old Blue Skies deck of the past can’t be recreated in this environment. There are no spells that can counter by pitching a blue card or throwing islands back into your hand so I doubt that an all Blue deck will be powerful enough to win a tournament.

My honest prediction is that Blue will be best used as a splash color. Either Blue/Black, Blue/Green, or Blue/White appear to make the best color combinations. I’m not certain that the Standard counterspells can hold their own in a match against a power Standard deck. Maybe someone can convince me otherwise, but until that time, I’m going to continue pairing Blue with another color rather than building a solid color Blue deck. Anyone who thinks they have built a winning New Standard mono Blue deck should feel free to contact me.

What Question Would You Ask?

Published on the now defunct Grimmoire.com, October 22, 2002

What Question Would You Ask?

by Ron Vitale

I got to thinking and that’s a dangerous thing for me. You never know what I might come up with. I started thinking about the past, remembering good times in playing Magic back during the days of Arabian Nights and how we used to go to a 24 hour diner and hangout there until the sun rose, playing cards and having fun--back during the days of my college years. Now I’m “working for the weekend” as the song goes and I just don’t have as much time to play Magic as before. Friends have come and gone, people have dropped out of the game, and yet Magic still survives and moves onward.

What originally started my writing Magic articles was a frustration with the current Magic system. I ranted and raved about the status quo mentality of the game and wanted to see the system shaken up. I urged for the color purple to be added to a set or new abilities and for fun to be injected back into the game. So I started thinking: If you could ask Wizards one question, what would that question be? I developed this thought for a bit and many, many ideas popped into my head. I started asking myself questions and here are the top ones:

• Why are Magic: the Gathering Online packs of cards really so expensive?
• Why does Wizards stick to their reprint policy when so many users would like to see a return of the older cards?
• Where is Magic headed in the next five years?
• How is Wizards going to try and get older players back into the game?
• Why aren’t crossover Magic sets being created? (Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, etc.)

These are just the top five questions that I could think of off of the top of my head. But I wasn’t really satisfied with these questions. They didn’t encompass all the thoughts that I had in my mind. I started to imagine what you might ask Wizards and that started off a whole new approach to the original question. Some people would ask, “How come you printed [banned card name]?” while others would come up with something I hadn’t even thought of. I looked at the questions I had written down and realized that there was a deeper motive behind my questioning.

I put the idea away, filing it in the back of my mind, and started reading the new Onslaught cards being published on the Web. Right off, I decided to whip up an article on the new morph ability. My initial belief is that this ability is cool. It will challenge Players, and anything that challenges people will make the game more interesting and exciting. The element of surprise cannot be underestimated. Hitting someone with a face down 2/2 and then morphing it into a Grinning Demon is going to hurt.

I compared the Onslaught morph ability to the rants I had written several months before and can say this: I am happy to see that Wizards is beginning to add some more excitement to the game. I’ve not been impressed with the Odyssey block. Nothing in the sets really amazes me. Upheaval is a great card, but outside of Psychatog decks, would you really play the card? There just aren’t many winners in the set. I believed that Magic had become stagnant and stale. But the morph ability, along with the races of creatures (elves, goblins, etc.) being added back into the rotation, might spice up the game a bit.

Mix the new cards with Odyssey and there should be some good matches coming up down the pike. But that still led me back to my question: What would I ask Wizards of the Coast, concerning the game of Magic? I took this idea, stretched it out a bit, and then asked a bigger question: If the Magic community had a chance to ask Wizards a question, what would we say? We’ve read about how R&D staffers read through the various Magic forums on the Web, but I haven’t seen a comprehensive survey for Magic players. I’ve seen several small surveys being offered on the MagictheGathering.com site, but nothing more than this. My major complaint is that I would like to give feedback to Wizards, but on a major scale. I believe it would be useful to have a comprehensive survey put together via the Web so that we could, collectively, send our thoughts to Wizards. I would like for them to know that I would like to see old cards reprinted (non-tournament legal), new colors added to the game, and for crossover genres to appear as Magic card sets (I’d love to see a King Arthur set). But I bet that my ideas are not in the majority. Yet, I do believe it is important, especially with the 10th anniversary of Magic coming up soon, that we, the people who buy the game, are given the chance to have our voice be heard.

Let me use a comparison. Fans of the TV show La Femme Nikkita got together a while back to create an online petition asking TV execs not to cancel the show. And guess what? It worked. The Internet can be a powerful tool. Online petitions have been put together to convince Lucasfilm to put Star Wars on DVD (it worked for the Phantom Menace) and one is currently being run to save the Sci-Fi Channel’s Farscape. But why should Magic players just be sitting around without a voice? In the past, I know that there was a flurry of e-mail campaigns trying to convince Wizards not to change the rules when the Classic Edition was released. Recently, there was a flamewar over pricing of the new MTGO system. I took part and sent my e-mails to Wizards, complaining about the price.

So what can we do? Well, you could choose not to participate and say, “I don’t care.” That’s always an option. Personally, I’d disagree with that, but I’ll point this out to you. Back before 1995, if I wanted to write a letter to a company, I couldn’t go on the company’s Website, get their e-mail address and write to them. I had to send it out via snailmail. Oh, what fun that was! We have two paths that we can go down. We, as players, can create our own survey and work together to come up with a list of questions that we think is important. This could be a difficult task. There’s Players from all over the world and each person would have a different point-of-view. It might be fun to work with some major Magic Websites and put links for the survey all over the Web. That way users could go to the survey, the responses would be saved in a database and the data could be sent via e-mail or snailmail to Wizards. Would they care?

That’s an important question. Would Wizards (who is now Hasbro—one of the top game making companies in the world) give a crap about we few Magic Players? I don’t know. But I do believe that it is important for a company to survey its customers. I’m not talking about a survey found in a game you purchase, but an online survey with relevant questions. As I was writing this article, I stopped to check my e-mail and received a Macromedia e-mail survey link. The company wanted to ask me some questions about a recent product I bought. Nice customer service. I like that and will take time to fill it out.

Why? Think about it: The more information I give back to the company, the better my chances of receiving a better product in the future. And that brings me back to my point: I believe it’s high time that Wizards of the Coast learns what we, as Magic Players, want with the future of the game. I want them to know what I think about the pricing of MTGO, the recent sets that have come out (I bought only 3 packs of Judgment), and why I’m unhappy that older cards aren’t being reprinted as non-tournament legal cards.

First and foremost, Magic is a game of the people. Without Magic Players, there would be no game. With people like you and I, who taught our friends how to play, the game wouldn’t have been as popular. We are the lifeblood of the game. Our dollars keep the Wizards employees at their jobs. And I haven’t been buying a lot of Magic cards lately—in fact, the last time I bought cards was at the last pre-release. I’d bet that there are a lot of Players out there who would love to answer a survey.

And let me clear something up: I’m not impressed with the “pick which cards go into Eighth Edition.” Yes, it’s a nice start by choosing what cards will be in or out, but the selection process is very limited and sometimes purposefully controlled (why couldn’t we have both Llanowar Elves and Birds of Paradise in Eighth?).

So let me clarify what I’m saying here. I think it’s necessary for the fan-based Magic Websites to ban together and petition Wizards of the Coast to create an online survey so that we, the Players, can give them our feedback. I’d be happy with no input in the questions: I trust that the Wizards team is smart enough to know what questions to ask us. I want to give feedback on pricing, abilities, playability, lack of support for older Players, and my thoughts on the Pro Tour. Granted, not all of our questions would be represented in the online survey, but I believe that the gathering of data from the survey would help Wizards see what the Players want in the game.

I’ve heard a lot of grumbling about how stale OCB has been and I bet there’s a whole host of other questions that people would love to give their feedback on. And to make the survey more fun, give away a foil Serra or something. If Wizards is smart, they would collect e-mail addresses and other contact information and use this data for product advertisements.

Here’s our choices laid out in a row:

• Ho-hum—we do nothing and accept the status quo buying whatever cards Wizards puts out.
• We talk about it for a long time but no one does anything.
• We band together, organize, and send an online petition to Wizards, asking for them to provide an online survey that addresses the future of the game.

All of this might seem ludicrous, but it isn’t going to hurt to try! Fill up the inboxes of Wizards' customer service and MagictheGathering.com’s writers (Mark Rosewater and Randy Buehler) with e-mails and maybe we can get some action. I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about how “such and such” card should be banned, but no one does anything to organize and complain. If www.brainburst.com, www.mtgnews.com, www.grimmoire.com, www.starcity.com, and the other major Magic Website worked together to create an online petition, I bet we could, collectively, achieve our goal. And what is that goal: If you had one question to ask Wizards, what would that be? It appears that I have found my new answer to that question. In fact, it was in front of me all the time: Why isn’t Wizards being more proactive to solicit the opinions of its Players through an online survey?

Good question, huh? Intelligent comments to this article are greatly appreciated as well as anyone wishing to volunteer to create the online petition. I have Web host space and can offer up that as well as my writing ability for the petition. Contact me.

Come Back to the Fold

Published on the now defunct Grimmoire.com, November 22, 2002

Come Back to the Fold: An Invite for Veterans to Re-enter the Game

by Ron Vitale

So, you've been out of the game of Magic for sometime and you're thinking about playing again. Where to start? Well, here's the skinny on how to come back and I'll even share with you an analysis of a Standard Black control deck to help you get back into the game.

To start off: I read Anthony Alngi’s article "Returning to Returning Veterans" and was amazed to learn that “Setting aside reprints, missing a single year’s block represents over 600 separate unknown cards.” I had never stopped to think about the large number of cards a Player would not be familiar with in having been out of the game for only a year. But beyond this fact, I'm a Player who's been enjoying the game for nine years, and I often wonder while I still play.Finding friends to play the game with is becoming increasingly more difficult as time goes on and then there’s the age factor. My local store has a bunch of 9-12 year olds who play Magic on Sundays. Since all the college students have returned to school, there really isn’t much competition at the store or large numbers of people to trade cards with. Many of you who read this may not be in the same boat: Maybe you’re students still and have plenty of time. Those of you out there who have car insurance, mortgages, wives, and family responsibilities can understand my predicament.

I would say that I fall somewhere in between someone who wants to play for fun and a hardcore player. I know that there are thousands of former Magic Players out there who lack the time to play and keep on top. Many, like myself, enjoy the game still, but can’t devote as much time in playing as they once could. Having to get up for work before 6 a.m. each day, precludes those late night gaming sessions. This article is a primer for those of you out there who want to get back into the game, but you're feeling daunted by the price or the learning curve (of all those cards you missed!)

Richard Garfield Beat Me Bad

Published on the now defunct Grimmoire.com, December 5, 2002

Richard Garfield Beat Me Bad: What Card Are You Ashamed You Played With?

by Ron Vitale

Let's have some fun. With the holidays coming up and everyone getting excited about gifts, hearing the bells of the Salvation Army, and that big, fat Tur-Duc-Hen on the table, I thought we'd take a step back and tell some fine tales around the fireside. Here's how I'd like for this to work. It'll be nice and simple. I'll tell you a story about my most "shameful" moment in playing Magic and I'll ask that everyone reading take a moment to add their story in the comment section. No matter if you started playing Magic years ago or just recently, join us and share your story.

Over nine years ago, I sat down at a Thanksgiving table, after all the food had been cleared, and some friends of mine introduced me to this strange game called Magic. Supposedly, everyone up in New York was playing this game and that once you started playing you'd want to share the game with everyone. Well, after three games to teach me how to play, I was hooked. Stumbling over the beginner mistakes, I still remember that I thought that a Wall of Ice could block all the creatures my opponent had. By the time Arabian Nights came out in December of 1993, I had the rules down and was smacking my opponents around. In the early days of Magic (bare with me as I wax poetic over old memories), there were no constructed rules. Plague Rat decks (consisting of swamps and all rats) were a common thing. People played with four Demonic Tutors and thought nothing of it. The early days were filled with chaos and fun. But in early 1994, the gaming store we hung out at, the Compleat Strategist, came up with some rules. If we wanted to play up at the store, we needed to build decks using a certain number of cards from each set (back then that consisted of Unlimited, Arabian Nights, and Antiquities). So I whipped up this really, really bad deck consisting of all green creatures. Did I play with Erhnam Djinn? Nope, I thought that playing with Argothian Pixies and Argothian Treefolk would be a good idea. Needless to say, I paid for my mistake. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

If you do a timewarp and go back with me to 1994, Magic decks were wild, creative, and fun. Tournaments, in my area at least, hadn't been organized yet. And no one had heard of the Internet yet. None of us posted our decks online because we were still using 28K modems to connect to local bulletin board systems. We weren't quite at the huge Internet explosion yet--that scares me to think that nine years ago I wouldn't even be sitting down at a computer, building this HTML page. I wouldn't even have known what HTML was. Scary that it's only been nine years, but it seems like such a lifetime ago. But I digress. My friends and I would grab our boxes of cards, go to the Compleat Strategist, and sit down and play. Back then the Warhammer crowd used to really hate that all these Magic geeks starting taking over their gaming area. So the tension was tight in the air. We'd play our games, learn some stuff, and head back home to play more games. Things went fine until sometime in the Spring of 1994 a buddy of mine gave me a frantic phone call that went something like this:

Friend: "Yo, dude, what are you doing?" Me: "Getting ready to go to work." (As I finished putting on a Snoopy tie.) Friend: "You got to drop everything and meet me. Richard Garfield is at the Compleat Strategist!"