Internet Killed the Magic Star...

[Lythand]

Yes..that is a mock of the song Video killed the Radio Star.

Why am I mocking it? Well here is my opinion. Internet did change the magic scene. Before the internet was really popular, the tournament scene could of been any kind of deck. Now if you where to go to a tournament, you would see the top decks..all played by people who have access to the net. I am refering to Net decks. Or, the decks that are made buy the pros,make a dominant appearance, and then are put on the net for everyone to see, and are copied. In a way it disappoints me. There is no longer variety in tournaments. You hardly ever see a person in a tournament with his own deck. Either they are playing a direct copy of a deck or a slight variation.

Before I got internet, I personaly never heard of a lot of the decks played. I can honestly say that internet did help me learn some cool stuff, but it also structers the tounament scene . Before internet I couldnt name one pro tour player. I didnt even know how popular the pro tour was. I had to rely on what my local comic shop owner knew, which wasnt much himself because he didnt have internet either. I had to rely on sources like Scrye Magazine, which was the only magic related magazine he recieved as well. SO i had really no idea what decks where out there.

Now here is a perfect example of why I think this and I have had this Idea in my mind for some time now. I was reading the latest edition of Scrye, and it had an article about Magic in South Africa. I was like spyched that magic is now reaching all corners of the globe. But really struck me was the paragraph about the tourney scene there. I beleive it was the judge, or the top player..I cant remeber, but he commented on how differentiated the tourney scene is there because a lot of the players dont have internet decks. Either they cant afford the cards, or they dont have the access. And the guys who do have net decks, domminate the field. So is it me, or do a lot of other people see the same thing? I personally wish I could go to a tournament and play against ANY kind of deck. It would be a real challenge to play in an enviroment where the deck you are about to play could be something totaly out of the ordinary.Just like the way magic was intended to be played. Now, you go to a tournament and its either A Replenish Deck, or a deck Designed to beat Replenish.

 

[Spiderman]

Once again this topic rears its ugly head. So here is my view.

Sure, the internet helped spread the information of Magic. But to tell the truth, it came on the scene just when Magic was growing (both around '94). So there was really only about a year when you could say Magic existed without the internet (and that's the period when pretty much no one knew ANYTHING about deckbuilding).

What are net decks? They're the ones that tend to win a lot. You have to recognize that there are certain cards that are just plain better than others, and winning decks are going to use them (look at all the advice in the forums, it's "replace bad cards with good cards").

You seem to long for the "age of innocence" when no one knew anything about deckbuilding and you could play against all sorts of decks. That happened in the Alpha-Beta-Unlimited sets and everyone was fine. But what happens when someone figures out to use the "best" cards in the set and builds The Deck which is the first to win consistently over time? Everyone tries to copy it. Those who play against it go home and try to build it, spread the word, etc. Now this process admittedly takes longer than posting it on the net for the world to see, which brings us to...

... the knowledge of Magic has simply changed. People know it's not efficient to build 200+ card deck monstrosities. People know about "mana curves". People know about "land ratios". With this knowledge, it's not really possible to get back to that "age of innocence" without specifying restrictions (Limited and Sealed) beforehand.

Internet changed Magic. But I think it just had the (mis)fortune of being the first. Otherwise, it would have happened in publications or mailing lists. Deck lists from tourneys would have come out and be mailed to members of a specific group. I think as Magic grew, there would have been some way to get decks, internet or not.

 

[Rando]

I never play a net deck at a tournament. Never. It's a matter of both pride and a desire to see something different.

I also lose a lot, so there you go.

But, since I play for fun, I don't care. But every once in a while, and it happens at premier events too at times, a rouge deck sneeks in and makes top 8 and up, mostly on suprise alone.

 

[arhar]

Yes, it's true, Internet has changed Magic and there's no turning back. Yes, no one plays original decks except for maybe five people in the world who can just design a deck that will dominate every tournament (Zvi, Michelle Bush, Jay Schneider.....).


But is there a solution? YOU BET THERE IS!!

Play LIMITED. Drafts, Sealed Deck.... These are the formats where originality truly shines. No matter how well can you play that copied Bargain deck, it won't help you when you are drafting.

 

[The Undertaker]

I think you can look at Net Decks in two ways. The first, look at the deck and copy or emulate it since it has been a proven winner. Second, look at these proven winners and use it to design something better. The creativity factor may be lost because these decks are present to copy but it is up to each individual player to decide what deck to use in what situation.

Don't blame the Internet, blame the real source...the Pro Tour. During the early years (before the tour) people were learning the dynamics of Magic but the main purpose of playing was not always winning but having fun. Experimenting with new and exciting ideas that no one ever thought of. Along comes the Pro Tour and now winning is everything because money, sometimes BIG money, is at stake. At this point, people do not care about being original, they want to win and win at all costs. That has nothing to do with the Internet. I agree with Spidey, if the decks were not posted on the Internet they would be in magazines or other publications and the same problems would still exist. A professional Magic player is not always going to play for fun...they are playing for blood because fun is not usually going to win. So cards that are not as powerful in a casual experience become broken monsters in a tournament scene and cards that would be fun to use never see the light of day because they are too slow, not powerful enough, etc for a PT event.

I think what is important now is to look and see if a "golden age" will return to Magic. An age where people will meet in shops, homes, online, etc. and play games for fun. When the power decks that are used for the Pro Tour are set aside so decks that are built for fun are picked up for casual events. I for one hope so though I am skeptical. I do think the Pro Tour has some positive effects but I hope that one day that Magic players will mature to the level that they can separate business from pleasure.

 

[Duel]

I recently posted an article in the front, called Dojodeckaphobia. Read it.

 

[Thrash Golem]

i'm pretty creative with my decks. I don't read decklists, I can usually figure out what the deck does by the title.

Except for replenish, I tried to mimick it by putting a bunch of embraces on my rabid wombat. It's still extremely good in multiplayer games, but it sucks in duels.

I heard about brawler decks and i was like "hey yeah if u use chimeric dudes you can give the brawlers advantage"

then i thought "but they cant attack unless their lands are all tapped" so i added a touch of ponza (dust bowl, tectonic break) to liven up the deck

i also have a thallid deck i totally designed, a pestilence deck i ttoally designed (not one decklist ive seen mentioned foil plains), and my wombat deck.

my best deck is the brawler one by far. it's only lost once to a crusading knight deck with mother of stupid runes.

 

[Duel]

Netdecks are good for one reason: they give you a "Deck to beat" They provide the standard deck types, in good, though not great, variations. This means you can test your deck against them.

 

[Duel]

Oh, and yes. I do hate pants.

Damned pockets!

 

[Istanbul]

I do take some pride in that I take basic CONCEPTS and make them my own.

A lot of players play blue control decks.
How many of them do you know that figured out how much of an irritation 'Hesitation' is (or even what it is)?
How many of them do you know that play Archivists for a low-mana solution to card-drawing problems?

A lot of players play burn decks.
How many of them do you know that use Ensnaring Bridge, due to the fact that you empty your hand rapidly?
How many of them do you know that use Ensnaring Bridge AND Howling Mine, because by the time you can cast both, you can empty your hand each turn with two cards as easily as with one?

A lot of players play discard decks.
How many of them do you know that add in Planar Void to ensure that those cards are *gone*?
How many of them do you know that run Dauthi Marauder as backup, to push those last few points of damage through?


Many players claim that there are no original concepts left. I'm going to have to disagree with that. (One of my designs, Tarzan.dec, would actually do fairly well.) So what do you do? Take a concept...not a netdeck, but a concept...and put your own personal twist on it. Put Yawgmoth's Bargain in a Mirror Universe deck! Put Eladamri's Vineyard into your Replenish deck to force your opponent to take a lot of mana burn, and fuel your search spells! Don't just play Rebels, play Rebels with Coat of Arms! USE Last-Ditch Effort and Mob Justice in your Thallid deck! (I do!)

Take that deck, and make it YOURS.

 

[Thrash Golem]

last ditch effort is my favorite card!! i collect them

i have like 30 or so and 2 foil

 

[Duel]

I agree. The concept should be yours!

 

[Cateran Overlord]

I hate pants too!

And no, I'm not gonna start on Netdecks again.