Is Blue, Casual Friendly?

[Killer Joe]

I love to play Magic (duh, we all do, right?), but I'll be dog-gone if somebody doesn't pull-out a "draw-Go" type deck for casual play. I do like Blue, A LOT, but not just so I can pile on every fricken' counterspell known to every God fearin' man. I mean what is a reasonable number of counterspells to use in a friendly/casual duel or multi-player deck? That's not the voting question. Here's the voting question:

Is Blue, casual friendly?
a.) Yes, then give reason.
b.) No, then give reason.
c.) I'm not sure about the clarity or intent of the question, let me re-phrase what I think you're trying to say.

I say, "a.) Yes" but my reason is that Blue has a lot to offer other than counterspells, Yes, Yes, Yes, I know that M:TG purists are saying, "But that's the nature of Blue and you can't deny it's use of what's natural to it." I'm sorry, but there's nothing natural to having so many counterspells in decks that you couldn't swing a dead cat in a card shop without hitting some "draw-go, I'm gonna deny you of all that is good and holy, please get me a paper weight so that my pile of counterspells won't fall over because thay are higher than a nine-inch nails fan on coke, sucking the life out of magic so I can win at all cost, pile of dog doo-doo, can't get it off of your shoe, mutated control deck."! C'mon, I know I'm exaggerating a tad, but you and I know that some pro-tour wanna-be is lurking around in some shop in middle America just waiting for you and your "candy-apple, nicely tuned, politically correct, five-color cultral appreciation, salute to America and apple-pie deck" and suck the life out of the match. I'm ranting.......................

BTW, What's Buehler's new address?

This has to have been Yellowjacket.

 

[Ferret]

I would have to say B) No.

The reason is predominantly counterspells, but it also comes from the fact that even as the slowest colour it's still the strongest. It has the best removal (bounce cards that can bounce any permanents), some of the best creatures (cheap efficient fliers) and some of the best card drawing cards around. When combined w/ counterspells and the fact that Blue works so well w/ artifacts it makes Blue the most unfairly dominant colour in the game. In a multiplayer game it can control the whole board w/o difficulty and win constantly.

So, No, Blue is not casual friendly.

-ferret

"...of course, Red can be just as bad at times..."

 

[Spiderman]

I would say yes, blue can be casual-friendly if designed right. If you're maximizing the counterspells and basically playing a well-tuned tourney deck like Draw-Go, that's not casual friendly. If you're playing a fun, theme merfolk deck (I don't know if any "Fish" decks have won tourneys) then it could be fun. If you're playing a Psychic Venom/Twiddle Deck or whatever buyback tap card there is, it could be fun (I am using fun and casual interchangably here). If you're not abusing the bounce but using it in a "new" way or combo, that could be fun.

Just like red, in its strict "nature" as burn can be awfully cheesy, even in casual, blue focused with counterspells usually isn't casual. But perhaps if you focus on the lesser "nature" or aspect of the color, you can get it to work.

 

[Dune Echo]

Blue can be casual if done right. I'll post a multiplayer deck for blue under the decks section. Unfortunately, a lot a blue players see the power of counterspells and other power cards and they can't get past it.

 

[Ferret]

It kind of makes you wish that Green had an exploitable secondary theme...but as it stands it's doomed to be nothing more than quick creatures that die to perish or bounce to hibernation...

-ferret

"...I actually have a FISH! deck that's done well - I'll have to post it..."

 

[Gumby Khan]

I would say, "yes". Blue does have a lot of power, but is very slow, too. It's strength of denial is limited though. You ever see a "Draw-go" deck in a 10 player match? The poor guy is constantly looking at his hand and what is dropping all along the table, trying to figure out if he should counter the Deranged Hermit or wait to see if the Covetous Red deck will Wildfire! I think this color must be played very diplomatically and can only squelch one or two players effectively, but not a mass. Usually a well timed disenchant or cursed totem can stop a blue deck cold! I think the main complaint about blue decks are the players of blue decks. They usually pick combo players and try to negate those threats.
"What? You Bargain for ten cards, then play two dark rituals for a Skirge Familiar? Well, counter that!"
This usually bodes well for weenie decks, because there is NEVER as many counters in a blue deck to stop every pouncy cat or Mom.
SO, long story short...Blue is friendly in multi-player casual, but vindictive in duels.

"Wait, counter your crusade and snap the Serra Angel! "
"In response to your snap, I'll tap Serra to pay for ramosian rally and attack for 8. What? You're out of counters and you're at 7 life? What a shame. "

 

[theorgg]

A), yes.

before yee get the hemp rope to string me up by my thick neck, let me explain.

I say the deck can be o.k. if it has NO MORE than 8-10 counterspells, and they must be things like the stronghold "next card is countered" card.(too lazy to dig for app...), arcane denial, and (of course) common curtesy. don't forget the unglued card that allows all other players to agree to choose and discard a card each to counter a spell that they arn't casting... forget the name, again...

as you can tell, I don't play blue that often...
:{ )

 

[TomB]

I think Gumby Khan hit the nail on the head, for the most part, though it does depend on the deck. Blue in multi-player has some good but not game breaking cards (like Timetwister), and counterspells are next to useless in that type of game. Blue should not be played in casual duels unless you're talking about something like a fish deck, or some other off-beat varient.

But people will play what they will play...

TomB
CPA Member

 

[Killer Joe]

.....clickclickclick....taptap,...u-huh......clickclick......press equal.......and that comes to..............Alright, Here are results so far:

Yes = 4
No = 1 (you go ferret)
Dune Echo = I think was a Yes
TomB = I also think was a yes
In which case there were 6 yes and 1 no.

Though a more indepth polling would have to be done, I would accept that the posts here for this vote are enough to show that most folks could be willing to SAY that Blue could be friendly if constructed in a non-draw/go manner like "Fish". Ferret was right though, when all is said and done, Blue, in all it's mystical & magical realm of NO, is down right Superior to other colors. As I've said before, I like Blue, A Lot, but I don't like the unfriendly look on my casual opponents face when I counter what would've been a game winning play or at least a lead in the game. I guess I just don't have the stomach to play Straight Blue.

Woo, this was a frosty one.
Yellowjacket

 

[Mordecai]

Blue is a very iffy color. The best multiplayer deck I've ever seen is a blue deck. But it also has its weaknesses. For example, whenever the "foil slanty island" hits the table, everybody knows what deck he's using so he becomes a target. Blue decks are very good at becoming targets in multiplayer. In general, I'd say blue is not a good casual color, but there are exceptions.