Why Oh Why did WOTC have to print Battle of Wits??

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Lazaroth

Guest
OK, I understand that these cards are needed, to lighten the game up, which is getting WAAAY too competitve,t hanks to all the "couldn't play a real game of Magic to save his life" T2 tournament players, but couldn't they have made a new unglued 2 instead??
I buy boosters, and I enjoy pulling good rares, so I can trade them onto the aforementioned T2 players, mainly because I hardly ever DO pull anything good. In 5 packs of Apocalypse, I have pulled 3 Powestone Minefield and 2 Planar Despair. See why I dont like Battle? I just KNOW I'm gonna pull about 10 of these horrible, horrible cards, and probably a few Pardic Miners and LOTS of those horrible remove a card from your library from the game creatures!
Do you think WOTC should have kept these jank cards out of the expansions and simply printed Unglued 2??
 
L

Loonook

Guest
Battle was insane... if it hadnt of been banned in 5-color it woulda been a force. Still... there are ways to use it that COULD be fun (lots of search and library kill with Blessing, Regrowth, and Feldons Canes) that could make it insanely crazy :p
 
H

Hetemti

Guest
There should never had been a card that has "you win the game" in its rules text. I'd rather be Time Walked a million times and be killed by an Orinthopter than lose to an "I win!" card.

My way of grading card mechanics: If its presence in Beta would have hurt/killed Magic, it's not a good thing.

Anyone hear of that Harry Potter game that's like War? It's just like war except there are two cards, "I Win!" and "I win if you don't play I Win right now." You can take all the other tricks and STILL LOSE to an "I Win." Is that not stupid? Wonder why that game isn't going to last seven years...
 
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Ihsans Shade

Guest
200! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This isn't even worth putting IN an Unglued 2. I could've left something in my toilet that would've made a better card, and fill in that pieces of dookie's slot. Mien Gott! Who the H-E-double toothpicks let this sucker through? I hope they got fired for it! That is the STUPIDEST idea for a card ever. I mean, what the heck was WotC thinking!

Executive One: "We need something that will get the CPA of our back."

Executive Two: "I know! let's give them some thing really crappy, to show that we're thinking of them. Because we both know that Casual Players love crappy cards."

E1: "Good idea! Lets make it an I win card, like Coalation Victory. That was pretty popular.

E2: "Yeah! only lets make it so crappy that no pro in his right mind would ever think about using it."

E1: "Eeerrr.... Okay! Only we can't let them have something as usable as CoVic.

E2: "True. We need something harder to pull off. I know lets have a player win if they have one hundred and twenty cards in their deck, twice as normal."

E1: "Good idea, only I think we should go more than double."

E2: "Triple."

E1: "A little bit more."

E2: "Well we can't go four, that would tip them off."

E1: "Okay then, how about two hundred."

E2: "TWO HUNDRED! YOU mean to tell me that you want to go and make players play with decks so huge they'll need four of these rares to have even the slightest chance of drawing one before their deck total slips below 200?"

E1: "Yep."

E2: "Great, lets just put it in the set. To heck with play testing."

E1: " Right, besides it's an 'I Win' card. They'll love it."

That's how I think this sucker made it in.


I am...
Ihsan's Shade

E2: "But first we'll need to get rid of that bothersome Ihsan, he knows too much."

E1: "Agreed."

Ihsan: "AAACK!"
 
L

Lazaroth

Guest
you're right. either that or they got a blind chimpanzee with MS to think it up. (Otherwise known as Mike Long)
 
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Mikeymike

Guest
I think they made it in the interests of the rising 5-color magic....which went and banned it before the official spoiler was released. Thank you WOTC for printing another rare that I'm going to use as a proxy.

Question, even if it was 100 cards to win, would you really want to win with this card? Battle of the Wits is one of the least inspired 'inspired' cards I've ever seen.
 
G

Gizmo

Guest
What are you tlaking about. ITS FUN!

I`ll build a Battle Of The Wits deck to play. I`ll win a lot of games with it so long as I wasnt playing in tournaments. Stop whinging and start designing cos its NOT THAT BAD.

Just use frellin Gaeas Blessing and then keep playing until you draw the Battle, then Bless or Cane the graveyard back into your library. If you wanted to stop whinging for five seconds about ONE bad rare (god, weve never had a rare printed that wasnt amazing before, its scandalous) and actually engaged that mess of pink stuff sitting unused on top of your necks you`d realise that Battle is one of a very small number of cards that rewards actual creative deckbuilding.

Im getting really fed up with hearing about how bad this card is.
:mad:
ITS PERFECTLY OK.
 
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Mikeymike

Guest
Gizmo, I hear you point. I personally just don't think its a fun way to win the game. But you are right, it would be rather difficult to build a consistent deck with this sucker.

4 Sterling Grove
4 E. Tutor
4 D. Tutor
4 Rector
4 Inspiration
4 Feldon's Cane
4 Thran Foundary

Eh, it just doesn't really do it for me. I would love to see someone walk into an extended tourney with this thing though :D.
 
G

Gizmo

Guest
Why do you need all that crummy search in?

Just play a COunter-Defense deck, probably UW base, with lots of card drawing in. Turn 30 or something you`ll draw the Battle, and win.

I think it IS fun. Because you are playing with a 250 card deck its not exactly going to be tight. Its just going to be your average multiplayer/duelling casual deck. Its no different from all the casual decks that have some sort of infinite mana combo in, or something like that, because those decks all say 'I Win' as well. The fun comes in the games that keeps you alive long enough to say 'I Win'. Oh. Id also include at least SOME other win conditions in the deck, just in case your opponent gets a bit randy with a Jesters Cap.

You are also allowed to hit anybody who plays Soldier Of Fortune against you and forces you to shuffle 7 times a turn.
 
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Mikeymike

Guest
We had a guy at our local store who got randy with a Jester's Cap once. It wasn't pretty, he made quite the mess.

The search is more of a force of habit than anything. I would be nervous that all 4 Battles are sitting in the bottom 50 cards of the deck.

If its any consolation, I'm definitely not a fan of infinite decks in casual games (unless its something silly like infinite sheep tokens using the Ovinomancer using 8 cards). They are about as fun to go up against (and to play) as it is to have a root canal with no novacaine.
 
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Goku

Guest
My personal opinion on cards that actually say "you win" is that they simply do not fit within the game.

The whole premise of the game at the start was that you were two wizards battling for a sphere of Dominia.. .you had to kill your opponent.

Later on, it became evident that the game was moving a bit away from that, but it seems to have gone too far, starting at, what, persay.. Coalition Victory?

I knew a guy who had a deck built around that. It won, and often. He took it apart right in front of me and some other guys, and when we asked why, he simply said "It's not fun at all. The game just... ends."

I don't mean to complain or anything, but cards like this and Battle seem to be just a turn off.

Oh yeah... I actually have had a root canal with no novacaine...and it was not fun at all. Can't think of worse pain in my life, and being into kickboxing/martial arts, that says a lot.

:)
 
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Istanbul

Guest
Right there with ya, man. I think that cards that read 'you win the game' are *dull*. (And most of them suck.)

BTW, I had a root canal with insufficient novocaine. When I screamed (note to others: you WILL scream if this happens to you), he actually told me to shut up and stop being such a baby. I almost crushed his li'l head.
 
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Mikeymike

Guest
Did you try to crush his head with your bare hands or did you try to crush it with your thumb and forefinger like they do in 'The Kids in the Hall'?
 
F

FoundationOfRancor

Guest
Lol, I thought I was the only one who watched that show...
 
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Mikeymike

Guest
My friend and I used to watch it religiously about 6 years ago. Now I'm not sure if its on the air anymore. FoR, do you know if Comedy Central still runs it during the afternoons?
 
D

DÛke

Guest
...HELLO...is this the Casual Players Alliance, or what!?

I like Battle of Wits because it's fun. It's new. Whoever designed it, and whoever let it through to the set deserves a reward...for being able to think differently. EVEN if the card was dull, which it isn't, it's a new idea that nobody saw coming...

I suggest, instead of wasting time complaining about the card, you go and build a deck with it instead. You don't like it. Tough. It's there, and it aint goin' away...so why think negative, when it's not going to do any good?

Of course...everyone is entitled to his own opinion. I believe I just spoke my 2 cents? No. 2 billion bucks.
 
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FoundationOfRancor

Guest
Well, as Duke said, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Complain on, I say.

MikeyMike: Its on 2 O'clock till 3 every weekday on comedy central. I dont see it much, due to school, but I try to catch it everytime I can.

Its a great show.
 
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Almindhra

Guest
I think Wits is funny...Would I play with it?...Hmm...I would like to get my group of players to make a 250+ deck, but that will never happen...

Now I just know that when I get my box and boosters thereafter I will be pulling so many of this damn card, and I will get angry that they ever printed it...
 
L

Lazaroth

Guest
duke, if everyone is entitled to an opinion, how come your's is the only one thats right?

anyway, like i said, you misunderstand. I don't mind that Wotc actually printed the card, I just hate the fact they released it into a major set, which apart from maybe 3 cards (out of 100+, thats NOT a lot) is excellent. Couldn't they have stuck it into a special edition magazine or something, like others have said? I just know that I'm gonna end up pulling loads from boosters, and I aint ever gonna be able to trade them away, and I will not stoop to making a 200+ card deck just for that one card
 
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Istanbul

Guest
Actually, putting it into a large set gives you the least chance of pulling one. It's one out of 110 rares in the set...if you ever get four just from packs, it'll be amazing.
 
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