Change of heart
November 25th 2011 06:27
"We really try to give you a big vast world to play in. Be who you want. Do what you want. We don't know what you are doing to do. We just want to give you a load of tools."
-- Todd Howard, executive producer of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
I present for your consideration Eric Huynh’s webpage and its collection of Magic variant formats and ways of playing. Serious variations on Magic may not be popular right now – no, Commander doesn’t count, because its differences are only in speed, multiplayer, and one or two elements of style – but it’s a testament to the fact that people have, at some point, given some thought to different ways to play with the same cards.
It’s interesting to think about why the variant that is barely different caught on while Magic still doesn’t have (for example) an official and well-supported single player variant. (Unless you count this article buried in the Wizards of the Coast website.) It seems that something like Commander, being so close to the Magic core rules and so highly structured, may be easier to “solve” than some of the variants listed on Eric Huynh’s site. Most of those presumably either haven’t been solved, or the solutions are not posted if they have. A ruleset that you can solve or “win” may appeal more to the competitive elements in the Magic fanbase than one which you can’t.
Of course, the core rules may well start to get stale pretty soon. The competitive mindset is so ubiquitous on the internet that everyone who’s ever logged on knows how it builds every archetype of deck, and every color of deck; and from experience, this knowledge can easily infiltrate any attempt to make a deck that intends to play by the Magic core rules. The effect is that you get the same decks and deck types in every competitive format season ever, and often in every casual session ever. A serious variant (more serious than Commander) would shake things up, and provide an alternative to the constant competitive grind. At least for a while – until Spike got his hands on it, anyway.
Follow me on Twitter for condensed insight, snark, and "OMG SKYRIM IS AWESOME" spam.
-- Todd Howard, executive producer of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
I present for your consideration Eric Huynh’s webpage and its collection of Magic variant formats and ways of playing. Serious variations on Magic may not be popular right now – no, Commander doesn’t count, because its differences are only in speed, multiplayer, and one or two elements of style – but it’s a testament to the fact that people have, at some point, given some thought to different ways to play with the same cards.
It’s interesting to think about why the variant that is barely different caught on while Magic still doesn’t have (for example) an official and well-supported single player variant. (Unless you count this article buried in the Wizards of the Coast website.) It seems that something like Commander, being so close to the Magic core rules and so highly structured, may be easier to “solve” than some of the variants listed on Eric Huynh’s site. Most of those presumably either haven’t been solved, or the solutions are not posted if they have. A ruleset that you can solve or “win” may appeal more to the competitive elements in the Magic fanbase than one which you can’t.
Of course, the core rules may well start to get stale pretty soon. The competitive mindset is so ubiquitous on the internet that everyone who’s ever logged on knows how it builds every archetype of deck, and every color of deck; and from experience, this knowledge can easily infiltrate any attempt to make a deck that intends to play by the Magic core rules. The effect is that you get the same decks and deck types in every competitive format season ever, and often in every casual session ever. A serious variant (more serious than Commander) would shake things up, and provide an alternative to the constant competitive grind. At least for a while – until Spike got his hands on it, anyway.
Maybe we should add “must be completely unappealing to Pro Tour people” to our wishlist for that next variant?
Follow me on Twitter for condensed insight, snark, and "OMG SKYRIM IS AWESOME" spam.
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