#mtg:arena

[couldreallyeatawholecakerightnow]

Top decking??? What, you're getting topped by a deck?

[etirabys]

the day I decided to use my Apple ID to sign into Epic Games Launcher to sign into the MTG:Arena is the day all my troubles began. Like the first day of the Book of Job

[drowsy-siren]

I love deck building games so I just wanted to ask which one(s) are your favorite?

I really want to get into one but I feel like there’s always an entry barrier that I have a hard time getting around. Any advice?

Thanks ❤️

Excellent question. and I'm gonna be VERBOSE in my response, best of luck dear readers:

So I'll start with TCGs / PVP deckbuilders: I've played MTG / MTG:A, Legends of Runeterra, Hearthstone, Marvel Snap, and Gwent. Of these, I've enjoyed Hearthstone, Marvel Snap, and MTG the most. I stopped playing Hearthstone because it is owned by Activision-Blizzard, but if that is okay with you, I would recommend it. I feel it is fairly simple to understand mechanically, and the largest barrier is having cards to play with (which is best fixed by doing your daily missions, if you dont have ~$70 or whatever it is now to get a ton of packs) Marvel Snap I LOVED as soon as I started playing. It's an absolute blast and a few months ago, I would have said that it was a nearly-perfect PVP deckbuilder. And to me, it's one of the best because for a while, the exact deck you were running wasn't all that important. Your "winnings" were moreso dictated by your ability to read the game and know when to double down on your wins or back out, rather than being reflective of the actual outcome of deck-vs-deck. My issue with the game recently is that I disagree with the devs decisions to make card-collection growth extremely slow later in the game (I could do a separate post about it, cuz it would be verbose, so I'll leave it at that for now). BUT, this largely does not impact newer players. In fact, I think it is easier for newer players to get cards that they like and want. I feel that Snap is a fairly easy game to learn quickly, and the skill development comes from learning when to snap (the doubling-down mechanic) and predicting what your opponent might do. I feel that you can enjoy the game as a F2P player, but if you want to be highly competitive, you'll likely want to buy the monthly battlepass for the card that comes with it.

MTG is a social game to me, and I think (unless you are intending to be competitive / go to FNM or tournaments) it should be treated as such. And what I mean by that is I believe you should find people of similar mindset to you, in terms of what level of play you want to experience at your table and how strict of rules you want to adhere to. I tend to only play Commander/EDH or variations on it (planechase), but I do enjoy one-off draft games. And I play with people who likewise enjoy these formats and are generally lax with how they play. There are a LOT of magic cards, so being an "efficient" deckbuilder in MTG is extremely inaccessible to new players, imo, simply due to the sheer volume of cards to consider. BUT, when you play with more relaxed/casual players who are there for fun, good company, and silly times, it can be very easy to get into because there are resources like Pre-Con decks or EDHREC to simplify the deck-building process and get you playing sooner/more easily. If you are looking to become more competitive at MTG, I recommend playing MTG:Arena because it's an easy way to get a bunch of games under your belt and get a feel for what kinds of cards and decks are strong at the moment.

Non-PVP Deckbuilders:

So, if you like deckbuilders but aren't as big on TCGs for money reasons or the companies that make them are shitty, there are a bunch of other deckbuilders that I absolutely love and recommend to everyone (advice about getting into them will be at the end cuz it's kind of the same for all of them):

So first and foremost, Slay the Spire. An absolute blast, deckbuilding roguelike/roguelite that was absolutely addicting to play. I cannot recommend this game enough. Across the Obelisk. Like Slay the Spire, it's a deckbuilding RPG. BUT. It's multiplayer (up to 4). It is soooooo much fun, with really interesting narrative paths. Progression looks like unlocking new characters and unlocking/upgrading things that make your runs easier. And difficulty ramps up pretty quickly without making you feel discouraged. Cannot recommend this enough Wildfrost. Another deckbuilding roguelike. It's very fun, but very different than Slay the Spire because a lot of the gameplay focuses on interactions with ally and enemy positioning, in different lanes of combat.

Beneath Oresa. HOLY FUCK is it cool and fun. It only fully released within the past few weeks, I played a couple months ago and am so curious what's been added. It is another deck-building roguelike, but it's 2.5D ish in that you do combat in zones (near and far). And (extra cool) your character is physically moving around a space when you fight and bounce between these zones. The artwork is stunning and I cant wait to see what they did with the narrative because the atmosphere is incredible.

I probably have a couple others, but they didn't come to mind as I was writing this, so I'm leaving them out for now. One key recommendation about the non-TCG deckbuilders, particularly the roguelike ones, is to keep your deck size small. It's easy to see a cool card and want access to it, but the more cards in your deck, the less consistent your hands are. When you get the option to remove cards from your deck, use them

[ablankmask]

I'm so sad that Bandai hasn't made an Online Digimon TCG app yet. I've been buying Digimon cards just for the sake of collecting my favorite Digimon, but now I'm ACTUALLY interested in playing the game.

I downloaded the 'training app' they have on mobile, and its a LOT simpler than I thought it would be! The app works super well, but its just so limited since you can only play with two super specific decks.

I'm hoping that with them doing Digimon Liberator right now, Bandai MIGHT actually consider an online TCG akin to Pokémon Pocket and MTG:Arena.

And before anyone says "Oh just import the cards to Tabletop Sim!" 1) I am literally the only person in my friend group with an interest in the TCG (for now) 2) My brain is WAY too smooth to manually keep track of all the Inherited traits a Digimon can have, and some Digimon have a LOT of effects they can trigger. I need at least a LITTLE automated assistance lmao

Sure, one day I'd LIKE to play Digimon TCG on full manual. But having a small automation to tell you what can and cannot be done and when GREATLY helps teach how the game works.

[femgineerasolution]

MtG:Arena : Have some discount knives, for all your Caesar stabbing needs!

[mowu-moment]

so i got a friend to start playing mtg:arena

[medusa-is-sleepy]

This might sound so backwards, but paper MTG makes so much more sense to me and is so much more enjoyable than MTG:Arena. Arena games always feel so much more one sided and I can't figure out why

[midnightfantasizing]

If you really want to feel a high kick your ass pop an edible and then play MTG:Arena. Midway through a game get to the point that you can't even remember how to cast the spells

[sleepynubis]

STREAM SCHEDULE

Should note each of these streams will also be consistent in time

Mtg:Arena will be at 3pm GMT-4(2pm EST)

Digimon survive will be at 9pm GMT-4(8pm EST)

Overwatch 2 Will be at 3pm GMT-4(2pm EST)

I will try my best to keep to these time schedules but will announce if there are any delays.

Those voice acting days i ain't streaming but considering streaming them when i bring back unreal engine practice streams maybe as just chatting. Mtga ow3 and digimon survive, no gacha this week From now on you can expect these three plus a gacha game(usually twisted wonderland) to be my most consistent go to games to stream. Those script/recording days are mostly indicating what i'm doing in the background in those days, sometimes the playthrough of digimon, sometimes practice for my voice acting academy work, which i may or may not stream as just chatting streams depending on my mood. Should also note i forgot to add but I WILL BE BRINGING BACK unreal engine 5 practice streams soon. Just cause i'm gonna learn something new shouldn't mean i gotta abandone what i already learned.

[solrin]

I did a blind draft and played some MTG:Arena on stream! I'm not dead! This wasn't the most recent stream but maybe someone will be interested in watching a person without a lot of collection flounder around and occasionally win some games.

[black-water-simping-ships]

so for about half a year i think i was really into mtg:arena. the online mtg version. has its perks (silliest screenname; computer processes everything so you can't miss ability triggers; you can just buy cards with wildcards if you don't own them; deck size doesn't matter because you don't physically shuffle the deck) and downside (not all editions available, editions get phased out of normal gameplay). i stopped in 2022 because my laptop started overheating but today itook half an hour to redownload it and export my decks. because you see, unlike roughly 95% of competitive mtga players i built my own deck. from scratch. over 200 cards, instead of the standard 60. no key card because i'm not an idiot. that deck, or its revised version after like 30 cards were made illegal, carried my ass to platinum lvl 2. and my fingers are really really itching to take 100€ and rebuild that puppy irl

[oppossums]

if you play mtg:arena and spam "nice!" "good game" after two turns bc you're a cocky troll...i hate you

[onemanscienceband]

i tried to play MTG:Arena after not playing for a year and they did something with legal cards and literally none of my decks are legal for standard anymore. apparently i should have been given starter decks legal for the current meta but there's a long-standing bug where that doesn't happen? i definitely wasn't given any.

i tried making a new deck but I don't know what i'm doing

[foxgirlbutt]

Starting our stream for the strixhaven arena release!

https://www.twitch.tv/gracefulhuntress

[markrosewater]

is there any concern regarding how much faster it feels like sets are "solved" with regards to limited now due to MtG:Arena than they used to be? It feels like a week or less after a set releases, limited-focused podcasts will have episodes out where they talk about the 50+ drafts they've already done and all the data that's been collated digitally to tell you what the best colors and cards are when there's still weeks or months left with the set as the main draft set.

It is a big concern.

[totalspiffage]

Anyway I'm in MTG:Arena as the Planeswalker Freyalise, if you buy her avatar in the store you'll hear me! 😊💕✨