Comments on: Simon Says #9: Information Advantage

By: Jules Verne

Jules Verne — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:32:24 +0000

I had 2 more cents =):

Its like a classic boxing fight. Only suddenly one of the boxers swap his hands(not arm) for the feet(not leg).
Now his hands hit harder because of the leg muscles driving the hands, and he can still block as normal.

And on top of this his attacks come from a totally different angle.

And he is still inside the rules of the game =).

My 4 cents…

By: Jules Verne

Jules Verne — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:21:02 +0000

Self balancing:
The further you go up in the chain of Organized Play/better players this mechanic makes it not only become non-detrimental but also adds more depth/strategy and fun yes. But in addition you have the risk/reward thing Goertzen mentioned – too big of a factor and the good players will dislike it.

The detrimental thing about it has to do with those players who might not like it AND possibly quit magic – let me explain: Returning PTplayers from long ago (1994-1999) who have LOTS of more skills at magic than the examplewise the good(not best) PTQ-players will loose to those PTQ-players anyway, (untill those previous pros have enough drafts under their belt too see what the draft-format is about/or just read about it on the internet).

- its like; 80 percent a discovery thing, and only 20 percent a skill thing.
- players who straightout dont draft more than once or twice a week (or not even that much) will use far more time to discover it.

The less we can put in the discovery-factor the more relevant the skill-factor becomes.

My two cents…

By: Simon Goertzen

Simon Goertzen — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:51:18 +0000

In case you are wondering, the last comment is by me.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:50:30 +0000

@DasMetzger: I think you can never condemn innovation in games or its public discussion. We just have to adjust to the consequences.

@Gunho: Gotcha! :p

In case the connection is a little too subtle, I picked this draft for my episode about information advantage exactly because it showed off the potential of having a better/deeper understanding how cards and pick orders work in a limited format, including not only Silent Departure but also Thraben Sentry (and more, even my comments regarding and sideboarding of Spare from Evil applies to this). Hope this carried over from the intro and gave you some food for thought.

By: Gunho

Gunho — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:23:09 +0000

Nice win ! You really showed the power of Silent Departure and Thraben Sentry. It was interesting how you did so well without ever activating the Township. I was afraid for a few seconds when you said “This will be my last video …. ” and then paused a little before saying “of 2011.”

By: dasMetzger

dasMetzger — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:43:41 +0000

also, i dont mean to play devil’s advocate… but just because multiple people are attempting to draft an archetype, wont necessarily mean that it will get over drafted, diluted, and weaker.

think about GW. how many players at any given table do you think are are all pulling GW aggro cards at the same time. my guess is 4 at a minimum. why? because they have so many great commons and uncommons. everything that makes those decks tick, are readily available. darkthicket wolf, ambush viper, travel preps, orchard spirit, villagers, pilgrim, voiceless spirit, chapel geist, prey upon, bonds, doomed traveler, selfless cathar, thraben sentry, etc…. all commons, all first pickable to some degree for that archetype. it’s such a deep strategy that half the table can attempt to draft it, and the deck can still win.

By: dasMetzger

dasMetzger — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:36:12 +0000

@Carrotus… maybe ‘hurting itself’ was a bit hyperbolic, rather the community ‘reaping what it sowed’. my point was that the “double-becker double-decker” deck wasn’t exactly a fully identified archetype from the get go. sure, Ux self-mill was obviously present, and spider spawning was picked as a tier 1 level card… but this particular strategy was an unknown for most of first two months of ISD drafts, and now this sudden surge in popularity has come from the countless videos and articles and podcasts all talking about the same thing. waaay more discussion now than any previous deck archetype strategy drafted before in ISD.

so now to read comments from Simon and others about the deck being ‘too strong’ is properly drafted is kind of alarming, than if we were talking about a broken card/deck in constructed. cos we’re stuck in limited. there’s no banned list in limited. there’s no additional sideboard cards than what was passed to you in limited. we just have to deal with it now.