Pros of mtgo?

[angorashi]

So I got into magic about a year ago, with a bunch of folks I work with. We've mostly learned the rules ourselves, and suffice to say in our current situation we're the only people we can play magic with without a language barrier getting in the way. I'll be going home in five or six months, back to small-town life, and while I know there's at least one magic group out there, I have no clue how active it is, and in general magic might not be feasible. I've got a vague plan to sell all my cards except for a few sentimental/keeper decks, and convert to MTGO. What I'd like to know is.. what's it like, is it worth it?

In my head, I'm thinking cards are cheaper on a card-per-card basis, AND, please PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, it sounds like if I buy a card once, I can use it as many times in a deck/in as many decks as I want.(i.e. instead of having to buy 4 Arlinn Kords at what, ten bucks apiece, from what it sounds like I could buy one arlinn cord for roughly ten bucks and be able to use four in deck A, four in deck B, etc, saving plenty of money.) Also I'd imagine that you can play games on MTGO any day, any hour of the day, and that there's always folks available.

That's really all I know about it. Just grapevine talk, really. Can anyone tell me where I may be wrong, give some pros and cons, just general stuff to know if I'm interested in converting from paper to mtgo? I'm not super interested in tournaments, etc- all of us here play with decks we made ourselves, we don't really like folks with that strict play-to-win attitude that brings full burn decks, full counter decks, two turn infinite combos, and in general, decks people found on the internet instead of building themselves, something I'm getting a taste of on https://untap.in/ . I realize those will be found online as well as in paper, but I would imagine that you'd find more of those "win at the cost of fun" decks in paper tournies/FNM where there are fat packs or whatever riding on the outcome.


Like I said I've only played magic in a very select pool of friends, and on an anything-goes website where folks play five hundred dollar decks they all insist they own then are surprised when I mention they haven't played a single card worth less than twenty bucks in the last four turns.

Please, send me some thoughts

[ladof]

There are some pros and some cons, and unfortunately I'm in a bit of a hurry so I can't type all of it out right away. I just wanted to quickly say that your Arlinn part was wrong. You need four of a card to put four of them in a deck. You can, however, put all four of them in as many decks as you please.

[angorashi]

Thanks man! Very good to know, guess it would be too good to be true

[skeri]

That's really all I know about it. Just grapevine talk, really. Can anyone tell me where I may be wrong, give some pros and cons, just general stuff to know if I'm interested in converting from paper to mtgo? I'm not super interested in tournaments, etc- all of us here play with decks we made ourselves, we don't really like folks with that strict play-to-win attitude that brings full burn decks, full counter decks, two turn infinite combos, and in general, decks people found on the internet instead of building themselves, something I'm getting a taste of on https://untap.in/ . I realize those will be found online as well as in paper, but I would imagine that you'd find more of those "win at the cost of fun" decks in paper tournies/FNM where there are fat packs or whatever riding on the outcome.

I used MTGO to learn how to play Magic when I first started (about three months ago) and it helped immensely with learning game play, mechanics, rules, and familiarizing myself with cards and deck builds. I quickly moved over to playing IRL because I wanted to talk to people and get out of the house, but I got quickly discouraged by people playing only to win and the constant barrage of net decks. The idea that you use your own strategy and build your deck really appealed to me in this game and I was really disheartened by people who just wanted to win.

Anyway, long story short, if you're anything like I was you'll tire of MTGO online and want to go out and play and talk and nerd out.  Tabletop Magic is where it's at for me right now. I play with some friends I met at the tournaments who are cool with putting down their tier one decks and playing around with our cheapie decks. They enjoy deck building and the time it takes to create a solid deck. We also go to the pub to eat, drink, and play sometimes, so if you like that kind of stuff it's really fun.

I still enjoy tournaments, even though I don't win a whole lot. I had to find a more friendly and less competitive shop than the first one I tried to play at, so it takes some time. It was really hard for me to go by myself and meet new people, especially at a game I wasn't great at so practicing by myself on MTGO made the transition easier for me. I also like to invest in things I can touch and hold so playing paper felt like a better investment than online. I know that wasn't exactly what you asked for but I hope that helps somewhat. 

[KouriNick]

I'm in agreement with skeri. MTGO is an excellent place to learn and you'll see a much wider variety of decks. Unfortunately ladof is right and if you want a playset of a card, you need to get a whole playset. But once you have 4, you can put that same 4 in as many decks as you like.

And you are right about the whole "card for card" price point. In general, individual cards are a little cheaper on MTGO than in paper, and some cards are substantially cheaper (Goblin Guide for example, is about $1 on MTGO because it's been printed in so many prebuilt decks, whereas on paper its over $30). Thankfully, a lot of those significantly cheap cards are also very playable and mean you can fill a deck with good cards very cheaply.

MTGO will also force you to think about interactions and rules you've never considered. This is great for learning, but can be brutal and cold at first. Nothing sucks more than thinking an interaction works one way, then trying that, and having it all blow up in your face. In person, if your opponent isn't a jerk, they can help you understand what just happened and may even let you take it back (if its a fun causal game), but on MTGO anything that resolves is permanent and you just have to accept the consequences.

You can play any format, at any time, and at any level (beginner, causal, competitive and full on cash tournaments) on MTGO, but the tradeoff is the interaction skeri talked about. Some people on MTGO are friendly and will chat during a game, but for the most part it's a pretty cold after the initial "good luck, have fun". I still think it's worth playing MTGO for the sheer convenience, but like skeri said, its just going to make you want to play paper magic even more.

I hope you found this helpful

[Tatsuno]

Glad I checked this post out.  I signed up for MTGO last week, built a few decks and jumped in.  So far the experience has been pretty decent.  I've won some, lost a lot more lol.  The one thing that's different for me is the actual human interaction.  I don't get to play at my game shop much but when I do I normally have friendly conversations with everyone I play.  In MTGO it's rare, but I have met some pretty decent people that will chat.

I've been playing for awhile but I still consider myself a beginner, and in the beginner lobby I still feel like a few people that are more seasoned play there just to beat the crap out of people like me.  The decks they have are insane and you know they're used to play a  much higher level.  However I can take my losses like a champ so it doesn't upset me at all, just makes me appreciate it more when I do win.  It's only $10 to join so if you want to jump into it just to play and gain experience.  I've learned so much that helps me play better when facing real people in person.

If you need someone to play with when you join its the same user name as I have on here.

[angorashi]

Some excellent points being raised here, and I'm grateful for your input! I think I'll hang on to my paper cards for now, while I have a core of folks around me playing paper magic- then switch to online when I go home if the magic community isn't lively there. More than likely I'll be working fridays anyway :S

Keeping my favorite decks paper, and perhaps continue brewing on paper using proxies, I think I'll get more out of online magic, convenience wise

[ladof]

For those people who do use MTGO, don't forget that there are trade bots that give you free cards (either daily, weekly or monthly.)

[Tatsuno]

For those people who do use MTGO, don't forget that there are trade bots that give you free cards (either daily, weekly or monthly.)

Do you have the names of these bots?  Never knew this, thought they only took trades for tickets.