A couple of months ago I wrote a piece about my “baby steps” in playing Magic online. At that time I mentioned that I may do a follow up if my audience was interested. I got a lot of positive feedback so this week I’ll share with you my continued growth. I had envisioned my follow up to be an all in comprehensive report from a total expert. But alas, I can not confidently say that I am anything close to expert level. It seems that every time I turn around I discover something new. So let’s say that I’m in the adolescence stage of MODO.

The Planewalkers

So you’ve downloaded the client. Now what? This is a very large decision and the answer depends on the type of player you are. One of the choices is to be a Planeswalker. As part of your collection when you first buy the game you receive a bunch of gold bordered Planeswalker cards. These cards are special in the fact that you can’t trade them. They exist in your binder forever. The also can’t be bought individually and additional cards are only available through the Planeswalker packages at the Wizards Store. As a trade off for these restrictions you can have CHEAP access to some powerful cards.

Just how cheap? For a total of $50 you can get the cards that come with the download, one extra Planeswalker I pack, two Planeswalker II packs, and two Planeswalker III packs. With all of those packs in your binder you can build decks with maximum potential. Some cards are restricted to fewer than 4 copies but for the most part you have full playsets. I haven’t personally looked up the price of these cards in their black bordered form but I would guess it over $1000 easily. That’s a lot of juice for $50. Why would you play any other way? Well if pure Magic game play is your thing there is no reason. But there are more drawbacks than just the loss of trading.

My first issue with Planeswalking is the Metagaming.  New Planeswalker decks rarely come out and no cards drop out of rotation so unlike Standard you can play the same deck forever. If you do that and a majority of other players do that then you can find yourself facing the same decks over and over. Now, before the Planeswalkers get upset there is some fluidity. When one deck starts to dominate then players will add cards to offset that decks power. But still Planewalkers will never experience the radical upheaval that happens every fall when a new Block premiers. Some like no upheaval but I think I would miss the excitement.

The second reason I choose not to Planeswalk is the Noob factor. Everyone starts the game with Planeswalker cards and I figure a vast majority play in the Planewalker area to start. With Wizards prebuilding decks for you and the access to some powerful spells it is a fun way to start. But when you maximize your walker collection and build your own powerful deck it is a letdown to face one of the beginners. I personally played with Walker decks for a couple of weeks before I realized I could customize my builds. It wasn’t until I got schooled by one of the Walker veterans that I appreciated what I could do. As I understand it there is a clique of Walkers that make sure to play each other exclusively and have some great games of pure Magic power.

If you are the type of player that loves the Eternal formats you should love Planeswalking online. Just make sure to find your way into the Walker clique. If you’re reading this and you’re in that clique it might be nice to post your MODO name so other readers can find you in game.

Getting Cards

If Planeswalker isn’t for you then you’re going to need cards. Without cards you won’t be able to build decks. Now you could just buy a bunch of packs and hope for the best but I consider that a waste of money.

Other than cracking pack you can shop for the cards you want. If you know exactly what cards you want because you have an exact deck in mind then you need to find a seller. I personally use Cardhoarder.com. I find Cardhoarder.com convenient and well priced. The fact that I can buy from them outside of the game for cash as well as inside the game for tix is a bonus. But honestly the convenience is a minor detail. If Cardhoarder had jacked up prices I wouldn’t shop there. Instead I find them just the opposite. Their Tix prices are basically the same as all other Bot sellers and if you go the cash route via their website then most prices are less.

But if you just want a surplus of cards then Drafting is the place to go. Drafting has 3 choices of tournament styles. The style you choose should reflect your playskill. The most cutthroat tournament is the 8-4. 8-4’s are single elimination that only awards prizes to the finalist. Winner gets 8 packs and second gets 4 packs, hence the name 8-4. The medium level and where I spend the most of my draft time is the 4-3-2-2’s. Same single elimination concept but now if you finish 3^rd or 4^th you get 2 packs. To offset these packs the finalists get a lesser reward. The final choice is Swiss. In Swiss all players play all rounds and each win gets you a pack. If you do the math one player will go undefeated for 3 packs, three players will go 2-1 for 2 packs, three players will go 1-2 for 1 pack, and one poor fella will go home empty handed. Each cost three packs and two tix to enter. If you can average 1 pack won for every two drafts you enter you’ve paid less per pack than you would from bulk pack buying.

A couple of weeks ago I highlighted my M11 draft strategy. Running in 4-3-2-2’s exclusively I have averaged a smidge better than two packs per draft. There was apparently a little confusion with the article. I am not trying to go Infinite with draft. I am just trying to garner the most packs for the least cash. My personal goal is set redemption which takes a lot drafts. I am currently 11 cards short of a full M11 set. That’s really close until you realize they’re almost all Mythic and expensive. If I just give in and buy the cards it’ll run me 74 tix.

After you start to gather cards you can gain more through trading. Is it possible to go “Pack to Power”? Probably not (even if power was accessible online). My experience trading shows that very few people trade based on personal value. Instead they access another Bot or online site and make their choices based on value. It’s like the dude that breaks out his smart phone while trading at your local store. It just takes the fun out of it. If you are in the market for cheaper, unused, rogue cards then trading can gain you a lot but if you looking for chase rares you’re better be willing to give up a lot. It is my experience that tix will buy you more with humans than they will with Bots. Almost the only way to get tix is to sell cards or buy from Wizards. Humans realize this and will sell you cards undervalue since it is still more than they would get from a Bot.

Deck Building

Here I get a little Teen angst against Wizards. I find the Deck building interface to be counter intuitive. I like building in Draft and Sealed but constructing from your collection is a nuisance. When I first started I would have Planeswalker cards mixed in with Black bordered cards for an illegal deck. I would look over the cards that I own and see 5 Naturalizes, I put 4 in my sideboard only to find out that 2 of my Naturalizes where Planeswalker cards. So I put one back in my card pool but the program automatically moves the Black boarded one back and I’m still illegal. It’s frustrating.

Also when looking for a card it seemed like a major task. Some people are visual learners. Seeing the card is how they build. For them the art is a vital component of the card. The only means these players have is to highlight a card and then up down arrow until they see the card they want. For these players I would love to see a way to build from our binder. Just like the trading screen we should be able to select cards from our binder and put them in a deck list at the bottom of the screen. It seems like a simpler way to do things and the sorting of Planeswalker cards would be automatic. The drawback would be the reprints. If a card we own from an earlier expansion was reprinted our binder wouldn’t show it.

I personally would appreciate a tool to help kinetic learners. I personally remember cards by what the do before I ever remember their name. I may want to build a deck that just uses lifelink creatures. I haven’t found a way to do this inside of MODO. It may seem crazy and difficult but a merging of Gatherer and my collection would be AWESOME. Right now when I build I jump back and forth between the two.

I have found a couple of tips that help. First, in the deck building screen at the top right side there is a scroll window. If you click it you get a list of filters. By selecting the proper environment it removes cards that aren’t legal in that format. For example if you’re building a Planeswalker deck you can only have Gold Bordered cards (even lands). Click on the window and choose Planeswalker and your list of cards is reduced to just gold boardered. The second thing I do is filter colors. Just above the card name list you will see five jewels. If you left click on these it will remove all cards using that color. If you right clique it will only show cards in that color. This filter is extremely helpful when sideboarding a draft or sealed deck.

What the F?

My next stage in growing up in Magic Online is the use of the F keys. These function buttons provide some time savers that make the game go smoother. This list is available on the Mothership but I’ll also share them here.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Middle click or left+right click while cursor is over a card - Zoom in on card – I have never used this one yet. I have a pretty large computer screen so the visual enlargement isn’t necessary.
• / - Toggle transparent chat box on/off – This one is a mood thing. When I’m in the mood to talk, I talk. When I’m not then I don’t. Don’t get offended it’s not personal. One time a guy must have sent multiple messages in game that I didn’t respond to. After the game he sent me a Personal Message indicating his anger. I didn’t even realize. Sorry.
• F2 – OK (identical to clicking the OK button when prompted) – Many people claim that this is their most used F key. I’m a mouse user at heart so I point and click.
• F3 – Remove all auto-yields and cancel F4/F6/F8 activation- If you’re going to use any of the following actions you gotta know this.
• F4 – Until the end of the turn, pass priority as long as no cards or abilities go on the stack (Effectively, you are passing as long as nothing happens. This function can be turned off with the F3 key.) – Tapped out? No cards that play? This is a time saver.
• F5 – Briefly look at face-down permanents you control. – Never have had a face- down permanent in play.
• F6 – Until the end of the turn, pass priority regardless of what is played, cast, or activated, though you are still asked to make choices if appropriate (This function can be turned off with the F3 key.) – This is my most used key. My decks always seem to lack instant stuff anyway.
• F7 – For the rest of the game, automatically place identical triggered abilities on the stack if they do not have targets (For example, if you have two Phyrexian Arenas on the battlefield, at the beginning of your upkeep, both abilities will automatically go on the stack without you having to choose an order for them.) This also works for multiple Soul Wardens, multiple Emerias, etc.
• F8 – For the rest of the game, pass priority unless there is a card you can play or ability you can activate (Note that using this function effectively means you cannot bluff, as it is apparent to your opponents when you have no available options, even if you have cards in hand. This function can be turned off with the F3 key.) – losing the chance to bluff is not as bad as losing on time. To me this function feels like playing chess against the computer where the program shows you all of you possible moves.
• F9 or ALT-Y – Yes (identical to clicking the YES button when prompted) – I’m just starting to use this key. While it is possible to auto yield to abilities you can’t auto – yes. In my Soul Sisters deck I will almost always play a Warden over an Attendant just because of this.
• F10 or ALT-N – No (identical to clicking the NO button when prompted) – Same as yes except who says No?
• ALT-U or CTRL-Z – Undo the last action, though this command can only undo a mana ability if no other ability has triggered since it was activated. – Keep this in mind. I have numerous times tapped a land to early and needed this for “take backs”.
• Holding down the CTRL key when casting spells or activating abilities – Maintain your priority so you may respond to your own spells and abilities. – Only needed in certain situations but there are some combos that require it.
• Right Click on the Stack – This isn’t on the mothership but I found if you right click on an ability while it’s on the stack you can choose to auto yield to that ability for the rest of the game. Say your opponent is playing Allies and you have nothing that can instantly remove his Hada Freeblade after it reaches 3 / 4. Clicking Okay or hitting F2 every time he plays another Ally is annoying. Just right click and for the rest of the game his Hada will grow with only a moment of time on the stack.

That’s where I am in Online line. I would love to hear your thoughts as well.

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