Scryfall (and before it, magiccards.info) has been outdoing Gatherer for years, but I don’t think Wizards of the Coast can afford not to have a searchable card database that they control. For all I know, they’ve offered to contract the work out to Scryfall, but Scryfall refused, or it would have been too expensive. But if WotC decides to just leave it up to Scryfall, and Scryfall folds, or makes an editorial decision WotC doesn’t agree with, that would put them in the difficult position of having to revive and update Gatherer on short notice. They need a resource that they own. And as a player, I would rather they not own Scryfall. I think Scryfall is better because they get to make their own decisions.

Just FYI Card Kingdom has done equally dirty things to their former unionized workers

That’s disappointing, they’ve been my primary source for cards recently. I’d be interested to read about it if you have a link.

Just minutes after the closure announcement took place, dozens of unidentified security guards entered the building, watching doors, following workers into breakrooms and watching restrooms, and using physical force against workers.

Stories like this have been in the news an alarming amount recently. And every time I hear one I think, how is this different from being robbed? Like… a bunch of tough guys you don’t know come into your workplace and start ordering you around. And you have to make a snap judgment about whether they’re a crew of burglars who bought some convincing-looking uniforms, or whether your employer has abruptly decided to entrust some goons they’ve never met with their corporate assets. And the stakes are pretty high if you guess wrong.

• Inkshield
• Peregrin Took

I’m also not a judge, but the way I would expect it to work is that each time a source would deal damage, regardless of the amount of damage, that’s a separate token-generating event.

Say an opponent attacks you with Savai Sabertooth and Fencing Ace. You cast Inkshield before they deal damage. Then you go to the first-strike damage step. Fencing Ace would deal one damage, instead you make one Inkling and one food. Next you go to the normal damage step. Fencing Ace gets another damage prevented; you get one more Inkling and one more food from that. Sabertooth would deal three damage, so you get three Inklings and one food from that. Your final count is five Inklings and three food.

I’m not sure about this ruling because as you note, the wording of Inkshield is unusual. This is the most relevant rule I could find:

615.13. Some triggered abilities trigger when damage that would be dealt is prevented. Such an ability triggers each time a prevention effect is applied to one or more simultaneous damage events and prevents some or all of that damage.

I think that supports my theory that three damage from Savai Sabertooth is one “damage event” and therefore one token-producing trigger. But a judge might say otherwise.

I tried looking for clarity about what a “damage event” is and how it works. Rule 120.4 is the relevant one. But it didn’t elucidate this question for me.

99 cards worth of board wipes

Well, “Prison” is an established archetype, focused on strategies that make it hard for opponents to assemble a board presence. It’s true that some people won’t find it fun. But if your playgroup is competitive, it might be in line with what they expect.

It sounds like your friends aren’t jerks, so that’s something. Can ask them more directly for help? If they know what you do and don’t want out of the game, maybe they they’ll be able to recommend a deck that’s more likely to deliver it. One idea, if you have the time for it, is to play some practice games open-handed, where you all talk about why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Getting the board wiped is normal in Magic and especially in Commander. Try to learn to prepare for it. If you have a couple of blockers and don’t feel like you’re in immediate danger of dying, try keeping some of your cards in hand to rebuild after it happens. (I’m not saying it’s easy to strike the right balance; I’m still not good at it.)

Honestly, Commander isn’t my favorite format, and I think you’ve correctly identified some of the problems with it. What @ptc075 said earlier about playing the social game is accurate. That’s why I like to recommend “Group Hug”-type decks. Even if you’re not necessarily winning the game, making your resources valuable to other players helps ensure that at least you’re participating in it.

Unfortunately I don’t think $15 - $20 is reasonable for a Commander deck. I built a couple of Pauper (i.e. only commons) Commander decks recently and even they cost more than that. (And based on your description, a Pauper Commander deck is not going to be viable in your playgroup.) I wrote up a guide to buying a Commander deck recently and my subjective opinion was that $100 is the least you can expect to spend.

You said you’re borrowing decks from friends. I have some people in my playgroups who don’t own any decks of their own and always borrow someone else’s – nothing wrong with that. But the low-budget approach that I would suggest at this stage is that you try to borrow the same deck every time, and get familiar with it.

This can be a tough question to answer (and you don’t have to answer it for me at all), but I’d be curious about in what way your friends seem upset when you say you want to concede. There could be a few different things going on there. Maybe you have more options than you realize and they want to help you learn that. Maybe they feel bad about giving you an imbalanced game experience and are going to try to fix it. Maybe they’re jerks who just want a punching bag. What I’d advise you to do would differ in each of those scenarios.

One thing to keep in mind about Commander is that if your typical game has four players, you are going to lose about 75% of the time even if you’re just as skilled as everyone else. So don’t think of Commander games as being about winning. Instead, focus on doing something cool with your cards, and enjoying the company of your friends.

The reprint change is very welcome news that I never would have predicted. I thought it was by design that they were making people buy more cards if they wanted consistent artwork.

I have an Angels deck with three different printings of Giada that will benefit greatly from the new policy.

If I still had any hope of them backing off from Universes Beyond, this probably torpedoes it.

This is a great question, thanks for asking it. I recently went looking for proxies for the first time and found a number of sellers on both Etsy and eBay. The one I settled on has nice art and typo-free text, but the cards seem to be slightly thinner and lighter than a real Magic card. I don’t know yet whether I’ll be able to tell the difference once they’re sleeved up.

I didn’t know about the resources others have suggested here and will definitely check them out for next time.

What a headache. I mean I guess on the one hand this is a minor victory for people like me who prefer Universes Within cards. But on the other hand, I think Wizards has completely lost touch with how hard it is for the average player to know which cards are legal in which formats. This is only going to make that worse. It also underscores just how much they’ve hamstrung themselves by putting art on their cards that they’re not free to use as they like.

You are really amazing, Evu.

❤️

Also thanks to whichever one of you pinned the post; it’s an honor.

You’re an amazing contributor and wish you all the best.

❤️

it has seemed to me that Wizards has undergone an intense campaign to do away with bad topdecks.

I think you’re right. One of the reasons I prefer lower power levels is because then a bad topdeck or two doesn’t have to dash your chances. But that approach doesn’t drive up the card prices…

I’ve had similar ideas. Like you, I’d be concerned about the power level but would at least give it a try.

This is well put. I’m not surprised by the lack of any bans in Standard, but at the same time… if I had my way I’d ban 20 or 30 cards from Standard, just with the goal of getting the power level back where it ought to be.

I can only speculate about what your opponent might have been thinking, but if she really wanted to play with her friends then she is also free to concede at any time. Since she didn’t, she must have seen some value in staying in the match. To be fair, some people are not suited for the “patient teacher” role and maybe that was the case for her. But there’s only so much management of other people’s feelings you can do. Also… she has basically unlimited time to play casual side games with her friends whenever she isn’t in the middle of a tournament.

One thing that I, as an introvert, like about sanctioned tournaments is that nobody has to explain or justify why they are there. You are there to play a pre-determined amount of Magic, against algorithmically selected opponents, you will play exactly that much Magic and will stop playing afterwards, and you are entitled to play because you paid your entry fee.

Divine Arrow just keeps getting better and better.

Actually just strictly worse than Eaten Alive, but probably a good draft pick for the right archetype.

The single most important rule in Magic is this one:

104.3a A player can concede the game at any time. A player who concedes leaves the game immediately. That player loses the game.

This goes not just for games but also matches and tournaments. If you are having a bad time for any reason, you should never let anybody make you feel like you have to keep playing.

That said, I’d encourage you to reframe how you think about the situation.

Like you said, you were probably going to 0-3 anyway due to your inexperience. The primary value you’re going to get at this stage is meeting the regulars and getting your “sea legs” under you so you’ll be better prepared for the next draft. Think of losses as just part of the process.

I don’t know what the prize structure is at your LGS, but last time I drafted at mine, it was “one pack per win”. I like that structure because each round is just as valuable as the others. Even if you’re 0-2 there’s still hope you can win the next one. In large tournaments, players will often drop once they get two or three losses and it’s no longer possible for them to finish well enough to earn prizes.* But small store events are designed so that everybody gets to play for the whole time. You should also get paired against players with similar records, so by the last round you’ll have an opponent whose deck may be as bad as your own.

If you know you’re going to “preemptively concede” your matches, then you should actually just tell the TO to drop you. Don’t wait until you and your opponent get to the table only to concede in person. Formally dropping is better because if there are two drops (or there was an odd number of players to begin with), the tournament software will be able to pair up people who actually want to play.

Assuming there’s an even number of drafters, your early drop does mean that whoever you were going to face doesn’t get to play in that round. That’s a bit of a bummer for them, but if that free win means they get an extra pack, that tends to soften the blow.

If you do continue playing, feel free to tell your opponents “I’m new and my deck is bad”, or keep that info to yourself, as you prefer. Mostly what you’d get out of saying that is letting them know they might need to play slower or explain their actions more thoroughly. I’ve met a wide variety of Magic players; some of them will gleefully stomp a newbie, and some will be happy to take it slow and let you undo (recent) mistakes. You never know which type you’re up against until you get into the game.

Rarely will you meet somebody who will actually get salty about how long it’s taking them to beat you. Those people do exist, but they are jerks and you should try not to stress about making them upset. They were always going to get upset no matter what. If you ever feel like somebody’s behavior is really unacceptable, you can call a judge in the moment, or speak to the TO privately later. And remember the Golden Rule that you are free to leave at any time. Some things aren’t worth putting up with just for the chance to win a booster pack.

IMO it’s poor form for the store to change the format on you at the last minute, but I get that they have to keep all their customers happy. Chaos draft arguably puts everyone on even footing since you can’t really prepare for it and just have to rely on fundamentals, but whether you view that as a good thing or not is a matter of opinion. We’re late in the season right now and people may be burned out on Aetherdrift. In a couple of weeks, Tarkir: Dragonstorm will be out and everybody will be excited to play that. Study up on it and you shouldn’t have to worry about anyone changing the draft format on you for a couple of months.

Have fun out there!

* The other side of the coin: never let anyone make you feel like you’re supposed to drop, or owe it to them to drop. You are entitled to play to the bitter end if you so desire. You are never expected to concede to someone, and you should especially not entertain any offers to concede in exchange for a share of prizes or other consideration – that could get you disqualified or sanctioned.

I guess the two alternate arts are supposed to depict juvenile and adult versions, but it’s weird how similar they are. And they have the same collector number? I don’t pay a lot of attention to those numbers, but is that normal?