MTG Salvation

Yeah, good points. All I can go on is my personal experiences. I was going to do a follow up article next time with some game experiences, here's a breakdown of my 2-player queue games online. Meta's no doubt non-representative of the overall modern meta - I write for a MTGO audience and its the only place I play so it's all I can speak too. Here's the stats, 19-5 overall:

Esper control (2-0)
RG aggro (2-1)
Affinity (2-0)
Grixis control (2-0)
UB faeries (2-0)
Affinity (2-1)
Naya zoo (2-1)
Affinity (0-2)
Abzan (2-1)
UW control (2-1)
Lantern control (2-1)
Kiki chord (2-1)
Kiln fiend combo (2-1)
BW tokens (2-0)
Merfolk (0-2)
Scapeshift (2-0)
Grixis Control (1-2)
Scapeshift (0-2)
Living end (2-0)
Burn (2-0)
Lantern control (1-2)
Naya zoo (2-1)
Abzan (2-1)
Merfolk (2-1)

I wrote an extensive article/primer on this deck over at Puremtgo - link. I found this thread late in writing the article, I had come up with many of the same strategies as the primer here through my platesting but found it a good reference. I really like the deck and it's really good, i'm something like 20-5 in 2-player queues online at the moment, it's great fun and well positioned imo.

I don't know that such an elaborate theory is needed to explain the current situation. The format was going just fine until they added a two week break after release for the format to launch. That two weeks used to be the highest participation/interest time for block, and people didn't even know if the format was coming back at the end of it. The current situation shows how absurd the wait is - the format has only had tournaments going for about two weeks now, and we're already in spoiler season for the next set. It was that delay that killed the format - even dailies haven't fired now, so it's not about "queue grinding" EV/value.

No block dailies have fired since the release of FRF. For an analysis of the cause, and what needs to be done to save the format, see my most recent article:

http://puremtgo.com/articles/around-block-63-block-constructed-dead

This could be the end of a nearly 20-year old format. If you care about the format at all, or just want another avenue to grind constructed events online, please help get this issue on WoTCs radar. If nothing is done, there's every chance they'll pull the format entirely which would be a huge shame.

I don't think we're ever going to be able to figure out the cause. Only WoTC can do that, there's too many moving parts and we don't have enough data. I'm far less interested in the cause, and more interested in identifying this as a long-term problem for players which should be on WoTC's radar.

None of the events have fired, the format is currently dead. Details here:

http://puremtgo.com/articles/around-block-63-block-constructed-dead

If you care about the format, I encourage you to raise the issue through official channels. @Magiconline, @mtg_lee, magiconlinefeedback@wizards.com

you guys might be interested in an article i've written looking at how bad pack prices have been for the past ~2 years by historical comparison. I also speculate on the causes of it (the most likely candidate is NOT the redemption fee increase imo) and suggest solution.

http://puremtgo.com/articles/around-block-62-mtgo-constructed-prize-payouts-are-broken

I'm not on twitter, if anyone thinks this article has merit, it's probably worth a tweet in someone at WoTC's direction because the problem has become entrenched. Since I published the article, KTK has sunk further to 2.2 which is unheard of for a fall set. Something has to be done...

it's a stupid and seemingly random bug that I run into occasionally. Sometimes clicking "mark all as tradeable" on event tickets doesn't actually add any in. You have to add them one by one, or drag them into the binder when that happens.

Quote from rickster_ »

I also read they don't pay for moving expenses. Cannot give a source and don't know if they recently changed. Was most likely from glassdoor review or Twitter convo.

dunno if this is applicable,but currently on Lepore's stream is this:

Melissa has received an internship at Wizards of the Coast in R&D, the gaming company that creates Magic: The Gathering!

This has been a lifelong dream of Melissa's and requires us to move from Tampa all the way to Seattle! It's going to cost us around $10,000 after all is said and done.

If you're able to help out in any way, please click the link and go for it! If not, no worries and enjoy the stream!

No removal expenses paid here obviously.

wrong forum, this is block constructed

lol, nice necro. To be fair though, no one thought the eldrazi were even remotely playable at the time. the dude up there who said "On-topic, assuming Emrakul does magically manage to become something relatively necessary for the function of some deck, the promos could be worth something eventually" was spot on.

It's bugged

*NOTE* Magic Online currently does not handle the interaction between Palm and Dictate correctly. It spits out double damage only and never allows the player to make a decision that changes this. I have reported the bug and it is being worked on (I assume), but if you do play these lists online in the meantime, do not make plays expecting 4x damage, as it just does not work yet.

http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/breaking-through-deflected/

I missed last week's deadline, so this article is a bit late, but here's metagame stats for the first week of the format:

Temur - 31%
Jeskai - 26%
Mardu - 22%
BW warriors - 8%
Abzan - 8%
Other - 5%

http://puremtgo.com/articles/around-block-58-jeskais-limit

More details in the article. Next one will probably be up next week.

As part of a move early last year to stop formats being 'solved' so quickly, they only post lists from the most-highly attended event for each format each day.