1) Find an alternative. I see a lot of people write as if Arena is the first and only implementation of online mtg. It's not. There's Magic Online. There's a few free to play third party clients. Each has their own features and communities you can learn about and see if they suite you better.
2) Don't play mtg on the internet at all. If you're not satisfied by the alternatives, don't bother playing. You sound really frustrated, and I promise there are better things to do with your time than to play a game where you are constantly frustrated, with just enough peaks to keep you hooked. Life is too short for that, and there are too many competing options, there must be something you'll find more enjoyable or fulfilling.
3) Learn to enjoy Arena as it is. I don't recommend this but it's possible.
Anybody have info / anecdotes about LGSs in Japan? In-person tournament culture is very strong over there. I'm interested in seeing how different regions with varying mixes of regulations, outbreak progression, and cultural / personality traits react and develop in the coming months.
it makes me sad that while it technically returned, devotion was on what, half a dozen non-god cards? so flexible, such a great mechanic. this is fine i guess, but nothing like last time
Maro said 24 devotion in an article so minus the gods and demigods its 14. Compare to Theros 1 that had 16 devotion card in total.
True stat but we're only getting one Devotion expansion this time. There were 30+ devotion cards from all of Theros Block. Now we get a single expansion and a bunch of the devotion cards are not very interesting. One of the culprits is the uncommon cycle of creatures that have power or toughness equal to your devotion in that color. Might turn out playable, but not very interesting. Repetitive. Then there's one reprint, Gary, and two very-close-to-reprints, the token maker and the green life gain guy. Not a lot of novelty.
Regarding the thread's card, it's not exciting, but I wouldn't put any blame on this single card. I think it's best compared to Disciple of Phenax - an underwhelming body for its cost and a fair ability as its ceiling. The best devotion designs let you do something that feels unfair, like Gary hitting for tons of life, or Aspect of Hydra giving a huge pump for a single mana, or Karametra's Acolyte adding an obscene amount of mana, or Mogis's Marauder giving your team haste and fear.
The mtg player ecosystem is a complex system. I can't do much more than suggest plausible contributing factors to what you're experiencing.
-The collapse of the middle class. Mtg is not a game for poor people, and many of the rich will have better things to do. As the middle class has declined, more players are under financial stress, and this stress contributes to their antisocial behavior. I should also say that the decline of the middle class goes beyond money: not having good careers also means a lack of purpose, self respect, and fulfillment.
-Increased social isolation / atomization. The number of people who have zero friends or very few friends has increased significantly. This phenomenon is probably amplified in the mtg demographic. It is not a wholly negative thing, because it will mean some people are actively looking to make friends in the mtg scene. However, when you interpret the stat as "the number of people who have very few friends and have not made the effort to change that has increased", you understand that many such people are not actively looking to make new friends despite their isolation.
-The particular evolution and stasis of the mtg ecosystem. This is less about what's been happening in society and more about how like-minded people attract and repel others. People tend to continue to engage in the activities they enjoy, and they stop doing what they don't enjoy. Let's say mtg started as a mix of friendly, easy going people plus cutthroat/jaded/antisocial people. Then let's say, through randomness, or through some mechanic maybe inherit to the nature of the game, the percentage of the latter group increased. The friendly types will enjoy themselves a bit less as the group becomes colder. This leads some of them to quit, which leads the group to become even colder, and the feedback loop continues until we are in the state you see today, where the people who are looking for the social environment you describe are staying away, yourself included.
-The increase in autism. Autism has been rising in the last 20 years. It's not something that can explain all the behavior you see, but like I said, this is a complex issue, and there may be nonlinear effects to a social group from a linear increase in number of autistic people.
-How much of it is you? You mention you are about 40 years old. Most people are interested in making friends that are close in age. Maybe the young people are nicer to each other and less nice to you. I don't expect this to be the case, but it's a possibility.
Lesser Piñata U
Creature - Donkey Construct
Flying, Defender
Whenever ~ is dealt damage or dies, each player creates a colorless artifact Treasure token with "T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool."
0/3
Stone from the Tabernacle 3
Artifact T: Add W.
When ~ enters the battlefield, until your next turn, creatures target opponent controls gain "at the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this creature unless you pay 1.
Blightsteel Brawler 4
Artifact Creature - Goblin Warrior
Infect, Indestructible
Blightsteel Brawler can't be equipped. Phyrexian compleation turned him into an unstoppable killing machine. But it did not teach him how to use a sword.
2/2
Ring of Arsenal - I like that this is aggressively costed while checked by opponent interaction (blocks, removal). The opportunities for reuse also contribute to its constructed playability, while not feeling overpowered since it doesn't find the equipment itself like Stoneforge does. Strong synergy with the Swords which trigger on combat damage and provide evasion via protection. Lower synergy with Argentum Armor because you have to wait another turn for the attack trigger, and that's probably a good thing.
Warrior's Journal - It's difficult for me to imagine a format where this is what you want to be doing. It's probably bad in most limited formats because it will require a lot of luck to get a wide range of abilities, and it's probably bad in constructed since you need to keep a bunch of creatures alive, unlike Cairn Wanderer and Soulflayer which rely on filling a graveyard, and even those were only fringe playable. On the bright side, since there are so many keywords, its potential range of utility is high, so maybe somebody would want to build around it some day when the right cards are printed (for example some cheap indestructible creature).
Metabolic Stasis Chamber - This has similar issues to Warrior's Journal only more extreme - probably not close to playable in limited and requires something really specific in constructed that I don't know exists yet. Something with a strong triggered or static ability. I think the casting cost and equip costs are proper for limited (2 and 2 instead may make for some miserable games of early indestructible hexproof defense) but that leaves the card quite expensive for whatever jank combo deck wants it.
Nosferatu's Cloak - Allowing interaction is one of the pillars of good card designs for me, and this card is all about denying traditional attacking and blocking and going straight to a lifelink race. All it's missing is hexproof, and the second ability helps make up for that. Where some players would see that bounce ability and get excited by the kinds of value it could generate, I see it as oppressive. It's probably going to make good cards even better, like Chupacabra. The one thing I like about the card is that, although it removes interaction, the non-negligible equip and bounce costs create a subgame for the controller to play of deciding when it's correct to equip it vs when to wait so you can equip and keep up mana. In that sense it rewards good players for planning ahead, guessing what's in their opponent's hand, and taking calculated risks, and that makes up a bit for how bad I expect playing against this to feel.
Reflection Mask - This scores some points for being difficult to evaluate. I think it's ultimately a secret Whispersilk Cloak in limited, where you're forced to equip only the creatures of the color not matching your opponent's colors. I like that it is less straightforward than Whispersilk, making it a skill tester and allowing for some interaction if the opponent does share one color and points their offcolor removal at your nonmatching colored creatures. It gains extra complexity in a Shadowmoor-like setting with lots of hybrid, colorless Scarecrows that couldn't be blocked at all, and color changing spells.
Hells-Cape - This is a cool card with a lot going on. For starters it cares about some fringe creature types, but it does so in the best way: it eventually powers on itself with its own Devil tokens. The sacrifice effect is very red/black hybrid, so nice choice of colored mana. It feels very balanced on its own, outside of possible synergies, so I don't expect this to be oppressively good in limited. But the ceiling is high if there are plenty of red and black creatures that want to be sacrificed, likely the case. I like that the primary use of deathtouch is to make blocking with two creatures unpalatable, but then it can also be used defensively equipped to a 1/1 devil. This angle is kept under check with the 2 life equip cost - you can't keep moving it back and forth again and again. Great weird card.
Darksteel Manicles I see what you did there. The old "equipment for your opponent's creatures". Well, this card is fine but it's not very interesting, especially for a rare. It's probably on the power level of Icy Manipulator. I'd like to say you could make it more interesting by giving the creature Indestructible too but that doesn't fit the flavor. If the card had just one extra thing going for it, it could be in contention.
Winner: VolrathTheRisen with Hell's Cape.
Next: What you received (or wanted) for Christmas
I've judge all but two but I have to get ready to go to the gym now. Expect final judgment in about 4 hours, 3.5 if you want to get a late submission in.
Azorius Scheduler 1WU
Creature - Human Advisor
Spells you cast during your main phase cost 1 less to cast.
At the beginning of your end step, if you cast 2 or more spells this turn, you gain 3 life.
1/5
IIW: equipment that does not boost power/toughness
Spooky Dog 2B
Creature - Hound Horror
Whenever ~ becomes blocked by a nonblack creature, return that creature to its owner's hand.
3/2
Gruesome Gutting 3BB
Sorcery
Destroy target creature. Return up to one target nonblack creature to its owner's hand.
Creepy Ritual 1B
Instant
Add BBB. Return up to one target nonblack creature to its owner's hand. The satyr knew it was time to leave the party when he was passed a skull full of goat blood and told to chug.
1) Find an alternative. I see a lot of people write as if Arena is the first and only implementation of online mtg. It's not. There's Magic Online. There's a few free to play third party clients. Each has their own features and communities you can learn about and see if they suite you better.
2) Don't play mtg on the internet at all. If you're not satisfied by the alternatives, don't bother playing. You sound really frustrated, and I promise there are better things to do with your time than to play a game where you are constantly frustrated, with just enough peaks to keep you hooked. Life is too short for that, and there are too many competing options, there must be something you'll find more enjoyable or fulfilling.
3) Learn to enjoy Arena as it is. I don't recommend this but it's possible.
big agree
True stat but we're only getting one Devotion expansion this time. There were 30+ devotion cards from all of Theros Block. Now we get a single expansion and a bunch of the devotion cards are not very interesting. One of the culprits is the uncommon cycle of creatures that have power or toughness equal to your devotion in that color. Might turn out playable, but not very interesting. Repetitive. Then there's one reprint, Gary, and two very-close-to-reprints, the token maker and the green life gain guy. Not a lot of novelty.
Regarding the thread's card, it's not exciting, but I wouldn't put any blame on this single card. I think it's best compared to Disciple of Phenax - an underwhelming body for its cost and a fair ability as its ceiling. The best devotion designs let you do something that feels unfair, like Gary hitting for tons of life, or Aspect of Hydra giving a huge pump for a single mana, or Karametra's Acolyte adding an obscene amount of mana, or Mogis's Marauder giving your team haste and fear.
-The collapse of the middle class. Mtg is not a game for poor people, and many of the rich will have better things to do. As the middle class has declined, more players are under financial stress, and this stress contributes to their antisocial behavior. I should also say that the decline of the middle class goes beyond money: not having good careers also means a lack of purpose, self respect, and fulfillment.
-Increased social isolation / atomization. The number of people who have zero friends or very few friends has increased significantly. This phenomenon is probably amplified in the mtg demographic. It is not a wholly negative thing, because it will mean some people are actively looking to make friends in the mtg scene. However, when you interpret the stat as "the number of people who have very few friends and have not made the effort to change that has increased", you understand that many such people are not actively looking to make new friends despite their isolation.
-The particular evolution and stasis of the mtg ecosystem. This is less about what's been happening in society and more about how like-minded people attract and repel others. People tend to continue to engage in the activities they enjoy, and they stop doing what they don't enjoy. Let's say mtg started as a mix of friendly, easy going people plus cutthroat/jaded/antisocial people. Then let's say, through randomness, or through some mechanic maybe inherit to the nature of the game, the percentage of the latter group increased. The friendly types will enjoy themselves a bit less as the group becomes colder. This leads some of them to quit, which leads the group to become even colder, and the feedback loop continues until we are in the state you see today, where the people who are looking for the social environment you describe are staying away, yourself included.
-The increase in autism. Autism has been rising in the last 20 years. It's not something that can explain all the behavior you see, but like I said, this is a complex issue, and there may be nonlinear effects to a social group from a linear increase in number of autistic people.
-How much of it is you? You mention you are about 40 years old. Most people are interested in making friends that are close in age. Maybe the young people are nicer to each other and less nice to you. I don't expect this to be the case, but it's a possibility.
Snow Creature - Dinosaur
Enrage - Whenever ~ is dealt damage, target opponent skips their next untap step.
2/3
IIW: replacement effects at two mana or less
Creature - Donkey Construct
Flying, Defender
Whenever ~ is dealt damage or dies, each player creates a colorless artifact Treasure token with "T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool."
0/3
IIW: Planeswalker spells/creatures/possessions (see Gideon's Reproach, Garruk's Companion, etc)
Artifact
T: Add W.
When ~ enters the battlefield, until your next turn, creatures target opponent controls gain "at the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this creature unless you pay 1.
IIW: mana rocks
Creature - Snake
Flash
When ~ enters the battlefield or attacks, target creature gains Infect until end of turn.
2/1
IIW: mana rocks
Creature - Goblin Pirate
Flying
R, Sacrifice an attacking creature with flying: ~ deals 3 damage to any target.
1/2
IIW: crocodiles
Artifact Creature - Goblin Warrior
Infect, Indestructible
Blightsteel Brawler can't be equipped.
Phyrexian compleation turned him into an unstoppable killing machine. But it did not teach him how to use a sword.
2/2
IIW: Gates matter
Warrior's Journal - It's difficult for me to imagine a format where this is what you want to be doing. It's probably bad in most limited formats because it will require a lot of luck to get a wide range of abilities, and it's probably bad in constructed since you need to keep a bunch of creatures alive, unlike Cairn Wanderer and Soulflayer which rely on filling a graveyard, and even those were only fringe playable. On the bright side, since there are so many keywords, its potential range of utility is high, so maybe somebody would want to build around it some day when the right cards are printed (for example some cheap indestructible creature).
Metabolic Stasis Chamber - This has similar issues to Warrior's Journal only more extreme - probably not close to playable in limited and requires something really specific in constructed that I don't know exists yet. Something with a strong triggered or static ability. I think the casting cost and equip costs are proper for limited (2 and 2 instead may make for some miserable games of early indestructible hexproof defense) but that leaves the card quite expensive for whatever jank combo deck wants it.
Nosferatu's Cloak - Allowing interaction is one of the pillars of good card designs for me, and this card is all about denying traditional attacking and blocking and going straight to a lifelink race. All it's missing is hexproof, and the second ability helps make up for that. Where some players would see that bounce ability and get excited by the kinds of value it could generate, I see it as oppressive. It's probably going to make good cards even better, like Chupacabra. The one thing I like about the card is that, although it removes interaction, the non-negligible equip and bounce costs create a subgame for the controller to play of deciding when it's correct to equip it vs when to wait so you can equip and keep up mana. In that sense it rewards good players for planning ahead, guessing what's in their opponent's hand, and taking calculated risks, and that makes up a bit for how bad I expect playing against this to feel.
Reflection Mask - This scores some points for being difficult to evaluate. I think it's ultimately a secret Whispersilk Cloak in limited, where you're forced to equip only the creatures of the color not matching your opponent's colors. I like that it is less straightforward than Whispersilk, making it a skill tester and allowing for some interaction if the opponent does share one color and points their offcolor removal at your nonmatching colored creatures. It gains extra complexity in a Shadowmoor-like setting with lots of hybrid, colorless Scarecrows that couldn't be blocked at all, and color changing spells.
Hells-Cape - This is a cool card with a lot going on. For starters it cares about some fringe creature types, but it does so in the best way: it eventually powers on itself with its own Devil tokens. The sacrifice effect is very red/black hybrid, so nice choice of colored mana. It feels very balanced on its own, outside of possible synergies, so I don't expect this to be oppressively good in limited. But the ceiling is high if there are plenty of red and black creatures that want to be sacrificed, likely the case. I like that the primary use of deathtouch is to make blocking with two creatures unpalatable, but then it can also be used defensively equipped to a 1/1 devil. This angle is kept under check with the 2 life equip cost - you can't keep moving it back and forth again and again. Great weird card.
Darksteel Manicles I see what you did there. The old "equipment for your opponent's creatures". Well, this card is fine but it's not very interesting, especially for a rare. It's probably on the power level of Icy Manipulator. I'd like to say you could make it more interesting by giving the creature Indestructible too but that doesn't fit the flavor. If the card had just one extra thing going for it, it could be in contention.
Winner: VolrathTheRisen with Hell's Cape.
Next: What you received (or wanted) for Christmas
Creature - Human Advisor
Spells you cast during your main phase cost 1 less to cast.
At the beginning of your end step, if you cast 2 or more spells this turn, you gain 3 life.
1/5
IIW: equipment that does not boost power/toughness
Creature - Hound Horror
Whenever ~ becomes blocked by a nonblack creature, return that creature to its owner's hand.
3/2
Gruesome Gutting 3BB
Sorcery
Destroy target creature. Return up to one target nonblack creature to its owner's hand.
Creepy Ritual 1B
Instant
Add BBB. Return up to one target nonblack creature to its owner's hand.
The satyr knew it was time to leave the party when he was passed a skull full of goat blood and told to chug.
IIW: equipment that does not boost power/toughness (eg Leonin Bola, Helm of the Host)