MTGO Paupers Deck Challenge (PDC)

Two years minus two weeks

2010-10-19T00:15:00.000-07:00

Thinking that life would be so much better, Hope, didn't hit well.

But we have survived.

I've come back to a V3.25xxx MTGO thats pretty decent.

It's lacking Leagues. But now instead of 32 cards per side in a trade, its up to 75.

Classifieds are the only official selling outlet other than player run rooms like /join auction, /join casual or /join trading.

For me, boof bots, CardNexus, MTGOTRADERS and CArdhoarder were all very nice to me. Boof bots allow you to buy 250 commons/tix -- 4 tix basically caught me up to WW from Morningtide.

I did some prerelease SCARS of MIR eventing but infect nailed me right before I killed the opponent.

Was expensive, but also ripped a few boosters. Converted the junk unc/rares into a near complete set of 4x SOM commons. If I had been patient and waited 2-3 weeks, could have bought a 4x common SOM set on EBAY (reliable 1000+ rated seller) for $4-$6 US Dollar.

I look forward to upcoming gaming. MTGO is stable and playable again. I like it again.

Sad that Hope for Change is now Change for Hope. Regime change may be needed.

The dawn of a New Day..

2009-01-20T11:15:00.001-08:00

Today in the United States we have inaugurated a new President. A nation who has had a lot of pains the last 10 years - now is the time to heal.

I am looking forward to a new year. New President, new MTGO stuff and new stuff in WOW. Pauper is now a semi-official format for casual gameplay in MTGO v3.x live.

Also am glad my tank DK carrionwind and drunkadin tharionwind are doing well in WOW on SH server.

Hope all is well with you - blessings on this new day...

Tharionwind

Shards of Alara - Obelisks are fun

2008-10-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

Obelisks - the 3 mana cost artifacts that let you grab one of 3 colors of mana...fun stuff.

Shards is interesting. A common 2/1 First Strike with Shroud for WU. Impressive fun - I do not like the 5c creatures with cycling. Reminds me of OLS.

More info as I get into Shards more.

Shards of Alara Premier Events tomorrow in MTGO

2008-10-23T04:56:00.001-07:00

We've experienced casual drafting in Alara for a few days now. Folks are playing some interesting combos (much more colorful last few sets). The system seems to be stable and WOTC seems happy with the relative lack of issues.

I am taking a wait and see approach to this new set. We'll see how MPDC and TPDC hit *next* week (the 2nd week of Shards tech available to PDC players).

More updates as we see how Alara pans out in the next few weeks.

Rock on!

-tw

Shards of Alara going Live Monday 10/20/2008

2008-10-17T01:12:00.000-07:00

Be prepared Paupers - the new booster format and Shards of Alara hit Monday. We already had this week's patch Wednesday that prepared the live system for MTGO.

IPA/OTJ goes to Classic from Extended. Futex is now just Extended Pauper (OLS onward) and STD loses PLC/TS. I will miss Vampiric Link - was fun in my BlackRush beatdown STD pauper deck. I reteched my stuff into white (still BW hybrid) using the nice 0/1 Moth that gets +4 lifegain anytime it blocks (it stacks as you declare blocking so you get the 4 lifegain even if its burned).

We have a pesky PDC classic bug with the Flagbearers. Coaltion Honor Guard and Standard Bearer do not work properly against storm affects (Grapeshot and Temporal Fissure specifically). Proper way to function - gotta target CHG/SB if in play until they are removed *then* you can target player/controller/other creatures in play. Been noted, Wotc_Lee Sharpe is working with devs (its not an A1 priority but its in top 20%) to get it resolved eventually.

Classic is tough - wide format from 7th/ipa to X/alara starting next monday. Thousands of commons to choose from. With the Gold (multicolor) and hybrid (two unique colors) commons - IPA isn't the only solution anymore. Discard decks still have some great tech so WATCH OUT.

I want to thank Wildman, Newman and Spikeboy for all the game testing as of late - its been lots of fun and got me back into STD pauper gaming. Y'all rock!

Last note - I really dislike this new booster policy - 1 land in each booster of Shards/Alara going forward. Meaning we're stuck with a ton of land as veterans. A Much Simpler solution for paper and MTGO -- SELL LAND PACKS TO THE NEWBIES. ITS bad that I already have over 750 lands as it stands now. Less reasons for me to buy boosters as I'm not in the mood to buy land this way. I don't mind random lands (foils preferred lol). But get the land packs out to the newbies and don't punish/flood veterans with common basic land.

Rock on folks!

TPDC - Classic Pauper can be rough

2008-10-15T00:15:00.001-07:00

Thanks again to Lathspel for hosting TPDC. Was a fun event last night in /tpdc and /tpdc_results. Classic has over 2,000 unique commons to choose from in a cardbase from 7th/ipa to X/Shadowmoor.

First round I faced a very creative black deck. Had tough creatures that had some negative offsets (3/3s that gets -1/-1 for each spell casts til EOT or -1 life for every creature cast after etc). I had a hybrid black deck that had rats maindeck (chittering and relentless). Lost Game 1 but multiple Morning Thrulls for Games 2 and 3. Won 2-1.

2nd round was against my friend GSG. Very good deck - multicolor with Armadillo cloak, phantom tiger and a few nice trick cards. Hard to win game1. Took one of the games to 42 life but GG had enough cantrip/funk to keep my BHR classic deck under control. I had to prepare for work in any event - but it was fun!

Daily PDC free Pauper Events - occuring all over. Check PDCMAGIC.com or MTGO Boards PRE forums (Player Run Events) links on rightside of my blog.

Monday PDC event - MPDC was fun..Tactical Mulligans were missed

2008-10-13T23:32:00.000-07:00

Monday's PDC event was a fun one! Thank you to ZeroFusion for hosting it (runs at 12pm Pacific, 7pm GMT in /join mpdc). We had 14 players and I do like the current flavors in standard.

My first round was a smash. I won 2-0 with some quick hitting Mimic flying. Nightsky Mimic with apparition, NG hag, unmake or the 4 cost wither hag makes for a fast hitting rush by Turn 5.

Round 2 - Mimics for my opponent and my mimics don't show. Should have done a tactical mulligan. Bogle the pain in butt is hard to remove. Note that Grave Peril should ONLY be deployed one at a time (if you have two out - BOTH get sac'd when next nonBLK critter comes out).

Round 3 - Mimics again (Red/Blue...RU) and very effective. I don't get my mimics out in a fast order (my deck is best when aiming for T5-T6 kill).

Just note to tactically mulligan - it can be important to get key cards for win condition. Also note to be patient as if you have a nonrush deck - you can survive and come back from the brink of defeat for the win.

Hats off to our PDC folk - glad to see y'all came out. Some upcoming things look good - be WARNED Shards of Alara is scheduled for release NEXT MONDAY on October 20, 2008.

Peace out!
-TW

Pauper 2hg event last night (Friday) - thank you Lathspel!

2008-10-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Lathspel saved the day and became the defacto volunteer host for Pauper 2hg. It was quite fun and even my friend JD joined in. The qualifiers started out as FFA matches. That was fine as I beat down the guy across from me to under 10. Even had a x/x Timberwatch boost from another player (NE of me on the game grid). It was funny until all 3 took swings at me. I died first. Then my target died. Top2 from each FFA table played in the 2hg finale.

Pauper 2hg is just as fun if not more exciting than 2hg regular. I hope to see everyone out in /join pdc, casual room, Anything Goes, Multiplayer and more!

Rock on

MPDC STD Pauper event today - it was great!

2008-10-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

First of all big thanks to ZeroFusion for hosting MPDC - it was a BLAST. I recommend new players start out in Standard PDC to get used to things. Futex and Classic can be *quite* rough if your new.

While I did not make it to the top4 - I did place 7th with my 2-1 record. In the first round I lost to a clanmate friend hokusai22! It was close and it went to the 3rd game of that match. RedDeckWins in pauper can be tough!

Down 0-1, I then went on and faced a really cool B/W deck from gershon. He had a suprises. I had to flip and get creative with my Blk/Fly-HybridLife deck. I won 2 games but they were hard fought.

tied 1-1 going into round 3 - I faced off against dyagos. He had a very creative U/R deck. Cinder Pyromancer, Grinning Ignus and the Banneret can make it for a plink war. To add to it he splashed blue and topped off with Grapeshot swarms. It went 3 tough games but I swung with a 10/10 flyer to finish off the last game (B/W Mimic with two hybrid enchants).

I didn't top4 - I placed 7th but I was 1 game away from going 3-0/top4. In any event - hope to see y'all in MTGO and especially in /join pdc!

It gets crazy with these LRW/MOR/SHAD/EVE hybrids and mechanics. I do like it in Pauper Standard.

Check the forums at - http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1097805 for info on this week's MPDC final standings and the top4 decks!

Weekend Pauper Events Fri/Sat FPDC and Classic PDC

2008-10-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

I had fun at the FPDC. It starts at 10am Pacific for signups and 1030am Pacific to start the event. See PDCMAGIC for more details (or on the MTGO forums at wizards.com).
Great host and good fun to be had. It's the FUTEX format (Think paper Extended, sans IPA/OTJ).

Classic PDC is a 730am Saturday gaming event. Really cool host and fun stuff to play. The classic format is one of the most diverse metagames you'll see in PDC (or in general MTGO matches for that matter). Lots of fun and Lulthyme keeps everyone smiling.

Every day there's something happening in PDC within MTGO. Free events, great prizes and good folks to play against. They are friendly, intelligent and it will not be boring.

And when's the last time a Magic player couldn't afford commons? Come out and join the fun!

10 days in MTGO v3 ... and overall...

2008-10-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am truly suprised but I like it. Its lag and crash free for me. The gameplay for 1v1 gaming is smooth and relatively easy to use. While it takes a bit getting used to from 1.x/2.x - its pretty nifty in the smoothness of gameplay. Also if you switch to another window - it will warn you via sound bells when its your turn to play etc.

PROS:
Stable (I haven't seen the system crash at all)
Lagfree (I'd like to see 3000-5000 in casual gaming and see how it holds up)
Generally Clean Look

CONS:
Trading Interface different (has problems if you switch scenes at 2nd confirm)
Card viewing is a pain (the card display is detachable/adjustable - but bad fit
OVERALL UI needs tweaking/improvement - chat UI is decent but could be better.

I am glad to see the /join pdc room doing healthy. It is sad to see the decline of /join bbs but as more folks return and MTGO gameplay increases (*cough* bring Leagues and Multiplayer on by 3.1/end of this year please!) - more folks may return to /join bbs.

I'm really liking Pauper Standard (PDC STD) format right now. KithkinPauperArmy is still my favorite in Standard but GreenFastSwing is now a close second. I have a GreenFastSwing deck that seems to be fun to play. I do need to implement some more control into it. It can kill by T5-T7 if not controlled. Some token generation, slippery creatures with Persist/nontargetting and interesting conspire effects.

Sometime I'll have to test out KPA versus GFS. For now - I'll fine tune them in the Casual gaming room and in some PDC PRE(Player Run Events).

I look forward to some fun PDC events this month!

Rock on!
-tw

Very exciting times upcoming - visit PDCMAGIC.com

2008-09-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

Lots of pauper events and great info at pdcmagic.com! They really have some terrific information and the gatherling player ranking tool is very cool. With Shards coming out soon and ME2 just released - more fun to be had with commons in MTGO.

Long live PDC and lets have fun this fall. I hope to see y'all in MTGO V3 as its been live for over 100 days now.

Rock on!
-tw

Paupers/PDC getting an official nod from Wizards of the Coast

2008-09-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

On January 3rd, 2009 - PDC will have a Wizards of the Coast sponsored event in MTGO. This is a tremendous boost for the Pauper/PDC community. After 4.5 years of Pauper gaming within MTGO and over 1,000 Player-Run-Event tournaments - Wizards is stepping up to acknowledge PDC in a serious way.

A Wizards.com column "Into the Aether" did an article on PDC back in 2004 (interviewing me about the first 12-14 weeks in PDC season 1) - its nice to see an official tournament event for PDC.

I'm grateful to many folks - all my friends at pdcmagic.com, all the friends in Common Cause and many - MANY more.

Thank you and I hope this continues to grow!

V3 is alive and Tharionwind is back in MTGO

2008-09-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

After 90 days at the new job - things have settled down.

I do like most of V3 - but I am concerned I am missing some cards (having Worth and Wizards CS take a look).

It seems rather stable - but I've heard of some post V3 launch bumps (happens with nearly any massive upgrade to an online app/game).

Hope to see you all there!

Its been two weeks -- at My New Job!

2008-06-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

I am glad to report that I am wrapping up my second week at my new job. It turns out that my skillsets and 10+ years in IT are in demand. Smiles indeed.

I didnt have to move, still near Tahoe (I love the Lake!) and near family/friends.

I plan on returning to PDC and MTGO in the near future. For now Im winding down my WOW account (freezing it) as I've been VERY MUCH SO ENJOYING AGE OF CONAN!

:)

Regards to everyone in PDC and MTGO.

Rock on,
Tharionwind

A new day and a new dawn.

2008-05-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

In this life we breathe. In the sunshine we warm our blood. In the evenings we share a meal or drink with friends and loved ones.

I am forward looking to the freedom I have now.

I am working with professionals and today is the first day of the rest of my life.

I will return to MTGO and bring to PDC new thoughts and my passionate is not gone - just resting as I work with Real Life and what happened to me on 4/22/08.

If anyone needs an IT project manager, Enterprise Storage Administrator or a Computer Consultant in CA, OR, NEV or otherwise - send me a note.

Tough Times never last - but Tough People Do. Pastor Robert Schuller.

Each strike out brings me one step closer to my next home run. --- Babe Ruth

MTGO V3 is up as of 4/16 and my life changed on 4/21

2008-04-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

MTGO v3 is finally here, live, working. It seems nice and we'll see how it goes. Optimus Moses Worth is working hard to get this puppy to full growth.

As a side note - I was laid off yesterday after 8 years with a Fortune 100 IT company. Was a total shock. My performance has always been good - just economics have changed and a few hundred of us techs had to be cut from the payroll. I'm already working on 3 interviews and with two IT contracting companies.

Things change. MTGO v3 comes out. I move to a new job (will be shortly). The road of life is full of potholes - just make sure you dont crash into a sinkhole.

I will be around once again. Long live my friends, family and Pauper Countrymen and women.

Rest in Peace Version 2.x MTGO 9am Today

2008-04-09T09:50:00.001-07:00

The last card played. The last shuffled curse. The last lag time out. The last draft, trade and grumbling about values.

Yay though I walk through the valley of the shadow of mtgolagdeath, I shall fear no rare nor evil. For thine is the time of the Great Upgrading. From down upon the Hilltop walketh Optimus Moses Worth to tell the masses of the news:

Thou shalt nog lag.
Thou shalt not covet another man's foils.
Thou shalt not put any other MMOs before MTGO V3.
Thou shalt not playeth Leagues nor Multiplayer til deemed appropriate upon Fixeth.
Thou shalt not steal another players fun and glory.
Thou shalt enjoy the newness of something 4 years old.
Thout shalt not ask why God made the Earth and Universe in 6 days and MTGO V3 took over 4 annums.
Thou shalt enjoy the breads of casual play until we deem the wine of drafting is good.
Thou shalt not complain about narrow chatness - for the the Divine Coder deeems it ok.
Thou shalt enjoy thineself within V3 goodness or pull the pin on the prayer grenade.

Be happy or we smite you dead.

Community and what it means to MTGO

2008-04-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

MTGO has been around for 5 years, 9 months in live form 1.x or 2.x. Since 6/2002 it has been a strange phenomenon. Digital Objects for trade and sale. Digital objects in games that people "license to use from WOTC/Hasbro" yet in most folks held views they own them.

Its been a rough time since 2003 and the release of 2.x MTGO. MTGO has struggled due to its success with 1.x and also with 1.x flaws in design: hard coding each card's rules and a centralized master server as a bottleneck restricting growth. MTGO's team (post Leaping Lizards) tried to fix some things with 2.0 in 2003 but the crash was so horrid and nasty that they had to roll back. Ever since then 2.x has had its problems and crash/lag instability (past 3,000 or so users online at once).

Flash forward to April 2008. We're nearing the launch of MTGO V3. Its not the prettiest UI (I hate the vertical chat bar) and will launch without Leagues/Multiplayer (unless they fix that at the last minute).

Lets hope with the new 3.x infrastructure (cluster servers, better uniform coding for card rules/cards and expandibility) - we get growth in MTGO again.

What has held us together for the last 5 years of pain? Community. MTGO users on the forums and in MTGO have helped grow the community and keep it cobbled together. Critics and fans of WOTC both help make the MTGO Forums and MTGO itself a better place. I applaud one thing WOTC DOES right: They let us speak our minds on the wizards.com MTGO Forums (within some reason).

Regarding PDCWAR: Rise of Commonaria - we will be launching the Beta 1 Post V3. V3 is so close, I dont want a hangover between the downing of 2.x live and the launch of V3.

More news to come soon on PDC and MTGO!

Morningtide Release events are nearly over...

2008-03-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

And MTGO survived. Had single client restrictions (SCR = 1 user account on at one time), alternating days for different events and other speed control mechanisms. Once V3 hits live - we'll have a stronger base system (and not 1 master server for most nongame interactions).

MOR is good to PDC - good ww stuff and other creative fun stuff. Dredge is a dangerous tech in Extended and such. I like Reinforce and Clash for MOR tech. Look forward to More fun stuff with Shadowmoon.

Continued work on PDCWAR: The Rise of Commonaria - we're finalizing the launch of the beta with more info to come.

Happy Easter and God Bless to all!

2008-03-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

Its Easter Sunday morning and I write this update from my laptop. MOR has been a pretty decent release on MTGO. And the commons are quite fun (unless you hate ww tech with a passion). It has its own LOTR-lite theme to it and seems to be very interesting.

I hope everyone has a beautiful Easter Sunday and share time with family/friends. I look forward to more PDC fun within MTGO!

The battle for Commonaria begins soon!

2008-03-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

The storms of war have been brewing for some time now. The continental shifts because of the Planeswalker Wars have created great turmoil. A decision by five mages (one from each school of magic) ages ago to save part of Dominaria in a protected vale called Commonaria. Shielded by powerful and ancient magic - it was a safe place for common folk, beasts and magics to live in peace. That millenium of peace has come to an end. Cracks in the the protective ward are growing from the ongoing War outside Commonaria. Each village senses the storm ahead and have begun preparations for war.

PDCX, as it has been announced, is Pauper Deck Wars: The Rise of Commonaria (PDCWAR). An upcoming beta launch date for this game will be announced soon.

Happy St Patrick's Day - Go Green PDC :)

2008-03-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to wish all my pauper friends, MTGO folks and others that land here a very Happy St Patty's day! Go green and enjoy yourself in a safe and sane way. Build a Green deck today!

We're working more on PDCWARS: Rise of Commonaria (name changed) - building out the map, basic rules and such. Beta to be launched in a few weeks after MOR release is done on MTGO.

I hope to see y'all in the PDC events this week. Lots of good stuff occuring in the PDC PRE scene.

Rock on and may a pot-o-gold land in your lap today.

Peace out
Papa Pauper TW

More work and signups for Pauper Deck War: Rise of Pauperia/Common Nation

2008-03-13T05:41:00.001-07:00

PDCX is Pauper Deck War. A multiweek event we will be beta testing in MTGO shortly. Involving 6-12 players in our first PDCWAR gaming event - it should be a lot of fun. Note that yes we will have prizes for the winner and the top3 finishers overall.

I am seeking out some assistance during this. Game rules engineering and graphics design are needed. If you wish to participate send me a note here at my blog or in MTGO/on MTGO forums.

I have modified my standard deck and will release the latest/greatest with KPA namesake. Kithkin Pauper Army :)

St Patricks Day is nearing upon us and I encourage everyone to build and play at least one green deck this weekend!

Erin Go Braugh!

Pauper Deck Wars: Rise of Pauperia (PDCX)

2008-03-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

PDCX is PAuper Deck Wars: Rise of Pauperia. Its a 4-12 week event with 2 turns per week per player. Its a mix of PDC match games and a hex
gameboard. You will fight for lands and build up your Pauper Nation. This will be the beta and we will need 6-12 players to sign up. Its 2 matches a week for about 6-12
weeks. Your input will be valuable. And the winning prizes include 10 tix, 4x terminate, 4x wild mongrel, a 20x playset of foil land and more.

** many weeks like a league**
**2+ matches per week**
**good prizes for the winners**
**For beta we will do a 9x9 square map system**
**up to 12 players to start in PDCWAR:Rise of Pauperia**

A detailed story line to be posted here and the beta/update information at pdcmagic.com http://www.pdcmagic.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1079

MTGO bill of rights...

2008-03-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

Last night there was an incident in MTGO. I won't go into details (see the MTGO general forums for that) but suffice to say:

Adepts are not fully equipped or properly trained to deal with real life issues of their users. When a concerned "MTGO citizen" approaches an Adept with worries about another MTGO user/citizen regarding serious issues - they need to have empathy and an escalation path. Not coldness nor inanity cut/paste/ignore the issue.

Overall - I see MTGO improving but having to deal with poorly trained Adepts at times can grind against my goodwill and spirit of the MTGOverse.

On a positive note - PDCX development continues. I am looking forward to the first beta game. Will be 4-12 players and it will last 4-6 weeks or more.

Rock on folks and keep up the Pauper Fight!

My KithkinArmyRush (PDC STANDARD DECK) is pretty cool:

4 Pacifism
22 Plains
4 Amrou Seekers
4 Cenn's Heir
4 Fortify
4 Goldmeadow Harrier
4 Kinsbaile Skirmisher
3 Plover Knights
3 Ballyrush Banneret
3 Kithkin Zephyrnaut
4 Mosquito Guard
1 Order of the Golden Cricket

Sideboard
3 Detainment Spell
3 Mana Tithe
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Pentarch Ward
3 Soaring Hope

Now I know it can be fine tuned and upgraded. I may put Sunlance in the sideboard or Ghost Fire as well SB. Any suggestions - please let know!

Gary Gygax - RIP - 1938 to 2008

2008-03-06T05:56:00.000-08:00

Gary Gygax, coinventor of Dungeons and Dragons, passed away this week. He was 69 years old. Years ago he coinvented DnD in the early 1970s and formed TSR, Inc. In the 1990s TSR sold out to Wizards of the Coast (maker of MTGO).

A brilliant and very creative mind - the grandfather of roleplaying games. Gygax and Tolkien allowed our imaginations to soar as we grew up years ago.

GG you will be missed.

Regards,
TW

Morningtide Released in MTGO today 38 minutes ago (9am Pacific)!

2008-03-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

I wish everyone luck with the Release Events. I recommend trying out at least one Morningtide release league. Its 2x prize payout and a great way to dip your toes into this new set.

WW rejoices with a 1W Kithkin soldier that reduces 1 mana cost for any kithkin OR soldier you play. Its a common and boy is it going to boost WW in PDC.

I look forward to MOR commons.

Rock on and win!

-tw

The upcoming rotation of IPA/OTJ out of extended to Classic

2008-03-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Should be an interesting event. Will prices go down for IPA (even commons like Terminate, Armadillo's Cloak, Harrow and others) post rotation? I am not sure.

What I am glad about (and hopeful for) is that PDC Extended will be standardized with MTGO Extended. I liked the Futex format and thought it was creative - however simplified formats for the Big 3 (Standard, Extended and Classic) are preferred IMHO.

More work on PDCX being done. Its looking to be a fun project event. I need some beta testers and gfx/rules technical volunteers. Let me know if your interested in this. When we launch this multi-week event - there will be cool prizes for our Beta 01a PDCX event.

Rock on and topdeck your common!

-tw

PDCX - The undiscovered Event

2008-02-29T19:07:00.000-08:00

PDCX is the new PDC event I am working on. It will last 4-12 weeks like a League but will be different. I will be announcing information and releasing details on my blog here and most likely at pdcmagic.com (good folks there).

It will be a free event and have cool prizes (yes - including some IPA commons and other cool cards). I hope to beta test it within our PDC community soon and get the storyline/game rules ironed out.

Hope everyone gets a chance to check out my latest poll on whether MTGO users should have the right to destroy their own cards. We don't legally own them - we get that WOTC/Hasbro implicit license to use them/trade them/play them.

Since MTGO is still a cash cow for Hasbro/Wotc - I believe they will continue MTGO to V4 atleast by 2011. I do hope that we see cool new features and PTQ/World Qualifiers in V3.x some day this year after V3's launch.

Rock on! More details here soon on PDCX.

An army of One (pauper deck)....

2008-02-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

There is something about trading card games like Magic (paper) and it's electronic version, MTGO. It's a sense of building your own custom deck and the elated feeling of winning (beating your oponent) with cards you choose to play. Not some predesigned set of pieces like checkers or chess.

Your constructed deck is like an Army of One. Your deck, your cards and your choices. Customized by you for you. Played by you. Games won like victories on the battlefield. Matches won like wars fought hard. That Turn 15 Corrupt for 11 damage finishing off that annoying MUC blue control deck. The feeling and laughter when you play that Mana Tithe to fight that annoying Counterspell he used with his last two untapped blue mana.

Magic and MTGO bring a level of customization and personalization in gaming. Its the best fusion of Chess, Poker, Baseball cards and Roulette (with the MTGO shuffler sometimes it feels like Russian Roulette lol).

Bring forth the masses unto MTGO. Let them enjoy 24x7 gaming. From any internet connection around the world. Be that at a kitchen table in Boise, Idaho or at an Internet Cafe in Beijing, China. Bring folks together to enjoy a great and growing trading card game in the digital Aether.

PDC takes this one step further. In how we play the game with commons in MTGO. In how many folks are inspired to help each other play this great game called Magic the Gathering. In what we do with these events each week. Player Run Events (PRE) involving PDC bring tears of joy to me. How volunteers host tournaments almost daily. How /join pdc is full of excitment during Pauper events (be it standard, Futex, Classic or Block/trbial etc). How new events occur and the webmasters (kudos to pdcmagic.com and paupermagic.com among others) put time into helping grow this wonderful community of Paupers.

Long live PDC and MTGO. Rejoice in the community that we call PDC.

State of the Pauper Nation

2008-02-20T08:49:00.001-08:00

Around the world we have many dozens, if not hundreds or thousands, of PDC players in MTGO. With 8 full events or more each week (see http://forums.gleemax.com/forumdisplay.php?f=590 or http://www.pdcmagic.com/events/index.php for current PDC and PRE happenings in MTGO) - we've got a lively community.

PDC is great for new and old Magic (paper or MTGO) players alike. It allows new players to experiment and play/deck build for a low cost per card and per deck.

MTGO has had its ups and downs the last 6 years. Since 2004 - the Pauper movement in MTGO has evolved and grown. With several websites and dozens of dedicated players/tournament hosts/etc around the world - we're a good group to hang out with in /join pdc.

Version 3 of MTGO is around the corner (sometime this year). I hope in this transition that we do not lose folk as PDC will be there for the bumpy rides ahead. Long term I believe MTGO will be stable and grow its userbase. And in that instance - PDC will be healthier and a better gaming format/environment for all.

Fellow Paupers - let us keep up the good fight and work. We can and will continue to evolve this as not only a "Commons only gaming format" but a great place to spend time with other Magic players online from around the world.

Friends, Paupers and MTGO citizens...BPDC is Kamigawa block tonight!

2008-02-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

WocoNation is hosting the tournament tonight in /join bpdc. Its a fun and free-to-join PDC weekly event in MTGO. Different blocks on different weeks make for fresh and creative fun. Prizes are donated by veterans and cool folk.

I donated 1 firecat blitz and 2 battlescreech (yes uncommons -- eek lol) as a door prize for nondroppers. I feel that more folks playing and staying in events is a good thing. But I will admit to dropping after 1 or 2 rounds for various reasons. To each his/her own.

UPDC was fun tonight!

2008-02-17T21:09:00.001-08:00

Big thanks to 5351N1 for hosting. It was a fun night of pdc at a free tournament. I even had a door prize for "no droppers" to have a chance after regular swiss 4 rounds to win 4 blink lands.

Shard Fenix had a GUR combo deck that had an infinite mana engine to gather steam to kaboom me. Nearly had him dead twice but that IME works wonders - very creative indeed!

Upcoming events in PDC (8 or more each week check pdcmagic.com for these awesome pdc tournaments) occur nearly daily. I encourage everyone to come visit /join pdc and see whats happening in Pauperville.

I'm still working on my 4x commons collection - a big thank you to my friends in /join bbs and /join pdc (and dj and bra amongst others) for helping me rebuild after my layoff concerns forced me to sell my entire collection. Its ok - MTGOTraders.com left me 2xFallen Angel rares from 7th. Poetic Irony indeed.

Upcoming superevent to be announced soon (not a weekly tournament but a one off event) - it will be first announced here!

TPDC was a success last night!

2008-02-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

The Tuesday Night PDC event (PDC Classic format - MTGO classic commons) had a great turnout - 27 folks showed up to play in the free PDC tournament. I brought my Orzhov deck and faced X-force-of-will's modified Classical Affinities with splash blue draw/control. It was a very good match. I made a mistake on Turn 6 of game 1 (should have swung for the stars with my flyers) - didn't finish him off before he overran me with Affinity Ground Stompers (ie Myr Enforcer and Bone Splitter-equipped Phyrexian Walkers). Game 2 I got my flyers out fast, discarded and blinked ahead for the win. Game 3 - was a bit of a slugfest and he got my flyers down for the kill. Thank you to ShardFenix for hosting as Lathspel wasn't feeling good last night.

This is a wonderful fun time and I hope folks show up for TPDC as it is a classical environment and you see all sorts of decks.

A Pauper's Perspective

2008-02-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

PDC is alive and well. With at least 8 PDC events going on each week (most if not all listed at pdcmagic.com) - we're thriving in the MTGO world.

The simplicity of this format is wonderful. Only a single common in MTGO has been banned in PDC and that was Cranial Plating. Only cards restricted? Artifact lands. Yes - MD5 was a fun janky group that shook things up. Kind of the Ross Perot and Howard Dean of Modern Magic gaming - especially in MTGO.

This will be the 5th year of Pauper Deck Challenge. Many have contributed to its growth. Strong websites like pdcmagic.com and paupermagic.com help contribute to this phenomenon. PDCmagic.com has some really cool stuff - the rewards and work they put into PDC gaming really do wonders (you get customized gfx rewards for winning pdc events). I truly appreciate what folks are doing out there - hosting events, running websites, donating prizes to pdc tournaments etc.

This is a growing movement in MTGO gaming. There are rumors that PDC has crossed over to paper in Europe, Japan and Australia but I don't see any official reports yet confirming that. PDC - Bringing folks together one common at a time. Coming together in Unity, not petty division. Oh wait, I'm reading from Barrack Obama's notes, sorry. :)

MTGO v2 live to die soon - V3 around corner

2008-02-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

With years of duct taping V2 MTGO and dealing with its various shortcomings - V3 is soon to be launched live.

Its not perfect - has some UI issues - but new stable code, multi server Master environment and lots of room for future cool customization - let us hope that something wonderful occurs. It will take 30, 90, 180 and 360 day milestones post launch of V3 to see what becomes of it.

If they:

1. No lag with 5,000 users online at once
2. Bring Leagues/Multiplayer back within 90 days.
3. Add functions/fix bugs in the first 30-180 days.
4. Give us some special things that V3 can do that V2 never could.
5. Reduce lag and hopefully have a Morningtide release in V3 with special prizes and no crashes.

Lets Hope Worth gets things done right on V3.

As for TPDC tonight - I went 3-0 and made top 8. Somehow and someway I was lagged from responding (had about 8-10 life and 19 minutes on timer). Then MTGO returns control to me and Im kicked out of the game/force loss of match. Love the bugs/lag in MTGO 2 - cost me top4. Not realy happy with how I was treated but oh well.

Lathspel worked really hard for TPDC and it overall was a success.

TPDC by Lathspel -- Tuesday night PDC

2008-02-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

Its been so long since I played or hosted a PDC event. This one is fun and has prizes (as most PDC events do). Its held every Tuesday (in /join tdpc) in MTGO. I think a lot of folks would enjoy this 4 round swiss event with Top8 playoff.

Visit http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=986181 and see how tonight's Tournament goes/went.

I will explain more of the Events in PDC and the free nature in a future blog. I look forward to sharing this with our friends in paper and digital MTG.

Rock on PDC!
Rock on MTGO!

-tw

Heath and PureMTGO/MTGOtraders

2008-01-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

MTGOtraders and PureMTGO have done quite a bit for the MTGO and PDC communities. Very helpful, contributes to the community and sponsors various events.

They have PureMTGO.com out of Beta and it is really nice. This is a wonderful resource for the MTGO community and I suggest everyone take a look at the website, its articles and forums.

Rock on everyone!
-tw

The fun with WW ExtraSlivas

2008-01-24T06:28:00.000-08:00

I am having a lot of fun with WW slivers in PDC right now. Its not FutEx - more of a regular extended group of cards. For PDC format it qualifies directly in the Classic PDC set.

I will post later about this deck but fair to say it has a solid win rate against decks of all types. Including decks with, *gasp*, rares!

Thank you to 535n1 for really helping me tune it up last night.

Rock on and Avian Changling ftw.

Amazing response - wonderful folk

2008-01-17T17:19:00.000-08:00

The folks over at pdcmagic.com have worked hard to get the word out on pdc happenings.

I just registered there and posted my first post:
http://www.pdcmagic.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=6354#6354

Give them a look and check out what may be when Paupers Come Together

Its been nearly 6 months...

2008-01-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

....Since my last post. And I've come back to MTGO. We're close to V3 launch (shudder). It will launch without some V2.x capability but I hope in exchange we get much stronger stability and the ability to have more concurrent users live at the same time.

Lets hope this gets rolled out right. Since Optimus Worth (Worth Wolport) is the MTGO team manager - it should be okay.

And a big thanks to GSG, Z, AJ and ToM for welcoming me back.

I'm rebuilding my 4x commons so that I can build and play PDC decks again. I sold my entire collection off last fall in fear of job loss/layoff.

Update - its been awhile

2007-08-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

The whole Tiago-esque problems reported in MTGO seem to have calmed down. There have been clarifications, communications and an apology from the magicthegathering.com's Limited Info writer.

There was a lot of heated debated. Nary a dozen posts but hundreds even thousands of replies in total. Basically it boiled into 3 groups: "I dont care about jaywalking - its not like DCI paper tournaments", "Its wrong - its a crime/problem/violation and people should stop.", "MTGO doesnt have the ability to patrol these violations so who cares?".

In the end Optimus Worth (Wotc_Worth), Brand Manager for MTGO at Wizards of the Coast, stepped in and dealt with the writer, the issue and the community. Thank you for doing that.

In this whole big debate - it got heated and ugly. A few folks, previously friendly, were tartishly rude when I drew a Law and Order line in the sand stating it was 100% wrong and bad for folks to encourage "cheating/breaking/bending rules".

Bottom line - the rudeness of some, the cavalier ignoring of basic rules of others and such have burned me out a bit.

I stopped playing again. I stopped posting mostly. I will stop by once a week. There are some real life issues as well (mainly dental and such) so its a good thing. Like Tobold, I am drawn back to WOW. If I don't like a Horde breaking the law - I can smite them down. In MTGO - too many smug sharks/shark guilds think its OK "Anything Goes".

I may return - depends on how I feel.

Integrity and being true to oneself is something you shouldn't tread upon lightly. No belief system, no respect for rules or honesty and well - people stop spending time with you. And the ones that do hang around - well vultures hang around the dying and decrepit all the time.

Integrity meltdown at MTGO...

2007-07-12T02:00:00.000-07:00

It appears that over the 5 years of MTGO - a few have violated the Terms of Service in MTGO. When you login to MTGO - before signing in -- you have to Accept the TOS. In the TOS there are a variety of legal issues addressed. A simple one is - do not share your account.

Now its hard, if not impossible, to properly regulate and police people using their own accounts. WOTC even had a paid writer (a British pro with the initials QM) on magicthegathering.com actually admit to taking over a friend's draft in MTGO. Its a TOS violation. Against the rules.

Seems as if there are 3-5 threads AFIRE with this issue on the MTGO general boards.

KUDOS TO WORTH AND GAMERZERO FOR INVESTIGATING - but the fires are burning.

There is no integrity or trust left in MTGO at this time. Too many users I thought I could trust now think cheating or "breaking the current rules" or "breaking an unenforceable rule" is pretty darned ok.

Well its not.

MTGO is a trading card game. Its the online version of MTG. Richard Garfield, a mathematician, invented or co-invented it. He was very proud of its rules structure and following the rules are important. If a rule needs to be changed or modified - thats fine - but until then its there for a reason.

Drafts, Leagues and Premier events in MTGO cost real money. Prizes are awarded and can be sold/traded eventually for REAL MONEY. When REAL MONEY is on the line - TRUST and INTEGRITY are important.

Some really dont care, dont see the point or just enjoy Winning at All costs.

This is costing MTGO a lot of trust now.

MTGO is basically unable to host PRO level events because of this and the lack of DCI enforcement.

Its a Casual place like a Virtual Bar to hang out with friends, play some casual gaming but do not put any serious money into it - people cheat and get away with it.

Our first FNMO/Friday Night Magic Online went...

2007-06-16T01:56:00.000-07:00

..pretty good. We had a few dozen folks visit /fnmo throughout the day. Dragonmage65 hosted the earlier trivia events which went well (hourly trivia related to Magic/MTGO/WOTC).

Later when I logged in at 4:55 PM Pacific - we got 4 rounds of Magic related trivia and prizes (thank you MirrorMage for your donations!) and then I hosted a Paupers 2hg Classic with a twist (only Cranial Plating was restricted, rares/uncs banned, artifact lands no restrictions).

We had 7 players so I joined in. Two tables for round one and the 2nd round had the winning team from each table face off.

It went well, people had fun and we're going to do more next week (6/22/2007) in /join FNMO.

Hope to see you there

If you are new to MTGO - a few suggestions

2007-06-14T09:45:00.001-07:00

I constantly see the following:

"I'm new to Magic Online, but I've played paper Magic for a while...

..Once I have the software installed, and when/if I shell out the $9.99, how should I get started?"

And here is what I recommend:

Actually with the 9.99 you get as a coupon - you can get started in MTGO - in PDC.

What's PDC? Thats Pauper Deck Challenge, 100% commons gaming.

You could take your 9.99 coupon and buy 9 Event Tickets (we call them TIX in MTGO). Thats the MTGO world currency.

Use the event tickets and buy bulk commons, uncommons, rares from traders/sellers/etc:

Bulk commons run about 128 per tix.
Bulk uncommons run 20-32 per tix.
Bulk rares run 3-6 per tix.

Chase cards (Terminate, Eternal Witness, Wrath of God as examples) cost more. Check websites for values .

Getting into MTGO via commons gives you an inexpensive way to test the waters.

If you need some help with commons or land see me in game (tharionwind) and we'll help you get started.

Welcome to MTGO!

MTGO survived Future Sight release events.

2007-06-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

...With only one major crash and some lag occasionally. There are some good commons in the set and for the block PDC looks to be gaining some interesting tech.

I participated in one FUT release league event - went 1-4. So goes my rust - I needed some WD40 to clear it out. The league games got me back into tech and building decks.

I look forward to 10th coming out and will be posting some stuff as I find out if any chase commons are in the base 10th set (sometimes, rarely, sorry for the pun).

Serious concerns about whats going on in MTGO - but overall things were decent during the release events.

Concerns on V3

2007-05-25T15:05:00.001-07:00

MTGO live is currrently at version 2.x. There is a new version of MTGO coming out called V3.

I have concerns how the user interface, chatting, chat rooms and gameplay/card viewability is handled.

I think they are going to release it live without fixing some core concerns. My only hope is that:

A) They consolidate both the 2.x live and V3.x beta teams together for more resources on one project.

B) With the added resources they work and ramp up fixes/updates each week fixing as much as possible.

C) That we do not lose a signifcant portion of the MTGO userbase during this change.

D) That MTGO/WOTC communicates things well during this painful change/growth process.

The low risk/high reward of PDC

2007-04-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

MTGO is a very fun game. Can be amazing to play with people from around the world. We're on V2.5 and sometimes it crashes when there are too many people on (ie when there are over 3000 on at any one time).

They have a v3 beta and you can check the boards for info on that. Its ok - I'm not happy on the UI but if its stable - thats a start.

I digress though - even with these problems MTGO can be fun and you *DO* meet people from around the world. Especially in PDC - great people to play with. Getting/collecting 4x commons (for you don't need more than 4 of any non-basic-land in MTGO to build decks) in MTGO is a lot less than going for rares and uncommons - esp high powered decks.

Casual and tournament fun in PDC gives you so much more "bang for the buck" also because most of the PDC tournaments (if not all) are free: They are Player Run Events. Rarely will you see a charge for a PDC tournament/event.

A note of sadness

2007-04-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

My heart and prayers are in Virgina this week. To mourn the loss of life that occurred at Virginia Tech. God bless to all the families out there at this time.

Kinda takes the wind out of my pdc thoughts at this moment in time.

Commons and Cost..

2007-04-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

Seems to be a recurring issue in the realm of PDC: Cost of certain commons.

While we always have had cost issues with OOP (out of print) IPA commons such as Terminate - we've seen some cost escalations with the "Snow Land" commons of the Cold Snap set.

SpikeBoyM was clear to point out that the tech is very narrow as most snowlanded decks in PDC involve Skred and can easily be substituted out.

However this leaves the continued problem of certain very powerful IPA and to a lesser extent OTJ commons that are hard to replace.

As new sets have come out over the last few years and more continue to add to the "base of commons that PDC draws from" - hopefully the powerful cards can be substituted for a lower cost.

Some have the budget to buy whatever commons they want for whatever decks. Others may have limited budgets.

PDC was created to make gaming in MTGO more accessible and so far with all the events we have it seems to be working.

Funcommonality

2007-04-06T22:51:00.000-07:00

Over at the MTGO boards there was a bit of mischief during April Fools day. Had something to do with f in everything - threads, replies, psuedonames etc.

My contribution, silly as it was, to promote Funcommons, Funcommonality and Funcommon Deck Challenge. Was that silly - yes? Necessary - No. But perhaps we can build around this and bring some "funcommonness" to the game we love even more.

PS: Was at Albion, California this last few days. One word: Beautiful.

The depth of posts at MTGO boards

2007-03-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

I have to say that the intelligent conversations, debates and detailed arguments (sometimes strongly tet-a-tet) really keep bringing me back to MTGO. The forums have a casual area (Tranquil Thicket), a general area for MTGO-related posts (MTGO General), a sub-forum for Player Run Events (such as PDC 100% commons gaming) and other forums for card strategies, clans, forums for help/card trading/selling etc.

We have what I would say are some of the most passion posters of intelligence around. Truly the threads become detailed white papers of analysis. This is the sort of "Rubiks Cube" looking at issues that makes me happy. No stone gets left unturned.

While its not perfect - compared to some other online communities - it clearly shines above.

Welcome to Tharionwind's PDC blog

2007-03-31T22:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Paupers Deck Challenge blog. Its amazing whats happened over the last nearly 5 years of MTGO being live *and* 3.5 years of PDC gaming. MTGO is 24x7 Magic the gathering gaming online created/ran by Wizards of the Coast (www.wizards.com)

PDC aka Paupers Deck Challenge is 100% commons gaming. Similiar to Peasant Magic but uncommons (and zero rares).

The original article on the PDC phenomenon is located here (from Wizards MTGO Into the Aether Column):
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/jm67

There are a few great sites for PDC information:

MTGO main boards:
http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=142

Pauper Magic:
www.paupermagic.com

Princes of Pauper:
http://magic.jwc4.com/blog/index.html

Two great chat rooms within MTGO itself: (in MTGO at a text prompt use the /join xxx (xxx being name of the player made chatroom you wish to join).

/join pdc (where Paupers come to play against others in their 100% commons gaming)

and as well

/join bbs (members of the MTGO boards community - very helpful folk)

More mistful tidings to come!