Classical Education, Volume I:
Introduction and Games in Theory
Gordon J. Davis Jr
If you’re reading this, then I’ll assume you’re interested in the Classic format
of MTGO. Or are already playing it and just looking to learn some more about the
game. Then you’re in the right place, and I’ll get into the nitty gritty in a
few moments. But first, let me tell you about myself and my experience - since I
know it helps to know that the person whose article you’re reading knows what he
is writing about. And if I come off as a little standoffish or such in this
article, I apologize. This is my first article for any game, and I'm not very
good as making myself sound neutral.
I began playing Magic in 1993, with the Alpha/Beta release. I’ve played off and
on since then, and got into competitive Vintage in 2000 while stationed in
Pascagoula, MS for the United States Navy. For four years, I played
competitively and sat down opposite some of the biggest names in Vintage Magic -
Carl Winter, Stephen Menendian, Paul Mastriano, and Andy Stok among them. I
began playing MTGO back during the OTJ/OLS days. In 2004, I retired from the
game and sold off all my cards (physical and virtual) - a mistake I regret to
this day and I always tell people who are considering quitting only to sell out
if they’re 100% sure they’re not coming back.
It’s now 2006, and I’m back. Being an ex-Vintage player, it’s only natural that
I was drawn to the Classic format in MTGO and have tried to cross over my
knowledge of Vintage into Classic. It’s a difficult process at best, given the
differences in card pools, but it’s been working rather well for me lately.
But enough about me. Let’s talk about Classic.
This first article is about the basics of Classic (and later I'll discuss some
of the game theories). What the format is, what it
isn’t, and why it is what it is. Sounds complicated...but really, it’s not.
Q: What is Classic?
A: Classic is the online Eternal format of Magic, similar in concept to Vintage
and Legacy. Unlike Vintage, Classic has nothing in it restricted. Unlike Legacy,
Classic has nothing in it banned. But Classic also has an extremely small card
pool, by comparison to the other two Eternal formats. Because of this, the
majority of decks from the other two Eternal formats cannot cross over into
Classic. And also because of the differences in the card pools, a lot of the
“broken” cards in Vintage and Legacy that are available online aren’t “broken”.
I know someone is going to say something along the lines of “Well, if they’re
broken in Vintage - shouldn’t they be broken here?” to themselves while reading
this, and I’ll answer your question before it even is aired.
No.
Very few cards in Vintage were Restricted just because of their own inherent
power. The majority of cards Restricted in Vintage (or Banned in Legacy) had
action taken against them because of their interaction with other cards in the
format. In other words, they were “broken” on the backs of other un-“broken”
cards. Because of the highly limited card pool of Classic, the cards that
“broke” the “broken” cards are not available, and thus the “broken” cards are no
longer “broken”.
What cards am I referring to?
Burning Wish,
Chrome Mox,
Enlightened
Tutor, Entomb,
Fact or
Fiction,
Lion’s Eye
Diamond,
Mind’s Desire,
Mystical Tutor,
Trinisphere,
and Vampiric
Tutor.
The tutors (Burning
Wish,
Enlightened Tutor,
Mystical Tutor,
Vampiric Tutor)
aren’t “broken” because we don’t have all the other Restricted cards to tutor
for (unRestricted tutors essentially turn a Restricted 1-of card into an
unRestricted 5-of card).
Chrome Mox
isn’t “broken” because it’s the only 0CMC artifact mana acceleration we have.
Because of the other six Moxen available in Vintage, it would have been a bad
idea to leave
Chrome Mox unRestricted and thus allow people to run 10 0CMC mana
accelerators. But without the other Moxen (Diamond, Emerald, Jet, Pearl, Ruby,
Sapphire) available in the format,
Chrome Mox as
a 4-of isn’t an issue.
Entomb isn’t
“broken” because the deck that “broke” it in Vintage isn’t as strong in Classic
as it is in Vintage. I refer to Dragon, of course - a Combo deck in Vintage that
appeared shortly after the release of
Worldgorger Dragon in Judgment. The MTGO version of Dragon is slow and
cumbersome compared to the Vintage version, and because of it’s slow speed (even
with unRestricted
Entombs) there is no reason to Restrict
Entomb to slow it
down.
Fact or
Fiction isn’t “broken” because it’s some of the only good draw available in
Classic. It’s not living in a format online where it’s being run alongside
Ancestral Recall, Intuition, Gush, and Stroke of Genius.
Fact or
Fiction is only living alongside
Gifts Ungiven
and Braingeyser.
Lion’s Eye
Diamond isn’t “broken” because of one card not being present in MTGO. That
card is, arguably, the most “broken” card in Vintage. Yawgmoth’s Will. Without
the Will,
Lion’s Eye Diamond is merely a crappy mana accelerator that has decent
synergy with the Wishes and
Infernal
Tutor.
Mind’s Desire
isn’t “broken” because Classic lacks the horde of 0CMC and 1CMC cards that
Vintage possesses to make a massive
Mind’s Desire
on turn 1/2. Because of that potential,
Mind’s Desire
is among the handful of cards that were preemptively Restricted in Vintage
before they became legal.
Trinisphere
isn’t “broken” because Classic lacks all the cards that
Trinisphere
inadvertently hosed. Namely the Black Lotus, the Moxen, Ancestral Recall, Time
Walk, and many other “old school” Vintage staples.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s look at Classic as a format
again. As I said earlier, Classic is an Eternal format. What exactly does this
mean?
It means the cards that are legal in Classic will always be legal, unless
Wizards of the Coast Restricts or Bans them. This means that you don’t have to
worry about your cards rotating out of the format, and having to sell them to
further fund your ventures in the format at a reduced cost to what you bought
them for.
In Classic, you can use them as long as you own them. So there are no truly bad
investments in Classic. You don’t have to worry about buying a card and having
to sell it at reduced cost a year or two later.
Q: What isn’t Classic?
A: Classic isn’t “broken” like a lot of people believe.
It’s true, there are decks that can win on turn 1/2. But that is the exception
even for those decks. They’re Combo decks, and Combo in Classic has a
fundamental turn of 4 to win, which is on par or slightly faster than the top
flight Aggro decks in Classic. But don’t worry. Combo is still in it’s infancy,
and not very many people bring reliable Combo decks to the Classic events in
MTGO. The reason for this I’ll cover in another article.
It’s true, that you can use the banned Extended cards (Entomb,
Disciple of the Vault,
Skullclamp,
and Æther Vial)
as 4-ofs in Classic. But don’t panic and be a Chicken Little claiming the sky is
falling. Because it isn’t. They aren’t as powerful in Classic as they were in
Extended, and Classic hasn’t degraded to the point that Extended did with those
cards - where everyone was either playing with decks build around them or
playing decks designed to beat the decks build around them.
It’s true, that you can use the promo cards from the Premier Events (Braingeyser
and Kjeldoran
Outpost) and Chuck’s Virtual Party (Morphling,
Sliver Queen,
and Serra Avatar)
as 4-ofs in Classic. In fact, it’s the only format that you can use those cards
as 4-ofs in right now. And while those cards may appear powerful and daunting at
first glance, they really aren’t. And they fit into Classic very well, both
casual and competitive.
Classic also isn’t a rotating format, as I mentioned earlier. What is legal in
Classic will always be legal in Classic, short of being Banned or Restricted
(Banning is unlikely, since it seems that Classic will likely become an online
Vintage and there may be an online Legacy eventually, where what is Restricted
in Classic is now Banned in the new format). So there is no fear of Classic
rotating and your multi-hundred ticket foil
Meddling Mages
and Vindicates
being worthless to you now.
Classic also isn’t a stagnant format, like it would seem at first glance since
Classic doesn’t rotate - it just grows larger. This is because as sets are added
to the game, people will discover new cards to revitalize old decks, new cards
to hose old dominant decks, and new cards with unintended interactions with old
cards to create new Combos. While Classic doesn’t rotate, it does change and
evolve on a regular basis.
Q: Why is Classic what it is?
A: That is the most difficult question I posed for myself for this article. This
is basically a definition of Classic, which is hard to define.
Classic is, simply put, what it is. It’s an Eternal format. It’s the “broken”
format of MTGO (by comparison to Extended and Standard). It’s the format of
flashy wins and fast decks. It’s the format for people who want to play their
“degenerate” decks, or just want to play with everything they own.
Classic is, at the most basic level, MTGO.
I know that will cause an uproar, but let me explain. Classic is MTGO in the
same way that Vintage is MTG. In Classic, you can play with any card available
online that you own. In Vintage, you can play with any card available that you
own (with exceptions being made for ante cards and physical dexterity cards).
For that reason, I make the statement that Classic is MTGO. You’ll never sit
down at a Classic game and have MTGO tell you your deck isn’t legal (aside from
having less than 60 cards or more than 4 of any one card besides Basic Lands and
Relentless
Rats). You can sit down and play Classic with almost anything, from a precon
deck with a booster and some basic lands tossed in to make 60 cards up to a
5,000 card deck with everything you own in it.
That is the beauty of Classic. Aside from the basic deck construction rules,
anything goes in Classic.
The Metagame Clock Theory
The Metagame Clock Theory was a concept originally published by the DCI to produce a rough set of guidelines of how a healthy metagame should function. While this theory hasn't always worked in all formats (namely the rotating Standard and Extended formats), it has worked for the most part in the paper Eternal formats (Vintage and Legacy) and as such should carry over to MTGO's idea of an Eternal format - Classic.
The concept of the Metagame Clock Theory is simple. Aggro beats Control, Control beats Combo, and Combo beats Aggro. It's the checks-and-balances of Magic that stop particular decks (or types of decks) from dominating any given format or metagame. Now, this does not always hold true - there are some Aggro decks that are insanely fast and beat Combo, and there are some Control decks that are geared entirely to beat Aggro.
In regards to Standard and Extended, the Metagame Clock Theory doesn't always hold true because of the nature of the rotating formats. For example: There may be no good Combo cards in Standard in any given season, and as such Combo will not exist in Standard. Just because there is no Combo does not mean that the format is unhealthy according to the Metagame Clock Theory.
But we aren't talking about a rotating format here - we're talking about MTGO's Eternal format. Classic.
Right now, in Classic, Combo is present - but weak. This is because of the card pool in MTGO. A lot of good Combo-hosers were printed in the 7E/IPA onward era of MTG, while a lot of good Combo engines and enablers were printed in the times before 7E/IPA. Mirage and Visions has given us some good Combo cards (Shallow Grave, Necromancy, the Mirage Tutors, Vampiric Tutor, Dark Ritual), Combo is still well behind Control and Aggro in the power-curve of Classic. But this issue will be dealt with slowly, with the pending release of Weatherlight after MTGO V3.0 and Tempest after Weatherlight.
Just because Combo is not prevalent in Classic - does that mean Classic is unhealthy according to the Metagame Clock Theory?
Yes and no.
This is an ideal example of how the Metagame Clock Theory can apply itself differently in two different formats under the same circumstances.
In Standard, there is one viable Combo deck (Dragonstorm) currently being played. The rest of the field is nothing but Aggro, Control, and hybrids. Does anyone consider Standard to be unhealthy because of the lack of Combo to fulfill it's part of the checks-and-balances called the Metagame Clock Theory?
No. Standard is getting by just fine with only Dragonstorm around to keep Aggro in check, and Control will keep that one Combo deck in check pretty well also. Overall, the format is healthy and active.
In Classic, there are only two viable Combo decks (Dragon and ShallowHulk) currently being played. The rest of the field is nothing but Aggro, Control, and hybrids (most of which are Extended decks like Boros Deck Wins and Ravager Affinity with minor tweaks or the return of banned Extended cards). Does anyone consider Classic to be unhealthy because of the lack of Combo to fulfill it's part of the checks-and-balances called the Metagame Clock Theory?
Yes. Classic is being dominated by the Aggro/Control hybrid model due to the lack of Combo and it's inability to answer quickly enough a turn 0 threat to the game. Overall, the format is being dominated by Aggro/Control and Combo is being forced out of the metagame because of Leyline of the Void.
That's a good example of how the Clock functions differently in different formats with the same or similar circumstances. Standard has one viable Combo deck, and is healthy. Classic has two viable Combo decks, and is unhealthy.
This is also a dividing point among members of the community. Some (who play Aggro/Control religiously) refuse to believe there is a problem. And others, who acknowledge the problem, are split on how to deal with it: Some advocate patience and to wait for Tempest Block to come online, while others push for a more aggressive solution in the (temporary) Restriction of the problem card. But that is a topic for a later article.
Let's talk about...
Card Advantage Theory
This sounds simple. If I have more cards than my opponent, I have the advantage? Right?
No necessarily.
Card Advantage is often simplified to card drawing, but it is far more than that. Let's look at some examples.
Opportunity is a blue Instant from 7th Edition that has 'Target player draws four cards' as it's ability. This is easily noticeable as Card Advantage. You're expending one card (Opportunity) to get four cards, with a net gain of three cards (since one replaces Opportunity in your hand).
Cards that make you draw cards are clearly Card Advantage, so let's look at some more obscure examples - namely those that generate Card Advantage through control.
Mind Rot is a black Sorcery from 7th Edition, 8th Edition, and 9th Edition that has 'Target player discards two cards' as it's ability. While at first glance it may not appear to be Card Advantage, it actually is. You expend one card (Mind Rot) to deny your opponent two cards (the two cards he or she discards).
Tranquility is a green Sorcery from 7th Edition and Invasion that has 'Destroy all enchantments' as it's ability. Just like Mind Rot, at first glance you won't see why this card is Card Advantage. And in some situations, it won't be - this is a situational example of Card Advantage. In this example, it is Card Advantage. My opponent has more Enchantments in play that me. So I expend one card (Tranquility) to destroy all Enchantments. This card, while it may possibly be destroying some of my Enchantments, destroys more of my opponent's cards and thus nets me Card Advantage. You also have to weight the situation carefully, which is why this card is situational. If my opponent has Worship in play as his only Enchantment and a bunch of ground bound creatures and one life, while I have three or four Enchantments in play and a 1/1 Flyer - is it worth it to use Tranquility in this situation to kill his Worship so I can win despite giving my opponent Card Advantage?
Yes.
Now that we've discussed Card Advantage a bit (or at least the basics of), let's talk about...
Tempo Theory
Tempo is, roughly, the speed of your deck. It's also one of the most easily disrupted factors in any given game - with cards like Duress, Cabal Therapy, Leyline of the Void, Starstorm, Remand, and Memory Lapse being very good at setting back your Tempo a turn and giving the opposing deck a better chance at winning and you a better chance at losing. If you're swinging with a slew of Goblins on turn 4, and your opponent casts a 2 point Starstorm - your Tempo just took a big hit. Or if a Combo deck drew a 'god hand' and could win on turn 1...but gets hit with a Duress on it's opponent's turn 1 - your Tempo just took a big hit.
Attacking the Tempo of opposing decks is Control's specialty, regardless of how it's achieved. Countering spells, bouncing permanents, killing permanents, forcing discards, destroying land...it's all an attack at the opposing deck's Tempo. Although people do not generally associate this with Control, because it's present in so many decks. But most of those decks are hybrids with Control elements present (like Boros Deck Wins or Madness - both of those are good examples of Aggro/Control decks in MTGO).
Tempo is the most easily attacked portion of any deck, as I mentioned before. And because it's so common place, a lot of people don't realize exactly what it was or how it's directly related to a seemingly unrelated area of the game.
Now that I've covered the three major theories of Classic, let's talk about...
Archetypes
There are three major archetypes of deck in Magic, excluding hybrids. In this segment, I'll cover the three major archetypes and the hybrid concept model.
Aggro decks are your aggressive decks. They're mostly concerned with playing more threats than most decks can handle and win by overwhelming force. Prime examples of an Aggro deck are Goblin Bidding, Vial Goblins, Ravager Affinity, Angel Stompy, and Gruul Beats. Aggro decks prefer to use cost effective cards, with a balance between Power and Toughness and abilities. Some prime examples of major Aggro cards are Goblin Piledriver, Isamaru, Hound of Konda, Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Goblin Sharpshooter, Arcbound Ravager, and Exalted Angel.
Control decks are your defensive decks. They're mostly concerned with dealing with threats by counters, discard, and kill and thus clearing the way for their threat. Prime examples of a Control deck are Solar Flare, Solar Pox, CounterTop, and MUC (Mono-Blue Control). Control decks prefer to use cost effective cards in the early game and higher cost cards with better effects in the late game. Some prime examples of major Control cards are Counterspell, Mana Leak, Chainer's Edict, Duress, Cabal Therapy, Starstorm, Cruel Edict, Sensei's Divining Top, and a hard to kill creature like Morphling.
Combo decks are your "broken" decks. For the most part, they attempt to ignore their opponent and just win by establishing their Combo as quickly as possible. A prime example of a "pure" Combo deck on MTGO is Burning Tendrils, ShallowHulk, and 2-Land Belcher (or 1-Land Belcher). These decks prefer to use insane amounts of dig and mana generation in other to establish their win as quickly as possible. Some prime examples of major Combo cards are Mind's Desire, Tendrils of Agony, Brain Freeze, Protean Hulk, Disciple of the Vault, and Goblin Charbelcher.
Hybrid decks are the decks that contain elements of two or three of the major archetypes into one deck. Some prime examples of hybrids are Madness (Aggro/Control), Boros Deck Wins (Aggro/Control), Dragon (Combo/Control), Sutured Ghoul Reanimator (Aggro/Combo), and ordinary Reanimator (Aggro/Combo). There are no cards that are specific to hybrids, but rather they use the major cards from the other three archetypes in their decks.
Now that I've gotten
the introduction to Classic, the basic theories of Magic, and the archetypes of
Magic decks explained in some minor detail - I can begin discussing decks and
strategies in my next article and get into the real meat that everyone enjoys.
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