Format ProfusionI've always been fairly contrarian in my enjoyment of Magic, sometimes taking long breaks (such as October 2007 to March 2009) from the game, but then coming back to it in an attempt to enjoy a new facet. Last time my interest was logged in detail within my "The Color Wheel" thread of article-esque posts, which eventually got kinda old, as topics go, since the material I was analyzing did not evolve much. I've lately been playing a little again, trying to latch onto exactly what would be a fun use of my epic-sized collection.
Type Four struck a chord with me the first time I played it, at GenCon 2004. I don't recall everyone who played, but I think it was Andy Probasco's (BrassMan) stack, and I know Steve Menendian was there, plus possibly Paul Mastriano and Mat Endress (IIRC). I still recall it as one of the most fun games of Magic I've ever played. I've recently spent time trying to understand what was fun about it, coming up with a few answers: the players, the swinginess, and, most importantly, how different it was from more conventional Magic. That's a concept driving my current renewal of interest, for instance when I read Steve M's
Zero Variance Mental Magic article.
One of the purposes behind different Magic formats with rotations (besides the cynical "sell more cards") is to continuously evolve the game every few months. Variety is its own justification, in terms of generating maximum, renewable supplies of fun. See MaRo's explanation of the
Crispy Hash Brown Effect:
The Crispy Hash Brown Effect
I love hash browns. The best part for me is the crispy shell. After I've eaten through the scrumptious brown exterior, the rest is downhill. Yes, I like potatoes and I'll eat the inside of the hash brown, but once the crispy shell is eaten, I start to lose interest.
In my opinion, games are just like a crispy hash brown. The crispy shell is the discovery process of the game. The most fun part about learning a new game is figuring the game out. But at some point you crack it; you figure out the key things that are of importance. (You know, get the middle square in Tic Tac Toe; the corners are key in Othello, etc.) And from that point, the game shifts from a strategic one to a tactical one. You begin to memorize things. The early part of the game becomes more rote. In the worst cases, you learn enough to keep from being defeated.
It's not hard to see this process if you look back at games you've played. Think about games you once enjoyed that you abandoned. Why did you stop playing? Did they cease to be fun? It is my contention that most often a game becomes less fun because you've burnt through the discovery process. That said, some games handle this stage better than others. There are many classic games that have lasted a mighty long time, but staying with those games requires a fundamental shift in how you're getting your fun. It takes a lot more work to reach the same highs that you had when you started. You tend to rely more on matching up your skills against those of others. (Although to be fair, this also happens at Magic but at a much, much slower rate.) The game shifts from being visceral to being more cerebral.
This leads us to one of Magic's strongest attributes. In crispy hash brown terms, it regrows its shell. Because Magic keeps adding new cards, it keeps shifting what matters. The discovery process that takes days or weeks or months at another game takes an eternity in Magic. You never truly figure the game out because it keeps changing. You don't ever have to eat the inside of the hash brown. And if you do, you know that it's just a matter of time before you get your crispy shell back.
Why is Magic such a great game? Because it constantly evolves, always keeping the players on their toes.
Magic does indeed provide a constantly expanding variety of cards to explore. Wizards of the Coast supports a number of formats, and, particularly via Magic Online, they are increasing this number over time. There are huge benefits to this, such as finding uses for lots of cards that are useless by the standards of other formats and playing completely different styles---it makes Magic not just something different to everyone, but more than one game built on the same framework.
Personally, one of the things that attracted me to Type One in the first place was how unsolved it felt in 2003. Now that it has a more developed, mature metagame, there is less surprise and more tactical decision-making. New and updated decks can and do make a difference, but the virgin territory is of limited breadth, and commensurately limited interest to me.
So I asked myself: Why not just make up more formats to see what kind of fun you can have? Why not indeed. One source of future posts will be alternative format ideas as I flesh them out.
Do you guys have quirky house rules or formats you like to play?
