@@ @@
@@@@@ @@
@ @@ @@
@ @@ @@agic the Gathering Online v2.0
Multiplayer Faq v 1.2
October 2005
Faq Written by crazyivanshow
contact me at
[email protected]
Contents:
FAQ UPDATES
INTRODUCTION
NEW PLAYER FAQ
MULTIPLAYER FAQ
COMMUNICATION
SHORTCUTS AND OTHER TIDBITS
MULTIPLAYER GAME STRUCTURE
GAME FORMATS
NOTES ON GAME STRUCTURE/TYPE
CARDS AND SOME STRATEGIES IN MULTIPLAYER
EMPEROR
ADDITIONAL FAQ
LEGAL STUFF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAQ
November 2005
version 1.1
Wrote the final draft of the first faq to officially get posted.
March 2006
version 1.2
Fixed some spelling mistakes, and added to many sections, inlcuding adding a
bit about building for team decks, using the f8 button, clans, the chatroom
box and an entire new section describing the rules for various game formats.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION
Hello, this is my FAQ for MTGO's multiplayer aspect. This manual has
a small section to tell new player what Magic the Gathering is, but other than
that this game will assume you are already familiar with Magic, and more
specifically Magic the Gathering Online.
The MTGO interface has lots of feature to make the game easy
to learn but little information is provided on the multiplayer aspect
so I have decided to write this faq in the hopes that new players can
learn tricks of the interface which will make for smoother and more enjoyable
MTGO multplayer games.
Magic is a complex game to learn, but the nuances of muliplayer,
especially online muliplayer, has lots of new features new players will have
to take in. In fact old players or even seasoned veterans of MTG will be able
to learn from this faq. Note that this faq will cover only multiplayer
aspects of the online game. Any players who are new to MTG or MTGO can find
answers down below in the New Player FAQ section. But this guide is really
written for the newcomer's to MTGO multiplayer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW PLAYER FAQ
What is Magic: The Gathering?
Magic the Gathring is a strategic card game designed by a
man named Richard Garfield and sold and published by a
company called Wizards of the Coast. In the game you use
land, creature, enchantment, artifact, sorcery, and instant
cards do defeat battle a rival spell caster. Each player plays
begin the game with 20 life points and usually wins by dropping
his opponent's life to to 0 or below. The game has been around
for about a decade.
What are the Colours of Magic?
There are 5 colours for magic. They appear on the back of every
MTG card. Clockwise from the top they are: White, Green, Red,
Black, and Blue. Each colour has a certain flavour of spells
that get cast. For instance Green is known for large creatures,
and life gaining, whereas Black is good at spell that destroy
creatures and spells that trade life to draw/search for cards.
What is Magic: The Gathering Online?
Many computer games have been created over the years based on
MTG, but the greatest of them has been Magic Online. This game
allows you to play MTG with hundreds of players online with the
a very large pool of the newest cards created for the game.
Sounds AWESOME! What's the catch?
Well the catch is that it cost money. Yes, these cards are not
even real. It will cost you 10-15 dollars to start an online
account with enough cards to get you started. Although once
that's done you can play forever and never get charged a monthly
fee like so many other Online games do. So it's a pretty good deal.
However if you find yourself enjoying yourself to much you could
find yourself spending hundreds of dollars on virtual cards and
tickets to join tournaments. Not to mention time. If you are an
intelligent person with an addictive personality the game could
be the best or worst thing that ever happened to you.
There is so much to learn about MTG and MTGO! Where do I go?
You've got the internet so use it! Go to
http://www.wizards.com/magic/welcome.asp
and click "What is Magic?". If this doesn't work you should
be able to go to the wizards site and follow links or else
find a fan site or another FAQ that will provide you with
all the information you should need.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MULTIPLAYER FAQ
How many people are in a multiplayer game?
Anywhere from 3-6
Are there any downsides to multiplayer?
Yes, for new players to are used to 1 on 1 games there will be a lot to
learn but then that is why this Faq was written!. In addition these games are
often much slower and longer then 1 on 1 games due to the increased number of
players who need make moves, ok moves and waiting sometimes occur because
players don't pay attention or need to go away from their computers.
Is there anyways to make these game faster?
Yes. By learning how to set you phase stops correctly, use shortcuts
and set auto-yields to effects, you can greatly speed up a multiplayer game.
So players who are experienced and attentive to their multiplayer game can go
at a reasonable speed.
Okay I have played tons of 1 on 1 MTGO, Where do I find the Multiplayer games?
In the top right corner of the game interface click the
menu so it says "Expert Player View" (In the off chance your still set in
beginner mode). Then Click on "Casual Play". When the rooms come up click
"Multiplayer Games".
What was that Limited Games Room?
That is a room where players may play draft games with each other.
It is not very popular because playing draft uses up those pricy booster
packs and most often these games are played as tournaments. This room does
tend of become much more popular when a new set of cards is released.
What are the different type of Multiplayer games?
Multiplayer(3-6) (sometimes called Free for All)
Teams (2vs2)
Teams (3vs3)
Two-Headed Giant
Three-Headed Giant
Emperor
How do I Join/Host games?
The same way you do in the other rooms. In Eyeball mode Click a table, and
click join, or in list mode, double click one of the rooms available. Rooms
which are green in the list have seats open. You can start your own game
by clicking start new game button in the bottom left area.
Eyeball/List mode? What are you talking about?
Okay those aren't the technical terms, but if you click on the eyeball
in the top right corner area of the interace, it changes to show you the game
in list form, and click again to set it back.
What is all this 2hg, 3hg, ffa, stuff people keep writing?
Like the other game rooms, people use short form to advertise what kind
of game they are hosting:
2hg=Two-Headed Giant
3hg=Three Headed Giant
FFA=Free for all, (Multiplayer 3-6 game)
What is a good way to find rooms?
If you're in Eyeball Mode, once you see a game advertised, click it
in the chat interface to move you interface over to it. If you'r in list mode
scroll right click the status tab and click it so that the list is sorted
that way, with waiting to start at the top.
Where will I be on the game field once the game starts?
When you start the game you will always be on the bottom.
In FFA you always be on the left. In the team games you will get
the middle or side, depending on which seat you picked.
How do I pick a seat?
If you used the normal eyeball mode, you get a seat by just clicking
on it. If you joined in list mode you be automatically assigned a seat,
but will have the option to ask the host to move you.
What about these other settings? Are they still the same? What setting are
most popular?
Yes. You can still restrict the decks allowed in the game the same way
they normally are. You can have Standard, Extended,
Vanguard, Singleton, Tribal, Prismatic, Freeform, Block, and all the other types
of games you could normally have. Mulitplayer games are usually quite casual and
therefore Extended is the most common format to play. And all the rest
pop up regularly. Most people who play Multiplayer games regularly have
specially built decks for Multiplayer-Extended Games.
What are all these other options?
Multplayer games have many more setting than 1 on 1 games. It is important
to learn these settings if you want to learn to properly play/host a
multiplayer games. Make sure to check how your options every time you decide to
host a multiplayer game.
Hey! I hosted a Free for All game and people can only attack left!
*** The most important setting to remember is that when you are hosting
a Free for All is the choose opponent box under the options of your game.
Start a game and open you options and click the box that says "Players Choose
Opponent to Attack".
Why do I have to set this every time I start a Free For all? Shouldn't choosing
which opponent I attack be the default?
It should be default, but the problem is in the other team multiplayer
games you are not often supposed to be able to pick who you attack (because
you attack the person across from you) hence why the default is set not to
let you attack whom you chose. Perhaps this will be fixed a a future version
of MTGO.
What is a good number of players for a Free
for all game?
My prefered number is 5. Why? 5 players is a good pace for the game, as
well as having a strong enough effect on the typical multiplayer-type
decks people tend to use. Most importantly 5 players gives players more
space in the interface, as you will see when you are in such a game,
3 of your opponent's will be shown as having 1/3 small areas, while you and
the opponent to the right will have the lower 1/2 areas. (opponents will also
see themselves as having 1/2 sized playing fields on thier own monitors)
A 6 player game will show everybody as having those tiny little 1/3 areas.
What does what they're writing in comment box mean?
Atg (anything goes)
Gents Rules (special player enforced set of rules)
Attack Anyone
1/1/1,(limited spell/effect range, usually used for emp games)
What are Gent's Rules?
Many people choose to play with special rules that say you are not
allowed to destroy other people's lands, counter their spells, or stop
their turns. These rules are not enforced by the system so if you see a
gent's game bring a deck without any land destruction or people will get
very mad at you.
Why play Gent's Rules?
This is hard to understand for many players, including the author.
It is most likely people don't like land destrucion, counterspells, and
time stops because it slows down that game and keeps them from doing things.
If you are a casual player you might want to avoid gents games.
What is all that 1/1/1 stuff?
This is a way of indicating what options were set when the host started.
These setting usuually only apply to emperor games and a few 3 headed giant
games. The first number indicates attack range (Always 1). The second
number indicates spell target range. The third indicates effect range.
Remember: Attack Range/Target Range/Effect Range
I'm still confused about the 1/1/1, 1/1/A stuff.
Okay the letter A stands for "Anything" and = 3.
Let's say you got a big game with six players. Let's say
you play a shock. If the game was set to 1/1/1 you could only shock players next
you you or the creatures they control. If the game was 1/2/2 or 1/2/A then you
could shock anything but the player who is on the opposite side of you.
If the gamewas 1/A/A you could shock anything. Now let'slook at the same
thing for a howling mine. If the game is 1/1/1 then only players to your right
and your left (as well as yourself) you get the benefits of a howling
mine. In 1/2/2 it would be most players except the opposite one. In 1/1/A or
1/2/A or 1/A/A it would work as normal(allowing all players to draw extra cards.
So to recap The first number is always 1, and indicates
attack range The second number is 1,2, or A and affects spells like shock,
terror, holy strength lava axe, and any spell and permanents with the
word "target" in it. The third number is also 1,2, or A and can't be
smaller than the second number. It affects things like howling mine and effects
spell and permanents with the word "each" or "every".
Most emperor games are 1/1/1.
How did all these strange rules come about?
The multiplayer MTGO community has been left to their own devices for
some time, and have invented many different types and standards for the way
multiplayer game are played.
What other options for games are there?
In addition to setting who you can attack or affect players with your
spells there are some other options which rarely get used.
For instance you can make a game timed, or allow players to use
"handicaps" which allows players to pick their starting life totals".
The latter feature is rarely used.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMUNICATION
Talking to other players is key feature in MTGO. You can chat easily at
any time by typing in the chat bar of whichever room you happpen
to be in. When you are chatting there are alot of things to keep in mind.
For instance some players use lingo/shortform, so if you don't understand
something don't be afraid to ask what it is. For instance
sac is short for sacrifice (the process) and WOG is short
for Wrath of God (the card). Emp is short for emperor. (Both the game and
the player who is emperor.). GL is short for good luck and GG is short for
good game.
People who play this game have varying manners. It is often customary
to wish opponent's luck before a game and tell them good game after.
You can't swear or use foul language. The system will block out rude words from
being used. Some players have found ways around this, but are usually threatened
by the moderators. I don't reccomend any abusive language while your playing
this game, seeing as
A)Despite how complicated a game this is, it is a game designed for all ages.
B)The system is gonna block you so why bother?
C)If you get around the system a moderator could notice and get angry.
The people working at Wizards of the Coast could potentially
shut down your account, so I don't reccomend you do anything to endanger all
the cards you have.
The above rules apply to rudeness and harrasment towards other players
in any way. Also you should note that heated political/religious conversations
are sometimes discouraged by the moderators as well.
All that nasty stuff aside, communicating with players is easy. Some commands
you should know for it are:
/me *any text*
Show yourself doing something.
/away *any text*
Show that you're away from the computer.
/addbudy *name*
To add somebody to your "buddy list"
/eject *playername*
Vote to eject a player from you game.
If somebody's computer loses the connection and doesn't come back
you can use the eject command to start a vote. If everybody gets
fed up with the wait they can do the same thing to get the game going.
To make symbols in chat type control, then Q then remove your hand from the
keyboard, then press a letter.
CtrlQ then W makes : white mana
CtrlQ then E makes : trophy
CtrlQ then R makes : red mana
CtrlQ then T makes : tap symbol
CtrlQ then Y makes : gross face
CtrlQ then U makes : blue mana
CtrlQ then I makes : Wizards of the Coast
CtrlQ then A makes : 10
CtrlQ then S makes : smiley face*
CtrlQ then F makes : sad face
CtrlQ then G makes : Green Mana
CtrlQ then L makes : 16
CtrlQ then Z makes : zzz
CtrlQ then X makes : x
CtrlQ then C makes : 12
CtrlQ then V makes : triangle
CtrlQ then B makes : Black Mana
Right click a players name in the lower left part of the screen, then pick
private chat.(by the way pm stand for private message so if somebody ask you
to pm them this process is what they are refering too)
After open up this dialogue you can start/join a team chat room. Once you have
opened up a private chat type
/join *chatroomname*
to host or join the room. If you start a room you will have to tell both your
teammates what the room name is so they can do the same.
(pm them if you want them to make sure only your team joins)
This chatroom can also have many other uses besides just teamchats. You can
use it to join or setup any environment where you want lots of players to be
able to converse. Some examples that have been know to occur are auctions,
player organized tournaments, or for communications between clans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHORTCUTS AND OTHER TIDBITS
I'm hoping if you play MTGO you know how to set stops.
You go into your settings. As in some MTGO games you may want to set and
remove your stops manytimes. The less stops you have the faster the game will
go. Until you are more experienced you should leave the "declare blockers" stop
on. You can leave the rest of your stops (the one that are on your opponent's
turn) off most of the time and turn them back on when needed (for instance
activate the end of turn stop back on if their is a spell/effect you want
to do before your turn starts.
*** If you or somebody else have a card which cause an effect every turn
(sun-droplet, howling mine, etc.) you will have to OK it every time the way
you do with spells. But if you are you will always want to OK it, click the
effect the next time it come up and choose "Always auto-yield." Setting
many auto-yields is HIGHLY RECCOMENDED because it will speed up the game alot.
If you change your mind you can right click on the field and choose
"Remove all auto-yields."
*** If you are totally tapped out for a turn and don't want to respond to
anything for the rest of a player's turn, then press F6. This will set it so
that players won't need you OK for the rest of that turn. Be wary of doing this
on your own turn as that is probably not a turn you want to skip!
Using F6 on other players turns speeds up the game alot. If you want to undo
the F6 press F3.
Another helpful way to speed up the game is to press F8. The game will
only allow you to use this at the end of your turn and only when you mana is
tapped out. This will auto yield all spells until the begining of you next
turn. However it will not auto-yield to activated abilities, that includes
the recent Ravnica bounce lands. So you may find yourself having to continue
yielding/auto-yielding/pressing f6. But it could save a little time for you
on the second to fourth turns.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MULTIPLAYER GAME STRUCTURE
Multiplayer(3-6)
You Goal is to defeat every other player and be the last one standing.
This type of game is more commonly know as a Free for All.
Teams (2vs2)
You and a partner work together to take out two other players.
Teams (3vs3)
You and two other players go against another team of 3.
Two-Headed Giant
Same as 2vs2 but each team starts with a shared life total of 40. When
either player is hurt, this number goes down for your team.
Three-Headed Giant
Same as 3vs3 but each team starts witha shared life total of 60. When any
player is hurt the entire teams life total goes down.
Emperor
Each team has 3 players. One player on each team is the leader, known
as the emperor. The emperor is protected on each side by a flanker.
The point of the game is to kill the enemy emperor. More details on
this in the emperor section.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GAME FORMATS
I assume that if you play MTGO you already know these, but since they are such
a critical part of the game I will give a brief description of game formats.
Standard
All cards from the most recent 2 blocks and last printed edition of cards.
For example in March 2006 Standard included all cards from kamigawa block,
ravnica block, and 9nth edition. 60 cards minimum.
Extended
All cards from the last 6 blocks and all printed editions of cards. This
format allows most cards except for mirage and a few banned cards.
60 cards minimum.
Classic
All cards from every set are allowed in this format. The only exception
is avatars, which will be discussed below. 60 cards minimum.
The Block
A "block" in magic is three sets of cards that were printed one after the
other. The blocks tend to be linked with a theme and storyline. Your deck
is only allowed to use cards from the named block. (The block name will
be the name of the first set but will also include cards from the 2 sets
that came after it.
60 cards minimum.
Vanguard
There are vanguard versions of Standard, Extended, and Classic Decks.
These decks require the usual 60 cards, plus an avatar card that adds special
bonuses to the player who has them. The avatars also come with their own
individual life totals and hand sizes.
Prismatic
Deck size is a whopping 250 cards minimum and decks are required to have at
least 20 cards of each colour.
Singleton
No more than 1 of each card, with the exception of basic land.
60 card minimum.
Tribal
Build a deck where one third of the deck are creature that are the same type.
60 card minimum.
Freeform
All cards are allowed, even avatars. (and even multiple avatars).
40 card minimum.
A note on player developed formats.
These are formats designed by players with special rules that are not enforced
by the system. If a game has the special rules you will most likely see it
written in the comment box. Here is how to build for these unofficial decks:
Rainbow Stairwell
Players bring a deck that is exactly 60 cards. You pick a cards for each
casting converted cost from 1-6 for each colour, do the same for artifacts.
then add 24 lands, up to 4 of which can be non-basic. Gold Cards/Hyrbid Colour
cards are not allowed. Just to demostrate the idea:
1-6 cmanacost of each colour and artifact
6x6=36 +24 lands = 60 cards for Rainbow Stairwell Deck.
Pauper Prismatic
A format with exact same rules as Prismatic, but the twist is the deck must use
only commons, no uncommons or rare cards are allowed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES ON GAME STRUCTURE/TYPE
Popularity
The two most popular games are Free for all and Two-headed giant.
The team (2vs2 and 3vs3) games are not played as much as the 2hg and 3hg games
because it is more fun if one team goes down all at the same time rather that
having the end of the game almost always becoming a hopeless 2 on 1 fight.
I would say that Extended is the most popular game type overall, altough
all the game types mentioned above are played and prismatic is fairly popular
for 2hg.
Winning
Winning any type of multiplayer game is usually done by defeating all of
your opponents, usually done by dropping them to zero life points. The second
way of defeating opponent's is by making them run out of cards. If at any
time a player draws but has no cards they lose. But there are other ways
to win besides killing or decking your opponents. That is by using cards
with win conditions.
For instance there is a card called "Coalition Victory". It reads:
"You win the game if you control a land of each basic type and a creature of
each colour." So if you were to play a plains, forest, mountain, swamp,
and island, play say, a sliver overlord, then play a coalition victory
(costs 8 mana!) you win the game regardless of all players life totals.
Of course in a team game this allows your entire team to win.
Special Rules in 2hg or 3hg
The Giant Headed Games are popular and so it helps to know a few things.
Like for instance despite sharing a life total it is possible for 1 player to
be defeated at a time. This happens rarely, but if a player runs out of
cards and becomes "decked" they are defeated but that player's teammate or
teamates remain. Once I had a teammate that was decked, and so he left the
game. A while after he was gone I smacked the other team life total below 0
and managed to win the game for our team!
Also their are some cards which have conditions changed if they relate
to having life totals. For instance their is a creature called Kitsune Mystic
which turns into a creature protecting enchantment when you get 30 life.
However in 2hg you would need 60 life to trigger the same effect and you'd need
90 life to do it in 3hg. Other cards which need an amount of life do the same
thing in 2hg and 3hg games.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARDS AND SOME STRATEGIES IN MULTIPLAYER
Free For All
Remember in Free For All the best elements that is
added to the game is the political element. Each player wants to be the last
one standing, but unlike in normal duel each player has to make a critical
decision: WHO TO ATTACK?
Deciding who to attack is a difficult decision. Often
some players will be open at the begining of the game, but won't get attacked
because the players are waiting. What are they waiting for? A reason to attack
someone. Players tend to get attacked when they are
A) vulnerable (low quantity/quality of creature to defend them) or
B) have done something to indicate they are a threat. For instance
a player could use a sizzle and deal direct damage to everyone, or have a
permanent that hurts them like an Underworld Dreams, that player may find
himself getting beat on by other people's creatures. However threats focused
on a single player like a lava axe, or an attack with a large creature should
only get 1 player focused at you, thereby causing just that player
to decide to come after you.
Remember that their is also a slight reverse to these rules.
If you play a howling mine or a shizuko people will appreciate the help you give
them as long as the combo you form with the beneficial card doesn't looks to
harmful So cards that give help your opponents give you a
you a political advantage, meaning you are less likely to be a target
for attack. This advantage you give you opponents MAY keep you alive much longer
than if you were an overly obvious threat, but political advantages only last
for a while so don't overate them.
Don't forget that these are just guidelines! Part of the fun of
multiplayer is the randomness of it! You opponents are all human and therefore
each having thier own strategies and personalities. Multiplayer game in
general are much harder to predict that single player games, that is part of
the fun.!
Card Selection
Now that you are familiar with the chief strategic difference.
between 1 on 1 and multiplayer games, you might want to get an idea of how the
cards themselves change. There are many cards in the game that can benefit from
the increased amount of cards/players/stuff that exists in the multiplayer
environment. These cards with the word "each"/"whenever" tend to change,
often for the better. So when building a deck for multiplayer
look at cards that have the words on it. Here are a few such examples.
White
Soul Warden
Costs 1 White Mana, 1/1 Creature - Cleric
Whenever a creature comes into play, you gain 1 life.
Why it's awesome:
With more total creatures coming into play this already decent card now has
the potential to give large amounts of life for a small casting cost.
Green
Traproot Kami
Costs 1 Green Mana, 0/* Creature - Spirit
Traproot Kami as toughness equal to all the forest in play.
Traproot Kami can block as though it had flying.
Why it's awesome:
This card is a decent blocker all by itself, but if any of you opponent's or
teamates happen to be running green this card will get much bigger, allowing
for excellent defense.
Black
Syphon Mind
Sorcery - Cost 1 Black, three colourless.
Each other player discards and Card, and you draw a card for each
card discarded this way.
Why it's awesome:
Making a bunch of other people discard while you get to draw a bunch of cards
should be an obvious advantage. If your playing a team game it's can harm
your teamates' hands, but if you check that they have cards they can afford
to lose it still usable even in team games.
Also note that cards that need to pick, copy or benefit from
a certain type of target may have more chance of working better if more
of those targets are in play.
Red
Adamaro, First to Desire
Cost 2 Red, 1 colourless, */* Legendary Creature - Spirit
Adamaro, First to Desire has power and toughness each equal to the number of
cards in the hand of the opponent with the most cards in hand.
Why it's awesome:
More opponents means a better chance this card will be big.
Blue
Clone
Cost 1 Blue, 3 colourless, 0/0 Creature - Shapshifter
As Clone comes into play you may choose a creature, if you do
clone comes into play as a copy of target creature.
Why it's awesome:
More creatures in play means a better chance you can copy something awesome.
Artifact
Fellwar Stone
Costs 2 colourless mana - Artifact
Add to you mana pool 1 mana of any colour that a land an opponent controls
could produce.
Why it's awesome:
More opponent's means there is a good chance you could be making all five
colours of mana with this thing. Especially good in prismatic.
Some Examples of bad multiplayer cards might be
Haunted Angel - When it dies each other player gets a 3/3 flyer.
Tempting Wurm - Give everbody else permanents from their hand.
Note that the first card is not as bad in a team game.
Team Cards
When you designing a deck to be used in team play all the usual rules apply
in the card selection above. But when playing team games you want cards that
have the ability to assist both sides of the table, not just your own.
For instance creature enchantments can be played on any creature, but
equipmentwill only be usable on you own creatures (unless your ally has a
magnetic theft). The main thing to keep in mind when designing or changing a
deck to be used in team games is to watch for cards the have the word "you"
written on them. Some of these cards like a verduran enchantress or a
glorious anthem may be good cards for the combo/synergy of your deck.
Examples of problem cards might be for example a reverse damage, which is
useless if you ally is hit, or the beastmaster's magemark (or any other
magemark card) which are useless on your allies' creatures. Also be wary of
cards which destroy many permanents. A wrath of god, tranquility, or a
gravepact can be very useful, but if your ally is depending on his creatures
or on his enchantments (whatever it is your destroying) you may be doing more
harm than good (or be holding a useless card).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPEROR
Each team has 3 players. One player on each team is the leader,
known as the emperor. The emperor is protected on each side by a flanker.
The point of the game is to defeat the enemy emperor.
HOW A CASUAL EMPEROR GAME COULD BE PLAYED
Here is a diagram showing how the starting emp game
would look.
---------------------------------
|Flanker |Emperor |Flanker |
---------------------------------
|Flanker |Emperor |Flanker |
---------------------------------
Flankers may attack, but emperors cannot attack or be attacked until one
flanker on the side dies, and then only by the adjacent enemy flanker.
EMPEROR EXTENDED 1/1/1 GENTS,
OR HOW 90% or EMPEROR GAMES ARE PLAYED
Just because you know how an emp game basically is not enough information
to play in 95% of emp games. To tell you the honest truth I don't reccomed these
games for the casual player. These games are complicated, repetitive, and the
cards to make a proper emperor deck are very expensive (although flanker decks
can be a much cheaper.)
Have you as a new player ever entered an emperor game, asked "Have you
got luv for the emp in you deck?" by the host of the game? If you didn't
that meant then you would be asked to leave. Luv for the emp refers to mana
boosting cards like wild growth and fertile ground. You need these cards in
any extended emperor game because they give you team the mana they need
to pull off the game-winning combo for this format.
First of All you need to know all the cards that could be involved,
because itgets very complicated from here on in. I will divulge some sacred
information about my own deck ideas in order to help you better understand
the emperor format. These deck ideas are current as of November 2005.
Crazyivanshow's Emperor Deck
17 Forest
3 Island
4 Early Harvest
4 Fertile Ground
4 Hunted Wumpus***
4 Wild Growth*
2 Moment's Peace
4 New Frontiers*
4 Weird Harvest**
4 Temporal Cascade
3 Eternal Witness
4 Heartbeat of Spring*
1 Myojin of Life's Web**
2 Clone
Crazyivanshow's Flanker Deck (Strong/Left Side)
11 Forest
9 Island
3 Mountain
4 Early Harvest*
4 Fertile Ground**
2 Overgrowth
2 Thorn Elemental
4 Twiddle
4 Wild Growth**
2 Flaring Pain
4 Dream's Grip
1 Duplicant
4 Darksteel Colossus
4 Savage Beating
1 Gleancrawler
1 Sakashima the Impostor
A weak side (right side) flanker deck can be the same as a strong side, but
usually red is removed. Also, despite the help it gives to the enemy team,
many weak side flanker decks also have hearbeat of spring and new frontiers
in them (giving your enemy flanker more mana is not to big a drawback if you
have also given mana to yourself and your emperor.)
As you can see, lot's of pricy cards, mainly the new frontiers which cost
about 15$ online. You Might be confused as to why there is all this stuff
that could help your opponent's team in these decks. But
think about the rules of 1/1/1. All spells and effects only extend to one
player Away. So this way anything the emp does can only affect his team. The
Emperor Deck deck is designed as specialized combo deck desinged to help
his flanker put out 4 large creature right away. The emperor casts his various
mana boosts so he can cast then cast a weird harvest for at least 4 then cast
4 hunted wumpuses. The flanker decks in turn helps the emperor pull of his combo
so the strong side (left) flanker can kill the enemy team, possibly killing
the flanker and the enemy emperor in the same turn he/she is lucky enough to
have a Savage Beating in hand. If you get the opprotunity, watch a few emperor
games so you can be sure you completly understand before building and playing
in the format.
OTHER TYPES OF EMP GAMES
The above description of the Emperor is currently the most emperor games
are played. You may be discouraged with the price of the decks, the monontonous
nature of the format, or even how dreadfully complicated the combo is. But
fear not! There are many type of games. Read the section on Gent's rules and
"What's all the 1/1/1" stuff so you can understand the different setting a
host can use in his game. Note that in the following formats the emp combo
mentioned above in the 1/1/1 section is rendered much less useful. Thusly
you could play with much more casual decks. Change the effect spell radius
and make a 1/1/A game or the more normal 1/A/A games. Also don't forget that
aside from changing the effect radius of cards you can make emp games that are
standard, tribal, whatever rules and options you can think of.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDITIONAL FAQ
Those tutorials are Great, but you mentioned a card I don't know about.
Is there anyway you can help me find it?
Yes. You can use the collection tab to look at cards you don't even own.
Set the type of cards to regular, then set number owned to <= number of cards
owned. The cards that are blurred are the ones that you don't yet own. Type in
a card name in the search box and you can find out about all the cards I have
told you about in this faq. In the faq I rarely quote the exact text on the
cards so this will be a very useful feature for learning about cards.
Can I look at the pre-invasion cards. How do I do that?
Follow the steps in the above question, then clickthe box that says
"Show Pre-Invasion Cards". Now you can learn about whatMTG environment was like
before MTGO came out.
What are the clans?
Clans are groups of people who get together to communicate with each
other. Joining a clan gives you acces to a chat room of up to 20 people and
the name of that clan in your information box. The reason most clans form
are so member can have an easier time playing games with each other,
talk about drafting, deck ideas, etc. There are no special priveleges in
joining a clan, the main thing it gets you is that chat box. Each
clan can have up to 20 players. Clans very in their size and commitment to
the game, some of the most serious clans form with more than 20 players
by making multiple versions of themselves with different numbers.
Should I join a clan?
Clans are are a good idea for the most frequent and attentive player
of mtgo. As mentioned joining a clan will only really get you that chat box
(which take up space). When you join a clan the ideal thing to do is join a
group of friendly players who play the game quite frequently. There
are literally hundreds of clans to choose from and you can check them
out in the clans room in the advanced section of mtgo. I will not
reccomend any specific clan (although there are a few I could mention)
because they tend to change to much. But if you are very interested you can
try contacting me and I will reccomend somebody to you that way.
Are you gonna update this faqs or do more of them?
Since Version 3.0 of Magic will be out with in a few months of the
writing of this update, this will almost certianly be the last update of this
faq.
I want to make a comment/suggestion about this faq. How do I contact you?
Send me an e-mail,
[email protected] ,and make sure to write
something like "MTGO FAQ" in the subject line.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LEGAL STUFF
As of the writing of this update March 2006 only gamefaqs.com has the written
permision to use this faq.
I am not resposible for you if the information on this FAQ in inaccurate, out
of date or in anyway misleading. I give all credit to Wizards of the Coast
for making Magic The Gathering and Magic The Gathering Online.
If you wish to use this faq please try to contact me first and ask for
permission, and give credit to me, known online as crazyivanshow.
Thanks, and I hope you enjoy yourself online.
