Pantagruel said: bken1234 said: Pantagruel said: bken1234 said: Pantagruel said: Re: VigilanceThe fact is that combat damage is mostly irrelevant in this game, and almost entirely irrelevant at median and high levels of play. In paper MTG, you can choose to block, you can choose not to block, you can choose to gang up with your blockers, and creatures and life totals have a far smaller varience. Blocking is very different in MTGPQ.The wrong amount of damage to deal to any creature is any finite amount of damage, because it might live. This is exactly the reason why MTGPQ effects that kill, exile, or even bounce creatures are better effects than those which deal damage. You need a very good reason to run Exquisite Firecraft in a deck; but you wouldn't think it at all unusual to run Final Payment. Exquisite Firecraft is easily in 80% of my red or R/X decks. My good reason is it exists and is infinitely useful with my playstyle. Yes, but as you repeatedly say yourself, you don't play competitively because it isn't fun. I say I don’t aim to play competitively. In my last 4 events I have finished 90%, 85%, 100% and 93%. Cut Exquisite Firecraft from your red decks and you might find yourself with a win average above 91%.
bken1234 said: Pantagruel said: bken1234 said: Pantagruel said: Re: VigilanceThe fact is that combat damage is mostly irrelevant in this game, and almost entirely irrelevant at median and high levels of play. In paper MTG, you can choose to block, you can choose not to block, you can choose to gang up with your blockers, and creatures and life totals have a far smaller varience. Blocking is very different in MTGPQ.The wrong amount of damage to deal to any creature is any finite amount of damage, because it might live. This is exactly the reason why MTGPQ effects that kill, exile, or even bounce creatures are better effects than those which deal damage. You need a very good reason to run Exquisite Firecraft in a deck; but you wouldn't think it at all unusual to run Final Payment. Exquisite Firecraft is easily in 80% of my red or R/X decks. My good reason is it exists and is infinitely useful with my playstyle. Yes, but as you repeatedly say yourself, you don't play competitively because it isn't fun. I say I don’t aim to play competitively. In my last 4 events I have finished 90%, 85%, 100% and 93%.
Pantagruel said: bken1234 said: Pantagruel said: Re: VigilanceThe fact is that combat damage is mostly irrelevant in this game, and almost entirely irrelevant at median and high levels of play. In paper MTG, you can choose to block, you can choose not to block, you can choose to gang up with your blockers, and creatures and life totals have a far smaller varience. Blocking is very different in MTGPQ.The wrong amount of damage to deal to any creature is any finite amount of damage, because it might live. This is exactly the reason why MTGPQ effects that kill, exile, or even bounce creatures are better effects than those which deal damage. You need a very good reason to run Exquisite Firecraft in a deck; but you wouldn't think it at all unusual to run Final Payment. Exquisite Firecraft is easily in 80% of my red or R/X decks. My good reason is it exists and is infinitely useful with my playstyle. Yes, but as you repeatedly say yourself, you don't play competitively because it isn't fun.
bken1234 said: Pantagruel said: Re: VigilanceThe fact is that combat damage is mostly irrelevant in this game, and almost entirely irrelevant at median and high levels of play. In paper MTG, you can choose to block, you can choose not to block, you can choose to gang up with your blockers, and creatures and life totals have a far smaller varience. Blocking is very different in MTGPQ.The wrong amount of damage to deal to any creature is any finite amount of damage, because it might live. This is exactly the reason why MTGPQ effects that kill, exile, or even bounce creatures are better effects than those which deal damage. You need a very good reason to run Exquisite Firecraft in a deck; but you wouldn't think it at all unusual to run Final Payment. Exquisite Firecraft is easily in 80% of my red or R/X decks. My good reason is it exists and is infinitely useful with my playstyle.
Pantagruel said: Re: VigilanceThe fact is that combat damage is mostly irrelevant in this game, and almost entirely irrelevant at median and high levels of play. In paper MTG, you can choose to block, you can choose not to block, you can choose to gang up with your blockers, and creatures and life totals have a far smaller varience. Blocking is very different in MTGPQ.The wrong amount of damage to deal to any creature is any finite amount of damage, because it might live. This is exactly the reason why MTGPQ effects that kill, exile, or even bounce creatures are better effects than those which deal damage. You need a very good reason to run Exquisite Firecraft in a deck; but you wouldn't think it at all unusual to run Final Payment.
Bubbles_CS said: +1 for Exquisite Firecraft being a high-quality burn spell. I can’t speak to what belongs in the “best decks” by a win-percentage metric (this is a fun game for me too, by which I mean I don’t care to optimize from 95% win to 98% or whatever) but this card is very good in a Ral deck seeking to burn face. Burning creatures is the backup plan because the primary goal is to lob enough fire to not need to think about opposing creatures, which in this case makes it more useful (being an actual win condition) than any spell that only removes creatures (a don’t-lose condition).
My conclusion is that far more cards will be improved by the change than worsened.The +3 and +2 cards are going to see much more play (and I see that as a good thing in general.)The -3 and -2 cards will be less useful. Most of these cards are carefully designed around their tendency to die, and the change to Vigilance wrecks that careful balance.My suggestion to Oktagon: In light of the change to Vigilance, consider whether some or all of the -3 and -2 cards (and maybe some -1 cards) should be changed to have Defender instead of Vigilance.
Oktagon_Support said: UPDATE* New Q&A info.