The first article I wrote about Magic the gathering was just an introduction. The next few articles are going to cover certain topics more in depth. Today I will discuss the metagame of MTG.
What is the metagame you ask? I don’t think that one definition describes the metagame. It is several things at once, it the ambiance of tournament play, it’s the different decks used, the different methods and play styles of the players there.
Customarily the metagame starts at a pro tour event. The pro tour players really set into motion more than they can imagine. It is off their decks that most of the players around the world set up their own decks. Certain deck ideas pervade the tournament world. Control decks, draw-go, burn, green stompy. Those ideas seem to be everywhere, and can always be found. But it’s the truly unique ideas that get the most attention. Decks such as replenish can completely alter the way magic is played at tournaments. It’s the new ideas that set the metagame for magic.
Cards can also set the metagame for tournaments. Certain cards can have a huge impact at tournaments around the globe. Two such examples are Masticore, and Morphling. These two cards are what we magic aficionados call broken. That means that they have crazy abilities for little or not consequence. Morphling is considered by most to be the best creature card that WoTC has ever produced. Masticore has to come in a close second. These creatures completely changed the way we thought about monsters and helped to define the metagame.
And finally the last part of the metagame has to do with the atmosphere of tournament play. I have been to several different tournaments in my area, nothing big mind you, but the whole atmosphere changes from casual play. There is an undercurrent of competitiveness, but also of curiosity. Magic is such a huge game with so many cards that every match could hold something new. And for me its that simple reason that keeps drawing me back. What has someone else down with the same cards that I have, that perhaps I have never even thought about. And how well will decks that I build stack up against them?
The bottom line is that the metagame is different for everyone. Its something that can never really be defined only experienced.