Joy and Thankfulness
MagicCons are always special and a good time. This one was no different.
A lot of work goes into these events by a lot of smart and incredibly talented people.
As we celebrated the end of the show, a group of us in the show office went around and shared a one-word answer to represent this show and weekend.
My word was 'joy' - working for a game company can feel sometimes like a silly job but there is no more important sensation or feeling to people these days than that one. And everywhere I looked, everyone I spoke with, and even what I felt inside as I walked the event... It was joy.
Unfiltered. Pure. Social joy.
This evening, after a great dinner with coworkers and now back in my hotel room with my feet up and resting my poor aching lower back - that joy was bloomed into thankfulness.
Thankful for the road I'm on. Thankful to call so many of those smart and incredibly talented people my friends. Thankful that I get to be home with Katie and our dogs tomorrow. Just thankful.
What a magical weekend. Pun fully fucking intended.
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#MTGxFINALFANTASY DogDog Updates
So I teased yesterday that I would do a thread about my updates to my DogDog deck, and I literally was 80% done writing the Bluesky post thread when I realized that I was being dumb and that I should just make the update here.
[Obligatory disclaimer for those who stumble here and don't know who I am, I do work for Wizards of the Coast, makers of Magic: The Gathering.]
Introduction and Background
Okay, so DogDog is my mono-green spin-off of the "Forgetful Fish" DanDan variant of Magic. I've had this deck and modified it for the past few years. The new Final Fantasy set had a lot of cards worth considering.
The deck is shared between both players, and for what I am trying to do I have developed a few rules around the deck's construction which are helpful to know as it answers a lot of "why not card X?":
- Green or colorless cards only
- The only creature in the deck can be Wild Mongrel, so also no tokens
- No equipment, (proved to be too powerful)
- No searching
Cards I considered
This fits the spirit, and mechanically the ability to bounce a land that could then be discarded is a good synergy I am interested in. BUT I worry that "Bite" spells may be too strong. (Bite spells are ones where the creature dealing damage doesn't also potentially take damage, such as with "Fight" spells.)
Next up, Blitzball Shot. A pretty direct pump spell. It is up against Wildsize in the deck, which is one mana more for one less P/T, but importantly is a cantrip spell. Card draw is a big thing with this, so I'll tell you now that this one doesn't make the cut for me.
After that I looked at Tifa's Limit Break because Tiered is interesting to me the same way Spree was from OTJ. 3 mana to double is pretty potent, but I think it plays into the deck's design because it still relies on having the dog. Plus the deck has answers that work regardless of power.
Next is a late addition, literally as I was writing this post. As mentioned, card draw is a big deal for the deck. Green's color identity makes card draw a unique challenge to try and capture some of the spirit which makes the DanDan format fun. This difficulty is such that we rely on things like Introduction to Prophecy. But, Instant Ramen is instant speed card draw, and a potential life boost. I haven't done a lot with life gain, instead opting for fog effects. So, we're going to give it a try.
After that, I am looking at Eden, Seat of the Sanctum. This one is super exciting for digging for another dog to play from the deck, but it also is another way to mess with the deck order in case your opponent scryed something on top. You can mill 2 and choose not to sacrifice (if you have the mana.)
I looked hard at Lifestream's Blessing. It is in a space I really like... theoretically. Early versions of the DogDog deck had Momentous Downfall, which is in this same space. Sadly, it got cut because it never did the thing it was supposed to do. So this sort of card ends up being a 'Magical Christmasland' dream. I want the deck to be entirely gas and this just falls too far into the speculative.
And the final card which I looked at from FF is Yuna's Whistle. I love it. It sidesteps the "no searching" deck rule, while guaranteeing a player gets a new (and improved!) dog. I have a small concern it may prove too good, but we're going to test it and see.
Deck Changes
So, with the seven cards from the set and Commander, what are we changing?
First, expanding the deck. I'm fairly happy with the size, I've only played three games (of hundreds?) which ended with an empty deck. But I also think the deck can grow some.
| +/- | Card Name |
|---|---|
| +2 | Yuna's Whistle |
| +2 | Eden, Seat of the Sanctum |
| +2 | Instant Ramen |
| +2 | Tifa's Limit Break |
| +2 | Chocobo Kick |
| +2 | Wild Mongrel |
| +2 | Forest |
So the cards I discussed not being added: Lifestream's Blessing & Blitzball Shot. And since this is a deck expansion and not just swapping, I'm adding both Dogs and Forests to help with the ratios.
Cards being removed:
| +/- | Card Name |
|---|---|
| -2 | Smuggler's Surprise |
| -2 | Bequeathal |
Bequeathal is the weakest card in the deck but I like the play pattern it suggests, encouraging dog on dog violence. And I just had too many Smuggler's Surprises, so pulling that down.
As a result of these changes the deck becomes 100 cards which is a pleasing number and I can't wait to start playing it with these changes and see how it runs!
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Some things never change
Back in 2007, when I started ManaNation's website; one of the big subjects of comment spam that the site would regularly get was for house deck/porch construction. The reason for this was simple, the homonym use of 'deck' for Magic: The Gathering (#wotcstaff) and for the home construction project of a 'deck.'
Here it is 17 years later and last night I noticed that X was serving me deck railing ads:
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Did a Reel for work today
For the weekend I'm in Amsterdam for work and today I got on camera and recorded a brief video for it.
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Me playing Magic on stream
Capturing for posterity, me at work, playing Magic on stream yesterday piloting the Masters of Evil commander deck from the upcoming release.
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I shared this online yesterday but neglected to post it here. I'm working in our garage, cleaning it and organizing it, this week and in doing so came across a fun personal memento from the first major Magic event I attended as press.
Before working for Wizards itself, I had started a fan website and video podcast called ManaNation. The 2007 World Championships was the first major event we attended and opened a lot of doors that eventually led me to working for Wizards.
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I was not expecting the video I did for work yesterday to be as popular as it was, but glad people are enjoying some esoteric Magic history & trivia.
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