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    Marland_Moore

    @Marland_Moore

    I started playing Magic in the fall of 1995 with some friends that I worked with at a bar. I took a quick liking to the game and soon wanted to be competitively. I purchased a Timetwister for $100 and I played at Gen Con in 1996 in both Type 2 and Type 1. I just remember loving the game and went all in at that point. I purchased all of the power cards with the exception of Black Lotus. I played mostly casually in college and when I got married I just played Friday night magic for a few years. Around 2010 I decided that I only wanted to play Vintage seriously. It was the year before my son was born and I played some very intense magic. My son was born and now I am limited to about one tournament a week. I play with my brother every week to test out decks and talk shit. I still love the game and I will never sell my cards.

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    Best posts made by Marland_Moore

    • RE: Why I want to be more casual

      I have played a lot and a little at various times over the years and at 2 points I stopped playing for over a year. Sometimes, you need a break. I do not think it is the cards, but fatigue.

      Honestly, if you invested the time you could build a mono-black deck that wins in this format. I have done it, it just takes time and commitment. The issue is not a single card, I think changing how you think about the game may bring back your enjoyment.

      Except for a very small number of cards, I see the issue with the players not the cards. I played around with Modern and Legacy, and Vintage is my format. I do recommend a break. If you view your collection as a treasure trove then dumping the cards will eventually happen.

      I have seen many players dump their collections with mixed emotions afterward. I personally view my collection as a piece of me and I am not willing to ever sell it unless I am about to be homeless, but that's me.

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • Building a vintage community

      I'd like to take a minute and thank Ben Perry @Shaman-Ben for organizing a consistent and cool vintage playing environment in Southeast Michigan (Detroit Metro). I have been playing for a long time and we have had a good community here but it was not very well organized. We were a spread out group who all just love playing cards, and @Shaman-Ben made it a consistent reality that we can all play every month and I am very thankful. Here is a interview with him on his efforts. This interview contains a lot of discussion on Old School magic but there is a significant discussion on building a vintage community for Vintage. Thanks Ben!

      http://www.wak-wak.se/9394/flippinorbs/2017-10-30/episode-8-eureka

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: N.Y.S.E. Open VI?

      I just want more large Vintage events. Due to life circumstances, I cannot make all of the events so the more events that there are, the better for everyone in my opinion.

      The prize support is never a consideration for me. My considerations are will my wife freak out if I go. So, I could not make it to Waterbury since it was on Mother's day weekend.

      I think doing cash gives us another great event for Vintage and if my family life allows me to attend based on the when the event is, then I will be there.

      posted in Vintage Tournaments
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: [GOR] Ral, Izzet Viceroy

      I have been testing with this guy and he is awesome. He literally closes out the game and he does it faster than Terferi. He may or may not work in Xerox. I'm going to try that next and the run some leagues and see how I finish but at first glance he is really good.

      posted in Single-Card Discussion
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • Theory of game play

      When I started playing magic there were 3 general deck types: Control, Aggro, Combo. I suppose you could add Tempo (Burn, Land destruction, etc… ) but land destruction was not a control deck, it had one simple goal – blow up your lands then kill you with some big dude so it is an Aggro deck like Burn, so the tempo deck often falls into the Aggro arch-type.

      The format evolved over the years and I see 5 main types: Aggro, Control, Combo, Trigger and Replacement (Dredge), Prison, but it is still 3 types. Prison is not really it’s own type either nor is Trigger and Replacement, they are both hybrids – Prison (Control/Aggro) and Trigger and Replacement (Combo/Aggro).

      There used to be a theory of the game that you needed 3 main arch-types for a healthy meta-game in Magic. You want a strong control deck that could stop spells on the stack, a fast and aggressive deck that could swam and overwhelm you with creatures, and a consistent and fast combo deck that put a clock on the number of turns. The idea was that Combo beat Aggro, Aggro beat Control, and Control beat Combo.

      The classification of Dredge as a Trigger and Replacement deck that plays as Combo/Aggro is broad, the deck is simply a hybrid. Shop decks have evolved with the restricted list and the new cards, often going from an Aggro deck to a Prison deck and back to an Aggro deck.

      The concept of Prison in the format creates big issues for organized play. When Trinisphere was unrestricted the meta-game was heavily skewed to beating decks that could resolve a first turn Trinisphere and play through it.

      Once Trinisphere was restricted, we still had Chalice of the Void and eventually Lodestone Golem, Thorn of Amethyst, Tangle Wire and the new cards from Kaladesh Foundry Inspector, and Chief of the Foundry. Dredge was born out of draw replacement effects from Ravanica Block and some very powerful cards in Timespiral block that motor the deck – Bridge from Below, and Narcomoeba, and Dread Return.

      Now I know, most of you know the history of the game and history of the decks in the Vintage format. I do not write this as a history lesson but to illustrate a point that I feel is missed by much of the conversation about the format. Restricting cards will not give you the meta-game you want, but it will re-balance the format back to classic triangle of Aggro -> Control -> Combo.

      The key to any healthy meta-game comes down to looking at the theory of how deck arch-types interact with each other. Cards like Treasure Cruise get over played because it makes Aggro much better against Combo and Control, and break the triangle. Cards like Monstary Mentor give Control decks a Combo style finish that overwhelms most Aggro decks, again breaking the triangle.

      The recent results of the Eternal Champs did not show a broken arch-type in the Aggro category, but illustrates that the classic Aggro versus Control match is still and always in favor of Aggro decks. I think the focus of eliminating Prison style decks from play has had a big impact on the meta-game since most players hate playing in a format where Prison is heavily played because of the un-fun game play that gives you very little player interaction.

      The Dredge deck, which for now I will classify as Aggro, illustrates a hole in trying to apply game theory here. The fact that you can slow the deck down or temporarily shut it down with graveyard hate and blocking their triggers and replacement effects treats the deck like a combo deck, but when they play Aggro with Hallowed One and Gurmag Angler and the deck goes into Aggro mode it makes it difficult to play against the deck both ways. If the deck were purely Combo, then you just focus on shutting down the Combo if it were Aggro you focus on killing the swarm.

      When I read through the threads about Vintage, I see a lot of complaining and not much theory. I want to know if players want a “balanced” format because I see a balanced format or if players want to play their blue decks and win more often with Control out pacing Aggro which is against the theory of the game and looks a lot like Legacy.

      I personally think we not looking at all of the factors involved in playing a single deck for 10hrs straight. You need a very consistent deck that needs to break the triangle at several points during play. You can probably break the triangle and have Control beat Aggro a few times but when Aggro is very heavily represented in an event then your percentage chances of making a mistake or just losing to a lucky top deck increase each round.

      I remember getting so mad while playing control decks in large events where I out played the player across from me, who was playing Aggro, but they grabbed that one card for the win and I lost. The theory of the game says that Aggro will have that edge against Control. I want a balanced meta-game and to me that means that Aggro has an edge against Control and Control has an edge against Combo and Combo has an edge against Aggro. What I really want right now is the Combo deck to be a bit stronger, and I know there are Combo decks out there but I do not see a deck consistent enough to last 10 rounds. I usually build all 3 types of the decks and play the one that feels best, even if I lose.

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: Team Serious Open - 5/19/18 at the Kidforce Collectibles Berea, OH

      @moorebrother1 My dreams of being a pro have been crushed by my awful attitude about MTGO. Playing in any paper event is better than MTGO.

      posted in Vintage Tournaments
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: Just checking in

      @brass-man I check this site everyday, I check Discord twice a week, and I look for youtube content about once a week. The format is healthy but I personally can only take so much MTGO so I play in spurts.

      I am really waiting for paper events to fire again and engage with players face to face that is the part of the community that I enjoy the most.

      I miss the content and articles from some of the old guard that was posting here before but have not posted in a longtime. Voices like Steve Menendian @Smmenen and Brian Kelly and others. I really appreciate the work that Joe Dyer is doing over at MTG Goldfish. I love the work that Justin Gennari @IamActuallyLvL1 is doing, and he is a true asset to the Vintage community. Vintage also gets some love from a few podcasts out there like The Eternal Glory podcast, Leaving a Legacy, and Eternal Durdles but those are all mainly Legacy casts that has some Vintage updates from time to time.

      I'm not sure how we have more conversation on the site. I try to write posts to engage in conversation and most of the time I feel like I'm failing. I won't stop trying but I do not have the time to sit and write lengthy articles with tons of data points. I want to discuss strategy and innovation.

      The promise of apps/sites like Discord is that you get more voices but I feel that the opposite may actually be true.

      I come here is feel some since of a community but if I'm being honest it has been fading and it is noticeably less of what it used to be. I'm hoping that will turn around as we get out of Covid and people come back together.

      Thanks for keeping this site going, I really appreciate your work!

      posted in TheManaDrain Metadiscussion
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • How to beat this deck threads?

      We spend a fair amount of time here discussing how to make decks better and some time on match ups. I do not see any threads on how do I beat this deck. I wanted to start some threads on How do I beat Jeskai and How do I beat Paradoxical and How do I beat Shops?

      I see in various decklists that few selections are made now on how do I beat this deck and more on how do I win more or how do I not get hosed. There is a subtitle but important difference here.

      Looking at a Kelly Oath deck you see card choices on meta that scream I beat this deck with these cards. I see in the Waterbury results several decks that ran Cavern of Souls, why? I know someone will post an obvious answer but if you are running a one of land with no tutor and 6 filter cards + some draw, do the math. Your chances of seeing it when you want it are around 25% maybe lower.

      Any interest in this discussion or should I just go to Facebook and ask my friends?

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • Team Serious Open Report

      I played in the Team Serious Open for the first time and I managed a 3-2 record. I played a new deck based on Karn, Scion of Urza and Paradoxical Outcome. Since I picked Karn, I cut Mentor and without Mentor I decided to just play Mono-Blue

      4 Paradoxical Outcome
      3 Karn, Scion of Urza
      1 Blightsteel Colossus
      1 Tezzeret, the Seeker
      1 Erayo,
      1 Snapcaster Mage
      1 Tinker
      1 Ponder
      1 Echoing Truth
      1 Dig Through Time
      1 Brainstorm
      1 Brain Freeze
      1 Treasure Cruise
      1 Merchant Scroll
      1 Gush
      1 Ancestal Recall
      1 Time Walk
      1 Timetwister
      2 Voltaic Key
      2 Sensei's Divining Top
      1 Mana Crypt
      1 Sol Ring
      1 Mox Pearl
      1 Mox Ruby
      1 Mox Emerald
      1 Mox Sapphire
      1 Mox Jet
      1 Black Lotus
      1 Time Vault
      2 Mox Opal
      1 Chrome Mox
      1 Mana Crypt
      2 Flusterstorm
      4 Force of Will
      6 Island
      2 Misty Rainforest
      2 Scalding Tarn
      2 Flooded Strand
      1 Library of Alexandria
      1 Tolerain Academy

      Sideboard
      3 Hurkyl's Recall
      2 Reality Shift
      2 Mental Misstep
      4 Tormod's Crypt
      4 Grafdigger's Cage

      Round 1 - Rajah playing Shops
      He went first and that pretty much decided the game. He led with a Thorn and I played a land Mox, Crypt. He played Revoker on Crypt which kept me off of Karn. I was flooded with Land for a while and got a top which he played a Revoker and that did it. Game 2, I had a slow start but I got a turn 2 Karn that he played a Revoker on it and I have one construct. He played Traxos and I could not catch up even though the construct was almost be enough to kill Traxos I never saw any business spells.

      Round 2 - Kyle playing Pyromancer
      Game 1 I just never got anything going. Game 2 I got Karn to work and we went the distance. Game 3 this is where I see the power of Erayo. She is just awesome. I flipped her turn one and he never recovered. I played a Karn and the beatings were just too much.

      Round 3 - Jacob playing Enchantress
      Game 1 was another Erayo flip and I win soon after that. Game 2 he plays an early Mystic Remora, and I play Tezzeret, the Seeker and Time Vault. I played more artifacts which gave him more cards. In hindsight, I should have grabbed a Key then kept grabbing moxes and then ramped up Tezzeret. I got the win with an army of 5/5 artifact creatures.

      Round 4 - Matt playing Paradoxical Mentor.
      Game 1, I have a busted hand. I go for an early Paradoxical Outcome for 3 and he forces it. Turn 2 I play Tinker Blightsteel. He searches he library for a solution with a Dig and Preordain and an Ancestral Recall. He did have a Key but no Vault so I get the early win on turn 3. Game 2 he gets the early win with a Tinker for Blightsteel. Game 3 I just go crazy with Paradoxical Outcome on turn 2 and Brainfreeze him for 15. He has about 6 cards left and next turn I play Snapcaster on the Brainfreeze for the win.

      Round 5 - Frank playing Lands
      Game 1 This was my first time going being on the play all day. I had a good hand with Library, Tolerian, Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Tinker and Force of Will and Brainfreeze. I made a horrible play mistake that cost me the game. Instead can casting the Sol Ring and Vault off of the Library I just play Library expecting to either get more cards or draw another mana source. He wastes my Library, and I have to Force a Null Rod. I never see a mana source in 5 turns so he does what his deck is supposed to do and hits me with a 20/20. Game 2 was a nothing for me. I just had nothing the whole game.

      I really liked this deck. I need to really learn it and make better mulligan decisions. The sideboard was OK but I think 1 or 2 Blue Blasts would be nice and one other bounce spell over Reality Shift, which is really there for Eldrazi, Humans and Shops. This will be my fun deck to play for a while.

      posted in Tournament Reports
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: Becoming a better player

      I came in 20th at SCG Con. So, thanks for all of the advice and tolerating my belly aching over MTGO. I cannot make it to Champs this year because I am welcoming my 3rd child into the world.

      I hope to make it to another large event because I played day one on 2hrs of sleep and I made play mistakes on day two that cost me top 8 so I know I can do better.

      Thanks to everyone in the community for their advice. It helped!!!

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore

    Latest posts made by Marland_Moore

    • RE: Playing Magic over the long haul

      @thewhitedragon69 I played a lot of Old School back in 2018 but the community locally really kind of died out in south eastern Michigan when Ben Perry stepped away from organizing.

      I enjoyed playing Old School, it was a ton of fun to balance out the more competitive nature of sanctioned events.

      I would play in Old School events local or an hour or so away if there were any. I hope Jaco returns to the scene to do the player's ball at some point.

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • Playing Magic over the long haul

      I know several of you who still lurk here have been playing Magic for a very long time, like over two decades like me.

      This used to mean that you understood the game and had a certain level of expertise. I have come to learn that playing over the long haul has several negatives as well as positives. My relationship with the game has changed as my life has changed. It is hard for me to be in constant "play hard mode" but I hate playing casual.

      The power creep era from 2019 through 2021 felt like I had to learn how to play magic again.

      I have been lucky to have certain advantages like money and, at times, a good player base. The hard part lately for me is finding the fun in the game especially in Vintage. I play Modern in a kind of casual way with my brother, we build tier 1 decks and play through a gauntlet over beers. I take Vintage kind of serious where I like to build at least 2 tier 1 decks in MTGO but lately I cannot find any joy in Vintage.

      Playing Magic for a very long time and keeping the game fun feels hard. I often remind myself that this is a hobby and it is a game. People complain that this is an expensive hobby but I'm not sure if anyone has priced out how much it cost to play golf, like really play golf. That is the hobby most of my peers are into and it is more expensive than paper Vintage right now, no joke.

      The game shifts with the power level of new sets and I had time to get really good again back in 2017 - 2018 after losing a lot in 2016 I wanted to get good again and I put in the time. I got good and started to see results but I had a 3rd kid and backed off.

      I started to get very serious again last year, and started to see results again in leagues but I no longer like the current Vintage meta. The time commitment also took its toll with my family. I was playing 3-4 nights a week, and that is hard with a family.

      The largest issue I am struggling with is having fun playing MTGO but also having it feel worth it. Magic is a great outlet and great hobby but it can be all consuming. I like playing "junk" decks or jank that I like to have fun but those decks often lose to the tier 1 decks. The leagues used to be fun and now they feel repetitive or dumb.

      Based on my life schedule Challenges are out of reach and without something to work toward playing MTGO feels pointless. I don't want to be a trophy grinder. The gathering was keeping this fun and those are only just starting to come back.

      All of this is reach out to you old timers and ask how do you stay engaged? What keeps you in the game? I have pulled away and come back several times. I like buying paper cards and I keep my collection up to date but I find that had to justify on MTGO.

      I really just don't like MTGO much or any digital version of Magic, it is not why I play Magic. I own a PS 5 and a Nintendo Switch, and honestly the videos games I buy for those platforms are just more fun than MTGO.

      This post was a reaction to the latest Eternal Glory podcast, which is about coaching. It is a really good podcast and I recommend it but it reminded me about "leveling up" as I have done many times over the years but I usually back off because there is not much to gain from getting to the top.

      There is nothing wrong with wanting to be at the top of the Magic heap but when I make the necessary life trade-offs that always falls to the bottom of my list. I have a very successful career and family, those things always win and Magic is a hobby.

      I can make myself better when I want to and I have risen to top before and backed off when I could have gone further. I just want Vintage to be fun again. I love this game and love Vintage the most, but lately it has not been fun. If I'm going to keep playing for another two decades I have to find that spark again.

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • Dark Depths

      @IamActuallyLvL1 just posted a new video with mono green depth and he went 5-1 in the Vintage challenge.

      4 Allosaurus Shepherd
      4 Elvish Reclaimer
      4 Elvish Spirit Guide
      1 Sylvan Safekeeper
      4 Sylvan Scrying
      4 Crop Rotation
      1 Force of Vigor
      4 Once Upon a Time
      1 Black Lotus
      1 Lotus Petal
      1 Mox Emerald
      1 Mox Jet
      1 Mox Pearl
      1 Mox Ruby
      1 Mox Sapphire
      4 Pithing Needle
      1 Bojuka Bog
      4 Dark Depths
      4 Forest
      1 Ghost Quarter
      1 Karakas
      1 Misty Rainforest
      1 Strip Mine
      1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
      4 Thespian's Stage
      1 Verdant Catacombs
      1 Wasteland
      1 Windswept Heath
      1 Wooded Foothills
      1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

      Sideboard
      3 Force of Vigor
      1 Chalice of the Void
      4 Collector Ouphe
      3 Endurance
      4 Leyline of the Void

      Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YvkHDcRdJ0

      This is the most innovative deck that I have seen in a long time and it is competitive. I may have to buy into it and try it out. Hopefully there is someone out there that wants to discuss and develop this deck.

      posted in Vintage Strategy
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: One Year of Modern Horizons 2 Vintage Data

      This is truly amazing content. Thank you for compiling this data and doing the analysis.

      posted in Vintage Strategy
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: StoneBlade

      @iamactuallylvl1 I obviously cannot take any credit here but I am enjoying that Stone Forge is not creeping into the top tier when there was so much doubt about it's power level.

      I think the arch type has a lot of potential in the current meta and will continue to do well.

      posted in Vintage Strategy
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: [SNC] Ledger Shredder

      I have them in paper but they cost way too much on MTGO. When they go down again, I have several brews to try out.

      posted in Single-Card Discussion
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: StoneBlade

      @iamactuallylvl1 I have been trying to get Ledger Shredders to play with. That card is awesome but hard to get on MTGO right now.

      posted in Vintage Strategy
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: Format Inertia

      @thewhitedragon69 You are absolutely correctly, that this is just is. My point here was something that @Smmenen brought up in their last podcast. Vintage has always been a format that exploits fast and free spells. My point about MH1 and MH2 is that we got a lot more "free" spells and many more fast spells that have really locked the format into it's arch types.

      I'm not making a judgement, more of a statement about format identity.

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: Format Inertia

      I have been listening to and reading content about Legacy and the current woes of the format. The things that relate to this topic are:

      • Defining format identity - What do you expect from the format? What should the format look like?

      • Arch types and format staples impact on the health of the format - Are the arch types that define the format "healthy" for the format?

      Looking at Vintage the various content providers basically summed up Vintage as a format defined by 3 arch types:

      • Blue soup
      • Workshop
      • Bazaar

      This is where the Inertia in the format sits and has sat for many years. The triangle of Vintage has always been can you play a deck to compete against these 3 arch types.

      My question - Is this too limiting to the format? Is this heathy? Vintage has never been a play what you want format but it has been a format of over powered cards. Part of what I love about Vintage is how you can magnify the power of so many synergies and play stuff that does not look good but plays well.

      My concern with the current inertia is that MH1 and MH2 has begun to lock the format into too narrow of an identity. I know most Vintage players do not share this concern but to be fair most Vintage players just play the same arch type or deck over and over. There is nothing wrong with that and mastery should be rewarded but it creates inertia.

      I highly recommend checking out - https://itsjulian.com/121-is-it-time-for-the-nuclear-option-with-lawrence-harmon/

      They do a very good summarizing what is format health and identity and their perspective on Vintage is pretty good.

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore
    • RE: Format Inertia

      @thewhitedragon69 Your argument is mostly true, but HollowVine had the cards to exist for years before someone put it together and tuned it to work.

      If a deck is not "turnkey" like 8cast today, you usually will not see it come together without someone doing the work to get over the inertia.

      posted in Vintage Community
      Marland_Moore
      Marland_Moore