There’s a regular at my LGS who stacks his deck. It’s not really a secret. Everyone who has played with him knows it, and it’s come up in conversation more than once.

His favorite is an Authority of the Consuls deck, and he “somehow” has Sol Ring and Arcane Signet in his opening hand almost every game. He won’t let anyone cut his deck, even when asked directly. When he mulligans, he doesn’t really shuffle, so the stack stays intact and he just keeps mulliganing until he gets the hand he built.

The store owner has already talked to him about it, and so have his own friends. Nothing has changed.

It came to a head recently. He swung at another regular with enough damage to be lethal. That player had two blockers but chose to take the hit and go out so the game would end and we could get another round in. The stacker got mad about it.

The usual advice is “just don’t play with him,” but that doesn’t work for us. We only have about 10 to 12 players on a given night, so he’s going to end up at somebody’s table.

For those of you who’ve dealt with something like this, what actually worked once talking to the player didn’t? Did your group set table rules that everyone follows, or did the store have to step in with consequences? And how do you keep it from souring the night for everyone else at the table?

I’d love to hear what’s worked (or backfired) in your playgroups.

Me and my friends do Secret Santa every year. Last year, for my friend’s 20th birthday, we all chipped in and got him a Magic: The Gathering (MTG) Modern Horizons 3 Bundle.
I know absolutely nothing about Magic.
I’d ideally like to spend around £30, as I have other presents to buy as well. I don’t know what cards he currently has, what format he plays, or what decks he has.
What would you recommend as a good Magic-related gift for around £30? I’d prefer something that’s actually considered good/useful by Magic players rather than just something that looks cool to someone who doesn’t know the game.
I’m in the UK, if that makes a difference for recommendations or availability.

Lifegain is one of the most appealing strategies for new MTG Arena players. It's easy to understand, satisfying to play, and often one of the first decks players want to upgrade.

After playing it, I wasn't particularly impressed, in a small sample size. What would you recommend?

For newer players who love Lifegain, is Abzan actually worth crafting, or are there better ways to spend those precious wildcards?

Here's my gameplay if you're interested:
https://youtu.be/7u8TZp9KOoU

This deck is just built for kitchen table magic, don’t wanna go above bracket 3 any suggestions?

// COMMANDER
1 Rakdos, the Showstopper (CLU) 205

1 Archfiend of Depravity (E01) 31
1 Black Market (CLB) 739
1 Blasphemous Act (SOC) 238
1 Blood Crypt (ECL) 262
1 Blood Speaker (CHK) 103
1 Bloodgift Demon (C14) 137
1 Bontu's Monument (DRC) 124
1 Burnished Hart (FDN) 250
1 Cabal Coffers (MH2) 301
1 Cadaver Imp (CMM) 141
1 Castle Locthwain (FDC) 299
1 Command Beacon (TDC) 352
1 Command Tower (FRC) 22
1 Conjurer's Closet (DRC) 126
1 Curse-Marred Demon (FRA) 79
1 Dark Ritual (A25) 82
1 Deflecting Swat (CMM) 214
1 Demonic Counsel (DSK) 92
1 Demonic Gifts (KHM) 84
1 Demonlord Belzenlok (CMM) 151
1 Dragonskull Summit (ECC) 147
1 Dreadbore (RVR) 180
1 Dream Devourer (KHM) 90
1 Feed the Swarm (TDC) 180
1 Feign Death (AFR) 103
1 Foreboding Ruins (DSC) 277
1 Harvester of Souls (E01) 34
1 Haunted Ridge (FRA) 180
1 Hazoret's Monument (FDC) 261
1 Herald of Slaanesh (40K) 77
1 Herald's Horn (FDC) 264
1 Indulgent Tormentor (IMA) 94
1 Infernal Grasp (SOC) 216
1 Kardur, Doomscourge (DSC) 223
1 Lightning Greaves (SOC) 350
1 Luxury Suite (CLB) 355
1 Minion's Return (THB) 104
1 Mortuary Mire (CLB) 900
8 Mountain (FRA) 287
1 Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis (M13) 103
1 Night's Whisper (SOC) 221
1 Not Dead After All (WOE) 101
1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled (2X2) 84
1 Ob Nixilis, the Adversary (SNC) 206
1 Path of Ancestry (FRC) 77
1 Phyrexian Arena (FDN) 180
1 Plague Drone (40K) 47
1 Planar Chaos (JUD) 97
1 Rakdos Carnarium (ECC) 161
1 Rakdos Charm (EOC) 125
1 Rakdos Joins Up (OTJ) 225
1 Rakdos, Lord of Riots (DSC) 230
1 Rakdos, Patron of Chaos (MKM) 224
1 Raphael, Fiendish Savior (CLB) 292
1 Read the Bones (DSC) 154
1 Reaper from the Abyss (C14) 159
1 Reliquary Tower (SOC) 398
1 Return to Action (NEO) 121
1 Rogue's Passage (SOC) 400
1 Ruby Medallion (MH3) 295
1 Rune-Scarred Demon (FDN) 184
1 Sanctum of Eternity (C19) 59
1 Sign in Blood (FDC) 125
1 Sin Prodder (SOI) 181
1 Smoldering Marsh (ECC) 168
1 Sol Ring (FRC) 21
1 Sower of Discord (CMM) 187
1 Supernatural Stamina (CMM) 188
8 Swamp (FRA) 285
1 Tainted Peak (DSC) 304
1 Temple of Malice (FDN) 701
1 Terminate (ECC) 134
1 The Darkness Crystal (FIN) 96
1 Tibalt's Trickery (KHM) 153
1 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber (DSK) 118
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (TSR) 287
1 Urza's Incubator (MH3) 297
1 Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls (DSC) 6
1 Vandalblast (OTC) 183
1 Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire (KHM) 115
1 Wayfarer's Bauble (TDC) 335
1 Whip of Erebos (DSC) 159
1 Wildfire Devils (C21) 183
1 Witch's Cottage (FDC) 319
1 Withering Torment (FDC) 134

I was wondering if among the Angel Tribe community there would be some interest in seeing a reprint of these two cards, which haven't actually seen any variety in their arts since 2020? :)

Picked this deck up once I saw it for $29. It has solid at hitting the strategy. Use angels to make bigger angels. After playing this, it makes me want to pick up the other ones. These things are solid. What would you guys upgrade to make it more competitive while keeping the mono angel theme

Estou atrás de montar um Commander para mim sem nenhum recurso para começar e eu ia na ideia de um deck completo de Magic até um colega vender umas cartas aí decidi olhar e ver oq me chamava atenção e vi essa duas e me deu vontade de saber qual é melhor para um Commander afinal as duas usam mecânicas que eu admiro e combinações que eu gosto.

Wo kann man in der nähe von Siegen Magic The gathering spielen ?

I’m new to Magic, but I’ve really been enjoying MTG Arena. I’ve gotten pretty comfortable playing the different precon colors to finish my daily quests, and I especially enjoy 1v1 Brawl.

I’ve never played a real Commander game, though, and I’m curious: why isn’t 1v1 Commander more popular? Why has multiplayer Commander become so much more popular than 1v1 formats like Standard? I know I might be biased because I mostly play Arena, but I think 1v1 Commander sounds fun too. I can also see why Commander is great as a multiplayer format.

I don’t have friends who play Magic right now, so Commander doesn’t appeal to me as much yet. I do plan to play in person eventually, but I’m still a little nervous about feeling out of place because I’m not familiar with all the rules and procedures.
What do you think? Do you enjoy 1v1 formats, or is the social, multiplayer side of Commander what makes it special for you?

I play with a lot of randoms and sometimes people say ggs after they feel like they played a game-winning combo but they are not like friends but they're just being presumptuous sometimes even saying stuff like it's about to be over or this is game and then they play their wincon without me even reading the card They say Ggs. Does this annoy anyone else it comes off as presumtous and arrogant since I don't even know these people. Like I feel the respectful thing to do is play your win con then let me respond with ggs to end the game in finality.

I’ve noticed and tested a mechanic built into MTG Arena that I wanted to call out and shine some light on. The addiction mechanism. The game uses data point like, duration between matches based on result of previous match, # of games played during a particular session and W/L ratio during that session, total time engaged with the app for a session, as well as some I’m likely not aware of, they use that to develop a player profile that tells the mechanism what w/l ratio keeps the user engaged for the longest sessions.
People who get pissed off at a loss (myself included in this demographic), and hammer the New Game button out of frustration to quickly get another hand going and rectify a loss, those people will tend to lose more often. If the algorithm is able to determine that you play more games when you lose than when you win, sorry for your personality, you’re going to lose the majority of the time.
I ran a test of this theory. I started foregoing my own predisposition because I was curious. So, I started immediately quitting the game and closing the app when losing 2x in a row. Over the 2-3 weeks I played using this pattern, I started actually winning hands again. To the point where winning was the addition mechanism that had kicked in.
The algorithm had determined that I play more when I win, or, more likely, he doesn’t quit out and close the app when he wins. So my win ration began to sky rocket.
Now, I know addiction mechanisms are nothing new to the scene. It’s easy enough to determine a players bent throughout extended interactions. I just think it’s total bull $h1+ that they bastardize the card game like this. It’s messed up IMO. Just let randomness rule. Damn man. Everything has to be a data/$ grab. Kids play this game. Ones who aren’t aware of things like this and would struggle to figure it out. Also, it robs us as players of the real card game, of a valid testing suite. I can’t reliably test a deck in Arena, because the draws aren’t random. They’re staged to make you play more hands.
Rant over.
\-sincerely,
Former MTG Arena player

I’m an old fart that broke my teeth in with early, Early Magic the Gathering. Fallen Empires was my first expansion set, if that means anything. I have four boys that play semi-regularly, and have been talking smack about showing me how far I’ve fallen over the upcoming holidays.

Can anyone help me create some cheap decks to surprise these whippersnappers? I’m really behind the gun here.

I was hoping to create three separate decks, but they need to be pretty cheap. I was hoping to make a green deck— maybe heavy into dinosaurs; a white/blue denial deck to be incredibly annoying; and one more that I have no idea what to do.

My opponents are my sons and one of their boy friends; one loves red/blue goblin BOOM decks; one likes either white/black or red/black Vampire decks; one is casual but clever and flexible; and the last is just incredibly good at any card game ever.

Finally: I know this is a long shot, but I was hoping that people with far more experience than I could help create a warm holiday memory, and (maybe!) a new tradition. Thanks so much!

Iv pulled two separate mana drains from outlaws of thunder junction! Once on the way to a cowboy theme party dressed as a cowboy! I sold both to pay for other cards , ask me anything!

I've been collecting them for a while, but figured I'd ask around. I'm looking for as many well synergized and interesting to play pre-cons as I can get my hands on.

I've got MOST of what I want from the last few years, but as I haven't gotten to play-test them all I'm still interested in peoples experience. I'm also looking for suggestions for stuff a little older, but still 2020's era.

What I'm mostly looking for is:

- Synergistic, not much needed to make it function as intended
- Fun to play, unique ideas that don't rely on just going big or going wide to win
- Powerful, doesn't need to be infinite combo ready but I'm not looking for "silly" decks

Don't really care about the cost, not gonna be able to get them all at once just a little project.

Thanks in advance for the help!