A question for the forum. Since probably DOTP 2015 where we had free deck building for the first time, given where Duels has been, and where it's at now (in terms of the meta) do you think its changed the 'usual' type of decks you normally play.

I guess this is more relevant for versus play wether in climbing the rank ladder or taking part in organized tournaments in NGA.

I would have said back in DOTP 2015 I was a mid-range type of guy. With Jund being favourite shard. At the time the Jund decks were noted for being particularly good if you get to top decking i.e. in the era of Inferno Titan etc and other great ETB plays.

Since probably shadows over innistrad the meta shifted to being more aggro and right bang up to date you can't argue aggro isn't both popular and effective.

Now I still enjoy playing mid range decks the best probably. But if I want to go into versus I am probably better and safer to play aggro, certainly that's been the experience.

I put up a poll that probably does not cover all the basis but reply (if you wish) in thread to share your own experience, in particular for those who go back in the history of duels.

Nah.

lol, i was totally going to make fun of this poll then I saw I got name-dropped so I can't not send it love

Because of the format of Magic Duels, i think it solidified how much I love aggro and burn. Because you can TIME OUT, i much prefer a deck that I can play quickly, but that my opponent has to be VERY careful about making perfect decisions lest he be open to be burned out on a faster clock than he/she thought. I find aggro/burn really abuses this cuz you can't really misplay against Mill or even Control. But you can TOTALLY slip up against Aggro. Sometimes i am AMAZED at stuff that opponents allow through (by not blocking). I think they should spend more time thinking about their blocks but because of the time limit, they don't. Therefore, Duels has made me really like aggro/burn before I even realized how much i like this.

in real life i don't like these decks at all. i much prefer midrange-y, lifegain-y, Vigilence-heavy decks. At one point a long, long time ago, I got into a hot and heavy 3-way with Hakeem and Beast. I played some kind of Azban lifegain deck. That's TOTALLY the kind of deck I love playing in real life. But Duels has changed that.

Not only because of the abuse of time that I mentionned above but aggro is FAST and i want to be playing fast games for gold online.

It's funny that my answer is actually pretty similar to Squider's as well (prefer Midrange but play more Aggro in Duels).


Also I think I'll get lynched for this but I think i prefer the Duels of the Planeswalkers games of the past because they MADE me play archtypes I never would have played otherwise. With the random deck generator, that was really the most fun I ever had playing Duels so far. It was perfect. This game is obviously better but at the same time, i don't explore as many decktypes. My Spike won't let me. Before you HAD to play Dragon decks and such.

I have a vast Magic background and I've always been willing to play just about anything.

Did you catch Magic the Gathering Battlegrounds by chance? Kind of like Battle Chess for MtG in a way. Another older Card Game was Etherlords that took a similar animated approach to its cards and battles. It was a pity only ever had one expansion.

Didn't really like Battlegrounds. That was the arena real-time game right?

I loved Magic the Gathering: Battlemage from way back, though

I agree with barney, I like the older duels better for the same reasons.

but as for duels, no it doesn't change what I like to play, but again, like I have said in other threads, I play 2hg more than 1v1 so I can play what I like anyways.

The decks I use for 1v1 are designed specifically to do the quest and get it done fast. I don't care if I win when doing that because I know I will most likely get beat out by someone who has all the cards unlocked. I do win quite a bit during versus though. and I will still play what I like and be ok if I lose with it. at first I was mad about it and deleted the game, but then I got over my own bullcrap and trucked on and really enjoy it now.

And other than gravitating towards one color(white), I never really have a deck type I like to play with. I go for anything. I used to hate red/burn/agro, but I actually fell in love with it. But again, because of playing 2hg more, I can be way more diversified in my deck building and enjoy it more.

Even in the old duels though, once you could take out and move cards at least, I still made those decks way different than most.

I play more aggro since AER mainly bc I have mid-range and control less figured out.. but aggro decks are easier to build for me. Smooth, low curve, respect the one drop, strong two drops, over-powered three drops, and just a few absurdly broken four drops. Sprinkle in a little spot removal or burn.. and 4-5 stupidly busted vehicles.. call it a day.

I'll go back to playing more control once the meta settles out and I know what to build for.. because how can you plan to control a meta that is so unsettled?

I've been converted to the dark side of aggro too. It's just so much easier for finishing quests, especially post-KLD where so many quests revolve around artifacts and vehicles.

I think I'm more of a midrange player at heart, because I want to potentially be able to adapt vs aggro or control as needed. But the only midrange deck I really play is Bant, and I can't think of any good AER stuff to add to it.

I am and have always been somebody to try out many types of decks; with my favourite decks being Midrange decks.

Duels did change something though; Prior to Duels I had never been able to build and play with counterspell-based control decks. During SOI I found it was time to change thatand tried out lists by divinevert and HenWen; and that's how I got into really playing Esper Control. Playing Esper also has changed my view on these decks and counterspells in general - I started to enjoy playing with them as well as against them.

I never enjoyed playing aggro or counter control too much. My favourite decks were always midrange, ramp and tempo. Too bad they all suck here in the current meta. But I'll just play whatever is best. Duels hasn't helped me enjoy more aggro or control but I think I got more proficient with them.

I started to like tribal more, but maybe it's just shadow over innistrad tribal being less about +1/+1 and indestructible to your homarids and more about gaining small bonuses that don't completely railroad you into spamming the board or not running nontribal cards.

I like playing synergy decks but I will play anything except draw-go control, I hate control battles where all you do is stare at the opponent (maybe I should change my avatar) hoping they will make the first move... games that last 30mins in 1v1 are not my cup of tea

My favorite archetypes in paper before playing our current Duels were Boros Aggro, during RTR block, and Jeskai Ascendancy (stopped before Fate Reforged dropped).

With the 2013-2014 editions, I mostly played the aggro decks like Goblins or the Bushido one. When 2015 hit, I got bored of aggro and stuck to more midrange decks since control was UTTER. GARBAGE. There seems to be something of a full circle going on though, as in AER I'm quite enjoying G/B counters and Boros Valor, whereas Blue based control is getting a bit tedious and samey. The decks don't have a plan, either I answer yours and bore you to death, or I don't and I lose. I missed the chance to play decks like Esper Dragons in paper, as I generally much prefer creature finishers and try to have an endgame plan, rather than kill everything and +1 PWs forever.

So as a franchise, yes it changed the type of decks I enjoy playing, but only because they haven't really made those archetype's that varied during the respective times I played them.

Oh man, Duels has actually taught me that I LOVE these kinds of games. So many mind games going on. It's really inefficient for gold grinding though

Much of my many years of magic prior to Duels involved splitting boxes w/ friends, rather than spending the same $ on a playset of Bombass Mythics. My paper collection looks about the same as my Duels collection in terms of rarity restrictions, so my deckbuilding tendencies needed no real adjustments.