I keep fighting the same mages

[Sailor Vulcan]

It seems that no one I fight on octgn are innovating with their spellsbooks anymore and most of the many interesting spellbooks have not seen any use for at least several months.

The list of spellbooks I recall playing against since this year began:

Lightning attack spell air wizard using staff of storms (several times earlier this year or at the end of last year but haven't seen it lately)

Blasting banker (at least once)

Generic wizard (countless times)

Flexible arraxian crown warlock (no sectarus or sersiryx builds) (at least once)

Falcon swarm (at least once or twice)

Generic Anvil throne warlord build at least twice but probably at least 4 or 5 times.)

The same vine swarm Druid that every Druid user plays (maybe once or twice?)

A bloodwave warlord build that should have used anvil throne instead (once)

I might have played against johktari rushmaster once but I'm not sure. Same goes for bloodwave swarm

And I recently spectated part of a game where someone played a necromancer.

Mostly it feels like I keep fighting the same spellbooks ad nauseum. Wizard, wizard, warlord, warlock oh hey look someone played something else, warlord wizard wizard. Rinse and repeat.

Things are getting rather monotonous. Has anyone else been experiencing this problem or is it just me?

[Schwenkgott]

Completely different experience on my side.

I've seen a couple of lightning Wizards before on OCTGN, most of them played the premade official spellbook. Never seen Staff of Storms used successful in a game though.

I did not encounter a Blasting Banker for a year ... since Acid Ball has been released, the Banker suffered a lot of potential.

I don't know what you mean by "generic" Wizard or Warlord. A Deck, that has not a famous name or has not proven successful? Every player follows a certrain tactic.

I see some Warlocks these days, that try to use Curses AND Fire, but most of them fail. Seen a scary one though, that used Fire only, but maybe he had luck not to play against enemies with a lot of Fire Resistence.

Falcon Swarm and Rushmaster come up from time to time, but they are more fun builds. They get in a world of trouble quite fast if their opponent knows what he's doing.

Mages i've seen a lot in the past 2 weeks while watching games: Spores Forcemaster, Catapult Warlord, Cleric Priestress, Canine Beastmaster

Finally, i cannot agree with you. There are many many builds out there. Almost every game i face different enemies.

[iNano78]

Disclaimer: I'm a MW noob and have never played on OCTGN.

So... You've played against ~11 styles of mages in 2.5 months and that's a stale meta (?)

I recall MTG seasons when you'd play weekly tournaments for 3 months and maybe face 2-4 different decks over that time (e.g. Burn, Stoneblade/Cawblade, ... I think that was it, actually). I wouldn't complain about 11 in a game with a much smaller player base and slower release schedule. Your list sounds very diverse to me.

[wtcannonjr]

Sailor,

Perhaps you're the innovator in the group.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Disclaimer: I'm a MW noob and have never played on OCTGN.

So... You've played against ~11 styles of mages in 2.5 months and that's a stale meta (?)

I recall MTG seasons when you'd play weekly tournaments for 3 months and maybe face 2-4 different decks over that time (e.g. Burn, Stoneblade/Cawblade, ... I think that was it, actually). I wouldn't complain about 11 in a game with a much smaller player base and slower release schedule. Your list sounds very diverse to me.

I must not have been clear. The problem isn't the total number of deck archetypes that I've played against in the past few months. It's the frequency of each deck archetype in relation to each other, and the lack of any new deck ideas being used. Note that I've played against wizards a ton, and most of the other mages have each only been played against me about twice, maybe about three times in the past few months.

[DaveW]

So a (presumably) small group of the total number of Mage Warriors like certain types of mages that you don't like to face? Maybe play face to face more (if possible depending on your particular circumstances)?

A couple of us randomly tried rolling to see which spell books we each would use in our match... that was fun... you never know what you are going to get. Maybe try that every once in a while if the people you play in person have multiple books.

[Lord0fWinter]

Maybe play face to face more (if possible depending on your particular circumstances)?

Sailor has been trying very hard to stir up interest in his area but unless something changed very recently, it has been to no avail.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Maybe play face to face more (if possible depending on your particular circumstances)?

Sailor has been trying very hard to stir up interest in his area but unless something changed very recently, it has been to no avail.

I've gotten some more interest relatively recently. I demoed the game at a community game night and it was well received, and I'm going to be demoing for another friend at some point in the near future. Hopefully now that summer is approaching it will be easier to convince people to try it since they will have more time.

[Lord0fWinter]

I've gotten some more interest relatively recently. I demoed the game at a community game night and it was well received, and I'm going to be demoing for another friend at some point in the near future. Hopefully now that summer is approaching it will be easier to convince people to try it since they will have more time.

Glad to hear that!

[Intangible0]

I must not have been clear. The problem isn't the total number of deck archetypes that I've played against in the past few months. It's the frequency of each deck archetype in relation to each other, and the lack of any new deck ideas being used. Note that I've played against wizards a ton, and most of the other mages have each only been played against me about twice, maybe about three times in the past few months.

Actually, Vulcan, this is a little exciting. It's a situation that I hope will evolve soon but it's still exciting.

Whenever you see certain builds consistently it means that there is an established meta that has solidified. This happens in card/miniature games all the time and it means that it's time for things to shift. Using terms like Blasting Banker, Straywood Aviary, Bloodwave Swarm and so on means that we've all seen these decks used effectively and people want to start playing to win. So you're going to see a lot of these types.

If you're worried about things getting stale, then you my friend are going to have to be one of those that tries something new and shifts the meta once again. These named decks will always be here for now on, we'll see them come and go as players adapt new strategies but sometimes you just get tired of being shot by lightning. So put on some rubber boots.

If you want to, you should start a new thread that asks experienced players to throw some new crazy ideas out there for decks. This might spark something and we could see some changes. It would also be a good time to Really list out those decks that have gained a foothold on the meta so we all know what to watch out for 

[echephron]

Online(in real life i'm just glad someone is playing), whenever my opponent turns out to be a wizard, I go "booooo" in my head. Wizards and their books usually lack character. Same goes for teleports targeting my mage(booooo). One time in real life I played a carefully orchestrated jelly pit wizard and i just decimated my opponent. We both agreed that it was no fun.

Generally, I brainstorm a theme that sounds fun, and fill in a book around that.
And I try to stay under 3 dispels/2 dissolves/1 blocks, because those cards just aren't fun. I only mention that because there is some online love/hate for certain spells/mages/strategies. Maybe I act hipster about it.

I do find Dwarf Warlord played more often than I'd expect online. I'm not sure why. I have never seen someone play a lady warlock(unless it was me. muwahahhaa)

[DaveW]

I've gotten some more interest relatively recently. I demoed the game at a community game night and it was well received, and I'm going to be demoing for another friend at some point in the near future. Hopefully now that summer is approaching it will be easier to convince people to try it since they will have more time.

Glad to hear that!

Awesome... same here!

I'm getting to run some demos at a con next month... have four signed up so far... can't wait.

[echephron]

Ugh. My last 3 online games. 2 of them were the "undoing wizards"(sort of like blasting banker)

I can beat them easily enough if I stick to my good spellbooks(cloaked curser. tell your friends), so I dont think the problem is that those wizards are better. They are just far less fun to play against. Why do people play those books so much more?

[DaveW]

I imagine that everyone is different in why they choose to which mage to play, and which strategy they like to use. Some people may just play one mage because they know that mage and its capabilities, and have at least some success with it or perhaps do not want to move on to others until they get that one down. Others may play a variety to experience all that the game has to offer. Some players may like to use creatures more, so those would tend toward the several creature heavy mages. Some players may enjoy playing mages that seem to be out of vogue or are considered generally inferior just for the variety and challenge. Etc.

Does it really matter why people play what they do? I am just glad that they play.

[Biblofilter]

Hi!

My preferred mage is an Air Wizard (with Staff of Storms) I try to only play him half the time
Its basically a copy of Charmyna´s Thornpusher and I made it because some of the players in our group wanted faster games. (rather than a "undoing" Watergate Wizard which I started with)

The other mages I play regularly are Beastmaster (and Johktari) and Warlock (given up on the hot girl), and from time to time I give the Priestess a go.

Im only at ~100 games and im not tired of any of the core Wizards. I am pretty tired of the Druid vs Necromancer expansion - really bad news for my Beastmaster and Warlock -> meaning playing even more Wizard.

I have copied and played Blasting Banker, Tinker Bell Angels, Lord of Fire and several others ( whole spellbooks or just ideas). Saves tons of time and hopefully gives me a book where I stand a chance, and let me play more.

I hope im going to play more on OCTGN now, and ill be happy not to play my Wizard - if you agree not to play Druid/Necromancer. Just ask.