I don't know why, many of us run both promo and non-promo books. As far as I know none of the promo's are quote illegal unquote. They are not eligible to be included in sanctioned tournament spellbooks.
I see this complaint a lot and it bothers me. First in OCTGN everyone has access to all of the published Promo's equally. Second using this as an excuse to weak, if you want to only play IRL that is fine, however don't bash it just because it has promo's which once again are completely optional and in reality you just don't want to play online. Third by running them in OCTGN you can test future card utilization and features. Everyone knows that Ballista will be nerfed when it is released. Same thing happened with Sandstorm (was a Quick Cast as a promo, and is a Full Cast in the release version).
Hi sIKE,
Please allow me to explain.
First up, the way I enjoy playing MW the most is IRL, face to face, with all the enjoyment and excitement that brings a game as tense as MW.
Second, no promo's. I prefer building books with officially released cards and I prefer playing against books that stick to the same rules. I find the card pool challenging and exciting enough that I don't need any "uneligible" cards on top. I figure I'll get those eventually as well, in due time, when they're released.
Third, however, I don't get to play as often as I would like, it comes in spurts
so I have been looking at OCTGN as an alternative to get my gaming dope. I have been looking at some games but more often than not I see Ballista's and other promo's pop up right away and ... it just turns me off
For example, I watched the thunderdome final until the first ballista hit the board, then I stopped watching.
Fourth, I understand that it's a great way to test future cards and find potential problems but you must also keep in mind that by playing these promo's you may hinder the development of
current strategies.
I refer to a reply in my "Spiked Anchor" thread where it was mentioned that Chitin Armor could be a problem and that Charmyna carried 4 Chitin Armor's in his winning Thunderdome deck.
Now what am I supposed to say to that ?
Sure, that would be a problem, but I'm not supposed to face a Chitin Armor am I, as that card isn't "eligible".
When I build my book, I don't take Chitin Armor into account simply because that card is not "released" yet.
Thus my point, yes, the use of promo's can help you test them but you also run the risk of having a negative effect on the current cardpool.
I'm sure there are still unexplored strategies to be discovered in the current cardpool.
There are still people trying to play the existing mages in different ways and see how successful they can be made. The only way to find that out is by matching them up against other "eligible" books imo, promo's should be avoided there at all cost because they
may have a negative impact.
So, I understand your and the other players' reasons to play them on OCTGN, I just wish they were the exception rather than the rule.
To me it seems like you're playing another version of MW there, with your own (house)rules.
There are so many great players on OCTGN, and I love watching a good game unfold ... if only they would use eligible books
