NagoyaHammer.com

Hi all,

So I've been thinking. Seeing as how it looks like the current state of kinda-lockdown-ish-lite looks to continue for quite some time, I figured that now was as good as time as any to float the idea of organising a (very vague and probably a bit shambolic) game of online MtG amongst ourselves. As I see it, the options are:

MtG Arena - visually it looks lovely, but for anyone starting new it's a sonovabitch to get any kind of collection going. Also, alas, no commander.
MtG Online - the interface is a horror story, and good cards'll cost ya, but on the plus side it's completely possible to build a nice commander deck for 10 bucks. Also: commander.

And my method of choice: Spelltable.
What is spelltable, I hear you ask? Basically it's webcam magic for up to 4 people. It was designed and built at the start of the 'rona outbreak, but was quickly bought out by Wizards due to it being a really spiffy idea whose time has come. Basically it's super simple to use (I've tried it): rig up some kinda setup so that your ketai is pointed at your playmat from a height of about 1-2ft (so all the cards are clearly visible.) A pile of books with a phone on top works fine. Log on to spelltable, use the linky thingy to link your phone cam, and you're off to the races. You could even do it on your floor, if you were short of space. It's pretty straightforward to understand if you look at the website itself. Obviously, we'd each need our own decks to play with this method.



So, would anyone be up for a game of Commander some evening? Ideally a 4 person game, but 2 or 3 is doable, too. If possible, if we could even get cameras on our faces, too, for chat purposes. We could use discord or something, but that's a kinda optional idea at the mo.

Any takers? I think it might be nice to get a game in some evening, maybe a friday or saturday? But tbh any evening after 9pm is doable for me, as long as the games dont run too long.

I'd be willing to give it a try!

Have you ever used Cockatrice? It's basically a card database where you download it and just make your deck and play it like you normally would. It lets you move things as you like, which I like as opposed to to other programs that make you go by their scripted processes.

I’ve never used cockatrice, but I did play a couple games on tabletop simulator a while back. It took quite a bit of set up, and I’d’ve been lost without my brother walking me through it, but once the initial setup was done it went pretty smoothly. Like cockatrice, it’s a pretty open interface, and you can just kinda move things around as you like (almost to a fault. There’s a risk of things getting lost if you put em somewhere and forget where they are eg cards under other cards.)

I kinda want to give spelltable a try just because I feel it’s the closest to irl games that’s feasible at the moment. Are there any evenings that are better/worse for you? FYI, I’m not available during the day on any day (due to either work or the presence of children demanding my attention) but pretty much any evening after 9ish (kids’ bedtime) can be done, if I have a little notice. The exception to this is this Saturday, cos I have a zoom dnd game lined up.

Also - any other takers? 2 players is fun, but 4 players is funner...

I'll try out Spelltable.

The only thing I'm worried about is if we need to pass cards around, like enchanting an opponent's card, or gaining control of something you don't own.

Also I could do Sunday evening after dinner. Or Monday later.