Bramble On #1: Pilot

Hey guys, this is David and I'm experimenting with a new segment. If you guys are new to Casual Net or just starting to read up on this community, welcome! I'm gonna take these segments to kinda ramble and put down my thoughts in writing, so these posts generally won't have any focus (a style similar to Post #19: Brambling Around). I'll also take these posts to kinda give a 'behind the scenes' look into what it takes to keep Casual Net running and obstacles that inevitably come in to ruin the party. I won't generally post the updates to 'Bramble On' to the Facebook group (unless requested by popular demand) since the amount of actual Magic content is pretty low and probably won't entertain anyone other than my ego.

First, I'd like to introduce how this community came about and if you've been here since the beginning, I'm much obliged. People generally don't leave comments or feedback, so I don't really know how well or effective the blog is, but I assume the blog doesn't bother anyone, since no one complains, so that's a good sign.

I started a Facebook group for Magic players about a year ago around Gainesville, Fl since there are a bunch of smaller communities scattered across the University of Florida and Santa Fe Community College. To my surprise, Casual Net transformed into a larger network over the past year and I'm really excited for how far it's come and the direction it's going. At the same time, we lost a lot of people over time as well, so it's a double-edged sword. After I graduated from the University of Florida, I moved back home to Orlando, Fl and reconnected with my friends in Central Fl. Ironically, most of my closer friends in Orlando were already interested in Magic so the community and my interest in the game didn't change too much. I was also joined by Javier from the Gainesville group (shout out to Jav!). I figured that I'd left Gainesville in good hands and that the casual group, aside from the Mega Gaming and Comics regulars, was in good hands.

Unfortunately, most of that network has fallen apart since. School got the better of them. Or in most cases, people moved on. From what I've gathered from the remnants of the network and people who were my friends before Magic and will continue to be after Magic, the game just wasn't financially feasible and took too much time. I can't argue with that. It also felt like players left because, well, they outgrew it. Although it makes me sad that these people felt the need to leave, I can understand. One day, maturity might get the better of me too; but for the time being, I'm going to stay young and write.

Now, most of my writing is dependent on a close-knit group I play with frequently at Cool Stuff Games or the UCF area. I generally use our group as the 'experimental' of Casual Net where I gauge the quality of my writing and the overall quality of the group. Does Casual Net actually inform, does it teach, does it make someone not only a better Magic player, but someone who is overall a better person with at least more perspective than when he/she first arrived? That group consists of two old friends, C.J. and Evan, and two new ones, Gyula and Jav.

C.J. likes to believe he is the strong, silent type of the group. This would be the case if he didn't rage so much after games and talk about new cards he's going to buy that single handedly 'shut down' people's strategies. C.J. is more of a Standard player that always plays mono Red or some concoction of R/x. After testing that R/x deck usually becomes mono Red again. As for EDH, he plays Kaalia of the Vast, which didn't play as well as he would have liked, and Rith, the Awakener, his baby that gets thrashed a lot; but he is hoping to improve the deck to be his number 1. If you look really closely, he's there somewhere in the picture. It's night time.

Evan is our more impulsive friend. He builds and rips apart ideas when they're written down on paper, let alone actually build the deck. It's actually really exciting to see Evan build new decks because it means he actually spent money on cards, which only happens every time the planets align. Evan dabbles in Standard when our group collective attends FNMs randomly assorted throughout the months and brings a U/W Illusions build to the table. His arsenal of EDH decks consist of Sharuum, the Hegemon, Olivia Voldaren, and his new creation, Jenara, Asura of War. The Sharuum deck is a tame version of the dreaded combo deck you would expect but still can be degenerate; the Olivia deck is a 'burn all the things' deck; and finally the Jenara deck is a Bant Blink/Utility deck. Yes, he does look like that every time he loses at something.

Gyula (or Chris) is also an old friend from work, but we only started becoming closer over the past 6 months or so. He's generally busy with his job and other nerd activities he's interested in, so we don't see him as often. He plays his home brew of G/W Tokens for FNM. For EDH, he played Dromar, the Banisher (which was a Blink/Utility style), but recently dismantled it because of it 'wasn't fun enough,' I think. You'll have to ask him for the justification. He's hoping to build Oona, Queen of the Fae, but that's a project that hasn't left the dry-erase board in almost half a year. Step it up, bro! Gyula has that 'I see what you did there' face all the time. If you look at this picture and multiply the geeky index by 10, that's what he's like in real life.

Javier definitely brings the most creativity to the table. He does the most research and is always innovating something new. When he's at the Paladin Games FNM, he's a celebrity among the pre-pubescent male Magic players that inhabit the small hobby shop. Jav brings the most variety to Standard with a Kessig-Green/Mono Green cocktail, Mono Black Infect, and whatever fun decks he built for his brother to use. For EDH, Jav's arsenal includes Arcum Daggson and Kaalia, of the Vast. The Arcum deck is a Myr-themed deck that has a lot of Mirrodin flavor, while the Kaalia deck is essentially the preconstructed summer 2011 deck with several upgrades. Why yes, he is festive 12 months out of the year.

As for myself? I'm more of the arrogant one of the group. I also tend to win a lot, which is why I get hated out the most in multiplayer. I dabble with Standard, but it's really just a boredom thing. I also use it to play with other Casual players that don't play EDH and I can still enjoy a game with them. Or a beer. I play R/G Kessig Titans (which I talked about in Standard Corner #6: Kessig Titans). For EDH/Commander, I play Teneb, the Harvester (which I talk about In the Deck Box #1: Teneb, the Harvester) and Intet, the Dreamer, which I have yet to talk about but I'll get around to it, promise. =]

Hopefully this introduction will give you a little glimpse into our playgroup and serve as a good template when I ramble on about strategy and the play style I adapt in certain situations when playing against my friends. Remember; they're opponents in game and enemies outside the game. Something like that.

Interested in more Magic content? Check out the Bramble On series on the MTG Casual Network Archive! 

-David J.

Follow us on Facebook!