(STD, HIS, PIO) JohnRamosMTG

I love Magic: the Gathering. Anyone out there who claims to love this game, and be as driven to win at it, as much as I? If so, please reach out - would love to talk :) To the pros and testing teams - if you should happen to want a deep analyst who literally never stops talking and thinking MtG (and is, if I say so myself, not too shabby at all), I'm here :) Because I am, in addition to being a ridiculously passionate MtG lover, also a ridiculously competitive person. The natural extension of loving this game, combined with a desire to win the game, is to be the best, the very, very best, the tippy top best at the game - or to be a part of a teammate and friend's climb towards that same mountaintop. Let the portfolio below (and further conversation) serve as your judge of whether connecting with me is worth your time. This Drive folder contains a curated selection of some of my Magic work, spanning hundreds of pages, written and drafted without consideration of the whys and hows and who-fors and the M-word that ends with "onetisation". It has guides, deck analyses, evidence of iterative processes in deckbuilding, essays exploring metas and meta-breaking strategies, and most recently, an ongoing Limited set review. Sort of my love letter to Magic, but the letter is actually a collection of analytic essays and philosophical expositions on gameplay and game design, plus there are a whole bunch of spreadsheets and weighted averages with a sprinkle of decision mathematics. There is no paywall, because who on earth puts love compendia behind paywalls? drive.google.com/drive/folders/… For all the time spent complaining about variance, state of the format, etc. Magic players too often forget why and how they play this game in the first place. I have not had that particular issue. Every moment strikes anew, with the beauty, the complexity, the sheer joy and wonder and awe of Magic's world (even if the worldbuilding and lore at times could have used help, heh). Variance can be accounted for, and it is worth accounting for, if it means you can - with your identity, your capacity, your disposition - be a wizard or a god or an army commander or a lich or a spellsplinging maniac with a sword and stand on top of the world, the summit that demands sacrifice, resilience, and unforgiving consistency. But perhaps what sets Magic apart from other fantasy games in terms of lore is the opportunity for identity formation and expression. Whether it is the shadows of Lorwyn or the metal of Mirrodin or the all-consuming Eldrazi or the guilds of Ravnica or the isolated outcrops of Innistrad or the rich lushness of Shandalar or the constellations of Theros or - I could go on, but the point is, there is a place for everyone in Magic. And with colour identity and diverse mechanics and themes and synergies, there is a deck and a playstyle for everyone, in worlds as gorgeous as and more gorgeous than and as crazy as and crazier than our own. I love Magic: the Gathering. There's not much I wouldn't do for this game. Do you love Magic like I do? You will always have a friend in me to talk to, for whatever Magical purpose. @fireshoes dear sir, would you be so good as to repost, so possibly the right people end up seeing this?

Standard Challenge Top 8 decklists for Friday night, April 10 (36 players) #mtg #mtgStandard Izzet Spellslinger variants take the top 3 spots! 🥋🥋🦀🏆 Dimir Midrange finished 4th 🥷