What type of Shadow Era player are you?
Based on this classic Magic the Gathering article , there are 3 main categories of TCG players: Timmy, Johnny, and/or Spike (Credit goes to original author Mark Rosewater)
Timmy
“Timmy is the "power gamer." Timmy likes to win big. He doesn’t want to eke out a last minute victory. Timmy wants to smash his opponents. He likes his cards to be impressive, and he enjoys playing big creatures and big spells.
Timmy cares more about the quality of his win than the quantity of his wins. For example, Timmy sits down and plays ten games. He only wins three games out of ten but the three he wins, he dominates his opponent. Timmy had fun. Timmy walks away happy.”
Good examples of Timmy cards are: Nathanias, People’s Champion, Howlfang, Terror of the Vale, Exaltation, Supernova
Johnny
“Johnny is the creative gamer to whom Shadow Era is a form of self-expression. Johnny likes to win, but he wants to win with style. It’s very important to Johnny that he win on his own terms. As such, it’s important to Johnny that he’s using his own deck.
Johnny enjoys winning with cards that no one else wants to use. He likes making decks that win in innovative ways. What sets Johnny apart from the other profiles is that Johnny enjoys deckbuilding as much as (or more than) he enjoys playing. Johnny loves the cool interactions of the cards. He loves combo decks.
Like Timmy, Johnny cares more about the quality of his wins than the quantity. For example, let's say Johnny builds a new deck that has a neat but difficult way to win. He plays ten games and manages to get his deck to do its thing… once. Johnny walks away happy.”
Good examples of Johnny cards/combos are: Aetherborn Wisp and Glimmer of Hope, Lay Low and Shrine of Negatia, Coercion and Growing Bog-dweller
Spike
“Spike is the competitive player. Spike plays to win. Spike enjoys winning. To accomplish this, Spike will play whatever the best deck is. Spike will copy decks off the Internet. Spike will borrow other players’ decks. To Spike, the thrill of Shadow Era is the adrenalin rush of competition. Spike enjoys the stimulation of outplaying the opponent and the glory of victory.
Spike cares more about the quantity of wins than the quality. For example, Spike plays ten games and wins nine of them. If Spike feels he should have won the tenth, he walks away unhappy.”
Good examples of Spike cards are: Feasterling, Layarian Seductress, Groundshift or Sinkhole (or whatever tech cards counters the popular meta-decks), Rapacious Vermin / Sorcerer of Endia
The Hybrids
“Many players do not fit so easily in one box. These players have bits and pieces of multiple profiles.”
What type of Shadow Era player are you?
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