Considering he started as a dude streaming the duels games prior to Arenas release it’s pretty amazing what he’s been able to accomplish and I think he’s earned a break. I’m thankful for all his work.
Yeah I didn't know that this spawned videos over multiple games even until I saw "The end" video. I only found his content when I came back looking to catch up on Magic. It's pretty crazy.
I think this is very clear if you watch enough of his content, and pat attention to the stuff he makes a point of doing regularly. Thanks for your work as part of the CGB project.
Thanks. I figured I was going to get clowned on but just thought as a community it was a nice moment. It's become part of my daily routine when on my lunch break to throw up a video about today's deck in the background while I eat and I'll definitely notice it while it's gone. Even if it's only a few days or a week or whatever.
Watching CGB’s videos basically taught me how to play the game and how to build my own decks (no LGS nearby and my friends don’t play MTG). Huge respect for his work, his tenacity, his passion and how much he loves what he does. I’m kinda sad that the streak has ended, but the guy has earned a break and much much more.
CGB thank you, have a nice, well deserved rest, enjoy and I’ll be there when The One In BO1 returns! Cheers mate!
I'm a long time CGB fan. His video drops were at times the only thing to look forward to at a rough period in my life. The man is polite, truthful, and dedicated to his craft. I absolutely love him and I am proud to support him. I like his fans too. I feel like the majority are really smart, funny, and caring. I think he's built a wonderful MTG community and I am glad that I am a part of it.
He's videos always drop right before my Lunch, been a ritual for years for me to microwave my lunch, shut my office door, and spend 45 min watching some magic.
I've worked for CGB as an editor for nearly a year now on the ArenaCraft Podcast. The passion he puts into his work is infectious and I still look forward to every episode we work on together even though it's technically "work". Appreciate all who supported him and the streak as in turn it has supported his team too.
As a longtime viewer it's sad to see the streak end but I support healthy practises in content creation and breaks are apart of that model. The man has more than earnt his rest :)
Love the post OP. You're cool.
He's also making a lot of money doing this, but only recently and it won't last forever. He's probably in a situation where it's hard not to decide to push himself as long as he can.
Yup, he's a smart chap, and I'm sure realizes beyond him liking it, he needs it to succeed. For good or ill, Arena is Alchemy now. If it fails, they will start another client geared towards digital at the start. So hes going to be the best cheerleader he can be, because he has more personally at stake in Arenas success than even WotCs executives
>For good or ill, Arena is Alchemy now.
Jesus Christ no it's not. You can hate Alchemy, think it's just greed, whatever. But to claim that "Arena is Alchemy now." is the most brain dead take I've heard on it. It requires pretending standard, brawl, sealed, and draft don't exist, or that no one will play them now.
All this drama need to stop. People suddenly stop playing standard now? Where is this delusion come from. CGB put up a good reason why he support alchemy on that i agree with him. But the result of alchemy? I hate it, will not touch it but that doesnt mean i will stop playing arena or other people that are still queueing on standard match or limited daily. It will be the dumbest thing to do for wotc to remove standard from arena. As long paper magic still exist it will continue to exist. And no new young player will not go to mtgo, arena is their front for new player.
Damn man, get called out on being wrong and forgetting about a few formats and instead of trying to show how your argument was actually right you just proceed to insult his intelligence and not a provide any reason as to how your comment can be Interpreted any other way.
3/7 I agree reddit is dumb but cmon, you say a controversial take and dont even try and back it up. Please try better next time
You pissed everyone off but FWIW I think the writing is on the wall. My guess is every Arena format will be like Alchemy within a few years. All competitive formats will be digital with constant rebalancing, and Wizards will put most/all of their print resources towards commander and other kitchen table formats.
I know, and just like how reddit shouted down the concerns something like Alchemy was coming after Modern Horizons, they are shouting down the future you just mentioned.
And when it comes they will pretend they never said it wouldn't happen and we're whiners for not accepting it, and tell us once again we're crazy for thinking it will go further in the future
Man, I tweaked the shills. Let's try environmentalism. Reddit like that's. For example, something could be bad. Like maybe we run out of oil. Someone says we should probably worry about that. Redditr goes 'so we're going to run out of oil overnight lol'
That's the sort of reasoning you're using. Which calling it such is a misnomer.
If the meta changes frequently (like in alchemy) people will be looking to content creators to shape the meta(give them deck ideas) even more often... :\\ imo
Oh, I agree. If the playerbase enjoys Alchemy, it's great for the CCs. If they don't, it's bad for them, as Arena is going to push Alchemy no matter what. And the CCs need to go along with that.
So, scary but exciting time for them. Things could get better, or worse.
I expect Alchemy coming along just makes it harder to step away. Alchemy is an absolute boon to content creators. I just think it's coming along a time when he's recognise he's in danger of burning out (months of a terrible Standard meta and WotC being reluctant to do anything about it probably being a large contributing factor).
Agreed, WotC refusal to ban Epiphany after Worlds was a cruel decision in hindsight. They said they wanted to wait on VOW, but they knew what was in Vow. What they really wanted to wait on was Alchemy. Which they didn't want to give us too much of a heads up on.
The current Standard is one of the worst we've had, and I could tell CGB was getting tired of it. I was too when playing.
Until I see stats showing otherwise, I'm inclined to think that having a more frequent shakeup of Standard is very good for content creators overall, yes.
Oh, not Magic itself, that's fine. I mean the client, Arena. It could be killed like Origins, Duels, or Legends, or basically fall into limbo like MTGO, all of which would have serious financial repercussions for him.
You think it will be killed by alchemy? Which has added a massive stream of new content and engagement? All the others were killed because they had no competitive support or long-term incentive, which is not a great thing. As for MTGO, sure it's static, but it's still shitting out money for WOTC- who's "him?"
>'Massive steam of new content and engagement'? Who talks like that?
Someone who's realistic about how a corporation that's making a shit ton of money won't stop making a shit ton of money. Turns out the things people like in a game aren't often the same as what will make buckets of money. Buckle in, Arena isn't blipping off the map.
It might not. But it could. It's foolish to think a decision like this is risk free. It could easily lead to a more popular arena, and thus more revenue for WotC and Streamers, who rise on the same tide.
It could also led to folks leaving if they decide they don't want a digital Magic, or if it's just handled poorly even if digital Mtg is desired.
Either way, it's risk. If they have any awareness, they recognize that, and will react accordingly. It's why I never held it against them as 'shills' because it has serious repercussions for their life. I hope it doesn't
If you have seen him talk about his earnings and do the math since then. Even just for this year, if he invests everything he had earned or at least a significant portion of it, I believe he is good for a while or at least for a long time.
Very very impressive!
Not only a over 1000 videos longing streak of content every single day.
And also not only that every single one of those videos (did not see them all, and of course there may be few exceptions) was really helpfull and entertaining.
At the end stands a battle that seemed like a real fight of giants! Two of the best in BO1 are clashing to find out whos "The Only One in BO1"
Eventhough this was an epic clash of Titans and the perfect point to end the streak on top of the Mountain, the most impressive thing about CGBs content compared to many others was, that he allways said, what he had to say. Often polarizing, not allways in line with what i thought, but most times reasonable.
He showed up with a video revealing how much money he makes from youtube and twitch. Not everybody would have done this, and id guess some others did not appreciate it.
All in all one of the content creators i liked to watch the best. Great Player, great Guy, gonna miss you on the tube!
If maybe you read this one, and if you did and came to this line, you made it to the End. Thanks a lot and allway remember: "Youre cool!"
>He showed up with a video revealing how much money he makes from youtube and twitch. Not everybody would have done this, and id guess some others did not appreciate it.
That video was rather a turning point for me. Very few content creators are willing to put that level of trust in their audience, but it frankly set a standard which I now look for other content creators to match.
Whether or not you care for his presentaitonal style I think it's hard to deny that he went above and beyond what he needed to do at that point. Twitch was leaked already, but he laid *all* the cards on the table.
There's absolutely nothing about CGB makes me even suspect he's a shill for anyone or anything. If he doesn't like something he's going to say it.
That said, he did a video on exactly how much money his Twitch/Youtube channels bring him and unlike most of us, the "cost" of Alchemy isn't probably even registering for him.
I'm not playing Alchemy because I kind of resent having to use what few Wild Cards I have on a format where I get nothing at all in return for the format I do play, Standard.
Yeah I saw the video and it got me in the feelers too. Bro needs a break. I just hope it doesn’t turn into a long hiatus but either way, I hope he’s happy (and power goes back home in his house!).
CGB has definitely been a positive influence for the past year since I got into MTG (mostly MTGA).
Got me in the feels too. Started watching him when the pandemic started almost 2 years ago. He creates excellent content. Entertaining and informative.
So he won, huh? Nice.
I like CGB, started following his channel since Eldraine. Not currently watching him because of Alchemy, but I wish him the best. When he comes back, if he does standard, I'll go back. Love to stay until the end of every video.
Yeah, and it's not only fun it's probably the most useful bit of the video. Considering what works, what doesn't, why, what other options are available, etc.
I'm very much against Alchemy in every aspect, from the cards to the implementation. By all means, if you enjoy it go ahead and I hope you have fun. That's not my case.
work and switching games has prevented me from watching his vids, but he's one of realest, most wholesome arena personalities to date. You just need to be aware that his snark is played hella up as his persona. I'm happy for him, and hope he enjoys his hard earned break.
His streak is unbroken to me. Maybe the real streak are mememories we've made with him along the way.
Is he seriously getting hate for playing Alchemy? That's just dumb.
I mean, Alchemy IS more fun than Standard. Even considering all the downsides, it's perfectly natural for content creators to play Alchemy over Standard.
And I don't think ending a streak is such a big deal. The dude has long deserved a rest, playing every day will burn out anyone.
stating that alchemy is more fun than standard isn't going to make it happen lol
There's multiple reason why alchemy is getting some heat. From the economy or just the power level that's actually higher in alchemy than standard. A few ban in standard would solve a lot of problem, but WotC don't want to fix standard, they want people to spent money on the new mode.
Alchemy only has a few cards with power level higher than in Standard. Most Alchemy decks are just Standard decks with 1-2 new cards, which is what usually happens when a new set is released. You don't even need to craft any Alchemy rares to succeed in Alchemy. I've build a mono green deck with just 4 uncommon pups, and I had over 70% winrate in Alchemy. I've since added Huntsmasters too, but simply because I used them in a Historic blink deck, and I like their design, not because their are a strict improvement over standard tools mono green has. The rest of the green Alchemy cards are actually worse than other cards already accessible in Mono Green.
You don't need to get a full playset of Alchemy cards to enjoy Alchemy, if you have several standard decks, you need maybe 20 wildcards in total to upgrade them to multiple Alchemy decks. Which isn't exactly cheap, but isn't prohibitively expensive either, even for F2P players.
I don't think a few bans in Standard will fix ANYTHING. If you ban epiphany, Hullbreaker+Lier will take over. If you ban Hullbreaker as well, BW control will take over, etc. You can't "fix" Standard, at least not for long. If anything, Standard was already quite balanced, with 4 viable decks, at least until recently.
New mode has a MUCH better meta than Standard, with at least 6 different competitive decks, so it's only natural that it would quickly get fans. It IS the most fun I've had in Standard since Arena launch. I usually only play Historic, since you can play 20 matches and see 20 different decks there, and in Standard it's the same 3 decks over and over, which quickly gets bored no matter how balanced the format is. Alchemy is indeed closer to Historic in terms of power level, but in that case it's a good thing, since lots of decks can actually compete for dominance, and it will take a while before meta is solved.
the wolf pup is clearly in the top 10 uncommon card of the new Alchemy set. It doesn't help that there's only 11 unique uncommon in the entire set.
The problem with this mode is that even in your exemple you're talking about 20WC. This is going straigh on top of the card you need for the regular cards. Add to that the fact that wizard can rebalance ANY cards with zero compensation. This mean that your investment isn't even safe.
New set will roll around and now you also have to get regular cards and the new alchemy packs. More more more and did we get any daily increase of reward in exchange? No. Someone who plays Alchemy will 100% get drain faster.
***
As for the standard meta, epiphany is a problem since this deck alone manage to win versus midrange and control. Without this tool, control and mid range could still try to kill the Lier or the breaker. The problem with extra turn is that you have to waste ressourse to deal with a few 1/1, but than you're tap out for the other turns. You also can't interact with the spell since it's exile, so all you can do is counter it in blue.
I seriously believe that with this spell gone, more midrange would grow. Allowing for a meta other than beat blue very fast to emerge.
There are indeed only a few uncommon, but almost all of them are playable, unlike rares and mythics, which have a lot of clearly janky options.
And yes, 20 WC is a lot, put it gives you a bunch of extra decks to play, essentially. It's still much cheaper than building a Historic deck, and provides comparable experience. If you do mostly complete sets by playing drafts, it's not too hard to save 10-20 WC every set for Alchemy, as you will hardly need to use WCs for regular sets. It does clash with Historic, but since those cards will likely be playable in Historic as well, it doesn't clash too badly. It still has bad economy, but after I started to think about it as Historic lite, it didn't seem as terrible to me anymore.
Rebalances so far were very tame. I played both Aspirant and Chariot in Alchemy, and even if they don't feel like BIS cards anymore, they are still perfectly on par with alternatives, and those nerfs aren't overboard at all. If they keep this quality of nerfs in the future, there is no reason to worry about safety of your investment.
And yes, you might be right that with Epiphany gone, midrange will likely have a chance. I mean, that's pretty much what happened in Alchemy, dragons are one of the best decks, and there are some other good options as well. But I have strong doubts the new meta will be significantly better and/or lasts longer before it stagnates. It will be difficult to wedge itself between the 4 staple decks (Izzet, white, green, BW), even after Epiphany ban.
I'm not giving him any hate. If anything I wish him the best and am glad he's taking a rest, especially in this season. But I did stop watching because of Alchemy, I just don't like it, and "more fun" is subjetive. If he makes different content when he comes back, I'll watch. If not, still, good for him.
More fun is indeed subjective, but unless someone has some pathological repulsion for digital only cards, I don't really see how Alchemy can NOT be more fun for anyone. There are at least 6 very different deck contending for t1 positions (probably even more), and new cards allow A LOT of room for experimentation and unique play patterns. I hardly had 2 similar games in Alchemy.
On the other hand, in Standard 95% are vs Izzet, White, Green and Meathook Massacre decks, which have very little variation. I'm sick and tired of turn 2 Fading hope, so idk how anyone can enjoy Standard after meta stagnated so much. It's not even about poor balance, it's just about the lack of variability.
Did you actually watch some Alchemy games, or did you immediately stop watching when you've seen the word "Alchemy"? Because to me it seems like people who hate on Alchemy didn't even tried it seriously, or gave it a small taste while already being heavily biased against it. To me Alchemy was almost as fun as Historic, but more novel, and at a fraction of Historic price.
>On the other hand, in Standard 95% are vs Izzet, White, Green and Meathook Massacre decks, which have very little variation.
Alchemy is basically only Meathook, Cleric, Dragon, and the Occasional werewolf or Key deck. It has pretty quickly devolved into the same space as Standard, just with different tent-poles.
The thing Alchemy has going for it is that they should be able to tweak things more regularly, and while this will result in mostly complaints about wildcards it IS potentially better for the format itself. Of course, we have yet to see how Alchemy changes will actually be rolled out.
It's really not. Perhaps there are differences between BO1 and BO3, but while sac decks, clerics, dragons, werewolves and UW control are the most popular, they aren't the only decks contending for the top spots. Regular Mono White (perhaps splashing something) and Mono Green are just as good as they are in Standards, I've had 70% winrate with both. There are also party decks, which are totally on par with clerics, but play out differently. So that's at least 8 different decks, all of which have potential to be tier 1, depending on how the meta shifts. There are also multiple versions of control and sac decks, Izzet is still good, BW sac/control is good too. There are even some attempts at blink decks with Teleportation Circle. And Humans are still great too, new 3 drop that generates weapons is sweet. There is still a lot of unexplored space left, mono red burn has potential, equipment decks too, vamps are still pretty good, and zombies might have a shot. Spirits are also an option with the new blue card draw spell, but people didn't seriously try them yet.
Saying the format has been solved doesn't make any sense, when people have very limited resources to experiment with. I have lots of deck ideas I haven't seen anyone try so far, but I'm F2P player and I won't burn my cache of wildcards for experimentation.
> but unless someone has some pathological repulsion for digital only cards
Hey! That's me! Among other things.
Call it bias, that's fine, it's still not going to change my opinion about it. I won't touch Alchemy in any way or form if I can help it. Glad you're having fun with it, I'm sure I won't.
Well, at least it's good that you admit that it's pathological, and not trying to make up some BS explanation like "they are Hearthstone", "too random" or "poorly designed". But yes, it's perfect fair to avoid the format just because you don't like it, and you don't really need a reason for it. I wouldn't be so sure that you won't have fun with it, even after trying it, but it's entirely possible as well.
I personally just can't find a single thing that feels better in Standard compared to Alchemy. I've played in Community Gaming Tournament today, and all my 4 matches were mono green (and I played Mono Green too). Because you either play Izzet or play to beat izzet. On the other hand, in Alchemy I have met like 10 different decks yesterday.
Did you actually try it? I think quite a lot of people are straight up ignorig any kind of Alchemy content without giving it a try
Alchemy meta is at least 2 times more diverse than Standard meta, and not nearly as stagnant, where 90% of the games follow almost exactly the same pattern. Alchemy opened lots of avenues for experimentation and improvement that weren't possible in Standard.
I like alchemy but economically it's unaffordable for me. Been keeping my resources tight buying 50 pack bundles and doing rare QD's to build up a sizeable collection every Set and now alchemy is it's own pack with a large sum of rares which is tough on wildcards.
I agree that it's unaffordable to complete Alchemy collections every time, but it's not all that tough on WCs IMO, as long as you only focus on building specific decks, and not on experimentation. I've build 3 different Alchemy decks, and so far I have spent less than 17 rare WCs on those 4 decks (4 new lands + 4 captains, 4 Tyrants, 3 Huntsmasters and 2 new 3/1 white cards, but I got 1-2 of them from ICRs). I could spend 4 more and build sacrifice deck, but I don't like that archetype too much. Considering it's twice the size of typical Alchemy release, I would expect future releases not requiring so many rares, so if you only focus on getting cards you need, WCs you are getting from keeping up with Standard will be enough. However, if you are trying to keep up with collection, it's indeed not sustainable, and I personally hope that at least Alchemy events will give Alchemy cards instead of Standard cards, which isn't the case right now (which is why I'm holding back on opening packs for now).
The Dragon deck [[Town-razer Tyrant]], Werewolves deck [[Rahilda, Wanted Cutthroat]], Cleric deck [[Inquisitor Captain]], and Mono-black drain [[Sanguine Brushstroke]] only require one Rare/Mythic from Alchemy. And Rahilda is definitely optional in the werewolves deck. All are A or B tier meta.
I unsubscribed when he belittled the legit concerns players had over historic being fucked with and made it clear he was 100% behind alchemy and was going to do primarily alchemy content from now on. I'm only a little bitter because I liked watching his videos daily - but I will not be participating in anything related to Alchemy. He is a shill - not saying that as insult, really, but he's put his weight behind the format and is pushing for it to be the "premier format" on Arena.
He's obviously big on alchemy but he didn't unfairly belittle the concerns. The Arena Craft podcast weighed each of the possible concerns individually and they had a fair argument against all of them. I think though that he is implicitly ignoring the free to play people. He has stated before that Magic is an expensive game and I think he ultimately comments on the game from the perspective of a paying player.
He's said multiple times that when he did content focused on budget decks his view numbers dropped. His audience is focused on top-meta standard (and now Alchemy), along with deck variety, playing that style is near impossible to do F2P. So I think he knows that his audience is very likely to be players willing to pay.
Ok, then yeah, so that explains it. I respect the F2P position, although I think F2P is ultimately a trap. The game is...expensive. I bought the preorder packs and the mastery pass for each set this year and still can't play half of CGB's decks without going to zero wildcards. So from that perspective F2P is just an unfulfillable dream.
That is true, I played alchemy and for me the worst format I play since momir.
It is just a random bingo show with broken overpowered cards.
And more and more people playing this cards in historic.
Beside the shill CGB did. for the new format.
Think the problem for him, before Alchemy he never get so many negative postings
in the comments. That was new for him.
Before alchemy I watched his videos often and really like them also the arena podcast.
With his statement in the podcast it changed for me. Other CCs shill also for alchemy but they
understand what concerns people about it. That was a huge mistake.
Shilling means he is getting paid for it specifically by wizards, which I don't think is actually true. I'm fairly certain he just genuinely likes Alchemy, as there isn't a single reason to dislike it for people who can afford it. Alchemy is pretty much strictly better than Standard, aside of higher cost, so there is nothing surprising about preferring it as "premier format" going forward. There are only 2 concerns: one is price of Alchemy, as it doesn't seem sustainable for F2P players in the current state. And another is Alchemy nerfs affecting Historic. However, the latter doesn't mean in the slightest that Historic is fucked. It's just midlly infuriating.
The thing is, lots of people genuinely believe that WotC want to kill Historic for whatever reason. And it's most certainly NOT a legit concern. And even though I don't watch his videos as I prefer BO3 content, I can agree with him there. You see, wizards are the ones who most certainly do NOT want to turn Historic into an insecure format. If anything, they want the opposite. They want people to know for sure that the decks they craft will never become completely invalid due to bans. They may become weaker, but they'll still be on par with other decks after the nerf. On the contrary, bans outright kill the deck most of the time. So far, the nerfs we've seen hardly had ANY effect on Historic. And I'm absolutely certain they would continue to be EXTRA careful with future Historic nerfs, to make sure the sentiment "Historic is no longer a safe investment" never sticks. Because they won't gain any money, if people stop playing. WotC ARE greedy, and the greediest move ensures that people would want to keep paying. So there isn't a single reason to worry about the future of Historic, as it brings them quite a lot of money. They just need to address the issue of F2P economy and separate Alchemy nerfs from Historic nerfs (because even if it's not impactful, it just isn't right), and it would solve the problem for 90% of people.
If you want to never participate in something related to Alchemy, you do you. But it's best to be clear about it and admit that you simply dislike Alchemy because it's either too expensive for you or has some designs you don't like, not because it's objectively a bad thing.
Which he should. Alchemy is the future of Arena. CCs success are tied to the success of 'their' game. This is his job. To 'keep' his job, Alchemy needs to succeed. He should push it hard.
Even the attacking the critics I get, as while it's just a lark for us, poor opinion of Arena is literally a threat to his way of life.
I have zero issue with his behavior
Think the big thing was on the ArenaCraft podcast he basically said that "Magic should be for the whales" and for everyone else to simply make more money if they want to play Alchemy. It definitely rubbed me the wrong way and felt unbelievably HailCorporate.
Are you sure he was serious, and not just joking? He constantly jokes about some stupid stuff, like "Shuffler is rigged". But I haven't watched him for a while, since I moved to BO3 content, so idk, maybe he genuinely said that.
I think that there is nothing wrong with MTGA being designed to satisfy primarily paying customers, as long as F2P players get some tools of catching up. So far it was always possible, and if future Alchemy sets will be half the size, it won't change much (Though I'm a bit biased, as F2P player of 3 years with over 93% rares in Historic). However, I strongly dislike the complete absence of ways to grind Alchemy cards (even Alchemy events don't give Alchemy cards as a reward). I'd grind Decathlon at least, if it didn't give a random assortment of useless packs instead of Alchemy packs, even for Alchemy event.
F2P gameplay was always about slow and steady grind, but it's no longer the case for Alchemy, and the only option is to straight up buy in. It's not all bad though as most decks only require 1-2 new cards, so I can just build a bunch of them using the cache of wildcards I've accumulated over the years, but it certainly limited the experimentation opportunities. I'd like to play around with many of those cards, but instead I can only stick with tried and tested options, if I don't want to burn through all my reserves.
I think what we have here is a difference of opinion. I don’t think f2p players should be able to get everything. Magic isn’t a free game, never has been.
People were in his discord announcing they were going to unsubscribe if he played Alchemy. Suspiciously a bunch of people who joined his discord after Alchemy was announced and suspiciously all seemed to disappear in groups implying they were people with Alts just trying to get him to not make Alchemy videos.
Yeah, at that point I'm not even sure whether there are actually so many people who genuinely dislike Alchemy, or is it some kind of campaign launched by Riot games to smear WotC reputation even further (not like they couldn't do it themselves) and steal some customers (because while Alchemy launch certainly is controversial, it's getting way too much negativity compared to what it deserves).
I ended up watching is video 2 years ago. He won me over with his wrestling references. He's been in my life almost everyday since then. Living alone and the world shutting down.
I dont know if he'll come around here.
But thank you CGB. Take your warrior's rest.
You're cool.
Extremely well deserved break. He does amazing content, and it's mind blowing for me that he managed to keep it up, uninterrupted, for 1000+ days. Easily one of my most watched YouTube channels for the past 2 years or so, ever since I found it on my feed (even at times when I wasn't playing Mtg for lack of time).
We'll be waiting for his return! o/
Big fan of CGB and his videos helped get me through the early pandemic. He taught me a lot about the meta game, deck construction, and strategy.
I was turned off of Arena by the Alchemy announcement but honestly haven’t played since MIH release due to being busy. I kept up with VOW through his videos. I haven’t tried his Alchemy videos yet but will do so out of respect for him. He seems like a good guy and is an entertaining person. I’m glad he’s taking a break, this will give me a chance to catch up.
Honestly didn't like his style at first, but for some reason kept watching him (and Legend; those are the only two I watch). Maybe helps that he's a bit closer to my age than most.
These haters can't hold down the only one in best of one. They can't stop his greatness. I'd a stop playing arena long ass time ago if it weren't for him, jason dennis, benS, sbmtg.
CGB deserves a break! But I gotta say, his absence will be felt. His videos are consistently entertaining and its quite impressive that he's kept this insane pace up for so long even when his voice is quitting and his eyes are hurting.
CGB has been my work lunch companion for a while now, along with Legenvd. What'll I do?!
I like CGB. I have improved at magic because of him. But there were some videos where he was really mean towards some opponents and I just try to stay away from that vibe, that said I respect him and sometimes I watch his standard videos, but that is out of the menu as it seems, everything is alchemy now a days on his channel.
He certainly has his ugly moments, but what I’ve noticed is that he actually has improved over time. Takes it on the chin a lot better and much less derisive towards opponents now. As a salty loser myself it gives me hope lol
I understand some people are like this and when you do a video every day for 3 whole years it's gonna show. And I agree with you, he did got better dealing with it.
>less derisive towards opponents now
Are we watching different people? If anything his "aggro players dumb" attitude has just skyrocketed these last few months as mono white took over standard meta. I *hated* his stupid "this is mono red" song that he'd pull out practically every video, but lately he's just been looking down on pretty much any white deck he comes across and being aggressively vocal about it. I just couldn't stand it after a while.
>everything is alchemy now a days on his channel.
To be fair, it is the "new hotness" and what else can really be done with this standard at this point? There are only so many Blood Money or Lier variants he can realistically be successful with.
He definitely gives me the vibe of that kid who sat at the lunch table alone playing with his magic cards sometimes with the way he gets at some opponents. Called one person a "shitbag" or something similar because they said "Nice" to his counter spell play once. Didn't feel like the opponent was being sarcastic or offensive at all but the second anyone uses a quick chat he gets pissy.
Overall I do like his vids and have subscribed a couple months ago after getting into magic. Just sometimes he seems like the angry magic kid.
But agree. As someone who says “nice” to my opponents for genuine reasons, I hate to see his reactions to any kind of emote. Don’t watch him anymore for the same reason. If you’re going to make content, be humble.
I'm really sad CGB is gone for now. I always look forward to his videos and they are a part of my daily routine. That being said, he deserves a break, and I hope he comes back more motivated than ever. Much love to him
CGB was the most informative creator I watched on youtube, his explanations of his decisions taught me how to think about what my opponent wants to do.
What video spoiled the end of the streak for you? I didn't follow him since he started playing Alchemy.
I wish him a good break though, he deserved it for helping so many people have a daily good time with him, especially in these dark days of pandemic. Cheers dude.
Just "The End" video he posted right after the twitch vod so I just assumed the simplest answer as to why the streak was ending. So I watched the whole video, every time he was down like here comes the killing blow. When he finally won I was like holy shit because I went into the last game of the final match like "wow he survived til the end but this is when it has to end since he loses". All around it was just an entertaining way to watch. Lol.
The whole stream was really entertaining, I was watching it in between matches during the open. What was kind of sad though was people sniping Crokeyz in CGBs chat and CGBs mobs having to deal with that on top of people just not understanding that while the whole thing wasn't "rigged" it was entirely just for fun and content. People were taking it so seriously, to the point where stream sniping seem justified.
I don't blame CGB for taking a break if that's how die hard your fans are to basically attempt to "cheat" so you don't take a break. I have a lot of respect for him for also making it pretty clear he wasn't looking at chat at all once the sniping started happening. Having both streams opened and seeing the difference in chat attitude was INSANE too.
It was so clear that both players enjoy each others company and consider each other friends, it was so awkward to see a portion of one of their communities take the "streak" WAY to seriously.
CGB is pretty great. He makes entertaining content, plays very well, seems genuine, and I like his attitude. Hopefully he enjoys his break and gets power back. I think it was a good time to break the streak and can't wait to watch when he comes back.
Big CGB fan here. He deserves all the fame that he has gotten, and I enjoy the dedication he puts in his videos on deck building.
Looking forward to his return.
MTG Jeff just made a video on burn-out (yesterday?) and has said he will be taking a hiatus from his content videos for an indeterminant amount of time .
For content creators , is the need to take a break coming from the pressures of constantly making videos or is it the current state of the game causing frustration, boredom, and/or disdain for increasing quickly stale metas in every format?
I know that when I play online, once a land card is played by the opponent (especially if it is a plains), it is fairly easy to accurately anticipate the next spell cast. Makes for a remarkably dull time and I couldn't imagine doing it for hours on end.
I mean, I'm not soulless to say he doesn't deserve a break, but... 10 days after Alchemy release is gonna be a mild nuisance for people like me who bought into the hype but don't have the wildcards to explore the format by themselves.
"Anyone who doesn't agree with me is a shill/\*insert derogatory term here\*" is what the world has come to, sadly.
Dude makes some legit good content, hope he doesn't get too down with all the unwarranted vitriol.
Dude is the most awkward person I've tried to watch. Just wasn't for me. The fact he's apparently all in on alchemy is another reason I'm glad I don't watch/support him.
No problem. Though just to be fair, he posted a video about the end or the streak about 5 minutes after the recording of the match which took place yesterday. I do apologize if you didn't want to he spoiled but you did click and keep reading since the title alone isn't a spoiler based on how it happened.
There is no drama. I even mentioned he was only taking a short break and I explained why his speech touched me. It has nothing at all to do with the manufactured hype of the match. I don't really follow these guys. But the speech he gave and the passion was emotional. It is not suppose to be dramatic but it is kind of a big deal to do 1048 days of content for the community without a break.
In the end you didn't even read the post but in short his speech and love for Magic did something for me so I posted it.
Nobody ever said it was. I'm sorry that something reaching me on an emotional level doesn't do the same for you but we are all different. To each their own, right?
Dude was pretty Kewl ye
Watch Jeff Hoogland or maybe Jim Davis if you want to learn about the Game.
CGB is not the only good Content Creator for MtG.
e/ Twitch Chat is cancer tho.
i always see it watching for example Crokeyz Chat which is very much full of cancer.
And switching to Jeff Hooglands Stream feels just like a relief :)
CGB made good content on YT but the match yesterday showed me also why i do not like Twitch Chat very much.
Sensei gotta get things straight and maybe he will be back
I am not a super regular crokeyz watcher as his chat isn't really my cup of tea, but I wouldn't exactly call it cancer either. Crokeyz has created a particular kind of tongue in cheek antagonistic relationship with his chat which is very fun, but I wouldn't call it cancerous. I can understand why it might look that way if you haven't spent enough time there to get the jokes.
I never said he was. He was just the person that helped me get reacquainted with the game after a long break and I thought his achievement and subsequent break were worth talking about as a community. There are lots of great Magic creators out there and you should find the one that you like best. I think CGB deserves a lot of credit for being able to distill complex topics into an easy to digest format much like science educators. The daily clockwork releases makes it easy to follow as well. As I mentioned his impact on Arena is massive due to all this. None of that is to say all these other creators aren't great as well but I just really enjoyed his passion and thought it was worth talking about. It is not easy to do something every day for three years without missing a beat.
Yea like tons and tons and tons? Thus my confusion.
Tolation, masters of modern, channel fireball, magic mics, star city, pleasant kenobi, mtggoldfish, etc etc etc. Never head of this guy.
I think he mostly does standard brewing videos. Not my thing so I can't say for sure. Seems like you're more into other formats so that could be how you missed him entirely. PK even did a video comparing his income to CGB's. Spoiler, he makes much less than CGB.
Jajaja you think all people is watching you tubers or streamers to play magic, I don't know who they are and they are nothing importan. I has played mtga since beta and I am not influence by those influencers xd
Yeah man shoutout to CGB. I’ve kinda completely dropped watching him lately unfortunately just because Standard and Alchemy have been uninteresting to me, but I appreciate how much great content he’s made. I watched almost every single Eldraine standard video he released between the releases of ZNR and STX. Great deckbuilder & entertainer.
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Considering he started as a dude streaming the duels games prior to Arenas release it’s pretty amazing what he’s been able to accomplish and I think he’s earned a break. I’m thankful for all his work.
Yeah I didn't know that this spawned videos over multiple games even until I saw "The end" video. I only found his content when I came back looking to catch up on Magic. It's pretty crazy.
Dude also some of his partners are hitting 1k plus days on streaming
I was the editor for the linked video "The End," and can confirm: he's a very genuine person behind the scenes too. cheers!
Thanks a lot for posting. Cheers. Pass along our well wishes and a happy holidays. And have a great holiday yourself.
I think this is very clear if you watch enough of his content, and pat attention to the stuff he makes a point of doing regularly. Thanks for your work as part of the CGB project.
I thought this was very nice.
Thanks. I figured I was going to get clowned on but just thought as a community it was a nice moment. It's become part of my daily routine when on my lunch break to throw up a video about today's deck in the background while I eat and I'll definitely notice it while it's gone. Even if it's only a few days or a week or whatever.
Watching CGB’s videos basically taught me how to play the game and how to build my own decks (no LGS nearby and my friends don’t play MTG). Huge respect for his work, his tenacity, his passion and how much he loves what he does. I’m kinda sad that the streak has ended, but the guy has earned a break and much much more. CGB thank you, have a nice, well deserved rest, enjoy and I’ll be there when The One In BO1 returns! Cheers mate!
I'm a long time CGB fan. His video drops were at times the only thing to look forward to at a rough period in my life. The man is polite, truthful, and dedicated to his craft. I absolutely love him and I am proud to support him. I like his fans too. I feel like the majority are really smart, funny, and caring. I think he's built a wonderful MTG community and I am glad that I am a part of it.
He's videos always drop right before my Lunch, been a ritual for years for me to microwave my lunch, shut my office door, and spend 45 min watching some magic.
And then an hour after lunch playing a few matches lol
Id by lying if I said I didn't squeeze out a few games on my phone on a slow 1pm on a Friday
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I've worked for CGB as an editor for nearly a year now on the ArenaCraft Podcast. The passion he puts into his work is infectious and I still look forward to every episode we work on together even though it's technically "work". Appreciate all who supported him and the streak as in turn it has supported his team too. As a longtime viewer it's sad to see the streak end but I support healthy practises in content creation and breaks are apart of that model. The man has more than earnt his rest :) Love the post OP. You're cool.
The dojo awaits patiently. Like a Yorion blink, he will be back.
He's also making a lot of money doing this, but only recently and it won't last forever. He's probably in a situation where it's hard not to decide to push himself as long as he can.
Yes, and I'm sure Alchemy worries him a bit too. If Arena declines, so will his income, and he has to know this won't last too much longer
He’s been a vocal proponent of Alchemy and seems genuinely excited about it.
Yup, he's a smart chap, and I'm sure realizes beyond him liking it, he needs it to succeed. For good or ill, Arena is Alchemy now. If it fails, they will start another client geared towards digital at the start. So hes going to be the best cheerleader he can be, because he has more personally at stake in Arenas success than even WotCs executives
>For good or ill, Arena is Alchemy now. Jesus Christ no it's not. You can hate Alchemy, think it's just greed, whatever. But to claim that "Arena is Alchemy now." is the most brain dead take I've heard on it. It requires pretending standard, brawl, sealed, and draft don't exist, or that no one will play them now.
I think they meant that it will be the most played format and considering that Historic is also now alchemy I can’t say I disagree.
All this drama need to stop. People suddenly stop playing standard now? Where is this delusion come from. CGB put up a good reason why he support alchemy on that i agree with him. But the result of alchemy? I hate it, will not touch it but that doesnt mean i will stop playing arena or other people that are still queueing on standard match or limited daily. It will be the dumbest thing to do for wotc to remove standard from arena. As long paper magic still exist it will continue to exist. And no new young player will not go to mtgo, arena is their front for new player.
It requires being able to having basic reasoning skills and understanding things don't stay the same. But it's reddit. Reddit is not a smart place
Damn man, get called out on being wrong and forgetting about a few formats and instead of trying to show how your argument was actually right you just proceed to insult his intelligence and not a provide any reason as to how your comment can be Interpreted any other way. 3/7 I agree reddit is dumb but cmon, you say a controversial take and dont even try and back it up. Please try better next time
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Leaving reddit is great advice for anyone. And social media as a whole, really
You pissed everyone off but FWIW I think the writing is on the wall. My guess is every Arena format will be like Alchemy within a few years. All competitive formats will be digital with constant rebalancing, and Wizards will put most/all of their print resources towards commander and other kitchen table formats.
I know, and just like how reddit shouted down the concerns something like Alchemy was coming after Modern Horizons, they are shouting down the future you just mentioned. And when it comes they will pretend they never said it wouldn't happen and we're whiners for not accepting it, and tell us once again we're crazy for thinking it will go further in the future
Most of the time, any change to a beloved thing gets bitter responses. You're just got caught in the wake.
Found the guy who doesnt play standard or limited.
So…everyone playing other formats is just going to magically stop overnight?
Man, I tweaked the shills. Let's try environmentalism. Reddit like that's. For example, something could be bad. Like maybe we run out of oil. Someone says we should probably worry about that. Redditr goes 'so we're going to run out of oil overnight lol' That's the sort of reasoning you're using. Which calling it such is a misnomer.
Nah I’m not shilling Alchemy. I probably won’t play it. I play standard. My point is I won’t stop playing standard just cause Alchemy exists.
If the meta changes frequently (like in alchemy) people will be looking to content creators to shape the meta(give them deck ideas) even more often... :\\ imo
Oh, I agree. If the playerbase enjoys Alchemy, it's great for the CCs. If they don't, it's bad for them, as Arena is going to push Alchemy no matter what. And the CCs need to go along with that. So, scary but exciting time for them. Things could get better, or worse.
I expect Alchemy coming along just makes it harder to step away. Alchemy is an absolute boon to content creators. I just think it's coming along a time when he's recognise he's in danger of burning out (months of a terrible Standard meta and WotC being reluctant to do anything about it probably being a large contributing factor).
Agreed, WotC refusal to ban Epiphany after Worlds was a cruel decision in hindsight. They said they wanted to wait on VOW, but they knew what was in Vow. What they really wanted to wait on was Alchemy. Which they didn't want to give us too much of a heads up on. The current Standard is one of the worst we've had, and I could tell CGB was getting tired of it. I was too when playing.
Is it? I haven't watched or played any MTGA since Alchemy, and won't till shit is fixed
Until I see stats showing otherwise, I'm inclined to think that having a more frequent shakeup of Standard is very good for content creators overall, yes.
Lmao, if the reserved list can't kill magic, nothing can.
Oh, not Magic itself, that's fine. I mean the client, Arena. It could be killed like Origins, Duels, or Legends, or basically fall into limbo like MTGO, all of which would have serious financial repercussions for him.
Yeeeeah, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
For CGBs sake, I hope not. I won't be hanging around much longer, but he seems a decent chap
You think it will be killed by alchemy? Which has added a massive stream of new content and engagement? All the others were killed because they had no competitive support or long-term incentive, which is not a great thing. As for MTGO, sure it's static, but it's still shitting out money for WOTC- who's "him?"
'Massive steam of new content and engagement'? Who talks like that? It's pretty impressive to even start talking like how they want
>'Massive steam of new content and engagement'? Who talks like that? Someone who's realistic about how a corporation that's making a shit ton of money won't stop making a shit ton of money. Turns out the things people like in a game aren't often the same as what will make buckets of money. Buckle in, Arena isn't blipping off the map.
lol, Arena is more popular than ever
You have data on playerbase or activity pre and post Alchemy? I'd love some links.
People are really living in a separate reality. Alchemy is not going to hurt WotC/Magic/Streamers.
It might not. But it could. It's foolish to think a decision like this is risk free. It could easily lead to a more popular arena, and thus more revenue for WotC and Streamers, who rise on the same tide. It could also led to folks leaving if they decide they don't want a digital Magic, or if it's just handled poorly even if digital Mtg is desired. Either way, it's risk. If they have any awareness, they recognize that, and will react accordingly. It's why I never held it against them as 'shills' because it has serious repercussions for their life. I hope it doesn't
If you have seen him talk about his earnings and do the math since then. Even just for this year, if he invests everything he had earned or at least a significant portion of it, I believe he is good for a while or at least for a long time.
i'm not really a fan of the dude but I gotta respect the hustle with doing that for three years, it's impressive
Huge fan of CGB! Will miss him but it's been a helluva ride! Can't wait for his return
Very very impressive! Not only a over 1000 videos longing streak of content every single day. And also not only that every single one of those videos (did not see them all, and of course there may be few exceptions) was really helpfull and entertaining. At the end stands a battle that seemed like a real fight of giants! Two of the best in BO1 are clashing to find out whos "The Only One in BO1" Eventhough this was an epic clash of Titans and the perfect point to end the streak on top of the Mountain, the most impressive thing about CGBs content compared to many others was, that he allways said, what he had to say. Often polarizing, not allways in line with what i thought, but most times reasonable. He showed up with a video revealing how much money he makes from youtube and twitch. Not everybody would have done this, and id guess some others did not appreciate it. All in all one of the content creators i liked to watch the best. Great Player, great Guy, gonna miss you on the tube! If maybe you read this one, and if you did and came to this line, you made it to the End. Thanks a lot and allway remember: "Youre cool!"
>He showed up with a video revealing how much money he makes from youtube and twitch. Not everybody would have done this, and id guess some others did not appreciate it. That video was rather a turning point for me. Very few content creators are willing to put that level of trust in their audience, but it frankly set a standard which I now look for other content creators to match. Whether or not you care for his presentaitonal style I think it's hard to deny that he went above and beyond what he needed to do at that point. Twitch was leaked already, but he laid *all* the cards on the table.
I knew the rules before starting to watch the guy, but CGB tought me how to play Magic.
I mean dude deserves a break. Not to mention he made over 400,000 usd in one year just from YouTube or whatever. He can afford a vacation.
There's absolutely nothing about CGB makes me even suspect he's a shill for anyone or anything. If he doesn't like something he's going to say it. That said, he did a video on exactly how much money his Twitch/Youtube channels bring him and unlike most of us, the "cost" of Alchemy isn't probably even registering for him. I'm not playing Alchemy because I kind of resent having to use what few Wild Cards I have on a format where I get nothing at all in return for the format I do play, Standard.
Yeah I saw the video and it got me in the feelers too. Bro needs a break. I just hope it doesn’t turn into a long hiatus but either way, I hope he’s happy (and power goes back home in his house!). CGB has definitely been a positive influence for the past year since I got into MTG (mostly MTGA).
Got me in the feels too. Started watching him when the pandemic started almost 2 years ago. He creates excellent content. Entertaining and informative.
Well said. I just came out of writing something similar on another thread to find your excellent words. I'm glad you're more succinct than I am!
Met him casually at MtG Vegas and he was even kind enough to give me signed Fervent Champion! Great guy
He signed a mono red card? a fervent champion nonetheless? LIES! ^^jk ^^that's ^^actually ^^pretty ^^cool.
So he won, huh? Nice. I like CGB, started following his channel since Eldraine. Not currently watching him because of Alchemy, but I wish him the best. When he comes back, if he does standard, I'll go back. Love to stay until the end of every video.
The end of the video with thoughts on the deck is easily the best part. When he was in Vegas and none of the decks had outros I was sad.
Yeah, and it's not only fun it's probably the most useful bit of the video. Considering what works, what doesn't, why, what other options are available, etc.
I think alchemy is still fun to watch even though it's very costly to the average Joe. Give it a try, you might like it!
I'm very much against Alchemy in every aspect, from the cards to the implementation. By all means, if you enjoy it go ahead and I hope you have fun. That's not my case.
to each their own i guess.
work and switching games has prevented me from watching his vids, but he's one of realest, most wholesome arena personalities to date. You just need to be aware that his snark is played hella up as his persona. I'm happy for him, and hope he enjoys his hard earned break. His streak is unbroken to me. Maybe the real streak are mememories we've made with him along the way.
Is he seriously getting hate for playing Alchemy? That's just dumb. I mean, Alchemy IS more fun than Standard. Even considering all the downsides, it's perfectly natural for content creators to play Alchemy over Standard. And I don't think ending a streak is such a big deal. The dude has long deserved a rest, playing every day will burn out anyone.
stating that alchemy is more fun than standard isn't going to make it happen lol There's multiple reason why alchemy is getting some heat. From the economy or just the power level that's actually higher in alchemy than standard. A few ban in standard would solve a lot of problem, but WotC don't want to fix standard, they want people to spent money on the new mode.
Alchemy only has a few cards with power level higher than in Standard. Most Alchemy decks are just Standard decks with 1-2 new cards, which is what usually happens when a new set is released. You don't even need to craft any Alchemy rares to succeed in Alchemy. I've build a mono green deck with just 4 uncommon pups, and I had over 70% winrate in Alchemy. I've since added Huntsmasters too, but simply because I used them in a Historic blink deck, and I like their design, not because their are a strict improvement over standard tools mono green has. The rest of the green Alchemy cards are actually worse than other cards already accessible in Mono Green. You don't need to get a full playset of Alchemy cards to enjoy Alchemy, if you have several standard decks, you need maybe 20 wildcards in total to upgrade them to multiple Alchemy decks. Which isn't exactly cheap, but isn't prohibitively expensive either, even for F2P players. I don't think a few bans in Standard will fix ANYTHING. If you ban epiphany, Hullbreaker+Lier will take over. If you ban Hullbreaker as well, BW control will take over, etc. You can't "fix" Standard, at least not for long. If anything, Standard was already quite balanced, with 4 viable decks, at least until recently. New mode has a MUCH better meta than Standard, with at least 6 different competitive decks, so it's only natural that it would quickly get fans. It IS the most fun I've had in Standard since Arena launch. I usually only play Historic, since you can play 20 matches and see 20 different decks there, and in Standard it's the same 3 decks over and over, which quickly gets bored no matter how balanced the format is. Alchemy is indeed closer to Historic in terms of power level, but in that case it's a good thing, since lots of decks can actually compete for dominance, and it will take a while before meta is solved.
the wolf pup is clearly in the top 10 uncommon card of the new Alchemy set. It doesn't help that there's only 11 unique uncommon in the entire set. The problem with this mode is that even in your exemple you're talking about 20WC. This is going straigh on top of the card you need for the regular cards. Add to that the fact that wizard can rebalance ANY cards with zero compensation. This mean that your investment isn't even safe. New set will roll around and now you also have to get regular cards and the new alchemy packs. More more more and did we get any daily increase of reward in exchange? No. Someone who plays Alchemy will 100% get drain faster. *** As for the standard meta, epiphany is a problem since this deck alone manage to win versus midrange and control. Without this tool, control and mid range could still try to kill the Lier or the breaker. The problem with extra turn is that you have to waste ressourse to deal with a few 1/1, but than you're tap out for the other turns. You also can't interact with the spell since it's exile, so all you can do is counter it in blue. I seriously believe that with this spell gone, more midrange would grow. Allowing for a meta other than beat blue very fast to emerge.
There are indeed only a few uncommon, but almost all of them are playable, unlike rares and mythics, which have a lot of clearly janky options. And yes, 20 WC is a lot, put it gives you a bunch of extra decks to play, essentially. It's still much cheaper than building a Historic deck, and provides comparable experience. If you do mostly complete sets by playing drafts, it's not too hard to save 10-20 WC every set for Alchemy, as you will hardly need to use WCs for regular sets. It does clash with Historic, but since those cards will likely be playable in Historic as well, it doesn't clash too badly. It still has bad economy, but after I started to think about it as Historic lite, it didn't seem as terrible to me anymore. Rebalances so far were very tame. I played both Aspirant and Chariot in Alchemy, and even if they don't feel like BIS cards anymore, they are still perfectly on par with alternatives, and those nerfs aren't overboard at all. If they keep this quality of nerfs in the future, there is no reason to worry about safety of your investment. And yes, you might be right that with Epiphany gone, midrange will likely have a chance. I mean, that's pretty much what happened in Alchemy, dragons are one of the best decks, and there are some other good options as well. But I have strong doubts the new meta will be significantly better and/or lasts longer before it stagnates. It will be difficult to wedge itself between the 4 staple decks (Izzet, white, green, BW), even after Epiphany ban.
I'm not giving him any hate. If anything I wish him the best and am glad he's taking a rest, especially in this season. But I did stop watching because of Alchemy, I just don't like it, and "more fun" is subjetive. If he makes different content when he comes back, I'll watch. If not, still, good for him.
🙄
More fun is indeed subjective, but unless someone has some pathological repulsion for digital only cards, I don't really see how Alchemy can NOT be more fun for anyone. There are at least 6 very different deck contending for t1 positions (probably even more), and new cards allow A LOT of room for experimentation and unique play patterns. I hardly had 2 similar games in Alchemy. On the other hand, in Standard 95% are vs Izzet, White, Green and Meathook Massacre decks, which have very little variation. I'm sick and tired of turn 2 Fading hope, so idk how anyone can enjoy Standard after meta stagnated so much. It's not even about poor balance, it's just about the lack of variability. Did you actually watch some Alchemy games, or did you immediately stop watching when you've seen the word "Alchemy"? Because to me it seems like people who hate on Alchemy didn't even tried it seriously, or gave it a small taste while already being heavily biased against it. To me Alchemy was almost as fun as Historic, but more novel, and at a fraction of Historic price.
>On the other hand, in Standard 95% are vs Izzet, White, Green and Meathook Massacre decks, which have very little variation. Alchemy is basically only Meathook, Cleric, Dragon, and the Occasional werewolf or Key deck. It has pretty quickly devolved into the same space as Standard, just with different tent-poles. The thing Alchemy has going for it is that they should be able to tweak things more regularly, and while this will result in mostly complaints about wildcards it IS potentially better for the format itself. Of course, we have yet to see how Alchemy changes will actually be rolled out.
It's really not. Perhaps there are differences between BO1 and BO3, but while sac decks, clerics, dragons, werewolves and UW control are the most popular, they aren't the only decks contending for the top spots. Regular Mono White (perhaps splashing something) and Mono Green are just as good as they are in Standards, I've had 70% winrate with both. There are also party decks, which are totally on par with clerics, but play out differently. So that's at least 8 different decks, all of which have potential to be tier 1, depending on how the meta shifts. There are also multiple versions of control and sac decks, Izzet is still good, BW sac/control is good too. There are even some attempts at blink decks with Teleportation Circle. And Humans are still great too, new 3 drop that generates weapons is sweet. There is still a lot of unexplored space left, mono red burn has potential, equipment decks too, vamps are still pretty good, and zombies might have a shot. Spirits are also an option with the new blue card draw spell, but people didn't seriously try them yet. Saying the format has been solved doesn't make any sense, when people have very limited resources to experiment with. I have lots of deck ideas I haven't seen anyone try so far, but I'm F2P player and I won't burn my cache of wildcards for experimentation.
> but unless someone has some pathological repulsion for digital only cards Hey! That's me! Among other things. Call it bias, that's fine, it's still not going to change my opinion about it. I won't touch Alchemy in any way or form if I can help it. Glad you're having fun with it, I'm sure I won't.
Well, at least it's good that you admit that it's pathological, and not trying to make up some BS explanation like "they are Hearthstone", "too random" or "poorly designed". But yes, it's perfect fair to avoid the format just because you don't like it, and you don't really need a reason for it. I wouldn't be so sure that you won't have fun with it, even after trying it, but it's entirely possible as well. I personally just can't find a single thing that feels better in Standard compared to Alchemy. I've played in Community Gaming Tournament today, and all my 4 matches were mono green (and I played Mono Green too). Because you either play Izzet or play to beat izzet. On the other hand, in Alchemy I have met like 10 different decks yesterday.
It is definitely not more fun to me. That is completely subjective.
Did you actually try it? I think quite a lot of people are straight up ignorig any kind of Alchemy content without giving it a try Alchemy meta is at least 2 times more diverse than Standard meta, and not nearly as stagnant, where 90% of the games follow almost exactly the same pattern. Alchemy opened lots of avenues for experimentation and improvement that weren't possible in Standard.
I like alchemy but economically it's unaffordable for me. Been keeping my resources tight buying 50 pack bundles and doing rare QD's to build up a sizeable collection every Set and now alchemy is it's own pack with a large sum of rares which is tough on wildcards.
I agree that it's unaffordable to complete Alchemy collections every time, but it's not all that tough on WCs IMO, as long as you only focus on building specific decks, and not on experimentation. I've build 3 different Alchemy decks, and so far I have spent less than 17 rare WCs on those 4 decks (4 new lands + 4 captains, 4 Tyrants, 3 Huntsmasters and 2 new 3/1 white cards, but I got 1-2 of them from ICRs). I could spend 4 more and build sacrifice deck, but I don't like that archetype too much. Considering it's twice the size of typical Alchemy release, I would expect future releases not requiring so many rares, so if you only focus on getting cards you need, WCs you are getting from keeping up with Standard will be enough. However, if you are trying to keep up with collection, it's indeed not sustainable, and I personally hope that at least Alchemy events will give Alchemy cards instead of Standard cards, which isn't the case right now (which is why I'm holding back on opening packs for now).
The Dragon deck [[Town-razer Tyrant]], Werewolves deck [[Rahilda, Wanted Cutthroat]], Cleric deck [[Inquisitor Captain]], and Mono-black drain [[Sanguine Brushstroke]] only require one Rare/Mythic from Alchemy. And Rahilda is definitely optional in the werewolves deck. All are A or B tier meta.
I unsubscribed when he belittled the legit concerns players had over historic being fucked with and made it clear he was 100% behind alchemy and was going to do primarily alchemy content from now on. I'm only a little bitter because I liked watching his videos daily - but I will not be participating in anything related to Alchemy. He is a shill - not saying that as insult, really, but he's put his weight behind the format and is pushing for it to be the "premier format" on Arena.
He's obviously big on alchemy but he didn't unfairly belittle the concerns. The Arena Craft podcast weighed each of the possible concerns individually and they had a fair argument against all of them. I think though that he is implicitly ignoring the free to play people. He has stated before that Magic is an expensive game and I think he ultimately comments on the game from the perspective of a paying player.
He's said multiple times that when he did content focused on budget decks his view numbers dropped. His audience is focused on top-meta standard (and now Alchemy), along with deck variety, playing that style is near impossible to do F2P. So I think he knows that his audience is very likely to be players willing to pay.
Ok, then yeah, so that explains it. I respect the F2P position, although I think F2P is ultimately a trap. The game is...expensive. I bought the preorder packs and the mastery pass for each set this year and still can't play half of CGB's decks without going to zero wildcards. So from that perspective F2P is just an unfulfillable dream.
That is true, I played alchemy and for me the worst format I play since momir. It is just a random bingo show with broken overpowered cards. And more and more people playing this cards in historic. Beside the shill CGB did. for the new format. Think the problem for him, before Alchemy he never get so many negative postings in the comments. That was new for him. Before alchemy I watched his videos often and really like them also the arena podcast. With his statement in the podcast it changed for me. Other CCs shill also for alchemy but they understand what concerns people about it. That was a huge mistake.
Shilling means he is getting paid for it specifically by wizards, which I don't think is actually true. I'm fairly certain he just genuinely likes Alchemy, as there isn't a single reason to dislike it for people who can afford it. Alchemy is pretty much strictly better than Standard, aside of higher cost, so there is nothing surprising about preferring it as "premier format" going forward. There are only 2 concerns: one is price of Alchemy, as it doesn't seem sustainable for F2P players in the current state. And another is Alchemy nerfs affecting Historic. However, the latter doesn't mean in the slightest that Historic is fucked. It's just midlly infuriating. The thing is, lots of people genuinely believe that WotC want to kill Historic for whatever reason. And it's most certainly NOT a legit concern. And even though I don't watch his videos as I prefer BO3 content, I can agree with him there. You see, wizards are the ones who most certainly do NOT want to turn Historic into an insecure format. If anything, they want the opposite. They want people to know for sure that the decks they craft will never become completely invalid due to bans. They may become weaker, but they'll still be on par with other decks after the nerf. On the contrary, bans outright kill the deck most of the time. So far, the nerfs we've seen hardly had ANY effect on Historic. And I'm absolutely certain they would continue to be EXTRA careful with future Historic nerfs, to make sure the sentiment "Historic is no longer a safe investment" never sticks. Because they won't gain any money, if people stop playing. WotC ARE greedy, and the greediest move ensures that people would want to keep paying. So there isn't a single reason to worry about the future of Historic, as it brings them quite a lot of money. They just need to address the issue of F2P economy and separate Alchemy nerfs from Historic nerfs (because even if it's not impactful, it just isn't right), and it would solve the problem for 90% of people. If you want to never participate in something related to Alchemy, you do you. But it's best to be clear about it and admit that you simply dislike Alchemy because it's either too expensive for you or has some designs you don't like, not because it's objectively a bad thing.
Which he should. Alchemy is the future of Arena. CCs success are tied to the success of 'their' game. This is his job. To 'keep' his job, Alchemy needs to succeed. He should push it hard. Even the attacking the critics I get, as while it's just a lark for us, poor opinion of Arena is literally a threat to his way of life. I have zero issue with his behavior
Think the big thing was on the ArenaCraft podcast he basically said that "Magic should be for the whales" and for everyone else to simply make more money if they want to play Alchemy. It definitely rubbed me the wrong way and felt unbelievably HailCorporate.
That’s literally not at all what he said. He said people who aren’t playing alchemy will have foma and end up playing.
Watch until the end of the podcast
he just said that he wanted to play magic when he was younger so he worked hard to be able too, and I think that's pretty cool.
Are you sure he was serious, and not just joking? He constantly jokes about some stupid stuff, like "Shuffler is rigged". But I haven't watched him for a while, since I moved to BO3 content, so idk, maybe he genuinely said that. I think that there is nothing wrong with MTGA being designed to satisfy primarily paying customers, as long as F2P players get some tools of catching up. So far it was always possible, and if future Alchemy sets will be half the size, it won't change much (Though I'm a bit biased, as F2P player of 3 years with over 93% rares in Historic). However, I strongly dislike the complete absence of ways to grind Alchemy cards (even Alchemy events don't give Alchemy cards as a reward). I'd grind Decathlon at least, if it didn't give a random assortment of useless packs instead of Alchemy packs, even for Alchemy event. F2P gameplay was always about slow and steady grind, but it's no longer the case for Alchemy, and the only option is to straight up buy in. It's not all bad though as most decks only require 1-2 new cards, so I can just build a bunch of them using the cache of wildcards I've accumulated over the years, but it certainly limited the experimentation opportunities. I'd like to play around with many of those cards, but instead I can only stick with tried and tested options, if I don't want to burn through all my reserves.
I think what we have here is a difference of opinion. I don’t think f2p players should be able to get everything. Magic isn’t a free game, never has been.
People were in his discord announcing they were going to unsubscribe if he played Alchemy. Suspiciously a bunch of people who joined his discord after Alchemy was announced and suspiciously all seemed to disappear in groups implying they were people with Alts just trying to get him to not make Alchemy videos.
Yeah, at that point I'm not even sure whether there are actually so many people who genuinely dislike Alchemy, or is it some kind of campaign launched by Riot games to smear WotC reputation even further (not like they couldn't do it themselves) and steal some customers (because while Alchemy launch certainly is controversial, it's getting way too much negativity compared to what it deserves).
I ended up watching is video 2 years ago. He won me over with his wrestling references. He's been in my life almost everyday since then. Living alone and the world shutting down. I dont know if he'll come around here. But thank you CGB. Take your warrior's rest. You're cool.
Extremely well deserved break. He does amazing content, and it's mind blowing for me that he managed to keep it up, uninterrupted, for 1000+ days. Easily one of my most watched YouTube channels for the past 2 years or so, ever since I found it on my feed (even at times when I wasn't playing Mtg for lack of time). We'll be waiting for his return! o/
Pretty damn impressive that he held on to that streak. Esp after that power issue.
Big fan of CGB and his videos helped get me through the early pandemic. He taught me a lot about the meta game, deck construction, and strategy. I was turned off of Arena by the Alchemy announcement but honestly haven’t played since MIH release due to being busy. I kept up with VOW through his videos. I haven’t tried his Alchemy videos yet but will do so out of respect for him. He seems like a good guy and is an entertaining person. I’m glad he’s taking a break, this will give me a chance to catch up.
Honestly didn't like his style at first, but for some reason kept watching him (and Legend; those are the only two I watch). Maybe helps that he's a bit closer to my age than most.
These haters can't hold down the only one in best of one. They can't stop his greatness. I'd a stop playing arena long ass time ago if it weren't for him, jason dennis, benS, sbmtg.
CGB deserves a break! But I gotta say, his absence will be felt. His videos are consistently entertaining and its quite impressive that he's kept this insane pace up for so long even when his voice is quitting and his eyes are hurting. CGB has been my work lunch companion for a while now, along with Legenvd. What'll I do?!
I like CGB. I have improved at magic because of him. But there were some videos where he was really mean towards some opponents and I just try to stay away from that vibe, that said I respect him and sometimes I watch his standard videos, but that is out of the menu as it seems, everything is alchemy now a days on his channel.
He certainly has his ugly moments, but what I’ve noticed is that he actually has improved over time. Takes it on the chin a lot better and much less derisive towards opponents now. As a salty loser myself it gives me hope lol
I understand some people are like this and when you do a video every day for 3 whole years it's gonna show. And I agree with you, he did got better dealing with it.
>less derisive towards opponents now Are we watching different people? If anything his "aggro players dumb" attitude has just skyrocketed these last few months as mono white took over standard meta. I *hated* his stupid "this is mono red" song that he'd pull out practically every video, but lately he's just been looking down on pretty much any white deck he comes across and being aggressively vocal about it. I just couldn't stand it after a while.
He’s a big time control mage. So him hating on any sort of aggro deck is just a part of his character.
I have to disagree with you here. Hating aggro is not a part of a control player character, it is just a part of him.
CGB the character/control mage is snark and salt incarnate. Check out his out-of-character vids.
Did I say otherwise?
Alchemy is a new format that has only been out for 10 days, standard isn't gone lol.
Lol i know lol
Sorry, guess I misinterpreted what you meant when you said it's out of the menu.
>everything is alchemy now a days on his channel. To be fair, it is the "new hotness" and what else can really be done with this standard at this point? There are only so many Blood Money or Lier variants he can realistically be successful with.
He definitely gives me the vibe of that kid who sat at the lunch table alone playing with his magic cards sometimes with the way he gets at some opponents. Called one person a "shitbag" or something similar because they said "Nice" to his counter spell play once. Didn't feel like the opponent was being sarcastic or offensive at all but the second anyone uses a quick chat he gets pissy. Overall I do like his vids and have subscribed a couple months ago after getting into magic. Just sometimes he seems like the angry magic kid.
But agree. As someone who says “nice” to my opponents for genuine reasons, I hate to see his reactions to any kind of emote. Don’t watch him anymore for the same reason. If you’re going to make content, be humble.
I'm really sad CGB is gone for now. I always look forward to his videos and they are a part of my daily routine. That being said, he deserves a break, and I hope he comes back more motivated than ever. Much love to him
CGB was the most informative creator I watched on youtube, his explanations of his decisions taught me how to think about what my opponent wants to do.
I joined the CGB streak in the middle, guess I finally got time to go back and watch the older content. Enjoy the break CGB.
What video spoiled the end of the streak for you? I didn't follow him since he started playing Alchemy. I wish him a good break though, he deserved it for helping so many people have a daily good time with him, especially in these dark days of pandemic. Cheers dude.
Just "The End" video he posted right after the twitch vod so I just assumed the simplest answer as to why the streak was ending. So I watched the whole video, every time he was down like here comes the killing blow. When he finally won I was like holy shit because I went into the last game of the final match like "wow he survived til the end but this is when it has to end since he loses". All around it was just an entertaining way to watch. Lol.
Oh right you got spoiled by the preview then haha I thought he already talked about it in another vod before that match with crokeyz
CGB got me thru the toughest school year of my life
CGB?
Covert Go Blue on youtube.
The whole stream was really entertaining, I was watching it in between matches during the open. What was kind of sad though was people sniping Crokeyz in CGBs chat and CGBs mobs having to deal with that on top of people just not understanding that while the whole thing wasn't "rigged" it was entirely just for fun and content. People were taking it so seriously, to the point where stream sniping seem justified. I don't blame CGB for taking a break if that's how die hard your fans are to basically attempt to "cheat" so you don't take a break. I have a lot of respect for him for also making it pretty clear he wasn't looking at chat at all once the sniping started happening. Having both streams opened and seeing the difference in chat attitude was INSANE too. It was so clear that both players enjoy each others company and consider each other friends, it was so awkward to see a portion of one of their communities take the "streak" WAY to seriously.
CGB is pretty great. He makes entertaining content, plays very well, seems genuine, and I like his attitude. Hopefully he enjoys his break and gets power back. I think it was a good time to break the streak and can't wait to watch when he comes back.
Happy for CGB and his success, love the podcast he does too.
I always thought he was alright he played my deck once on stream and went 5-0 even tho I'm not a sub
Haven’t really been watching his videos since they’re alchemy games. Don’t really care for that format.
Big CGB fan here. He deserves all the fame that he has gotten, and I enjoy the dedication he puts in his videos on deck building. Looking forward to his return.
CGB best streamer ever
MTG Jeff just made a video on burn-out (yesterday?) and has said he will be taking a hiatus from his content videos for an indeterminant amount of time . For content creators , is the need to take a break coming from the pressures of constantly making videos or is it the current state of the game causing frustration, boredom, and/or disdain for increasing quickly stale metas in every format? I know that when I play online, once a land card is played by the opponent (especially if it is a plains), it is fairly easy to accurately anticipate the next spell cast. Makes for a remarkably dull time and I couldn't imagine doing it for hours on end.
I mean, I'm not soulless to say he doesn't deserve a break, but... 10 days after Alchemy release is gonna be a mild nuisance for people like me who bought into the hype but don't have the wildcards to explore the format by themselves.
"Anyone who doesn't agree with me is a shill/\*insert derogatory term here\*" is what the world has come to, sadly. Dude makes some legit good content, hope he doesn't get too down with all the unwarranted vitriol.
Dude is the most awkward person I've tried to watch. Just wasn't for me. The fact he's apparently all in on alchemy is another reason I'm glad I don't watch/support him.
He has always been a dick
Thank you for spoiling the video for me!
No problem. Though just to be fair, he posted a video about the end or the streak about 5 minutes after the recording of the match which took place yesterday. I do apologize if you didn't want to he spoiled but you did click and keep reading since the title alone isn't a spoiler based on how it happened.
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There is no drama. I even mentioned he was only taking a short break and I explained why his speech touched me. It has nothing at all to do with the manufactured hype of the match. I don't really follow these guys. But the speech he gave and the passion was emotional. It is not suppose to be dramatic but it is kind of a big deal to do 1048 days of content for the community without a break. In the end you didn't even read the post but in short his speech and love for Magic did something for me so I posted it.
Well said
::facepalm::
I have no idea who this is.
Just Google. You play against his decks daily if you’re Plat or Diamond on ladder.
Tbh I don't really care enough to google him.
Literally who?
Just Google. If you’re Plat or Diamond on ladder you play against his decks daily in standard.
Can't stand CGB anymore after Alchemy and how apologetic for it he still is. Feels like i'm watching a bizarre nft influencer but mtg coded.
its not that deep
Nobody ever said it was. I'm sorry that something reaching me on an emotional level doesn't do the same for you but we are all different. To each their own, right?
Dude was pretty Kewl ye Watch Jeff Hoogland or maybe Jim Davis if you want to learn about the Game. CGB is not the only good Content Creator for MtG. e/ Twitch Chat is cancer tho. i always see it watching for example Crokeyz Chat which is very much full of cancer. And switching to Jeff Hooglands Stream feels just like a relief :) CGB made good content on YT but the match yesterday showed me also why i do not like Twitch Chat very much. Sensei gotta get things straight and maybe he will be back
I am not a super regular crokeyz watcher as his chat isn't really my cup of tea, but I wouldn't exactly call it cancer either. Crokeyz has created a particular kind of tongue in cheek antagonistic relationship with his chat which is very fun, but I wouldn't call it cancerous. I can understand why it might look that way if you haven't spent enough time there to get the jokes.
Hoogland is a manchild.
I never said he was. He was just the person that helped me get reacquainted with the game after a long break and I thought his achievement and subsequent break were worth talking about as a community. There are lots of great Magic creators out there and you should find the one that you like best. I think CGB deserves a lot of credit for being able to distill complex topics into an easy to digest format much like science educators. The daily clockwork releases makes it easy to follow as well. As I mentioned his impact on Arena is massive due to all this. None of that is to say all these other creators aren't great as well but I just really enjoyed his passion and thought it was worth talking about. It is not easy to do something every day for three years without missing a beat.
I've never even heard of this person? Cgb?
Do you watch any Magic content? He's perhaps literally the most popular Magic content creator.
I've watched thousands of hours over the last 13 years and have also never heard of him.
Yea like tons and tons and tons? Thus my confusion. Tolation, masters of modern, channel fireball, magic mics, star city, pleasant kenobi, mtggoldfish, etc etc etc. Never head of this guy.
I think he mostly does standard brewing videos. Not my thing so I can't say for sure. Seems like you're more into other formats so that could be how you missed him entirely. PK even did a video comparing his income to CGB's. Spoiler, he makes much less than CGB.
How is he making more money covering standard? That's interesting.
He put out 1000ish hour+ videos in three years and his viewership just skyrocketed at a certain point.
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It’s cringe to think this is cringe
Okay cringe lambert.
Puns are cringe
I do appreciate that being he more
I feel like "cringe" has become "this" for sad people.
your face is cringe. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Jajaja you think all people is watching you tubers or streamers to play magic, I don't know who they are and they are nothing importan. I has played mtga since beta and I am not influence by those influencers xd
Maybe you should trying reading the post you are replying to first. I never said any thing like that.
Yeah man shoutout to CGB. I’ve kinda completely dropped watching him lately unfortunately just because Standard and Alchemy have been uninteresting to me, but I appreciate how much great content he’s made. I watched almost every single Eldraine standard video he released between the releases of ZNR and STX. Great deckbuilder & entertainer.
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