(Un)limited Fun

card art from Duress, showing how this game can make me feel

Sometimes, I hate playing Magic. I play mostly constructed format, meaning I design and build the decks in advance of playing. Constructed features the most powerful decks for a few reasons:

1. Players have (at least) several sets available from which to choose cards, making for more potent synergies and combinations
2. Players (who pay enough) can obtain the maximum 4 copies of the best cards for their decks, increasing potency
3. Players have plenty of time to play and refine their decks beforehand

For these reasons, competitive constructed decks are more powerful- they win faster and more consistently- than in any other format. I love it, and I hate it. 

It's fun to design in advance, to have so many options, and time to refine. But there are always players who design better, have more options, and have more time to refine, meaning this is a time- and money-intensive format. Playing the format on Arena will show you what I mean. And when the meta in the constructed format of choice is unhealthy, it's demoralizing to get beaten down early and often because I refuse to play one of the known good strategies, or don't have access to the cards needed to play those strategies. It drains the fun. I've felt that recently.

Enter limited play. I'm becoming increasingly fond of these events because they serve as equalizers.

• all players have access to a much reduced number of cards
• and the cards are less powerful, making for longer- but more balanced- games
• players construct their deck at the event, so there's no time to refine

For these two reasons, it makes the games (in my opinion) much more fun. In addition, limited events often force players to use cards they normally wouldn't in constructed, meaning you get to explore more of a set than you would otherwise.  Decks also tend to be more creature-heavy (which I like). Of course, pack randomization means you can be at an inherent (dis)advantage right from the start- but it's still more balanced than constructed.

The two limited formats are draft and sealed.

• In draft, you pick a card from a pack and pass the remainder to your opponent, and then pick again until all packs have been distributed. You still have some say over your card pool (though you don't know what the other players are picking, and that can disrupt your plans). And people can prepare for drafts by consulting experts and knowing which cards are the best to pick first (again, putting me at a disadvantage since I don't like all that prep).  So the ultimate equalizer is sealed. 
• I'm becoming quite fond of sealed- the format where each player gets 6 packs and adds basic lands to build a deck of 40 cards.  This video from Tolarian Community College (a great site) gives some good tips for building a sealed deck, and this one (focused on the Core 2021 prerelease) gives great tips for the format in general.

One impressive aspect of Magic is its flexibility. You can love one format and hate another; play one set constantly and ignore the next. Or switch between them as you tire of one. The possibilities are endless; the fun is unlimited.