How To Use Magic Workstation Part 4 - Etiquette

Hi, and welcome to the final article in How To Use Magic Workstation! In the final article, we'll be covering etiquette. These are the kind of things that a new MWS player won't know, but can seriously piss off a veteran, even though they won't even know they're doing it. They're also quite important, so let's get to it! (This is all stuff I wish I knew when I was a newbie at MWS)

Your first piece of etiquette should be before you even play a game. Go to Game -> Test Deck in Solo Mode. Then, under your name in the right side of the screen, change it from Player to whatever username you like. A lot of MWSers don't like Player as a name as it's too anonymous and also can be symbolic of a noob (or an experienced player trying to catch people out). Personally, I'll play with people named Player but a lot of people don't.

Now we're ready to play. If you decide to create a game, specify what you want. "T2" isn't a good description. "T2 2/3 sb" is. (Note: that means a game of Type 2 (Standard) 2 out of 3 games, with sideboarding: i.e, a standard tournament-style match.)

Also make sure not to be too exacting with your requirements, because it makes you look like an asshole. "T2 Tier 1 no quitters no griefers no Player no noobs 2/3 sb must be fast and use phases" is the kind of game I simply won't join, because it seems to me that that person is very likely to fly off the handle if I'm a bit too slow or even if I lag a bit.

Once you get in the game, greet your opponent (a simple "Hi" will suffice), and then Ctrl + S to shuffle your deck a few times. Ctrl + I rolls the dice to determine who goes first, and then you should say whether you play or draw. If you keep, say so, if you mulligan, feel free to simply press Ctrl + M rather than say 'mull'.

Under M10 rules, after your first mulligan, you then wait for your opponent to decide. If they are reticent (generally trying to get you to reveal further information) ask them 'keep?'. They'll then have to reply.

When you play, at the end of your turn, it is a good idea to say 'End my turn'. Your opponent will then end your turn, or say EOT and perform something in that step. You do the same for him. This gives players the opportunity to respond to the end of turn step.

As to phases, generally you use them in more complex situations (such as when you're attacking with a Putrid Leech and expect a removal spell). or if you're in a tournament game or your opponent expects it. If you're a precise kind of person, you have the right to ask them to use phases (but if they aren't used to it, they may forget).

If you have a rules question, and you can't work it out with your opponent, go to magic-league.com and join the #judges4you chat. They'll be able to answer it.

If you want to play combo, it's a good idea to become fluent at goldfishing it before playing on MWS, for the happiness of all concerned.

Last but certainly not least, if you play against a rude or abusive opponent, simply leave. There's plenty of other opponents out there: don't waste time playing against someone who abuses you. It isn't worth it.

These are all tips that I simply picked up from learning. There seems to be a lot there, but don't worry: you'll pick it up bit by bit until most of it is second nature. It's okay to be slow with the program at first (just make sure you solitaire enough to remember the basic functions before you play), and you'll get faster before you know it. And now, you people who don't know how to use MWS have absolutely no excuse:) Hop on MWS, and play some games!

Enjoy!

How To Use Magic Workstation: Part 1 - Download and Installation

Welcome to How To Use Magic Workstation! This series will cover the basics and not-so-basics of Magic Workstation (henceforth referred to as MWS), and get you up to speed with getting it up and running with all the cards, the interface of both building and playing, and the etiquette of the program.

To download the core of Magic Workstation, you can follow this link: http://www.magicworkstation.com/downloads.php. It's the first file.

Alright! You've downloaded it. Installing it is easy, simply follow the prompts.

However, when you bring up your Magic Workstation, you'll probably see some very odd cards. These aren't Magic cards, so we're going to need the gamepack. Thus, follow this link: http://www.mwsgames.com/index.php/Main_Page and download the MTG Card Database.

There's one small problem: the database as of this writing does not contain Zendikar cards. To get those, we'll need to add a new set. Since you have to do this every few months anyway, I'll walk you through the process. First, Google up <set name> MWS patch. To make it easier on you, the Zendikar one is here.

Once it's downloaded, we need to install it. First, go to the toolbar at the top (the one with File, Edit and View in it in basically all programs) and go to Tools. Under there, select Analyse/Add/Remove Editions. Once there, choose Add New Edition, then tick the "Get data from text spoiler" option.

You can then proceed to go to your Downloads folder and select the Zendikar file. Click Next. Under the booster pack option, change the basic lands value to 1, and the commons value to 10. Then you're done! Go to File -> Save, or simply press Ctrl + S, and you're ready to play with the new cards.

Join us next time, when we talk about how to build some new decks and connect to your opponent!

P.S: I apologise for the lack of screenshots. Magic Workstation takes up most of the screen and I have a big screen, so screenshots are generally nearly useless. I'll do my best to explain it all with text.