I found a new love

Nickalooose1 · March 2024

CASUALS 😍

Casuals are soo much better than Ranked, I didn't even realise, I thought it was a waste of my time, but turns out, ranked is a waste of my time... Players in Casual are so much smarter, better and more creative... I played maybe 7 or 8 matches in it so far and only played Giratina deck once, never played Gardevoir and haven't seen Charizard yet, although I have played 2 Fire decks, but Charizard wasn't there...

There's water decks I've never seen, Blastoise is being used, Urshifu, Ditto / United Wings... I've seen Heatran being used, Mew EX being used and I haven't seen that in a while... Ranked players got to step up their game, casual players are keeping the game alive IMO and I see why a lot of players here barely hit 600 points, it's not worth the time.

It's nice you can still complete the Battle Pass there too and level up, so there is no real con to playing in it... The prizes in ranked are not worth the annoyance of seeing the same 3 decks every time you log on, and, if you lose, nothing happens but losing your win streak 💪🏽

OU7C4ST · March 2024

I agree that it's really nice that we can still complete the daily challenges via Casual matches.

TheJeffers · March 2024

Every game has this phenomenon to some degree, and not just card games. Strategy games, shooters, sports...

In competitive environments, players are naturally going to optimise and refine their strategies down to and handful of proven playstyles.

There are of course innovators, but ironically their new strategies tend to be quickly replicated by everyone else once proven effective and they are accused of copying and being "meta-sheep" themselves.

A change in format can also be refreshing. Even if you remain in a competitive setting, playing with different card pools can let you see new decks and expose you to a lot of novelty. It's why Pokémon TCG needs more than just Standard.

It's one of the reasons I like MTG's multiple formats. If Standard is stale, you can try your hand at Modern, Legacy or even multiplayer formats like EDH. Then there is draft and cube.

It is great that you have jumped into a different pool and found something new that appeals to you. Perhaps casual is even better environment for you long term.

Be careful, though. After a while you may start to notice the patterns in your new meta, and that too may become stale to you.

Variety is the spice of life. Maybe after some time in casual, you may want to go back to competitive with fresh eyes, and it will all seem novel and innovative again.