Okay, who of you 9 voters are playing? We're doing the Time Spiral block, so I figured I should tell you all how to get prepared.
Firstly, you want Magic Workstation, because this is how we'll be playing.
Here is a link to a direct download of the installer. Install it normally. If you are running Vista, put it in C:\MWS rather than in Program Files. I didn't do that, and it works fine, but you may have to. Now, download and install
the latest card database (direct link again).
Now you have MWS installed, and the card data is there. On the side you should see a list of like every card ever, starting with
"Ach! Hans, Run!" from Unhinged. It probably isn't showing you the correct picture. Want pictures? Yes, you do. If you never plan to use this program again, you can just
get images for the sets we'll be using here, courtesy of me. If you want nearly every picture, including tokens, you'll need to
download this torrent. "Cropped" refers to only the card art. "Full" means it's a scan of the entire card. Get what you want. If you're going the torrent route, you probably have an idea what you want to do.
Unzip whatever you have, and open the folder MWS is installed in. Go to C:\...\YourMWSFolder\Pics\ and drag your unzipped folders into that folder. Do not change anything about the folder names or file names. Restart MWS and you should have pictures. If at any point you're unclear or need more help, consult
this guide and the accompanying site but you should be fine.
Second, register an account on
this website. It is free, fast, and there is no spam or confirmation email; only a thanks for registering note. Then go to the
drafting page and familiarize yourself with starting a draft.
Go down to "Create a New Draft Queue". Retitle it if you like. Make a password no one will guess so no one joins you, and mess with options if you want (you may want to change players to 2), and then change the sets. You want Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, and Future Chaos. Leave the others alone. Create the queue. It'll refresh and your queue will be at the top. Click the button that says "Fill with bots" and the draft will start.
From this point you have 120 seconds to choose a card, but forget about that. So that you don't want to kill yourself, go to the new draft interface. (The new interface also doesn't make noise.) Pick cards FOR REAL or JUST TO GET THROUGH THE DRAFT, it doesn't matter. At the end, you'll be able to make a deck. I usually choose to show card pictures and arrange by color, but find out what you like.
Finally, when you are done, submit the deck. For purposes of learning how this works, your deck can be a single card--it doesn't check to see if your deck is legal as far as I know. On the next page there will be a link in the top right of the main area that says "Export as..." and give you several options. You want MWS, duh. It'll download. Simply open MWS and go to File > Open Deck, and open what you downloaded. It should load fine.
As for playing, click Game > Connect To Opponent. A box will appear! You want to connect to
mws.magic-league.com, which IS NOT a default choice. Paste it in. If you want MWS to remember this address, click the ellipsis and paste it onto the top line, and it'll be default. This server is good because it is often empty, so no one will mess with us while we try to find each other, and it won't be hard to find each other. One of you will have to open a table, or whatever the lingo is, and the second will join.
Some quick tips for actually playing the game:
- Play cards by double clicking them.
- Tap cards in play by double clicking them.
- Drag cards onto other cards to enchant them or equip them.
- Right click and drag to make a red arrow indicating targeting.
- When your opponent hits the End My Turn button in chat, hit Ctrl + Enter to change to your turn.
- Ctrl + U untaps everything at once
- Ctrl + D draws one card
- Ctrl + S shuffles your deck. THIS IS CLOSE TO D. DO NOT CHEAT OR FAKE CHEAT WITH THIS.
- Ctrl + I rolls a die.
- The P/T of a card can be set by right-clicking. Counters can also be added this way.
- While playing a game, go to Game > Preferences and change your name to something we'll recognize. MWS will remember it after that.
Play around in solo mode to figure out how to search your library, graveyard, etc. The easiest way to pull things out is to simply drag the card into your hand or the battlefield. Right clicking is your friend. When cards want you to reveal the top card of your library, right click, look at the top 1 cards, drag it to the field. This is the best way.
Okay. I think this is everything. It seems hard, but it is not. I did all this in about an hour and I have had it down pat since. Make sure you are ready for whenever your game is (all games are TBD atm).