I can kinda see the “too fast” complaint with stuff like Brawl or other unranked modes, but in any ranked modes, winning is the point, so I feel like there isn’t really any room to complain about fast and efficient decks in ranked play. Idk which modes you tend to play, so that may or may not be relevant. At the very least, fast decks let you get on to the next match sooner.

Agreed on ropers, of course, though I don’t see a whole lot of intentional roping that often. However, I usually play Brawl, and otherwise have only have one janky ranked Historic deck that usually hangs out in silver, so I don’t know if it’s worse in higher rank tiers. More often I see people who just seem to have trouble making decisions quickly, or don’t seem to notice that they have priority until the rope starts. It’s mildly frustrating, but it usually doesn’t appear to be intentional so I try not to get too mad about it.

On wilds, I actually got into the Arena alpha test back in the day, but I’ve taken a few multi-year breaks from it since release. I’ve found that if you play consistently across the lifetime of a set, you can end up filling out a lot of it, but actually catching up on sets that you’ve missed, especially if there are years’ worth of them, is a nightmare. I’m probably going to have to wait for another rotation before I can really think about trying to get into Standard. I can’t imagine how bad it is for brand-new players…

Which is why it failed.

Other than the pets and to some extent the triggers, this mostly just seems like complaints about Magic itself. It also strikes me as odd to complain about decks that are too fast and decks that are too slow simultaneously…

At any rate, my main problems with Arena are the horrifically slow wildcard economy and the lack of multiplayer Brawl.

F

One of my childhood best friends transitioned and another came out as bi. I think a lot of it is just that people with ADHD and/or on the spectrum tend to get along really well with other ADHD/spectrum people. Since those traits heavily overlap with also being LGBTQ+, those who don’t fall into that overlap end up making friends in their youth with a lot of people who eventually come out later once they figure themselves out.

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A

Huh, so the “cishet ADHD person that just happens to keep ending up in overwhelmingly-LGBTQ+ friend groups” thing isn’t just me? Interesting…

S

Goodbye

Y

Goodbye

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Ouija.exe has stopped responding and needs to close.

Goodbye

H

I was curious about this because I felt like this has been a problem for longer than that, and after a bit of searching I found this random forum post that compiled some stats around week 1 rookie starters. It’s from 2021, so a bit out of date, and the formatting is a bit confusing, but it’s still interesting to look at.

Filling out the list after 2020 from memory and some quick Googling, 2021 would add Trevor Lawrence, Mac Jones, and Zach Wilson, 2022 had no week 1 rookie starters (Kenny Pickett wouldn’t start until week 4) for the first time since 2007, and 2023 had CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, and Anthony Richardson.

As for trends, there was a meaningful bump after 2000, as 10 rookies started week 1 between 2000 and 2010 compared to just 3 across the 90s. The insane 2012 class really kicked it into high gear though.

I think the league’s increased passing focus caused it to happen more often, but usually out of desperation or with players considered to be generational prospects, but then 2012 seemed to give everyone the impression that it could happen regularly.

I feel like if the Vikings were planning to sit JJ year one, they would’ve targeted someone other than Sam Darnold as their bridge starter. We’ll see if the injury gives JJ more time to learn the offense, but I think it’s hard to call a major injury a “good thing” for anyone.

I think the NFL’s desperation for quality QBs is likely making the problem worse. So many top QB prospects get drafted to dysfunctional franchises with incompetent coaches and massive holes across the entire roster, then get dropped into week 1 with the expectation that they’ll be the savior of the franchise.

Circumstances matter a lot, and I can’t help but wonder how many “bust” QBs would’ve been better off with a year or two in a low-pressure backup spot to adjust to the league and learn the scheme instead of getting thrown into the fire right away. It seems to work for the Packers. Hell, even Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith his rookie year. I wonder how different his career would be if he had been sent to start immediately…

Don’t worry, Maye will probably be starting by week 4, maybe week 6 at the latest. Brissett isn’t good enough to be able to hold him off for long.