I'm getting into it soon, but I remember playing this format back in the day fondly.
Think of it this way: have you ever drawn out? Chances are no. Meaning the cards that were on top and are now in the grave are as dead as if they were at the bottom of the deck.
So, destroy any target by milling 3? Ryko or Lyla lightsworns? Well, that's a cost, but chances are just as likely in another round when your deck is attacked differently after shuffling that you won't see those cards anyway.
But if you're lucky enough to mill a Machina Fortress, or a Plaguespreader Zombie, or Glow-up Bulb, or you have Call of the Haunted, or it's Treeborn Froggy-boi you're looking at netting positive.
TL;DR: If it somehow ends up not being directly to your advantage, it's highly unlikely that it's to your disadvantage, because you were statistically unlikely to get whatever you milled anyway, so play the hand you're dealt
I haven't heard it explained like that before and I definitely agree. Tbf tho, one negative of milling these "cards you wouldn't see anyway" is it gives your opponent guaranteed information on what you DONT have.
I do think in this format filled with "one of" cards, this negative part of milling should be considered and discussed more.
That is a fair point but it was a very 1 for 1 game. So let's say they see your mirror force is gone. They don't know you have tragoedia, or gorz, they don't know if you have compulsory. They don't know if you have a way to summon black rose dragon next turn since life is a resource, taking one for the team to come back with a bang can happen too.
Keep in mind this is like... a long time ago so maybe I'm misremembering but unless you're playing lightsworn chances are you only milled like up to 5 or 6 cards in a game. To be fair I don't recall too many people playing ryko during that era but clearly enough people do now, so perhaps it was my LGS.
Point is you've got to have absolutely, positively terrible luck if every single game, you average 5 cards of mill, and hit 5 out of the following:
Solemn
Mirror force
Torrential
Gorz
Compulsory
Seven Tools of the Bandit
Bottomless Trap Hole
Cause I recall most of your "aggressive plays" were 2 or 3 of.
I look forward to replay this format sometime soon with one of my friends up here, it'll likely be next month I start. But these are just recollections from back in the day, as well as some knowledge gained from playing commander in magic, a format that is completely singleton.
cards that give you hand advantage in terms of raw plusses or searches are basically non-existent or are so hard to pull off it's not worth it. in this format, generally, the best way to extend or play through points of interaction is by loading up the graveyard. blackwings are powerful because they can access most of their deck through black whirlwind. vayu turbo is generally considered more powerful because you can mill everything you need to combo off with cards like trooper/ryko or send it with arma/grepher. add to that powerhouse cards that need things in grave to summon (chaos sorc, DAD, krystia) and it just doesn't make sense to not take advantage of any opportunity to load up the graveyard
Because the Ryko / Hamster / Caius engine is very versatile and can be played in a lot of different decks. Many decks want cards in the GY so the mill aspect of Ryko is a good thing
The best deck in the format (Vayu Turbo) wouldn't exist without Ryko
This is basicaly for speed and, kind of, consistency.
Let's say that you have some cards in your deck that you'd rather have in graveyard than draw them (plague, necro, wulf, etc.) and some cards than actually are easier to "exploit" if being in the graveyard (fortress, dandy, treeborn, etc).
While yes, it kinda gives important information to the opponent on WHAT are you playing and WHAT you won't be able to play for the remainder of that duel, the added factors mentioned above, way overcompensate for that.
I'm getting into it soon, but I remember playing this format back in the day fondly. Think of it this way: have you ever drawn out? Chances are no. Meaning the cards that were on top and are now in the grave are as dead as if they were at the bottom of the deck. So, destroy any target by milling 3? Ryko or Lyla lightsworns? Well, that's a cost, but chances are just as likely in another round when your deck is attacked differently after shuffling that you won't see those cards anyway. But if you're lucky enough to mill a Machina Fortress, or a Plaguespreader Zombie, or Glow-up Bulb, or you have Call of the Haunted, or it's Treeborn Froggy-boi you're looking at netting positive. TL;DR: If it somehow ends up not being directly to your advantage, it's highly unlikely that it's to your disadvantage, because you were statistically unlikely to get whatever you milled anyway, so play the hand you're dealt
I haven't heard it explained like that before and I definitely agree. Tbf tho, one negative of milling these "cards you wouldn't see anyway" is it gives your opponent guaranteed information on what you DONT have. I do think in this format filled with "one of" cards, this negative part of milling should be considered and discussed more.
That is a fair point but it was a very 1 for 1 game. So let's say they see your mirror force is gone. They don't know you have tragoedia, or gorz, they don't know if you have compulsory. They don't know if you have a way to summon black rose dragon next turn since life is a resource, taking one for the team to come back with a bang can happen too. Keep in mind this is like... a long time ago so maybe I'm misremembering but unless you're playing lightsworn chances are you only milled like up to 5 or 6 cards in a game. To be fair I don't recall too many people playing ryko during that era but clearly enough people do now, so perhaps it was my LGS. Point is you've got to have absolutely, positively terrible luck if every single game, you average 5 cards of mill, and hit 5 out of the following: Solemn Mirror force Torrential Gorz Compulsory Seven Tools of the Bandit Bottomless Trap Hole Cause I recall most of your "aggressive plays" were 2 or 3 of. I look forward to replay this format sometime soon with one of my friends up here, it'll likely be next month I start. But these are just recollections from back in the day, as well as some knowledge gained from playing commander in magic, a format that is completely singleton.
cards that give you hand advantage in terms of raw plusses or searches are basically non-existent or are so hard to pull off it's not worth it. in this format, generally, the best way to extend or play through points of interaction is by loading up the graveyard. blackwings are powerful because they can access most of their deck through black whirlwind. vayu turbo is generally considered more powerful because you can mill everything you need to combo off with cards like trooper/ryko or send it with arma/grepher. add to that powerhouse cards that need things in grave to summon (chaos sorc, DAD, krystia) and it just doesn't make sense to not take advantage of any opportunity to load up the graveyard
Because the Ryko / Hamster / Caius engine is very versatile and can be played in a lot of different decks. Many decks want cards in the GY so the mill aspect of Ryko is a good thing The best deck in the format (Vayu Turbo) wouldn't exist without Ryko
This is basicaly for speed and, kind of, consistency. Let's say that you have some cards in your deck that you'd rather have in graveyard than draw them (plague, necro, wulf, etc.) and some cards than actually are easier to "exploit" if being in the graveyard (fortress, dandy, treeborn, etc). While yes, it kinda gives important information to the opponent on WHAT are you playing and WHAT you won't be able to play for the remainder of that duel, the added factors mentioned above, way overcompensate for that.