The Staple Spells Thread got me thinking... in my group, we tend to gravitate towards certain metamagic techniques, and usually in a certain order too. Are there any metamagic techniques you consider to be staples? If so, do you take them in any particular order?

For me, it's almost always Masking, Shielding, Centering, in about that order. I like Masking to hide sustaining foci and the like, Shielding to protect myself and my teammates more efficiently (and it's nice adding +TNs to offset a non 6 body or willpower), and Centering is just nice. (A karma sink, but nice)

I really haven't made use of many others--invoking, anchoring and quickening all sound potentially fun, but I've never seen them used. For that matter, has anyone ever needed psychometry or filtering?

Those are pretty much the Big Three for a spellslinger, though Divination has come up in a game and Invoking and Channeling are extremely useful for conjurers.

~J

Full magician: Masking, Shielding, Centering. Usually, they have a Centering linked skill all ready, but the main purpose for a full mage of any tradition that I've seen in my games is simply to counter the enemy mages, so there is not much actual spell casting.

Adept(non-magical): Centering (Physical and Stealth), Centering (Melee/Range combat or Social), Masking, Cognition.

honestly I don’t like masking first, you cant hide enough in it. Until grade 3 or 4.

I like centering invoking (on a shaman) and shielding for early picks.

Edward