I'm new to Magic the Gathering

[MetallicaRulez0]

I got back into Magic last year after a long hiatus (began playing in 2003, stopped in 2007). I just recently stopped playing again. I'd LOVE to play it, but the cost of competitive play is just astronomical these days. $30+ each for some of the standard staples is absolutely ludicrous. I could buy a used car for the cost of some of the top tier decks. Unfortunately I don't have $800 to sink into a good deck each year, and if I can't play a good deck then I'd rather just not play.

 

[Manji187]

I judge at my store's FNM, played on and off (Originally started in first Mirrodin, quit at Ravnica because of cost, rejoined at Zendikar and played since). I don't like the price creep of standard, so I play Modern, one deck in Vintage, and TONS of EDH.

Modern decks:
Spellweaver Helix OTK
Molten Psyche Burn Combo
Heartbeat of the Storm (Heartbeat of the Spring/Eye of the Storm combo)

Legacy deck:
Pyromancer's Ascention Combo

Vintage deck:
Hulk Flash OTK

EDH Decks:
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/teysa-edh-12-08-12-1/
My pride and joy, my Teysa EDH with my custom art (professional painter) Liliana of the Veil.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/karador-edh-12-08-12-1/
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/merieke-edh-16-08-12-1/

Interesting. And here I thought there was no love for EDH on the Escapist.

I also have a Teysa "Cannon fodder" deck, but my white weenies are mostly generated by blinking/ replaying creatures that have ETB token generation triggers.

From a technical standpoint, I'm curious though. Isn't 33 land a bit on the short side, also considering the fact that several of them enter the battlefield tapped? Moreover, there is virtually no way for you to get land, unless you draw into them or use tutors. Must be somewhat challenging, playing against decks containing green.

Most of my stuff is cheap enough I can survive on 3 lands, and Skullclamp, Necropotence, and Phyrexian Arena give me enough draw to find what I need. The huge amount of tutor really helps as well. I have considered using Dimir Machinations to accelerate the process.

If you say so. I was just somewhat surprised at the absence of stuff like Land Tax, Weathered Wayfarer and Solemn Simulacrum.

Dimir Machinations could fetch you Necropotence or Phyrexian Arena (or other 3 CMC things), so I guess it's not a bad choice.

Land Tax is on the want list, alongside Vindicate, but locating them and having the money to acquire them are difficult. Most of my stuff I traded for.

At the end of the day, I don't like Solemn in this deck, solely because he doesn't contribute to my win condition. I use him in my Meireke Ri Beret Esper Artifact deck, and in my Animar Planet deck, but a creature that can't be sacrificed to Teysa, or generate on board presence can't go in to an ultra tight list.

Why Vindicate, if I may ask? Sure, it destroys a permanent, but only once. No way to quickly recur sorceries in W/ B.

Well, yes, if taken on his own Solemn Simulacrum is not terribly good in a Teysa deck. But if you manage to blink him (preferably repeatedly)he can become an engine of advantage. Considering you have plenty of creatures with ETB triggers, have you considered using Conjurer's Closet?

Btw, for your Merieke deck (why not Sharuum?), have you considered Deadeye Navigator? Very useful with Solemn, very devious with Magister Sphinx (prepare for the ensuing hate). Although, technically, the sphinx is not banned, it is a rather douchey card. Especially if you cheat it into play early via Master Transmuter. Well, at least you aren't additionally playing Sorin Markov .

Is infinite mana (and other infinite combo's) allowed in your playgroup?

Let's go down the list:

1) Vindicate is amazing because it is ANY permanent. Enchantments are some of the most dangerous card in EDH, from Necropotence to Solitary Confinement, Privileged Position, Debtor's Knell... etc. The fact that it can nuke anything makes it a great tool to keep yourself alive.

2) My deck lacks blinks abilities because of how vulnerable they are in EDH, and how they rely too much on each other. Most of my tokens come from my sorceries.

3)Don't have Sharuum. He's out of the stock at my local shop. Meireke isn't bad mind you, but I would rather run Sharuum.

4) I use Magister (2 others in my group use Sorin Markov), but I don't use Deadeye because...

5) Infinite combos are banned in my group. Use one, that deck is banned. My Teysa has the capability if I sub in Ashnod's Altar and Darkest Hour, but I don't want the deck banned.

Yeah, enchantments can be dangerous. That's why you are playing Return to Dust (exiling two is nice), Aura of Silence, Seal of Cleansing, Austere Command and best of all, Necrotic Sliver, recurrable through both Sun Titan and Reveillark. What I'm saying...there's kill and there's overkill. You've got your recurrable Vindicate already. Sacrificing a slot for a one-off extra seems unnecessary.

As I see it, the problem with instants and sorceries in W/ B is that once they're gone, they're often gone for good (i.e. they're all one-off, IF you manage to cast them succesfully). Have you ever faced a mill or discard deck?

Sharuum is a she, by the way.

Yeah, my playgroup bans em as well. Doesn't stop certain people from being douchey with cards like Quietus Spike though.

 

[Sarah Kerrigan]

I actually started playing back in March, and I am really into it now. I am running currently a Selysnia & Azorious (Ravnica decks) but my two main is a mono white angel and mono-blue mill. So excited for GateCrash it's scary. I just want the new Gideon

 

[(sic) humor]

When I first got into Magic Online, I became so addicted my bank thought my identity had been stolen.

"We see a lot of small transactions going a single seller at odd times of the week..."

I had to quit cold turkey for a while. But before and after I reined it in, I leaned towards Black/Blue control. Love me some mill decks.

 

[ascorbius]

I started playing just over a year ago, thanks to Loading Ready Run and some of the guys who work for me playing it. got into it, now I have some nice decks of varying lethality.

I play for fun, not just to win. I love the mind games and springing something on my opponent and watching them try to deal with it. I'm actually happy if they do. Don't get me wrong, I like winning, but I like a fair fight too....

One thing I've noticed of Magic players, they do tend to be bright and overall, nice people.



oh, and no-one likes land destruction decks.. which is bad for me, 'cos one of my decks is an everything destruction deck.. Liquimetal Coating + Smelt makes for a very nice 1 mana pop anything... and Mycosynth Lattice and Creeping Corrosion ruins everyone's day.. especially in multiplayer. It won't get you many Christmas cards though.

 

[Jynthor]

I started playing just over a year ago, thanks to Loading Ready Run and some of the guys who work for me playing it. got into it, now I have some nice decks of varying lethality.

I play for fun, not just to win. I love the mind games and springing something on my opponent and watching them try to deal with it. I'm actually happy if they do. Don't get me wrong, I like winning, but I like a fair fight too....

One thing I've noticed of Magic players, they do tend to be bright and overall, nice people.



oh, and no-one likes land destruction decks.. which is bad for me, 'cos one of my decks is an everything destruction deck.. Liquimetal Coating + Smelt makes for a very nice 1 mana pop anything... and Mycosynth Lattice and Creeping Corrosion ruins everyone's day.. especially in multiplayer. It won't get you many Christmas cards though.

Ugh, land destruction, I was playing a Selesnya populate deck in the Return to Ravnica pre release and I played [mtg_card=Grove of the Guardian] my opponent then used [mtg_card=Survey the Wreckage] of course I had absolutely no counters to that in my deck, just my luck.

 

[Dragon Zero]

I'm really close to starting to play it, I especially like the Innistrad block flavor wise. As others have said, Loading Ready Run has been a big influence on me getting into it what with their Friday nights vids, MTGO Academy Draft vids and their live drafts on twitch tv. I've also gotten the first Duels on my PS3 thanks to Playstation Plus, though it's not as enjoyable as I thought it would be, mainly because of the enemy AI which seems both brainless and hyper intelligent at times. Also I have friends who've begged me for years to try it.

 

[masticina]

Played a while stopped in the end, why? Well every new expansion would add another layer of exceptions upon the groundrules, not only that also exceptions upon exceptions. The resolve que was getting ridiculous!

I don't mind some mental sparring but at times it came close to one of those "Oh no see the rule is that if you do this that you cannot do that" kind of games your friends think up.

I do like some things about it and I see how like chess it has a real competitive edge. Me well I just stopped playing. I still have the cards though.. Teeka's Dragon is one I own I belief. Eh I am sure it is forbidden to play that one in combination with modern cards.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

While the rules are complicated and new elements get added to them with every new set, they put a LOT of effort into keeping everything working with internal consistency.

as for Teeka's Dragon, it's legal in the Vintage and Legacy formats, but not in Standard or Modern

 

[themind]

I haven't played Magic since high school so I can't offer much real advice, but I used to play mono-green, with as many Thalids as i could get, and always 4 thicket basilicks, 2/4 and they killed every creature with every attack... I called it the prick deck.

 

[OrokuSaki]

I learned to play around the time I was 7, but I wasn't very serious until Planeshift came out in about 2001. Since then I've been off and on (skipping from Lorwynn all the way to New Phyrexia.

Mostly I play mono red burn, which is cheap cards that deal damage direct to players. My favorite trick is Hidetsugu's Second Rite which states that if an opponent has exactly ten life then they take 10 damage.

 

[Jdb]

What I do is pick a new/newer mechanic, build a core idea around it, and then make variations of it. For example, right now I have a white-blue control deck with a focus on Detain. The core idea is to Detain the opponent until I can build up a powerful creature force. Variations are: Enchanted Flying; Artifacts that can turn into creatures, where I activate them after playing destroy creature cards; and Azor's Elocutors behind a wall of hard to kill creatures.

Overall, I like to play control or combo decks. I wanted to play aggressive at first, but the first aggressive deck I ever saw scared me too much with its efficiency. I mean, this guy had things like four flying damage by turn two! Ha, what a jerk.

 

[shilkyo]

well i have been playin for about 3 years now and i use a 5 color sliver deck. the way i have it set up is to counter my opponet till i can get a few out the it turns in to a speed deck and if all else fails i have one finaly trump card called blaze, and a few tips for someone wanting to use a sliver deck in my oppinion it must have crystalline sliver, clot sliver, that way there protected til you can get the more offinsive ones out

 

[Tallim]

I usually build decks around overlooked cards or junk cards. I mainly do this because I probably have more fun deck building than actually playing. However I do like the WTF moment when an opponent realises that they are facing something that they have no clue about.

Sadly, recently, I haven't been able to think of anything and I'm not up to date with the latest set due to a lot of real life reasons. Most of my decks are Classic and the last time I had a rogue deck in Standard was before Ravnica hit. Deck was dependent on a couple of cards from last set that rotated out :/

Although now I've converted that deck for Classic and it works even better.


When I find time to play I play on Magic Online and my clan knows I'm the guy who will bring the "weird" deck to a clan multi.


For the record I *stopped* playing originally after Mirage and only came back to the game last year as a friend gave me the cash to get a MTGO account for a birthday gift.

I usually play Blue/Green or Blue/Black. I hate playing red as it rarely interests me. But weirdly despite my passion for blue I rarely play counters as they also annoy me.