Magic The Gathering

[Rastien]

I started playing magic again about a year ago so ill offer what advise i can from my experience.

First off if your wanting to learn to play the game find your local card shop and find out if they run Friday Night Magic (FNM) this will be Standard format, Current standard format is Zendikar worldwake and rize of the elderazi (this block rotates out in october). M11 (rotates out soon) and Scars of mirrodin mirrodin beiseged and new phyrexia (these wont rotate till next october).

Standard is effectivley the newest cards and generally the more populour and commonly played format.

Hopefully your card shop will have some people willing to teach you and let you into it gently. Best place to start if your wanting to go down the FNM route, is with an event deck (i would advise against the deck with stoneforges in cant remember the name as you cannot modify this due to the recent stoneforge mystic and jace the mindsculpter ban).

Duels of the planeswalkers is a GREAT place to start its how i got into magic back along, only thing i will say is some of the more complex rules are wrong with duels of the planeswalkers. Activating instants and creature abilitys during combat are a pain in the ass in this game if you are used to playing in real life.

But its a great place to start as already mentioned decks are preconstructed but if your going fnm your best bet is an event deck as mentioned. People who play FNM can be quite competitive as wins/loss's do count for your overall DCI ranking if your intrested in that side of things.

so yeah i guess go for duels first or find a card shop get an event deck and go from there people are always willing to help and offer advise just be willing to listen

Woo first post/reply hope it was useful

If people are wondering i'm currently running (i only play standard) BU infect control brian kibler variation, and a green white infinite life gain birthing pod deck (which just got alot weaker with stone forge banning )

 

[Rastien]

True but it also made my vampires more powerfull. My worst setup was against white decks that rune stoneforges and pump out batterskulls and sword of feast and famine.

Yeah a turn 3 batterskull to block with was broken can't argue with that, and the general lock jace the wallet sculpter provided along with deck manipulation was insane.

 

[aba1]

I tend to play a MBC deck and I have been having great results the lashwrith is a bastard since even if they kill it you can re-equip after n just make all your creatures jacked

 

[King Toasty]

Buy a couple'a boosters from M11 or the Zendikar block, and see if you like. You prolly will.

 

[Pumpkin_Eater]

What's your theoretical budget (ballpark) and how seriously would you like to play (dabbling, casual, or competitive)? I need that information to give good advice.

 

[OliverTwist72]

Too much money, I really would like to start playing again. But I got pesky things like rent to pay. The problem I have is that cards now are so rediculously overpowered compared to cards from the past so I can't really make decks out of my old cards (Ice Age, 3rd edition mostly I think). Well I mean I can...but not if I want to win very many games. I got 3 shoeboxes full of cards, and while they can help me fill out a deck. I'll still need to buy new cards.

 

[Pumpkin_Eater]

Too much money, I really would like to start playing again. But I got pesky things like rent to pay. The problem I have is that cards now are so rediculously overpowered compared to cards from the past so I can't really make decks out of my old cards (Ice Age, 3rd edition mostly I think). Well I mean I can...but not if I want to win very many games. I got 3 shoeboxes full of cards, and while they can help me fill out a deck. I'll still need to buy new cards.

For $40 you could buy what's called an 'event deck,' which is a tournament level deck minus some of the money cards. They're still powerful enough to be played competitively, one finished in the top 8 of a Grand Prix straight out of the box, they just aren't fully optimized for whatever strategy it is they're using. I would avoid the white one since its best card, Stoneforge Mystic, was just banned in standard.

Alternatively if you have an older money card you could literally trade it for a viable deck. My green deck is worth maybe $30 if you bought everything online at full price, and has won FNM before. I can think of about a dozen cards from 3rd Edition alone that are worth more.

Alternatively you could give your cards to me =)

 

[Pumpkin_Eater]

Actually there's an even easier way of putting together a reasonable deck for casual play for free.

It IS a dick move though.

1. Identify two colours that work the way you want together (I can verify B/U do).
2. Go into ye olde geeke shoppe.
3. Request free sample deck of colour 1.
4. Go into second ye olde geeke shoppe.
5. Request free sample deck of colour 2.
6. ??????????????
7. MAGIC!!!!!!

The other option is to play a computer game of it. There are some great fan games online.

The third and final option is to buy Duels of the Planeswalkers and sell the promo card whilst keeping the sample deck. That card'll get you about a fiver and you can 'complete' your sample deck with that.

The merged sample decks will get crushed by even entry level players. Although the Duels promo could generate some quick capital if he bought the X-Box version (Grave Titan was about $15 vs Frost Titan at $4 last I looked), starting with a solid base >>>> modifying a pile of crap.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Funny thing is, I just happened to make a Magic the Gathering based user group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Escapist-Online-Trading-Card-Gamers] where I plan on playing games over Skype with people (please join)!

If you're only planning on playing it with a couple of people, the event decks or intro decks are relatively cheap and can get you started. I would recommend finding a nearby shop that holds Friday Night Magics because, trust me, it gets boring only playing one or two people over and over again. I would say download the Duels of the Planeswalkers demo and if you think you'll enjoy playing it for real then go for it.

 

[Pumpkin_Eater]

Certainly not perfect (or updated since RoE), but this is my green deck. This list doesn't have a sideboard, but potential cards include Wolfbriar Elemental, Autumn's Veil, Plummet, and Tectonic Edge.

20 Forest

4 Arbor Elf
2 Llanowar Elf
4 Garruk's Companion
4 River Boa
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Sylvan Ranger
2 Awakener Druid
4 Cudgel Troll
2 Terra Stomper
2 Acidic Slime

2 Garruk Wildspeaker

2 Lead the Stampede
4 Overwhelming Stampede
2 Vines of Vastwood

 

[Shirokurou]

I played the PS3 version for free on Plus.
Found it pretty fun...

I know it's probably not how these things go in real life with the card booster packing and all.

 

[Pumpkin_Eater]

I played the PS3 version for free on Plus.
Found it pretty fun...

I know it's probably not how these things go in real life with the card booster packing and all.

There are two key differences:

1. The game is much simpler because complex cards, and most of the key words are absent
2. The decks are not optimized. Even in standard it's not unusual for the game to end on turn 5 or 6, DotP usually takes longer because each deck only has one or two of its key tempo cards, awkward mana curves, and usually a large amount of filler crap.

You could argue (and I would agree) that its true randomization also changes the game compared to physical methods of (imperfect) shuffling.

 

[Shirokurou]

I played the PS3 version for free on Plus.
Found it pretty fun...

I know it's probably not how these things go in real life with the card booster packing and all.

There are two key differences:

1. The game is much simpler because complex cards, and most of the key words are absent
2. The decks are not optimized. Even in standard it's not unusual for the game to end on turn 5 or 6, DotP usually takes longer because each deck only has one or two of its key tempo cards, awkward mana curves, and usually a large amount of filler crap.

You could argue (and I would agree) that its true randomization also changes the game compared to physical methods of (imperfect) shuffling.

I didn't get a single word of that except the part where some card were missing.
Anyway, I guess that's why the longest involvement with cardgames I ever had... is watching Yu-Gi-Oh abridged

 

[Pumpkin_Eater]

I'd agree normally but that black starter deck is actually pretty fun. There's a fair amount of bounce in the blue one, which I appreciate because it enhances my ability to be a ************. The only problem as I see it is that anyone who's been involved in the Scars cycle is gonna have a shit-tonne of infect in their decks and there's not much that actually deals with infect. Still, as a basic deck to build in it's a start. I have to admit that was the cheap-ass option and plan C is probably the best yeah.

I like that grave titan but I'm not sure whether that or the frost titan is better, not that it's an option for me to get that but I rather like both. Still, the PS Store people got screwed.

Keep in mind that allies (once again a deck now that cawblade is dead) will laugh as your bounce spells actually push them closer to victory; The various RDW style decks are probably the only ones in standard who care about creatures being bounced.

Grave Titan is much better than Frost. 10 points of P/T for 6 mana, and it churns out tokens while beating down your opponent. The only fatty in standard I would take over GT (assuming you're in black anyway) is Wurmcoil Engine, which ironically has a lower monetary value.

I didn't get a single word of that except the part where some card were missing.
Anyway, I guess that's why the longest involvement with cardgames I ever had... is watching Yu-Gi-Oh abridged

Key words would be common abilities like first strike, deathtouch, or infect (to name a missing one). Mana curve is the distribution of your cards' mana costs (think bar graph here; the DotP decks' graphs would look strange). The part about shuffling basically means that a physical deck's cards won't be in a truly random order, especially if you systematically break up clumps of land with spells or just in between matches.

 

[Pumpkin_Eater]

The only person I actually know with any allies is me, but you've got a fair point. My normal opponent is a green player predominantly so I like to bounce her big creatures and then transform as much of her land as possible into swamps or islands. I hardly ever play standard but when I really want a win in a formal setting I throw the whole lot out and go infect, it's cheap but it works.

I like both the cards and I think it's as much about how you play them in a deck but I do like the Frost Titan's infinite suppression of one creature. I tend to play a blue/something or pure blue deck (when I'm not being a dick with my Myr) so I like having plenty of tapping and bouncing and having a creature that automatically does it for me is a nice plus. Still, I'd hardly snort at either card.

I'm right in thinking these cards are actual cards right? As in playable? because I dread meeting too many of these in matches.

Infect is actually a pretty fair way to win in constructed, as are myr; decks built around Jayce the Mind Sculptor (also banned last week) were the cheap ones (cheap as in unfair, not inexpensive obviously). The reason Grave Titan is so good is that a counter or discard spell the only things that beat it. If you bounce, burn, lock down, or otherwise deal with it after it's in play your opponent still gets at least two tokens out of the deal. If Frost Titan gets dropped by a removal spell, or the deathtouch ability of WCE or GT all the player has gained is an expensive tap effect. Similarly, white and green's Titans leave you with something as long as they make it to the table.

Not sure I understand the last part, I've been talking about standard this whole time.

 

[Zer_]

Magic: The Gathering, the only game that lets you tap an angel... 'nuff said.

 

[Shirokurou]

I didn't get a single word of that except the part where some card were missing.
Anyway, I guess that's why the longest involvement with cardgames I ever had... is watching Yu-Gi-Oh abridged

Key words would be common abilities like first strike, deathtouch, or infect (to name a missing one). Mana curve is the distribution of your cards' mana costs (think bar graph here; the DotP decks' graphs would look strange). The part about shuffling basically means that a physical deck's cards won't be in a truly random order, especially if you systematically break up clumps of land with spells or just in between matches.

OK, this is getting too complex.
Thanks for the explanation, but really I have nothing to do with that info.

 

[Rastien]

There's just something about tagging someone with a poison counter early on and proliferating that just doesn't sit right with me, it'd be better if they could remove poison counters I think. My favourite win condition is actually milling an opponent's deck.

The thing is with poisen you can't get rid of it once its on but the creatures power ratios are reflected in this. Prolferate is indeed nasty but decks built around getting that 1 poisen and proliferating tend to be slow and will tend to loose damage races.

Heres a variation of the BU infect control deck i currently run http://www.mtgdeckbuilder.net/Decks/ViewDeck/99959 has placed 1-3 for about a month of fnm and placed 2cnd out of 27 people on the last gameday we had. But yeah more often than not profliferate becomes abit irrelavant and it comes down to drawing the game out, poking with ink moths then swinging in for lethal with hastey skithy

 

[Farcore]

thanks every one,

i have a very small budget. i have a lot of cards from past generations of card game fanatics in my family. im looking for new cards to get me interested in it again.

i am getting the 2012 magic core set when it comes out and a knights and dragons dual pack.

 

[Rastien]

Depending on what you want to do the core set is a good idea, the knights and dragons dual pack is fun to play with other people as it is, you won't be able to play standard with it. Depending on what colours you like i might be able to recommend a budget deck for you