As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
Getting into magic the gathering.
Mr.Ritz
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So my bf had one of the huge New Phylexia starter decks that he bought and just let sit there. I pulled it out and sorted it found a few decent cards such as a Jace and two legendary creatures, few other rares too. I am looking to build on this with by buying my own cards but am confused on the best way to go about this. I watched a few videos that said to buy singles and to buy entire boxes of booster decks but only booster decks when wizards release a new season. I believe M13 just come out and was thinking about buying that. However this brings me to classic question should I buy on amazon for 93 dollars or a local store that I like for about 144.00 dollars. They might cut a 10 percent discount or something dunno. I really don't know how to play so I figure buying 100 something dollars of cards from the local shop might warrant a lesson or two?
Or should I just skip right to buying singles?
Or should I just skip right to buying singles?
Mr.Ritz on
0
Posts
As far as buying real cards, I can't really help you.
From there, you can choose how you want to play. I used to be big into buying booster boxes and fat packs, but it is a real crap shoot. You are literally gambling; maybe you get what you want, maybe you get something valuable you can sell or trade for things you want, maybe you get a pile of shit that isn't worth half of what you paid for the box. As such, in the recent years I moved to buying singles at www.wizardscupboard.com
Note, I am in no way affiliated with said site. Just been a regular buyer from them over the last decade or so, and find their prices good (especially compared to other big name sellers like Starcitygames), their shipping fast and their customer service top notch. Over dozens of orders I've only ever had one snag with them, and they rectified it immediately when I pointed it out.
Then there's how you play. Once you get the basics down, it's a matter of figuring out if you want to stick with the standard 60 card decks (max 4 of a card other than basic land), or try something else. Personally I am a huge fan of the Commander/EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander, which was the community name when it first started), which is advantageous as WOTC has put out some Commander decks that I found to be a good starting point (they contain some solid cards, are pretty good on land distribution and mana fixing/acceleration, and some staples that you can spend some serious cash on from other sources).
You'll come across your elitists, your jerks, your poor sports and your asshole cheats. You'll also find kind hearted folks willing to teach you, friendly players that'll walk you through the steps of a game, and othewise fun people to play with/against.
From my experiences with pre-release tournaments, I find that once prizes are on the line, the better you do, the more cut-throat the play gets, which isn't surprising or a condemnation, just something I noticed. Otherwise I generally played with friends, whom I'd known for years so we already had fairly similar sense of fair play and an interest in keeping things fun and friendly. Any chance you have friends in the area that play or might be interested in giving it a shot?
WOTC has a Magic site with regular articles, that range from teasers about upcoming sets to how to play on a budget to how to prepare for your first tournament.
The most active non-official site I've found was MTGSalvation, which has forums full of the above (good and bad alike), but if you value your sanity avoid the off-topic sub forums. Chalk full of shenanigans, last I checked.
Thinking about doing Draft night but I figure Id get screwed because I don't really know what cards are good or not.
They are fun and they are also explicitly designed to teach new players Magic.
One of the things to keep in mind is that Magic isn't just one game. There are several formats, each with its own restrictions on what cards you can use. So rather than just jumping in and buying cards, ask around at your local game store and find out what formats people are playing.
Personally, I feel that draft is actually a pretty good way to get into the game. Sure, you will fail miserably your first few times, but it's better to spend $10-15 drafting and learn something, then spend $100 on a box of cards that you don't know how to use.
Sealed deck tournaments are also a good way for new players to get into the game, but you want to make sure you know the basics on how to build a deck. You can have a friend teach you, or you can ask in the Magic threads here in Critical Failures or SE++.
If you have more than one game store nearby, that can be a good thing. Different stores attract different types of players. One store might be more competitive and cutthroat, a different store might be more casual. Magic players, like any other geek/gamer group, range from really nice to complete assholes.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Drafts are a bit more complicated, since you have to do with what you pick and you don't have much leeway in changing your deck, opposed to prereleases where you can switch colours and play a completely different deck after each round.
What I've been doing is just reading about the cards online and playing some small games with friends who have decks already. Its a lot easier if you know someone who's played before so you can just fool around together
Also there's some free online deck building websites:
http://tappedout.net/
Basically all you do is draft cards but its fun to look at the cards and see what they do. The rules are pretty self explanatory for the most part, since like all the instructions are written on the cards
If I were you, I'd rope your friends into learning to play with you so you have people to hang out with, especially if you want to go to drafts. I haven't really played much, but to me it seems like drafting is a lot more fun than just buying a bunch of cards since you get to hang out with other people and it seems easier to jump into since even really experienced people could potentially draft a terrible deck.
Buying singles is more important if you're looking to replicate a deck or build out a particular idea for tournament or serious play. For getting started and learning the rules, you can just buy random cards and see what happens. It's useless to spend gobs of money on cards when you're starting out because you won't know what you're doing. What's more, cards that you think are awesome when you're starting out will likely be revealed as kind of stupid, and vice versa, as you play longer. For example, most new players think old cards like Timetwister are kind of dumb, until they see them actually being used and understand things like card advantage.
There is also Magic Online to consider. It basically functions like the paper card game, including paying for packs/individual cards, but with the potential convenience of being able to play from home rather than trying to locate people to play against. Even if that doesn't appeal, I believe you can play the demo against other humans for free, which could give you a chance to learn the basics of Magic for free as well.
Don't worry about unlocking cards in Duels, they'll unlock as you win games. At which point you need to edit the decks to minimum size with the best cards possible. (Less cards in deck means more chance of drawing your good stuff.)
I talked to the owner of the shop and he said its casual at his shop but he doesn't know about any other areas but we do have some really hardcore magic shops that sell magic by the crate O.o
If an area has a strong competitive bent to it should I prepare my Angus?
I know what type of deck I want to go after playing for a while. I really like Agrro- Mono red if I am calling that the right playstyle right. I like to lighting bolt and attack the player directly with 1/1s and what not until they are dead. I dont mind dropping some decent money on this to get a decent deck right from the start. I am guessing just go for a "netdeck" and buy singles somewhere?
Don't know what you mean by prepare your "Angus" but if you're just building your first decks I would stay away from the competitive places for a while.
The deck you're describing is typically called "Red Deck Wins" and there's usually a version of it that's competitive in the Standard format at any given time. At your local shop, most people are going to be playing the Standard format, so it's a good idea to know what that means. Basically, every year for the last few years Wizards has released a "Core Set." This is a group of ~250 cards, and they can be identified by the "M#" designation. For example, a couple of months ago, the newest Core Set "M13" was released. Beginning every Fall, Wizards also releases a block of cards built around a common theme and distributed into 3 "sets." The first one is in September, the second is in January, and the third is in May. The "Standard" format currently allows cards from:
"Scars of Mirrodin" block (including Scars of Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, and New Phyrexia)
M12
"Innistrad" block (including Innistrad, Dark Ascension, and Avacyn Restored)
M13
The idea behind Standard is to keep a fresh format that's relatively easy for newcomers to enter, because only the last ~2 years of cards are allowed. But as you may have noticed, Wizards will be releasing a new set soon, and that will alter what's allowed in Standard:
"Innstrad" block
M13
Return to Ravnica
As a result, it would be unwise to spend a lot of money on cards from Scars block or M12 because you'd only have a few weeks to play them. My suggestion to you would be this: keep playing Duels for a bit. If you go here, you can watch both professional and casual players playing Magic: The Gathering Online (AKA MTGO or MODO). Watch them do some drafts and get a feel for how it works before you start spending your money. Then, once you get the feel for it, do a draft or two at the casual place's FNM. Meanwhile, you can read up on Return to Ravnica and start getting a feel for the "good" decks in Standard before you start building your own.
But if there's one event I suggest you attend, it's the Return to Ravnica Prerelease. It should be less than a month away, it's the most casual-friendly of the events you'll attend, and everyone will be new to the cards so you won't be at as great of a disadvantage. Plus, if there's ever an event where your opponents will be kind and helpful, it'll be a prerelease. Before you go, check here for the "Return to Ravnica Prerelease Primer" (it's not out yet, but they put one out a few days before every prerelease).
Not sure exactly what "casual" means, but if you're playing standard (the two newest blocks, plus the newest core set -- so that's Scars of Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, New Phyrexia, Innistrad, Dark Ascension, Avacyn Restored and Magic 2013 right now), you're not going to have much luck with straightforward burn. Look into other aggressive red strategies -- a lot of the vampires in the Innistrad block are good, and you might like the card Curse of Bloodletting with other direct damage dealing cards like Devil's Play. Also: Vexing Devil.
Otherwise, when I was getting back into the game recently after a long break, I really just enjoyed going to gatherer.wizards.com and clicking "random card" over and over again to learn about the stuff that's available and read what people had to say about them. You can actually get a good handle on why certain cards are good and others aren't just by paying attention to those comments.
It's good to have a main deck that's based on your preferred playstyle, but you end up with enough cards (and you play against enough people) that you always end up with multiple decks. Why? For starters, it can be boring playing the same thing. More importantly, aggressive decks are one of the most common deck types and almost every OTHER player will work towards stopping you. If you only play one deck type, other players will quickly realize what your type of deck is and will simply always play a deck that shuts yours down. That gets frustrating, and fast.
Most players will react to their local play style, so if you feel that you'll generally play with your friend, your decks will naturally move towards adjusting to his play style. However, if you play against other people, you'll find that you're up against decks and strategies you haven't seen before.
So, don't get too focused on just the cards you like. Pay attention to the cards you don't understand and don't be afraid to read deck strategies to see how you can counter those, too.
I played in a competition in '97 and it was the first time I went up against a professional stasis deck, and it was eye-opening. And sucky!
My other suggestion would be to look into the "draft" format. As someone who played TCGs competitively and ran a game store for awhile, they're the best all-around way to acquire cards when you're starting out. It can seem a bit crazy, at first, to wade into the game and most likely have no idea what's "good" and what's "bad" in the format (and draft is way different from constructed) if you focus on learning and having fun you should be just fine. Drafts, themselves, are mixed bags but from what I've seen around my area a lot of drafts are very new-player friendly and it doubles as a way to learn more and hone your skills. Believe me, there are few things a Magic nerd would rather do than babble on and on about the game. Annoying? most of the time. But if you keep your ears open and are mindful of that fact that not everything will be crystal-clear at first you can really learn a ton.
If you can find a group that is a bit more "kid-friendly" they tend to be way less adult-crazy and way more into helping new plays and the such. At least in my experience that's the case.
A lot also depends on what you want to do/how you want to play. Buying singles/cases gets really expensive really fast, and the sheer volume of expansions makes it so (at least when I was playing) you're dropping $500-1000 per set three+ times a year.
Lastly, if you want to get a feel for the game and have a large collection to work with off-the-bat, I'd suggest looking into "lots" of commons/uncommons. Awhile back when an ex of mine was getting into the game and I had long ago sold my collection we grabbed a box of 1,000 commons and uncommons for around $20. That gave us a great selection to create decks and have some fun while trying the game out and getting used to the rules. You won't get those awesome rares, etc., but those are usually trades/singles you can grab later if you decide to actually invest.
Here you go, 1,000 randoms for $11. They won't be great cards, but they'll give you a good, cheap backbone to get started.
Pauper would be much cheaper.
Agreeing very much. It's been a long time since I've played the game, but this is sound advice.
Using a different playstyle will also give you insight into how to use your main/preferred deck more effectively against an opponent that has a setup designed to shut you down. Winning isn't ever a guarantee, but the insight can help you to not lose quite as badly in a one-sided match.
Terrendos' post above has a lot of really sound advice. As much as you may regret investing in Duels of the Planeswalkers over MTGO, I guarantee it'll be better in the long run, as MTGO is a really easy way to feel like you've wasted money when you get streamrolled by opponents who basically play Magic 24/7.
Limited formats (like Booster draft) are a great compromise in terms of getting to experience competition without feeling compelled to invest in the latest and best decks, but you have to have some thick skin to actually get better at it and accept that you will lose A LOT at first. This is why I like Terrendos' suggestion of sticking with Duels, getting familiar with your local play scene, and watching some streams of high level play.
From the link he buried in his post, I'd recommend Cedric Phillips and Samuel Black as being the best streams to watch for a new player. They each have a really great attitude, being less likely to randomly mock their opponents or just rant about whatever, and they're strong players that interact with their viewers in an informative way. Cedric has a consistent schedule to his stream, and he rotates what he does each week, so you can get exposed to different limited and constructed formats.
I also recommend Simon Goertzen's videos on MTGO Academy. His Simon Says series (HERE) looks at a different topic of limited play each week and is accompanied by a draft video in which he attempts to illustrate his thesis. He's very precise in his analysis and many of the videos are aimed at new players.
MTGO actually just comes with 1 booster pack and ~300 commons and uncommons from the latest core set. On the other hand, you can unlock cards rather than having to purchase them in Duels. Also, you'll find that the average player is far more skilled on MTGO than even a competitive local store. In particular, drafting is a good way to set dollar bills on fire in MTGO because the competition is so steep. As a result, I seldom draft, and instead I've just started watching players stream drafts. You get their advice on what the good cards are, and you can critique them/see if their picks match yours. It's the next best thing to drafting yourself, and it's free.
In terms of cost for Constructed, the cheapest "competitive" deck you're likely to see will probably be at least $20 just buying singles, and it's a really steep upward slope after that. The current Standard format is dominated by a deck called "Delver" that runs ~$150 in cards (probably more like $200 in paper).
My point is, with MTGO, you'll be losing a lot (which I find discouraging) and it will be a combination of them being better and them having spent way more than you. Duels levels the playing field by limiting the availability of cards, so you'll be better able to see yourself improving and be better able to judge when you're ready to step it up.
I wouldn't recommend playing something you're not comfortable with, especially when you're just starting to play the game. First and foremost, it's about enjoying what you like doing. Using the above example, Stasis, it's by all means an unfun way of interacting with your opponent. The game is about interaction and there are different types of interaction.
Aggressive decks are by far the easiest to get the hang of. And with easy I mean interacting with other cards, not necessarily the deckbuilding part. A deck such as mono red doesn't really care about interaction. It wants to deal 20 damage as fast as possible. One of the decisions you have to make is when to target creatures and when to target players. Sometimes targeting the creature will slow your opponent down, giving you more time to deal lethal damage to your opponent. It's these details that you will learn the more you play the deck. The more you play, the better you'll understand the deck.
The reason I'm recommending against playing other types of decks for the time being is that, while you get a better idea of how they interact, it's not going to improve yourself much, since you're not going to spend enough time to learn the kinks. That and it can be quite overwhelming and intimidating to play combo and control decks.
Simply play against other people with your preferred playstyle. If they have a specific card that shuts down your strategy, think of a way to counter that card. You don't have to play your opponent's deck to know that specific cards can be problematic to deal with.
To mirror Terrendos, Return of Ravnica will the the next 'block' that will be released, full of new cards. It's probably better to hold off until it's released to figure out what singles you should get. There's a chance the mono red deck will be two colours, since Return of Ravnica will be a multicolored block, meaning there will be lots of cards that will have two or more colours in their mana costs. The downside is that a two colour deck will be significantly more expensive than a mono colour deck, since to have consistent mana, it's advisable to have nonbasic lands that produce both colours and they are naturally more expensive to acquire than just basic lands.
What people say about the community is true - people range from being really nice to assholes. The grand majority of people you'll face are fairly socially introverted if not awkward, but you'll most likely meet people at these events that are normal dudes too.
My friend came up last weekend to get me to go to the Grand Prix here in Boston with him, and this was our day:
- Got in for free because the lady handed back my $40 entry fee with the promo card I was supposed to get. (hoohoo!)
- Spent probably 20-30 dollars on deck sleeves, leather magnetic deck cases, and die-counters. (these are so cool)
- I lost to everyone I faced, 0-2, every time. Dropped after the third round as we'd been there for a few hours. All of the people I faced were fairly nice, they were obviously more into it than me, I let them know ahead of time that I was new. My friend's opponents were all ENORMOUS assholes, for example when he got beat by this one guy, he said "Good game" and put out his hand for a handshake, and the guy snickered and got up and walked off.
- After being soundly beat in the GP, we threw in for a standard Ro8 elimination, he played a Werewolf deck and I played his mostly-complete Zombie deck. I faced a really snide woman who kept talking about how everyone there was 'obsessed with her tits' and were 'degenerates'. I lost to her 1-2, she had a really bullshit deck where she would put out a 6/6 and then start copying him with artifact creatures, and a lich that could bring people back from the graveyard by tapping him. My friend lost to a guy with a Delver deck (blue cheap control deck that won't make it past the next Standard rotation) 1-2, and he was getting extremely unsportsmanlike especially after his loss, commenting on how he could have possibly lost to a Werewolf deck. :P
NOTE: Big lesson to learn here! This will happen more if people know you're new, but there is a lot of cheating that goes on. Magic is a game with a lot of rules and sometimes unclear effects when cards start to get clever with their mechanics. People will try to do stupid things either intentionally or unintentionally, generally adversely affecting how you do in the game. Sleight of hand is very prominent since it's a card game. Keep an eye out for this stuff, as it gets them DQ'd and it happens more often than you would think, sadly.
In addition to all the random cards I got from the GP, I also have the 2013 event deck Sweet Revenge. It's a deck that can technically function at a Friday Night Magic, but it's not that good against all the crazy stuff other people are going to be bringing. It is pretty fun though, as it 'abuses' cards with Flashback, which isn't exactly conventional. But it's not as good as it could be, and it's still kind of a roundabout way of winning, especially since it's success is entirely dependent on the four Burning Vengeance cards in your deck, and if you don't draw those or they get put into your graveyard, you're screwed.
Only thing is am I the only person who sucks at keep track of stuff on the field. I forgot to attack sometimes, forgot flying cant be blocked etc. So what do I do so I dont look like a newb nexttime. I dont have anyone to play with causal.
Don't be afraid to take your time! I made some dumb mistakes at the Magic 2013 prerelease just because I feel like a fairly new player and didn't want to hold things up with my more experienced opponents. But that's, you know, stupid. Survey the board before you make any plays, make sure you understand what's in your hand, etc.
You can if you want to. As you might suspect in a card game where new cards are entering and leaving the format all the time, the type of competitive decks are going to shift over time. It's called the "metagame." The current metagame isn't very friendly to monocolored decks, and it seems likely that won't be changing for at least another year or so. Past metagames have been quite welcoming to monocolored decks, so it's just a matter of timing.
Which isn't to say that you can't build a good mono Red deck. And if you're going to build one, Goblins is probably one of the better ones to build. The problem is that the entire Standard metagame is about to shift, so it's difficult to recommend any particular deck that could be obsolete in a month.
That said, if you're looking for a Goblins deck, I would try something along this shell:
4x Spikeshot Elder
4x Goblin Arsonist
4x Krenko's Command
4x Mogg Flunkies
4x Goblin Wardriver
4x Arms Dealer
4x Goblin Chieftain
3x Krenko, Mob Boss
7-8 other cheap red spells
21-22 Mountains
Keep in mind that the Chieftain, Spikeshot Elder, and Wardriver will all be illegal in Standard in a month. The Return to Ravnica set will probably have some Goblins you can add to replace them, but since we only know a handful of the cards in that set there's no way to be sure yet.
My team used to have little laminated "checklists" for new plays when we taught them to play. Upkeeps, info, making sure you trigger your combos, etc..