Hey, I started playing around two weeks ago. I've built a black/white deck and I really like these colors. I've checked out the others, and I really enjoy these could anyone offer any tips for building a black/white deck, creature suggestions or strategy? I'm trying to keep my deck standard and I'd like to play at my local game shop eventually.
Which leads to my second question, are people friendly and welcoming? I'm new to this city and know nobody here, but I would like to play at the Friday night magic event or something similar. Thanks lads
Mileage may vary. Most of the people I've met through Magic were pretty chill in all. Definitely on the tryhard side but not full on assholes.
I would recommend going online and seeing what B/W decks they have for standard. Magic is a really fun game but it's also pretty obtuse to get your head around especially if you want to play competitively at FNM.
Also don't be afraid to buy singles, you'll save way more money.
If you want to find a reason to use all your cards look into / ask about people about playing Cube of Pauper magic.
Wyatt Edwards
BW Control is a bit pricy, but amazing. I run a BW Ally Control that is decent enough all around but since it's a bit unusual it's difficult to board against.
Thanks for your advice so far, I like the look of that deck, I'll probably combine the advice and buy some singles to bulk out my deck. Here it is so far, if anyone could give some tips about what I need or recommend other B/W decks for me to look at i'd really appreciate it.
I built this, so far, entirely out of booster packs but its the best I could make and took me a long time.
spells;(white) lunarch mantle x3 shoulder to shoulder x2
(black) strange augmentation x1 dead weight x3 macabre waltz x2
equipment
thirsting axe x1
black/white cards: march of the tomb x1
Gabriel Edwards
Also in that card list you linked me too, the land card "caves of koilos" is from the series marked "m15", how is this card still allowed in standard? I have a couple of cards with markings that are m15 or m16 or something, can i use these still? I got them from the deckbuilders tool kit
Nathaniel Nguyen
Where can one buy Chinese fake MTG cards?
Samuel Price
Not the same user, but it was reprinted in magic origins Also, I'd recommend using more 3 and 4 copies and cutting singles. Maybe a few pairs.
Leo Long
The best advice I can give a new player is NEVER buy product except for drafting/sealed. I've wasted so much money and most of what I have is shoeboxes full of dirt cheap commons/uncommons. Save your money for singles unless you're playing Limited.
Noah Price
I know it's not 'quite' the type of advice you're looking for, OP, but if you've only been playing for 2 weeks, these are all important things for you to know:
1. Read as MUCH as possible from various sources to expand your depth of knowledge in the game. Starcitygames, ChannelFireball, MTGgoldfish, TCGplayer, MTGSalvation, Reddit Spikes, etc. Read new articles, read older strategy articles, watch world-class players streaming or in tournaments to figure out why they're playing in a particular way, try to learn as much as you can to get better. Talk to players in events and ask their opinions about lines during games, card choices, metagame shifts, archetypes, etc. Be hungry for new knowledge! 2. Buy singles and buy smart. The game can be very expensive if you're frivolous with your cash, and poor investments can lead to being unhappy with the game. 3. Set goals for yourself! As a new player, they should be very modest goals like "win a round at FNM". As you improve, you'll find yourself setting the bar for yourself higher and higher, and that's ultimately what drives most long-term players in this game. The progression, self-development, and level of fierce competition in the community is unparalleled. 4. As you get better, remember Socrates: the more you know, the more you realize how little you know. Always try to be a humble, reasonable human being, and don't be that guy who top 8's an event once and thinks he's the King of the Hill. That's how you stagnate and stop progressing. 5. Make friends and have fun! The MtG community is pretty tight. Some of the best friends and best memories I've made during the course of my life have been through the game, so it's important to mention this.
Welcome to the grind, OP. I hope you enjoy the game and make it to the Pro Tour some day ;)
Xavier Flores
As long as a card has been printed in a Standard-legal set you can use any version of that card in a sanctioned tournament.
Connor Howard
I second MTG has the single least player friendly card distribution in packs that I've ever seen. Buy only singles, unless you want to play limited. If you do play limited, know that you won't make your money back.
Adrian Cook
Never build decks from booster packs, it's a waste of money, go to a card shop online and order singles, I use troll and toad, but there is channel fireball, tcgplayer, star city games, etc.
Nathan White
Thanks for all the advice so far anons, I will listen to you all. I have bookmarked the deck that was recommended and I'm going to start buying those singles instead of boosters. I've already spent around 150-200 dollars on my cards, sleeves and boxes etc and I think that was still a good move to get me into the game. Now I have land of every color, storage and a basic amount of all the colors that helped me learn. I also have deck boxes and dragon sleeves, now I'll slowly but surely buy that B:W deck and add my own twist to it as I learn the game.
Some of those cards are very expensive, at 20-50 each and the decks require 3/4 of them, ouch. I guess this is going to be one hell of a money sink.
Nathan Barnes
>one hell of a money sink
Yes it is.
Don't be afraid to go to release tournaments and draft tournaments. Those are good ways to get cards and have a lot of fun.
Also remember friendly formats like pauper and Cube. Those are good ways to use all the cards you have lying around in fun and new ways.
Adrian Ramirez
As a general rule, decks should be precisely 60 cards, and have around 22 mana-producing lands (give or take up to 3 depending on mana curve, but ponder deeply if it's worth the deviation). Randomness is ultimately inconsistency and inconsistency is bad.
Dominic Flores
I'll have to just force myself to o to a tournament or event one day, when I do go what happens? Is everyone just in groups of friends they know from each week and I'll just be stood there? How do we decide who plays who, I guess I'm just worried about being alone there or being left to the side and it being awkward or some shit.
I really like this game but I'm bad in comparison to real players.
Nathan Kelly
A word about formats.
Standard is a format that is easy to get into in the sense that the card pool is small, their power fairly restrained and lines of play are easy to recognize. The downside of Standard is that it is a rotating format. This means that your fancy Standard deck will be illegal in the format in 18 months. This kills any value your cards may hold.
The "eternal" formats Modern, Legacy and Vintage are significantly broader and more difficult to navigate, and the raw price for buying the cards for a deck may be higher, but the cards also have a relatively stable value, and you're likely to be allowed to play the deck that you invest in, for a very long time. So for a new player, I would consider Modern as an alternative for Standard.
Charles Johnson
Locate a nearby game store and ask if they organize FNM tournaments or, if they don't, if a store nearby organizes them. You can use locator.wizards.com/ as well.
In general, every store that organizes MTG events will organize at least one event every week, on Friday (the eponymous Friday Night Magic). In some stores it's more of a Friday Afternoon Magic - our store starts one at 16:30, for example). These events are supposed to be as casual as it gets in organized Magic - you are allowed to take back obvious mistakes, reapply forgotten triggers and the like. Beware - some store regulars are more competitive than others (in FNMs, prizes are on the line, after all). In general, whoever is judging the event (an official person who's an expert in Magic rules, usually also the person who runs and organizes the event) should ensure people aren't mean to you and forgiving for mistakes.
The exact "procedure" varies from store to store, but in general, you arrive at the determined time, pay the entry fee and wait for the event to start. You need a DCI number and a Wizard's account (accounts.wizards.com/ - this is necessary partially for Wizard's marketing purposes and partially for admission to higher tier events. It keeps track of games you played and against what opponents, so you can see yourself improving) to participate in these events - if you don't make an account beforehand, you're generally guided through account creation at the event. Once the organizer enrols everyone in the WER (Wizards Event Reporter - a program that communicates with Wizard's player database - it makes pairings and ensures there's no bracket fixing and such), they will tell you who to play against. In case of a Draft event, you're first going to be seated according to the WER and then draft. After the draft, you'll have some time to build decks and then play.
Cont.
Dominic Reed
As far as people friendliness goes, FNMs are a mixed bag. Most people are super friendly (and will give you deck advice, advice on proper plays and such), some aren't really looking to make friends but aren't mean, while others are absolute tossers who will try to take advantage of you being new (not letting you reapply forgotten upkeep triggers once you're in the main phase despite nothing happening in between, for instance) or play in an intimidating fashion. Don't let them discourage you, but if the store you're going to is mostly composed of such a crowd, start going to a different store.
As far as general manners go - don't eat at the table, don't drink at the table. If you have a strong body odor, shower before going or apply some sort of deodorant.
Ethan Allen
OP, listen. This is super important. The new From the Vault and Conspiracy: Take the Crown are NOT standard legal. Not trying to be mean, just don't want you getting DQd.
Dylan Martin
>Modern >harder than Standard
Funny joke, user. Any drooling mouth-breather can attach an aura to a Bogle or throw Boros Charms at you until you're dead.
Gabriel Parker
>DQd >From a FNM >A new player
The worst that can happen to him is a game loss. And judge worth his salt would recognize a new player and just ask him to replace any non-standard legal cards with basic lands
Heck I've seen a guy come to a standard tournament with a deck from the Duel Decks series, they discovered that in the first game. Head judge loaned him his backup deck and he played with that from then on.
Ayden Reed
Really depends on where you are, and getting some of your key cards replaced with basics can be a soft DQ in a way.
Adrian Martin
What is from the vault and conspiracy? Are they cards, or sets? Do I have them in my deck or the one linked at the beginning of the thread?
Thanks for the advice guys
Lincoln Adams
Don't play a deck by its colores, play it for what it does
Nicholas Thompson
My best advice to anyone interested in mtg;
Don't start.
And if you insist, skip phases and start to play with proxies and buy cards only, if you know what you want.
Juan Ramirez
You don't, but you'll hear a lot about conspiracy, the set that just came out, and the from the vault box, because it's really cool.
