How do I do this whole magic thing?
General forum
Posted on March 26, 2015, 9:26 p.m. by thetitan555
Hello! I'm Titan. I have about six months experience with card games, and the rules of MTG. I know things like hard removal are important while deck building, and tempo is important while playing, but that's about as far as I know. When I get on a computer in the morning, I'll explain this in more detail. But really, what cards should I look at as examples of every color, and what cards are necessary to every color?
Total Experience: Watched MTG games unfold before me for about six years now, only bothered to learn the rules in the last three months. Participated in two 3-player cubes, once having had help building. Played Hearthstone for 6 months. Played Pokemon TCG for longer than I can remember.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #3
Transfer to playing EDH, buy an intro deck, get a good group who isn't too comptitive, and change your deck while you play longer and longer. eventually, You'll have a deck that functions exactly how you want it to, and by then you'll have picked up enough experience to really know where you're going with a perticular deck. I only started EDH about 8 months ago, but Its really helped me with game-politics, combos, timing, and just how to play in general.
March 26, 2015 9:37 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
I don't know that I would start with EDH, especially with the EDH community being so volatile after this week's announcement. EDH and 60-card are fundamentally different, and while you may learn the basic skills playing either format, experience in 60-card is much more valuable if you intend to play Standard or Modern.
Drafting is also an entirely different experience. Base skills have carryover, but the actual drafting and on-the-spot deckbuilding skills are something you only learn in Limited.
March 26, 2015 9:41 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #5
hmmmm. u gots a point. (r u playing pac-man?) anyhow, I suppose that might be true. On the other hand, titan said he already had about 6 months experience with mtg already. Anyhow, I suppose you really should just start off playing casual with your friends, seeing how things work, and learning what you want to do. However, I do highly suggest EDH for later, as it is very friendly as long as it isn't too competitive.
March 26, 2015 9:48 p.m.
He said six month experience with card games, not MtG in particular. He said he's only known the basics/Gotten into it in the last few months or so. As to what you should do, I don't know. I got into MtG by a friend handing me a deck and going "I'll walk you through but it's trial by fire mate"
March 26, 2015 9:54 p.m.
thetitan555 says... #7
Well then. Trial by fire it is. I promised I'd elaborate in the morning at a computer, cue elaboration.
In Hearthstone (my main experience with deckbuilding and playing)... well, I'll give you what I notice as a difference. Lands are not needed in a deck. Instead, you get one universal 'mana crystal' every turn, and they're all refilled every turn. Your deck must consist of EXACTLY 30 cards. You may have up to two cards of the same name. The card roster is ~300-400. You have a 'hero power' depending upon what class you pick. Damage to 'minions' (creatures) is permanent. If I attack a 5/1 into a 6/6, the 6/6 becomes a 6/1. Blocking is absent. I choose what to attack, however there are 'taunts' which must be attacked before anything else. Colors are nonexistant, instead if I pick the Hunter class, I get access to Hunter's cards. If I pick Mage, I get access to Mage's cards.
**In Hearthstone, the main deck focuses when it comes to building are as follows:
Deck Theme (rush, control, tempo, etc.)Hard RemovalArea of Effect damage ('deal 2 damage to all enemy minons')Mana CurveTech Cards (if your opponent controls 4 or more minions, steal one at random, that sort of thing, always depends on what I think my opponents will play)
I know that Black is hard removal and debuffs, Blue is card draw and temporary removal, Green is huge creatures and mana acceleration, Red is burn and lots of little guys, and White is mass buffs and board wipes.
Are there any concepts here I should entirely throw out the window? Sorry for the giant wall of text.**
TL:DR Read the bolded portion.
Apparently Commander is popular. At least in constructed I just need 15 good cards, put 4 of them in a deck, tada, playable. However, I don't know what a good example of a good card is, let alone a hundred. Here's my opinion on some that stand out to me. There are probably better cards than Dark Confidant even though it sells for upwards of $100. Drekavac is REALLY bad (not sure if I'm allowed to swear here lol). Defender is not a very bad debuff, so Dragon Egg is great. Cards like Cruel Edict seem too good for their cost. I'm going to take a look at the articles Epochalyptik sent me to.
Again, sorry for the giant wall of text.
March 27, 2015 7:53 a.m.
thetitan555 says... #8
UPDATE: My decks and decks I find good are on my profile if anyone would like to take a look at my thought process.
March 27, 2015 9:08 a.m.
Hearthstone is a totally different beast than magic. Where hearthstone is all based on value and tempo, magic is about card advantage and specific card interactions. Standard is a good place to start, or if you have some extra cash, modern.
March 27, 2015 12:28 p.m.
Your decks aren't actually Standard legal. They are, however, great starting points for Modern.
Your Niv-Mizzetmancers is actually really close to U/R Delver (you can find a deck list here).
Your Elves and Angels would be a good start on an EDH deck. However, like Epochalyptik said, the format is currently all over the place. I'm not really sure how stable it is. If you have the cards, just hang on to them for a bit and see where things go in the next couple of months.
This Rakdos deck is kind of all over the place. Decks that are similar would be Jund and 8-Rack with a red splash.
I'd suggest skipping over Standard entirely if you have the disposable income. Modern is getting a major set soon (Modern Masters 2), fetch lands were reprinted in Khans of Tarkir, and shocklands just rotated out of Standard. I think you'll get more for you money's worth. Standard is plagued by a smaller meta and sets rotating. Modern has more diverse strategies and your cards stay around.
I'd also check with your local shops and see if they do Legacy and/or Vintage tournaments and events. If you have oodles of money, those formats are a lot of fun to get into.
March 27, 2015 6:24 p.m.
thetitan555 says... #11
The reason I say I have boatloads of money is because I want to avoid paying boatloads of money. I have a friend that can give me as many lands as I need. I'm going to print proxies and put them in a card sleve with the lands (so I can shuffle them). So yeah, money's not a problem.
Epochalyptik says... #2
Staples vary from deck to deck. There are generally universal staples, which are used in many decks because they offer efficient utility and lots of power, and archetype staples, which are used in decks of a certain strategy because they offer something especially useful to that strategy.
As for the rest of it, start here and go through the series. It's not too long. Let me know if you have questions.
March 26, 2015 9:29 p.m.