Budget Beginner Teaching Decks (#4 Black)

Casual Budget Mono-Black

WItC

Creature (19)

• 2x Crow of Dark Tidings
• 2x Doom Whisperer
• 4x Reassembling Skeleton
• 2x Revenant
• 2x Royal Assassin
• 3x Stitcher's Supplier
• 2x Typhoid Rats
• 2x Vampire Nighthawk

Sorcery (11)

• 4x Distress
• 2x Ever After
• 3x Sign in Blood
• 2x Terror Tide

Instant (6)

• 3x Cast Down
• 3x Corpse Churn

Land (24)

• 24x Swamp

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Maybeboard

Creature (14)

• 1x Blood Pet
• 1x Bloodmist Infiltrator
• 1x Bone Picker
• 1x Demon of Catastrophes
• 1x Diregraf Ghoul
• 1x Drakestown Forgotten
• 1x Eternal Taskmaster
• 1x Gorging Vulture
• 1x Graveblade Marauder
• 1x Gravewaker
• 1x Hypnotic Specter
• 1x Lord of the Pit
• 1x Nezumi Bone-Reader
• 1x Soldevi Adnate

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Consume Spirit
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Dread Return
• 1x Drown in Sorrow
• 1x Languish
• 1x Raise Dead

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Curse of Death's Hold
• 1x Nettlevine Blight
• 1x Pestilence
• 1x Weakness

Instant (3)

• 1x Doom Blade
• 1x Grim Return
• 1x Sacrifice

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Magic 101

2026 Planeswalker Massive Update Show

I made these decks originally in 2017. Through the years, some cards in the lists got more expensive, and I've made a few changes along the way. Importantly, other cards have also gotten cheaper, including planeswalkers. With these new options, I revamped the lists, but stayed true to the concept.

Also, the prior set was unfinished. I wanted an infinite combo deck and started one with Freed from the Real, but then that card became too expensive. With this update, I worked to make an infinite deck that incorporated a planeswalker, and ended up with the Izzet spellslinger deck, the last in the series. I've also completed and tuned the prior combo deck, as a bonus option.

I've added the planeswalkers starting with the fourth, black, deck. Because of the upgrades, the power level shifted, and in the end I made changes to every deck.

After drafting the new lists, I did a massive project of playing EVERY deck against every other, round-robin style, at least 3 games per pairing (playing both sides). Yes, this took an absurd amount of time. Turned out the black deck especially was overpowered, and I made further changes to several decks and redid the round robin AGAIN.

End result: a now complete and updated set of beginner Magic introduction decks, better than ever.

Specific changes for each color:

{G} Green: with the upgrades for the other colors, green initially was falling behind. The biggest upgrade was to go to 4 Garruk's Packleader. This also makes the deck more enjoyable, as it was vulnerable to stalling out with tons of mana. Other changes: Switched Prey Upon for Primal Might. Green needed this buff to close out games. Elvish Visionary was removed to make room for the Packleaders and for Overrun. At the prior power level, Overrun was just too much, but it really helps green out and fits stompy green's style well. Drove of Elves was replaced by the slightly stronger Dungrove Elder. Also, the Elder is simpler (lands instead of "green permanents"), but it does cost a few cents more. Elvish Mystic crept up in price. Still cheap, but Llanowar Elves is cheaper and a green staple.

{R} Red: This was the first deck to get a big update. In the playtesting it has remained consistent. The main change was that Chandra's Spitfire took the place of Impetuous Sunchaser, much better for the deck. Kiln Fiend was so strong in the prior deck, that the games were decided depending on if you drew it or not. The Festival Crasher works similarly, but is more reasonably powered. I also like the art and flavor for the new red cards. Twinferno replaced Assault Strobe, which had gone up in price and never had good art anyway. It is a modal card, which is a little advanced for the first two decks of these teaching decks, but IMHO not too hard to understand and use.

Jeska, Warrior Adept had crept up in price. It is not prohibitive, and you can still use it. However, in an effort to limit the deck cost I explored a lot of options. The most similar card is probably Smellerbee, Rebel Fighter, but is more complicated and is too Avatar specific for a generic red theme. Dragons with simple text boxes were either not impactful (Furnace Whelp) or cost too much CMC for the deck's playstyle (Drakuseth, Maw of Flames). Finally, I found Imodane, the Pyrohammer, who actually works very well in this deck.

{W} White: Knight-Captain of Eos had become expensive. Replaced him with Darien, King of Kjeldor. Pentarch Ward was removed, as protection was a little too complicated, and replaced it with Indestructibility. The deck needed a little help at the new power level, and Pacifism was only effective against some decks; I replaced them with an extra Oblivion Ring, Indestructibility, and Mentor of the Meek.

{B} Black: had the biggest changes. It was underperforming and needed a boost. The first obvious change was dropping Drown in Sorrow. The art was nice, but it never did enough, sometimes worse for black. Terror Tide is a much better real board wipe, and fits the deck perfectly. Doom Blade is a classic, but it was awkward against the multicolor decks containing black. Cast Down fit better, and added some nice thematic relevance to the legendary one-ofs. It was still struggling to use the graveyard, and I swapped in the Stitcher's Supplier for the Blood Pet, which turbocharged the deck, the Stitcher is easily the strongest card in the deck. The last change was to switch out the Lord of the Pit for a different card, as it never had an impact in game tests. I wanted to keep a demon and one that held the self-sacrifice theme. Doom Whisperer slotted in very well, and allows the player to kill themselves in a very black appropriate manner. Finally, it needed some draw, and I added the Sign in Blood.

{U} Blue: Moment of Truth was a recent addition, but the big change for blue was getting the first planeswalker in the series. Jace, Unraveler of Secrets is about as "blue" as you can get, a perfect fit for the deck, I took out 2 Treasure Cruise to make room, which kept the deck's power in check.

{G}{B} Golgari Infect: got a lot of changes. Some were due to cost, such as removing Elves of Deep Shadow. Vraska the Unseen made for a good planeswalker, and I took out the Doomgape (although I still love the card). I shifted out the Golgari Rot Farm bounce lands for Evolving Wilds. Loxodon Warhammer got too expensive, and Sword of Vengeance worked great to bring the equipment to the center of the deck. Adding Explorer's Scope helped the deck draw a little, although draw is still the deck's (intentional) weakness. Rogue's Passage and Wings of Hubris provide some evasion to add spice to the deck.

{B}{W} Orzhov Aristocrats: several changes. Its on-theme planeswalker is Liliana, Death's Majesty. The deck was actually falling behind somehow, and adding the Nested Shambler provided help (and cool flavor text). I ended up making room by taking out the Disciple of Griselbrand, and Spirit Bonds. Plaguecrafter was remarkably ineffective in the matchups and I removed it as well. By then the deck had gotten too good and I slowed it down by replacing the Vampiric Rites with Bankrupt in Blood (art is amazing). The Vengeful Bloodwitch took the place of the Cruel Celebrant when its price spiked, but the price is back to normal, and either is a good option as these cards are similar. Blood Artist has the best art IMHO, but is too expensive.

{U}{R} Izzet Spellslinger and {U}{G}{W} Bant Defender infinite combo decks are the final additions to the series and complete the lineup.

**PUZZLE UPDATE: I made a complementary series of simple puzzles to help teach combat basics to beginners, featuring the cards from the green and red beginner teaching decks. With the 2025 update, I also changed the puzzles to a more interactive webpage with slideshow format here: PUZZLES **

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This series of casual decks is designed to teach Magic to new players in the best way possible. Each color deck is a "real" constructed deck: the card choices are very deliberate and work together to highlight a play style typical for that color. The new player is meant to start with the {G} and {R} decks. As they learn the game mechanics, they then progress to play the other colors, which increase a little in complexity. A LOT of work has gone into balancing the decks, so that any one of them is an interesting match-up against the others.

Because this is meant to try to "capture" new players and sell them on the game, there is a focus on good art and low prices. Each deck is meant to work as a cohesive unit, so the new player is indirectly exposed to deck brewing concepts. The card text is kept as simple as possible, so the new player can focus on learning the game.

Credit for the concept goes to massivecreature. His approach and his red and green decks on reddit link served as a starting point for this project.

Cost: I try to keep up, but card prices can spike and sometimes it can be hard to slot in a replacement. Let me know if a card has become too expensive.

The Curriculum

{G} Budget Beginner Teach Decks (#1 Green) w Puzzles! : Ramp deck.
Introduces trample, reach, hexproof, enchantments, {X} costs, card draw/cantrips.

{R} Budget Beginner Teaching Decks (#2 Red) : Aggressive/burn deck.
Introduces haste, flying, first strike/double strike, sacrifice costs, direct damage, gain control, end step, exile.

{W} Budget Beginner Teaching Decks (#3 White) : Tribal go wide deck.
Introduces tokens, auras, anthem/lord effects, indestructible.

{B} Budget Beginner Teaching Decks (#4 Black) : Recursion/control deck.
Introduces destruction, graveyard interaction, mill, hand discard, wraths, deathtouch, filtering (surveil), lifelink.

{U} Budget Beginner Teaching Decks (#5 Blue) : Control/combo deck.
Introduces alternate win conditions, planeswalkers, artifacts, counterspells, scry, bounce, non-basic lands, cycling, delve.

{G}{B} Budget Beginner Teaching Decks (#6 Multi) : Voltron/infect deck.
Introduces equipment, counters, regenerate.

{W}{B} Budget Beginner Teaching Decks (#7 Multi) : Aristocrats.
Introduces alternate form cards (double faced).

{U}{R} Budget Beginner Teaching Decks (#8 Multi) : Spellslinger infinite combo deck.
Introduces copy spell, treasures, cost reduction, flashback.

{U}{G}{W} Budget Beginner Teaching Decks (#9 Multi) : Bonus infinite combo option.
After I first designed this, Freed from the Real spiked a lot. I did all the playtesting for this deck, and it fits in the series, but is not budget. On the other hand, the combo is more intuitive than the Izzet combo. Introduces defender, untap, awaken, buyback.

Card Choice Guidelines Show

• avoid complicated cards/rules text
• focus on mechanics characteristic of a color
• cohesion and synergy
• cheap cards. The deck should ideally cost less than $15.
• distinctive interesting artwork
• some variety but not overwhelming. About 12 unique cards per deck
• balance, such that all the decks have a reasonable chance to win against the other colors

How To Play the Decks Show

The idea is to play against the other decks in the set. I have playtested them extensively against each other (several iterations of every deck against every other deck, I played both sides), and they match up pretty well.

How I envisioned this course:

In the first game, the new player should have the green deck, while the teacher has the red deck. That way the new player can focus on simple stuff like turn steps, mana costs, and damage. For the first game(s), both players should probably play showing their hands. Also, the teacher can sandbag a little by using spells on creatures (a slower game where the green deck eventually takes over the game and becomes unstoppable can inspire further play; getting crushed by a perfectly executed turn 3 combo burst could discourage them from playing altogether). It's not a bad idea for the teacher to make a few poor decisions, to let the new players have some success as they learn; this depends a lot on the people involved.

Once the beginner is comfortable with the green deck, and has faced the red deck, then the teacher and new player can switch decks. Now the new player has to think about timing his red spells to get in the kill. Then, add in the white deck. The new player will play white while the teacher has the red or green deck. Now the new player has a few more things to keep track of (e.g. what do the anthem effects add up to). This deck is still pretty linear, and highlights thematic variety as much as it introduces a few more mechanics of the game.

Next is the black deck and this is where it really gets fun for the new player. The teacher will have red, green, or white. Now the new player gets to interact with the opponent's hand, with his own graveyard, and has destruction spells and a wrath.

Blue is a challenge. This is the first really complicated deck. Playing it successfully requires a good understanding of the rules. I strongly suggest the teacher show the new player the entire deck and walk them through it, maybe even playing a game showing their hands. The teacher should probably have red, green, or white. Playing against a control deck (blue or black in this set) can be exhausting.

Finally, the new player sees the multicolor decks, which introduce other common archetypes and playstyles. The first also teaches equipment and counters. They use a lot of new mechanics, and by the time the new player can steer these decks, they have become a passable MTG player. They have been exposed to most of the basic mechanics of the game and have seen a variety of playstyles. Hopefully they had fun and got a good feel for what the game is about.

After that, teacher and player can play against each other with any of the decks they choose. Obviously, they can fall back on prior decks as they progress. For example, if you want to try extra games with red, green, white or black before introducing the blue deck, then by all means do so.

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This deck: style and choices

This control deck highlights a lot of black gameplay staples. Effective gameplay has the player getting as many creatures as possible into the graveyard and back out again. It is a very interactive deck which is also fun for the new player at this stage. I recommend that the new player is the one allowed to play black in the matchups, as it is often less fun to be on the receiving end of a controlling deck.

There is a dark theme of life loss for power, provided by Doom Whisperer and Sign in Blood. In my experience, trying to "walk the line" of this gameplay has been fun and strongly thematic for the new player. However, you may initially need to prod the player to get them to use the Whisperer's ability.

The deck has gone though a lot of research and changes to find that good balance of theme, art, and cohesive gameplay. The cost is a little higher than some of the other decks, but budget was still a focus.

Rules To Learn Show

• If a deathtouch creature blocks a trample creature, then the excess damage is still assigned to the player. For example, a Ghalta, Primal Hunger blocked by Typhoid Rats would still cause 11 damage to the player.

MTGO Show

MTGO can actually be a good way to introduce a remote friend to the game, and the digital decks are dirt cheap. The client teaches the turn steps and helps understand the stack better. However, a few cards that are cheap on paper are expensive in MTGO (make sure you look at all editions; some are cheaper). The replacements below are suggested for MTGO play:

• Cast Down is expensive in MTGO. Consider Infernal Grasp, Go for the Throat or the original Doom Blade
• Regrettably, there is no MTGO option for Sign in Blood with the fun demon flavor text.

Art Show

Art is subjective to personal taste. Here are my suggestions for artwork:

• Little guy Distress
• Unless budget is super tight, the text box on the DDD is too good to pass up for Sign in Blood
• Normal Stitcher's Supplier, Revenant, Royal Assassin, Typhoid Rats, Cast Down

{BP}{GP}{RP}{UP}{WP} Links To Alternative Deck Suggestions Submitted by Others {WP}{UP}{RP}{GP}{BP}

• None yet

For a fun video introduction to the rules of MTG, check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZixWqaGJVQs

It is a bit fast paced, but it covers just about everything.

Top Ranked	Achieved #38 position overall 9 years ago
Date added	9 years
Last updated	5 months
Legality	This deck is Casual legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 6 - 0 Rares 14 - 0 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.69
Folders	Teaching, Teach friends, Info, Training, buy this someday, 1, Training deck, Teaching Decks, Beginner Teaching Decks, Black