Introducing a new player to magic with edh.
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on July 22, 2015, 4:15 a.m. by Ihazadeck
At my job i got everyone into playing EDH, they didnt like drafting and felt standard was just too much to keep up with. so i advised everyone on commander and it spread like wild fire. It's great when your employees are your play group, but this play group is growing and now a girl wants to learn how to play the game. I think we need more female players so i want to get her into the game but, i wouldnt know a fun commander for a beginner. there is too many oloro and orzhov decks in our playgroup, but lifegain is a strategy beginners like. If you have any advice on how to teach a new player and advice for a affordable easy to play successful commander let me know. I have been playing for a while and i think i can teach her but advice is alway appreciated.
we have a goblin deck in the playgroup so i never thought of it. usually red is the go to color for beginners but i feel it might be to fragile for a new player. even though i too have a mono-red commander deck, but i just feel that takes skill to win with it in a lifegain group setting. i thought of Wort, Boggart Auntie cause with 2 colors you can have bit more range.
July 22, 2015 4:25 a.m. Edited.
PepsiAddicted says... #4
monogreen elf ramp with Omnath, Locus of Mana because girls like elves and beginners like the timmy style. also not too expensive. only needs the green precon, 11$ for Omnath and maybe another 10 to get rid of the 5 or so useless cards they put in that precon
July 22, 2015 4:32 a.m.
I made my lady an angel deck, mono white, plenty of removal, all of it exile, lots of beautiful art and all the powerful angels, plus gorgeous snow covered plains too. The deck is powerful, yet simple. The gameplay is straight forward enough for newbies, but can keep up with most decks. Plus mono white is easier for them to cope with, no land issues, no confusing multicolours, cheaper to build too.
July 22, 2015 4:37 a.m.
PepsiAddicted its funny you say that, i just built a omnath deck but it isnt a elf deck. i was thinking of teaching her how to use that, but i still need help tweaking it. i think tribal would be a good idea, i am a timmy so i can figure it out. perhaps vampires, so many new edh players try out vamps that it is almost cliche.
July 22, 2015 4:38 a.m.
I'd go for Aurelia, the Warleader. There are a lot of good and cheap cards to spice up the deck and it will not be too difficult to play.
July 22, 2015 4:42 a.m.
PepsiAddicted says... #9
yes tribal is good for beginners (except ally flicker maybe) because they get what they see. It doesnt require much thinking ahead. I dont mean that in a bad way ;)
July 22, 2015 4:43 a.m.
I was also considering either of the Sygg's. they can support good merfolk tribal, access to blue gives you some comfort.
July 22, 2015 4:45 a.m.
i dont have a tribal deck and i want one but every time i am going to, someone asks me for advice and i end up telling them about tribal or while research i realize i can make a better deck without the tribe.
July 22, 2015 4:46 a.m.
PepsiAddicted says... #12
that way she can slowly (or fast... i dont know her) start using other magic mechanics. and in 2 weeks no1 wants to play against here OP french counter deck ;) girls are dangerous
July 22, 2015 4:48 a.m.
a friend suggest a Gaddock Teeg deck but i felt that would be tough deck to play.
July 22, 2015 4:50 a.m.
For a girl new to EDH, a sexy man like Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer will do good. Go for soldier tribal (lots of support in Boros) and introduce something more complex like extra combat phases with Aurelia, the Warleader at the top of the CMC curve.
I started out in EDH playing an aggressive artifact based Jor Kadeen, it was very fun.
July 22, 2015 4:51 a.m.
yeah first initial thought was faeries but they arent cheap, but if she gets into the game i will advise her on the dangerous spike of a Oona deck.
July 22, 2015 4:51 a.m.
Wizard tribal has amazing interactions. Although parts of the EDH community have a difficult relationsship with blue - love it or hate it -:D Azami, Lady of Scrolls, Momir Vig, Simic Visionary , Arcanis the Omnipotent
July 22, 2015 4:52 a.m.
Boza i like that idea, that will for sure make the list.
July 22, 2015 4:53 a.m.
PepsiAddicted says... #18
gaddock can be awesome but id not recommend it for a beginner for 2 reasons. gaddock will be targeted alot and it limits her own deckbuilding choices which might be not so good for a beginenr that just wants to play all the cool cards out there.. if thats the case ;)
yes wizards is pretty cool
July 22, 2015 4:54 a.m. Edited.
wizard ball is the bomb, i totally forgot about it. oh and the deck building will be done by me most likely.
July 22, 2015 4:58 a.m.
buildingadeck says... #20
Selvala, Explorer Returned is a pretty good starting commander. She isn't hard to understand how to use either. You just garner mana and life, and you slam down fatties that give your dudes protection like Soul of New Phyrexia (I assume no Avacyn) and Archetype of Endurance.
July 22, 2015 4:58 a.m.
PepsiAddicted says... #21
if the deckbuilding is done by you she could play a multani hug. not as common as the rest. girls love to be special, right?
July 22, 2015 5:07 a.m.
buildingadeck good idea selvala is a good deck to work with. PepsiAddicted i thought of group hug, but i think it would be to hard for her to win with, 1 thing i know about women is they hate to lose. hence why most of them play black blue.
July 22, 2015 5:10 a.m.
PepsiAddicted says... #23
it will be hard to win as a beginner, the first few matches for sure. so yeah, i lost track there...
July 22, 2015 5:13 a.m.
Not winning is never fun, regardless of gender. Color preference has no impact on winning.
July 22, 2015 5:13 a.m. Edited.
PepsiAddicted says... #25
he meant playing group hug as a beginner. not gender or commander color ;)
edit: ohhh nvm lol
July 22, 2015 5:14 a.m. Edited.
One of my friend got me into playing magic with EDH 2 months ago. I play a sacrifice/zombie deck which is not too expensive and really fun to play. Tribal is indeed a great way to start with Magic :)
July 22, 2015 5:26 a.m.
JohnnyRamen says... #27
If you have any extra decks for her to try out it would be a good starting point. Just go over a few basic rules and maybe make the first game or two a little of an easier game. Meaning try to avoid the Land destruction/infinite combos that lock her out of the game. The point is to get new players to enjoy the game and if she gets locked out of playing she may just move on. EDH lite if you will...(just a suggestion)
As for a good starting place, once she gets the hang of it the Pre-con decks MAY be a good starting place as they are cheaper and pretty easy to understand and play with. And she would only have to edit it instead of building a new deck from scratch allowing her to see and understand the card interactions better. But she may dive straight on in and enjoy it so much she will want to rush out and build a deck instead.
In my play group we have more decks than there are people and we try to give give new players easier to understand strategy decks. Mono green Elf tribal for example. I taught my son to play with the Mono Red Pre-Con deck and he loves it and how it works.
July 22, 2015 5:48 a.m.
Schuesseled says... #28
For a new player you will want a really brutally simple deck. Tribal is confusing. Aggro requines knowing when to attack. Etc etc
I's go with purphorus, god of the forge. Nothing is more simple than just playing creatures to win.
July 22, 2015 5:56 a.m.
Lots of accidental sexism in this thread I see @.@
If she is interested and new, why not just ask if she wants to play, lend her a deck, give her a bit of coaching and see what she likes. I've got a folder of cheap legendaries so whenever I meet a new player I can be like "Take your pick, I'll throw in some staples"
July 22, 2015 6:43 a.m.
I read over the comments, and maybe just missed it, but why has no one bothered to mention the precons? they are literally made for beginners to get into the format with. I started out in EDH with the Kaalia of the Vast box, and took my time from there.
July 22, 2015 7:18 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #32
Kinda skipping to the end after seeing you have a good bit of lifegain in your group. How about a voltron strategy? It definitely keeps up with life gain since it just disregards it. My first EDH deck I built was a Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts exalted deck. It turned out to not suit my purposes, but in a more casual environment it could be fun. Then there are the traditionally more powerful voltrons like Kemba, Kha Regent and Uril, the Miststalker (on a side note there are a lot of legendary creatures with commas in their names)
July 22, 2015 8:30 a.m.
When I started I used Zombies. Just ran Mikaeus, the Unhallowed as the general and threw in a ton of zombies and things like Army of the Damned, Endless Ranks of the Dead and Crypt Ghast to add tokens and mana. After that it's death and discard effects.
Lifegain Cat tribal can work also with Brimaz, King of Oreskos, or artifact cats with Kemba, Kha Regent
July 22, 2015 10:18 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #34
I second cat tribal with Kemba, Kha Regent or Brimaz, King of Oreskos :)
July 22, 2015 10:55 a.m. Edited.
fadelightningmm says... #35
You said she's not only new to the format but the game as well? I would definitely suggest mono color first off. Mana screw is bad enough after playing for years the first few games are crucial to interest in the game so if you always have your color it's more enjoyable. As for a strategy on the build I would ask her what she would prefer (either winning quick or having big things). If she wants a quick win I would suggest some kind of goblin agro. If big stuff wins go mono green ramp good stuff.
July 22, 2015 11:10 a.m.
00xtremeninja says... #36
if this is all new to her, or any player, I agree that a mono color deck would be the best option to go with first. As they get comfortable, then you can work more into multiple colors and stuff.
July 22, 2015 12:29 p.m.
Females tend to seem really simple at times, but are actually very complicated. Why not create a deck that's the same? Make a deck that's easy to use and achieves decent results, but it also has an underlying complexity that can be very cruel if you know how to use it?
Obviously, it won't be that great as it's a beginner deck and should probably start on the cheaper side, but it should also have some obvious choices to vastly improve it when it wants to get more expensive.
Mono color is the best place to start with beginners, and tribal is usually a fun place to experiment with. So come possible commanders:
Ezuri, Renegade Leader or Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen for elves
Geth, Lord of the Vault for zombies
Iona, Shield of Emeria, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, or Radiant, Archangel for angels
Anowon, the Ruin Sage for vampires
Krenko, Mob Boss for goblins
July 22, 2015 12:33 p.m.
libraryjoy says... #38
As a girl who plays magic, I second everyone who said - ASK HER! Tribal is fun, but ask her what she'd like, what colors or tribes she enjoys. If she doesn't have a lot of experience with colors, let her borrow a few decks to try and take the Gatecrash guild quiz. If she's even watched you all play a few times, she may have ideas if she'd like lifegain or goblins or whatall...
July 22, 2015 12:33 p.m.
she doesnt know much of the game except for just watching her, so she probable doesnt know what her options are. i have a few videos to show her and cards and this like that, so she can make up her mind. but i am still trying to figure out the proper way to teach her. people get turned off by the game because it can be technical.
July 22, 2015 2:09 p.m.
I really think it depends on her. It's not a girl vs. guy thing, it's a preference. For instance, My little sister plays, and she enjoys mostly Blue/white control for her decks. My brother's girlfriend who plays runs mostly Green/white tokens. My girlfriend has 4 EDH decks currently, and runs Kaalia of the Vast, Azami, Lady of Scrolls, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, and Glissa, the Traitor.
It doesn't matter what gender they are, or even how new they are really. It matters what they want to do.
When I started teaching my best friend, he just wanted a simple, easy way to play without a lot of interactions. So mono colored was good and argo was good so we went goblins. However our other friend right away wanted to start with a lot of interactions and to get involved in the game, so he was playing Blue/Green/White control.
It'll all depend on that person's personality, preference, and level of interest. If she truly want's to get into the game and learn about it than learning how to play an advanced deck early might be just what she needs. Maybe she's someone who likes to be quiet and stay in the background so she's going to run something that stays out of the way until it's in the front of everyone, or maybe she really likes cats or fairies or angels. She'll have the most fun if she's playing her game, on her terms. Not someone elses.
July 22, 2015 3:15 p.m.
libraryjoy says... #41
I just want to triple like the above post by urhere13. It's hard to tell right at first what your personality is, but I've found the Ravnica Guild quiz is a great way to transfer from personality to magic style, at least as a jumping off point: Guild Quiz Link. I also have a friend who loves birds, so that's what I built for her first...
July 22, 2015 3:53 p.m.
That quiz is actually how I made my deck at my first pre-release. Went in and played Boros. Aurelia, the Warleader is now one of my favorite generals and I almost always play White/Red at pre-release. Favorite color combo, even if I'm on a green/white kick right now. lol But more to the point, it could be a good guide to help your friend too.
July 22, 2015 4:01 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #43
As libraryjoy says... ask!
What I'd do is describe the styles of the different colors to her and see what she finds the most appealing. No need to go into flavor, just stuff like "red is fast and aggressive, and goes all in". Then maybe ask some more questions about what she enjoys doing in other games and work on choosing a commander from there.
While I agree that you should avoid anything too complex, and that a combo or control deck is likely to be confusing for a new player I've kind of got to comment on the question of how many colors. I think there is some merit to going with two as a way to explore different styles of play. Probably allied color so it's more cohesive. The biggest benefit to this is that if she gets into it and wants to help improve the deck, two colors is a lot less restrictive.
I'd question how good an idea it is to start someone on EDH. It's a format that's prone to highly complex interactions and board states and that can have games lasting for hours. It's very possible that a new player could be discouraged by that. If you're determined to start her on this format, at least let her know what she's in for.
July 22, 2015 5:16 p.m.
Erebos, God of the Dead mono black with some tribal theme. That way she can stop the life gain and give her a fighting chance.
July 22, 2015 5:18 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #45
Ooh, Erebos is actually an interesting idea. But might be a target for the people who want to gain life.
July 22, 2015 5:23 p.m.
But most people will take it easy on new players. So it would be an advantage for her. With mono black being one of the stronger decks IMO, she would have an advantage with that and Mono- black is easy to build and play.
July 22, 2015 6:28 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #47
It does depend on the meta, but for mono-color Black is a good choice.
July 22, 2015 6:39 p.m.
Guys thank you such for the advice. I showed my friend who is getting into the game this thread and she can't believe how great this community is. Just this alone has sparked excitement for her. Thank you and keep the advice coming. Also the guild test might be the way to go.
July 22, 2015 11:52 p.m.
Guys thank you such for the advice. I showed my friend who is getting into the game this thread and she can't believe how great this community is. Just this alone has sparked excitement for her. Thank you and keep the advice coming. Also the guild test might be the way to go.
July 23, 2015 midnight
By the way, I would like to apologize for any accidental sexism. I feel the community needs to have more ladies playing the game. I am in no way trying to gender bash. I will sit with her and ask what she wants to do.
EpicFreddi says... #2
So how about Goblins? Aggro is the most simple way to play - not much interactions and stuff. It's fast enough to keep up with an Oloro.
July 22, 2015 4:17 a.m.