Building a good deck while spending less money ?
General forum
Posted on July 19, 2013, 3:29 a.m. by Quick3nd
I'm thinking of trying out this game. I know that with the initial activation fee, you'll be able to get a deck of planeswalkers card, as well as 300 random magic cards.
My goal is to spend very little in the beginning, but at the same time, want to be able to create a decent card to be able to enter some beginner events/tournaments in the future (once i get better at this game) and use the cheap/decent deck that i have to hopefully win some events and win prizes (and use that to acquire better/more cards)
is this at all possible? can someone win a beginner event with a cheap deck? and are the beginner event/tournament very very hard to win?
or is the only option is to spend money week after week, month after month?
What format should I play as a beginner? and what beginner event format will be better for this way of making money (for buying new cards?)
My goal is to spend very little in the beginning, practice a lot, and hopefully use my skills to buy cards. is this doable? and if so, what would be a minimum requirement for a deck to achieve such goal? :D
to find a deck I like... to do this, i have to play a few games with the given planeswalkers deck i received from the activation and use it to determine what style of play I desire... whether I like to play more defensive, aggressive, etc right? and each mono color or a combination of colors might be suited for certain play style than the rest correct?
what is a "modo" tix? :)
Pauper events are basically events that only allows common cards right? so in order to participate in these events, my whole deck needs to be made up of common cards? and once i determine the style and deck i like, i should just trade the cards i have at my disposal (from the activation starter pack) for the ones that might complement my style or strategy?
how many pauper events (for beginners) are there? can i find these events everyday? or are they a few times a year?
however, all these events do require an event ticket in order to participate right? roughly how many participants are in these pauper beginner events? do pros play these events too? so if i'm a beginner i might be competing with a lot of more experiened players? or are there pauper events specifically for the novice?
July 19, 2013 3:48 a.m.
Use limited (draft/sealed) tournaments to build play skill while slowly building a collection. The entry fee's to these events are usually around $13-25 each, but you do get 3-6 packs worth of cards and get to play against players who are generally stronger than those who play casual only, you'll also learn more about deckbuilding as in limited tournaments you have to build a deck on the spot with limited resources. You also don't need to even own any cards before attending and you can make friends/build connections with those who have a strong interest in mtg as well (down the line they might even let you borrow cards for a tournament or two if they find you trustworthy enough).
As for outside of tournaments I'd suggest reading articles from these 3 sites daily.
Daily MTG this link also leads to a certain article I'd highly recommend reading that's in their database.
Finally I'd suggest spending as much time as you can practicing, find competitive decklists (the 3 sites above have a large collection of these stored), copy them onto here, open two playtesting windows and playtest. This will allow you to build experience in the different levels of play higher level players run into.
July 19, 2013 3:52 a.m.
What LeaPlath is mentioning is a popular format that only lives in MTGO (Magic the Gathering, Online) and the occasional side even in large tournaments. Tickets are also the currency that exists in MTGO (1 ticket = $1+tax).
MTGO is a very good way to learn about mtg.
July 19, 2013 3:58 a.m.
1) Yeah, find your playstyle then look up pauper decks. Competative pauper decks are interesting.
2) A modo tix is a currency used on Modo. 1 dollar = 1 tix. They are then traded for cards or events.
3) Find a deck and netdeck, I would say. Wait until you can afford it to homebrew.
July 19, 2013 4:05 a.m.
XXXSALVATI0NXXX says... #7
I agree with Demarge about going to limited events. Limited events are a great way to meet new people with an interest in magic, get more comfortable with playing the game, become a better deck builder, and of course, get cards. It also helps if you know a few people that can help you become a better Magic player by teaching you the rules and giving you advice.
The website that has taught me the most about Magic is probably forums.mtgsalvation.com. I definitely recommend taking a look at it.
July 19, 2013 4:07 a.m.
"Use limited (draft/sealed) tournaments to build play skill while slowly building a collection. The entry fee's to these events are usually around $13-25 each, but you do get 3-6 packs worth of cards"
how often are these limited tournaments in MTGO? but it's 13-25 dollars per entree? as a beginner wouldn't it be a waste of money since there's probably no chance of me winning it lol
13-25 to enter a tournament is quite alot T_T
even if you lose, you get 3-6 packs? how many cards are in a pack by the way?
"Looking for a way to play Magic that doesn't require you to already have cards? Limited formats are exactly what you're looking for. Unlike Constructed formats where you play with an already built deck, Limited formats require you to build a deck from a defined pool of cards. This pool might be defined by the contents of a few booster packs that you open at the event, or it may be from cards that you select in a Booster Draft. "
wouldn't limited tournaments be one of the hardest for a beginner judging by this description : since i also need a good grasp on building a deck and playing with unfamiliar cards
July 19, 2013 4:16 a.m.
As a beginner you are already unfamiliar with cards.
As for limited tournaments prices you'll find that a pack of mtg cards is essentially 15 total cards for anywhere around $3.50 to 4.50 each. In a draft they charge $13-16 for essentially 3 packs of cards and prize support (in mtgo it's always around 16 tickets), sealed usually only happens for pre release events and you get 6 packs and prize support for $25. It's also worth noting that if these prices are high you'll probably have a hard time getting serious into mtg.
July 19, 2013 4:50 a.m.
If you want to play Standard and have friends that play at a local or store, or similar at Friday Night Magic there are Event Decks sold by most stores that are made for events like that. They are pretty solid, generally, and usually sell for about $20-$25 dollars.
July 19, 2013 4:51 a.m.
As a beginner whose main goal is to spend less initially and use that time to build a solid foundation... what would be the best format or ways to spend my time? (with the goal to win events in the future in order to get more cards)
Should I go with
Constructed Blocks? Pauper ? or Momir?
How much money will a good deck cost for Constructed Blocks? Pauper? or Momir?
and can i afford these by simply selling the 1 booster pack + 2 event tickets from my starter pack?
July 19, 2013 10:08 a.m.
by the way, should i download the regular version of MTGO or the new wide beta? i do have windows 7 64 bit.
MollyMab says... #2
Pauper is easy to build a deck for. Always start with Pauper.
Basically, find a deck you like, trade your modo tix and 300 intro cards for cards in that deck with the modo bots and practise like mad, before doing the 3-4 around pauper events.
If you are good or lucky, you can bankroll yourself, earning more tix than you spend on tournaments, and if you earn a lot, you can fund other decks.
July 19, 2013 3:36 a.m.