Offense as the Best Defense?
General forum
Posted on Dec. 10, 2012, 1:58 p.m. by DocLawless
So I have a friend who loves deck building games and is interested in Magic, but is hesitant to commit to the idea because, let's face it, this hobby can turn into a money sink. Especially if you're competitive. Double if you have and addictive personality. But I figured since it's Christmas time I'd enable him by giving him a kick-start. So I was thinking I'd get him a fat pack and one of the pre-built decks to get him started. But he doesn't know enough about the strategies that I can drop subtle questions and get an idea of what his play style is like without just telling him what I'm doing. All I can really figure out is he's "a good offense is the best defense" kind of player.
So which of the RTR Guilds fits that bill the best? I'd like to get him started on something Standard legal in case he goes nuts and dives right in. If Gatecrash were out sooner I'd pick Boros or Gruul, but unfortunately Christmas will come first. He didn't seem too taken with the Azorius deck I let him use and I know jack about Golgari and Selesnya. But he seemed to like Izzet and I personally play Rakdos... so I could teach him B/R strategy, but we'd be after the same cards.
Thoughts?
Epochalyptik says... #3
Rakdos is all about offense, but you could also have some luck with Golgari or Selesnya. The guilds pretty much work on the flavor of the two colors. Golgari will be about acceptable losses, sacrifice, graveyard interactions, and playing through deficits. Selesnya will be about ensuring your own safety by building up and protecting a large field. The latter is probably the less complex.
You can always tweak the approach with the cards you open in the booster packs from the intro deck and fat pack. The intro deck's guild will give you a good foundation, but don't feel like it locks you both in with an approach you don't want to use.
December 10, 2012 2:08 p.m.
DocLawless says... #4
I feel like I might be biased against Selesnya. I've never been big on White or Green unless they were the second colors to something else. Putting them both together... I recognize the strategy is legit, but I guess it's just the opposite of my play style.
December 10, 2012 4:01 p.m.
dead_reckoning says... #5
I thought this was for your friend? What does your play style have to do with it?
December 10, 2012 4:03 p.m.
gheridarigaaz says... #7
I feel the same about selesnya, the color combination strikes me as a defensive one, but considering that both can be fast in their own rite, white weenies and green ramp, its not surprising that selesnya aggro has gotten so far in tournaments...
In terms of the best defense being a good offence I would've suggested Rakdos due to the guild's mechanic, but even then, you need to think in terms of defenses and what you are actually giving up when you unleash a creature... is it better to unleash Thrill-Kill Assassin ? Would it be a bad idea to not unleash a Bloodfray Giant ?
I'd suggest going boros, no the guild isn't out until gatecrash, but there's a preconstructed Avacyn Restored human deck which could be a good idea for your friend.
It also depends on what kind of aggressive your friend might want, could be a burn/spell-slinging aggressive or a combat oriented aggressive.
Though if you're thinking of introducing him to magic, or just getting him better acquainted with the game, why not just get him Duels Of The Planeswalkers. A better opportunity to understand what kind of strategy he favors...
My apologies if your friend is a girl, i'm just working off assumptions plus i'm already at the comment preview page
December 10, 2012 9:43 p.m.
DocLawless says... #8
I'm not super impressed with DotP, honestly. It's a nice diversion, but I really enjoy the deckbuilding element of the game and Duels doesn't really focus on that as much as I'd like. He's played before, so he's familiar with the game in basic terms, he just hasn't played in a while.
I'm not sure he even knows what kind of aggressive he wants. But I like the idea of that human deck, if it's the one I'm thinking of. There was a R/W deck I can't remember the name of that he could move right in to Boros Legion with. I might do that, and go with Golgari or Izzet if I can't find it.
December 10, 2012 11:58 p.m.
Or you could just get the fat pack to give to him and tell him that it is only part of his gift and the second part you wanted him with you to pick out. Then you can go to the game store with him and talk it over and get him whatever deck you both think would be best for him.
MindAblaze says... #2
Izzet has its benefits for playing that style, between burn and bounce spells, card draw and cards like Blistercoil Weird the Izzet are poised to have a great tempo advantage.
December 10, 2012 2:05 p.m.