Two equally powered decks?
Modern forum
Posted on July 15, 2020, 7:46 p.m. by TriusMalarky
My dad, who doesn't typically play MtG(because he doesn't like the uneven playing field. He plays anything that's strategic but has an even field) wants to try a few rounds and see who wins between us. I want to know what decks would be as close to 50/50 matchup rates as possible.
I chose Modern because I feel it has enough history to have actual 50/50 matchups from somewhere on the timeline, but feel free to add any non-Modern decks that you can think of.
Thanks!
wallisface says... #3
I think a big thing to figure out is what your price range is here? Splashing out 3k for 2 tier-1 modern decks seems a bit excessive.
I think as well, more than just having the decks be equal, is probably also making sure they’re interactive. 2 even decks that just beat each-other by racing/comboing will quickly become boring playing only eachother in a vacuum. I think you should be aiming for interactive midrange decks.
As well as this, do you two need to be running different decks? There’s nothing more even than a mirror-match, and that stops any issues with one deck having an advantage over another.
July 15, 2020 9:16 p.m. Edited.
wallisface says... #4
One of my personal favourite things to do in magic is brew. On that vein, maybe the best bet is to create a shell for you two to do the same, on an “equal” playing field:
Buy 2 playsets worth of all a sets commons, as well as uncommons if you’re looking for a larger pool/budget. Then the 2 of you can brew up decks and play each other, making changes as you go - but knowing that your deckbuilding options are both equal (and, by sticking to a sets commons/uncommons, there shouldn’t be any one deckbuild that’s grossly more overpowered than the rest)
July 15, 2020 9:27 p.m.
Any mirror match.
It's always a 50/50 split over all. Although the deck going first does have the advantage statistically, so just alternate turn order for a series of 10 or so games to get a nice sample size. Perfectly equal playing field.
July 15, 2020 10:15 p.m.
SeekerofSecrets says... #6
The classic 50/50 match up is burn and grixis death shadow, but it's a very skill intensive match up.
But why not just build a pauper battle box? You could easily build 6 decks for the price of burn. You'd have plenty of different even match ups. And I prefer the game play of pauper over modern anyway, the games go longer and the decisions make allot of impact over time.
July 16, 2020 12:27 a.m.
ClockworkSwordfish says... #7
Why not just build two copies of the same deck? Exact same contents, exact same matchup.
July 16, 2020 2:07 a.m.
sergiodelrio says... #8
I don't suggest this often, but I'd say get 2 prerelease packs or sth similar and play sealed decks. That way you won't end up spending hundreds assembling a deck he might not like, and he can also participate in the deckbuilding process. These decks can then be further balanced against each other, tweaked and evolved from there if there's demand to play more
July 16, 2020 5:49 a.m.
TriusMalarky says... #9
Ah, sorry, I forgot to give context.
This is going to be a ~10 match thing(plus a few practices to make sure he's good on the rules.) Since the decks will be only between me and him, I'll proxy everything I don't own. That way we can have better decks without me going bankrupt.
He also specifically asked for different decks -- as much as I'd love a Burn Mirror, I have to respect that.
And he's not going to get into it all the way, so I'm not going to make him learn to build a deck, as that requires a lot more experience and could throw off the results.
Since I haven't said it yet, it's supposed to be a test between my MtG experience vs. his PhD in Statistics and general board game competency.
EDH would be too high variance for this situation.
So far it's looking like Burn v GDS, which I appreciate. SeekerofSecrets if you have some Pauper lists, or approximate lists for Burn and GDS you recommend, I'd love to see them.
July 16, 2020 9:01 a.m.
SeekerofSecrets says... #10
I personally don't play GDS or Burn (I play prowess but GDS is defenitly favored against prowess). I'd go with Burn and GDS, for nice stock lists
For pauper I'd probably play U delver vs B Control or BW Pestilence
Mystic Sanctuary was banned in pauper so if you wanted you could cut the sanctuary for 2 islands and find room for 4 Frantic Inventory. cutting Tragic Lesson and probably some creatures?
July 16, 2020 9:42 a.m.
You could always get 2 planeswalker decks they're all around the same power level
July 17, 2020 9:41 a.m.
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #12
If you gonna choose Modern, don't include SB. That's what makes the whole metagame this format relies on. You'll never find 2 decks that have the same power level since they all use SB to leverage their advantages/cope with their weaknesses.
What's your budget btw? You can go either Mono W Souls Sisters vs Mono G stompy or smthg more elaborate like Affinity vs Burn. Really hard to help you out given the lack of infomation but I'd go for "casual" decks that won't rely on a specific format but more on the synergy. Typically, tribal decks are a fantastic way to introduce someone to the game. Legacy Zombies vs Modern Elves could work, I think.
aholder7 says... #2
it's been a while since i knew win rates for things, but last i recall Jund had a fairly solid match up against most of the field.
July 15, 2020 8:12 p.m.