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Post by Orange on Feb 18, 2013 2:56:03 GMT -5
So, I've got a history with trading cards, namely Yu-Gi-Oh which I don't play too often anymore (mainly because I suck at it ), but lately Magic has become increasingly intriguing to me. So, I was wondering, we got any players here? I'm going to assume so as it's a huge game, so if we do, what tips could you give to an absolute n00b at the game? I'm watching some videos from Wizards detailing how to play, but any other tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated. Also, for a beginner, what's the best way to get into the game, card wise? I know YGI had starter decks that were a nice way to ease into the game - so, if Magic does, too, is that a good way to get started - or do you recommend just buying booster packs to build up a diverse deck? Any help is appreciated.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2013 3:15:21 GMT -5
There are starter decks, yes. I believe there is a sizable group of Magic players on the forum; I've played on and off since about 1998 or so. I'm decent but I've never had the cards and the pool of players to get particularly good at the game.
Best way to get better at the game is to practice, check out Magic communities like the one at the Wizards of the Coast forum, and learn more about the game. Understand what the popular decks are and figure out the strategies that you'll employ to combat them.
I would recommend getting a starter deck and a few booster packs. Pick a color or two that you like to play and figure out how you'd like to win using the cards that you've got. I'd say start with a creature based strategy, emphasizing damage, though the current environment could give you a different strategy. I'd try to keep things fairly simple until you get more experience, then you can experiment with different strategies.
Read the rules and check for errata (official corrections that you can find for tournament play) on cards. Learn about the various phases of your turn and understand how to use instants, interrupts, and sorceries. When you can more into the game, you can think about the math behind your card drawing, concepts about card advantage, synergy between cards, and other strategy.
One thing to consider: In terms of sets and deckbuilding, Magic moves at a fast pace, as cards get banned and restricted, sets rotate and deck strategies change. If you want to do tournament play, know that you'll have to keep updating, as sets drop out of legal play for Standard (current) tournaments.
Like all card games, Magic is a social activity, so play with as many different people you can, visit your local gaming shop, and remember to have fun.
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Feb 18, 2013 7:06:11 GMT -5
Read the basic rules (Don't read every rule to start with you will be there forever .. it's not essential to know how Ice Cauldron works ) The core sets are probably your best starting point as they are designed for beginners to be introduced to the game (Magic 2013 packs currently) the more complicated mechanics and cards are found in Expansion sets (Retrun to Ravinca is currently the latest) Of course the great thing about magic is that in a casual setting all cards are fine. The main thing in Magic is mana, if you don't have enough you will lose, if you have too much you probably won't play anything and still lose. As a rule of thumb in a 60 card deck: 20 mana producing cards (land) to your other 40 cards works out okay. The other important thing is removal or controlling what your opponent can do, filling your deck with minotaurs and dragons may seem like a good idea but as soon as that enchantment comes down stopping you playing cards with a casting cost of 3+ you have no answer. Understanding what colours can and can't do is good to know (generic descriptions below): Red is all about destruction, power and chaos, expects lots of direct damage and destruction, with some big random spells and lots of goblins. Green is about nature and growth, so expect ways to get big creatures in, artifact and enchanment removal and mana production. White is interested in order, equality, healing and teamwork, you can expect lots of small dedicated creatures that work well together, plenty of healing/protection and some balance like cards. Blue is about illusion, trickery, control and water/air. You can expect lots of counter magic, removing cards from play, control of what is in play and flying creatures. Black is about selfish ambiton, greed and sacrifice for personal gain, plus undead stuff. So expect vast power at a price type cards, using life as a resource and direct creature removal. It's also important to understand what kind of player you are. I found most useful articles over on the official site are the ones by Mark Rosewater. His one on Timmy, Johnny and Spike player personalities is certainly a useful read. --- When I first started I had barely any knowledge apart from basic rules and that I liked Black (Demons and Undead appeal to me) I'll leave it there, as I can waffle on about the subject for ages.
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Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Feb 18, 2013 12:58:29 GMT -5
there are starter decks, and the current rules are available on line yes. if you played Yugi-Oh, Magic won't take too much to get the hang of. you just have to remember that the game has a VERY heavy meta-game that takes a while to pick up because it can't be taught from the rule book, so expect to lose a lot when you first start. and if you want to learn how to play, avoid the ultra-competitive "Stop Having Fun" guys.
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Post by Orange on Feb 18, 2013 13:46:31 GMT -5
Thanks a lot for the posts, guys. It sounds like a really cool, strategic game - if we go out today I'm going to see if I can pick up a few packs. Just curious, what are your guys' favorite packs? I've heard some good things about 'Return to Ravnica', but past that they're all foreign to me. I know each pack from any game has its pros and cons - but I was just curious as to personal favorites.
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Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Feb 18, 2013 14:13:34 GMT -5
well my favorite expansion of all time was Time Spiral from a few years back. it's not standard legal anymore, and was basically a tribute to past sets. as far as current goes, Return to Ravnica's pretty good and the Innistrad cycle before it (basically a gothic horror set) was a lot of fun. if you're just getting started, though you're better off with the Core Set because its a bit simpler. all the expansion sets have special rules either based on existing mechanics or introduced for that set only that might seem a bit confusing to the uninitiated.
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Feb 18, 2013 16:26:49 GMT -5
Favorite packs? as I started back when Ice Age was new that could be a long answer ... Top 3 blocks in no order Ravinca, Tempest & Shards of Alara. Innistrad seems good, very flavorful. Found the link for the player profile column. Of course a lot of Rosewaters columns are great to read ... www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr11b
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Feb 18, 2013 16:47:09 GMT -5
If you want practice, play any of the Duels of the Planeswalkers games for PC/PS3/360.
It will give you a digital hands on experience with all the colors so you can try all 5 out before deciding which ones you like the most.
Also keep in mind that there are advantages and disadvantages with using a single color deck. Primarily you get to take full advantage of that color's strengths at the cost of also taking on all of its weaknesses as well. IE, back several years ago when they did the Japanese mythology based Kamigawa sets, I ran an entirely green Snake deck, when it worked, my opponent would be flooded by a swarm of snake cards with lots of stat buffs. When it didn't work, I was slaughtered because I couldn't play anything. Long and short of it, with a solo green deck you live and die by the amount of Forest cards you have in play.
Using two, or even three, color decks allow more variety, and decreases the chances of falling into the traps the weaknesses of the colors present, but at the same time you usually don't get to fully abuse the strength of the colors involved.
There IS another option, though. An Artifact heavy deck. Artifacts are colorless and can be cast with any mana color. Now some Artifacts do have color specific powers, like you'll need red mana to activate one of their powers, but that is something you can put off worrying for now.
Also, I'm pretty sure the current sets encourage multi-colored decks as I believe that they are the sequel sets to the last sets I played with and those sets were multi-color heavy sets.
So now about multi-colored decks. You COULD stick any two colors together, but several colors have "partner" colors, as in colors that share some gameplay overlap. Funnily enough, each color's partner colors are the two colors right next to them on the back of the Magic cards. So, for example, green's partner colors are red and white. White for life gain and enchantment/artifact destruction, red for swarming and powerful creatures.
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Post by Red Impact on Feb 18, 2013 18:18:06 GMT -5
Yeah, I second Duel's of the Planeswalkers. The games are great in terms of not only introducing you to the basic mechanics, but also including a wide variety of pre-made deck types to show you the various ways people play the game. You'll understand some concepts having played Yu-Gi-Oh, but it certainly helps to be able to sample various archetypes so you can get agood idea what type of deck you want to try to construct. The games have limited customizability though, so you won't be able to make your own deck from scratch, just modify the decks they give you.
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Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Feb 18, 2013 19:31:15 GMT -5
in terms of colors the best strategy is 2 or 3.
with just 1 you leave yourself open to hosing (attacks/strategies that are particularly effective against a specific color) and it narrows your strategy a bit too much. only the VERY skilled play just one color, and the effectiveness usually varies depending on the sets in current rotation.
with 4 or 5 unless you have a VERY specific type of deck you can get mana-locked (not getting the right color lands for the spells in hand). plus since the 5 colours strategies are so different it can be very difficult to set a coherent/effective strategy with so many colours. it's generally a better idea to be REALLY good at 2 or 3 things than sorta okay at all 5. you could do it during the Shards of Alara block, but even then you'd only do it if you were really skilled and there were still better 2-3 colour builds.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2013 22:38:16 GMT -5
I would only add to Baldobomb's post in regards to colors that there have been decks in the past that successfully ran 4-5 colors by employing Tutor cards and other methods of deck manipulation to use the best cards in the format, such as the Napster (heh, the name really dates the deck) deck.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Feb 18, 2013 22:42:06 GMT -5
5 color decks were REALLY popular with the upper echelon players during the first Mirrodin block. But only on a technicality, really, as these decks were mostly Artifact decks and usually only had a few cards from each color, and most of these cards only needed like one color specific mana to cast.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Feb 18, 2013 23:42:43 GMT -5
Find a group of players who are more interested in playing the game and not just winning the game.
Some stores that sell the cards have Magic game nights, or they allow people to sit around and play cards in the store. Look for the table with the most people laughing. Watch them play. Ask questions. Stay away from someone who starts throwing a hissy-fit over something in the game. Also, stay away from 'tournament' nights (at least at the beginning), because the more serious/less fun/hissy-fit-y players show up there.
Take time to read the cards and look for connections, cards that complement each other. Even if they aren't the same colour.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Feb 18, 2013 23:49:31 GMT -5
Oh and for the love of all things good and holy do NOT just jump straight into a major Saturday tournament. Find a local store that does Friday Night Magic tournaments. Much cheaper cost of entry, way more laid back, and these tournaments were designed to be newb friendly. I spent at least two months doing Friday Night Magic tournaments before I was comfortable enough to do a major Saturday based event.
Some of the most fun I've had with Magic was attending booster draft FNM tournaments.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2013 23:51:45 GMT -5
Booster tournaments are also a wonderful way to improve your basic play. You have to think fast to select the right cards, you get to see strange card interactions that you won't see in constructed play, and you'll win and lose in ways that just will never come up in a more serious tournament.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Feb 18, 2013 23:59:31 GMT -5
Booster tournaments are also a wonderful way to improve your basic play. You have to think fast to select the right cards, you get to see strange card interactions that you won't see in constructed play, and you'll win and lose in ways that just will never come up in a more serious tournament. My weirdest deck ideas always came from a booster draft deck I made that I would later refine. Not only that, but I've found that they are the best way to try out a set's new mechanics.
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Feb 19, 2013 7:09:50 GMT -5
As your just starting out I wouldn't worry too much about 5 colour prismatic or tutor cards just yet. Keep it simple, make your deck have a clear way of winning and use cards you like to begin with. This may be dictated by what rares you pull in your first few packs, (Cosmic Horror you adorable overcosted tentacled menace ) A good starting point when you get to creating a deck is trying out the Goldfish Test. Take your deck and play it against an opponent who does nothing. How many turns does it take to deal 20 damage to this opponent. If on average it's taking 10 or more turns you may need to rethink your cards or mana base (Unless your playing control or a deck that needs a opponent to react.) If that's kind of dull try my Terrifying Woodland Bear test deck. This dastardly master of the arcane arts will play the following: One Land a turn (Order = Forest, Forest, Swamp) Turn one -Wall of Wood Turn Two - Grizzly Bears Turn Three - Wall of Wood Turn Four - Grizzly Bears Turn Five - Terror (If your using black or lots of artifacts/enchantments replace with equivalent card - Go for the throat/Naturalise) *repeat til dead* Wall of Wood always blocks highest power creature. Gizzly Bears always attack. Terror is always played before combat on highest powered creature. How your deck copes/beats and plays against this can be useful knowledge.
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Banecat
Don Corleone
Speak of the devil and he shall appear
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Post by Banecat on Feb 20, 2013 16:33:00 GMT -5
www.tappedout.net (edit:fixed) This is a great site for Magic players. Lots of decks ideas all at a fingertips. If your just getting into it, I recommend buying Event decks. They are a little more expensive then other preconstructed decks but contain more rares and comes with a sideboard. If you can find the 2013 set's Green/White Event deck on Ebay it's an awesome buy. Here's my current EDH deck (EDH consists of 99 cards with no duplicates except basic lands and one legendary creature who acts as your commander). tappedout.net/mtg-decks/take-some-commander-damage-keep-track/
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Feb 20, 2013 16:34:33 GMT -5
^ Are you sure that link is correct? I get an app store for restaurants
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Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Feb 20, 2013 22:07:34 GMT -5
Oh and for the love of all things good and holy do NOT just jump straight into a major Saturday tournament. Find a local store that does Friday Night Magic tournaments. Much cheaper cost of entry, way more laid back, and these tournaments were designed to be newb friendly. I spent at least two months doing Friday Night Magic tournaments before I was comfortable enough to do a major Saturday based event. Some of the most fun I've had with Magic was attending booster draft FNM tournaments. now now now if he doesn't jump straight into a Saturday tournament he'll never know how to identify and hate Neck-beards properly.
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