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siddx said:
Just saw they are reprinting Grim Lavamancer, awesome. Jace's Archivist is going right in my Niv Mizzet EDH deck too.
New Jace has some interesting possibilities, perhaps we'll see a decking deck thats actually competitive...doubt it but you never know.
So true. I've been testing him out, and he is ridiculous. Him and consecrated sphinx are best friends. Also, new Jace is an include in Niv simply because he can draw 20 cards. Seeing as the deck likes to do infinite turns, pulling off his ultimate might happen multiple times in a game. Epic finisher.
 
rexor0717 said:
So true. I've been testing him out, and he is ridiculous. Him and consecrated sphinx are best friends. Also, new Jace is an include in Niv simply because he can draw 20 cards. Seeing as the deck likes to do infinite turns, pulling off his ultimate might happen multiple times in a game. Epic finisher.
Ahahahaha, one hit kill right there. At least I think...does Mizzet's effect count as General Damage?
 
Jace, Memory Adept
3UU
PW - Jace (M)
Loyalty - 4
+1 - Draw a card. Target player puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
0 - Target player puts the top ten cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
-7 - Any number of target players each draw twenty cards.

Mill Jace? Strange.
 
Wait a second, on another glance, if Innistrad really will be a graveyard-mahination deck, then it is gonna be awesome, and I need Jaces :(
 
The_Technomancer said:
Ahahahaha, one hit kill right there. At least I think...does Mizzet's effect count as General Damage?
Sadly, no. Only combat damage. But it hardly matters. I'm also hoping that Ral will actually be in Inn, because it could possibly be great for the deck.
 
I like Mill decks. It's kinda like the Honor Win condition in L5R. You're on a strict timer and have to play very defensive.
 
Hi all, just got my account approved and have been following this thread for the last couple of weeks.

Played Magic back in the late, late 90's and early 2000's. This thread has me wanting to jump back in.

Thought I'd go to my LGS and grab some packs/decks etc. What should I buy to reasonably "get back in the game."

Thanks!
 
Elev8ion said:
Hi all, just got my account approved and have been following this thread for the last couple of weeks.

Played Magic back in the late, late 90's and early 2000's. This thread has me wanting to jump back in.

Thought I'd go to my LGS and grab some packs/decks etc. What should I buy to reasonably "get back in the game."

Thanks!
Well I could type a long winded post, but hero did it so much better then me:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=28739200&postcount=3081

Check out the Deck Builders Toolkit in particular.
 
V_Arnold said:
Wait a second, on another glance, if Innistrad really will be a graveyard-mahination deck, then it is gonna be awesome, and I need Jaces :(

I believe I saw that flashback has returned as a mechanic in Innistrad, which would open up some interesting possibilities with the new Jace.

Ronabo said:
I like Mill decks. It's kinda like the Honor Win condition in L5R. You're on a strict timer and have to play very defensive.

I like to mill myself to death with my Azami EDH deck just to be a dick. Once it gets up and running I am drawing so many cards and have the board on lockdown and can win pretty much at anytime so instead I see if I can combo into drawing my whole deck.
 
Elev8ion said:
Hi all, just got my account approved and have been following this thread for the last couple of weeks.

Played Magic back in the late, late 90's and early 2000's. This thread has me wanting to jump back in.

Thought I'd go to my LGS and grab some packs/decks etc. What should I buy to reasonably "get back in the game."

Thanks!

The Deck Builder's Essentials if you buy two or more will fill all your needs if you want to get started. It'll let you play an almost infinite amount of archetypes.

What I like about it for beginners is that it's not "really" 5 bucks. You also get 2 tickets per box you buy so its really 3 bucks in price. A lot of the uncommons in there will easily fill up to 3 bucks.

So if you buy 2 boxes, you get a ton of staple and useful uncommons and commons, but you also get 4 tickets if you want to dip into sculpting a deck.

What I suggest is buy 2 boxes, 4 would be ideal, bulk dump anything you got over 4 to a bot, you'll probably net an extra ticket and you'll have 9 tickets at your disposal. Don't spend the tickets yet. Build a deck that suits your playstyle, and then consult prices on www.mtgotraders.com and see if you can afford stuff to tweak your decks. A lot of rares while not tournament worthy, are still fun to play with and a lot can be had for as low as 8 cents. Or .08 tickets.

If you want to push cash down on stuff, don't buy tickets to buy cards you need from bots. A lot of the bots use credit systems and you can buy bot credit at less than 1 dollar per ticket. It's slightly lower, about 93 cents per credit which is worth a ticket to the bot. Personally I buy from Marlonbot even though apparently he rips right from Mtgotraders. I sell to the mtgotraders bot however.

They're pretty good guys and trustworthy, and they'll be your gatekeepers to a great world of fun :)

Oh and one last thing, try not to open up the planeswalker deck. Sure it gives you some cool stuff, but you can't ever trade those cards, they stick in your binder, and it messes you up when deckbuilding or trading.

Thankfully I had the game before those decks came out.
 
Castor Krieg said:
Got owned in FNM Draft, was to be expected. Had lots of fun though, going to buy Phyrexia Fat Pack tommorow.
Just played my first round tonight. Got management screwed at 2 lands both games. Ugh........
 
So me and my friends are just getting (back) into magic. We've already been playing again for about 2 or 3 months, so no need for "what to buy getting started" advice, but I was wondering where you guys are finding information on the new M12 cards, and just other general things? What sites should I be visiting for this kind of info?
 
So I played with my group for the first time in a couple months. One of us had ordered all five Commander decks so we played a 4-player and then a 5-player with all of those.
Man, I didn't have many expectations, but Wizards really did not half-ass those. They were just ridiculously fun all around. I was running the UGR deck with Animar as my general and we were all just having a crazy good time. They hit the perfect sweet spot between not giving you cards that are too powerful and wreck the game but giving you a hell of a lot that are almost there and create awesome moments.
 
TerminalDogma said:
So me and my friends are just getting (back) into magic. We've already been playing again for about 2 or 3 months, so no need for "what to buy getting started" advice, but I was wondering where you guys are finding information on the new M12 cards, and just other general things? What sites should I be visiting for this kind of info?


Starcitygames.com for general pricing on paper cards. Also for theorycraft. Some of the best players write articles on strategy. They have a premium content for subscription but you get a lot of great free articles too. Their archive is extensive as well on all types of magic formats. Some of the best writers on casual stuff is located there too. Actually if you can, check out all of Jamie Wakefield's articles. Just great reading. The subscriptions are worth it though. Patrick Chapin and Mike Flores's articles are great for spikey top decks. And Brian Kibler's articles are just great cause I like the guy.

Mtgsalvation.com is going to be your best place for spoilers. Hands down.

Channel Fireball is okay, I just recently started to go there, they have some interesting articles. What I like is they really push out videos of them drafting, which in turn can help you be a better drafter too.

Then the big daddy is going to be magicthegathering.com the offical MTG website. There's tons of content to explore and every weekday at midnight there's a new article. Articles are weekly so you know what to expect each day.

Monday's are when Mark Rosewater will write on magic design. Very good reads, well when he's not reminding everyone he use to be a writer on Rosanne. Tuesdays you get casual format articles and Limited strategy articles. Wednesdays you get budget deck building and flavor articles. Thursdays you get crazy johnny deck building articles (honestly I think Noel deCordova is kinda meh on his deck ideas. But once in a while he'll remind me that there's a card out there and I can try and break it) and Mike Flores reports on the top decks that week. And then to wrap it up on friday you get tournament reports and the development side. Once in a while there will also be feature articles on personalities in magic, pro players, or even Richard Garfield himself.
 
Okay guys, my wife needs help with deck builds, but without my help. Can anybody point to a good deck building resource for beginners that will allow her to get guidance and maybe some decks ideas?
 
I saw this on the magic site

Here's an example. You control Grizzly Bears, a 2/2 creature. Your opponent plays Incinerate to deal 3 damage to it. The Incinerate goes on the stack. You respond to Incinerate with Giant Growth, which gives the Bears +3/+3 until the end of the turn. Giant Growth goes on the stack, on top of Incinerate. Giant Growth resolves first, making the creature 5/5. When Incinerate resolves, it doesn't deal enough damage to destroy the pumped-up Bears. (If Incinerate had been played in response to the Giant Growth, things would have turned out very differently . . . .)

Why would it turn out differently if Giant Growth was played first? It'd be down to a 5/2 after...
 
Rokam said:
I saw this on the magic site



Why would it turn out differently if Giant Growth was played first? It'd be down to a 5/2 after...

Giant Growth is played first, goes on the stack. Incinerate is played in response, goes on top of Giant Growth on the stack. Nothing else is played, stack resolves, Incinerate resolves first, kills the 2/2 creature, Giant Growth is next and doesn't work on a dead creature.
 
Rokam said:
I saw this on the magic site



Why would it turn out differently if Giant Growth was played first? It'd be down to a 5/2 after...

Stack, stack, stack. Incinerate goes on top, thus resolving before Giant Growth.

WanderingWind said:
Okay guys, my wife needs help with deck builds, but without my help. Can anybody point to a good deck building resource for beginners that will allow her to get guidance and maybe some decks ideas?

I would also like a help on that. Does any website mentioned by Chojin offer some deck building tips and deck analysis (pref. also from the SoM-MBS-NPH block)?
 
Castor Krieg said:
I would also like a help on that. Does any website mentioned by Chojin offer some deck building tips and deck analysis (pref. also from the SoM-MBS-NPH block)?

Heh. I feel helpless. I get help and tips from you guys and have built a couple of uber-powerful decks. She wants to play all the time, but gets pissed after getting monkey stomped. Short of playing stupid (which would be demeaning to her) I can't really help. But any resources that would allow her to help herself would be greatly appreciated.

But again, thanks for the idea to go vamps. Still undefeated with that thing in LCS play.
 
EviLore said:
Giant Growth is played first, goes on the stack. Incinerate is played in response, goes on top of Giant Growth on the stack. Nothing else is played, stack resolves, Incinerate resolves first, kills the 2/2 creature, Giant Growth is next and doesn't work on a dead creature.

The funny thing is before 6th edition it would actually be "in the batch" and giant growth would to resolve before incinerate could do anything.

I don't know why people complained about the changes in 6th, but then again everyone complains about change :p

Castor Krieg said:
Stack, stack, stack. Incinerate goes on top, thus resolving before Giant Growth.



I would also like a help on that. Does any website mentioned by Chojin offer some deck building tips and deck analysis (pref. also from the SoM-MBS-NPH block)?


Mtgsalvation.com has a semi-decent deck clinic, but I'll be honest, a lot of people there are pretty snarky and not really newbie friendly. Though their mods are top notch so they have to watch what they say.

Starcitygames.com's deck clinic isn't too terrible either.

Honestly I'd just go with the offical websites forums, but again, its all about the community. We should create our own deck clinic here :)

Though if you're interested in MTGsalvation, here's a direct link to their Block Constructed section which currently houses Zendikar Block and Scars of Mirrodin Block which is what you were looking for.


WanderingWind said:
Heh. I feel helpless. I get help and tips from you guys and have built a couple of uber-powerful decks. She wants to play all the time, but gets pissed after getting monkey stomped. Short of playing stupid (which would be demeaning to her) I can't really help. But any resources that would allow her to help herself would be greatly appreciated.

But again, thanks for the idea to go vamps. Still undefeated with that thing in LCS play.


Sounds like she REALLY wants to get into Magic :) Bravo for her! My girlfriend would never, ever deign to ever touch cardboard or click digitally on cards.

And good on you for not being demeaning. All those sites I mentioned are really good, but let me see if I can dig up specific articles for beginners that doesn't dumb things down. But also I have a question, just how far down the rabbit hole is she willing to go?

I mean I could post articles about card advantage, why lifegain for lifegain's sake sucks, why big dumb green creatures aren't really all that good, why local enchantments (Auras) are inherently bad, why we use 60 card decks, that kind of stuff.

Or? Is she looking for articles based on the basic basic stuff, like what the stack is, why should I be attacking even if my creature will die, why I should be aggressive rather than defensive, when to block when not to block, thinking 2 turns ahead and not being reactive, why you should fear any blue mage that has 2 blue mana open (that's a bit dated but you know what I'm referring to) and how much land I should put in the deck?
 
Ended up going 4-0-1 tonight at FNM, 4-0 then drawing in the last round. Our store has a sign that has the name of the winner of the most recent FNM out front, so we played for that and the extra pack between first and second. I was playing RDW, he Stoneblade, and he got there; I wasnt really there that match. Then me and a half dozen other people headed out to a local bar (it already being about midnight) and left about 2 hours later after an awesome time. I love FNM at my LGS.
 
An-Det said:
Ended up going 4-0-1 tonight at FNM, 4-0 then drawing in the last round. Our store has a sign that has the name of the winner of the most recent FNM out front, so we played for that and the extra pack between first and second. I was playing RDW, he Stoneblade, and he got there; I wasnt really there that match. Then me and a half dozen other people headed out to a local bar (it already being about midnight) and left about 2 hours later after an awesome time. I love FNM at my LGS.

Good shit! 2 wins is still the most wins I've gotten. One day it'll be 4-0!
 
How come then that the "counter xy spell" goes into the same stack, and resolves before the actual targeted spell gets to use its effect? It is kinda counter-intuitive but I have already learned to live with it :D
 
V_Arnold said:
How come then that the "counter xy spell" goes into the same stack, and resolves before the actual targeted spell gets to use its effect? It is kinda counter-intuitive but I have already learned to live with it :D
Wait, do you mean? Why wouldn't the counterspell resolve first? Or do you mean something else?
 
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
Wait, do you mean? Why wouldn't the counterspell resolve first? Or do you mean something else?

Well, just the idea of dude A casting an "instant" spell, and dude B, while still casting at "the same speed", casts a spell faster than the opponent, so you start casting later, yet the spell gets made faster :)
 
V_Arnold said:
Well, just the idea of dude A casting an "instant" spell, and dude B, while still casting at "the same speed", casts a spell faster than the opponent, so you start casting later, yet the spell gets made faster :)
It ends up being like in kung fu movies when the circle of 'bad dudes' forms and they take on the main guy 1v1, so dude A was casting but then saw another mage and was like what, so he takes a peak and then gets counterspelled. Or he plays the same spell again.
 
Chojin said:
Sounds like she REALLY wants to get into Magic :) Bravo for her! My girlfriend would never, ever deign to ever touch cardboard or click digitally on cards.

And good on you for not being demeaning. All those sites I mentioned are really good, but let me see if I can dig up specific articles for beginners that doesn't dumb things down. But also I have a question, just how far down the rabbit hole is she willing to go?

I mean I could post articles about card advantage, why lifegain for lifegain's sake sucks, why big dumb green creatures aren't really all that good, why local enchantments (Auras) are inherently bad, why we use 60 card decks, that kind of stuff.

Or? Is she looking for articles based on the basic basic stuff, like what the stack is, why should I be attacking even if my creature will die, why I should be aggressive rather than defensive, when to block when not to block, thinking 2 turns ahead and not being reactive, why you should fear any blue mage that has 2 blue mana open (that's a bit dated but you know what I'm referring to) and how much land I should put in the deck?

Oh, she already plays. She has several decks she breaks down and rebuilds, but yeah, articles on why life gain sucks and how to work with dual colors would be very, very useful. All that basic stuff, really, but a step above "What is MTG?"
 
WanderingWind said:
Oh, she already plays. She has several decks she breaks down and rebuilds, but yeah, articles on why life gain sucks and how to work with dual colors would be very, very useful. All that basic stuff, really, but a step above "What is MTG?"

Magic Academy too basic?

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/academy/home

At the end of each section there is additional reading, often going more in-depth.
 
V_Arnold said:
Well, just the idea of dude A casting an "instant" spell, and dude B, while still casting at "the same speed", casts a spell faster than the opponent, so you start casting later, yet the spell gets made faster :)
I always just picture it as back and forth. Like "I play this spell!" "Aha! No you don't, countered!" "Yes I do, counter your counter!" and then they build up a huge mass of spell energy that then begins to unravel from the top down.
 
I still cannot decide how should I buy cards. I was going to buy Fat packs, but then I noticed eBay auctions for 4xC (all) and 1xUC (all) going for less than 10EUR. Should I simply look at the decks online and buy cards one by one?
 
Have you seen the commander set? Some old cards got reprinted like Sol Ring and good ones like Path to Exile. If this is for FNM, fat packs are good. Got a foil Primevil Titan, some decent rares and Baneslayer Angel.
 
When I got back into Magic, I just did drafts with both the local playgroup and friends and built up my collection that way. I'd keep/trade the valuable cards I drafted and use the credit I won off drafting to buy the packs I was interested in. This was especially useful as it gave me time to learn about the state of the various formats I was interested in before I had to commit any serious kind of cash. When I finally wanted to play a specific format, I had a good enough handle on the metagame as well as what deck I wanted to play to know exactly which cards I needed. At that point, I just bought singles.

Buying singles is, by far, the most efficient way to get what you want but you do need to know what you want, so it's not necessarily advisable for someone who doesn't feel too confident in their knowledge of the game or is new to the game. I know a lot of people recommend just buying packs/deck builders toolkit/duel decks/etc. to have fun with as a new player while building a collection, but I really prefer getting to know what I want before I buy. Sure, getting a ton of cards on the cheap lets you start experimenting with deck building, but if you plan on going competitive or even semi competitive down the line, you'll find those massive stacks of commons and uncommons you built up through whatever product you purchased to be pretty unhelpful. Just my two cents.
 
mg5558k.jpg
 
WanderingWind said:
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/688/mg5558k.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

Interesting, so they're moving away from "ultimate" abilities it seems.

Also Garruk's -X is pretty sick, I'm going to have a lot of fun with that.
 
Apparently, they're fake. The numbering doesn't match up and Garruk's +2 isn't always usable- a trait I can't see Wizards wanting. A bit of a shame as I like that Garruk quite a bit. Tutor/Removal would have made him great for EDH. Hopefully, the real deals are as good/better.
 
traveler said:
Apparently, they're fake. The numbering doesn't match up and Garruk's +2 isn't always usable- a trait I can't see Wizards wanting. A bit of a shame as I like that Garruk quite a bit. Tutor/Removal would have made him great for EDH. Hopefully, the real deals are as good/better.

Guess we'll see.

But why do they keep recycling the same PW's anyway?
 
traveler said:
Apparently, they're fake. The numbering doesn't match up and Garruk's +2 isn't always usable- a trait I can't see Wizards wanting. A bit of a shame as I like that Garruk quite a bit. Tutor/Removal would have made him great for EDH. Hopefully, the real deals are as good/better.
I saw a few Japanese translations yesterday that I have no clue of the validity of. It had Garruk's abilities as something like:

+1: Put a 2/2 beast into play
-2: Search for a basic land and put it into play tapped
-6: Put a 2/2 beast into play for each creature and each land you control
 
The_Technomancer said:
I saw a few Japanese translations yesterday that I have no clue of the validity of. It had Garruk's abilities as something like:

+1: Put a 2/2 beast into play
-2: Search for a basic land and put it into play tapped
-6: Put a 2/2 beast into play for each creature and each land you control

They were wolves, not beasts, which lead us to speculate that they were also fake, since Garruk is always associated with beasts. They don't have any synergy with Garruk's creature either, which is another knock. Lastly, iirc, the ramp was a + ability, which seems a tad too strong to me.

WanderingWind said:
Guess we'll see.

But why do they keep recycling the same PW's anyway?

Don't get me wrong- Garruk and Chandra are definitely new. I just don't think these are them.
 
traveler said:
They were wolves, not beasts, which lead us to speculate that they were also fake, since Garruk is always associated with beasts. They don't have any synergy with Garruk's creature either, which is another knock. Lastly, iirc, the ramp was a + ability, which seems a tad too strong to me.



Don't get me wrong- Garruk and Chandra are definitely new. I just don't think these are them.
Yeah no clue then.
Also am I the only one who things that new Jace is almost just better then original Jace? Although to be fair original Jace's ultimate kinda sucked.

And I think that WW meant "why do they keep using Jace, Garruk, and Chandra?" (and to a lesser extent Liliana and Ajani)
 
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