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[SigmasonicX]

Convoke doesn't seem like a very red ability.

The flavor is everyone getting together to cast a spell as a team. Red is the color of getting together to party / bash heads, and there are tons of red cards depicting goblins and such doing things as a group, so flavor-wise, there's no problem. Mechanically, while red is the color of constantly attacking, that's not the only thing it does in that regard, and you don't really want creatures like Satyr Firedancer to attack. On the other hand, that creature is great to tap to cast Stoke the Flames.

In terms of flavor, it's really black where convoke seems odd, but while black is all about the individual, it does also contain the flavor of demonic cults and people getting together for the sake of individual power.

 

[The Technomancer]

It seems fine in black from a different perspective: not a bunch of creatures banding together to cast a spell but an evil mage sucking the mana out of his minions to fuel himself

 

[WanderingWind]

Yeah, cabals and whatnot get together to summon great evil. Convoke with a spin on the color pie would be interesting. Maybe that has already been done the first time around, but like, a convoke that deals damage for red, draws with blue, etc, etc. Sort of like the black convoke that I am forgetting.

 

[The Technomancer]

Blue is the weirdest one for me. Intellects collaborating on a larger project? I guess? Its a bit of a stretch

I guess that's why the only blue one is the engineer, where it makes total sense

 

[Grakl]

Blue is the weirdest one for me. Intellects collaborating on a larger project? I guess? Its a bit of a stretch

they're brainstorming

 

[Spades]

What happens if this card is played:

And the target creature has an Enchantment?

 

[Lucario]

What happens if this card is played:

And the target creature has an Enchantment?

Enchantment goes to the graveyard. Same thing happens if the creature moves to another zone, like your graveyard or hand.

 

[Spades]

Enchantment goes to the graveyard. Same thing happens if the creature moves to another zone, like your graveyard or hand.

Thanks man - playing with the wife and we're both learning as we go.

 

[The Technomancer]

Thanks man - playing with the wife and we're both learning as we go.

Well we're always here!

Always

Hehe

Forever...

 

[Spades]

Am I the only person who finds it annoying when players constantly fiddle with their hand when playing a game?

 

[Grakl]

Am I the only person who finds it annoying when players constantly fiddle with their hand when playing a game?

nah, I know other people who hate it

I'm always doing shit with my hand though

 

[The Technomancer]

Am I the only person who finds it annoying when players constantly fiddle with their hand when playing a game?

Drives me nuts too. My brother does it all the time

 

[blindrocket]

Am I the only person who finds it annoying when players constantly fiddle with their hand when playing a game?

I think that's why they do it. The pros, I mean.

 

[Exokell]

What happens if this card is played:

And the target creature has an Enchantment?

This is called 2 for 1.

 

[Spades]

I think that's why they do it. The pros, I mean.

I find it really hard to watch pro matches because it drives me insane.

 

[SigmasonicX]

The idea is that, in theory, if you don't constantly shuffle around your hand, your opponent will be able to keep track of when you drew a card and, from keeping track of situations where you didn't play that card, determine what kind of card it is, like if it is removal or a counterspell or such.

 

[GamerKingFaiz]

The idea is that, in theory, if you don't constantly shuffle around your hand, your opponent will be able to keep track of when you drew a card and, from keeping track of situations where you didn't play that card, determine what kind of card it is, like if it is removal or a counterspell or such.

I also do it just so I have something to do on their turn. I guess you can relate it to twiddling your thumbs.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Have you ever watch Finkel play? He shuffles his hand once, looks at it, and then puts it down on the table while he's thinking.

Constant shuffling is a nervous tick; a habit that you develop to give your body something to do while your mind is racing. I actively try to stop myself from doing it by putting my hand on the table when I'm not active. I do riffle my draw into my hand before playing it, which is something I think is important in the format (especially with scry - for example, if I scry, keep, and just play a land straight from the top, I'm signaling weakness in my mana base).

The only player allowed to shuffle his hand is Kibler, mostly because of his flawless execution.

 

[kirblar]

When its down on the table the read isn't possble either.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

When its down on the table the read isn't possble either.

Absolutely. You get the benefits of hand shuffling without being obnoxious.

 

[duxstar]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";119544239]

• It's a 9 mana wrath when there's already three better ones, and talking about rotation is pointless. For all you know Khans will have a Damnation reprint. Or an even better colorless wrath. I doubt perilous vault is gonna go into some non-control-color deck.
  [*]It's a 3-mana kill spell. Why would you play a 3-mana kill spell that only hits specific things? Especially when you have Banishing Light and Devouring Light in the same color?
• Sure. I'm not opposed to it, but I don't think it's especially likely. Black already has an insane variety of removal.

[/QUOTE]


In response to #2,

Pillar of Light is FAR more valuable to me than Reprisal, or Banishing Light. #1 Reprisal only Destroy's, it doesn't actually Exile, the difference is small, but knowing that Desecration Demon can't be whipped out of the graveyard is a pretty nice bonus.

Banishing Light is Great, it hits everything on the board I would want to deal with; except they get it back after they destroy your enchantment (planar cleansing, d-sphere, etc); Sure it hits Planeswalkers but your in a precarious position if they have Abrupt Decay in their hand, and end step Destroy Banishing Light, now Desecration is back. There's enough enchantment hate to go around, I keep at minimum of 3 pieces of it in my sideboard for cards like Thassa, Nyx Fleece Ram, and Courser of Kruphix's along with any Banishing lights that might be Banishing Lighted.

#3 and SOOOOOOO more important than probably the other 2 combined. It hits creatures that have evaded Reprisal all this time. Courser of Kruphix, Gray Merchant, Prognostic Sphinx (if they dont have cards to discard), Doomwake Giant, Nyx Fleece Ram, and Brimaz. These are all cards that can stonewall you if you play aggro in any form; having an answer to them before combat is infinitely better than during; Aggressive Decks need to be hitting fast EVERY turn, getting your 4 damage creature blocked by an 0/5 Nyx Fleece Ram even for 1 turn can be the difference in the game, even if you have a burn spell to kill it. With Pillar of Light you can just go "pre combat, Pillar of Light; swing 10". Plus it gives you the option of hitting all of the other creatures that Reprisal would with few exceptions. In an aggro strategy I'm far more worried about the guys with the 0/4 bodies than I am with the 4/2 bodies cause my plan is to outrace them anyway.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Wow, things really slow down when spoiler season ends, huh? I suppose I'll start going over some decks I made. Like I briefly mentioned before, I've been working on decks meant to teach coworkers and such how to play Magic. I actually did succeed on using earlier versions of these decks to teach an intern... haven't had a chance to teach anyone else yet. I'll just go over one each every once in a while. Interestingly, I've found that the decks actually do play decently well against more serious decks my Magic-playing coworkers use. There are five decks, each focusing on one color and splashing one ally, using only Modern-legal cards.

Being for beginners, they focus on simple and flavorful effects, but I also wanted to show off a variety of effects, so every nonland card is a 1-of or 2-of, except for a single 4-of that really represents what the deck is about and maybe also a 3-of.

This is my beginner green and red elf ramp deck, with the 4-of card being Llanowar Elves.

(Elves)
4x Llanowar Elves - Required by tradition, though if I get enough Elvish Mystics, I'll probably replace these. I won't bother to buy singles, though.
1x Ezuri's Archers - Post Lord of the Rings, you gotta have an elf archer, and this is a good early blocker.
2x Elvish Visionary - Increases card flow and can act as a blocker.
2x Viridian Emissary - I originally had Sylvan Ranger in this slot, but I felt that having another 1/1 creature wouldn't be a good idea. Viridian Emissary is better at both attacking and blocking, and I feel like the death trigger is more satisfying than the ETB trigger. I used the Planechase version that has the "dies" wording.
2x Elvish Archdruid - While all five decks have a tribal component to them, this is the only one to have two lords. This gives the other weaker elves something to do, plus, you know, can really accelerate mana.

(Smaller green creatures)
2x Garruk's Companion - A strong early creature with trample, and notably has just trample with no other abilities, which is a plus in this deck.
2x Centaur Courser - I make sure to have at least two vanilla creatures in each deck, and it's good to have centaurs in this deck.

(Big green creatures)
1x Cudgel Troll - This creature has regeneration with no other abilities, making it easier to explain the ability. Plus, he's a good blocker in a pinch.
2x Garruk's Packleader - While casting big creatures, this allows for smooth card flow.
2x Sentinel Spider - Originally, one of these was Giant Spider, but I realized it didn't feel right for a creature while a mana cost of three or more to not trigger Garruk's Packleader. For each keyword in a deck, I prefer there to be at least one creature that has just that keyword and no others, and while Ezuri's Archers can kind of count for reach, there are no other creatures with vigilance, and this creature has reach in addition to that. However, there aren't any flavorful green creatures with vigilance by itself, and I wanted this creature in this deck, so I decided to make an exception.
2x Stampeding Rhino - This is probably the best possible creature to explain trample with.
1x Soul of the Harvest - Originally I had Yavimaya Wurm in this slot, but for the second most expensive creature in this deck to be 6/4 felt rather underwhelming. Soul of the Harvest not only has higher defense for the same price, but also draws cards. Also, I decided that wurms wouldn't be very familiar, while "kind nature spirit that is very strong" would be more recognizable.
1x Craterhoof Behemoth - I try to include the iconic creature type of each color in that color's deck, but I decided I didn't want any +1/+1 counters or X cost spells in these beginner decks, so that leaves out all hydras that aren't obscenely expensive. "Behemoth" works as a good alternative, and this is a great finisher. It does require explaining haste when there no other haste creatures in this deck (though there is a haste spell), though here it's mainly in the context of "all your creatures attack, you win", so I think it's fine. And yes, when testing against my coworkers' more serious decks, I did hard cast this multiple times and win.

(Boosters)
2x Giant Growth - The original.
2x Savage Surge - Untapping allows for surprise blockers, and in some cases with Elvish Archdruid, it allows for mana acceleration mad techs. I used the Return to Ravnica art, since with the Theros art, it didn't really seem like anything was actually happening.
2x Trollhide - Decent aura, and the name ties into Cudgel Troll.

(Red spells)
2x Fall of the Hammer - Despite all the big creatures, I found that this deck actually does have trouble against other big creatures, creatures with evasion, and creatures that just hang back and don't attack or block. Red can deal with that, of course, but I wanted to have some spells that took advantage of the generally high power of the green creatures, and my experiences in Theros block limited gave me an appreciation of this spell.
1x Act of Treason - This can be a seriously awesome spell to cast at times.
1x Warstorm Surge - Another way to leverage the generally high power of the creatures in this deck, though I often had the experience of only drawing Llanowar Elves and such after casting this, so I'm considering replacing this with that new M15 aura that allows the creature to tap to deal damage equal to its power.
1x Into the Maw of Hell - I originally had Fireball in this slot, but I decided I didn't want any X spells. This is a fairly expensive red spell that the red beginner deck wouldn't want, but it could be reasonably expected to be castable in this deck, and it's an awesome effect.

(Other)
2x Naturalize - Another green mainstay. The inclusion of this in the main deck did warp the other decks a bit, though, in the sense that they all include enchantments and/or artifacts in decent quantities. I used the Gatecrash art; I really don't know why they keep using the gobstopper art, since this is the best one so far.

(Lands)
14x Forest
4x Gruul Guildgate - I felt the need for nonbasic lands, and these are both the simplest and the cheapest.
5x Mountain

 

[OnPoint]

In response to #2,

Pillar of Light is FAR more valuable to me than Reprisal, or Banishing Light. #1 Reprisal only Destroy's, it doesn't actually Exile, the difference is small, but knowing that Desecration Demon can't be whipped out of the graveyard is a pretty nice bonus.

Banishing Light is Great, it hits everything on the board I would want to deal with; except they get it back after they destroy your enchantment (planar cleansing, d-sphere, etc); Sure it hits Planeswalkers but your in a precarious position if they have Abrupt Decay in their hand, and end step Destroy Banishing Light, now Desecration is back. There's enough enchantment hate to go around, I keep at minimum of 3 pieces of it in my sideboard for cards like Thassa, Nyx Fleece Ram, and Courser of Kruphix's along with any Banishing lights that might be Banishing Lighted.

#3 and SOOOOOOO more important than probably the other 2 combined. It hits creatures that have evaded Reprisal all this time. Courser of Kruphix, Gray Merchant, Prognostic Sphinx (if they dont have cards to discard), Doomwake Giant, Nyx Fleece Ram, and Brimaz. These are all cards that can stonewall you if you play aggro in any form; having an answer to them before combat is infinitely better than during; Aggressive Decks need to be hitting fast EVERY turn, getting your 4 damage creature blocked by an 0/5 Nyx Fleece Ram even for 1 turn can be the difference in the game, even if you have a burn spell to kill it. With Pillar of Light you can just go "pre combat, Pillar of Light; swing 10". Plus it gives you the option of hitting all of the other creatures that Reprisal would with few exceptions. In an aggro strategy I'm far more worried about the guys with the 0/4 bodies than I am with the 4/2 bodies cause my plan is to outrace them anyway.

Plus Pillar hits Gods.

 

[duxstar]

Sigma are you trying to keep it super low budget for them, or are you just trying to create a good deck? I could probably whip something up with junk rares under a dollar using the last few sets, don't know if it would teach them the basics, but I imagine any red deck should be fairly easy to navigate.

 

[Wichu]

I finally managed to actually win a draft yesterday. But more importantly, I taught my opponents to fear maindeck Ephara's Radiance. It's not a 'bad card' when it's winning you games

Also Sunbond + Hopeful Eidolon gets silly fast.

 

[WanderingWind]

Wow, things really slow down when spoiler season ends, huh? I suppose I'll start going over some decks I made. Like I briefly mentioned before, I've been working on decks meant to teach coworkers and such how to play Magic. I actually did succeed on using earlier versions of these decks to teach an intern... haven't had a chance to teach anyone else yet. I'll just go over one each every once in a while. Interestingly, I've found that the decks actually do play decently well against more serious decks my Magic-playing coworkers use. There are five decks, each focusing on one color and splashing one ally, using only Modern-legal cards.

Being for beginners, they focus on simple and flavorful effects, but I also wanted to show off a variety of effects, so every nonland card is a 1-of or 2-of, except for a single 4-of that really represents what the deck is about and maybe also a 3-of.

This is my beginner green and red elf ramp deck, with the 4-of card being Llanowar Elves.

I think you've got everything covered for a beginner in those colors except for a more direct red burn spell. I found it helpful to have one of those to teach the nuances behind a spell like Lightning Bolt. When you first start, you're likely to always want to send it to the head, and having it there to teach that sometimes it's good to bolt say, a mana dork, is a good teaching tool. I'm also guessing you're not using Planeswalkers at all, but if you are, burn spells show an important part of their interactivity. I'd probably throw in two Lighting Strikes. Probably in place of Maw and Surge.

 

[OnPoint]

Did a Vintage Masters draft last night because why not, and I have to say it felt really great to finally play with a Library of Alexandra. Holy crap is that card powerful.

 

[SigmasonicX]

I think you've got everything covered for a beginner in those colors except for a more direct red burn spell. I found it helpful to have one of those to teach the nuances behind a spell like Lightning Bolt. When you first start, you're likely to always want to send it to the head, and having it there to teach that sometimes it's good to bolt say, a mana dork, is a good teaching tool. I'm also guessing you're not using Planeswalkers at all, but if you are, burn spells show an important part of their interactivity. I'd probably throw in two Lighting Strikes. Probably in place of Maw and Surge.

Well, the red-focused deck has the burn spells, including Lightning Bolt (as its 4-of).

And duxstar, the point of these decks is to demonstrate the variety of what each color can do, but I also am not inclined to spend more than a dollar on any of the cards.

 

[GregLombardi]

Did a Vintage Masters draft last night because why not, and I have to say it felt really great to finally play with a Library of Alexandra. Holy crap is that card powerful.

Haha yes, Library is high on the list of power cards. Vintage Masters is the fastest format I have ever seen, though, which makes it significantly flawed. I'm not sure you could "unfast" it though, especially with the power 9 in it.

 

["God's Beard!"]

In response to #2,

Pillar of Light is FAR more valuable to me than Reprisal, or Banishing Light. #1 Reprisal only Destroy's, it doesn't actually Exile, the difference is small, but knowing that Desecration Demon can't be whipped out of the graveyard is a pretty nice bonus.

Banishing Light is Great, it hits everything on the board I would want to deal with; except they get it back after they destroy your enchantment (planar cleansing, d-sphere, etc); Sure it hits Planeswalkers but your in a precarious position if they have Abrupt Decay in their hand, and end step Destroy Banishing Light, now Desecration is back. There's enough enchantment hate to go around, I keep at minimum of 3 pieces of it in my sideboard for cards like Thassa, Nyx Fleece Ram, and Courser of Kruphix's along with any Banishing lights that might be Banishing Lighted.

#3 and SOOOOOOO more important than probably the other 2 combined. It hits creatures that have evaded Reprisal all this time. Courser of Kruphix, Gray Merchant, Prognostic Sphinx (if they dont have cards to discard), Doomwake Giant, Nyx Fleece Ram, and Brimaz. These are all cards that can stonewall you if you play aggro in any form; having an answer to them before combat is infinitely better than during; Aggressive Decks need to be hitting fast EVERY turn, getting your 4 damage creature blocked by an 0/5 Nyx Fleece Ram even for 1 turn can be the difference in the game, even if you have a burn spell to kill it. With Pillar of Light you can just go "pre combat, Pillar of Light; swing 10". Plus it gives you the option of hitting all of the other creatures that Reprisal would with few exceptions. In an aggro strategy I'm far more worried about the guys with the 0/4 bodies than I am with the 4/2 bodies cause my plan is to outrace them anyway.

You didn't explain why it's better than Devouring Light at the same mana cost. Being able to cast a 3-mana spell pre-combat isn't better than a spell that hits everything for potentially less mana in the color of vigilant aggro creatures. I don't see any reason not to just dismiss Pillar of Light entirely.

 

[publicpwnerer]

Hey there, MagicGAF...I'm looking to get "back into" Magic. I use that term very loosely since my only MTG experience is about 2-3 weeks playing MGTO about a few years back as well as the very first Duels of The Planeswalkers game.

Given the enormity of Magic, I'm reallly stuck on where to begin. I'm struggling to decide between MTGO or paper. I really like the accessibility of MTGO, considering I can play whenever I want and the ease of rules. Unfortunately I don't have any RL friends that enjoy the hobby. However, given the gorgeous artwork of MTG, as well as the pricing of MTGO cards..I feel as if paper is better value (if that is such a thing in MTG).

As for fiscal investment, I'd say I'm somewhat budget to medium...I don't mind occasionally splurging on something, but I'm not looking to spend hundreds to thousands on decks. As for format, what is the most popular and accessible format...would that be standard? Any help, info or resources on where to begin would be greatly appreciated.

 

[alternade]

This new set + all my UW control staples rotating soon makes me sad. I love playing control. The look on peoples face when they can't play anything and complain how bullshit counters are is delicious.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Hey there, MagicGAF...I'm looking to get "back into" Magic. I use that term very loosely since my only MTG experience is about 2-3 weeks playing MGTO about a few years back as well as the very first Duels of The Planeswalkers game.

Given the enormity of Magic, I'm reallly stuck on where to begin. I'm struggling to decide between MTGO or paper. I really like the accessibility of MTGO, considering I can play whenever I want and the ease of rules. Unfortunately I don't have any RL friends that enjoy the hobby. However, given the gorgeous artwork of MTG, as well as the pricing of MTGO cards..I feel as if paper is better value (if that is such a thing in MTG).

As for fiscal investment, I'd say I'm somewhat budget to medium...I don't mind occasionally splurging on something, but I'm not looking to spend hundreds to thousands on decks. As for format, what is the most popular and accessible format...would that be standard? Any help, info or resources on where to begin would be greatly appreciated.

Well first of all, if you don't know anyone who plays Magic, it probably is just better to play online.

Magic is huge, but there are formats that only focus on the past few releases, which are much easier to get into. Standard currently contains the Return to Ravnica block, Magic Core Set 2014, Theros block, and soon Core Set 2015. It will still be fairly expensive if you want to compete in tournaments and such, but if you're just going to be playing casually, it shouldn't be too costly.

 

[Lucario]

Haha yes, Library is high on the list of power cards. Vintage Masters is the fastest format I have ever seen, though, which makes it significantly flawed. I'm not sure you could "unfast" it though, especially with the power 9 in it.

The average ending turn is 8.8, and people who choose to go second win more often than not. It's actually around around the same speed as triple theros.

To be fair, I do think it could speed up a bit as people figure out the format more.

 

[kirblar]

M15 is a very good entry point, and the next set rotation (cycling in Khans of Tarkir) will be happening soon.

Screw Theros, land of nothing interesting happening.

 

[red13th]

There's a 13 year old top8ing SCG's Legacy Open right now with a burn deck, it's funny.

EDIT: He won vs Pox, go Young Pyromancer!

 

[GamerKingFaiz]

There's a 13 year old top8ing SCG's Legacy Open right now with a burn deck, it's funny.

EDIT: He won vs Pox, go Young Pyromancer!

Lost against UWR Delver. T_T

I was rooting for the Young Pyromancer.

 

[Finn of Ooo]

Hey guys I just started playing this game and my friends are kicking my ass. I got a journey into nyx deck for like 10 dollars and haven't done much to it. My friends have been deck busing though and I have found myself rapidly outclassed.

I think a mono-black deck would be fun and was looking for suggestions. I have to stay relatively cheap when building but if you all have any suggestions I would appreciate it. Also we are super causal so it doesn't have to be standard.

 

[Zocano]

So this'll probably be the first big rotation from a block I was heavily invested in, will it be worth filling out sets of things like Sphinx's Revelation, Supreme Verdict, and Jace, AoT with prices dipping down?

 

[rCIZZLE]

So this'll probably be the first big rotation from a block I was heavily invested in, will it be worth filling out sets of things like Sphinx's Revelation, Supreme Verdict, and Jace, AoT with prices dipping down?

All will hold casual appeal but the multiple printing of Jace will really hurt it. Rev has some fringe modern play and Verdict shows up a bit in modern and legacy. Doubt either will be worth much especially since they were in a fall set that was incredibly popular.

If you can snag Abrupt Decays, Deathrite Shamans, Shocklands, or Voice of Resurgence for cheap then jump all over it.

 

[Zocano]

All will hold casual appeal but the multiple printing of Jace will really hurt it. Rev has some fringe modern play and Verdict shows up a bit in modern and legacy. Doubt either will be worth much especially since they were in a fall set that was incredibly popular.

If you can snag Abrupt Decays, Deathrite Shamans, Shocklands, or Voice of Resurgence for cheap then jump all over it.

I have a playset of Abrupt Decay and 3 DRSs but I thought DRS was banned in Modern? I would've assumed that would kill his price to nothing.

Also yah I'm going around finishing up my shockland sets.

I'll pick up single Voice now for cube since it's finally sub $20 but a playset is eeeeh for me. I don't really play W/G.

 

[Martheron]

I posted a few days ago about me starting to go to my local Hastings as they are starting to run FNM. I went this past Friday even though it was standard to try and do some trading (it didn't pan out as too few people showed up [who'd have thunk, with it being the 4th and all]) I was watching some for fun matches before standard started and I saw play sets of fetches, shocks, Nobles, Voice of Resurgence, and a few PWs. I might have gotten over my head here but I'm looking forward to it. Mono green infect a go-go. I've go to say though, I'm really more of a white mage, It'll be a blast I think.

 

[The Technomancer]

Hey guys I just started playing this game and my friends are kicking my ass. I got a journey into nyx deck for like 10 dollars and haven't done much to it. My friends have been deck busing though and I have found myself rapidly outclassed.

I think a mono-black deck would be fun and was looking for suggestions. I have to stay relatively cheap when building but if you all have any suggestions I would appreciate it. Also we are super causal so it doesn't have to be standard.

Mono-black is doable right now, especially if you're not restricted to standard. You probably don't want to buy Thoughtseizes, but Pack Rat and Gray Merchant are still very affordable, and it shouldn't be hard to flesh out a good Black deck around those cards.

Check out this decklist: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=11755
Thoughtseize, Griselbrand and the Obliterator are all expensive but you can probably find decent replacements especially if your group is somewhat laid back. Maybe stick in a few different big demons like Abhorrent Overlord or Lord of the Void

 

[divisionbyzorro]

A true black mage fearlessly plays Abyssal Persecutor.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Double posting, because this shit is hilarious. Graphic language and bizarrely Freudian art criticism follows here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/2a0shj/nsfw_sorry_this_post_is_so_long_and_uses_such/

 

[ElyrionX]

Hi guys. Posted a month or two ago about how I want to get into Magic as a fun thing to do with the girlfriend. Anyway, we've bought a box of Theros boosters and some packs of Born and Journey. Currently waiting for M15 where we'll probably buy a box on day one and we'll have a good pool of cards to play with.

Anyway, I have decided that I want to get into this a bit more seriously and I'm going to start with one Modern and one Standard deck first. Cost is not much of an issue since I am working and haven't been spending much on anything else.

I like blue and the control playstyle the most. For Modern, based on the primer article posted in the old thread, I'm probably going with a UWR Control deck.

Question is, when M15 comes out, how viable is control going to be in Standard based on what we've seen thus far? And approximately how long after M15 comes out will I need to get a sense of the top tier decks that I should consider constructing. And how much should I expect to spend here in terms of a ballpark figure?

 

[OnPoint]

I have a playset of Abrupt Decay and 3 DRSs but I thought DRS was banned in Modern? I would've assumed that would kill his price to nothing.

Also yah I'm going around finishing up my shockland sets.

I'll pick up single Voice now for cube since it's finally sub $20 but a playset is eeeeh for me. I don't really play W/G.

DRS is played in several legacy decks

 

[WanderingWind]

Hi guys. Posted a month or two ago about how I want to get into Magic as a fun thing to do with the girlfriend. Anyway, we've bought a box of Theros boosters and some packs of Born and Journey. Currently waiting for M15 where we'll probably buy a box on day one and we'll have a good pool of cards to play with.

Anyway, I have decided that I want to get into this a bit more seriously and I'm going to start with one Modern and one Standard deck first. Cost is not much of an issue since I am working and haven't been spending much on anything else.

I like blue and the control playstyle the most. For Modern, based on the primer article posted in the old thread, I'm probably going with a UWR Control deck.

Question is, when M15 comes out, how viable is control going to be in Standard based on what we've seen thus far? And approximately how long after M15 comes out will I need to get a sense of the top tier decks that I should consider constructing. And how much should I expect to spend here in terms of a ballpark figure?

You really don't want to spend large amounts of money on standard stuff that isn't from Theros right now, and even then there isn't much that is going to for sure see any sort of play in top tier decks. For instance, you could buy Thoughtseizes and Hero's Downfall and be okay with your purchases. Outside of those, there really isn't anything that is a sure fire purchase.

If you're super excited to play some standard tournament before the big rotation, I would suggest going for something relatively cheap until the rotation hits. I would look at something like RW Burn for something somewhat cheap. If you just want to win and win now, you could invest in mono-black devotion. Just know that may not be a deck when rotation hits.

 

[ElyrionX]

You really don't want to spend large amounts of money on standard stuff that isn't from Theros right now, and even then there isn't much that is going to for sure see any sort of play in top tier decks. For instance, you could buy Thoughtseizes and Hero's Downfall and be okay with your purchases. Outside of those, there really isn't anything that is a sure fire purchase.

If you're super excited to play some standard tournament before the big rotation, I would suggest going for something relatively cheap until the rotation hits. I would look at something like RW Burn for something somewhat cheap. If you just want to win and win now, you could invest in mono-black devotion. Just know that may not be a deck when rotation hits.

Yeah, I am well aware of rotation coming but that's still four months away, right?

UW Control seems to be fairly popular in Standard and isn't too expensive. Is that a good idea? Do the value of some staple cards fall off a cliff once rotation occurs? For example, looking at Azorius Control, the most expensive cards are Mutavault, Elspeth, Sphinx's Revelation and Hallowed Fountain. Are these likely to lose a lot of their value once rotation occurs?

Also, given how expensive Modern is, I don't think it's something that I should plunge into right now until I'm sure this is something that I want to play for a while so I'm going to start with a Standard deck first and see how that goes before committing to a Modern deck.

 

[WanderingWind]

Yeah, I am well aware of rotation coming but that's still four months away, right?

UW Control seems to be fairly popular in Standard and isn't too expensive. Is that a good idea? Do the value of some staple cards fall off a cliff once rotation occurs? For example, looking at Azorius Control, the most expensive cards are Mutavault, Elspeth, Sphinx's Revelation and Hallowed Fountain. Are these likely to lose a lot of their value once rotation occurs?

Also, given how expensive Modern is, I don't think it's something that I should plunge into right now until I'm sure this is something that I want to play for a while so I'm going to start with a Standard deck first and see that goes before committing to a Modern deck.

Sure, yeah. It's four months away. I'm speaking strictly from a financial standpoint. If you're going to play a bunch in between now and then, go for the deck you want to play now.

All of those cards in UW are going to drop in price, with perhaps the exception of Elspeth. Fountain will rebound in price in time, but the rest won't jump back in price. Mutavault in particular will drop like a rock and is easily the worst financial decision to make at this time.

As to what is going to be viable post M15, it's impossible to say. My gut says you could be safe with Esper Control if you want to for sure play control until at least Khans and mono-black is still going to be dominant until then too.