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Magic the Gathering is a Famous turn based card game also known as MTG.

This thread delves into the hobby, feel free to talk about your deck, publicize your favorite builds if you want to share with the world, or offer advice to both new comers and veterans on how to win and/or have a great time playing.

So I recently got back into MTG after about a 8 year break. I like the changes, including some of the new play styles. I applaud the game for creating a micro-economy that revolves around the latest fad in the game (and sometimes just the collections themselves.), while still maintaining hundreds, if not thousands of different play styles, non of which can win 100% of the time even under the most competitive circumstances. That said, and the fanfare aside, MTG is a medium to pricey game to play (although much cheaper than my usual 40k), with plenty of its own faults, one of which is the learning curb - steepened considerably in the 8 years I left it - and the sheer amount of choices in trying to build a deck can be daunting.

After playing a few games of 2 headed giant, however, most newcomers should be able to stand on their own and in the spirit of exploration, my FLGS has decided to adopt a new game style:

Two Handed Tryant

The rules are much the same as Two Headed Giant, only that there are two players using 2 Decks. Players begin with 30 life, cannot share mana between libraries, draw seven cards from each library on the first turn, friendly mulligan each hand separately, and draws their first turn.

The major difference is that players start their turn by playing with the deck of their dominant hand only, pass to their opponent who draws and plays in the same manner, then passes to the first player's other hand. So, if both of you are right handed, the play will literally make a zigg-zagging "X" across the table. In a metaphor, you are throwing your decks at each other in brutal strikes, preparing (or perhaps defending) with one side, as you unleash hell with another. Additionally, each side is making a turn independent of each other, and cannot untap until the beginning of its own upkeep. (You gotta reload son...)

Anyway, for someone who has established decks, I find this game style very rewarding, especially if I don't feel like choosing between them. I find that there are interesting combos possible when you know exactly what is in both decks, and can plan accordingly. Though I'm still play-testing, we've found that a mixture of an offensive and defensive decks work very well together (the name of the game really is synergy), and though that's my deck, I've been torn apart more than my share of times by Rakdos burn decks which are extremely fast and aggressive. It's fun getting revenge by throwing down a Worldfire and burning everything down to ash to land a killing blow - but to each their own.

Anyway, test out this style, see if you have any suggestions on how to improve / refine it or the rules as I have written them. Have fun, and please feel free to speak your mind about MTG here.

Well im loving the sound of "Theros" (The next block) It seems like just what i wanted.

Also looking forward to the 10 new possible generals coming in dragons maze

Two handed tyrant sounds like a pretty cool way to play, actually. I've done two headed giant, the star pattern (5 players, and to win you have to be the first to kill the two people across from you [not sitting next to you]), planechase (which is amazing in any game type), EDH (possibly my favorite format), and archenemy, although that one didn't go so well the one time I played it.

I'll have to try this one out!


And yeah I'm really looking forward to Dragon's Maze. I haven't had much time to read the lore of MtG, but it really makes me want to know the backstory of Ravnica!

Theros looks cool too, but I'd rather focus on one set at a time. But Greek and Roman mythology in MtG? Heck yeah!

I really dislike the current agro meta of MtG. The game itself is great, and is my second favorite.

I like aggro decks--I play a lot of green and green/white. But metagaming in general is annoying and I find meta players to be generally very annoying. I do have a standard deck; selesnya populate. It works well and is fun to play, but it would be slaughtered in a tournament. I play to have fun. Hence, EDH is my favorite format!

OH and I just learned a new play format today-- Monarchy. It is for 5-7 players, and there are different positions you play as and each has a different win clause. It was pretty fun. Basically, everyone gets their role randomly assigned (we wrote them out on basic lands and picked from the pile at random), but there is 1 king, 1 body guard, 1 traitor (2 if there are 7 players), and 2 assassins (3 if there are 6 or 7 players). Everyone is told who the king is but everyone else keeps their identity secret. the king starts with 30 life; everyone else starts with 20.

The king wins if he is the last player alive, or if he and the bodyguard are both alive at the end, the king wins. The king can attack anybody.
The bodyguard wins if the king wins, regardless of if the bodyguard is killed before the end of the game. The bodyguard cannot attack the king, but can attack anyone else.
The traitor wins when he and the king are the last players alive, and then he kills the king himself. He can attack anyone, but if the king dies before the assassins are all dead, the assassins win instead.
The assassins win when the king dies, but only if they are still alive. If there are 3 assassins in a game, and 1 assassin is dead, and then the king dies, the 2 remaining assassins both win. They can also attack anyone.

Its pretty fun and after a bit it becomes obvious who is what, but still its fun to play. We played both with EDH decks and 60-card decks.

The Monarchy format sounds like a blast.

I've been a big fan of Magic over the past year, enjoying the Innistrad and Ravnica blocks. I play Standard, and I love deckbuilding. However it was getting awfully pricey to start putting decks together, especially when you want those top tier cards I've since switched to the various LCG games FFG offers, but if I could justify my spending, I'd be back with my sexy tournament decks in a flash. As it stands they just gather dust, which is sad.

Yeah, it is a shame how much ti costs to compete. The LCG's are a great format in my opinion

Do any of you play EDH/Commander?

I do. It's great fun.

I play commander, I have a five colour deck and an Izzet deck. The five colour on needs work though.

I'm looking for advice and I think this might be the place to get it!

I'm really curious about MTG. I've had a few beginner friendly games with friends (who let me win, the generous sods) and I'm quite taken with the game itself but I've no idea where to start given that I've no previous experience with collectible card games of this type.

Also, the cards that said friends use are about a decade old and they're as clueless as I am when it comes to looking at the newer stuff.

Anyways, we're all thinking of taking the plunge and giving the newer stuff a go but the range of sets is incredibly daunting!

Where would you guys suggest starting out?

Can you mix the 'Gatecrash' stuff with the 'Ravnica' themed cards? Probably a daft question!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated though!

They're releasing the third set of the Ravnica block called Dragon's Maze at the end of this month. I suggest you find a shop putting on an event and attend a session or two. You'll get some of the newest cards and meet the local gaming population. It's an ideal jumping on point.

Also, if you're looking for a deck that works, you can buy one of the pre-made set decks. It really depends on how you want to play & what your preferences are for which one you pick. Each color has its own general style, and especially with the current sets (return to ravnica, gatecrash, and soon dragon's maze), the guild have very specific play styles too. I'd say go somewhere that people play, ask them to let you borrow a deck or watch them, and see how it goes.

A warning for you, though-- don't play people who say they're playing standard. standard decks are generally very fast and competitive, and it won't help you learn to play if they just whip your ass without giving you a chance to do anything. If someone says they have a standard deck, just tell them you're still learning the rules and that if their deck is for tournaments that you'd rather not face that deck just yet.


The only way you will learn to PLAY magic is if people take it slow the first few times and you understand turn order and how combat works, etc. the only way you will get GOOD at magic is if people start whipping your butt and you have to figure out what to do to stay alive and take them out instead. So once you have the basics down and you understand how to play whatever deck you have, tell people not to take it too easy on you.

Don't get too discouraged if you can't win (especially if you have a store-bought starter deck--they generally work anf have a theme, but they're not that great). Try to change your deck a little, but don't be afraid to ask for help. Also, don't make the mistake of "this card is the right color, so it must belong in this deck!" that a lot of new players make. Read the cards, try to see what goes along with your deck and what doesn't, and ask others for advice. Oh, and if you change your deck, two things-- make sure you have enough lands/mana to work with the cards you have (usually starter decks come with 24, which might be a bit much. 20-22 is usually a good range for most decks), and don't have a deck of more than 70 cards. A typical deck has 60, and while its tempting to put things in but not take things out, it doesn't make for very effective decks.

Good luck!

 Scrub wrote:
I'm looking for advice and I think this might be the place to get it!

I'm really curious about MTG. I've had a few beginner friendly games with friends (who let me win, the generous sods) and I'm quite taken with the game itself but I've no idea where to start given that I've no previous experience with collectible card games of this type.

Bro, i have just the thing for you.

I just started playing MTG when I got to college 7 months ago because my roommate was a huge buff. I had a starter deck and 2 booster packs, which was nice... but for a while I really didn't buy anything. If you are starting, I would highly recommend this incredible deal that really got me started:
http://www.toywiz.com/magiclot1000.html

There are duplicates, but not too many. The most I have of a single card is 8, and the runner up is 6, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, ... so its actually really good. You get 0 basic land as well! - although you might get gates and other non-basic land (which is ok).

It was the best deal I ever made, and I have made 2 great decks from it, and have the ability to make many more good decks from it.

Do note that this doesn't come with any rares, but still, its an incredible starting point. I would highly recommend getting this deal, as well as a starter deck maybe and a few booster packs. You'll also need to buy land, but it isn't expensive, so you'll be ok.

If you feel like trying your luck, go for this as well to get some rare cards:
http://www.toywiz.com/magiclot10rare2.html

Here's my standard deck, I've tweaked it slightly in the last week, in particular putting Bonds of faith in the sideboard. It's probably a costly deck to buy from a trader, but I pulled all of these from packs or traded for them. I'm still meeting Thragtusks and it's one of the better ways to nullify them while having the alternative of making my things bigger. I've taken a long time to build this deck since first using red-white humans last summer, it's evolved many times over the months (It irritates me when people suggest I 'net-list', I don't look at deck lists online, this is all my own work). Now it's mostly green-white humans with a little red. It's capable of being very fast, and the potential damage surges at about turn four which tends to catch people out as prior to this everything looks quite small and manageable. The obvious strong cards are things like the Silverblade, who can attack turn three if the Lightning Mauler is out but often arrives turn three to pair with the Skyjek who attacks as a 3/1 double strike. Almost no one uses Thatcher's Revolt, I love it as alongside my Hamlet Captains and Mayors for three mana I have three fairly large hasty humans attacking. Another rarely used card is the Wild Beastmaster, but with the pump effect of other humans and the potential for Rancor, she can make everything huge. When she is on the table, the following turn is often Rancor and Thatcher's Revolt. It's handy that once I get to the mid-game there are so many cards that can win me games, a Thatcher's Revolt, a Rancor, a Mayor to pump everything, a silverblade to give something doublestrike or a Boros Charm to do damage or make my things indestructible. This I've found the hardest thing in deck building, trying to make something with combos but which doesn't frustrate you when you can't get specific cards you need. You have to fill the deck with a range stuff that you're always hoping to draw, that always has the potential to win you games or put your opponent under pressure, rather than cards that only satisfy specific clever combos or work under certain circumstances.

It's not perfect, it sometimes stumbles against control decks, and I have trouble containing some of the Thragtusk decks that involve flickering and gaining life and making tokens (I met a lot at the World Cup Qualifiers so I've settled on Bonds of Faith in the sideboard). I managed to get top 8 at the last gameday so I'm pleased with that performance, if I'd better known the local crowd that were at the WCQ then I probably could have done better there, alas.

Main

4x Avacyn's Pilgrim
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Hamlet Captain
4x Daring Skyjek
2x Lightning Mauler
4x Mayor of Avabruck
2x Fiend Hunter
4x Silverblade Paladin
2x Wild Beastmaster

4x Rancor
4x Thatcher's Revolt
2x Boros Charm

2x Cavern of Souls
2x Stomping Ground
4x Sacred Foundry
4x Temple Garden
4x Sunpetal Grove
2x Plains
2x Forest


Sideboard
2x Boros Reckoner
2x Fiend Hunter
1x Boros Charm
4x Bonds of Faith
4x Terrifying Presence
2x Selesnya Charm



Oh and recently I've taken to painting/altering the art on cards. I made a thread here...
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/519383.page

 The Bringer wrote:

 Scrub wrote:
I'm looking for advice and I think this might be the place to get it!

I'm really curious about MTG. I've had a few beginner friendly games with friends (who let me win, the generous sods) and I'm quite taken with the game itself but I've no idea where to start given that I've no previous experience with collectible card games of this type.

Bro, i have just the thing for you.

I just started playing MTG when I got to college 7 months ago because my roommate was a huge buff. I had a starter deck and 2 booster packs, which was nice... but for a while I really didn't buy anything. If you are starting, I would highly recommend this incredible deal that really got me started:
http://www.toywiz.com/magiclot1000.html

There are duplicates, but not too many. The most I have of a single card is 8, and the runner up is 6, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, ... so its actually really good. You get 0 basic land as well! - although you might get gates and other non-basic land (which is ok).

It was the best deal I ever made, and I have made 2 great decks from it, and have the ability to make many more good decks from it.

Do note that this doesn't come with any rares, but still, its an incredible starting point. I would highly recommend getting this deal, as well as a starter deck maybe and a few booster packs. You'll also need to buy land, but it isn't expensive, so you'll be ok.

If you feel like trying your luck, go for this as well to get some rare cards:
http://www.toywiz.com/magiclot10rare2.html

Wow, that first one is a pretty good deal for a new player. the only problem is that they're all standard, aka from the current set, and so you don't get a mix of older cards which can be really helpful. But its entirely up to you! You can find some nice deals on ebay, too. Thats where I got the starter chunk of my collection!

 stealthxstar wrote:
Do any of you play EDH/Commander?

My Favourite Format



Automatically Appended Next Post:
One thing i will say is DONT BUY BOOSTERS TO CRACK (Open) THEM. Just dont buy them if all your going to do is open them.

The reason for this is its a really expensive way to get cards. Likely you will be looking for certain cards, in which case it is FAR cheaper to just buy them as singles instead of opening packs. Also that way you avoid getting tons of janks that you have no use for. What you SHOULD be doing with packs is drafting or running sealed events. And then the cards you have left over or win from drafts or sealed events you then trade for what you need.

Which is not to say that i havent done just that. But i now try to avoid it. It is hard though, its very addicting to crack boosters .

Also its a good idea to pool money with friends to get a booster box or even case. It will save you a great deal of cash

Who is/are your commander(s)? I have an Avacyn deck and a mono-green deck that I have a Yeva for (but want to swap out for an Omnath once I get a chance to get him)

Im always pulling decks apart and putting new ones back together. I have a healthy collection of possible generals, but at the moment its

Mayeal the Anima

Geth Lord of the Vault

Thada Adel Aquisitor

I currently have a Trostani deck and plan to build an Obzedat deck.

I've been thinking about magic for a little while now . My and my brother used to play about 12 years ago or so .
We still have a bunch of cards but I have no idea of there use .

I don't have a clue how the game works and the magic website seems very overwhelming!

So If I was to start playing what should I pick up . I'm want to pick two de ks up . One for me and my brother

I don't quite understand the ddifferences in decks

What is the core set ? And the gatecrasher set ?

Should I just pick you p two gatecrasher fat packs to start us off or is there a cheaper way have a rabble before spending more money on what I need ?

Buy two starter decks. The core set and/or gatecrash ones are good for learning how to play, and will be balanced (I would recommend getting either 2 core set or 2 gatecrash to start with), and obviously don't get two of the same deck. Two decks that share one color would be fine, though.

The starter decks come with a "how to play" guide that is mildly helpful. I would say go find a game store near you and ask to watch a game or have someone teach you the basic rules (turn order etc). The best way to learn to play well is to READ THE CARDS and know what your deck is trying to do.

edit: And don't get fat packs at first, just get the starter decks. Once you get into the game, then you can spend all of your money on it

edit (again): OH also I forgot about this, but there are "learn to play duel decks" (NOT the regular duel decks, make sure its a core set and talks about learning how to play or whatever) that are relatively cheap. The decks are crap, but you'll learn how to play! (this thing: http://www.trollandtoad.com/p321403.html )

Thanks , I have ordered two 2013 core intro decks a white and a red I think

What are the differences between the core sets or editions and the other packs eg gate crashes . Return to ravinica and next week dragons maze all confusing haha . Are there any other forums you would recommend or any sites for beginners that I can check out so I now some basics before my decks come ?

 stealthxstar wrote:
edit (again): OH also I forgot about this, but there are "learn to play duel decks" (NOT the regular duel decks, make sure its a core set and talks about learning how to play or whatever) that are relatively cheap. The decks are crap, but you'll learn how to play! (this thing: http://www.trollandtoad.com/p321403.html )

Those are pretty amusing because they are basically the cost of 2 boosters plus some free cards.

inserviceofultramar wrote:
Thanks , I have ordered two 2013 core intro decks a white and a red I think

What are the differences between the core sets or editions and the other packs eg gate crashes . Return to ravinica and next week dragons maze all confusing haha . Are there any other forums you would recommend or any sites for beginners that I can check out so I now some basics before my decks come ?

The "Core Sets" are released once every year, they are made up of a heavy amount of reprints and they exist to bring into "Standard" (the main competetive format) the cards that are needed to make it a fun and balanced Standard environment. After the yearly "Core Set", a "Block" is released E.G. Return To Ravnica. A "Block" is is made up of three "Sets" E.G Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, Dragons Maze. These three sets will have a story running throughout them (Magic has a continuing storyline that is long and complicated). For MOST "Blocks", the First "Set" will be the Main set and is made up of roughly 250 cards. The last two will be called "Expert Sets". "Expert Sets" are about 120-150 cards. Note however that Main-Expert-Expert hasnt been the case for the most recent sets.






Wizards has how to play videos on youtube. For complex rules resolution, just ask google. Someone HAS asked it before you.

Any starter sets will work well. Get some decks to be your baseline and then modify those as you go, playing with each iteration constantly in order to both get a feel for the game and the deck.

Another good way to learn is playing Duels of the Planeswalkers, because the game walks you through it. If you have steam, you can get the game there (steam has good sales and its not a very expensive game anyway). You also can torrent the old/original version of the game. Its pretty oldschool but its still good for learning how to play (although it might be a little less user friendly than the new ones).

Cheers guys , decks arrived yesterday so gonna have a go tonight

So it's pre-release day for Dragon's Maze. Who all's playing/played and what'd you think?