Topic: Brand new to MTG, first deck. Any help would be much appreciated!

Hi all,

I'm new to MTG and i'm looking to make up a BG deck. I've tried to follow the rule of 9 excpt i'm short some cards so i've made up the best I can.

I'm not looking for a game winning deck but something i can play and not look too bad.

My inventory is here: http://deckbox.org/sets/604232

My deck is here: http://deckbox.org/sets/605331

I've only picked up a starter and fat pack. I'll grab some more boosters this weekend.

Thanks in advance,
TFG.

Re: Brand new to MTG, first deck. Any help would be much appreciated!

Hi TFG,

I looked quickly through your decklist, and it looks like a fun deck.  I will ask you what I have always been asked when looking for advice: What do you want your deck to do/how do you want to win?  This will help guide you on

I noticed you have only 22 land.  This can put you in a jam, based on the type of cards you have listed because your mana curve goes to 5 CMC (converted mana cost), you don't have much ramp, and some of your creatures have activation ability costs that may compete with you wanting to cast some of your instant spells.  I would suggest replacing Satyr Wayfinder (you have 5 listed, should only have max of 4)  for cards like Elvish Mystic, Lay of the Land, Mana bloom,  Gyre Sage, etc.

It's a green-black deck so beasties and death are your gravy.  I would suggest replacing some of your enchantments with some removal instant spells (bile blight, doom blade) as these can come in handy in a pinch rather than the slower cards like Fate unraveler.  She's cool, as she provides a body on the battlefield with the added bonus of 1 damage per card drawn, but it's a slow winning condition.

I wish I had more time to share thoughts, but I gotta go.  Let me know what you think, and I look forward to seeing your updated/final deck.

Re: Brand new to MTG, first deck. Any help would be much appreciated!

probably a mistake but you can't have more than 4 of any given non-basic land in your deck , it says you have 5 Satyr wayfinders.

A couple of suggestions, green ramp/stompy isn't that expensive.  And mono green devotion is a pretty good deck if you want to work towards the rares for a better deck.

But, elvish mystic, voyaging satyr, kalonian tuskers, are all mono green and common/uncomon.

I would drop black... removal for green comes in the form of time to feed/pit fight or something similar.  And you just play bigger dudes they have to deal with and more of them. 

There's a new buff card that also lets you draw cards.  From born of the gods, i'd try to pick up a couple of those.

Re: Brand new to MTG, first deck. Any help would be much appreciated!

Hi,

Thanks all for the responses. I've made a new deck up i've kept all of the cards bar 2 to 3 or less mana with two having 4. I've bumped up the land cards to 13 each.

New deck is here: http://deckbox.org/sets/606416

Since I havn't played before I don't really know what style to play, at the moment I only want to learn to play and have a deck that isn't 'too' complicated.

Any comments on the new deck? keep in mind i'm only learning to play at this stage.

Last edited by toofargone (2014-02-13 05:16:36)

Re: Brand new to MTG, first deck. Any help would be much appreciated!

the one thing that stands out to me is that you may be frustrated with the Fellhide Brawler, he needs another minotaur to block, and you don't have many in your deck.  You may be attacking with him most of the time, but there will be situations where you may be better served with him jumping infront of something

Last edited by PicoDiGanyo (2014-02-14 03:46:58)

Re: Brand new to MTG, first deck. Any help would be much appreciated!

Hi there! Welcome.
I've been meaning to post for a few days, but have been pretty busy.

You want to build what's called a "constructed" deck. These decks are very different from draft decks, because you're pretty much going up against people's best - and their collection or war chest.
Since you're new to the game, your pool of cards is just smaller than your competition's, and it will be very difficult to build a decent deck that competes with them with what you just have (sorry!). I've actually tried, here and here, using the cards that you put in your inventory, but wasn't satisfied with the end results - they needed more of the cards that enable the deck to do what they wanted to do or had severe weaknesses.

So you'll kinda need to get more cards then, huh? Yes, -ish.
Standard has a roughly 2-year period, and you're trying to enter it with cards from only the past 6 months. So there's a bit of catching up to do there. But I don't recommend buying booster packs from older sets and hoping you get lucky. I hate to recommend it, but until your collection gets bigger going forward, you should consider buying the missing pieces you need for a deck you build.

Good news is, people are sheep, and expensive cards are expensive because of supply and demand. There are plenty of ways to make a good deck on the cheap. Mainly: just use the good cards that are common (high supply) or aren't popular (low demand)!


So! I have one temporary recommendation to help you get started:
I recommend you start with a mono-colored deck.
They're easier to play, more consistent, and can help you get the ropes of the game. Additionally they don't require expensive dual lands. Of the colors, I recommend either mono-red or mono-black. They're the most straightforward and have lots of good but inexpensive cards. I specifically don't recommend starting with mono-green, as green has more weaknesses, or blind spots, than any of the other colors (to make up for it getting the "strongest" creatures, I guess). Green usually goes excellently with another color that fills the gaps.

Want a concrete example?
I encourage you to take a look at my Welcome to the Necropolis deck. Not a single card goes for over 99 cents, so you can pick it all up for a $20 I'm sure.
I've played it several times and it does well.
It's an aggro deck with lots of synergy. It hits them with small creatures early, and makes them bigger or keeps hitting with them later with intimidate. Deathtouch helps your attackers go through, or buys time on defense until you get a Mogis's Marauder for an alpha strike or a Gift of Orzhova to fly over them. Have a Rakdos Cackler that can't block but attacking would be suicide? Make it your opponent's loss by trading it with Slum Reaper. Placing Ordeal of Erebos on your unleashed Cackler or Thrill-Kill Assassin means it will trigger only the second time you swing. Putting a Dark Favor on your Tormented Hero means you get 6 damage in already by turn 2 if they don't have a blocker. Enchant or bestow Agent of Fates with anything to make them lose a man. Bestow Spiteful Returned on a creature, and even if they block twice he will still connect 4 damage.


Anyway, I hope that all helps. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Also, I apologize if I'm coming across in any way condescending - that's not my intention at all. I intend my teaching style to be very thorough, but I know I have this problem at times.

Welcome, again!