morph66 wrote:I guess the goal would be to muster up some courage and go to a friday night magic. Right now I just use my cards to play casual with a buddy.
The problem is i don't even know what format FNM is, or any of the rulings. I've basically just been collecting cards... The point is i need some kind of inspiration.
Given this, I would suggest you and your buddy just go down to your LGS to watch an FNM. They typically will vary in format by store and often from week to week. This would dictate whether to try to aim for standard or modern format (since you're a newer player, I would suggest standard as the format to shoot for as it will end up being easier to collect cards to play).
Ask questions, watch games, converse with people. FNMs are meant to be a casual, welcoming environment where everyone from pros to beginners can come play. That being said, some FNMs are more competitive than others, so hopefully you have more than one LGS to choose from. But ultimately, talk to people, find out what they're playing and why they're playing it. Take a deck or two to play casually - or otherwise to see if people want to help you out. Obviously they're not just going to build decks for you, but it's worth talking to them to see how competitive the environment is and that sort of stuff.
Having said all of that... after you've gone and seen some play, talked to people, and really figured things out a bit more THEN it would be good to figure out deck ideas on here. This isn't to suggest that I and the rest of the Deckbox community are unwilling to help, you had best believe we are, but rather to give you more of a feel for the game before you go leaping into competitive play (because it is a very different animal than the kitchen table). Lastly, remember to have fun!