So, anyone attended any of the GPs?

I went to my first a few days ago (Nashville, Tenn.), and made it to day 2, which I made me kinda proud. Sealed event, lots of fun, stupidly fancy hotel (wish I had the money to stay there).

 

Modern, legacy, or vintage? Also, do you have any scars duals left, I'm working on finishing my playsets for modern.

 

Hey, DLP, thinking about getting back into Magic after shitloads of time. It's kinda dead in my city and Lithuania in general, so MTGO is kinda the only option for competitive play. I've always been a Standard guy, so that's the format I'm interested in above all. I have a budget of around $250 for a deck at the moment. No particular preferences, to be honest, but it shouldn't be very hard to play well, like it was in the case of Faeries or Gifts Control when it was dominating Standard, for example. I looked over some deck lists, found a 4 archetypes that "call" to me. Wolf Run Ramp (which is probably too expensive), Birthing Pod (I get a feeling that this one's too expensive too), BW Tokens (probably nostalgic from Ghost Husk decks from way back), and Reanimator (which is called Frites, I think. Raphael Levy played it in the Hawaii Pro Tour), which is once again kinda nostalgic, because I always loved the idea of this type of deck.

So, I guess, the question is this: Do you know if Frites or Tokens would do well (at least 3-1) in MTGO tournaments, provided the decklist is good, and I know what I'm doing? Or maybe you can recommend something better in $250 price range?

 

Just run UW Delver. I don't know the MTGO metagame, but honestly, variations of UW delver were something like six out of eight of the Top Eight at the most recent standard grand prix. Delver is insane, and Geist is a cocksucking bitch, especially with a Sword glued on.
Anyways, onto Avacyn and everything I hate about it so far.
First of all. Miracles are a shitty mechanic and are either worthless or fantastic: courtesy of such cards as Ponder, they're going to be broken as shit in standard (especially since they flip your Delvers).
Yes, I'm looking at you, one-drop Beacon Of Destruction:

And you, fucking TIME WALK:

Not to mention the altered card fronts are ugly as shit.

 

Hey, I'm looking to get into MTG. I've played a few games on the Demo for Duels of Planeswalkers 2012 and I really like the idea of a U/W deck with flying, since you can attack life directly. Can anyone comment on how viable this would be? I don't know anything about the local meta here, and I don't want to spend an obscene amount of money for multiple decks, I'd like to just run this one for a few months.

Also, can anyone explain the idea of FRIDAY Night Magic? It seems like the only events in my area that aren't FNM (Austin, TX) are Drafts on Saturday night. While the events are early enough to go downtown afterwards (7PM-10PM), it just seems like a rush to run from FNM to a party or a date. I was hoping I could meet some people at FNM and see if any of them play during the week, or during the day on the weekend, but from what I've read online people usually just play test outside of FNM. Is that the general consensus? That FNM is when you actually play outside of tournaments, and anything else is just play testing?

 

In reverse order: FNM is the only official, WOTC sponsored events outside of tournaments and qualifiers, apart from the occasional random event and pre/release events for new sets. Generally, comic and game shop host other events independently, like the draft you mentioned. The best way to practice and test decks is through FNM, or friends who play the game (who you can meet at FNMs). I recommend going to a few, just to meet some people, and try to arrange some other times to play. Another option is Magic online, which has sponsored events constantly, but diminishes the social aspect of the game greatly.

As for decks, it is honestly up to you. If you want to be competitive, the first thing you need to do is learn the game in its entirety. Duels is a fun game, but is highly restrictive in what one actually does. Beyond that, it is not restricted to a format (formats explained here), which can make the transition to traditional, format-based play jarring. Try to win some FNMs or other events of that nature before consider highly competitive events (unless you want to burn 35 dollars or more on entry fees).

U/W fliers works, sort of, but is not really a dominant archetype in the current standard format. It can work, as long as you use copious amounts of counter spells (mana leak, stoic rebuttal, dissipate), and devote yourself primarily to a spirit theme ( capitalize on Drogskul Captain, Shriekgiest, Midnight Haunting, cheap spirits and spirit token generators). Drop a spirit early, beat face with it, and counter anything they try and play. This deck could probably be made with very few expensive cards, and I could see working. If you really want to capitalize on flying things, and want to win, you could just play a delver deck (described here, along with a few other heavily-played standard archetypes).

Hopefully that was at least somewhat helpful. Did I miss anything?

 

The thing is, if you're running U/W and you don't have Geist of Saint Traft ($23) and Snapcaster ($24), you're just not going to be competitive.
My advice is, with Avacyn Restored pre-releasing fairly soon, is go to that: you'll get your money's worth in cards alone, you'll get some deckbuilding expereince, see a lot of different decks and how they work, and, chances are, meet pretty much everyone who plays Magic in your area: pre-releases attract pretty chill crowds.
Back on your subject, though, of U/W flyers: yes. It's called U/W Delver and it lets you have a 3/2 flyer by second turn. U/W delver decklists abound. Google it up and you'll find something to your taste.
Also, since you're starting out and aren't eager to burn money, check out Building on a Budget: the writer does okay, the decks are interesting, and it'll teach you a lot about deckbuilding.

 

Wow thanks for the help guys.

Here's the link I was reading to try and get an idea of Delver decks. Is that an adequate description? I didn't see anything in there about Geist or Snapcaster, although I'm aware that Snapcaster's a pretty popular card. A local shop near here is having a tournament with Snapcasters as prizes.

I was going to bring up Avacyn, will Archerdood's advice still apply (lots of counterspells and a spirit theme)? I won't be able to get to FNM for 2 weeks anyway, so I might as well go on the 28th. Shrodinger, when you say I'll get my money's worth, do you mean I should buy a starter pack there, or register for a sealed deck or draft? I looked up the cards Archerdood mentioned and they all seemed pretty reasonably priced, should I pick them up in anticipation for Avacyn? Also, how should I go about building a mana base? Do I just want regular lands? I see a lot of decks with different lands that let you draw and pick a basic land you want and stuff like that. Should I just not worry about that until later? Here's what I've read so far about building a deck.

As far as budget goes, I was hoping to be able to spend about $50-$75 relatively soon, start playing, and then as the summer progressed and I learned more about what I would like, maybe invest in something a little pricier. I just don't want to get a really expensive deck and either not like the way it plays, or just not be skilled enough to use it correctly. Regarding formats, I want to play standard.

One last thing, how do you tell if something is legal for standard? Would I be right in assuming Think Twice is legal since it came out with Innistrad? What about Tidal Kraken? Also, would he be a good fatty to have for this type of deck, considering the majority of the cards Archerdood listed were water I figured the mana would be heavy water?

Again, thanks for the detailed replies. I'm sorry if it seems like a lot is going over my head, but this game seems to have a pretty steep learning curve.

 

In a word, no, that's not what delver looks like. I'm talking this: scroll down to Shenhar's deck to see classic (pricy) Delver.

I was talking Sealed. At my local game shop, sealed pre-releases cost $25: that pretty much covers the cost of the six packs you'll get, and any prizes will be bonus. All depends on the pricing in your area, though. Draft is harder than Sealed, and usually is for more experienced players, and none of the Intro Packs from Avacyn match your future deck well.

All the one he mentioned are going to be good: also, fairly easy to trade for. If you let people know you're knew, they might even give you free cards: magic players are pretty friendly as a group, as far as I've seen.

That's a pretty good article on deck building: as for lands, basic lands (plains, swamps, islands, mountains, forests) should be enough for you for now. You'll probably pick up more as time goes on.

With that as your initial price range and U/W as your goal, consider the Spectral Legions Innistrad intro pack: it should come come cheap, is relatively easy to play, and is a good base to build from into a stronger U/W deck.

Current Standard cards are M12, Mirrodin Besieged, Shards of Mirrodin, New Phyrexia, Innistrad, Dark Ascension, and (soon) Avacyn Restored. Think Twice is legit: the Kraken, as a Ninth Edition card, is not. Also. The mana is blue. Not water. Red. Not fire. Black. Not skulls. Etc. As for 'fattys" for your deck, I would say either the Geist of Saint Traft (Pricy) or Drogskol Reaver (considerably less so.

Yeah, Magic isn't always easy for new players. If any of what I said is unhelpful/incomplete/confusing, feel free to ask for clarification or PM me. I'd be glad to help.

 

Legacy. It helps that I'm pretty good at the format. I mean, I might play Dredge in Vintage if I ever get around to trading for Bazaars 2-4, but eh. And Modern is a fucking terrible format. I'd call it Legacy for poor people, but most of the T-1 Modern decks cost more than Dredge.

As for Standard, Delver is such a fucking stupid deck. I can't believe that I'm going to have to play it or Zombies at the next large tournament I go to.

 

T-1 Modern decks are only so expensive because of fucking shocklands and Goyf.
As for Delver, I'm hoping Cavern of Souls fucks it over proper.

 

How does Cavern of Souls fuck up Delver? Yes, the deck does run 4 main deck copies of Mana Leak in some versions, but it relies more on tempo oriented plays (Snapcaster for Vapor Snag, counter spell your Planeswalker/Anthem effect, etc) to win. Hell, half the time when I sleeve up Delver I don't even have the Leaks main -- I cut them for an extra land and random utility cards. T-1 Modern Decks have their cost add up with a lot of little spells as well. Remand is 5.50 these days.

But seriously, Modern is a terrible format. The only skill intensive card they haven't banned yet is Gifts Ungiven, and the best 'control' archetype is Aggro Loam featuring Seismic Assault.

 

Huh. Half the time that Delver fucks me, its with the Leaks. I've got enough hexproof going on that vapor snag can't do shit, though, so maybe it's a matter of your deck and the metagame.
Are you headed to the prerelease?

 

Eh, we have an extremely diverse metagame in my area. Delver is a good deck because it rewards skilled players and punishes people who are either unfamiliar with the match up, or bad at making decisions several turns in advance. It's really a 45% deck -- it has a 45% matchup against the field, but it gives you the chance to turn your ability to outplay your opponents into improbable victories.

 

Doesn't mean I hate it any less, though. I hate looking at Grand Prix summaries and seeing the sanme fucking decklist over and over and over. It's almsot as bad as cawblade.

 

I remember when Ravager Affinity was probably 70% of a field, with the other 30% being stuff like goblins, u/w control, and a few March decks. And there was me with the lone retracto-freeze deck nearly making it the distance before some bad luck caught up with me and decided to not give me any lands for several games straight.

Nowadays I'm just buying and reselling cards on Ebay. If I can make an extra grand a month, then awesome. I don't know the first thing about any of the new decks.

---------- Post automerged at 10:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 AM ----------

I remember when Ravager Affinity was probably 70% of a field, with the other 30% being stuff like goblins, u/w control, and a few March decks. And there was me with the lone retracto-freeze deck nearly making it the distance before some bad luck caught up with me and decided to not give me any lands for several games straight.

Nowadays I'm just buying and reselling cards on Ebay. If I can make an extra grand a month, then awesome. I don't know the first thing about any of the new decks.

 

Went to a local prerelease last night, and Bonfire of the Dammed is worth its weight in gold in limited. Even if you can't cast it for its miracle cost, it does great work of sweaping the opponents board, or getting that last few points of damage in to close out a game.

Avacyn limited is going to be slower than previous ones. While it lacks usable hard counterspells, the sheer amount of bounce, flicker, and straight removal will keep everyone honest to a point, and probably drag the games to time if the players aren't careful. I would not 100% count on everyone being slow though. If someone gets the cards or real good draws, turn 4 or 5 kills are not out of the realm of possibility.

 

What tournaments are everyone considering attending this summer? And in what events are you considering playing in? Standard? Legacy? Modern (Ick)?

 

Tenhauser: Avacyn Restored Limited looks like yet another limited format that I will be skipping out on unless I accidentally qualify for the Pro Tour. I like being able to draft control decks, and -- in spite of this format being slower than DII and III -- it doesn't feel like there's a really viable control archetype.

Archerdood: I'll be at most of the SCG events this summer, and I'll probably end up at the remaining US Grand Prix events. I'll be trading at the GPs though, as I despise the current standard format. I'll probably be playing in Legacy tournaments only for a while.

 

Wizards R&D seems to be on an anti-control kick recently.