On January 08 2014 01:55 monx wrote:
dunno where to start as a new magic player...i dont intend to play competitively but i might attend some fnm

any help would be appreciated

How new are you? Do you know the rules on how to play? Why are you getting into the game?

slOosh

3291 Posts

January 07 2014 18:12 GMT

#10042

Day[9]'s spellslingers videos can be a good primer if you are aware of mtg but haven't played too much (if you've played you can still watch for entertainment value):

Depending on where you live your LGS (local gaming store) might have casual events / nights where you can play in a more relaxed / less competitive format.

I would think the formats you would want to play (if at FNM) are "draft" and "standard" (since the other can be overwhelming)
"Standard" is where you make your own deck of 60 cards from a set pool of cards (which is relatively small compared to other formats) and play other people who made their own decks.

"Draft" is where people get boosters, (then do some stuff), and make new decks of 40 at the event and play each other using the decks they just built. You also get to keep these cards at the end.

But yea, micronesia asked a great question since ultimately you want to have fun and magic is very flexible in how it offers that.

Judicator

United States7270 Posts

January 07 2014 18:24 GMT

#10043

We really need to build a post template for new players. There's only so many times we can repeat ourselves.

monx

Canada1400 Posts

January 07 2014 19:29 GMT

#10044

sorry maybe i should have browse the topic but it's damn large.

im very new to this game. i played other tcg before such as pokemon and dragonball but it's been a while.
The reason why im interested in magic is mostly because a friend got into it like 6 months ago and we played a bit casually during holidays and i had a blast.

Right now, i don't have that much free time to play video games and i mostly play ccg (duel of champions and hearthstone)

i am very fond to deckbuilding games thus why im getting into the game. My goal is not to be competitive but id like to play some events at my LGS (they have booster draft events, standards and such)

My main issue is what should i spend my money on...should i just copy a deck on mtgtop8 etc

im not planning to opt on mtgo so limit your advice on the physical game.

Judicator

United States7270 Posts

January 07 2014 19:55 GMT

#10045

I am not blaming you or anything like that monx. It's literally something the rest of us should come up with since you are like the 5th person that I have seen that have asked that question. It's not like your question is bad or unwarranted since this thread is getting quite large. It's more like oh we're slacking. Like I am pretty sure we talked about doing something like that when Micronesia started playing this game and that was like 3-4 months ago.

micronesia

United States24770 Posts

January 07 2014 19:56 GMT

#10046

Actually I started here!: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=155049&currentpage=381#7620

Anyway, if someone wants to type up a good general post to point new players to with most of the info they will need, I can put a public moderator note that links to the post at the top of the thread... something like "New to magic? Read this first!" etc

Louuster

Canada2869 Posts

January 07 2014 19:58 GMT

#10047

I really like limited for new players as it levels the playing field, since most new players are not interested in dropping a few hundreds for a standard deck, but also dont want to lose all day by playing an underpowered deck. Sealed is very good because it allows you to use all the standard deck building ideas without the added complexity of drafting.

If you are ready to buy a whole bunch of cards at once, you should probably test on workstation/cockatrice with friends or something to get a feel for how decks play out before buying the cards.Fortunately, in these days of devotion, mana bases are as cheap as they ever will be so there's at least that.

Judicator

United States7270 Posts

January 07 2014 20:23 GMT

#10048

On January 08 2014 04:56 micronesia wrote:
Actually I started here!: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=155049&currentpage=381#7620

Anyway, if someone wants to type up a good general post to point new players to with most of the info they will need, I can put a public moderator note that links to the post at the top of the thread... something like "New to magic? Read this first!" etc

I might type something up this weekend. It's going to be a busy semester for me that I down to playing like a match of standard and skipping most weekends of Magic.

Edit:

The level of asshole-ism on Workstation reached like new heights. People complaining about my UW deck...when nobody complained about the UB Drownyard games...makes no sense. By complain I mean taking my cards, and then duplicating into infinity but pretty only end up lagging their crappy computers.

MoonBear

Straight outta Johto18973 Posts

January 07 2014 20:26 GMT

#10049

If I can get some irl and TL Staff stuff out of the way I can write up an intro to Eternal Formats at some point as a supplement.

Louuster

Canada2869 Posts

January 07 2014 20:48 GMT

#10050

Ah MWS, the only place where I have the pleasure of having 0/0 colorless FAGGOT/NOOB/whatever... tokens created and donated by my opponents after I have the audacity of trying to win a game of magic instead of sitting there and letting them win with their shitty decks.

monx

Canada1400 Posts

January 07 2014 21:37 GMT

#10051

just a quick question : sealed and booster drafts are played with the most recent set usually?
before playing one at my LGS, i guess i should simulate some online first.

mordek

United States12705 Posts

January 07 2014 21:43 GMT

#10052

Sounds like a great plan imo. If you have a buddy and cockatrice you can even test how the decks you drafted perform.

Whole

United States6046 Posts

January 07 2014 22:09 GMT

#10053

On January 08 2014 06:37 monx wrote:
just a quick question : sealed and booster drafts are played with the most recent set usually?
before playing one at my LGS, i guess i should simulate some online first.

Yea. The current drafts are simply 3 Theros boosters. Sealed is 6 Theros boosters. I don't think anyone knows for sure how it'll be when Born of the Gods comes out. It might be 2 Theros and 1 Born of the Gods because Born of the Gods has a smaller pool of cards than Theros. BTW, here is a drafting simulator. http://draft.bestiaire.org/

Personally, I think drafting or sealed is the best way to start Magic. I recently started Magic myself (right when Theros came out), and when I became interested in going to FNM's and stuff, Standard seemed (based on watching other people, hearing people talk about it) to be "find a deck online, learn the other top decks in the format, play." But draft satisfies the deckbuilding skills that new players really like.

I love Standard now, but when I was first getting into Magic, it didn't appeal to me because you couldn't build your own deck and expect it to do well.

Louuster

Canada2869 Posts

January 07 2014 22:57 GMT

#10054

You can think of constructed as something similar to Starcraft. There is set of BOs that are pretty well defined for each race and the interesting aspect is the execution and interaction of these builds, where both players have a reasonable idea of what the other person is trying to do and the tools he has to work with.
Sure, there is the occasional TLO or Catz who does weird things and is reasonably succesful with it, but for the most part most players dont have the resources or time to reinvent the wheel so to speak, so it is easier to look at what higher level players do and go from there. This is all, of couse, assuming that winning is the most important thing for you. Theres plenty of people who are much happier doing decent-good but not winning every time with brews rather than play the latest, fine tuned list of the top deck and there is nothing wrong with that, as long as you are enjoying the game.

MCMcEmcee

United States1609 Posts

January 07 2014 23:28 GMT

#10055

On January 08 2014 07:09 Whole wrote:

Show nested quote +

For any given block of sets ABC, the draft formats are AAA, BAA, and CBA. For Theros block that means the format will be Born of the Gods > Theros > Theros unless Wizards changes something at the last second, which seems unlikely.

Judicator

United States7270 Posts

January 08 2014 00:47 GMT

#10056

Uh are you sure its AAA, BAA, then CBA for Theros and not CCC?

MCMcEmcee

United States1609 Posts

January 08 2014 01:00 GMT

#10057

Journey Into Nyx has been confirmed as a small set and the draft format has been confirmed as Journey into Nyx > Born of the Gods > Theros.
source: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1361

Judicator

United States7270 Posts

January 08 2014 01:00 GMT

#10058

ah okay, havent kept up

micronesia

United States24770 Posts

January 08 2014 01:25 GMT

#10059

I am going to completely miss the born of the gods release events unfortunately! If I really want those hero cards I guess I'll have to pick them up in the secondary market for like 50 cents :p