Looking for a free software that will let me play magic. I am a beginner with no knowledge of any card, but I do know the rules. Would you be kind enough to recommend me a currently working software and give me some tips on how to get started building my first deck?
for software, get cockatrice, at http://www.woogerworks.com/. for decks, don't be afraid of netdecking, which is copying a decklist you find on the internet. this site seems fine for netdecking: http://www.mtgtop8.com/format?f=ST. stick to the 'standard' format, it's the most popular. play a few solitaire games to get used to both the software and the deck, then go for multiplayer. use gatherer to search for cards: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Default.aspx. for more in-depth guides, use google
With regards to a software to practice Magic on there are quite a few. The best and obviously most endorsed by Wizards would be the Magic Online Beta Client, which you can download from their website for free. On this you can play the 'Free Trial' which gives you a selection of various decks from the Duels of the Planeswalkers (D14) game. These are not the best decks, but they are fun nevertheless and you can use them to play against other people who are using the free trial. There is no signup or fees required, the only drawback is you do not get to collect cards or make any decks. There are enough decks there to try out different kinds of decks. Big creature decks, control decks, zombies, angels, beasts, dragons - etc etc.
Building your first deck depends on how you want to play the game. If you're playing against a few mates then getting a deckbuilder box or a fat pack from the most recent of sets in conjunction with an intro deck that suits the colors you like may be a safe bet. That is what I did when I started out. I wasn't sure what to do, but I liked Red/Green so I got a Red/Green intro deck which wasn't great, but after adding in some cards from boosters it eventually got pretty powerful.
If on the other hand you plan on playing at Friday Night Magic events or even some tournaments, then it might be best to netdeck as aeos described above. This can be pretty expensive though as the best decks in the Standard format can be full of some very much sought after cards.
I guess the main question is: in what kind of environment will you be playing?
If you are a new player, you would benefit from rules enforcement.
Forge is not perfect, but it has AI you can play against, you can draft and a crazy number of cards are supported. Also the community are super active (like a new version every 2 weeks). Whenever I say that I 'build and test decks on my computer' I mean forge. Some of the crazier cards that require multiple players doing stuff (like join forces) cards are an example of the few that are not supported, or like unglued cards. http://www.slightlymagic.net/wiki/Forge
I would recommend Forge as well. As a beginner it helped me out a lot, as I was not able to play many people in person regularly. So, with Forge, it helped me learn the rules and interactions. The newer versions also help a lot in filtering out cards - you can search specific types/abilities, etc. to help make better decks or just to help locate a specific card. It helps you playtest your own decks as well. While MTGO is free to try, you only have access to a few decks - and those are intro type decks. Sure it may not be 100% perfect, but of all the other programs out there, I think this is the best to learn. Once you get a full grasp of it, you can upgrade to Cockatrice - to play against other people online. There's no rules enforced on that program, but if you graduated to that point, you would have learnt most of the advanced stuff by then.
Building your first deck depends on how you want to play the game. If you're playing against a few mates then getting a deckbuilder box or a fat pack from the most recent of sets in conjunction with an intro deck that suits the colors you like may be a safe bet. That is what I did when I started out. I wasn't sure what to do, but I liked Red/Green so I got a Red/Green intro deck which wasn't great, but after adding in some cards from boosters it eventually got pretty powerful.
If on the other hand you plan on playing at Friday Night Magic events or even some tournaments, then it might be best to netdeck as aeos described above. This can be pretty expensive though as the best decks in the Standard format can be full of some very much sought after cards.
I guess the main question is: in what kind of environment will you be playing?
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Forge is not perfect, but it has AI you can play against, you can draft and a crazy number of cards are supported. Also the community are super active (like a new version every 2 weeks). Whenever I say that I 'build and test decks on my computer' I mean forge. Some of the crazier cards that require multiple players doing stuff (like join forces) cards are an example of the few that are not supported, or like unglued cards.
http://www.slightlymagic.net/wiki/Forge
www.theconnoisseurs.com
Tooth and Nail
8 Rack
Mono Red Storm
Elves
R/G Tron
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