Can a beginner go to a Friday Night Magic event, what can you expect is it just playing the game with people, or is there more to it? How much would it costs go play usually? What can someone expect.
FNM is the beginner's version of the competitive magic. It depends on your LGS. It can be really casual or very competitive depending on the locals and how packed it is. If you wanna play constructed, you may need to netdeck a bit and adapt for the local metagame in order to win consistently. If you don't care about winning, any brew is fine. You could just draft if you're not ready for Standard or other constructed formats yet.
FNM offers Standard and Draft usually. Constructed format goes for $5 usually and Drafts for $10 ~ 15 I guess. Prize may vary as well. Some places may offer the entry for free, but payouts are also dismal if you care about it.
Usually other players are helpful toward new player, so you probably will be in good hand if you feel lost.
You don't need to go to play your first FNM. Just go there and play some casual games and see how is the flow of your store before dive in. FNM is perfect for newcomers for their first competitive experience.
Individual stores have a lot of leeway in terms of how they run their FNMs, so I would highly suggest finding a local game store that you want to attend and asking an employee how that store's FMNs are run. FNMs are always held in some kind of tournament format with an entry fee that varies by format and shop. In general, the most common FNM format is standard, in which players bring 60 card decks made from the most recent 18 months worth of sets. Dragons of Tarkir, Magic: Origins, Battle for Zendikar, Oath of the Gatewatch, and Shadows Over Innistrad comprise the current standard, with Eldrich Moon coming out in a couple of weeks. Ostensibly, Friday Night Magic is advertised to beginners as the lowest level of competitive play, but some tournaments can be very competitive. Don't expect to win too often at your first FNM.
If you don't have a very large collection, you can also ask if your store runs drafts, in which players build 40 card decks from the contents of cards passed around a table.
If you are willing to wait and spend a little more money, some Friday Night Magic stores have prereleases of a new set where you get 6 packs + random promo rare. This format is typically called Sealed. It is a bit luck heavy, due to being completely dependent on what is in your packs, but it can give a similar feel to drafts, minus all the knowledge needed to draft better.(Personally, I prefer drafting over sealed, but that is just me.)
I would recommend looking up the youtube channel Tolarian Community College. He is VERY informative when it comes to beginner players.
If you are willing to wait and spend a little more money, some Friday Night Magic stores have prereleases of a new set where you get 6 packs + random promo rare. This format is typically called Sealed. It is a bit luck heavy, due to being completely dependent on what is in your packs, but it can give a similar feel to drafts, minus all the knowledge needed to draft better.(Personally, I prefer drafting over sealed, but that is just me.)
I would recommend looking up the youtube channel Tolarian Community College. He is VERY informative when it comes to beginner players.
If you are willing to wait and spend a little more money, some Friday Night Magic stores have prereleases of a new set where you get 6 packs + random promo rare. This format is typically called Sealed. It is a bit luck heavy, due to being completely dependent on what is in your packs, but it can give a similar feel to drafts, minus all the knowledge needed to draft better.(Personally, I prefer drafting over sealed, but that is just me.)
I would recommend looking up the youtube channel Tolarian Community College. He is VERY informative when it comes to beginner players.
So it is bad that I got an intro pack?
Well, I would not recommend them for the most part. Its not the worst thing in the world to buy with your money to get started in MtG. At the same time, intro packs have been known to be a bad value in general. Intro packs have been known to have cards that are not only ability-less but also just bad stats/abilities for the mana cost. Such as Thornhide Wolves,Vampire Noble, Sleep Paralysis and Silent Observer, known as draft chaff.
I feel you would be much more happier drafting and doing prereleases first, then try to obtain the cards needed to make you constructed deck.
Edit: Also, I strongly advice not just buying packs and cracking them. You should save your money for drafts and sealed events or single cards instead.
EDIT2: I guess I should add, that draft chaff means it's kinda only "good", if not, usable, in drafts or sealed. So while perhaps the above cards are bad in constructed, they have some place in drafts, depending on the situation.
Sounds good draft sounds fun, but I would not want to be blamed if I draft bad. I feel like lots of sharks would be at these things to destroy new people.
If you know how to play and wanna start competivsly. Go to the developing competitive forum and look at stompy. Great deck for 50-60 bucks. I built it and foiled it out for like 90 and have let 3 beginners borrow it start out. They now are quite good
Sounds good draft sounds fun, but I would not want to be blamed if I draft bad. I feel like lots of sharks would be at these things to destroy new people.
Yeah that is a problem with drafting, unfortunately.
It takes a fair bit of time on top of money before you really learn it. Not to mention the store you go can have a fairly cutthroat community. From my personal experience, people were definitely helpful on Friday Night Magic, with the exception of the value of cards, that was something I had to find out on my own. On the other hand, I have heard of FMNs where they were much more strict and unforgiving.
Not trying to discourage you, of course. It always nice having new players trying out the game!
EDIT: I would have suggested using something like cockatrice, but those players can be REALLY strict and picky in the game.
If you know how to play and wanna start competivsly. Go to the developing competitive forum and look at stompy. Great deck for 50-60 bucks. I built it and foiled it out for like 90 and have let 3 beginners borrow it start out. They now are quite good
I know the basics of how to play, but I literally just started.
No. Do not go to FNM and expect to win anything. Play sealed and draft casual with friends or go to pre-release. Play duel decks.
Do not go to FNM? That's a new one.
I just played at a Store Credit Legacy tournament that had 28 players. The kid who I faced in the first round was on budget Goblins. I actually didn't know that he had played his first match of "competitive" Magic until I talked with his mom later. He did a very good job and even destroyed me in game 1.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Drafts are better for new players with smaller collections. Depends on the store, but in general, you can expect to see decks copypasted from top8 finishes. Constructed is 5-6 dollars on average, draft should be 10-12 dollars.
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Legacy
Death and Taxes Pauper
UB Teachings
Tortured Existence
Murasa Tron Modern
Pod (RIP)
Bloom(RIP)
Merfolk
No. Do not go to FNM and expect to win anything. Play sealed and draft casual with friends or go to pre-release. Play duel decks.
Do not go to FNM? That's a new one.
Not really. Warangel's favorite topic is complaining about how FNMs aren't catered to his brand of casual play.
That's fine for him then. FNMs are not for everyone. I mean, I am biased because I've gone to FNMs for years, probably missing fewer than 10 of them in that time. But to just tell a newer player to not go to FNM seems a bit arbitrary. (although I'm probably getting trolled )
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Not really. Warangel's favorite topic is complaining about how FNMs aren't catered to his brand of casual play.
If MTGS had an upvote button, I'd use it for this.
But anyway, FNMs are ideal for people looking to enter competitive Magic. Drafting is usually safe because you'll at least walk away with the cards you drafted. Since you just started Magic, I would recommend staying home till you feel you've reach a decent level of playing, you can get through games without having to stop and figure out the rules for something, and you can play without assistance. Once you get that far, go play an FNM. Draft is the most fair to new players since everyone plays with the cards they draft, not constructed decks built from their collection.
You. Will. Lose. There's a good chance you will not win a single match, and probably not even a single game. That's ok. You will also get stomped next week, but not as hard. The third time you draft, you might start to win a little bit as you get the hang of it. Most drafters start out terribly their first time, but are doing substantially better by their 6th draft. But yeah, just plan on losing and learning and losing and learning. Some people might rib you for what you draft your first time, but it's generally helpful ribbing. You'll get better, I promise, but first you have to get your face stomped in a little bit.
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Well, even if you lose, FNM is a good value. 3 boosters you would've bought anyway come to $12. Entry to FNM drafts is usually $15 and includes the 3 boosters. So even if you lose and open crap and draft crap, you're still only paying a net of $3 to be entertained for 4-6 hours. I mean, even if you're the worst player in the world, you can still open or draft something valuable.
Draft is not hard to play, or even be decent at. What's hard is honing your drafting, deckbuilding, and playskills well enough that you're edging out the top 25% of the store.
Here's draft in a nutshell:
Open a booster.
Take a card and pass the rest to the person on your left while everyone else does the same thing till all the cards are gone.
Now open the next booster and do it again in the opposite direction.
Now do it the last time and pass back to your left again.
Now build a deck that is roughly 23 spells, 17 land, and 2-3 colors. Of those 23 spells, a good chunk of them should probably be creatures, so I hope you drafted some.
Done.
Your deck's power depends entirely on what you drafted and built, not how big your wallet is, so you're a much more even keel. I've done drafts where I didn't play a single rare and won. And I've done drafts where I opened up $50 worth of rares and mythics and lost. But that's ok, I totally walked away with some cool cards anyway!
Standard is not typically a super complex format. There's what, like 4 different competitive decks at any given time? And the card pool is relatively small, with most of the cards in it bneing ones you don't ever even see get played. Modern can be complex, but that's kind of the point. Greater format diversity, larger card pool.......don't worry too much about constructed at first till you get your footing in draft, drafting is done typically with standard cards, so it helps build your standard collection, as well as familiarize yourself with certain cards, synergies, and strategies you might find in standard.
Just know that you are going to lose the first couple times and that's ok. I promise, you will do MUCH better your second time, most people usually do. Just gotta get that initial "I don't know what I'm doing" face stomping out of the way.
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As everyone has mentioned, depending on your LGS, you can usually choose to play either a Standard or Draft format. They are both fun, but think ahead on what you're trying to accomplish.
With Standard you may enjoy the fact that you get to play a lot, but if you have a difficult time with the games you may not enjoy getting beat down multiple times. With Draft you would enjoy to be able to keep your cards, but normally drafts are one-and-done (You'd get to play one match, but if you don't win then the draft is over for you). Either way, there is a learning curve, but you want to think about what you want out of the experience.
Like Warangel88 said, if you haven't before, a Pre-Release event is the best way to do both (get new cards and get good experience playing). The events are still competitive, but generally more relaxed. The Eldritch Moon PR this weekend is a great opportunity to get more into the game and it also can help you decide which avenue you would like to start with (and have some good tradebait as well).
brisket451,
(You'd get to play one match, but if you don't win then the draft is over for you).
I think I have been involved in maybe one or two single elimination drafts ever and these were done as side events to a main event with a focus on keeping time down. Otherwise, most (and I mean 99.99%) of drafts are done like a normal event with normal pairings and a predetermined number of rounds (usually 4-5).
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Not really. Warangel's favorite topic is complaining about how FNMs aren't catered to his brand of casual play.
If MTGS had an upvote button, I'd use it for this.
But anyway, FNMs are ideal for people looking to enter competitive Magic. Drafting is usually safe because you'll at least walk away with the cards you drafted. Since you just started Magic, I would recommend staying home till you feel you've reach a decent level of playing, you can get through games without having to stop and figure out the rules for something, and you can play without assistance. Once you get that far, go play an FNM. Draft is the most fair to new players since everyone plays with the cards they draft, not constructed decks built from their collection.
You. Will. Lose. There's a good chance you will not win a single match, and probably not even a single game. That's ok. You will also get stomped next week, but not as hard. The third time you draft, you might start to win a little bit as you get the hang of it. Most drafters start out terribly their first time, but are doing substantially better by their 6th draft. But yeah, just plan on losing and learning and losing and learning. Some people might rib you for what you draft your first time, but it's generally helpful ribbing. You'll get better, I promise, but first you have to get your face stomped in a little bit.
I totally agree with the lost part. I advise people not go to FNM because is not fun for most of the people to lose and it is not good money wise. Even if someone tech you the rules and the formats and deck building it is still hard to actually play the game. And new players are nowhere at a level of a player with 1000+ matches.
Standard and modern and commander are formats that are complicated because you do not know the cards and you need a top tier deck that will cost you more than 200$+ in order to have a chance wining the event.
Draft is actually more complicated than those because you need to draft a couple of times to understand things and build at least an average power deck. Sealed is less complicated than draft and it is a good way to start. This is why I say sealed and duel decks are good ways to learn and not go to fnm, just play with friends that are patient with you.
I completely disagree with the statement that FNMs are not good value money wise and a lot of people lose a lot. I know people who don't even pay cash to get into FNMs anymore, they just win enough packs every week to put a pack into the pool with a few packs usually left over every week. I also know a guy who does well with complete budget decks in a modern fnm. The only way you're gonna get more experience is by playing with more experienced players.
Magic is a game that requires a lot of practice to be able to get good at, regardless of the format. Most people can't just pick up a format/ deck and just play it without the knowledge of what decks/cards are good in the format
I know people whop don't enjoy sealed as a format or find duel decks watered down/simple decks. I also know people who enjoy the FNM environment, which can be a good way to learn Magic.
In regards to OPs post, FNM is a good learning environment, as its more of a casual environment that can promote learning the game. You'll get a mix of competitive net decks and homebrews. The amount of net vs rogue decks will vary based on the locals but you'll get both. Prereleases are also a good way to get cards and learn the game as well.
Obviously it's a regional thing, because 99.99% of the places that I've entered into a draft are usually single elimination. There have been a couple places I've visited where they've had a swiss draft (which is great if they do), but again, they have been in the minority.
Either way, brisket451, double check with your LGS to see how they play out their formats.
Obviously it's a regional thing, because 99.99% of the places that I've entered into a draft are usually single elimination. There have been a couple places I've visited where they've had a swiss draft (which is great if they do), but again, they have been in the minority.
Either way, brisket451, double check with your LGS to see how they play out their formats.
my LGS has always been swiss but they do rare redraft, so I guess there is still downside to my LGS. I guess its rare to have Swiss, keep what you draft but I've seen it
Would the game store allow for someone to watch for the first time they come?
In most cases game stores welcome players to come in and play casual games or just hang around any time, so doing so while FNM is going on should be no problem.
I've never heard of stores not allowing people to come inside lol. The only thing to bear in mind is that it is an event where there is prize support that people are playing for. To that end, when observing a match, keep your mouth shut so you do not inadvertently tip off a player or his opponent about cards they might be holding or have drawn. Experienced players can tell by the facial expressions on an opponent's face if they're drawn a land, or a nonland card (depending on the boardstate, land usually results in zero change of facial expression, nonland usually results in the spectator looking more intently trying to identify the card that was drawn, as it's obviously not another basic mountain. We know what those look like.) I don't like it when spectators have a reaction to my or my opponent's draws, or discuss the game that we're actively playing at all. I have zero problem with people who want to spectate, as long as they do so respectfully. So please, spectate, but do so without speaking about the game, or reacting to it in any way. Make note of questions you might have for after the game, or walk away from the table to ask it.
Once you start playing remember, losing is learning and it's a good thing. I learn a lot more from losing than I do winning, it's easier to identify the mistake that cost you the game than when your opponent screwed up and you won. The more you lose, the better you'll get, as long as you're learning from it. I can't stress this enough. You will lose a lot, so don't take it too seriously at first.
Your first draft you will lose because you'll have trouble figuring out what the heck to build with your cards in 40 minutes and probably end up scrambling for the wrong mix of land as you try to have your deck constructed for the first round. You might play the wrong ratio of forests to mountains, or might not include enough land altogether (stick to 17 in a 40 card deck +/-1). When you are able to actualy cast spells you will realize you've drafted relatively weak cards, anti-synergistic ones, or valued a card too highly whereas all of your opponents have probably drafted this set a couple of times before and will know what are the best commons in a given color, weird little combos and synergies, and the archetypes that people try to draft within a given set. This is all learned and relearned when new sets are released by everyone. Experience helps them recognize a good card without having to play it, and so even someone who's only drafted once has a decently large advantage over you. That's ok. This is why people's second drafts always go better than their firsts. You just learn so much about what to do/not to do your first time. A good friend of mine is very good at most ccgs and got into Magic a few years back. Got murdered in his first draft like everyone else. Figured out where he screwed up real quick, got a little lucky, and took 1st the following week. Most people don't do that well, but I expect people who are experienced in Magic to improve their standings by 50% or more after their first draft. You're pretty new, so I'd be surprised if you did that well, but I'd expect I'd still see a decent increase the next time around if you're paying attention and learning.
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FNM offers Standard and Draft usually. Constructed format goes for $5 usually and Drafts for $10 ~ 15 I guess. Prize may vary as well. Some places may offer the entry for free, but payouts are also dismal if you care about it.
Usually other players are helpful toward new player, so you probably will be in good hand if you feel lost.
You don't need to go to play your first FNM. Just go there and play some casual games and see how is the flow of your store before dive in. FNM is perfect for newcomers for their first competitive experience.
If you don't have a very large collection, you can also ask if your store runs drafts, in which players build 40 card decks from the contents of cards passed around a table.
I would recommend looking up the youtube channel Tolarian Community College. He is VERY informative when it comes to beginner players.
Special thanks to XenoNinja of Heroes of the Plane Studios for the awesome avy!
So it is bad that I got an intro pack?
Well, I would not recommend them for the most part. Its not the worst thing in the world to buy with your money to get started in MtG. At the same time, intro packs have been known to be a bad value in general. Intro packs have been known to have cards that are not only ability-less but also just bad stats/abilities for the mana cost. Such as Thornhide Wolves,Vampire Noble, Sleep Paralysis and Silent Observer, known as draft chaff.
I feel you would be much more happier drafting and doing prereleases first, then try to obtain the cards needed to make you constructed deck.
Edit: Also, I strongly advice not just buying packs and cracking them. You should save your money for drafts and sealed events or single cards instead.
EDIT2: I guess I should add, that draft chaff means it's kinda only "good", if not, usable, in drafts or sealed. So while perhaps the above cards are bad in constructed, they have some place in drafts, depending on the situation.
Special thanks to XenoNinja of Heroes of the Plane Studios for the awesome avy!
Yeah that is a problem with drafting, unfortunately.
It takes a fair bit of time on top of money before you really learn it. Not to mention the store you go can have a fairly cutthroat community. From my personal experience, people were definitely helpful on Friday Night Magic, with the exception of the value of cards, that was something I had to find out on my own. On the other hand, I have heard of FMNs where they were much more strict and unforgiving.
Not trying to discourage you, of course. It always nice having new players trying out the game!
EDIT: I would have suggested using something like cockatrice, but those players can be REALLY strict and picky in the game.
Special thanks to XenoNinja of Heroes of the Plane Studios for the awesome avy!
I know the basics of how to play, but I literally just started.
Do not go to FNM? That's a new one.
I just played at a Store Credit Legacy tournament that had 28 players. The kid who I faced in the first round was on budget Goblins. I actually didn't know that he had played his first match of "competitive" Magic until I talked with his mom later. He did a very good job and even destroyed me in game 1.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Not really. Warangel's favorite topic is complaining about how FNMs aren't catered to his brand of casual play.
Death and Taxes
Pauper
UB Teachings
Tortured Existence
Murasa Tron
Modern
Pod (RIP)
Bloom(RIP)
Merfolk
That's fine for him then. FNMs are not for everyone. I mean, I am biased because I've gone to FNMs for years, probably missing fewer than 10 of them in that time. But to just tell a newer player to not go to FNM seems a bit arbitrary. (although I'm probably getting trolled )
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)If MTGS had an upvote button, I'd use it for this.
But anyway, FNMs are ideal for people looking to enter competitive Magic. Drafting is usually safe because you'll at least walk away with the cards you drafted. Since you just started Magic, I would recommend staying home till you feel you've reach a decent level of playing, you can get through games without having to stop and figure out the rules for something, and you can play without assistance. Once you get that far, go play an FNM. Draft is the most fair to new players since everyone plays with the cards they draft, not constructed decks built from their collection.
You. Will. Lose. There's a good chance you will not win a single match, and probably not even a single game. That's ok. You will also get stomped next week, but not as hard. The third time you draft, you might start to win a little bit as you get the hang of it. Most drafters start out terribly their first time, but are doing substantially better by their 6th draft. But yeah, just plan on losing and learning and losing and learning. Some people might rib you for what you draft your first time, but it's generally helpful ribbing. You'll get better, I promise, but first you have to get your face stomped in a little bit.
EDH: Grand Arbiter $tax, Freyalise Stompy, Mimeoplasm Death From the Grave
Draft is not hard to play, or even be decent at. What's hard is honing your drafting, deckbuilding, and playskills well enough that you're edging out the top 25% of the store.
Here's draft in a nutshell:
Open a booster.
Take a card and pass the rest to the person on your left while everyone else does the same thing till all the cards are gone.
Now open the next booster and do it again in the opposite direction.
Now do it the last time and pass back to your left again.
Now build a deck that is roughly 23 spells, 17 land, and 2-3 colors. Of those 23 spells, a good chunk of them should probably be creatures, so I hope you drafted some.
Done.
Your deck's power depends entirely on what you drafted and built, not how big your wallet is, so you're a much more even keel. I've done drafts where I didn't play a single rare and won. And I've done drafts where I opened up $50 worth of rares and mythics and lost. But that's ok, I totally walked away with some cool cards anyway!
Standard is not typically a super complex format. There's what, like 4 different competitive decks at any given time? And the card pool is relatively small, with most of the cards in it bneing ones you don't ever even see get played. Modern can be complex, but that's kind of the point. Greater format diversity, larger card pool.......don't worry too much about constructed at first till you get your footing in draft, drafting is done typically with standard cards, so it helps build your standard collection, as well as familiarize yourself with certain cards, synergies, and strategies you might find in standard.
Just know that you are going to lose the first couple times and that's ok. I promise, you will do MUCH better your second time, most people usually do. Just gotta get that initial "I don't know what I'm doing" face stomping out of the way.
EDH: Grand Arbiter $tax, Freyalise Stompy, Mimeoplasm Death From the Grave
As everyone has mentioned, depending on your LGS, you can usually choose to play either a Standard or Draft format. They are both fun, but think ahead on what you're trying to accomplish.
With Standard you may enjoy the fact that you get to play a lot, but if you have a difficult time with the games you may not enjoy getting beat down multiple times. With Draft you would enjoy to be able to keep your cards, but normally drafts are one-and-done (You'd get to play one match, but if you don't win then the draft is over for you). Either way, there is a learning curve, but you want to think about what you want out of the experience.
Like Warangel88 said, if you haven't before, a Pre-Release event is the best way to do both (get new cards and get good experience playing). The events are still competitive, but generally more relaxed. The Eldritch Moon PR this weekend is a great opportunity to get more into the game and it also can help you decide which avenue you would like to start with (and have some good tradebait as well).
Good luck and have fun.
I think I have been involved in maybe one or two single elimination drafts ever and these were done as side events to a main event with a focus on keeping time down. Otherwise, most (and I mean 99.99%) of drafts are done like a normal event with normal pairings and a predetermined number of rounds (usually 4-5).
EDH: Grand Arbiter $tax, Freyalise Stompy, Mimeoplasm Death From the Grave
I completely disagree with the statement that FNMs are not good value money wise and a lot of people lose a lot. I know people who don't even pay cash to get into FNMs anymore, they just win enough packs every week to put a pack into the pool with a few packs usually left over every week. I also know a guy who does well with complete budget decks in a modern fnm. The only way you're gonna get more experience is by playing with more experienced players.
Magic is a game that requires a lot of practice to be able to get good at, regardless of the format. Most people can't just pick up a format/ deck and just play it without the knowledge of what decks/cards are good in the format
I know people whop don't enjoy sealed as a format or find duel decks watered down/simple decks. I also know people who enjoy the FNM environment, which can be a good way to learn Magic.
In regards to OPs post, FNM is a good learning environment, as its more of a casual environment that can promote learning the game. You'll get a mix of competitive net decks and homebrews. The amount of net vs rogue decks will vary based on the locals but you'll get both. Prereleases are also a good way to get cards and learn the game as well.
Either way, brisket451, double check with your LGS to see how they play out their formats.
my LGS has always been swiss but they do rare redraft, so I guess there is still downside to my LGS. I guess its rare to have Swiss, keep what you draft but I've seen it
In most cases game stores welcome players to come in and play casual games or just hang around any time, so doing so while FNM is going on should be no problem.
Once you start playing remember, losing is learning and it's a good thing. I learn a lot more from losing than I do winning, it's easier to identify the mistake that cost you the game than when your opponent screwed up and you won. The more you lose, the better you'll get, as long as you're learning from it. I can't stress this enough. You will lose a lot, so don't take it too seriously at first.
Your first draft you will lose because you'll have trouble figuring out what the heck to build with your cards in 40 minutes and probably end up scrambling for the wrong mix of land as you try to have your deck constructed for the first round. You might play the wrong ratio of forests to mountains, or might not include enough land altogether (stick to 17 in a 40 card deck +/-1). When you are able to actualy cast spells you will realize you've drafted relatively weak cards, anti-synergistic ones, or valued a card too highly whereas all of your opponents have probably drafted this set a couple of times before and will know what are the best commons in a given color, weird little combos and synergies, and the archetypes that people try to draft within a given set. This is all learned and relearned when new sets are released by everyone. Experience helps them recognize a good card without having to play it, and so even someone who's only drafted once has a decently large advantage over you. That's ok. This is why people's second drafts always go better than their firsts. You just learn so much about what to do/not to do your first time. A good friend of mine is very good at most ccgs and got into Magic a few years back. Got murdered in his first draft like everyone else. Figured out where he screwed up real quick, got a little lucky, and took 1st the following week. Most people don't do that well, but I expect people who are experienced in Magic to improve their standings by 50% or more after their first draft. You're pretty new, so I'd be surprised if you did that well, but I'd expect I'd still see a decent increase the next time around if you're paying attention and learning.
EDH: Grand Arbiter $tax, Freyalise Stompy, Mimeoplasm Death From the Grave