Hello
Sorry another beginner/noob question and I feel as though it has probably been answered before but I cannot for the life of me find any answers! Maybe its obvious or I am not putting the right words into my google search! Anyway....
I am new to magic, I bought myself a intro pack with the title of 'battle for zendikar' as did my friend and we play casual/friendly games and just basically learning how to play. I am beginning to get my head round the gameplay fine and its mostly making sense. What I am struggling with is all the different versions of magic gathering. I've just been on the official website and noticed there is a new version called Kaladesh with all different packaging and sets to buy. How do these compare with the one I've purchased - are they mixable, should I only buy battle for zendikar cards or should I be buying the Kaladesh? Both?
I've tried reading to understand - do they all make up a set called origins? and then there is mention of planewalkers? Man I'm totally confused! Can I buy kaladesh boosters to go with my zendikar? Whats the difference?
These names (Kaladesh, Battle for Zendikar, Oath of the Gatewatch, Shadows Over Innistrad, etc.) are the names of new sets of Magic: The Gathering cards, not new versions of the game. They still play by the same rules and can be mixed and matched however you want, they simply have some new abilities and themes. In general now every two sets make up what we call a block of cards. Blocks are generally comprised of cards depicting one specific world, or plane, in the multiverse that Magic: The Gathering's story takes place in. Planeswalkers are characters with the ability to travel between these planes, and as such are largely the more important and consistent characters in the story.
The most common Magic tournaments play with the standard format, which will include the most recent few blocks of cards. Currently that means Battle for Zendikar, Oath of the Gatewatch, Shadows over Innistrad, Eldritch Moon and Kaladesh and then the soon to be released Aether Revolt.
Unless you plan on going to tournaments at your local game store, you don't really need to worry about that, though, and can mix and match cards from any set you want.
I agree with the above poster. It only starts to matter if you plan on going to a local game shop and playing. There, they restrict the sets you play from, according to format. It is fine to buy from whatever set you want. I would recommend buying cards from the standard format, in case you do want to go to a comic shop and play. But, you don't have to. Buying individual cards can really be the best way to get what you want. The boosters and packs can be fun, but you will get a lot of cards that you have no use for. Use WotC Gatherer and see what's out there. Again, I would recommend setting the card format to 'standard.' You might find that you like a particular set more than another, or you might find that you'd rather target specific cards. I'm kind of a noob as well. I do go to my local comic book shop and play, but I find that it is very competitive. You can expect to invest $75-150 into a deck if you want to have any chance to win. But, you have friends to play with, so you can have fun. The starter decks are good for that. They are very weak compared to standard decks you'll see at a local game shop, but the good news is that they play well against each other. If you know that you are going to play these decks, you can always just limit yourself to those and maybe some boosters. If your friends start buying a lot of cards though, it is on because you can build a deck that beats the starter decks pretty easily.
So, I would start playing around with the gatherer. You might decide you want to rely on 'madness' or 'vehicles' or some such thing. You can easily search all the cards in standard that have those keywords. You will see that a lot of times certain sets will have most of those cards. (like Kaladesh for vehicles) You can then either buy boosters from those sets or target individual cards. One thing I used to do is buy two copies of a starter deck that I liked. Then, I'd double up on the cards I liked and take out all the ones I didn't. Then you also have 4 boosters to work with as well. You can usually find a few cards that are suited to the theme of the deck. The reason I stopped doing that is that it still didn't give me a deck that was competitive at a game shop. That's how I built my elf deck when I started playing, and it wasn't an absolute stinker. I did have to fill it in with some individual cards before I actually started winning some games.
Again, figure out what you want to do and how much money you want to spend. The Gatherer is a great resource. You may be happy just running pre-made decks with friends. As long as everybody does that, it should be pretty fair. It's a slippery slope though. You want to be able to buy some cards to help your deck. If you start that way, you may start a power war, and eventually, you may even want to see how those decks perform against tier 1 decks you will see at a LGS. For now, pick some kind of theme for your deck and use the Gatherer to pick out stuff you might want. It won't matter what set except that certain sets will be more suited to your theme.
Thanks guys that sounds good - its a little confusing starting out! I'm not intending to play tournaments just friendly games but that's given me lots to look at and have a think about!
They are the names of 2 mechanics, neither of which show up in Battle for Zendikar.
Madness has shown up in quite a few different sets so the cards are fairly common but Vehicles is one of the mechanics for the newest set to be released. If you see any cards with either of those mechanics or any others there is going to reminder text (text in brackets) on the card to give you an idea how it works.
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One thing that wasn't mentioned...or if it was I missed it entirely.
If, and when, you want to start branching out, I suggest lookng around and see if you can find a friend who's familiar with Magic. Not a passing interest or someone just starting out but someone who is an avid player.
You, and your current playgroup, can figure out how to play on your own but things will go a lot smoother if you have someone who can show you. There are a number of common problems that crop up. An experienced player can gently show you what to do unlike a player at a competitive match that's out to gut your deck.
Forums are OK for general questions like, "What is Standard?" But they can't see you play and won't know if you're doing something incorrectly.
cheers guys - yeah its very difficult to know where to begin. So I started with blue/green deck using mostly colourless cards and the eldrazi scion's that can be sacrificed to summon bigger things but I don't even know if I like that style! There are so many different cards I feel a little overwhelmed!
In my opinion do not get into standard or modern. Just enjoy the game buying duel decks and commander each year. You can watch for the special products like anthology or other casual stuff each year.
MTG is a game that has the chance to get organised events each week. But at those events you will find people you dislike and this is why is better to play with friends that play it your way.
OP ignore this "advice". There are many different formats, some of which have larger barrier to entries in terms of card price and availability because each format has its own range of legal cards based on when the cards were originally released. Commander has its own unique set of rules that compliment the base rules of Magic. As you get the hang of the game and the rules, you may decide to try out these different formats and you should certainly give them a chance.
Most importantly though, completely disregard this user's belief that stores and events are going to be full of people you'll dislike. Most players are pretty friendly, and it's possible to run into some jerks just like anywhere else, but for the most past people are pretty cool with each other.
Sorry another beginner/noob question and I feel as though it has probably been answered before but I cannot for the life of me find any answers! Maybe its obvious or I am not putting the right words into my google search! Anyway....
I am new to magic, I bought myself a intro pack with the title of 'battle for zendikar' as did my friend and we play casual/friendly games and just basically learning how to play. I am beginning to get my head round the gameplay fine and its mostly making sense. What I am struggling with is all the different versions of magic gathering. I've just been on the official website and noticed there is a new version called Kaladesh with all different packaging and sets to buy. How do these compare with the one I've purchased - are they mixable, should I only buy battle for zendikar cards or should I be buying the Kaladesh? Both?
I've tried reading to understand - do they all make up a set called origins? and then there is mention of planewalkers? Man I'm totally confused! Can I buy kaladesh boosters to go with my zendikar? Whats the difference?
If you could set me straight that would be great!
cheers
Dan
The most common Magic tournaments play with the standard format, which will include the most recent few blocks of cards. Currently that means Battle for Zendikar, Oath of the Gatewatch, Shadows over Innistrad, Eldritch Moon and Kaladesh and then the soon to be released Aether Revolt.
Unless you plan on going to tournaments at your local game store, you don't really need to worry about that, though, and can mix and match cards from any set you want.
So, I would start playing around with the gatherer. You might decide you want to rely on 'madness' or 'vehicles' or some such thing. You can easily search all the cards in standard that have those keywords. You will see that a lot of times certain sets will have most of those cards. (like Kaladesh for vehicles) You can then either buy boosters from those sets or target individual cards. One thing I used to do is buy two copies of a starter deck that I liked. Then, I'd double up on the cards I liked and take out all the ones I didn't. Then you also have 4 boosters to work with as well. You can usually find a few cards that are suited to the theme of the deck. The reason I stopped doing that is that it still didn't give me a deck that was competitive at a game shop. That's how I built my elf deck when I started playing, and it wasn't an absolute stinker. I did have to fill it in with some individual cards before I actually started winning some games.
Again, figure out what you want to do and how much money you want to spend. The Gatherer is a great resource. You may be happy just running pre-made decks with friends. As long as everybody does that, it should be pretty fair. It's a slippery slope though. You want to be able to buy some cards to help your deck. If you start that way, you may start a power war, and eventually, you may even want to see how those decks perform against tier 1 decks you will see at a LGS. For now, pick some kind of theme for your deck and use the Gatherer to pick out stuff you might want. It won't matter what set except that certain sets will be more suited to your theme.
What do you mean by 'madness' or 'vehicles'?
Thanks
Dan
They are the names of 2 mechanics, neither of which show up in Battle for Zendikar.
Madness has shown up in quite a few different sets so the cards are fairly common but Vehicles is one of the mechanics for the newest set to be released. If you see any cards with either of those mechanics or any others there is going to reminder text (text in brackets) on the card to give you an idea how it works.
- H.L Mencken
I Became insane with long Intervals of horrible Sanity
All Religion, my friend is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination and poetry.
- Edgar Allan Poe
The Crafters' Rules Guru
If, and when, you want to start branching out, I suggest lookng around and see if you can find a friend who's familiar with Magic. Not a passing interest or someone just starting out but someone who is an avid player.
You, and your current playgroup, can figure out how to play on your own but things will go a lot smoother if you have someone who can show you. There are a number of common problems that crop up. An experienced player can gently show you what to do unlike a player at a competitive match that's out to gut your deck.
Forums are OK for general questions like, "What is Standard?" But they can't see you play and won't know if you're doing something incorrectly.
cheers
Dan
If you are new, tell the people. If they are friendly and you get into it, that will be a very very big upgrade to your gaming experience.
If for whatever reason you cannot stand them, you can always fall back to playing at home.
----
But in general, check out your local game stores, probably an FNM without playing, just experiencing what it is.
If you are not somehow awkward chances are you will find a bunch of new friends that share a hobby.
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OP ignore this "advice". There are many different formats, some of which have larger barrier to entries in terms of card price and availability because each format has its own range of legal cards based on when the cards were originally released. Commander has its own unique set of rules that compliment the base rules of Magic. As you get the hang of the game and the rules, you may decide to try out these different formats and you should certainly give them a chance.
Most importantly though, completely disregard this user's belief that stores and events are going to be full of people you'll dislike. Most players are pretty friendly, and it's possible to run into some jerks just like anywhere else, but for the most past people are pretty cool with each other.
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