I am trying to teach a friend that is completely new to the game how to play. Would like to have this go smooth and be the most fun as possible what would be the best product to buy that would help me teach them at this moment? Then what would be another product to help them start building up their collection? One other thing would be is I do play commander more and would like to get them into that what would be better to buy the 2016 or 2017 commander decks? I am not trying buy everything all at once, but would like to be able to tell them when they ask for what to purchase next.
I am trying to teach a friend that is completely new to the game how to play. Would like to have this go smooth and be the most fun as possible what would be the best product to buy that would help me teach them at this moment? Then what would be another product to help them start building up their collection? One other thing would be is I do play commander more and would like to get them into that what would be better to buy the 2016 or 2017 commander decks? I am not trying buy everything all at once, but would like to be able to tell them when they ask for what to purchase next.
A commander deck would be a good product to start with since cards don't rotate in Commander and you can add as you go. I usually go through my commons and uncommons and build 2 super easy to understand aggro deck with a few spells to teach someone with.
A pre-con Commander deck seems to be exactly what you're looking for. If your friend continues to explore the game beyond your time playing together then he/she at least has a deck they can go to pretty much any LGS on a weekend and find people to play with. Also, new players become interested in cracking packs at some point, at least with EDH your friend has the chance to find use for just about anything they crack.
I might be the only one against the idea, but is commander really the best way to teach someone new to the game? I might want to teach the basics of the game with regular constructed rules before going into commander. They can pick up the free decks or buy Planeswalker Intro decks to learn first.
I might be the only one against the idea, but is commander really the best way to teach someone new to the game? I might want to teach the basics of the game with regular constructed rules before going into commander. They can pick up the free decks or buy Planeswalker Intro decks to learn first.
Yeah, I agree. Commander is more complicated than the regular format (60 cards). Get a Planeswalker deck then once he gets the hang of the game, go teach Commander.
I don't understand why do people think that giving a new player a commander deck to teach them how to play is a good idea. These new players haven't learned the basic game yet, and you want them to learn how to play commander first?
You can give a new player a product that can win tournaments or be flipped for cash, but it doesn't mean squat if the new player doesn't know how to use it.
I might be the only one against the idea, but is commander really the best way to teach someone new to the game? I might want to teach the basics of the game with regular constructed rules before going into commander. They can pick up the free decks or buy Planeswalker Intro decks to learn first.
Yeah, I agree. Commander is more complicated than the regular format (60 cards). Get a Planeswalker deck then once he gets the hang of the game, go teach Commander.
Honestly, I wish we could say booster boxes were good for new players, but I'm surprised wizards hasn't dedicated at least some space in the boxes to print basic lands so players can pick up a box and just use the contents to create a limited deck. Established players don't need the lands, but even for the sake of convenience it would help if wizards would just toss people a bone and add an 80-100 count land pack in each box. Not to mention land packs usually go for 5-6 dollars secondary market so it helps add some value to the boxes for singles sellers. If they engineered the boxes right they wouldn't even need some of the secondary products like deck builders toolkits (which are anything but).
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
While its a necro'd thread, I feel it can be a good way to discuss ideas of how to teach new players.
In my opinion: A 60 card deck built by a friend. A few rares and/or inexpensive mythics, mostly commons and uncommons, has a coherent theme but is not overly complicated. I'd personally avoid planeswalkers if it is still the beginning of the teaching phase as planeswalkers are a fairly complicated addition.
The duel decks also work fine, albeit they have a lot of variance compared to third party decks like Card Kingdom. Also, SBMTG did a video for a bunch of standard pauper decks that are under 5 dollars that can work well as training tools.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
For the "very" first round of magic, you can get free precon decks in your LGS , they cost nothing and are meant to teach a new player, and nothing beats FREE.
As soon as the very basics are down , like a turn works, playing and using lands, combat etc. You want a somewhat real deck and more mechanics, and thats what Commander delivers , its also a WAY better value for the money, as the player can stick to it, add cards and just play with others, without a crazy competitive mindset for the start.
----
So, grab your free entry teaching precons , and then go for a bunch of commander decks (which even have different themes and mechanics, so a player can explore a lot for reasonable money , and as long as they play against other precon commanders, its even a pretty fair powerlevel, so its quite perfect).
I found that building one of my friends simple mono coloured decks from uncommons and commons worked really well when I taught them how to play earlier this year
While its a necro'd thread, I feel it can be a good way to discuss ideas of how to teach new players.
In my opinion: A 60 card deck built by a friend. A few rares and/or inexpensive mythics, mostly commons and uncommons, has a coherent theme but is not overly complicated. I'd personally avoid planeswalkers if it is still the beginning of the teaching phase as planeswalkers are a fairly complicated addition.
This is my approach, as well. I have a red deck and a green deck built for whenever I am teaching a friend how to play. Both of these decks are full of iconic vanilla creatures like Grizzly Bears, Gray Ogre, and Craw Wurm. There's a few creatures with evergreen abilities like Raging Goblin, Goblin Glider, and Giant Spider*. And just a sparse amount of creatures with Activated or Static abilities like Llanowar Elves and Goblin Chieftain. Nothing too complicated, just enough to have them learn how to tap mana to cast spells, learn the basics of combat, and see that creatures are able to do a few things other than attack or block. Mix that in with just a few enchatments, instants and sorceries, and I find there's just enough there for them to learn a lot of different concepts without getting overwhelmed.
*edit: one thing I also tried to do was make sure to pick editions of cards with reminder text whenever possible.
While its a necro'd thread, I feel it can be a good way to discuss ideas of how to teach new players.
In my opinion: A 60 card deck built by a friend. A few rares and/or inexpensive mythics, mostly commons and uncommons, has a coherent theme but is not overly complicated. I'd personally avoid planeswalkers if it is still the beginning of the teaching phase as planeswalkers are a fairly complicated addition.
This is my approach, as well. I have a red deck and a green deck built for whenever I am teaching a friend how to play. Both of these decks are full of iconic vanilla creatures like Grizzly Bears, Gray Ogre, and Craw Wurm. There's a few creatures with evergreen abilities like Raging Goblin, Goblin Glider, and Giant Spider*. And just a sparse amount of creatures with Activated or Static abilities like Llanowar Elves and Goblin Chieftain. Nothing too complicated, just enough to have them learn how to tap mana to cast spells, learn the basics of combat, and see that creatures are able to do a few things other than attack or block. Mix that in with just a few enchatments, instants and sorceries, and I find there's just enough there for them to learn a lot of different concepts without getting overwhelmed.
*edit: one thing I also tried to do was make sure to pick editions of cards with reminder text whenever possible.
Hands down. This is the way to go. I tried the precon route and it just failed miserably.
My sons private school group got interested in MtG so I built them, IIRC, four mono-colored 40-card decks. I think U was the only one I didn't put together. Each one was largely vanilla with only four or five cards offering slightly more sophisticated play. Two of them got hooked so they bought duplicate decks along with the deck lists, suggestions for improving the decks, what to avoid, and a basic flow chart for each step. I gave the teacher 5 extra cards for each deck (sort of like a sideboard) that I thought would promote whatever lesson plan.
IMHO, using 40 card decks prevents them from being slaughtered at their local LGS with such weakened decks but still allows them to experiment and expand the decks. I figure by the time they put together a 60 card deck, they should understand the game well enough to play against others.
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http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-general/334931-what-is-the-most-pimp-card-deck-youve-seen-or?comment=5361
Commander
RGOmnath, Locus of Rage Grenades! EDHGR
UWSygg's Defense, EDH - Voltron & ControlWU
BUGMimeoplasm EDH ft. Ifnir Cycling-discard comboBUG
WBTeysa, Connoisseur of CullingBW
BWSelenia & Recruiter of the Guard suicice combo EDHWB
UBRWGO-Kagachi - 5 Color Enchantments - EDHUBRWG
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
Yeah, I agree. Commander is more complicated than the regular format (60 cards). Get a Planeswalker deck then once he gets the hang of the game, go teach Commander.
UGMefolkGU
GElvesG
Casual
UBPirate ArtifactsBU
You can give a new player a product that can win tournaments or be flipped for cash, but it doesn't mean squat if the new player doesn't know how to use it.
You need to ease up on all the necro posts man.
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
In my opinion: A 60 card deck built by a friend. A few rares and/or inexpensive mythics, mostly commons and uncommons, has a coherent theme but is not overly complicated. I'd personally avoid planeswalkers if it is still the beginning of the teaching phase as planeswalkers are a fairly complicated addition.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
As soon as the very basics are down , like a turn works, playing and using lands, combat etc. You want a somewhat real deck and more mechanics, and thats what Commander delivers , its also a WAY better value for the money, as the player can stick to it, add cards and just play with others, without a crazy competitive mindset for the start.
----
So, grab your free entry teaching precons , and then go for a bunch of commander decks (which even have different themes and mechanics, so a player can explore a lot for reasonable money , and as long as they play against other precon commanders, its even a pretty fair powerlevel, so its quite perfect).
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
This is my approach, as well. I have a red deck and a green deck built for whenever I am teaching a friend how to play. Both of these decks are full of iconic vanilla creatures like Grizzly Bears, Gray Ogre, and Craw Wurm. There's a few creatures with evergreen abilities like Raging Goblin, Goblin Glider, and Giant Spider*. And just a sparse amount of creatures with Activated or Static abilities like Llanowar Elves and Goblin Chieftain. Nothing too complicated, just enough to have them learn how to tap mana to cast spells, learn the basics of combat, and see that creatures are able to do a few things other than attack or block. Mix that in with just a few enchatments, instants and sorceries, and I find there's just enough there for them to learn a lot of different concepts without getting overwhelmed.
*edit: one thing I also tried to do was make sure to pick editions of cards with reminder text whenever possible.
[180 classic cube]
Hands down. This is the way to go. I tried the precon route and it just failed miserably.
My sons private school group got interested in MtG so I built them, IIRC, four mono-colored 40-card decks. I think U was the only one I didn't put together. Each one was largely vanilla with only four or five cards offering slightly more sophisticated play. Two of them got hooked so they bought duplicate decks along with the deck lists, suggestions for improving the decks, what to avoid, and a basic flow chart for each step. I gave the teacher 5 extra cards for each deck (sort of like a sideboard) that I thought would promote whatever lesson plan.
IMHO, using 40 card decks prevents them from being slaughtered at their local LGS with such weakened decks but still allows them to experiment and expand the decks. I figure by the time they put together a 60 card deck, they should understand the game well enough to play against others.