Nice, I felt a little weird trading for Beta Serra too, but my only regret now is that I only managed to pick up one before they started climbing in price. I love when people break open the cases. The whole grading thing has made good condition cards like this much harder to find without having to pay a premium because it's graded. I don't understand why people want cards that are encased in so much plastic. Cards were meant for playing.
GumgodMTG, you'll appreciate what happened at my house this afternoon:
But serious question, why buy graded in the first place?
It's a fair question. I like owning/playing with NM cards, and go to lengths to keep my cards in nice shape, even when using in decks. Plus, especially for older stuff, the resale value is way better, along with being easier to move, if I ever care to. I don't spend tons more for graded (above 9 is pure collectors' territory), but I've often found I can get an 8.5 or 9 for a few more dollars than "ungraded NM" (which sometimes isn't available at all). So I guess, paying/trading a little more to put some nice-but-not-pristine cards back into circulation has some appeal to me as part of the format.
Up until a couple months ago, I'd only ever owned/busted one graded card - a PSA 9 Revised Underground Sea that I bought a few years back because the price was the same as ungraded at the time. Even including the cards pictured from today, I think I've only busted a dozen cases. It makes a sharp plastic mess if I'm not careful, and I definitely hedged a bit on the Serra Angel, but ultimately decided it was too cool to stay encased in plastic.
@karakas:very solid pickups,if you have time can we peek everything graded in your collection?
There's not much to look at, honestly. The few graded cards I've acquired have always been with the intention of busting the cases and using them. But in the spirit of 93/94, here's my deck as it stands today. It's mostly Unlimited at this point, and every card except for the City of Brass (MP) is at least NM by most standards. I'm just starting to look for Beta, and badly need Unlimited Scrublands since the two that I have are Revised. Not anywhere close to acquiring Moxen.
Thanks. The whole deadguy/creatures+disruption+removal concept isn't very original (even in Old School), but I really enjoy it. I wanted something that let me play some of my favorite colors and also use a lot of format staples/singletons, so B/W fit the bill. I love owning the 4 seasons of Mishra's Factory (prior to this deck I only had the summer copy), and the original Icy art gives me chills everytime I see it (I'd always wanted one as a kid). Some of the stuff (like StP) is getting harder and harder to find in Unlimited - I got lucky and caught some eBay listings at the right time to get them for reasonable prices. Hoping to make more of the deck black border in the near future.
There's only so much originality you can have in a format such as this anyway. The nostalgia is much more of a factor for me. White Weenie is the first deck I remember having any sort of real success with back in the 90s. Some time after that, I played Suicide Black in Type 1. There are few plays as satisfying as Ritualing into a turn 1 Hippie. The Deadguy style is a pretty sweet combination of those two strategies with its own twist, so I can certainly appreciate the appeal. And yeah, I definitely dig using/owning all 4 arts of the Factory.
Deck is fuzzy,. but those who are in the format or who are old like me know what the cards are.
Ran RG for months now. We have some really powerful control decks in my area and I fold to Moat/Abyss/COP's so I made the white splash for Disenchant. My sideboard does not reflect this change and I will most likely drop 2x Crumble for something else. The plains will become 2x Savannah and another Plateau will round out the base, but I would like to get another City of Brass in there but they are creeping recently in price. Past that I am very happy with the deck. It beats fast and burns on backup.
Future additions will be a singleton Untamed Wilds. I know this deck screams Kird Ape and i ran it as a 4x when I started the deck but in 3 colors the reliable forest is not always there and with the lack of fixing in the format he is going to be a 1/1 when I need that 2/x. I made the move for Savannah Lion and will add more as i gather them (really hard to find). They will replace the Ghazban Ogre slots. I also really liking keeping double mana spells out of the deck because of the base. This hurts at times because Whirling Dervish is a monster in the format but its also a blessing because I can pump out cheap beaters and Swords to Plowshares is everywhere anyways.
* Look at Standard deck list.
* Think, "This seems fun."
* Check card prices.
* Think, "Hmm, these recently printed rares are over $10... Maybe I'll just wait until rotation to pick them up."
* Bank account stays healthy.
On the other hand, there are also these moments:
* Look at Old School deck list.
* Think, "This seems fun."
* Check card prices.
* Think, "Hmm, this 22 year old uncommon is over $50... Better pick some up before a price spike!"
* Bank account gets drained.
Yeah, I know the feeling. I almost feel guilty when I pick up Standard cards now because I think of how that money would translate to a sweet 93/94 pickup.
Yeah, I know the feeling. I almost feel guilty when I pick up Standard cards now because I think of how that money would translate to a sweet 93/94 pickup.
Yeah, I do know that feeling. I don't play standard, but I'm three cards away from a complete set of Antiquities. I have sold all my modern Eldrazi staples, and I'm trying to move my chalices of the void. I WILL have that Candelabra and Workshop some day...
I love seeing the old cards set free from cases. I hope this trend continues. These cards were made to be played, not displayed in cases. Also thanks to everyone who has shared pictures. I love seeing these.
Quick update: I've updated the 1st post. Added additional links to Facebook, and reworded some of the intro.
edit: Also to make my post a bit more interesting I snapped a picture of my most recently acquired old school cards.
Back in 6th grade one of my friends used to terrorize everyone else with an R/G aggro deck. It seemed like he could never lose, and we would all groan at the inevitable turn 1 Taiga - Kird Ape, followed by a barrage of burn and pump spells. My mono blue Prodigal Sorcerer deck could never stand a chance, and even my mono black deck would lose consistently, despite sporting the awe-inspiring power of Lord of the Pit, along with plenty of Sengir Vampires, Royal Assassins and Sorceress Queens. Even a Beta Nightmare that I saved up to buy.
This deck doesn't have a hefty price tag, but owning it is pure nostalgia to me.
If you can cast a spell, you're doing well, If you can't, that's okay, too. It usually takes a few turns before you have enough mana to do anything. Meanwhile, you should figure out whether you need to discard (p.11). Then announce the end of your turn, and let your opponent have a go.
I recently got back into playing MTG regularly. And thought it would be neat to go back to the games root and play some decks for awhile starting with unlimited, arabian knights, and antiquities. And add in and/or rotate sets going forward in release order. Kind of like how we would have built decks back when we only had those sets. Seeing as this thread encompasses where I would like to begin at, I figure I would post here and see if I could find some interest in playing. I have cockatrice and xmage installed. However xmage appears to be missing more than a few old cards and probably not a good option unless it is only the old sets with missing cards. I have made 5 mono color decks to start with using the three sets I mentioned. And there might be a card or two that are restricted that I was not aware of until looking at this thread. When we played back in the day we simply held to a rule of don't make jerk decks (decks that make everyone else mad at you for playing with). And so these decks I made are pretty much decks I played back when those three sets were all we had.
My thoughts were once the core set is updated rotate out the previous core set and sets prior to it. And then add one at a time sets in release order (maybe rotate out the oldest set as each is added). It'd be almost like revising our decks as the game moved forward. With rotating out sets we'd ultimately have to change our decks or make new ones. Which I think would be a lot of fun. Anyone interested let me know. You can send me a private message or if it is appropriate reply here with your interest.
I recently got back into playing MTG regularly. And thought it would be neat to go back to the games root and play some decks for awhile starting with unlimited, arabian knights, and antiquities. And add in and/or rotate sets going forward in release order. Kind of like how we would have built decks back when we only had those sets. Seeing as this thread encompasses where I would like to begin at, I figure I would post here and see if I could find some interest in playing. I have cockatrice and xmage installed. However xmage appears to be missing more than a few old cards and probably not a good option unless it is only the old sets with missing cards. I have made 5 mono color decks to start with using the three sets I mentioned. And there might be a card or two that are restricted that I was not aware of until looking at this thread. When we played back in the day we simply held to a rule of don't make jerk decks (decks that make everyone else mad at you for playing with). And so these decks I made are pretty much decks I played back when those three sets were all we had.
My thoughts were once the core set is updated rotate out the previous core set and sets prior to it. And then add one at a time sets in release order (maybe rotate out the oldest set as each is added). It'd be almost like revising our decks as the game moved forward. With rotating out sets we'd ultimately have to change our decks or make new ones. Which I think would be a lot of fun. Anyone interested let me know. You can send me a private message or if it is appropriate reply here with your interest.
Personally, I'm not a fan of either of those programs, but I have built old school decks on MTGO if you're interested in playing there. Just send me a PM on MTGO. (user name gumgod). Many cards are missing from MTGO including Sorceress Queen, King Suleiman, Electric Eel and several very playable ones) and you have to use newer versions for many of the cards, but it's still fun format and a few of my friends play it online as well. Many of the cards are also dirt cheap. (mirror universe for 5 cents, Forcefield for less than $1, Serra Angel and Savanah lions on free bots... ect)
Clearly the best format is 93/94, but if you want to try different formats to simulate a rotation or new set, check out 95 magic and 96 magic over at Eternal Central.
There's also QL magic for all old face cards, but they use different rules and even archived oracle text.
I didn't expect the format to get anything from Eternal Masters, but we just got some relevant errata on Winter Orb. It works like it used to! I wonder if Orb can slide right into decks running Relic Barrier? What did the real old Orb decks look like? Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with them.
I didn't expect the format to get anything from Eternal Masters, but we just got some relevant errata on Winter Orb. It works like it used to! I wonder if Orb can slide right into decks running Relic Barrier? What did the real old Orb decks look like? Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with them.
Relic Barrier & Icy Manipulator are definitely a good start. Way back in the day, there was a balance deck running tons of little artifacts including winter orbs, barriers and mines with titania's song... You just keep wiping the board until you have a lethal amount of artifacts (which will become 2/2s) then drop the song and swing with your now animated orbs. But then they restricted Balance. I have no idea if this could still work as a strategy, but it really intrigues me.
Relic Barrier & Icy Manipulator are definitely a good start. Way back in the day, there was a balance deck running tons of little artifacts including winter orbs, barriers and mines with titania's song... You just keep wiping the board until you have a lethal amount of artifacts (which will become 2/2s) then drop the song and swing with your now animated orbs. But then they restricted Balance. I have no idea if this could still work as a strategy, but it really intrigues me.
Oh, Balance! It's amazing how WotC thought that card was fair until Fourth Edition.
Some kind of GW deck built around that shell does seem pretty sweet and unique.
I imagine black will be in a lot of builds at first to go with the standard Howling Mine/Underworld Dreams package. It's pretty sweet to use Relic on your Mines during the first few turns so you can accelerate into drawing Dreams, while denying your opponent the extra cards. And then when you have Dreams, start using the Relic on your Orb to deny them a full untap step. So even though they get extra cards, they can't play them. But you can.
Hi, everyone!
I enjoy old Magic cards and want to try this great format! (although I've been playing Magic for only about a year and have almost no cards than some 4-6th edition)
I'm an absolute noob, so having read this and our local threads, I ask for your help and would very much appreciate the answers point by point!
1. Is there any arranged information available on the format archetypes/popular decks (not to mention primers)? I've managed to find a "Decks to beat" section on oldschool-mtg.blogspot but only with photos and no explanation.
Most likely, I won't be able to buy power9, and the whole process of acquiring cards is gonna be slow. So here comes the second question
2. Is it possible that the meta changes at one point so drastically that some decks are no longer competitive? It would be very frustrating to waste time and money and start from scratch again.
And finally, a traditional question of a noob
3. Which deck would you recommend to start with that meets the following criteria:
- does not require huge investments at once
- versatile enough to have few hopeless matchups and be able to win not once in a blue moon
- is fun for a long-term play and not very tricky for a noob (not a draw-go, which among other things implies a complete grasp of meta and playstyles of other decks )
Hi, everyone!
I enjoy old Magic cards and want to try this great format! (although I've been playing Magic for only about a year and don't have anything older than some 4-6th edition cards)
I'm an absolute noob, so having read this and our local threads, I ask for your help and would very much appreciate the answers point by point!
1. Is there any arranged information available on the format archetypes/popular decks (not to mention primers)? I've managed to find a "Decks to beat" section on oldschool-mtg.blogspot but only with photos and no explanation.
Most likely, I won't be able to buy power9, and the whole process of acquiring cards is gonna be slow. So here comes the second question
2. Is it possible that the meta changes at one point so drastically that some decks are no longer competitive? It would be very frustrating to waste time and money and start from scratch again.
And finally, a traditional question of a noob
3. Which deck would you recommend to start with that meets the following criteria:
- does not require huge investments at once
- versatile enough to have few hopeless matchups and be able to win not once in a blue moon
- is fun for a long-term play and not very tricky for a noob (not a draw-go, which among other things implies a complete grasp of meta and playstyles of other decks )
Thanks for your time spent reading this
Unlimited was the cheap way into the format, but since staples have been going up in price, more groups are allowing Revised and newer printings. Usually these say to stick with the original art and old frame for nostalgia sake. So if you're building with newer sets, try to use the sets that reflect the original artwork. (I.e. don't buy 5th edition Manabarbs, buy revised edition instead), don't buy 7th Ed City of Brass, buy Chronicles instead. You can also buy FBB cards to get a black bordered look without breaking the bank. It's worth noting that Eternal Central's legality also allows for Collector's edition to be played. Check with where you are going to play before including CE/IE or even Revised. Once you get past what sets are legal and what your budget is like, there's actually a lot of room for creativity.
An easy deck to start with might be a simple mono colored or two deck. This way you don't have to invest in dual lands right away. You can also use the previously mentioned City of Brass as mana fixing.
White Weenie should be easy to build, and is fairly straight forward to play. Swords to plowshares is the best removal spell in the format, and a play set of disenchant main deck can actually be very good. Keep in mind one of the best creatures in the format is Mishra's Factory, and people that have moxes are going to use them. You'll likely never have a dead disenchant in hand. I haven't honestly priced a list, but many of the pieces are uncommons or commons. The expensive pieces for this are going to be Thunder Spirit (you can buy FBB or sub something else), and Chaos Orb. Good creatures include Savannah Lions, Thunder Spirit, White Knight, Serra Angel and Preacher. You also want Mishra's Factory, but 4th edition ones are cheap. Again you can go with FBB, or Spring art (AQ) if you want a cheap black bordered version. The deck wins by going wide (playing lots of threats) and usually scaling those up with crusade.
Mono green could be fun. You can go for big mana and killer bees or Force of Nature (risky but sounds fun).
If you like to draw cards, build enchantress. The expensive card for enchantress likely being Sylvan Library which just got a reprint. White bordered (4th edition) should be going down in price due to the reprint. Enchantress wants to make tons of mana and draws tons of cards. I don't have a deck list, but I'll try to revisit this later.
Ermageddon is straight forward, but you'll probably need Chronicles or FBB djinns. This is typically a green white deck running 4x Armageddon. The plan is to land either Erhnam Djinn or Serra Angel, then kill all the lands. You get to run that premium white removal, and some real threats.
Mono black has access to dark ritual, which is a way to accelerate yourself without power. The expensive mono black card is of course Juzam Djinn, but Sengir Vampire is not bad. 4x Hypnotic specter, 4x black knight is a good start. Sorceress Queen and Royal Assassin are playable and some people like to run Underworld Dreams, but mono black can be built without it. If your group allows Fallen Empires, you could add Hymn to Tourach. Revised Edition Mind Twist and Demonic Tutor are your rares. Splash white for Swords to plowshares and Disenchant or run terror for removal.
Red has access to Shivan Dragon which was once considered to be one of the best creatures in the game. You can run main deck lightning bolt and chain lightning, and you can also sideboard red elemental blasts, and that seems pretty good. Mana flare into dragon is a pretty fast clock, just remember that mana flare is symmetrical.
Blue actually has a fliers deck which is viable. Flying men, Unstable Mutation, Serendib Efreet (buy revised edition for budget), zephyr falcon and you have ton of evasive threats to get it done. Adding red can let you build electric eel aggro or throw in blood lust or add green for giant growth and berserk. There's no budget option for berserk.
There's a green red stompy aggro deck with kird apes. Taiga helps but I've played it without taiga. Elvish Archers, Argothian Pixies, Scryb Sprite and Giant Growth are staples of this deck. Pimp it out with Berserk, and have fun with main deck Avoid Fate. This deck is good in the early game, but can struggle in top deck mode. Sylvan Library can help with that, but is less budget.
TaxEdge is a combo deck that can be built without dual lands. The deck might play some number of Winds of Change, Wheel of Fortune, Wrath of God, Lightning Bolt, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchants... This is a red white control deck with a potential combo finish.
People like to build around Underworld dreams too. Winds of Change and Wheel of Fortune are also good in this deck.
Again these are just the basic decks. If you get bored and want to be creative, you can try to build some form of reanimator, port over lantern control, build something with rukh egg, Kobold Aggro, or go crazy and build something with mirror universe and lich. I'm not saying those are competitive options, I'm just saying there's plenty of room to be creative without building "the deck".
GumgodMTG, you'll appreciate what happened at my house this afternoon:
Legacy: D+T
Oldschool: BW Deadguy BW
Magic player/collector since 1994
Proud supporter of #MtgForLife!
But serious question, why buy graded in the first place?
It's a fair question. I like owning/playing with NM cards, and go to lengths to keep my cards in nice shape, even when using in decks. Plus, especially for older stuff, the resale value is way better, along with being easier to move, if I ever care to. I don't spend tons more for graded (above 9 is pure collectors' territory), but I've often found I can get an 8.5 or 9 for a few more dollars than "ungraded NM" (which sometimes isn't available at all). So I guess, paying/trading a little more to put some nice-but-not-pristine cards back into circulation has some appeal to me as part of the format.
Up until a couple months ago, I'd only ever owned/busted one graded card - a PSA 9 Revised Underground Sea that I bought a few years back because the price was the same as ungraded at the time. Even including the cards pictured from today, I think I've only busted a dozen cases. It makes a sharp plastic mess if I'm not careful, and I definitely hedged a bit on the Serra Angel, but ultimately decided it was too cool to stay encased in plastic.
Legacy: D+T
Oldschool: BW Deadguy BW
Magic player/collector since 1994
Proud supporter of #MtgForLife!
thanks to DNC of Heroes of the Plane Studios for the coolest sig
vintage-WBdark timesBW
legacy-BGRJund-51/60BGR
RBBob Sligh 48/60BR
GRone land belcherRG
URBTES-54/60URB
Fun deck-BBBBKobolds stormBBBB
There's not much to look at, honestly. The few graded cards I've acquired have always been with the intention of busting the cases and using them. But in the spirit of 93/94, here's my deck as it stands today. It's mostly Unlimited at this point, and every card except for the City of Brass (MP) is at least NM by most standards. I'm just starting to look for Beta, and badly need Unlimited Scrublands since the two that I have are Revised. Not anywhere close to acquiring Moxen.
Legacy: D+T
Oldschool: BW Deadguy BW
Magic player/collector since 1994
Proud supporter of #MtgForLife!
Legacy: D+T
Oldschool: BW Deadguy BW
Magic player/collector since 1994
Proud supporter of #MtgForLife!
3 Barbary Apes
2 Grizzly Bears
2 Ghazban Ogre
2 Juggernaut
1 Llanowar elves
1 Savannah Lions
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Chain Lightning
4 Disenchant
4 Giant Growth
2 Berserk
1 Regrowth
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Chaos Orb
1 Black Vise
2 Plains
3 Mountain
3 Forest
1 Plateau
1 Strip Mine
4 Taiga
1 City of Brass
2 Mishra's Factory
3 Crumble
2 Lifeforce
2 City in a Bottle
2 Shatterstorm
1 Flashfires
1 Tranquility
Deck is fuzzy,. but those who are in the format or who are old like me know what the cards are.
Ran RG for months now. We have some really powerful control decks in my area and I fold to Moat/Abyss/COP's so I made the white splash for Disenchant. My sideboard does not reflect this change and I will most likely drop 2x Crumble for something else. The plains will become 2x Savannah and another Plateau will round out the base, but I would like to get another City of Brass in there but they are creeping recently in price. Past that I am very happy with the deck. It beats fast and burns on backup.
Future additions will be a singleton Untamed Wilds. I know this deck screams Kird Ape and i ran it as a 4x when I started the deck but in 3 colors the reliable forest is not always there and with the lack of fixing in the format he is going to be a 1/1 when I need that 2/x. I made the move for Savannah Lion and will add more as i gather them (really hard to find). They will replace the Ghazban Ogre slots. I also really liking keeping double mana spells out of the deck because of the base. This hurts at times because Whirling Dervish is a monster in the format but its also a blessing because I can pump out cheap beaters and Swords to Plowshares is everywhere anyways.
I played about a dozen games yesterday versus RUG. Pre-board I have to race and often lose to Serendib Efreet of Serra Angel. Post board I nabbed a bunch of wins after siding in City in a Bottle which shut down both Serendib and Erhnam Djinn. Chaos orb becomes the MVP for dealing with Serra Angel as my weenies charge through and Lightning Bolt cleans up the day.
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane Studios for the amazing sig!
Legacy: D+T
Oldschool: BW Deadguy BW
Magic player/collector since 1994
Proud supporter of #MtgForLife!
* Look at Standard deck list.
* Think, "This seems fun."
* Check card prices.
* Think, "Hmm, these recently printed rares are over $10... Maybe I'll just wait until rotation to pick them up."
* Bank account stays healthy.
On the other hand, there are also these moments:
* Look at Old School deck list.
* Think, "This seems fun."
* Check card prices.
* Think, "Hmm, this 22 year old uncommon is over $50... Better pick some up before a price spike!"
* Bank account gets drained.
I love seeing the old cards set free from cases. I hope this trend continues. These cards were made to be played, not displayed in cases. Also thanks to everyone who has shared pictures. I love seeing these.
Quick update: I've updated the 1st post. Added additional links to Facebook, and reworded some of the intro.
edit: Also to make my post a bit more interesting I snapped a picture of my most recently acquired old school cards.
This deck doesn't have a hefty price tag, but owning it is pure nostalgia to me.
My thoughts were once the core set is updated rotate out the previous core set and sets prior to it. And then add one at a time sets in release order (maybe rotate out the oldest set as each is added). It'd be almost like revising our decks as the game moved forward. With rotating out sets we'd ultimately have to change our decks or make new ones. Which I think would be a lot of fun. Anyone interested let me know. You can send me a private message or if it is appropriate reply here with your interest.
Personally, I'm not a fan of either of those programs, but I have built old school decks on MTGO if you're interested in playing there. Just send me a PM on MTGO. (user name gumgod). Many cards are missing from MTGO including Sorceress Queen, King Suleiman, Electric Eel and several very playable ones) and you have to use newer versions for many of the cards, but it's still fun format and a few of my friends play it online as well. Many of the cards are also dirt cheap. (mirror universe for 5 cents, Forcefield for less than $1, Serra Angel and Savanah lions on free bots... ect)
Clearly the best format is 93/94, but if you want to try different formats to simulate a rotation or new set, check out 95 magic and 96 magic over at Eternal Central.
There's also QL magic for all old face cards, but they use different rules and even archived oracle text.
http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/new-format-old-school/?fb_comment_id=fbc_935225053265499_935247983263206_935247983263206#fc5a753cc598e4
Preregistration is now open for the next Eternal Central event.
http://www.eternalcentral.com/eternalweekend2016oldschool/
Also, just in case you haven't seen it some where else yet, Steve Menendian did a write up on the complete history of "the deck".
http://www.vintagemagic.com/blog/old-school-magic-chapter-2-the-history-of-the-deck/
Also Ancient MTG; same card pool, slightly different rules again.
Nice, thanks for the link. No Chaos orbs allowed in that one though. :/
Neat write-up about the recent Old School tournament held at GP Los Angeles this past weekend. My deck was the Underworld Dreams combo deck.
Relic Barrier & Icy Manipulator are definitely a good start. Way back in the day, there was a balance deck running tons of little artifacts including winter orbs, barriers and mines with titania's song... You just keep wiping the board until you have a lethal amount of artifacts (which will become 2/2s) then drop the song and swing with your now animated orbs. But then they restricted Balance. I have no idea if this could still work as a strategy, but it really intrigues me.
Oh, Balance! It's amazing how WotC thought that card was fair until Fourth Edition.
Some kind of GW deck built around that shell does seem pretty sweet and unique.
I imagine black will be in a lot of builds at first to go with the standard Howling Mine/Underworld Dreams package. It's pretty sweet to use Relic on your Mines during the first few turns so you can accelerate into drawing Dreams, while denying your opponent the extra cards. And then when you have Dreams, start using the Relic on your Orb to deny them a full untap step. So even though they get extra cards, they can't play them. But you can.
I enjoy old Magic cards and want to try this great format! (although I've been playing Magic for only about a year and have almost no cards than some 4-6th edition)
I'm an absolute noob, so having read this and our local threads, I ask for your help and would very much appreciate the answers point by point!
1. Is there any arranged information available on the format archetypes/popular decks (not to mention primers)? I've managed to find a "Decks to beat" section on oldschool-mtg.blogspot but only with photos and no explanation.
Most likely, I won't be able to buy power9, and the whole process of acquiring cards is gonna be slow. So here comes the second question
2. Is it possible that the meta changes at one point so drastically that some decks are no longer competitive? It would be very frustrating to waste time and money and start from scratch again.
And finally, a traditional question of a noob
3. Which deck would you recommend to start with that meets the following criteria:
- does not require huge investments at once
- versatile enough to have few hopeless matchups and be able to win not once in a blue moon
- is fun for a long-term play and not very tricky for a noob (not a draw-go, which among other things implies a complete grasp of meta and playstyles of other decks )
Thanks for your time spent reading this
Unlimited was the cheap way into the format, but since staples have been going up in price, more groups are allowing Revised and newer printings. Usually these say to stick with the original art and old frame for nostalgia sake. So if you're building with newer sets, try to use the sets that reflect the original artwork. (I.e. don't buy 5th edition Manabarbs, buy revised edition instead), don't buy 7th Ed City of Brass, buy Chronicles instead. You can also buy FBB cards to get a black bordered look without breaking the bank. It's worth noting that Eternal Central's legality also allows for Collector's edition to be played. Check with where you are going to play before including CE/IE or even Revised. Once you get past what sets are legal and what your budget is like, there's actually a lot of room for creativity.
An easy deck to start with might be a simple mono colored or two deck. This way you don't have to invest in dual lands right away. You can also use the previously mentioned City of Brass as mana fixing.
White Weenie should be easy to build, and is fairly straight forward to play. Swords to plowshares is the best removal spell in the format, and a play set of disenchant main deck can actually be very good. Keep in mind one of the best creatures in the format is Mishra's Factory, and people that have moxes are going to use them. You'll likely never have a dead disenchant in hand. I haven't honestly priced a list, but many of the pieces are uncommons or commons. The expensive pieces for this are going to be Thunder Spirit (you can buy FBB or sub something else), and Chaos Orb. Good creatures include Savannah Lions, Thunder Spirit, White Knight, Serra Angel and Preacher. You also want Mishra's Factory, but 4th edition ones are cheap. Again you can go with FBB, or Spring art (AQ) if you want a cheap black bordered version. The deck wins by going wide (playing lots of threats) and usually scaling those up with crusade.
Mono green could be fun. You can go for big mana and killer bees or Force of Nature (risky but sounds fun).
If you like to draw cards, build enchantress. The expensive card for enchantress likely being Sylvan Library which just got a reprint. White bordered (4th edition) should be going down in price due to the reprint. Enchantress wants to make tons of mana and draws tons of cards. I don't have a deck list, but I'll try to revisit this later.
Ermageddon is straight forward, but you'll probably need Chronicles or FBB djinns. This is typically a green white deck running 4x Armageddon. The plan is to land either Erhnam Djinn or Serra Angel, then kill all the lands. You get to run that premium white removal, and some real threats.
Mono black has access to dark ritual, which is a way to accelerate yourself without power. The expensive mono black card is of course Juzam Djinn, but Sengir Vampire is not bad. 4x Hypnotic specter, 4x black knight is a good start. Sorceress Queen and Royal Assassin are playable and some people like to run Underworld Dreams, but mono black can be built without it. If your group allows Fallen Empires, you could add Hymn to Tourach. Revised Edition Mind Twist and Demonic Tutor are your rares. Splash white for Swords to plowshares and Disenchant or run terror for removal.
Red has access to Shivan Dragon which was once considered to be one of the best creatures in the game. You can run main deck lightning bolt and chain lightning, and you can also sideboard red elemental blasts, and that seems pretty good. Mana flare into dragon is a pretty fast clock, just remember that mana flare is symmetrical.
Blue actually has a fliers deck which is viable. Flying men, Unstable Mutation, Serendib Efreet (buy revised edition for budget), zephyr falcon and you have ton of evasive threats to get it done. Adding red can let you build electric eel aggro or throw in blood lust or add green for giant growth and berserk. There's no budget option for berserk.
There's a green red stompy aggro deck with kird apes. Taiga helps but I've played it without taiga. Elvish Archers, Argothian Pixies, Scryb Sprite and Giant Growth are staples of this deck. Pimp it out with Berserk, and have fun with main deck Avoid Fate. This deck is good in the early game, but can struggle in top deck mode. Sylvan Library can help with that, but is less budget.
Tax Edge is a combo deck that can be built without dual lands. The deck might play some number of Winds of Change, Wheel of Fortune, Wrath of God, Lightning Bolt, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchants... This is a red white control deck with a potential combo finish.
People like to build around Underworld dreams too. Winds of Change and Wheel of Fortune are also good in this deck.
Again these are just the basic decks. If you get bored and want to be creative, you can try to build some form of reanimator, port over lantern control, build something with rukh egg, Kobold Aggro, or go crazy and build something with mirror universe and lich. I'm not saying those are competitive options, I'm just saying there's plenty of room to be creative without building "the deck".