Hey guys. First post here. I am returning to the game and wanting to get into EDH/Commander as it seems the most fun for the $. The problem is I don't have any collection anymore. My question(s) is/are: Which pre-con would be best? (ive been looking at Aminatou) and Would it be a bad idea to take a precon to an LGS on commander night? I don't have any playgroup so I'll need to start fresh at my LGS, are the precons "looked down on" or would it be okay/normal to use one? Any info/advice would be appreciated. Thanks
I don't think precons are really looked down on, but they certainly are of lower power level than the average deck you see - they tend to lack direction right out of the box, and have cards that have seemingly nothing to do with the commander. This can be a good thing in the sense that if you say you're playing the precon, you might get a surprising amount of people not targeting you during a game because you're not perceived as that big of a threat. And anyway, playing the precon (or any deck) is the best way to find out which direction you want to take the deck afterwards, changing a card here and there when you can.
As for which precon, pretty much all of them over the years have been decent for what they are, though obviously warrant some seriously look in what to change, in particular regarding the manabases of the 3+ color decks. (A lot more ETBT lands than you'd usually care for.)
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A Pre Con can be a decent starting point to a deck/collection when getting back into the game.
Depending on the LGS and people playing there, it could be under powered. However most people will bring multiple power level decks with them. Just make it known it's a pre con with no changes.
I have an Aminatou deck that I'm slowly tweaking, it's fun.
Oh I fully understand and intend to upgrade, I just need a starting point. Are there enough "staples" in the precons to warrant buying an entire years set?
Oh I fully understand and intend to upgrade, I just need a starting point. Are there enough "staples" in the precons to warrant buying an entire years set?
It really kind of depends on what price point you're able to get them at, as well as how much you can actually use the cards since they're usually spread out to be even across the colors (as much as possible in the two more recent sets, at least).
Precons are a great starting point. When you go to your LGS, just be sure to mention to the group you sit down with that you've only got a precon right now. EDH players often have decks of varying power levels, so if the other players know you're running a precon and they're decent folk (and odds are they will be) they can pick a deck appropriate for the precon power level. You may even have people offer to loan you a deck to play with, which is a fairly common occurrence.
All the C18 precons seem pretty fine to me, so it's entirely a question of which playstyle appeals to you the most. Wizards does a lot of work to ensure that the precons are all more or less even power-wise.
It would be rather nice if wizards released some meatier precons, that's for sure. Of the 10 shards, I could see the following having great decklists built around them (Because they're all pretty much the current best commanders of their respective shards in my opinion) if wizards so chose to properly equip them with solid, efficient and optimized lists:
While which are the best commanders of each shard is debatable, I would love to see Wizards make optimized precons specifically for each these 10 loaded with power cards like Mana Crypts and the like for a low price, give everyone out there playing a bit of a boost when it comes their core collections of cards to work with, and this would give newer players a better chance to get an idea of what real solid decks are like and how they're built.
well, i think it sort of depends on a few other variables:
1. do you intend to figure out for yourself what sort of deck you'd want to run, or do you already have a good idea?
2. do you want to aim for a specific power-level or do you want it to evolve organically with a specific group(s)?
3. do you want to grow an EDH 'collection' to be able to build other decks/move onto other archetypes/build multiple decks?
4. do you intend to, at some point, sell and stop playing magic without having 'lost' money?
Among other questions, that'd determine whether or not you'd want to get a precon or go straight to getting singles. Generally, if you want to hop straight into an existing group with a specific power level, it's probably cheaper and simpler to just get the cards as singles and then work it out from there. if you're planning to start a group, precons are a brilliant place to start and have the group evolve from there. The thing with the precons is that there is a lot of not very useful cards in them, and many of them aren't even that EDH-playable, even in the niche-est of all applications. The power/quality level of the precons between years i feel are quite varying, really, so i wouldn't say if one year's is better than another. That being said, even though I'm a veteran-ish player, i've gotten a couple of precons in my time.
As for which precon, pretty much all of them over the years have been decent for what they are, though obviously warrant some seriously look in what to change, in particular regarding the manabases of the 3+ color decks. (A lot more ETBT lands than you'd usually care for.)
Depending on the LGS and people playing there, it could be under powered. However most people will bring multiple power level decks with them. Just make it known it's a pre con with no changes.
I have an Aminatou deck that I'm slowly tweaking, it's fun.
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All the C18 precons seem pretty fine to me, so it's entirely a question of which playstyle appeals to you the most. Wizards does a lot of work to ensure that the precons are all more or less even power-wise.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
Narset, Enlightened Master
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
Ghave, Guru of Spores
Sharuum the Hegemon
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Kaalia of the Vast
Kess, Dissident Mage
Maelstrom Wanderer
Arcades, the Strategist
Uril, the Miststalker
While which are the best commanders of each shard is debatable, I would love to see Wizards make optimized precons specifically for each these 10 loaded with power cards like Mana Crypts and the like for a low price, give everyone out there playing a bit of a boost when it comes their core collections of cards to work with, and this would give newer players a better chance to get an idea of what real solid decks are like and how they're built.
1. do you intend to figure out for yourself what sort of deck you'd want to run, or do you already have a good idea?
2. do you want to aim for a specific power-level or do you want it to evolve organically with a specific group(s)?
3. do you want to grow an EDH 'collection' to be able to build other decks/move onto other archetypes/build multiple decks?
4. do you intend to, at some point, sell and stop playing magic without having 'lost' money?
Among other questions, that'd determine whether or not you'd want to get a precon or go straight to getting singles. Generally, if you want to hop straight into an existing group with a specific power level, it's probably cheaper and simpler to just get the cards as singles and then work it out from there. if you're planning to start a group, precons are a brilliant place to start and have the group evolve from there. The thing with the precons is that there is a lot of not very useful cards in them, and many of them aren't even that EDH-playable, even in the niche-est of all applications. The power/quality level of the precons between years i feel are quite varying, really, so i wouldn't say if one year's is better than another. That being said, even though I'm a veteran-ish player, i've gotten a couple of precons in my time.
but if money is no object, go nuts!
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