So I have been a long time player of eternal formats, started with legacy but then life and a wife and child had me move into modern where I could play a little easier and be able to trade/sell my way into the format with ease. But now that we are more settled I have more funds for more magic (always a good thing right??) and was wondering:
1) how does one really get into standard as a format?
2) when is a good time, when a new block comes out or now or when?
3) going off of number 2, when getting into standard what a good way to choose a deck/cards to get the most play out of them?
Thanks, getting into eternal formats is easier (aside from money) I think for a the simple fact cards do not rotate nor does that ever become a concern really in eternal formats.
SOrry if this is in the wrong place, mods please move if needed or if I some how missed a similar thread
Looking at your signature, seems you don't mind playing aggressive decks, perhaps RDW would be a good place to start? There is pretty much always an aggressive red deck in Standard, it's generally a cheap & effective deck to build, and it's straightforward to play. Fast creatures and burn spells are easy on the wallet, and Mountain never rotates out. Play that for a while, get acclimated to Standard, then you'll have a better feel for the format. Then, if you want to play a different deck, you'll have a better idea of where you might want to be.
Read all the articles you can. Watch videos. Learn the pro meta and sideboarding choices. Out of everything in standard currently, the Khans block will be in the longest from now. There's many decks where the majority of cards used are from Tarkir block so i'd start by looking at though then you can decide what your expense will be.
standard is easy to get into since there are events pretty often, it's the most popular, it has fewer sets to acquire cards from/memorize meta...i recommend just watching twitch streams of people who are playing standard, watch SCG events and that sort of thing when they come along, look up CVM vs BBD videos on youtube (they're quite long and usually do like 5-6 matches and discussing things)
there's never gonna be a good time to get into standard as a beginner, if a set just came out cards are more expensive and nobody else can give you advice because they don't know what's good either. but coming in late means you miss things like prerelease, game day, and the development of the meta, the observation of which really improves you as a player within a format. you just sort of have to go in when you feel like you're relatively informed/aware of your options and whether it seems fun enough to warrant spending the time and $. that's as good a time as you'll ever find.
to choose a deck/cards you wanna pretty much watch gameplay and find a deck that plays cards that have a good balance of fun, competitiveness, affordability etc. if that deck seems like a contender, just build it. worst case scenario, it's tier 2 but you have cardboard money so you can just trade it.
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"Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire." - Jaya Ballard
1) Money and watch star city games and look at the most frequent and relevant cards. Watch some games, buy an event deck and play standard to get a cheap feel of playing around you, ultimately playing is going to get you most involved in the format.
2) They're all unfriendly times, but when the latest lands are at their cheapest is the best answer.
3) The deck YOU want to play is the answer. Look online for lists that interest you the most and does decent. Don't play the most competitive if it doesn't interest you, most of this is going to be for your competitive fun. Mono red is the cheapest, but play colors you really like.
1) how does one really get into standard as a format?
The best way is to pick a type of deck that you like, control, aggro, mid-range, etc. and then stick with it, slowly modifying it over the months.
2) when is a good time, when a new block comes out or now or when?
The best time is now! But really, the best "real time" would be when the older sets rotate out and it is the smallest number of sets. That will be happening in September.
3) going off of number 2, when getting into standard what a good way to choose a deck/cards to get the most play out of them?
You should just play what you like. Take a look at the latest SCG Standard results and find a deck that you like.
If you want to play in some tournaments every now and then but don't want to purchase all of the cards, SpareDeck (www.sparedeck.com) is a great option. You can rent a deck for a fraction of its cost to play in an event without purchasing the entire deck. Then if you like it you can go for that deck, or just rent a different deck down the road when you need it.
On number 3, the current standard format is pretty healthy. There are plenty of options to choose from, but really Abzan aggro/midrange/control (they're all pretty much the same deck really) is the most consistent deck. It always puts up results and Siege Rhino is arguably the best creature in the format, as well as having access to Thoughtsieze and all of the efficient answers. But really, Jeskai aggro, Jeskai midrange, Esper control, UB control, RW aggro, RDW, GR aggro, GW devotion, Sultai control and Sultai reanimator are all really strong, competitive choices, just off the top of my head. So in the end, it does depend on what kind of strategy you want to be playing the most.
Honestly the best way to get into standard is going to drafts at your LGS. You get a feel for the current block and start building a collection. Then once you see more cards and how they play out, you'll have a better idea what kind of builds you want to explore.
* Also: welcome to standard, the best, most versatile and exciting format in Magic.
1) how does one really get into standard as a format?
2) when is a good time, when a new block comes out or now or when?
3) going off of number 2, when getting into standard what a good way to choose a deck/cards to get the most play out of them?
Thanks, getting into eternal formats is easier (aside from money) I think for a the simple fact cards do not rotate nor does that ever become a concern really in eternal formats.
SOrry if this is in the wrong place, mods please move if needed or if I some how missed a similar thread
DECKS:
MODERN:
BUILT:
WBGJunkWBG
BURGrixis ControlBUR
BUILDING:
BGEldraziBG
there's never gonna be a good time to get into standard as a beginner, if a set just came out cards are more expensive and nobody else can give you advice because they don't know what's good either. but coming in late means you miss things like prerelease, game day, and the development of the meta, the observation of which really improves you as a player within a format. you just sort of have to go in when you feel like you're relatively informed/aware of your options and whether it seems fun enough to warrant spending the time and $. that's as good a time as you'll ever find.
to choose a deck/cards you wanna pretty much watch gameplay and find a deck that plays cards that have a good balance of fun, competitiveness, affordability etc. if that deck seems like a contender, just build it. worst case scenario, it's tier 2 but you have cardboard money so you can just trade it.
"Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire." - Jaya Ballard
2) They're all unfriendly times, but when the latest lands are at their cheapest is the best answer.
3) The deck YOU want to play is the answer. Look online for lists that interest you the most and does decent. Don't play the most competitive if it doesn't interest you, most of this is going to be for your competitive fun. Mono red is the cheapest, but play colors you really like.
The best way is to pick a type of deck that you like, control, aggro, mid-range, etc. and then stick with it, slowly modifying it over the months.
2) when is a good time, when a new block comes out or now or when?
The best time is now! But really, the best "real time" would be when the older sets rotate out and it is the smallest number of sets. That will be happening in September.
3) going off of number 2, when getting into standard what a good way to choose a deck/cards to get the most play out of them?
You should just play what you like. Take a look at the latest SCG Standard results and find a deck that you like.
If you want to play in some tournaments every now and then but don't want to purchase all of the cards, SpareDeck (www.sparedeck.com) is a great option. You can rent a deck for a fraction of its cost to play in an event without purchasing the entire deck. Then if you like it you can go for that deck, or just rent a different deck down the road when you need it.
* Also: welcome to standard, the best, most versatile and exciting format in Magic.