When I play a game I like to remain competitive. I recently got back into MTG after a 10 year hiatus. I have a ton of EDH cards already but already see what a sink standard is to remain competitive.
What is the most cost effective avenue to remain competitive in standard for you guys? I like to support my local shop but cannot spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars every new standard set especially for the vast majority of cards that will likely sink in value when they rotate.
My thought process is I will sketch out a deck, color combination each new set around a theme when cards are spoiled. Then I will work on that theme collecting cards for just those colors. Granted, I'd want to focus on dynamic colors that have pre-existing answers similar to a jack of all trades approach... Probably the best avenue to take will be built around fast aggro with efficient removal, as control typically requires more of an investment... Or I could take the approach of when a new set is spoiled build an early cheap, aggro deck to learn the format then work towards a control deck once the format has settled.
What do you do to save $ when a new set comes? Btw, I also like collecting cards which are also used in modern/legacy because they generally will maintain value better.
Btw, this should probably be in the standard board i apologize!
I've found out that buying a box, drafting it with some friends (basically free added value) and then looking at decks you might want to try and trading for stuff you need, and buying whatever is left has worked nicely for me.
There's also your definition of "competitive", do you want to play at premier-level tournaments, or just get in the prize range of your LGS' FNM? If you chose the first, well, there you have it, bigger prize pools generally mean better decks, which cost more.
Right now, there's a couple of very affordable options in standard: I've been playing Brains In the shore and Mono Blue Prison, which share some cards, and I think I dished out less than 100 bucks for most of the cards, I've Top4'd almost every FNM since SoI launch, and even won 2 back to back. But I know I won't be winning any big events with them.
From what I've seen, aggro is generally best early in the expansion, and, as you pointed out, it's generally cheaper than control, so that might be a viable choice for you.
And, here's the most important factor at least for me: How much fun do you think certain card or deck will bring you? We all know winning is the most fun aspect of any game, so how much are you willing to invest in that? Is the 500 bucks you're about to spend in your tier 1 deck really worth the 6 months of play you'll have with it, or would you rather double up your investment and build a modern deck that will last you a lot longer? Do you want to challenge yourself and build a deck that might not win that much but is an absolute blast to play for less than $125?
There's also the software option, in which you can build and play decks online for free. And if you like certain deck you can then buy it and play it at your LGS or wherever your gatherings happen.
My thought process is I will sketch out a deck, color combination each new set around a theme when cards are spoiled. Then I will work on that theme collecting cards for just those colors.
Yeah... In my area sadly standard is too competitive. I wanted to try it instead of just edh and because I started a few blocks ago now so I have a fair share of cards. I was even willing to spend a small portion of cash to finish a deck. However everyone I talked to said the same thing, if I'm not shelling out 200-300+ don't bother lol. Just not worth it :/
Sadly in a competitive environment playing on a budget does seem to be frowned upon, I've ran into it frequently because I don't spend hundreds of dollars on decks either. For me I draw generally a line at $100 for a deck at most, so I can keep things fun for me and try go with something that can be adapted through a few rotations can help as well. However, despite what others say, its about you having fun and enjoying the deck you play. Sure, it can mean you take more losses but that makes getting a win with a budget deck more sweeter.
You will save money in the long run by playing a non-rotating format like Modern or Legacy.
also vintage. i dont think shop/grixis control/dredge decks in vintage have changed once in the last 2-3 years (the rare restricted announcements that actually affect decks aside).
and yes, you might say oh but they're completely out of my budget and all that, and you'd be right. however, considering the price difference between legacy dredge and vintage dredge is literally the bazaar of baghdad, its sort of definitely within reach, i think.
like other have said, play non rotating format (modern/EDH for lowest entry point).
Other than that, you can stick to play RDW or white weenie, almost always there is a aggro red deck somewhat competitive and cheap. If you want to play something control/reactive you have to spend $.
also vintage. i dont think shop/grixis control/dredge decks in vintage have changed once in the last 2-3 years (the rare restricted announcements that actually affect decks aside).
and yes, you might say oh but they're completely out of my budget and all that, and you'd be right. however, considering the price difference between legacy dredge and vintage dredge is literally the bazaar of baghdad, its sort of definitely within reach, i think.
Seeing as you can buy the full legacy deck for something less than 2x Bazaar would cost you (possibly less than 1x Bazaar, depending on what kind of deals you can find), I'm not sure that's entirely a fair point. A playset of Bazaar is a big expense. Certainly possible depending on finances, but that's a lot of money into a format that frequently doesn't get played. Vintage is a neat format and a very stable format, but the availability issues with its staple cards don't make it a great choice for someone looking to play regularly without significant proxy allowances or a very particular group. Even legacy is a toss up in a lot of areas.
I agree completely that eternal/non-rotating formats are where you want to be long term. More upfront expense, but the maintenance costs on decks are much lower than keeping up with a standard rotation as long as you don't mind playing one deck or similar decks long term.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
You can't play standard competitively for cheap, that's ultimatedly the true purpose of NWO design.
On the other hand there are a lot of competitive or semi-competitive Modern and Legacy decks that run mostly on commons and uncommons, most of which are affordable. Full decks under the cost of two years of standard rotations include Burn, Affinity, Tron, Infect, Merfolk and Elves in Modern. Burn, Affinity, Manaless Dredge, Eldrazi, Infect, Goblins and Merfolk in Legacy.
As you may have noticed most of these decks overlap, you can play Burn in Modern AND Legacy for the cost of three Standard decks, Burn is Tier 1 in Modern and perfectly able to win small (3-5 rounds) tournaments in Legacy, and you get to keep playing this deck till you master it without having to spend more money for add-ons in three months and most likely losing all the cards that made it good in six.
There is usually some form of Rx aggro that is reasonably competitive and budget friendly. If you just want to be competitive locally you'd probably do fine just picking up the cards relevant to that deck as needed, just gradually morphing it over time as new cards come in and old cards leave.
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What is the most cost effective avenue to remain competitive in standard for you guys? I like to support my local shop but cannot spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars every new standard set especially for the vast majority of cards that will likely sink in value when they rotate.
My thought process is I will sketch out a deck, color combination each new set around a theme when cards are spoiled. Then I will work on that theme collecting cards for just those colors. Granted, I'd want to focus on dynamic colors that have pre-existing answers similar to a jack of all trades approach... Probably the best avenue to take will be built around fast aggro with efficient removal, as control typically requires more of an investment... Or I could take the approach of when a new set is spoiled build an early cheap, aggro deck to learn the format then work towards a control deck once the format has settled.
What do you do to save $ when a new set comes? Btw, I also like collecting cards which are also used in modern/legacy because they generally will maintain value better.
Btw, this should probably be in the standard board i apologize!
There's also your definition of "competitive", do you want to play at premier-level tournaments, or just get in the prize range of your LGS' FNM? If you chose the first, well, there you have it, bigger prize pools generally mean better decks, which cost more.
Right now, there's a couple of very affordable options in standard: I've been playing Brains In the shore and Mono Blue Prison, which share some cards, and I think I dished out less than 100 bucks for most of the cards, I've Top4'd almost every FNM since SoI launch, and even won 2 back to back. But I know I won't be winning any big events with them.
From what I've seen, aggro is generally best early in the expansion, and, as you pointed out, it's generally cheaper than control, so that might be a viable choice for you.
And, here's the most important factor at least for me: How much fun do you think certain card or deck will bring you? We all know winning is the most fun aspect of any game, so how much are you willing to invest in that? Is the 500 bucks you're about to spend in your tier 1 deck really worth the 6 months of play you'll have with it, or would you rather double up your investment and build a modern deck that will last you a lot longer? Do you want to challenge yourself and build a deck that might not win that much but is an absolute blast to play for less than $125?
There's also the software option, in which you can build and play decks online for free. And if you like certain deck you can then buy it and play it at your LGS or wherever your gatherings happen.
Hope that helped a bit.
Cheers!
Edit: Typos.
Theme decks are rarely competitive.
RGTron
UGInfect
URStorm
WUBRAd Nauseam
BRGrishoalbrand
URGScapeshift
WBGAbzan Company
WUBRGAmulet Titan
BRGLiving End
WGBogles
also vintage. i dont think shop/grixis control/dredge decks in vintage have changed once in the last 2-3 years (the rare restricted announcements that actually affect decks aside).
and yes, you might say oh but they're completely out of my budget and all that, and you'd be right. however, considering the price difference between legacy dredge and vintage dredge is literally the bazaar of baghdad, its sort of definitely within reach, i think.
Legacy - Solidarity - mono U aggro - burn - Imperial Painter - Strawberry Shortcake - Bluuzards - bom
Other than that, you can stick to play RDW or white weenie, almost always there is a aggro red deck somewhat competitive and cheap. If you want to play something control/reactive you have to spend $.
I agree completely that eternal/non-rotating formats are where you want to be long term. More upfront expense, but the maintenance costs on decks are much lower than keeping up with a standard rotation as long as you don't mind playing one deck or similar decks long term.
So, yeah, don't play standard, or become really good in draft so you can go infinite
On the other hand there are a lot of competitive or semi-competitive Modern and Legacy decks that run mostly on commons and uncommons, most of which are affordable. Full decks under the cost of two years of standard rotations include Burn, Affinity, Tron, Infect, Merfolk and Elves in Modern. Burn, Affinity, Manaless Dredge, Eldrazi, Infect, Goblins and Merfolk in Legacy.
As you may have noticed most of these decks overlap, you can play Burn in Modern AND Legacy for the cost of three Standard decks, Burn is Tier 1 in Modern and perfectly able to win small (3-5 rounds) tournaments in Legacy, and you get to keep playing this deck till you master it without having to spend more money for add-ons in three months and most likely losing all the cards that made it good in six.