I have recently gotten into magic and have tried out a Golgari deck. However I want to start making an Azorius blue white lockdown and control deck and am unsure of where to start other than ancestral recall and maybe omniscience. Please help with staple cards and the like
I think the first question would be what format is typically played. Depending on the format not all card can be included in a deck, either because they are not part of the format or because they are banned from the format (meaning they are too powerful and were removed from the format).
Ancestral Recall is for example banned in all formats it would be part off except for Vintage, where it is restricted (meaning you can only play one copy of that card). AR is part of the so called power 9 a set of magic card which are very powerful but also very expensive (AR can go for around 2000$).
So to better help you it would be good to know what you and your friends or people in you local gaming store are actually playing.
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Also if I was to make a lockdown and control deck, would I be using more spells than monsters in my decks. Because when I was making Golgari I was putting in too many spells and was wondering if I could run a lot in Azorius
Also if I was to make a lockdown and control deck, would I be using more spells than monsters in my decks. Because when I was making Golgari I was putting in too many spells and was wondering if I could run a lot in Azorius
Also if I was to make a lockdown and control deck, would I be using more spells than monsters in my decks. Because when I was making Golgari I was putting in too many spells and was wondering if I could run a lot in Azorius
You could run entirely creatureless, and find some other way to win.
The beauty of having a creatureless deck is you can spam wrath of god without worrying about losing your creatures. That, and all your opponent's creature kill spells become worthless.
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"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
Isochron Scepter + Orim's Chant (a strictly better silence in formats which allow it) is another reliable staple combo not yet mentioned above.
Now my only Azorius prison deck is my Grand Arbiter Augustin IV commander deck which is very strong and finely tuned but could still use improvement. Unfortunately, decks like these are often an early target for opponents to team up against, and justifiably so. Suffice it to say taxing effects like sphere of resistance, propaganda, and rhystic study are much stronger than they seem to the untrained eye. Attached for reference is my current configuration. Note: There are a few cards I'd like to have in this deck but don't have copies of yet (or enough copies, ie: fetchlands). As such, there are placeholders in the interim. Other proven and potentially good cards are specifically omitted because I like my decks to have unique identities, and I find that when you run the same combos and/or staples in multiple decks which can support them (or "should" include them from Spike's perspective), they no longer feel as distinct and distinguished. This however is simply my opinion, and I'm always open to suggestions and constructive criticisms.
Well that took all of two hours for me to come back for help. I forgot to ask one probably very important question, does anyone have any good ideas of what packs to buy to get these cards, preferably on amazon?
Well that took all of two hours for me to come back for help. I forgot to ask one probably very important question, does anyone have any good ideas of what packs to buy to get these cards, preferably on amazon?
The short answer is you can't, most players would buy singles, maybe ebay or your card seller of choice... The cards are from diverse sets. What you really want to do is use something like the deck builder on this site to goldfish ideas and then just buy 4x of the cards that work for the plan you want.
You’re going to have a bad time if you try to strategically deckbuild from all the cards in the game while buying boosters to get them.
Either commit to building a specific deck and buying singles from a site like tcgplayer or cardkingdom, or commit to playing casually, buy some boosters, and make a deck from what you get.
Trying to mix competitive goals with randomized buying habits is a good way to waste a ton of time and money without achieving your goal.
Since this is a thread asking for deckbuilding advice, without a specified format, I will be moving this to casual Magic. if you have questions about a specific format, please ask for deckbuilding advice in that format's specific thread.
I’m focusing on expanding my card collection. Would you advise buying pre-made decks such as the ones seen on amazon to begin with?
It depends on what cards you want.
If you want Commander cards, then, well, the Commander series precons are pretty good. If you want to play competitively, then there will be a new series of Challenger Decks coming out this year that will give you the foundations of a Standard deck.
You shouldn't buy the Planeswalker Decks to "expand your collection", in fact, the best way to do this is to identify which cards you actually want and then simply buy them individually from places like CardKingdom or from reputable individual sellers on eBay.
Lockdown
Ensnaring Bridge, Ghostly Prison, Norn's Annex, Curse of Exhaustion, Rule of Law, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Damping Sphere
Board Wipe
Wrath of God, Supreme Verdict and Terminus
Enablers
Serum Visions, opt and Wall of Omens
Answers / Stalling
Reflector Mage, Path to Exile, Silence, Holy Day, Ethereal Haze, Spell Queller, Boomerang, Vapor Snag, Mana Leak, Cryptic Command and Logic Knot
Win Conditions
Celestial Colonnade and Geist of Saint Traft
Ancestral Recall is for example banned in all formats it would be part off except for Vintage, where it is restricted (meaning you can only play one copy of that card). AR is part of the so called power 9 a set of magic card which are very powerful but also very expensive (AR can go for around 2000$).
So to better help you it would be good to know what you and your friends or people in you local gaming store are actually playing.
Hands to the sky
Give a round of applause
For the great Miss Y!
You can make a creature-less control deck, but you then need either Planeswalkers (Teferi, Hero of Dominaria / Gideon of the Trials) or Enchantments (Approach of the Second Sun / Near-Death Experience, this might need Angel's Grace) to act as your win condition.
You could run entirely creatureless, and find some other way to win.
For example, milling an opponent (millstone, grindstone), or something that creates creatures (kjedoran outpost. or a land that becomes a creature (mishra's factory), or even make your opponent draw himself to death (howling mine)
The beauty of having a creatureless deck is you can spam wrath of god without worrying about losing your creatures. That, and all your opponent's creature kill spells become worthless.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
Isochron Scepter + Orim's Chant (a strictly better silence in formats which allow it) is another reliable staple combo not yet mentioned above.
Now my only Azorius prison deck is my Grand Arbiter Augustin IV commander deck which is very strong
and finely tunedbut could still use improvement. Unfortunately, decks like these are often an early target for opponents to team up against, and justifiably so. Suffice it to say taxing effects like sphere of resistance, propaganda, and rhystic study are much stronger than they seem to the untrained eye. Attached for reference is my current configuration. Note: There are a few cards I'd like to have in this deck but don't have copies of yet (or enough copies, ie: fetchlands). As such, there are placeholders in the interim. Other proven and potentially good cards are specifically omitted because I like my decks to have unique identities, and I find that when you run the same combos and/or staples in multiple decks which can support them (or "should" include them from Spike's perspective), they no longer feel as distinct and distinguished. This however is simply my opinion, and I'm always open to suggestions and constructive criticisms.I used to be a demigod, but now I'm an omnimage
The short answer is you can't, most players would buy singles, maybe ebay or your card seller of choice... The cards are from diverse sets. What you really want to do is use something like the deck builder on this site to goldfish ideas and then just buy 4x of the cards that work for the plan you want.
Either commit to building a specific deck and buying singles from a site like tcgplayer or cardkingdom, or commit to playing casually, buy some boosters, and make a deck from what you get.
Trying to mix competitive goals with randomized buying habits is a good way to waste a ton of time and money without achieving your goal.
Enchantment
3 Ghostly Prison
3 Propaganda
Land
4 Gold-Forge Garrison
10 Plains
10 Island
Artifact
4 Norn's Annex
Instant
4 Cryptic Command
3 Blink of an Eye
4 Counterspell
3 Revitalize
2 Emergency Powers
3 Absorb
Sorcery
4 Approach of the Second Sun
3 Wrath of God
3 Mass Manipulation
This is a rough draft of an Approach of the Sun creatureless deck. Any constructive criticism. I only spent like an hour fine-tuning it.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
If you want Commander cards, then, well, the Commander series precons are pretty good. If you want to play competitively, then there will be a new series of Challenger Decks coming out this year that will give you the foundations of a Standard deck.
You shouldn't buy the Planeswalker Decks to "expand your collection", in fact, the best way to do this is to identify which cards you actually want and then simply buy them individually from places like CardKingdom or from reputable individual sellers on eBay.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Also, maybe some more early interaction or removal instead of emergency powers might help
Path to Exile
Swords to Plowshares
Guard Duty
Mana leak
Counterspell
Faerie Conclave
Tranquil Cove
BGGRock
Modern
BRGJund
BBGRock