I know some people that get together to play EDH on Thursdays at my local shop, and watching them has gotten me REALLY interested in the format.
I was invited to stop by, but immediately expressed my concern about having these guys who have some old-school, ridiculously powerful cards hit the table between rounds at FNM, and he said that on Thursdays, they try to go more casual if they see a new face, or if they decide to try something less competitive and more "random."
Even still, these are the guys taking the wins every Friday Night Magic, and have quite an amazing collection. I would like to get in on the EDH action, but even compared to their 'casual', I either don't have the cards to back up a general, or the general to back up the cards.
Frankly, I've never played EDH, and my friends and I never got bored of regular Magic to try anything new. I see EDH as kind of a branch off of Vintage or Legacy, where, it's going to take awhile to acquire the cards needed to be competitive and have powerful decks.
I was always interested in a Suicide Black deck for casual and would like making one in EDH format, but what generals could work for that formula?
Or Even Mono-Blue control has always been "[Oceanos']" thing in our playgroup.
Any tips/ideas? Don't have much for Blue OR Black legends, or at least any that go with my themes...
EDH is not as fast or vicious as constructed, and soaks up cards that are normally jank rares or borderline playable, but still generate awesomely powerful effects. Hardcasted Decree of Pains and Blatant Thievery are both amazingly good EDH cards.
Since EDH 'staples' are so different from constructed staples, dropping 20 bucks on an EDH deck can easily get you 1/5 of the deck or more. Decree of Pain, Journeyer's Kite, Mind's Eye, Rhystic Study, and Return to Dust are all amazingly good EDH cards, and won't break the bank if you want to shell out for them. There's a primer on EDH staples on these forums, as well as on WotC forums at this address: http://forums.gleemax.com/forumdisplay.php?f=906 .
Hmm, thanks! I currently have a Mind's Eye and Rhystic Study. I'll check out the primer now and see what it leaves me at.
EDIT: Awesome dude, thanks for the link. The Staples and "How2EDH" guide are both interesting and helped a lot. The only bad thing is I am still trying to figure out what I want to do for a general (-.-')
Still deciding on Blue or Black, since I am a huge fan of mono-colored decks. IDK, the recent "MULTICOLOR!!1!" everything has gotten to me, and I really want to play with a mono-colored deck.
Having recently getting into EDH myself I really find it cheaper then standard really. Even more so if you are playing in a casual group. Most of the better rares that are allstars in EDH you can pick up in the 1$ and under. Either way welcome to a really fun format hope you enjoy it.
I plan on having fun, new thing to do Thursdays once school starts up again, with the girlfriend going across the state and all, it'll be fun.
I noticed a huge BANNED next to a Gifts Ungiven in an earlier post, but it's ok, I'm done crying.
Looking up Blue/Black Legends, cause seeing all the cards I loved playing in casual:
--"Annnnnd, bryce takes 12 mana-burn cause he forgot to pop Altar of Shadows...again."
and
--"How about them apples? Eh?"--"In response, I play counterspell. Applesause, b****!"
Overall, i think, making me a better palyer for coming up with a deck that works with only one of each card!
353+ deck lists for almost any realistically half decent General. I'd recommend starting there. It's an incredibly fun format and not as expensive as you might think to get into. Granted, many of the powerful cards in constructed formats are powerful cards in EDH, but the comprise a maximum of 1 slot in your 100 card deck. So your "woes" about not having powerful cards aren't felt nearly as much.
And as was already said, EDH turns junk rares into powerhouses.
I plan on having fun, new thing to do Thursdays once school starts up again, with the girlfriend going across the state and all, it'll be fun.
I noticed a huge BANNED next to a Gifts Ungiven in an earlier post, but it's ok, I'm done crying.
Looking up Blue/Black Legends, cause seeing all the cards I loved playing in casual:
--"Annnnnd, bryce takes 12 mana-burn cause he forgot to pop Altar of Shadows...again."
and
--"How about them apples? Eh?"--"In response, I play counterspell. Applesause, b****!"
Overall, i think, making me a better palyer for coming up with a deck that works with only one of each card!
Mono-blue permission is a strong strategy in EDH, and works with almost any general. Azami is probably the best, but there are lots of others who are good too.
Suicide Black is hard to make work. Aggro in general tends to be weak in EDH, and mono-black aggro is going to have a really hard time beating throujgh the recursion, artifacts, and enchantments that are sure to show up. Games tend to go too long for classic aggro decks to work.
If you're sold on mono-black, Maga, Traitor to Mortals makes for a nice MBC. I think that Iname, Death Aspect may actually be the best black general, and can play combo, aggro, and control all at once. You play the best 9 or so black spirits (make sure to have Spirit of the Night, and the Kuro, Pitlord/Horobi, Death's Wail machine gun), and all the Living Death type effects to amass an instant army. Don't go for Mortal Combat, like all the other lists on this forum do...you have to run 22 or so spirits, and it dilutes your deck with bad cards. Iname is one of my favorite decks right now, and it's very competive and fun to play. Might be good for you. It requires a lot of specific cards to work, but very few of them cost more than a dollar or two.
Is this geared toward multiplayer or duels? That will drastically alter which generals are useful. Also knowing the nature of the group you intend to play with would help, what are some of the generals you commonly see being used at your shop?
This will be geared more towards Multiplayer, as it has always been what I've played in Casual, and frankly I find it the most interesting, if only for the vast amount of diplomacy and timing.
I think I'll either try U/B or Mono-U, and yes, I realize aggro isn't the best strategy, but I was thinking a sort of combo deck with a suicide theme would be cool. Who knows?
I was invited to stop by, but immediately expressed my concern about having these guys who have some old-school, ridiculously powerful cards hit the table between rounds at FNM, and he said that on Thursdays, they try to go more casual if they see a new face, or if they decide to try something less competitive and more "random."
Even still, these are the guys taking the wins every Friday Night Magic, and have quite an amazing collection. I would like to get in on the EDH action, but even compared to their 'casual', I either don't have the cards to back up a general, or the general to back up the cards.
Frankly, I've never played EDH, and my friends and I never got bored of regular Magic to try anything new. I see EDH as kind of a branch off of Vintage or Legacy, where, it's going to take awhile to acquire the cards needed to be competitive and have powerful decks.
I was always interested in a Suicide Black deck for casual and would like making one in EDH format, but what generals could work for that formula?
Or Even Mono-Blue control has always been "[Oceanos']" thing in our playgroup.
Any tips/ideas? Don't have much for Blue OR Black legends, or at least any that go with my themes...
EDIT: Currently have a 60-card Highlander deck I made for fun awhile back, using a combo with Junktroller (or Reito Lantern), Leveler, and Platinum Angel. Other cards that make the deck work: Fabricate, Trash for Treasure, Mindslaver, Blinkmoth Urn, and Gifts Ungiven.
Since EDH 'staples' are so different from constructed staples, dropping 20 bucks on an EDH deck can easily get you 1/5 of the deck or more. Decree of Pain, Journeyer's Kite, Mind's Eye, Rhystic Study, and Return to Dust are all amazingly good EDH cards, and won't break the bank if you want to shell out for them. There's a primer on EDH staples on these forums, as well as on WotC forums at this address: http://forums.gleemax.com/forumdisplay.php?f=906 .
EDIT: Awesome dude, thanks for the link. The Staples and "How2EDH" guide are both interesting and helped a lot. The only bad thing is I am still trying to figure out what I want to do for a general (-.-')
Still deciding on Blue or Black, since I am a huge fan of mono-colored decks. IDK, the recent "MULTICOLOR!!1!" everything has gotten to me, and I really want to play with a mono-colored deck.
I noticed a huge BANNED next to a Gifts Ungiven in an earlier post, but it's ok, I'm done crying.
Looking up Blue/Black Legends, cause seeing all the cards I loved playing in casual:
--"Annnnnd, bryce takes 12 mana-burn cause he forgot to pop Altar of Shadows...again."
and
--"How about them apples? Eh?"--"In response, I play counterspell. Applesause, b****!"
Overall, i think, making me a better palyer for coming up with a deck that works with only one of each card!
353+ deck lists for almost any realistically half decent General. I'd recommend starting there. It's an incredibly fun format and not as expensive as you might think to get into. Granted, many of the powerful cards in constructed formats are powerful cards in EDH, but the comprise a maximum of 1 slot in your 100 card deck. So your "woes" about not having powerful cards aren't felt nearly as much.
And as was already said, EDH turns junk rares into powerhouses.
Mana Burn is dead
For BU Generals try:
~RW Soldiers / RW Aggro (with a side of Giants) [T2]~
Suicide Black is hard to make work. Aggro in general tends to be weak in EDH, and mono-black aggro is going to have a really hard time beating throujgh the recursion, artifacts, and enchantments that are sure to show up. Games tend to go too long for classic aggro decks to work.
If you're sold on mono-black, Maga, Traitor to Mortals makes for a nice MBC. I think that Iname, Death Aspect may actually be the best black general, and can play combo, aggro, and control all at once. You play the best 9 or so black spirits (make sure to have Spirit of the Night, and the Kuro, Pitlord/Horobi, Death's Wail machine gun), and all the Living Death type effects to amass an instant army. Don't go for Mortal Combat, like all the other lists on this forum do...you have to run 22 or so spirits, and it dilutes your deck with bad cards. Iname is one of my favorite decks right now, and it's very competive and fun to play. Might be good for you. It requires a lot of specific cards to work, but very few of them cost more than a dollar or two.
I think I'll either try U/B or Mono-U, and yes, I realize aggro isn't the best strategy, but I was thinking a sort of combo deck with a suicide theme would be cool. Who knows?
Thanks a lot for the ideas/insight!