I've been interested in magic for a long time and I finally am taking the plunge. However, in my area modern seems to be the most played format. I want to get started as quickly as possible so I can play some games at fnm. I've been watching a ton of videos on magic and I've identified some mechanics/deck types I like. I watched a mana source video on a cheap vizkopa guild mage deck. It seemed very appealing to me. However, I am worried that it would not do well at fnm/leaves little room for upgrades/tinkering. I know that mono-red burn is a recommendation for those starting cheap because it leaves room for upgrades and is pretty competitive, yet it doesn't quite appeal to me. I have read a couple posts on this forum that just recommend buying into a 400-500 dollar deck right away, yet this seems excessive just to get some games in at fnm. Am I wrong? Could I buy a budget version of one of these decks and upgrade it over time?
Sorry for the rambling but I just wanted some more information before making a purchase.
P.S. I didn't really know where to post this so I put it in the modern general section because I couldn't find a modern beginners section.
I've been interested in magic for a long time and I finally am taking the plunge. However, in my area modern seems to be the most played format. I want to get started as quickly as possible so I can play some games at fnm. I've been watching a ton of videos on magic and I've identified some mechanics/deck types I like. I watched a mana source video on a cheap vizkopa guild mage deck. It seemed very appealing to me. However, I am worried that it would not do well at fnm/leaves little room for upgrades/tinkering. I know that mono-red burn is a recommendation for those starting cheap because it leaves room for upgrades and is pretty competitive, yet it doesn't quite appeal to me. I have read a couple posts on this forum that just recommend buying into a 400-500 dollar deck right away, yet this seems excessive just to get some games in at fnm. Am I wrong? Could I buy a budget version of one of these decks and upgrade it over time?
Sorry for the rambling but I just wanted some more information before making a purchase.
P.S. I didn't really know where to post this so I put it in the modern general section because I couldn't find a modern beginners section.
Modern is not a forgiving format. The card pool/decks are so powerful that youre gonna find yourself on the losing end if you arent on par with the field. Furthermore, the decks are expensive. Some decks spend nearly $500 on 4 cards (Liliana of the Veil for example).
I really like decks that use your life total as a resource and manipulate that your life total/ your opponents for your advantage. I like the colors white and black for this reason. Yet there doesn't seem to be a deck for this that is also competitive. I have heard that modern is unforgiving but it is what is played mostly in my area. I also like the idea of decks like illusions, merfolk, or vampires or other tribal decks with lots of lords.
There are a bunch of variables here, but hopefully this helps:
1. How competitive is your LGS? If you're playing against a bunch of people grinding for GPs or PTQs then you're going to be playing against very tuned decks against very experienced pilots. Figure out your environment and what you want from it (I want to win sometimes, I want to win all the time, I just want good close games, I want to learn as much as possible as fast as possible, etc.)
2. There are quite a few budget options for a variety of play types. Mono green belcher is a price friendly combo deck that goes off t3-4. Mono red 8 whack is a budget aggro deck with good results. Mono green elves is sub $100 that can be a good middle ground of the two.
3. Identify a play pattern you enjoy and back into a deck. For example, I knew I liked green decks and I wanted to eventually play pod. I start d with mono green elves, and the pod was banned and I picked up a few pieces here and there and worked on filling out the mana base over time. Many of the creatures, like kitchen finks, were fine sideboard cards for elves. I kept up with standard and was able to move into GW company or devoted druid for cheap because I had the mana and engine cards already. Just build it out, pay attention to prices, and keep a list. Grow it over time.
4. Learn the format. Even if you don't own a deck, proxy it up and playtest it for a few reps. Just one deck a week. Learn how it works and with a year with just one deck a week you'll learn 1) what that deck is trying to do, 2) how you can stop it from winning in your colors, and 3) how they plan on stopping you. The format is big, but manageable. Just not overnight.
well then if you want to play something "not quite the norm but in your wheelhouse and can win games", check out the Modern Zombies thread. It checks off the colors black and white, can manipulate life total, and is tribal. Gravecrawler + Blasting Station + Wayward Servant can do messed up things
That seems to make sense. My LGS has a couple people playing t1 decks and the rest are mostly just playing for fun. This is just from what I've gathered as I haven't been able to play a game there yet. I mostly just want a deck that I can play with and is upgradeable as I currently don't have a deck to play magic with.
That seems to make sense. My LGS has a couple people playing t1 decks and the rest are mostly just playing for fun. This is just from what I've gathered as I haven't been able to play a game there yet. I mostly just want a deck that I can play with and is upgradeable as I currently don't have a deck to play magic with.
understood....but in a format where you could spend $1000+ on a deck, id hate to see someone spend more upfront only to spend more on the back end upgrading. I suspect thats why those ppl told you just to spend the $500 to build a "ready to go" deck
I forgot to mention one deck I really like the look of which is u/r storm. I know it ends up running 250-300 dollars fully built but I heard it can be played for fairly cheap initially and upgraded as I go along. Maybe should I just pick a deck I like build a budget version of it then just gradually buy staples until I have a legitimate t1-t1.5 deck?
I forgot to mention one deck I really like the look of which is u/r storm. I know it ends up running 250-300 dollars fully built but I heard it can be played for fairly cheap initially and upgraded as I go along. Maybe should I just pick a deck I like build a budget version of it then just gradually buy staples until I have a legitimate t1-t1.5 deck?
storm is cheap to build, but its a combo deck and depending on your level of skill (dont know how long youve been playing) it may not be the deck to start off with.
At the end of the day, if you want to start with a budget version of something, its your call. Its just not something I would do. If im gonna make an investment in something, im gonna make it up front and save myself the extra $
You could always go through the Budget Magic decks on mtgGoldfish for Modern. See if there are any that look fun to you; I'd suggest reviewing their win loss record, and seeing if any of them can then upgrade into something else better over time before diving in.
Thanks. I found a storm deck that looks fun. I like the idea of combo decks. It is basically the deck minus the scalding tarns so I'll just get it and build the mana base as I go along while adjusting the decklist to make it my own/attune it to the meta. I just need a deck to play around with at my lgs right now and 150 dollars seems to be a fair price to be able to do that.
If I were a combo-inclined player, that's the deck I'd start with in your shoes.
If I were more of an interactive player, I'd save a few pennies and built some version of mono white Death and Taxes.
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EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Thanks. I found a storm deck that looks fun. I like the idea of combo decks. It is basically the deck minus the scalding tarns so I'll just get it and build the mana base as I go along while adjusting the decklist to make it my own/attune it to the meta. I just need a deck to play around with at my lgs right now and 150 dollars seems to be a fair price to be able to do that.
Greetings!
If you're looking at Storm, I'd take an eyeball at the Storm decks on mtgtop8.com if you haven't. I only mentioned it since I saw Scalding Tarn in your message and it's an extremely expensive card that's been dropped entirely from the version of the deck most of us who play Storm regularly use. Which would be a big help for your budget considerations.
Whatever you do I'd recommend you play an established deck that has been around for a few years. Don't go for a Saffronolive deck of the day. They tend not to be very good over the long term and are more gimmicky. There are some good budget decks out there.
You could probably pick a higher end deck and just don't get the most expensive lands. (usually they are like 1/2 the deck cost anyway) if you like the deck just upgrade the lands over time.
I really like decks that use your life total as a resource and manipulate that your life total/ your opponents for your advantage. I like the colors white and black for this reason. Yet there doesn't seem to be a deck for this that is also competitive. I have heard that modern is unforgiving but it is what is played mostly in my area. I also like the idea of decks like illusions, merfolk, or vampires or other tribal decks with lots of lords.
What you are describing here sounds very much like a death's shadow deck.
It's a top tier deck, and there are decent budget alternatives for most of the cards. The cheaper version to 'budgetize' is probably the jund variant (green, black, red). It's possible that even with budget options this is still too much of an initial outlay in terms of cost. You'll have to have a look.
If that's the case and you're into those tribal decks and Lords, then elves and merfolk are both quite cheap decks if you skimp on a land or two. Both are competitive and widely respected in the format.
Good luck! Modern is great and there's plenty of budget decks out there which are competitive and enjoyable at an FNM level.
Storm is great deck and can be started budgetish
Merfolk is also good but currently fell out of top tables
Death Shadow hurts itself to play the game
Soul Sisters/Proclamation Control use lifegain to win
Burn, Goblins, 8 Rack are great budget decks and can be upgraded
Green Stompy is great budget deck but cant be upgraided much
Almost any deck can be started as budget (well except those that cost 1000-2000 when fully assembled)
I ended up going with a w/b aristocrat sacrifice deck. It has some fun life drain mechanics with the blood artists and zulaport cutthroats and is just generally a fun deck. The best part was that it could be had for cheap and looked to be fairly upgradeable/adaptive to how you wanted to play it. My friend is also lending me his wizard tribal prowess deck, and his vizkopa guildmage-sanguine bond decks that he doesn't use very much anymore. He said if I liked either one of them I could keep them.
What you are describing here sounds very much like a death's shadow deck.
It's a top tier deck, and there are decent budget alternatives for most of the cards. The cheaper version to 'budgetize' is probably the jund variant (green, black, red).
Jund Shadow can't be played without fetches, shocks, Thoughtseizes and Goyfs. Most versions play 1-2 copies of Liliana of the Veil. How is budgetizing that a realistic option at all?
I've been interested in magic for a long time and I finally am taking the plunge. However, in my area modern seems to be the most played format. I want to get started as quickly as possible so I can play some games at fnm. I've been watching a ton of videos on magic and I've identified some mechanics/deck types I like. I watched a mana source video on a cheap vizkopa guild mage deck. It seemed very appealing to me. However, I am worried that it would not do well at fnm/leaves little room for upgrades/tinkering. I know that mono-red burn is a recommendation for those starting cheap because it leaves room for upgrades and is pretty competitive, yet it doesn't quite appeal to me. I have read a couple posts on this forum that just recommend buying into a 400-500 dollar deck right away, yet this seems excessive just to get some games in at fnm. Am I wrong? Could I buy a budget version of one of these decks and upgrade it over time?
Sorry for the rambling but I just wanted some more information before making a purchase.
P.S. I didn't really know where to post this so I put it in the modern general section because I couldn't find a modern beginners section.
What kind of decks do you like/want to play?
1. How competitive is your LGS? If you're playing against a bunch of people grinding for GPs or PTQs then you're going to be playing against very tuned decks against very experienced pilots. Figure out your environment and what you want from it (I want to win sometimes, I want to win all the time, I just want good close games, I want to learn as much as possible as fast as possible, etc.)
2. There are quite a few budget options for a variety of play types. Mono green belcher is a price friendly combo deck that goes off t3-4. Mono red 8 whack is a budget aggro deck with good results. Mono green elves is sub $100 that can be a good middle ground of the two.
3. Identify a play pattern you enjoy and back into a deck. For example, I knew I liked green decks and I wanted to eventually play pod. I start d with mono green elves, and the pod was banned and I picked up a few pieces here and there and worked on filling out the mana base over time. Many of the creatures, like kitchen finks, were fine sideboard cards for elves. I kept up with standard and was able to move into GW company or devoted druid for cheap because I had the mana and engine cards already. Just build it out, pay attention to prices, and keep a list. Grow it over time.
4. Learn the format. Even if you don't own a deck, proxy it up and playtest it for a few reps. Just one deck a week. Learn how it works and with a year with just one deck a week you'll learn 1) what that deck is trying to do, 2) how you can stop it from winning in your colors, and 3) how they plan on stopping you. The format is big, but manageable. Just not overnight.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
At the end of the day, if you want to start with a budget version of something, its your call. Its just not something I would do. If im gonna make an investment in something, im gonna make it up front and save myself the extra $
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/series/budget-magic
Hopefully you find something fun!
If I were more of an interactive player, I'd save a few pennies and built some version of mono white Death and Taxes.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Greetings!
If you're looking at Storm, I'd take an eyeball at the Storm decks on mtgtop8.com if you haven't. I only mentioned it since I saw Scalding Tarn in your message and it's an extremely expensive card that's been dropped entirely from the version of the deck most of us who play Storm regularly use. Which would be a big help for your budget considerations.
Modern: Storm
Legacy: ANT
You could probably pick a higher end deck and just don't get the most expensive lands. (usually they are like 1/2 the deck cost anyway) if you like the deck just upgrade the lands over time.
What you are describing here sounds very much like a death's shadow deck.
It's a top tier deck, and there are decent budget alternatives for most of the cards. The cheaper version to 'budgetize' is probably the jund variant (green, black, red). It's possible that even with budget options this is still too much of an initial outlay in terms of cost. You'll have to have a look.
If that's the case and you're into those tribal decks and Lords, then elves and merfolk are both quite cheap decks if you skimp on a land or two. Both are competitive and widely respected in the format.
Good luck! Modern is great and there's plenty of budget decks out there which are competitive and enjoyable at an FNM level.
Merfolk is also good but currently fell out of top tables
Death Shadow hurts itself to play the game
Soul Sisters/Proclamation Control use lifegain to win
Burn, Goblins, 8 Rack are great budget decks and can be upgraded
Green Stompy is great budget deck but cant be upgraided much
Almost any deck can be started as budget (well except those that cost 1000-2000 when fully assembled)
G Green Stompy
RG Shamans
UB Mill
UG Infect
WUBRG Slivers!
Jund Shadow can't be played without fetches, shocks, Thoughtseizes and Goyfs. Most versions play 1-2 copies of Liliana of the Veil. How is budgetizing that a realistic option at all?
Abzan Traverse / Traverse Shadow / UR Kiki