Every time I try to quit playing Magic (for financial reasons, usually), I get one or so years into my boycott and then succumb to an insatiable itch to play this god damn amazing game.
I want to play Magic again. I just have a few questions, as I'm completely out of touch:
- Is this a good time to start getting back into standard? Are there some big rotations coming that would mean it'd make a bit more sense to wait a month before diving back into things?
- Is Standard still the goto format for competitive and FNMs? Has Modern risen to the top in the past year and a half I've been out? Some other format? I feel so out of touch.
- Is Standard still just as expensive? I'm assuming so. Though a little, little part of me has hope that they've been able to tame it at least slightly.
- Have there been any dramatic changes in the past 1.5 years? Anything I should definitely read up on?
Thanks for the advice guys, in advance!
PS: devo that I can't seem to recover my old MTGS account, looks like I'm starting from the bottom again!
If you're interested in getting back into Magic, I feel like this is as good a time as any. We actually just experienced the biggest rotation in a while a fairly short time ago, so the standard card pool isn't too large at the moment (which means it's not too difficult to build up your collection of standard staples). That being said, the "best deck(s)" in the format right now, various "energy" decks, are primarily comprised of some of the oldest cards in the standard card pool, which, of course, means that any investment in an energy deck is going to have a relatively short shelf life.
Regarding your questions about the cost of standard, I actually feel like, currently, standard is at a fairly reasonable place in terms of cost. In fact, I've felt this way for quite a while now, despite some truly miserable standard seasons over the past year or two. While there are certainly still a few high impact cards that command high prices, most of the current competitive decks have a fairly high density of commons and uncommons. Coming at it from a budget-minded perspective (as I often do), this makes it a bit easier to swap out some of those expensive rares and mythics for more wallet friendly options.
TL;DR: If you're seriously considering getting back into Magic, now is as good a time as any. The card pool is small(er), and staples are easy to come by.
Standard is pretty affordable, but the recent rotation hasn't had much of an impact. The format has viable combo, control, aggro and midrange decks that are interesting to play. The worst part of the format, the staleness of the best decks, shouldn't affect you since you haven't been playing.
You can buy in reasonably on whatever type of deck you want to play, but the deck will be gone next October. Here is a page that lists them along with prices (bear in mind that these prices are tcg mid and the cards can usually be mail-ordered for significantly less).
The newest set, Ixalan, hasn't had much impact. It's a tribal set that should get more support with the next set. These cards are mostly quite affordable and will be around for almost two years. So it's a gamble as to whether the newer cards will ever be competitive. You get what you pay for.
One way to thread the needle might be to pick up a budget version of whatever type of deck you prefer and get a feel for the format until Rivals comes out. After Rivals drops, you can see if it is worth getting a better version of an older deck from a more knowledgeable perspective. If you aren't as competitive and want to gamble, you could pick up a tribal Ixalan deck and hope that it becomes relevant. If you predict correctly, some of the cards could even gain in value with the deck becoming viable.
Where I live, modern has thrived relative to standard, but there is plenty of activity either way. Due to assertive reprints, modern has become more affordable over the last year (article here), but is still much more expensive. I recommend you explore your local scene, though. Your mileage will vary.
I often have more than one deck built and am happy to lend at FNM-type events. If you are gregarious enough, you could try showing up at an event and borrowing a deck. There are even standard showdowns that give out free packs to all. You could try calling around to your local store.
Every time I try to quit playing Magic (for financial reasons, usually), I get one or so years into my boycott and then succumb to an insatiable itch to play this god damn amazing game.
I want to play Magic again. I just have a few questions, as I'm completely out of touch:
- Is this a good time to start getting back into standard? Are there some big rotations coming that would mean it'd make a bit more sense to wait a month before diving back into things?
- Is Standard still the goto format for competitive and FNMs? Has Modern risen to the top in the past year and a half I've been out? Some other format? I feel so out of touch.
- Is Standard still just as expensive? I'm assuming so. Though a little, little part of me has hope that they've been able to tame it at least slightly.
- Have there been any dramatic changes in the past 1.5 years? Anything I should definitely read up on?
Thanks for the advice guys, in advance!
PS: devo that I can't seem to recover my old MTGS account, looks like I'm starting from the bottom again!
Regarding your questions about the cost of standard, I actually feel like, currently, standard is at a fairly reasonable place in terms of cost. In fact, I've felt this way for quite a while now, despite some truly miserable standard seasons over the past year or two. While there are certainly still a few high impact cards that command high prices, most of the current competitive decks have a fairly high density of commons and uncommons. Coming at it from a budget-minded perspective (as I often do), this makes it a bit easier to swap out some of those expensive rares and mythics for more wallet friendly options.
TL;DR: If you're seriously considering getting back into Magic, now is as good a time as any. The card pool is small(er), and staples are easy to come by.
You can buy in reasonably on whatever type of deck you want to play, but the deck will be gone next October. Here is a page that lists them along with prices (bear in mind that these prices are tcg mid and the cards can usually be mail-ordered for significantly less).
The newest set, Ixalan, hasn't had much impact. It's a tribal set that should get more support with the next set. These cards are mostly quite affordable and will be around for almost two years. So it's a gamble as to whether the newer cards will ever be competitive. You get what you pay for.
One way to thread the needle might be to pick up a budget version of whatever type of deck you prefer and get a feel for the format until Rivals comes out. After Rivals drops, you can see if it is worth getting a better version of an older deck from a more knowledgeable perspective. If you aren't as competitive and want to gamble, you could pick up a tribal Ixalan deck and hope that it becomes relevant. If you predict correctly, some of the cards could even gain in value with the deck becoming viable.
Where I live, modern has thrived relative to standard, but there is plenty of activity either way. Due to assertive reprints, modern has become more affordable over the last year (article here), but is still much more expensive. I recommend you explore your local scene, though. Your mileage will vary.
I often have more than one deck built and am happy to lend at FNM-type events. If you are gregarious enough, you could try showing up at an event and borrowing a deck. There are even standard showdowns that give out free packs to all. You could try calling around to your local store.
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.