Author Topic: M:tG Deck Tips?  (Read 53476 times)

Offline SorO_Lost

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7197
  • Banned
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #140 on: September 06, 2014, 05:15:20 PM »
General review on the challenge decks.

What are they?
A block event, the dealer used a special event deck against you (or you just played by your self and reported winning), these decks had no londs and used specialized cards to dictate the deck's behavior. If you manged to beat it you picked up a special event card (woot). Following the novella you could progress through the story in your own card based way.

Deck #1, the Hydra
The hardest deck out of them all. Easy/Normal/Hard modes based on the number of starting heads. The default head is a 0/3 creature you can attack directly as if it were a player. Killing a head awarded a Hero's Reward (typically +2 life per player) and the Hydra draws two cards and if any number of them are another head card it goes into the battlefield immediately.

The Hydra draws one card per turn which is typically another normal or elite head, turn delay (heads are indestructible or you cannot cast spells, lasts one turn), or deal even more damage. Some of these cards are pretty cool, like Torn Between the Heads deals 5 damage but taps two heads so its like those two heads really are too busy trying to tear you apart. At the end of it's turn, it direct deals 1 damage per head (2 per for elites) no matter the player count. You win if at any time the Hydra has no heads in play at the end of the turn (ie wrath of god may not kill it since new heads can be drawn and put on the field).

Honestly it's my second favorite of the three. But all three heavily favor creature based decks which kind of robs the fun. And since none of the creatures actually attack many anti-creature methods such as Propaganda and Fog have no effect.

Deck #2, the Horde
Easy/Hard comes in as the number of turns you take before the Horde deck starts taking it's own turns. It gets 2 cards a turn which typically are haste & always attacking creatures. It has artifacts that allow it to draw more cards, "spells" to give the horde haste and requiring additional blocking, and a nice global wipe that hits all creatures for 3 damage (kill everything the horde has out).

You can't attack the creatures directly but for each point of damage dealt to it's "player" it mills a card. The deck loses when it's milled out. This one does have an official multiplayer rules, it draws 2+(1 per player) and you share life. This is where I got the multiplier adaption for the Hydra from, 1 card per player and shared life total. The deck is pretty easy thanks to having up to three turns before it. I like it because the rest of the casual players I know are built to handle it (ie creature based).

Deck #3, kill the stupid Satyr
Xenagos's deck is almost a boring capstone to the Challenge Decks. Hes a 6/5 Indestructible Creature and you have to kill every single one of his creatures before you're allowed to remove him form the battlefield. Spellside of his deck is more varied, it's the all-arounder really. Sometimes Xena attacks, sometimes his creatures do, nothing really fancy.

Since his creatures don't attack every turn you'll have dead turns where it sits there doing nothing. Maybe it summons a 1/3 creature meh. Easiest of the three and it just lacks a unique feel to it.

Rewards
You get a special Hero Card you can use against the Challenge Decks to make things a little easier. They sit in your Command Zone and you begin play with them. They range in usefulness, like the Hydra's reward is The Slayer (start with +7 life) while Xena gave a Equipment card I think. They are not legal for normal play.

I ordered all the ones I missed and I plan on copying the Vanguard Cards (way to expensive to buy in real) and coming up with my own over the top Vanguard/ELH/Planechase/Hero format with all but the ELH element randomized.

Overall
I'd suggest picking them up, they are only like $10 bucks a deck when I ordered them. Co-Op play is always fun with no butthurts afterwards for losing so overall it's nice to break them out every now then, specially after rebuilding a deck and you want to see how it'll fair against a creature deck (zerg rushing horde ftw!)

Read more about the Hero's Path Event you missed here. Then just order the cards and run your own :p
« Last Edit: September 06, 2014, 07:40:09 PM by SorO_Lost »

Offline SorO_Lost

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7197
  • Banned
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #141 on: September 25, 2014, 06:46:56 PM »
Professionally printing proxies with their normal art is out, printing stickers is horrible, so I went digitized.

HTML/Javascript based, supports Vanguard 1~3 and Theraos' GodSlayer upgrades. I'm wanting to add Planechase support to it but haven't gotten around to it.

Kind of a novice/hobbyist and I hate HTML/JS's error reporting (or lack there of) so the tables move by one pixel depending on selections which is pretty irritating. Anyway, have the code.
(click to show/hide)
For the people that are unsure what the heck that is.
1. Copy and paste the code into notepad (not ms word)
2. Use "save as" and name it MTG.htm, next to "save as type" be sure to select all files, save it to the folder you made.
3. Create two new folders in the same spot, one named Theros and the other Vanguard, capitalization must be identical.
4. Click Here to obtain the vanguard images and save them into the Vanguard folder ensuring names match (you have to capitalize the first letter).
5. You're screwed on Theros.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2015, 11:38:22 AM by SorO_Lost »

Offline Jackinthegreen

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 6176
  • I like green.
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #142 on: April 10, 2015, 08:09:20 PM »
I just bought a prebuilt Commander deck...  This specific one is the red "Built From Scratch" deck that features Daretti, Scrap Savant as its usual commander.  Daretti is also a Planeswalker.

I'm trying to figure out how the deck works and it's just making my head hurt.  I've never played with a Planeswalker before, so I'll have to get used to that on top of the Commander stuff.  Here's the decklist:  http://magic.wizards.com/en/products/card-set-archive/commander-2014/built-from-scratch

And I found this Reddit link discussing it: http://www.reddit.com/r/EDH/comments/2l0l96/official_built_from_scratch_the_red_one_upgrade/

Dang I wish I knew how to combine this artifact stuff with Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer as a Commander instead, if that'd be worthwhile.  Also thinking of the Sun Titan and Urabrask the Hidden somehow working with the deck, or in a different deck.

Offline littha

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2952
  • +1 Holy Muffin
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #143 on: April 15, 2015, 04:03:42 AM »
I just bought a prebuilt Commander deck...  This specific one is the red "Built From Scratch" deck that features Daretti, Scrap Savant as its usual commander.  Daretti is also a Planeswalker.

I'm trying to figure out how the deck works and it's just making my head hurt.  I've never played with a Planeswalker before, so I'll have to get used to that on top of the Commander stuff.  Here's the decklist:  http://magic.wizards.com/en/products/card-set-archive/commander-2014/built-from-scratch

And I found this Reddit link discussing it: http://www.reddit.com/r/EDH/comments/2l0l96/official_built_from_scratch_the_red_one_upgrade/

Dang I wish I knew how to combine this artifact stuff with Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer as a Commander instead, if that'd be worthwhile.  Also thinking of the Sun Titan and Urabrask the Hidden somehow working with the deck, or in a different deck.

Having played against it a couple of times I never got the impression it was that complex. The basic plan is fairly obviously to play out a load of artifacts and then recur them using your plainswalker's abilities. Sacrificing a spellbomb to return a Wurmcoil engine for example.

The deck can also draw a surprising number of cards.

Upgrades wise I would look into Mycosynth Lattice and All is Dust



For a Jor Kadeen deck I would actually advise against using this precon as a base. He plays much better with massed artifact creatures because they can both activate and benefit from his abilities. There are some in that deck but it also has a focus on goblins

Offline SorO_Lost

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7197
  • Banned
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #144 on: June 06, 2015, 12:43:26 PM »
I'm trying to figure out how the deck works and it's just making my head hurt.  I've never played with a Planeswalker before, so I'll have to get used to that on top of the Commander stuff.
In a quick gist. Commander/Elder_highlander is a 100 card deck with no copies with a designated creature serving as it's "commander". And basically the Commander can only sit "nearly-in-your-hand" or on the battlefield no matter what. Spammed usage increases the casting cost by 1 colorless each time after the first.

Overall the format is great for new players that have tons of shitty cards but no duplicates. The games are extremely slow letting you easily play the large casting cards that rarely make it onto the battlefield without help. Overall I dislike it through, fast deck means it's easier to play when time is a factor. And if you want to extend things you can simply have an agreement not to attack or blast each other for a number of rounds. But it's popular so a lot of people disagree with that I suppose.


Planeswalkers are a totally new type, so the typical assumptions with that are there too. It's not a creature, or enchantment, or player, or artificer etc. Anything that targets those cannot target a Planeswalker. They start with a number of "loyalty" counters equal to the value on the lower right of the card and you can activate one ability per turn as a Sorcery with all the known assumptions you would make. Like it doesn't have to tap so there is no "summoning sickness" allowing you to use it on the turn it comes out and can't expend more counters than it has etc. The only real thing to learn is your opponent's creatures can attack it instead of you, you can use your creatures to block as normal and it's counters is also used as it's hit points.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2015, 11:35:53 AM by SorO_Lost »

Offline brujon

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2554
  • Insufferable Fool
    • View Profile
    • My Blog (in PT-BR)
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #145 on: June 06, 2015, 06:37:55 PM »
Really wanting to get into cardboard MTG once again, but man are the costs prohibitive. Sigh...

As someone who doesn't own any cards newer than the first Ravnica block, and in fact only a handful of those, the way i see it, i have basically two options, each of which with its own pros and cons:

1 - Start going to draft events at FNM and slowly build my collection that way, all while buying a few boosters here and there and trading.

Pros:

- I can start playing right off the bat for a relatively low entry cost.
- I'll not only enjoy the gaming, but also the trading aspects of the game.

Cons:

- It'll be a long, long time before i can muster anything close to a competitive deck.
- Before i can get anything resembling a decent deck, i'll end up spending much more than if i just went and bought the cards from a dealer.

2 - R&D my own deck, test it out on Cockatrice and the likes until i'm happy with it, and just take the plunge, spending several hundred dollars in the process.

Pros:

- Enjoying the competitive gaming scene right off the bat is appealing.
- If i manage to do well in competitions, i may be able to recoup the costs of assembling the deck given enough time.

Cons:

- A lot of money upfront that i really shouldn't be spending.
- No guarantee i'll ever get my money's worth (except for the fun of just playing).
- I'll have zero cards to trade, so the only enjoyment i'll get out of the game IS playing it, i'll have no collection to speak of.


Sigh... :\

If anyone has a better idea, shoot, i'm all ears.
"All the pride and pleasure of the world, mirrored in the dull consciousness of a fool, are poor indeed compared with the imagination of Cervantes writing his Don Quixote in a miserable prison" - Schopenhauer, Aphorisms: The Wisdom of Life

Offline JohnnyMayHymn

  • Hero Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 762
  • Former Lord of the Kitchen Sink
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #146 on: June 07, 2015, 07:48:03 AM »
(click to show/hide)
3 - R&D existing budget decks in the format you want to play in, just google 'cheap modern decks' or 'budget standard decks', test those on Cockatrice until you find something you like; and tweak it to your liking, there are even budget commander decks out there!

from here, you can still attend draft events on occasion to build your collection
The Emperor
Can you find the Wumpus?

Offline zook1shoe

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 4930
  • Feeling the Bern
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #147 on: June 13, 2015, 11:39:47 PM »
Hippos!

But seriously, I've had a couple decks that drew people out towards the end of me playing about 5-6 years ago
add me on Steam- zook1shoe
- All Spells
- playground

Offline muktidata

  • Hero Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 695
  • Ephesians 2
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #148 on: June 26, 2015, 04:55:44 PM »
Brujon, there are always fairly inexpensive decks that are playable in both standard and modern. Right now, you don't have to spend over $20 to build a competitive red deck. Mono green Infect can do well in modern.

If you're a good limited player, starting by drafting can be nice. That's how I started when Theros came out. I just made sure I won every draft by drafting and playing tight, and I ended up with a small collection over the course of a few months. My first constructed deck was a silver bullet strategy made purely of cards I owned and was good enough for day two of the first GP I ever played in.
I appreciate the logical, cool-headed responses and the lack of profanity displayed by our community.

Offline SorO_Lost

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7197
  • Banned
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #149 on: June 28, 2015, 04:34:52 PM »
I made a Squirrel deck for summer camp this year.
(click to show/hide)

It's based off Parallel Lives and it's ruling.
If you control two Parallel Lives, then the number of tokens created is four times the original number. If you control three, then the number of tokens created is eight times the original number, and so on.

I'm too cheap to buy all the great cards you'd wish you had (doubling season, nut collector, deranged hermit, etc) but I did find some pretty cheap substitutes to build the deck mostly using Populate-based cards. And then I ordered some Nomads' Assembly, little less theme fitting but holy crap does it have the potential to kick out tens thousands of little 1/1 weenies.

I feel like squirrel girl now.

Offline muktidata

  • Hero Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 695
  • Ephesians 2
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #150 on: June 28, 2015, 05:10:47 PM »
I made a Squirrel deck for summer camp this year.
(click to show/hide)

It's based off Parallel Lives and it's ruling.
If you control two Parallel Lives, then the number of tokens created is four times the original number. If you control three, then the number of tokens created is eight times the original number, and so on.

I'm too cheap to buy all the great cards you'd wish you had (doubling season, nut collector, deranged hermit, etc) but I did find some pretty cheap substitutes to build the deck mostly using Populate-based cards. And then I ordered some Nomads' Assembly, little less theme fitting but holy crap does it have the potential to kick out tens thousands of little 1/1 weenies.

I feel like squirrel girl now.

Needs more Purphoros.. and highlander treatment!  :P
I appreciate the logical, cool-headed responses and the lack of profanity displayed by our community.

Offline SorO_Lost

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7197
  • Banned
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #151 on: June 28, 2015, 10:43:46 PM »
Needs more Purphoros.. and highlander treatment!  :P
fify.

Purphoros is also about eight bucks a card and red in a Green/White deck meaning land has to be changed around too. :(
It's probably more theme fitting to just pick up Coat of Arms which is about the same price. By the time Purphoros would have dealt twenty damage over the course of the game you could be swinging for a couple hundred or more per turn.
(click to show/hide)

Offline brujon

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2554
  • Insufferable Fool
    • View Profile
    • My Blog (in PT-BR)
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #152 on: June 29, 2015, 08:47:08 PM »
Squirrels is a fun, fun deck to play. I remember the first time i played against it, and the guy just flat out said, i attack with a billion squirrels. And i'm like, what? I was 12 and thought this was so awesome. Probably why i fell in love with combos in the first place.
"All the pride and pleasure of the world, mirrored in the dull consciousness of a fool, are poor indeed compared with the imagination of Cervantes writing his Don Quixote in a miserable prison" - Schopenhauer, Aphorisms: The Wisdom of Life

Offline muktidata

  • Hero Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 695
  • Ephesians 2
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #153 on: June 30, 2015, 04:20:02 PM »
I can't wait to play white weenie with Magic Origins.
I appreciate the logical, cool-headed responses and the lack of profanity displayed by our community.

Offline SorO_Lost

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7197
  • Banned
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #154 on: July 18, 2015, 01:19:57 PM »
So I have a new rule set for you all try consider, it's called "The coven".

Five people bring a different monocolor deck to the table and sit per the back of the cards. Exactly like MTG, your allies are to your left and right (ally colors) but your opponents are across from you (enemy colors). Turn order is the annoying star pattern that takes some getting used to and your basic win condition is both your enemies losing with I-wins removed. So you can freely use your allies to win since who kills who doesn't matter and no one can cheat the system by using an alternative win card.

Overall, it's interesting since it really brings in a team dynamic over a standard circle and real life diplomacy over Two-Headed without feeling cheapened like separate bodyguards in Emperor. And artifact decks using none-colored Spells can be used to substitute a color in case you're a little disproportional color wise in your group.

Offline brujon

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2554
  • Insufferable Fool
    • View Profile
    • My Blog (in PT-BR)
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #155 on: July 18, 2015, 02:54:19 PM »
Sounds pretty interesting, if a bit complicated. Should be a lot of fun with the right people!
"All the pride and pleasure of the world, mirrored in the dull consciousness of a fool, are poor indeed compared with the imagination of Cervantes writing his Don Quixote in a miserable prison" - Schopenhauer, Aphorisms: The Wisdom of Life

Offline Amechra

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 4560
  • Thread Necromancy a specialty
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #156 on: September 08, 2015, 02:15:11 PM »
So I have a new rule set for you all try consider, it's called "The coven".

Five people bring a different monocolor deck to the table and sit per the back of the cards. Exactly like MTG, your allies are to your left and right (ally colors) but your opponents are across from you (enemy colors). Turn order is the annoying star pattern that takes some getting used to and your basic win condition is both your enemies losing with I-wins removed. So you can freely use your allies to win since who kills who doesn't matter and no one can cheat the system by using an alternative win card.

Overall, it's interesting since it really brings in a team dynamic over a standard circle and real life diplomacy over Two-Headed without feeling cheapened like separate bodyguards in Emperor. And artifact decks using none-colored Spells can be used to substitute a color in case you're a little disproportional color wise in your group.

That actually sounds really interesting, and it would give my (relatively slow) Blue Mill deck a chance to see play. Which would be good, since I haven't played in literal years.

On a side note, I have a rules question:

I'm theorycrafting a deck right now that I have dubbed Handripper. It does three things:
1. Punishes my opponent for discarding cards (through cards like Liliana's Caress, Geth's Grimoire, and Waste Not.)
2. Punishes my opponent for drawing cards (Chains of Mephistopheles, Underworld Dreams, etc)
3. Forces my opponent to draw cards (Anvil of Bogardan, Dragon Mage, Shocker, Teferi's Puzzle Box, Temple Bell, etc)

Now, this thing is going to end up with nasty combos (Dragon Mage + Chains of Mephistopheles comes to mind. If I make a successful attack with Dragon Mage, discard your hand and draw 7 cards. Instead of drawing those seven cards, pick between the following seven times: A. mill 1, or discard 1, draw 1.)

The issue I'm running into is whether or not you can opt to discard a card from an empty hand when CoM demands it as a cost - the order is very specific (discard 1, and then draw 1). I have looked around, and it seems people think that you can discard cards from an empty hand (which seems kinda odd, but OK, I guess).

Here's the card in question; anyone got any input on this?

(A note: I have, in the past, tended to only play Magic with friends, which means that if I do build this deck, I will probably not throw both Anvil of Bogardan and Chains of Mephistopheles. Because preventing your opponent from top decking is too nasty in a deck focused on nuking the other guy's hand.)
"There is happiness for those who accept their fate, there is glory for those that defy it."

"Now that everyone's so happy, this is probably a good time to tell you I ate your parents."

Offline brujon

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2554
  • Insufferable Fool
    • View Profile
    • My Blog (in PT-BR)
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #157 on: September 08, 2015, 02:42:50 PM »
Quote from: Ruling
6/9/2007    Here's what happens when Chains of Mephistopheles replaces a player's draw: -- If that player has at least one card in his or her hand, he or she discards a card and then draws a card. -- If that player's hand is empty, he or she puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard. The player doesn't draw a card at all.

So if your hand is empty you can't opt to "discard" a card. You don't have cards to discard. Instead, you go to the second effect, that happens when you don't discard a card that way, and you put a card from the top of your library in your graveyard.

That's how i see it.
"All the pride and pleasure of the world, mirrored in the dull consciousness of a fool, are poor indeed compared with the imagination of Cervantes writing his Don Quixote in a miserable prison" - Schopenhauer, Aphorisms: The Wisdom of Life

Offline SorO_Lost

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7197
  • Banned
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #158 on: September 08, 2015, 03:08:22 PM »
Chains of Mephistopheles is kind of complicated, but they published an article on it. Basically CoM is a replacement effect that modifies a card drawing event. That is the craw drawn from CoM's outcome is not a new event but the same one that triggered it, no infinite looping.

If you had two CoMs out and made your opponent draw, they have to discard two cards in order to draw one or mill a single card. This applies for each forced card, so for example
Quote
What would happen if you only had two cards in your had when your opponent targeted you with the Ancestral Recall? For the first draw event you can discard two cards and then get to draw a card. However when you come up to the second draw you can not discard two cards, but you still have to discard the one left in your hand. Because you did not discard twice in this instance, you will not draw at all but will end up milling a card. Finally you deal with the third draw, you can’t even discard one card, but you will still only mill one.
Aka Recall is draw 3, for each of those discard 2 or mill 1. Dragon Mage is pretty much discard hand & mill a few.

Offline Amechra

  • Epic Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 4560
  • Thread Necromancy a specialty
    • View Profile
Re: M:tG Deck Tips?
« Reply #159 on: September 08, 2015, 03:35:42 PM »
I have only one thing to say to that.

 :D

That is all.
"There is happiness for those who accept their fate, there is glory for those that defy it."

"Now that everyone's so happy, this is probably a good time to tell you I ate your parents."