Tips for beginning to play Magic the Gathering?

Question

I recently discovered the card game Magic: the Gathering and i'm not sure how to start out considering i want to start playing. any tips?

after some research i've decided i want to make a black/blue deck for that one-two punch (block enemy spells/destroy resistances). how should i start making this deck? i'm under the assumption that there are easier ways to begin making a deck than buying a whole bunch of booster packs. any suggestions on how i should start out?

all help is appreciated :)

Answer 1

Hello

seeing as you are just starting to play Magic

you should stay away from the black/blue

that is the hardest combination to master

you will find yourself losing a lot to people with solid decks

if i were you i would choose either black or blue and start there so you can get a feel for mana draws and playing spells

then work your way up to a  black/blue

but that is just my opinion if you already have your heart set there go for it

now as to starting a deck just go to your local comic book store they should have MtG cards

and look at all the decks they have there that are the color of your choice

then buy 2 or 3 and take the best of each deck and combine them together

if you make sure all the cards play well together you should do pretty good

then as you progress in the game play around with different blue and black decks

then if find yourself comfortable with both then combine them

you will notice the draw backs of having split mana

but yeah thats about it

after that you will wanna buy individual cards and all that it is a lot of fun to get into and i wish you the best of luck

Answer 2

First thing's first: Welcome to Magic!

A tournament pack or two is usually a good way to start out since it gives you land needed to make a deck.  Fat Packs work out rather well, too.  You could also buy theme decks to start off with as well and mix what cards you like from them into your Fat Pack Collective.

You can start the deck off by going with common cards that work for your theme.  Counterspell is a really good common as is Cancel and Rewind for keeping dangerous spells at bay, whereas Terror and Dark Banishing are great ways to keep creature numbers in check.  Black has some life gain as well, so you could maybe try running a few Consume Spirit or Corrupt.

Other than that, I don't really know what to recommend.  Once again, it's good to have another player in the game and I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 3

Are you starting off playing Magic with UB Control? It won’t be the most effective way to start off, because playing control takes a lot of thinking and time. Perhaps you are just like me – I started off with UW control, and I did okay for a while, until I discovered combo.

If you don’t have a big card pool, I suggest you start off by buying two UB theme decks – the one from Future Sight looks interesting. Then, you need to start to aggressively buy boosters, or buy the cards off dealers, in order to make your deck better. The first thing that you should do when you reach a dealer is to buy your set of Rune Snags. Rune Snag is a common counterspell from the Coldsnap set. It costs 1U and it counters a spell unless your opponent plays 2 plus an additional 2 for each Rune Snag in all graveyards – It is the best counterspell in standard right now, and it occupies four slots in every control deck, regardless of color. The next thing you need is Cryptic Command – this rare spell costs a bundle and is quite hard to get out of packs (or so my nearly empty bank account says) but it is worth the effort. It can counter a spell, bounce a permanent, draw a card, and tap all opponent’s creatures, all in one card – it is so versatile that it should be in every blue deck.

In addition, you need your sweep effects in the form of Damnation. Four damnation will cost you around $60, but being able to play a black Wrath of God is a powerful ability to have.  You also want terrors.

Personally, I believe that you should start off Magic by playing something simple, like RG Aggro, but ultimately, it is your choice and your choice alone.

Hope this helped!

Answer 4

ok kid... dont start this, i know people who play this and its so stupid. It will ruin your life and waste your money. if you play this you will become a massive loser dont do it.