Limited Beginner Course Collection: First Game
"Shivan Invaders vs. Serra's Defenders"
Meant to be played against the companion deck found here.
I play almost exclusively Limited, and I find that the current resources available for teaching new players Limited is lacking. While draft is by far my favorite format, there can be a tall barrier to entry because:
- New players need to learn the basics about playing the game in general
- New players need to learn how to assemble an effective deck
- New players need to learn how to draft effectively to build a good deck
- New players need to learn the set nuances, set-specific mechanics, the archetypes, etc.
While I play a lot of Arena, and there are beginner tutorials, I feel that these are insufficient to go beyond the bare-bones gameplay. I also don't find it particularly fun to tell people "go play Arena and come find me when you're ready". While I am a believer in learning by doing, and that the best way to learn how to draft is to do it, I think there are ways that experienced players can make that easier for their friends who don't know if they want to invest the time and money into really immersing themselves in the game.
With this in mind I created a "course collection" for beginner players, and ideally they would have a more experienced player assembling these decks and playing with them. This course collection has been created with phases in mind, so that once each set of decks is mastered the new players then level up to the next collection.
These were assembled to intuitively teach the game, be challenging without being overwhelming, consider flavor which is a big draw of the game, and be balanced so that games tend to be closer and more exciting. Plus they are super cheap to assemble.
I drew from inspiration the following resources:
- Mark Rosewater's "Drive to Work" #287 and #415 on New Players and Teaching
- Gavin Verhey's "How to Teach Magic" WOC article
- Brian DeMars' "Limited Constructed" format article on Channel Fireball
This pair of mono-white vs. mono-red decks (Serra's Defenders vs. Shivan Invaders) is meant to be the very first game. These decks only feature basic lands, creatures, instants, and sorceries. Each deck has two basic rares and two uncommons. The decks are constructed with mostly square-stats creatures, some vanilla creatures or basic ETB effects, and foundational evergreen keywords (flying, vigilance, and haste). These keywords show the importance of evasion, and vigilance and haste helps enforce the idea of tapping to attack and summoning sickness as the exceptions to what you taught them at the start of the game with how the creatures function.
I included Divine Judgment and Banefire as potential catch-up last hope top decks so that even if a player is down, there is still a (even if slim) chance of triumphing, which is more exciting.
I would also recommend finding versions of the cards that have the keyword explainer text on the cards themselves. I've included those in the lists.
