Cheap deck?
Deck Help forum
Posted on March 8, 2011, 6:57 p.m. by whiplashz
I wanted to get a new deck going and my plan was to go to the shop and simply buy all the singles needed for the deck. My Price range is 60 bucks?
MagnorCriol says... #3
Actually, an interesting thing they're doing right now is "Event Decks," of which they have two. Both are surprisingly effective for preassembled decks.
Event deck decklists (and some product pushing)
The Infect one comes with multiple copies of strong cards like Phyrexian Vatmother , Corrupted Conscience and a removal suite.
The Mirran side is even stronger, boasting multiple Goblin Guide s, Goblin Bushwhacker s, Signal Pest s, and Goblin Wardriver s. It's actually quite close to the superaggro Kuldotha Red decks running around out there.
At my game shop, we were having a tournament whose prize was a qualify for the upcoming GP Dallas. A regular bought the Mirran deck right there and played it unchanged - it actually did very well, just shy of Top 8 I believe.
Both of these decks are pretty strong on their own, and would require little singles-buying on your part to make them truly shine.
Further, since they can actually stand on their own, you can play with them as-is and get a feel for what you want to buy before having to shell out for more.
The biggest thing that separates them from the pro decks is the mana base, and for anything but top-level circles that's not such a critical detail.
March 9, 2011 10:57 a.m.
White weenie quest I'd say is a great option for something that is competitive and cheap.
March 9, 2011 11:13 a.m.
I guess caw-go might be a little out of your price range. Try searching Quest WW either here or on google. There are literally hundreds of different quest decks that are very competitive at friday night magic and can be built for around $60. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the pre-made "event decks" I can't believe that someone would actually recommend those decks (MagnorCriol). They are a complete marketing scheme and are about $300 dollars away from being anywhere near their fully functioning pro counterparts. don't waste your money.
March 9, 2011 4:12 p.m.
MagnorCriol says... #7
No, rexzimus, they're actually quite close to competitive level.
The Intro Decks are a waste of cash as far as competitive decks go. But the Event Decks, which is something they have done only for Besieged so far, are something very different.
The Mirran event deck, like I said, placed quite highly at a very competitive, 30-ish person tournament here in Austin. This was not a throwaway tournament but a GP qualifier, and thus attracted players seeking to compete in high-level sanctioned tournament play.
Unaltered, the Mirran event deck placed just under Top 8, if I recall correctly.
The Mirran deck contains 2x Goblin Guides (~$10), 4x Signal Pests (~1.15ish, not bad for an uncommon), 4x Goblin Bushwackers, 4x Goblin Wardrivers, and even a Contested War Zone (~$5-$7). There's a lot of extra chaff that would separate it from a true Kuldotha Red, but almost all of that extra chaff is at least pointed in the right direction.
The biggest way it differs from a true pro deck is in the mana base - it doesn't have all the fetchlands, for instance. It also has some extra creatures and spells, but they're all at least in the vein of what the deck's trying to accomplish (as opposed to intro decks, who often include superfluous cards to show them off).
Plus, the element of getting a deck and tweaking it, learning what you need to lose and what you want to get as you go, is one of the most holistically thorough ways to learn MtG nuances.
For around ~$20 - 25 dollars, you get yourself a deck that performs well if not perfectly up to pro-speeds, assuming you aren't picking this up to go try and play at a Pro Tour or GP right away. It allows you to get the feel of it and learn what you want to spend your money on first. It contains multiple copies of tournament-level rares. It's a solid deck.
No, they're not going to sell pro decks straight out of the box. That would murder the entire game on a number of different levels. But the event decks, or at least the Mirran one, is a legitimately solid deck, especially for a player without a lot of money to spend. $25 dollars is much less than $60.
I'm not saying that it's going to win you the tournament itself when you buy it. I'm not saying that it's stronger than decks people have carefully and thoughtfully assembled from time spent researching and playtesting. I AM saying that it's a very reasonable starting point that gets you headed down that path for a very reasonable price.
March 9, 2011 5:18 p.m.
MagnorCriol says... #8
Mm, almost forgot that the Mirran event deck contains 4x Memnite, which is a $2.50 card.
An interesting test: entering the event deck straight into T/O for price comparisons.
deck:event-deck-into-the-breach. T/O estimates it at $59. You can buy it for $20-$25.
deck:kuldotha-red-peter-brozek Played at Pro Tour Paris; I uploaded it to study. T/O estimates it at $162.
deck:quest-ww-frank-karsten Also played at Paris. T/O estimates it at $156.
To convert between the event deck and the Kuldotha Red proper, it's actually not going to be that expensive. Minus the Mox Opal s, which run about $20 apiece and can be easily substituted with more budget-friendly alternatives, T/O estimates the price of all the cards you'd need to buy to turn Into the Breach into Brozek's Kuldotha Red to be about $50.
March 9, 2011 5:46 p.m.
wow okay guys thanks for all the great tips! I may go and get this "mirran" event deck since it simply seems really strong ( what do i know i started playing like a month ago lol). But the white weenie quest thing sounds pree cool too so i think i will check out both options and see what i can afford and what i would find fun to play.
Thanks for all the help, for a noobie like me appreciate it
PS. i also heard that a green white deck is also very cheap but strong so if anyone has any kind of deck list that runs under 100 bucks please post them so i can check em out ty again!
mafteechr says... #2
You can make a variety of decks for under $60. Consider a Pyromancer Ascension deck.
March 9, 2011 9:38 a.m.