help for an aspiring player?
Deck Help forum
Posted on Nov. 6, 2012, 5:51 p.m. by VampireArmy
hi guys im an aspiring player with a main goal of eventually turning myself from loser to pro ive built a few decks on here and i play lots and losts of 6v6 multiplayer can anyone check out my decks? make a few suggestions, help me see a bigger picture? it would really be appreciated
Holy Jesus I wish I had that many people to play with on a regular basis. Aside from deck help, I'm going to pitch in my two cents. As stated earlier different formats/metas have very different styles. 6v6 is different than 1v1 by a long shot and your Playgroup (Meta) will be different than some others so you'll have to figure out how to become better with those regards in mind.
Other than that, I would suggest reading. Read as much as you can before your eyes give out. Read a lot of cards. Read a lot of articles. Read the forums and articles here. Watch some videos here and there. Take in as much as you can. That's what I did when I first started getting into MTG. That way you have a large knowledge of cards to go from when talking to other people, a good knowledge of rules, what certain elements of the game are and how to work them, etc. For example: when I first started out I thought Remand was horrible. I did some research and then learned the true value of it from that... Remand probably introduced me to Blue to tell you the truth.
TL;DR: do research, talk to people, listen to people, read what people wrote/typed, and be patient.
November 6, 2012 7:34 p.m.
Roborapter says... #4
yeah, when you get more experienced with the game, you will start wanting to play more one on one games. that's exactly how my friends were, we'd just play multiplayer until we got better and starting getting more competitive. it's actually a lot better to play one on one anyway because you learn a lot faster. in a multiplayer game you can just ask other people on what to play but if you're by yourself you have to make descisions on your own which helps you in the end, and you end up having more fun doing so
November 6, 2012 7:35 p.m.
"TL;DR: do research, talk to people, listen to people, read what people wrote/typed, and be patient."
This.
Making an FNM-winning deck will not happen overnight. It takes time to build up enough of a collection to contend with the regular Top-8-ers at just about any game shop. Having the card-pool to pick and choose from is only one part of the equation, though.
Arguably, the most important part about doing well in Magic is your skill-level. Just by playing Magic at FNMs and against competitive friends, you'll start to pick up on what kinds of things are good in Standard/whatever format you intend to play in. It takes time, but if you keep at it and immerse yourself in it, you'll catch on eventually.
One last bit of advice: Take criticism whenever and wherever you can get it, and try to understand where those people are coming from and see how the changes would benefit your decks.
November 6, 2012 8:09 p.m.
If your goal is to be doing lots of tournament play, and that tournament play is standard (most common tournament format) then I'd suggest having 4 Thragtusk s and a playset of all the rare dual lands that you think you might use.
And blah blah blah removed by yeaGO!
November 6, 2012 8:34 p.m.
I would like to disagree with your second paragraph, Demarge. Anybody can copy a tourny-winning deck whenever he or she wants to; it doesn't necessarily mean they are going to win. Any deck, good or bad, in the hands of an inexperienced player will do poorly, whereas any deck, good or bad, in the hands of an experienced player will do well (keeping in mind there are exceptions). The same strategies that work for other people will not work for you the majority of the time.
As for your third comment, the reason I threw in my two cents is because he asked if we could help him see a bigger picture, and I quote.
November 6, 2012 9:45 p.m.
My favorite way to go about deck building and playing is doing lots of research. One of the best things you can do for any format is to try and learn about every card in the format, not just the popular ones, and most, if not all, of the interactions between them. Next I like to look at all of the popular cards, decks, and combinations in the format. The more you know about what and why each of those things is getting play is incredibly useful in building decks to counter or outplay your likely opponents. One of the most difficult research points is how and why people play certain cards at certain times. My advise on learning how to become a better player is to play lots of games against different players and decks, and also to try to watch deck techs on youtube and go over all relevant footage of gameplay at the highest levels of competition. Try to watch what and when they play things.
In the end after you look at all of these things, the goal isn't to do exactly what those other people did. you don't always want to play the same decks as other people and you don't always want to play exactly like them either. The goal of the research is mainly to look at your options, what you enjoy playing and find competitive, and how you like to play and what you find competitive. You can enjoy yourself when you win, you can still have fun and learn when you lose. In the end it really all comes down to what you enjoy. Just remember that all of this won't happen in a day. It might not even happen in a year. Just keep on it and remember why you play the game.
November 7, 2012 12:32 a.m.
kyoukitenshi says... #9
I'll happily look at your EDH deck and give advice on it. EDH is the format that I have the most knowledge in. I'll comment there with what I think.
On the big picture, you really need to think about the meta(playgroup) of your store and determine what is okay and what is not okay. A lot of groups frown on say, land destruction. This is good information for you if you want to avoid getting on everyone's bad side. Looking at the meta also allows you to see a niche that you can build a deck in and really dominate with.
November 7, 2012 12:41 a.m.
VampireArmy says... #11
well honestly im living at a job corp center but ive been playing for about 4 years now ive gotten to at least 2nd place on small time tournys on mtgo (not able to get on that anymore due to lack of internet on my laptop now) and i once had a very competative deck during innistrad but somehow ive been always short by just a hair and i keep wondering why. i know my skill is pretty decent when it comes to play because ive won entire games without a single attack (not easy to do when im against my friends vampy deck but ive done it) i point my finger at my deckmaking. i tend to have awsome ideas on paper that dont even come close to being a good idea in practice. thats why im here
November 7, 2012 5:58 p.m.
I had the exact same thing for the longest time. I had cool ideas, ended up making novelty decks and had lots of hope for them, lost a lot of games. The skill was there but the deck idea was not strong enough to win all the time. Eventually you will find what works and what does not. It just comes with more practice and experience I think. I'm not saying that I am super experienced but the idea has worked for me still.
November 7, 2012 9:53 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #13
I think a lot can be said for preferred playstyle too. I played a lot of control and was sucking pretty hard. One day I said "eff it I'm going to make the fastest standard legal deck I can." (Aggro style.) Once I found a playstyle that worked for me then I was able to 4/0 or 5/0 my local shop.
It may be the reverse for you, it may not but it may help to try out different archtypes.
I build better aggro decks than I build control decks. Just got a brain wired for turning sideways.
November 7, 2012 10:10 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #14
i think what my problem has been ive been trying very har to win the game as quick as possible without even considering how to protect myself. its like ive been playing hyper aggro without even trying to pick up a shield or 2. my new decks are inspired by that. ive been working with aggro/control hybrid type decks and ive won planty of matches now.
November 10, 2012 1:22 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #15
So it does boil down to playstyle. I'm about to peruse your decks but I think that Izzet or American delver may be something that would interest you for Aggro/Control.
November 10, 2012 1:30 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #16
Before I do, what formats are you interested in? Are you looking for Standard, Legacy, or Modern?
November 10, 2012 1:31 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #17
well the only kind i can really run atm are modern and legacy but i know much more about the standard format right now (well still experimenting with RTR right now) but my favorite play of all time will always be EDH
November 10, 2012 1:33 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #18
Hmm ok. EDH tends to be an Aggro-less format as it leans more towards mid-range beat-down and combo. (Control is generally just protecting it's combo so I don't include them in my list.) deck:these-are-not-the-auras-you-are-looking-for may interest you as it is a blend of mid-range beat-down with control elements. and Team Blade is a version that uses control via creature kill to protect my combo. (Bond/Blood.)
Modern and Legacy are both super fast formats to you HAVE to have control elements to be able to do anything. deck:domo-arigato-mr-roboto, for example, has 4x Galvanic Blast and has sideboarded Dispatch to sweep away blockers that may show up earlier and Duress to help me v.s. sweepers. I SHOULD be running Spell Pierce somewhere in the 75 but I just don't have any. That being said you are running in a 6v6 environment where things are going to be slowed down just based on the sheer number of players. (Imagine 6 players all having Tragic Slip in hand.) Not knowing the meta I would go Combo TBH as it gives you control elements and can give your side the win in one shot. Painter's Stone for legacy and Second Breakfast for modern. (Randomly selected decks that get the point across.)
For Standard 6v6 I would probably suggest something similar to the Bant control lists that have been popping up: Zandl's Big-Ass Wipes (1st @ FNM!) for reference. This gives you some control elements paired with fatties, life-gain, and recursion. (Which helps if they DO have 6 Tragic Slip s.)
Sorry for the wall of text and I hope it helps. Also, I'm not saying to netdeck these decks but just look and see if it is something like what you want to run and build from there. Be creative and make your own! :D
November 10, 2012 1:55 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #19
haha thanks ill have to gives those a look i have been making very funny combos lately really like my B/W deck using the 6v6 adantage to kill at least 2 players in one go with a massive board wipe that leaves me with so much life that i can revover my creatures and do it again by the time ive been chissled down > while just yesterday i won with my edh deck (even tho we were playing normal play) just by having the sheer draw power to play teleportal and take out 3 people with one massive attack!
killroy726 says... #2
one thing I can tell you is since you play a lot of massive multiplayer games your strategy and building decks is going to be more focused on having multiple opponents instead of one and that can end up hurting you. I suggest going to FNM events and trying to play more 1v1 games to get your strategy and decks focused on playing against one player
November 6, 2012 7:11 p.m.