Need Deck building advice
Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 12, 2012, 3:13 a.m. by ZombiesCANTswim
I Started playing MTG about a month ago with a Black Life steal deck and I really like the idea of sucking my enemy dry of Life but I find it hard to get the cards I need at the right time and I maybe know of 1% of the magic cards out there.I would like to know what more experienced players would do in my Shoes.
My Deck: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-black-lifesteal/
Welcome! Magic can be a very addictive habit. When I first started out, I had no idea what I was doing, or any of the cards as well. I spent a butt load of money on cards that weren't even standard legal which is the format I was planning on starting out with. Assuming you are not aware of anything, i'm just going to start from the beginning. Standard is a certain format at Friday Night Magic and tournaments in which you're only allowed to play with specific cards from relatively new sets released. Then you got legacy, vintage, modern, ect.. Let's just focus on standard for now ;)
September 12, 2012 3:16 p.m.
The deck you listed isn't standard legal haha. You picked a good time to start playing magic because October 5th they're releasing a new block called Return to Ravnica which is a lot of players favorite set in the history of magic. It is a very fun set due to the amount of customization you can have when assembling a deck. Not only that but they are making the whole release very interactive where you pick a certain guild (Alliance of two colors with story behind it) and start building. You are not restricted to just building a 2 color deck however. You could have a 3, 4, or 5 color deck if you'd like. It gets pretty advanced trying to build a competitive 3, 4, or 5 color deck though, i'd recommend sticking with just 2 colors starting out. I wouldn't do a mono color deck right now, because there is a ton of more options and synergies you can have using a second color.
Here is a link to on going spoilers for Return to Ravnica. These cards are going to be standard legal. Also, Here is a good site I use to look at cards. I recommend it highly for learning all the standard cards. Go nuts with it, and check out all the different options. I gave you the direct link to the advanced search.. Look for the box called "Select Sets" and check off "Avacyn Restored," "Dark Ascension," "Innistrad, and "Magic 2013." Those are all standard legal right now. There are some other sets that are legal right now, but rotate out October 5th. I don't want you to get confused so stick to looking at the ones I listed for now. You'll catch on eventually on your own.
As for deck building, it's just something you'll pick up over time when you start seeing certain strategies, and synergies between specific cards. A good rule of thumb I used when starting out was this. Try building a creature based deck, with very limited instants, enchantments, and sorceries. Start out with 4-6 one mana cost creatures, 6-8 two mana cost creatures, 8-10 three mana cost creatures, 8-6 four mana cost creatures, 6-4 five mana cost creatures, 1-2 six mana cost creatures, and 22-24 lands. Then fill in the gaps with some instants, sorceries, and enchantments where ever you feel is necessary. You'll only want to run 22 lands if you use more lower cast cards (6 one drops) (8 two drops) (10 three drops) ect. Run about 24 lands if you run more higher casting cards.
Anyway, hope this gets you started out. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. This is a very good community.
September 12, 2012 3:17 p.m.
ZombiesCANTswim says... #5
Thanks for putting the time in for your post I really appreciate it even though Its kinda Disheartening that I need to swap out about half my deck for tournaments including Sorin :( .Thank you for the Advice and links you helped a ton and if there is a way to up vote you id be more then happy to.
ZombiesCANTswim says... #2
Mono Black Lifesteal
September 12, 2012 3:15 a.m.