Starting Out With Theros? (Help?!)
Deck Help forum
Posted on Nov. 22, 2013, 12:49 a.m. by lizany
Hi!
So, I suppose this is my first post. I'm your typical high-school girl who's moved to a town where MTG is the T-H-I-N-G. Where I grew up, I was more into Yugioh - even entering myself at Regionals with a Wind-Up Deck..
Anyways.
So, uh, I'm just picking up Magic after a while, and I've got the gist. Except I wasn't sure where to start, so I bought a starter deck from this whole new 'Theros' ideal. I got the Black/White because I liked the art on the front. I'm used to making good decks, but with Magic, it tends to be a little different..
Wow, sorry I'll get to the point -
Is there anywhere I should go from here? I want to stick with the whole white/black ideal, so I've gone ahead and purchased some Orzov Midrange stuff? As well as purchasing the Orzov starter deck from amazon. I am on a budget, but I couldn't help but invest in some of the nifty cards, especially that planeswalker (Elspeth, I believe?)
Is there any idea how I can move forward with this whole bestow concept? I'm still a beginner, but I want a strong deck so I can fit right in.
Here's the deck list from the Starter Deck:
16 Plains
9 Swamp
25 lands
1 Auramancer
1 Baleful Eidolon
1 Banisher Priest
1 Blightcaster
1 Cavern Lampad
1 Celestial Archon
1 Ereboss Emissary
2 Heliods Emissary
2 Hopeful Eidolon
2 Lagonna-Band Elder
1 Minotaur Abomination
2 Observant Alseid
1 Pillarfield Ox
1 Scholar of Athreos
1 Sentry of the Underworld
2 Traveling Philosopher
1 Yoked Ox
22 creatures
1 Doom Blade
1 Gift of Immortality
2 Last Breath
2 Ordeal of Erebos
1 Ordeal of Heliod
1 Pacifism
2 Pharikas Cure
1 Ray of Dissolution
2 Vanquish the Foul
13 other spells
Yoked Ox has easily become my favorite card.
So, is there anyway to go from here? I'd like ideas on how to elaborate on such an.. interesting welcome to Magic. Thanks! Sorry if this is a long and awkward first post!
First you should make a deck on here with the cards, so we can more easily see you cards you are using. The kind of deck you will want will depend on how casual or serious your playgroup is.
Usually the first way to improve a beginner deck is to improve consistency, which just means reducing the number of 1-of's and increasing the number of 3/4-ofs. You want to get an idea of what your deck is trying to accomplish. Are you trying to hit them hard and fast with a lot of low cost creatures? Are you trying to defend in the early game so that your more expensive cards can take over in the mid to late game? The colors you are using have access to great removal, like the Doom Blade you have, and its usually a good idea to have at least a few cards like that.
I see that you are working towards an aura theme. I love auras but they are tricky to build around. Ethereal Armor is a fantastic choice, as is Kor Spiritdancer but its not budget friendly.
November 22, 2013 1:23 a.m.
Well, first things first, welcome to Tappedout!
The first step (well, the first I took) was like you, I took a color combo I liked and bought an intro pack. But there's the biggest part that made me into the Magic player I am; I picked a color combo that I liked. That's probably the best things to figure out.
Not necessarily copy-pasting decks from the internet (netdecking), I suggest looking into the kinda of decks your color combo makes and try to see what kind of play style you'd like to run.
B/W (your intro deck's color combo) is really strong right now in standard, and it's also not the cheapest, so there's that.
I'm not much into B/W, but I do know it's pretty damn good with its creatures and spells.
November 22, 2013 1:25 a.m.
deathtouch_roadrunner says... #5
B/W Auras is pretty doable on a budget. I'd look at this deck for some ideas: Heroic Torments Tournament Deck. The only expensive cards are the shock lands, and it should be unusual and fun and give you a sense of the white/black feel.
If you want to use Yoked Ox , I think the only things it can really fit in well right now are White/Green hexproof (enchantments) and mono-white heroic/devotion (enchantments). I'm having a lot of fun playing mono-white myself right now and even just added Yoked Ox to my deck Phalanx of the Twenty, but I doubt that really meshes.
If you've bought an Elspeth, Sun's Champion it's kind of putting you into a different (and more expensive) style of deck, IMO.
November 22, 2013 1:54 a.m.
Some1TookMyName says... #7
I really like Yoked Ox too, a cheap creature to put into your deck is Phalanx Leader . So when you trigger his heroic, Yoked Ox is a 1/5, then a 2/6, and so on. Gods Willing can give you a scry, and keep someone from being exiled or dying. Just some quick advice I could think of off the top of my head from scrolling. Post your deck, it makes it a lot easier for users to read and give feedback on
November 22, 2013 8:35 a.m.
RedKunoichi says... #8
To be more specific with what maddreams said, since technically you have posted your deck. You should go to your profile and click the add button then create your deck there and post it. I makes it easier for people to read and give suggestions.
Also, welcome to magic. It is nice to see a fellow female joining the group and defying the social norm.
As for help with your deck. I agree with a lot of what I have already read on here. Personally I really like Phalanx Leader and Ethereal Armor . I also think Gift of Orzhova is a really good card. And the cheap black and white eidolons are good if you want to stick with the enchantment/bestow theme Baleful Eidolon and Hopeful Eidolon you should also make sure you pick cards you like and try to consolidate your deck. this helps with making your deck consistent.
Slycne says... #2
Welcome to Magic and Tappedout.
Generally the best thing to ask yourself when starting a new deck or refining a deck is what you want the deck to do - what's its plan to win the game?
The most basic trifecta of magic decks are aggro, control and midrange. Aggro wants to play a bunch of cheap spells early, often before the opponent has a chance to play most of theirs. Control wants to deal with all their opponents spells with removal or permission cards, and then resolve some big nasty spell much later in the game. Mid-range, which it seems your gravitating towards, tries to be well right in the middle. It runs a good suite of bigger creatures than the aggro deck, along with enough removal to slow down the other decks.
November 22, 2013 1:19 a.m.