Wanting to get into Modern, where should I start?
Modern forum
Posted on Dec. 8, 2014, 2:19 p.m. by EpicJ7
As the title says, I'm looking into getting started in the Modern format. And I'm not sure if I should start with the Modern Event deck, or go buy singles and build one.
So the question is:Should I start with the Event deck or build one from scratch? If I was to build one I was looking into Soul Sisters for my first modern deck.
It really depends on what type of player you are and why style of deck you want to play. If you want to play B/W tokens, buying the event deck is okay. Although it's not really that great of a bargain value wise, and will require additional investment to make competitive. Or if you're looking to play something else, buying singles is always a good way to get value.
December 8, 2014 2:34 p.m.
Ball_Dont_Lie says... #4
These guys wrote an awesome Modern primer that is still being worked on, but it's the best article of its kind that I have seen. Modern Format Primer
I am still sort of a noob, especially in Modern, but I would rather start a deck from scratch and have it be exactly what I want, instead of paying for cards I don't need in those Event Decks. A lot of the main deck archetypes have core cards that are super cheap, and if you like them, you can add to them a little at a time. For example, I started a budget Delver deck for like $30 on MTGO; you can do a similar thing with Red Deck Wins, Merfolk, Infect, and Soul Sisters. So all things being equal, my vote is to build the deck from scratch.
December 8, 2014 2:34 p.m.
I will say this to anybody who is looking to get into modern: Goblins. I started playing goblins about 1.3 years ago, and it has served me well. If you learn how to play it, and have a basic concept of sideboarding, you should be fine with a stock goblin deck. (Heck, mine went 6-3, barely missing day 2 at a grand prix XD)
For other decks, you have infect, which is cheap, B/W tokens (the event deck) which is also relatively cheap, and burn, which probably has room for the most upgrades, but has a little bit higher starting price tag.
Personally I love budget/cheap modern ideas, so for some lists, check these:
For goblins, here is my budget list: [Cheap] Modern Goblins [2-1 @ Modern], and my normal list Goblin Flood [9x 1st Place Modern].
For infect, here is one of my lists: Smash Smash Win
Good luck! And my the odds be ever in your favor.
December 8, 2014 2:39 p.m.
ThisIsBullshit says... #6
Build your own. You'll learn a lot more that way.
There are several builds in modern that can be built relatively cheaply. I think Ball_Dont_Lie hit most of them. Infect and burn/RDW are pretty cheap and easy to build and pilot. I don't have much experience with Soul Sisters, but I know for a fact that Delver of Secrets Flip decks can be super cheap (one of my friends has a Delver deck), and as you acquire more cards/money, you can upgrade from there.
December 8, 2014 2:41 p.m.
What's your budget, and what are some of the highlights of your collection? If you shared that with us, it would be much easier to help us point you in the right direction.
December 8, 2014 2:42 p.m.
Thanks for all the replies!
So it looks like the choice to go with is just build a deck. And I will look into the Goblins, Infect, Delver, etc decks!
vishnarg: As of right now I have a couple 100 to spend. And my collection is mostly from RtR to Kahns. I have older cards from various sets from when I played back in middle school but its not much worth mentioning. I've been through it and pretty much all I've found that's good in modern is Lightning Bolt lol.
December 8, 2014 3:09 p.m.
ThisIsBullshit says... #9
If you have Bolts just make burn lol.
Actually, do you prefer to play certain colors/archetypes/etc?
December 8, 2014 3:12 p.m.
Sounds like Goblins or Delver would be your best bet then, haha. You can afford fetches for sure.
December 8, 2014 3:12 p.m.
ThisIsBullshit: Someone suggested for me to try U/R Storm at my LGS lol. I just like to build decks and play fun decks really. So as long as its fun I like it lol.
vishnarg: Yeah they both look fun to play. As for fetches, I almost have all the Kahns fetches (just missing 3 Delta and 2 Strands Dx). I'm waiting to buy the Zendikar fetches in case they do get reprinted soon.
I appreciate every ones input! Makes this process a little bit easier!
December 8, 2014 3:20 p.m.
If someone suggested Storm to you, I would recommend you watch some replays of Storm on Youtube. Either from Jon Finkel at PT Born of the Gods or the Peach Garden Oath boys at the World Championships this past year. It's a fun deck, but requires a lot of bookkeeping and isn't for everyone.
December 8, 2014 4:39 p.m.
December 8, 2014 4:50 p.m.
How competitive are the decks in that folder?
December 8, 2014 5:22 p.m.
Varies. The simic one is probably in the best position. Basically interference cards like Path to Exile and Thoughtseize are expensive but necessary or you will just lose to combo decks etc. Therefore cheap competitive decks have 1 of 2 things: a clock fast enough to finish the game before the opponent can do anything, or cheap disruption. Blue has cheap disruption in Mana Leak. It's a pretty good, and inexpensive card. Mono-green infect or kiln fiend decks are cheap aggro decks that aim to finish quickly. They mainly just use synergies. The BEST strategy is probably to look for cheap sources of disruption. This makes your strategy far less brittle - prone to just being broken by what the opponent does.
December 8, 2014 5:30 p.m.
fluffybunnypants says... #17
Well, I mean, are you looking to build a T1 deck off the bat? Do you like running control? Aggro? Midrange?
December 8, 2014 5:53 p.m.
i love modern so hard, lol i personally run a U/R storm deck and absolutely agree with JWiley129- its extremely skill intensive, but playing with it will make you far better at the game. i also have a friend who runs a very good goblin deck- Modern Mob-Gobs -
i definitely suggest looking at the primer that was suggested as well. its AWESOME.
December 8, 2014 7:32 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #19
As someone who's been playing for a while and recently got into Modern, Tron can be built somewhat competitively on a budget. Wurmcoil Engine can be watered down to something like Scuttling Doom Engine or more Steel Hellkites, Remand can be Mana Leaks, and err Karn Liberated... Can be... err.. more counters? I've been toying with it myself, and it works to some extent. Money certainly makes it better, but it can still perform.
Going to second (or tenth..) the primer linked above, it helps a lot.
December 8, 2014 8:57 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #20
ducttapedeckbox Wurmcoil Engine is already pretty cheap. I don't see watering down Tron as a good idea at all, unless you're brewing for someone who is trying to get into modern but doesn't want to spend $400.
Why would Karn Liberated be played in U Tron, though? U Tron is meant to stall the game until they can get a Mindslaver lock or win with big stuff.
RG Tron is where you play Karn. Playing RG means you are fully devoted to assembling the Urza-tron and playing big stuff.
December 9, 2014 7:59 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #21
To address the original question, do NOT play Soul Sisters unless you are willing to devote a reasonable amount of money to it. The Delver matchup is good, it destroys random brews, and has the advantage against a lot of tier decks, but the Pod matchup is miserable. I've only recently had success with Soul Sisters because I know the deck in and out, as well as my opponents deck, and investments in expensive cards.
It can be successful if you know the opponents deck, and play around their spells, but if you're just starting, you likely won't know what tier decks will consist of. As funny as it sounds, it requires skill to play. The mirror is also disgusting. Nobody accomplishes anything.
If you are going to put money into it (~$350), you can probably do pretty well with it. Otherwise, play another deck which doesn't require an additional $200 on top of the stock list.
It's probably safe to start off Infect. Infect is cheap and really easy to play.
December 9, 2014 8:07 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #23
fluffybunnypants That comic is inaccurate. In mirror matches, it's more like 250, but sometimes it breaks 500. There's also the fact the it's a board stall, and literally nothing happens except Spectral Procession giving Ajani's Pridemate 18 more +1/+1 counters.
When there is more than 1 Soul Sisters player in a meta, it's almost like a standoff. It gets super awkward. This is specifically a Soul Sisters thing, and double-ups of any other deck is completely fine.
December 9, 2014 8:25 a.m.
fluffybunnypants says... #25
AdNaus mirror is pretty bad. Swing with Simian Spirit Guide in game one, post board, whoever can make Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir stick, wins.
December 9, 2014 9:35 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #26
I'd also advise against Soul Sisters as I don't think the deck is very good & it's []beyond boring[] to play.
Infect however... cheaper & T2 wins. U could even build U/G Infect on a budget with off color fetches.
December 9, 2014 10:23 a.m.
@APPLE01DOJ infect is relatively good once you have the element of surprise, but somewhat inconsistent and not particularly resilient. With a good removal base and a somewhat fast deck, infect is very beatable...
December 9, 2014 11:09 a.m.
Expensive infect is actually really resilient - but that comes when you pump more money into it.
December 9, 2014 11:10 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #29
APPLE01DOJ I don't see how it's boring, unless you count doing similar things each game as boring, which a LOT of decks do. Maybe it's the consistency that bores you?
The deck is good, but because the Pod matchup is unfavourable, and Gifts or Tron have insta wins, it heavily depends on your meta. I'd say Infect is worse than Soul Sisters, but you can get a HEAP of free wins.
December 9, 2014 11:12 a.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #30
I clearly wasn't thinking when I posted before. Forgot that Wurmcoil Engine dropped to $10 and not even sure where Karn came from...
December 9, 2014 11:22 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #31
The deck isn't good, and there isn't an argument u could make to convince me otherwise. That deck used to be a bad joke. Affinity got priced out & people started looking at other budget options...
My personal play style is Rock. I like attrition decks that can adapt to whatever they're up against on the fly. So yes a deck that has the same approach towards everything is VERY boring to me.
I'd say Infect is better positioned simply because of Inkmoth Nexus. That card a lone dodges common solutions like Abrupt Decay & Remand plus can 1 shot u. Infect isn't as glass cannon as people make it out to be. It's creatures are certainly capable of grinding out games beyond T3... Not to mention Infect destroys Souls Sisters & Burn.
...Actually let me elaborate on my first point. Soul Sisters has no disruption it crumbles to anything that doesn't have a swing for damage plan, it's a white weenie deck with an extended clock & nothing more.... Any sweeper will wreck the decks day. It has bad match ups vs Infect, Pod, Twin, Tron, Living End, Affinity, Gifts, & BG/x.
December 9, 2014 11:59 a.m.
When people forget that modern decks include removal - they play soul sisters.
December 9, 2014 12:39 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #33
ChiefBell Or BW Tokens.
To be honest, it doesn't really matter which tier deck you choose, as long as you play better than everyone else.
You do need to play a tier deck, because those are usually good enough for a good player to pull through a lot of hard matches.
APPLE01DOJ A lot of Soul Sisters decks are bad because they are basically the stock list, or Kevin Crimin's list, which everyone expects. For it to be good, you need to innovate, or take (good) risks with your card choices. Making it different from the stock list is important, because its just not that good.
December 9, 2014 9:20 p.m.
Dalektable says... #34
Pick a deck. Get really good at said deck. Later improve said deck.
But, there are good options for every archetype. Mono Blue Tron is great for control and cheap, Burn is grand for an intro to aggro, soul sisters is fairly okay and UR delver is amazing. I don't recommend Mono Green Infect on a budget as it's typically...bad. Or brew something, I have a Mono White Turbofog list (not built IRL unfortunately) that is pretty sweet.
December 9, 2014 9:53 p.m.
UR Delver is probably the best deck in the metagame right now, you can build it for real cheap, and you can improve upon it a lot later.
December 10, 2014 6:04 p.m.
Find something that fits your playing style. Regardless of what you choose it's best to get the 
& 
staples
DNB says... #2
Build it for sure. Soul Sisters is a good place to start as you don't need to buy into the fetch lands. There are cheaper competitive modern options like mono green infect.
December 8, 2014 2:27 p.m.