Which format?
Modern forum
Posted on March 21, 2014, 10:23 p.m. by lotusofblackness
Hi. I'm new to Modern and I don't have a Modern deck. I have some really valuable standard cards though, and part of an Orzhov standard deck. I want to play Modern but then I can't really play standard because they are both really expensive. Also, my LGS only has Modern on Tuesday nights and not for FNM. Which format should I play?
Go with Modern. There's a few decks out there that can be built for less than the price of a Standard deck and are actually quite good if played in the right meta. Death and Taxes, Burn, B/W Tokens, U/W Tron, Esper Tron Gifts, Summer Bloom Combo, Eggs, and Restore Balance Aggro are all strong Modern decks that can be built for less than $600. Most of them can be built for under $300, with Burn and D&T for under $200. Their prices are mostly inflated right now because it's Modern season for the Pro Tour.
The best part is, they never rotate out, so you can work on them over time. Compare that to Standard, where you need to update your deck every three months because of the shift in the meta. For example, if you play white weenie in Standard before BNG, Brimaz, King of Oreskos just made it so you now have to toss in another $100 to update your deck.
March 22, 2014 5:01 a.m.
One of my tron decks is only like 300$ and its pretty competitive...a lot of standard decks I have seen are easily worth 300. However dont let this lead you to believe that all modern decks are within that price range or whatever. You gotta start somewhere though and peek and tweek with better cards as you go along. My mill started as a pile of cards and eventually got turned into a 600$ deck that it quite capable of winning tournaments.
Every different kind of deck has its really expensive staples. Find out what kind of deck your looking to play first. There is tons of possibility out there.
March 23, 2014 6:16 a.m.
On a related note, today a $20 burn deck at my LGS got top four in Modern...beating Splinter Twin and my $1,200 Grixis Control deck. In other words, the difference between a budget deck in Modern and a tier one $2,000 U/W/R Control isn't as drastic as say, Standard RDW vs. Gruul Monsters.
wnorris17 says... #2
It's really really hard to choose a format, especially if that friday night vs tuesday night is an issue.
I personally adore modern. It is incredible. But to build a competitive modern deck, you may end up looking at a $900 price tag. (It can be done for less though)
Standard can be played competitively for less money. But it rotates and the meta changes more often. So after two years of standard, you may well be looking at a higher price tag than that 1 modern deck.
Modern has a higher buy in, but (in my opinion) it also is a more enjoyable format.
March 21, 2014 11:50 p.m.