How to prepare for new rotation.
Standard forum
Posted on Sept. 6, 2013, 2:21 p.m. by fzebib
So I made a post couple days ago asking about my gameplay, and I have been working on that and so far it has made a difference. Thanks to all who even took the time out to talk to me/suggest things.
So, now, I am here with an Aristocrat deck that will be cycled out in couple of weeks and I am sure many of you guys are in this boat, as well. For someone who recently got into magic(again and taking it much more serious this time) I do not think I want to just blindly spend money on a deck that is a top deck ( I am however willing to spend money to win local tournies and in the future, more).
How would I go about this intelligently? How do YOU do it when dealing with a rotation? Should I buy some M14 boxes? wait for theros to come out and purchase some boxes? Strategies/tips would be appreciated! Me and a friend even thought about spending money together and building 1 competitive deck to try to win early ( by early I mean people not adapting to the new cards and their gameplay).
Thanks a ton guys. :)
NobodyPicksBulbasaur says... #3
I usually buy a box of the new stuff when it comes out, but I understand that I'm probably losing value in the process. I just like to open packs and see what I get.
The first thing I do when building a new deck is throw it together on this site. Then I stare at it for a while and see if it "feels" like it will be a contender at FNM. If I still feel good about it I'll buy the singles, unless I know someone at my LGS who's trading off stuff I need.
September 6, 2013 2:41 p.m.
The start of a new block is the time to flex your deckbuilding muscles. You can literally do anything you want and find some measure of success, as long as you are playing powerful cards in a focused strategy.
My advice is to not focus on Constructed. Just draft a lot to get a feel for what cards in the set are powerful while building a collection. At least, that's my plan.
September 6, 2013 2:49 p.m.
lord_of_the_snakes says... #5
yeah, do lots of limited until you get a cardbase, my lgs understands this, they have drafts starting at 4 in the afternoon and ending at 3 in the morning the first saturday after each new set comes out
September 6, 2013 4:02 p.m.
So, singles it is. From what I am getting from you guys it's NOT worth buying a box, is it? I may know someone who may sell me them @ wholesale price. If that's the case, is it worth it THEN?
I won 2 packs or rather, broke even tonight at my FNM standard tourny. My aristocrat deck lost to a Maze's End deck and I tied on a mill deck when I froze up because of his enchantment that left all my creatures -1,-1 and making my deck USELESS. Won vs a Jund and then lost to an aggro deck ( he had 3 vexing devils by the 3rd turn, that left me too hurt to make a recovery).
I feel so "behind" fighting all these guys but hey at least I am getting better my gameplay. Time to start going through the cards and figuring out what I am going to do. Thanks again, guys.
September 7, 2013 12:14 a.m.
I really think it depends.
A box offers:
- tradables
- super opportunity for trying things - and possibly trying them first
- great collecting potential
Singles offer:
- economy (but only if you already know what is available and what you want)
- less excess (but there will inevitably be some)
- a much better chance at getting obscure or rare or foil cards
So I would say that a person who is serious about being a leader of the standard format should get a box since you never know what you might want to try and what might work together unexpectedly. If you play alot it is worth it since you will be able to use it for lots of trading as well and having collections of cards might mean something (maybe).
If you want precisely X, Y, Z or are just updating an EDH (or other format) deck, then it probably isn't worth it to get a box. Singles are the way to go for sure. But if you don't know what you want then singles can get just as expensive as boxes while the box could have helped you figure that out much better than specific singles.
September 7, 2013 12:49 a.m.
Excuse my ignorance, I just looked @ theros spoilers and I'm looking at some cards and I think "wow, that's gotta be worth some decent money" and I go check ebay atm and the presale is just so cheap. Could you possibly explain why? like for example, I think that chained to the rocks is pretty good - am I wrong?
September 7, 2013 12:53 a.m.
I think many people would feel uncertain about the value of certain cards until they have been tested a bit. Sometimes really good individual cards lose out on value if they don't quite fit a specific deck or work towards a goal alongside other cards well.
Epochalyptik says... #2
Moved to Standard.
Don't buy boxes of M14. Honestly, the most economical way to build a deck in any format is to buy the singles you need. Well, trading is better, but assuming you have nothing, singles are the way to go.
September 6, 2013 2:24 p.m.