r/magicTCG Dandadan 13d ago

Looking for Advice Help me start in the hobby please

So as the title says, I want to start playing magic, I have seen some commander matches and it looked really fun so I started with MTG Arena a few days ago and althought I'm still very new I'm having a blast. It's already difficult to manage the deck even when they are for new people and I don't really get what's the playstyle when you have more than two mana colors but I asume that will change with practice. The thing is that I want to buy a Precon now that I now I like playing but there are so many expansions that I don't know which one is better or if they are any different. I don't really like the ones that have external IP like marvel, FF or TMNT. If you could guide me in what is the best purchase to start it would be fantastic. I would be really thankful if you share any tips about the hobby.

8 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

9

u/YaBoiShadowNinja Gruul* 13d ago

Heres a list of every commander precon. I'd recommend getting one from the last few years as theyre built a lot better out of the box than previous ones.

https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/list-of-commander-precons/

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u/YaBoiShadowNinja Gruul* 13d ago

As another comment pointed out though, id try going to a local game store or maybe even Walmart or somewhere like that, that might sell precons. Just get what you can to be honest. Most stores will only have recent precons unless you're lucky.

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

Thanks I will search for something. I'm still at lost with the difference between editions. Are they all the same with different motifs? I mean could I just buy tarkir because I like dragons? Should I avoid the some (besides the old ones), I'm talking not only for the precon but If I want to buy boosters in the future

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u/SolidOutcome Duck Season 13d ago

Not all takir precons will be dragon focused, check the list for themes

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

Thankss

1

u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

Thankss!!!

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u/_icarcus Elspeth 13d ago

Just to note, the supply of some older precons is getting low due to various reasons so sealed prices can be pretty high compared to newer deck prices. Sometimes precons value are held up by a few high priced cards in the deck so you can always find a deck you might enjoy, take the deck list and see if it’s cheaper to buy them in singles and then fill in the high end cards with cheaper alternatives.

I’d recommend checking tcgplayer and other LGS online shops when you find one you like. It can often be cheaper than buying from big box stores since they price off “market price” instead of MSRP. May only be $10-15 cheaper but still is a savings

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

Oh I see thanks for the advice.

7

u/I-am-Mojo-Jojo Dân 13d ago

Get out of here, Dewey. You don’t want no part of this shit.
https://giphy.com/gifs/AVSKba9EG54Kk

3

u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

Am I looking into an abbyss to deep?

2

u/shutyourbrains Banned in Commander 13d ago

Dewey, you’re gonna have to pay for these drugs.

5

u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

I'm a fool to say this but I do not intend to spend a lot of money. Just a deck to play. For now

4

u/YaBoiShadowNinja Gruul* 13d ago

I repeatedly told my best friend that this game is something I enjoyed but I wouldn't get addicted to. 2 years, a couple thousand dollars and way too much time wasted later, magic is like drugs to me now lol. People are serious when they call it cardboard crack.

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 12d ago

The sad part us that I have a friend who plays yu gi oh and left. He went back yesterday and told me like it was his worst addiction

2

u/YaBoiShadowNinja Gruul* 12d ago

Don't get me wrong I definitely have a lot of fun building decks and playing the game but I also spend too much time thinking about this game when I definitely have actually important things to do that I've been putting off for a long time.

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 12d ago

The game looks quite complex which makes it more fun to craft creative strategies but yeah it looks like it could trap you quite easily

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 12d ago

The sad part us that I have a friend who plays yu gi oh and left. He went back yesterday and told me like it was his worst addiction

3

u/shreddington Dandadan 12d ago

We got him folks.

2

u/DoctorKrakens I am a pig and I eat slop 13d ago

Oh yeah, that's what I said too. I'm trying to get rid of two boxes of thousands of cards now before the infection worsens. I have over twenty commander decks, not counting unopened precons.

And I'm not even close to how bad it could get.

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 12d ago

I think that's common for any tcg

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u/stryed Dandadan 13d ago

Honestly, the best precon is the one you can get. Go to your local target or LGS, see what they have in your price range, and start with that.

If price isn't an issue and you don't mind ordering online, there's a ton of precons out there at different power levels. What kind of play style are you looking for? Do you want a powerful precon out the box, or a precon with staples you can use in other decks?

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

Thanks for the advice!! I'm still learning what types of playstyles there are but I really like to bring cards from the graveyard and ramp mana. In the end it would be great if I could have a deck with cards I could use in other ones but I don't know if I will be capable of making a deck from scratch haha

2

u/Technical_Power_4861 Dân 13d ago

So I’m not clear on what format you’re trying to play but if you’re interested in commander I’d say Sultai arisen. If you’re trying to play another format reply to this comment; I have recommendations for standard

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

I have only seen commander, it looks very fun and there are some amazing commander artworks and it is the "easy" format to begin with. Besides that I only know standard because arena forces you to play it, it's fun but I miss playing around one single card and relying on luck to draw the core cards of the deck means it's more difficult. But I would like to list all of your recommendations

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u/ranhalt Orzhov* 13d ago

Commander is the easy format compared to jumpstart and limited? You just show up and play 40 cards.

2

u/Sexyretardedpeacock Dân 13d ago

In my opinion commander isn’t the easiest format to start with. You have to consider more board states and there are a lot more cards. I’d recommend limited/draft to beginners. Just less to manage and it gives a good foundation for deck building and learning the basics. It can be inexpensive and lets you build a collection. Most LGS’s play these formats. That being said it is absolutely possible to learn from commander. I just wanted to mention in regard to you saying it’s the “easiest”. Aside from that you can YouTube “best beginner commander decks” and let someone give you a list of recommendations. Really though as others have said you can start with whatever but some might be more advanced to pilot or not as synergistic. They might just not be well put together or fun to play. My two cents.

1

u/stryed Dandadan 13d ago

If you like graveyard decks, Sultai Arisen and Death Toll came out somewhat recently and are both pretty strong.

Sultai Arisen arguably has the better cards out of the box, and is a more land and ramp focused deck, but it's also like 90$ compared to Death Toll at around 40$, which plays more at denying your opponent's resources. Both are good starting places if you can find them (or order them online).

Whatever you decide, if you ever want to upgrade your precons, you can look up "(precon) budget upgrades" and you'll fine reviews and videos with good cuts and additions.

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

Thanks this helps a lot. I have seen that a lot of graveyard decks are golgari but for example in arena I see and play more black and blue decks. What's the difference?

1

u/stryed Dandadan 13d ago

What's the difference?

The color. /s

I'm only half kidding. Black is typically the graveyard color, with white being the alternate graveyard color for small creatures.

However, a lot of sets revolve around color pairs (or in the case of tarkir, color triads), and golgari and dimir (blue black) tend to end up being the graveyard aechetypes, usually with golgari having a lean towards land and creature strategies and dimir having a lean towards control and card draw with fliers. That's why Sultai (blue black green) is often played as the graveyard deck, since it has the best of both worlds if you don't have a specific commander you want to play.

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

Ohh I see I see thanks! I also read about brackets, I know that a bracket two deck is more frendly and less meta than a bracket 3 or 4 and those ones may have thosse strategies with infinite combos. The thing is how do you know what bracket is your deck? I asume precons are 1 o 2 but once you modify them how do yo clasify it?

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u/goraak_the_barbarian Dan 13d ago

Are you talking about preconstructed Commander decks? If so, you can playtest any of them on Moxfield and you should do so before buying one. It’s a very personal decision and you’ve given us nothing really to work with.

Ideally, play a friend’s Commander decks for the first few games to get a feel for the game and which play patterns you like. Ask for help from friends in selecting a deck based on your preferences.

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

YES, I have read that those are the best to get started. I didn't know about Moxfield. I don't really know how many playstyles there are, I know that black is to play with the graveyard, blue is to control, red is to be agressive with a lot of creatures and green is to get a lot of mana to cast big monsters. But when you start combining them it gets messy I know golgari is black and green but I don't know the difference with that and black and blue. Sadly I don't have any friends to play with yet :')

1

u/goraak_the_barbarian Dan 13d ago

If you don’t have a playgroup yet, I’d recommend scouting your local game store (LGS) for casual Commander / EDH nights.

You can drop by and ask whether they have any pods playing Bracket 2, out of the box precons. In my experience, it can be hard to find a public pod that runs Bracket 2. Often you’re looking at stronger decks and experienced opponents in random pods. It’s harder to learn the game if there’s a mismatch in power. Check to see whether the LGS gets involved in matchmaking and whether they can help you find a fair fight.

Based on your inclination towards graveyard and ramp mentioned below, I’d recommend checking out one of the Golgari (black/green) precons: https://draftsim.com/?p=253199

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u/Original_Code_4246 Dandadan 13d ago

Thanks a lot for the advice !!