Learning decks
The Kitchen Table forum
Posted on Nov. 18, 2015, 11:36 a.m. by Neko069
Good day everyone!
I'm trying to build really easy-to-play decks to teach some friends what this awesome game is about. I want to create monocolor decks, and 3-coloured decks, with diff kind of interactions and so. However, I want to keep it plain and simple, with the most commons abilities and some vanilla creatures.
So, I'm searching for the most iconic creatures for each color! would you mind helping me out?
My mind revolves around Grizzly Bears, Storm Crow, Raging Goblin, Drudge Skeletons and Serra Angel.
What do you suggest I should include?
Thanks in advance!
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #3
It isn't iconic, but Spiketail Drake
Yeah I know some are NWO and others are old school but oh well
November 18, 2015 12:18 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #4
Please for the love of god don't include Storm Crow. It is only "iconic" because it is a mediocre card that was originally printed in Alliances with Force of Will and force made every blue card good.
November 18, 2015 12:24 p.m.
That's awesome Neko069!
I really like the work over at TeachMTG
And though it's old, MaRo's article on this is still really good
November 18, 2015 12:25 p.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird yeah! that's what I'm looking for! Excellent choices!
November 18, 2015 1:45 p.m.
Gidgetimer But it IS a typical blue creature! It's a 1/2 with flying for 2 mana! It's has the most common ability in blue, and a typical body, in contrast with a Grizzly Bears, for example.
November 18, 2015 1:47 p.m.
What do you think iconic white creatures and spells would be? I'm having a hard time with this color...I'm thinking about Wild Griffin but I'm not so sure...
November 18, 2015 1:49 p.m.
A three color deck? That seems pretty complicated. You need a heavy land base for that.
I would suggest you to go to your LGS and ask for a 40 card deck. That is good to give to friends. They are free and very simple to play (no rares). That was what drove me into magic.
November 18, 2015 4:06 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #10
I'm not sure "no rares" is accurate. In the set list there is a section that says basically "these cards are not in packs but are legal in the set" those are the cards from the 40 card starter that aren't in the set. And there is a rare of each color in there.
November 18, 2015 4:45 p.m.
Oh, my mistake. There are 1 rare in each color, and it's only a 30 card deck. Still, it's very good since it's free.
November 18, 2015 5:04 p.m.
The_Raven The idea is to show them how easy, although straight, is to play one-clor decks, whereas in a 3-coloured deck casting cards is quite hard, but deck becomes much more versatile. I'm using some Gates and KTK taplands for the 3-coloured decks.
Regarding rares, I'll probably include a one-off bomb, but the idea is to get them familiarized with combat phase, who dies or survives in combat, damage, attackers and blockers, and so. That's why I want typical creatures from every colour!
November 18, 2015 8:39 p.m.
I second the burn idea - I think it's one of, if not the, best training deck out there because its generally so simple
November 21, 2015 10:46 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #14
For blue I find cards like Welkin Tern that have decent stats but have a restriction on blocking or Scroll Thief (well if you aren't doing tribal Jhessian Thief is probably better) to be more iconic than a 1/2 flyer for 2.
In white you are going to want something that looks like either soldier tribal or human tribal. I'm not saying you should make them tribal, but typical white creatures are along the lines of Elite Vanguard or Glory Seeker or even the tokens from Raise the Alarm
November 21, 2015 11:33 p.m.
What about spells?
Green: Fog, Rampant Growth
Red: Shatter, Lightning Bolt or similar
Black: Mind Rot, Raise Dead
Blue: Divination, Counterspell or similar
White: Disenchant, Pacifism
November 23, 2015 12:02 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #16
I would suggest something like Prey Upon instead of Fog but other than that your spells seem alright. You may have to balance them for power, I'm thinking specifically of Counterspell with the power level of the other cards on the list Negate is a more likely candidate for the decks.
On a side note I had to look up Prey Upon because the first fight effect that came to mind was Pit Fight and it isn't mono green. If your three color decks are shards I'd recommend putting Pit Fight in the naya one though to introduce the concept of hybrid mana.
grumbledore says... #2
i looked at doing something similar to this at one point, but focused on particular monocolor ability archetypes like: green - hex proof, white - life gain, black - sacrifice, blue - flying, red - burn.
November 18, 2015 11:47 a.m.