MTG Question

[diablopath]

Local comic shop has tournaments all the time, but there's something some friends and I are confused about.


They said we can only use 2.0 decks.
I was told there are 1.0 and 1.5 decks as well.

How do I know what category my cards fall into?
I've bought all of mine within the past 6 months, however some of my friends have some from the mid 90s and are not sure what theirs fall under.

some halp would be great >.>

[nnanji]

Wow, that is old terminology there, which is why you might be having trouble finding information. Type 1 used to refer to all the cards, with a certain number of cards that were banned/restricted (restricted meaning only 1 copy per deck, instead of the limit of 4.)

Type 1.5 was type 1 but all restricted cards were banned.

Type 2 was the newer sets only.

Today, type 2 is known at the Standard format, and the current list of acceptable sets are listed on the WOTC website, here. (http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Resources.aspx?x=judge/resources/sfrstandard)

Your game shop is using an old phrase though, so I would call them directly and confirm that this is the correct list of sets allowed for play. Some of your friends' older cards may be usable, if they were reprinted in the newest core set (10th edition). A list that may or may not be complete can be found here. (http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Article.aspx?x=magic/products/10elist)

I haven't played tournament Magic in a few years, so actual answers may vary. Hope this helps.

[Nameless]

Local comic shop has tournaments all the time, but there's something some friends and I are confused about.


They said we can only use 2.0 decks.
I was told there are 1.0 and 1.5 decks as well.

How do I know what category my cards fall into?
I've bought all of mine within the past 6 months, however some of my friends have some from the mid 90s and are not sure what theirs fall under.

some halp would be great >.>

Yeah, Type 2 (or Standard) is what I would bet they're talking about. Standard always contains the current main set plus expansions, the previous full set plus expansions, and the core set.

If the cards you bought less than 6 months ago were from a new set (Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, Eventide, Shards of Alara, Conflux or Tenth Edition) you're good to go. Your friends' cards will only be good if they've been reprinted in any of those sets.

Enjoy the games, but watch out; players can be pretty hardcore. This is why I used to stick to Limited (lots of booster drafts and Sealed Deck), where I don't need to worry about which cards fit which format. I show up, put some money down, and have an enjoyable day of MtG. Then I usually tried to sell off my good cards and gave the rest away.

You should give drafting a try sometime, it's not easy, but probably the most fun you'll have playing Magic.

[diablopath]

I just bought a couple 10th Edition Core set starter decks (Arcanis's Guile and Molimo's Might)...so those are invalid this summer?

That's lame.

[nnanji]

They will be invalid for type 2 tournaments. Typically the cards in core sets, at least the commons, tend to get reprinted in future core sets, so maybe some of the cards will still be useable. This is why I finally quit the cardboard crack habit, it's too expensive to stay competitive. Nameless gave some great advice on how to enjoy competitive Magic. Join limited events and sell your rare cards to the dealers after the game. Lots of fun and less costly to boot.

[Panthera]

Stick to draft tournaments. Trust me on this one.

[Spockrocket]

Never played Magic competitively here but definitely stick to the tourneys where you are given cards to use. That way you're not hemorrhaging money as badly.

[Aggort]

Yes, I third draft tourney's or reconstructed deck tournaments. Otherwise use Apprentice (http://www.magic-league.com/download/apprentice.php) and have fun making up your imaginary decks. About 3 years ago I used apprentice to build a deck won an online tourney with it so I bought all the cards needed off eBay for the type 2 deck. I took it to a local shop and won $250 bucks!

But I preferred drafts, because not everyone has time to sit down and master a deck. Drafts use a bit more skill in my opinion. In fact I just recently got back into MtG and have been enjoying a lot of matches online.

[pronounconnoun]

Yes, I third draft tourney's or reconstructed deck tournaments. Otherwise use Apprentice (http://www.magic-league.com/download/apprentice.php) and have fun making up your imaginary decks. About 3 years ago I used apprentice to build a deck won an online tourney with it so I bought all the cards needed off eBay for the type 2 deck. I took it to a local shop and won $250 bucks!

But I preferred drafts, because not everyone has time to sit down and master a deck. Drafts use a bit more skill in my opinion. In fact I just recently got back into MtG and have been enjoying a lot of matches online.

What a great idea. We used to print proxy cards and test out our strategies before buying the cards, but this is a much better idea. Too bad I'm probably not going to be an avid tournament player. Five years too late, I'm afraid.

[Ten19]

Draft tourneys are almost always better, no matter what CCG you're playing. The real fun is making something out of the random packs you get, rather than copying some flavor of the month from the internet and just going through the motions. You actually have to work with what you have which leads to more interesting tactics.

[Nameless]

I just bought a couple 10th Edition Core set starter decks (Arcanis's Guile and Molimo's Might)...so those are invalid this summer?

That's lame.

While some of the cards in 11th edition will be different, the core set doesn't change that much year-to-year, so most of your 10th edition cards will still be perfectly legal in type 2.

Anyone know if 11th will be black-bordered again, or are they going back to white-borders for the core set?

But I preferred drafts, because not everyone has time to sit down and master a deck. Drafts use a bit more skill in my opinion. In fact I just recently got back into MtG and have been enjoying a lot of matches online.

Out of curiosity, how much does it cost to draft online? Is the new MtG Online finally working well? Is the community alright, or full of jerks?

I've been thinking of getting into MtG Online this summer. I'm getting tired of all these cards taking up so much space in my closet. Plus it'd be nice to be able to play a challenging game whenever I wanted...

[Press Ninja]

While some of the cards in 11th edition will be different, the core set doesn't change that much year-to-year, so most of your 10th edition cards will still be perfectly legal in type 2.

Anyone know if 11th will be black-bordered again, or are they going back to white-borders for the core set?



Out of curiosity, how much does it cost to draft online? Is the new MtG Online finally working well? Is the community alright, or full of jerks?

I've been thinking of getting into MtG Online this summer. I'm getting tired of all these cards taking up so much space in my closet. Plus it'd be nice to be able to play a challenging game whenever I wanted...

I would like to know as well. Have they also gotten rid of having to purchase all the cards in the game too? I found that incredibly annoying.

[nnanji]

I'm pretty sure that MtG: Online still works on a tickets system. You buy tickets which are used to buy cards and to buy entrance into games. The ticket:dollar ratio is set up so that a pack of virtual cards costs the same as a pack of real ones.

[BigJonno]

The best time I ever had with Magic was running a draft tourney a few years back. A friend of mine gave the shop I was working at a whole box of Unglued. They'd all been opened, but the owner and I spent an afternoon arranging the whole box into "booster packs." I can't remember what else we threw into the mix, but there were some other random sets used. It was a charity tournament and Christmas and everyone was just so laid back and relaxed. What made it even more mental was when we decided that "Once More With Feeling" applied to every player in the room.

[Nameless]

The best time I ever had with Magic was running a draft tourney a few years back. A friend of mine gave the shop I was working at a whole box of Unglued. They'd all been opened, but the owner and I spent an afternoon arranging the whole box into "booster packs." I can't remember what else we threw into the mix, but there were some other random sets used. It was a charity tournament and Christmas and everyone was just so laid back and relaxed. What made it even more mental was when we decided that "Once More With Feeling" applied to every player in the room.

That actually sounds like a really great time! Kudos for organizing such an awesome event! I wish I had a nearby gaming store that I could participate in. The one downtown here is kind of creepy, and the good one is out in the 'burbs... Too far.

[BigJonno]

I loved working in a gaming store. Being able to order whatever I wanted at wholesale prices.... I didn't actually take much money home. :D Unfortunately, I was employed at a bad time for the market. Pokemon crashed and the Harry Potter CCG didn't do well. I was laid off after a few weeks of the owner paying me instead of taking money home for his family. It sucked.

[BlackPete]

So uh... I've been looking to unload my MTG card collection but don't really know where to start. So Type 2 is now the standard and Type 1 and 1.5 are basically dead? Uh oh... sounds like unloading these cards might not be as easy as I thought it'd be.

Is there still a market for older cards (Tempest, Mirage, and earlier)?

[diablopath]

BlackPete, I think there's still a market for them.
Some of them are still expensive, anyway.

Another question:
One deckbuilding strategy I've used before was to keep my deck at the minimum size. In this case, that would be 60.

I went and picked out all the green cards I wanted to put into a deck...and I'm at 67.
Without the Land and Artifact cards I wanted to add.

So before I stress and start removing...is the keeping the deck at 60 a smart strategy? What do most people do?

[nnanji]

Generally speaking keeping the deck at 60 cards is optimal. This is a question of odds. There are always cards that are useful is certain situations, but the trick is to find the cards that you always want and maximize the odds of finding them. Tranquility is a great green card, unless your opponent has no enchantments and a flying creature that's kicking your ass.

Another thing to look at is your mana curve. The speed of your deck (ie: is it a fast "beatdown" deck, or a slower "controller" deck) should influence both the number of lands you have and the casting costs of the spells you keep. In a beatdown deck you want to have at least 8 great 1 mana creatures so you can open strong with a first turn threat. Then the majority of your cards should be in the 2-3 mana range so you can play a threat every turn until they are dead. That 8 casting cost creature may be a god, but in your hand he is useless. Overwhelm their defenses with play after play! Hold back a threat or two in case they have Wrath of God or some other board-sweeper.

Controller decks are harder to judge mana with, but green is really more of a fighter's color. Come back to me when you are ready to try blue :)

[BlackPete]

Damn, I took a look at the WOTC site to see what cards are restricted/banned for various tournament formats, and it looks like I have a lot of them. I mean... Channel is either restricted or banned now? Ditto for the Lotus Petal? :eek:

I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing in terms of being able to sell them off.

[Nameless]

BlackPete, I think there's still a market for them.
Some of them are still expensive, anyway.

Another question:
One deckbuilding strategy I've used before was to keep my deck at the minimum size. In this case, that would be 60.

I went and picked out all the green cards I wanted to put into a deck...and I'm at 67.
Without the Land and Artifact cards I wanted to add.

So before I stress and start removing...is the keeping the deck at 60 a smart strategy? What do most people do?

Other than making a Battle of Wits deck (very specific strategy), I can't think of ANY reason to ever have a deck with more than 60 cards. The more cards you have, the lower the odds are that you get your good cards.

A good rule for mana is that in a 60 card deck you want 22-24 mana in it, depending on how expensive your deck is. You can get away with a bit less in a monocoloured deck (eg: only green cards) since you don't have to worry about getting only the wrong color lands.

EDIT: Also, learning to understand and use the stack is one of the ways you can truly improve your playing ability. This is why I would suggest playing the free MTGOnline game, as it really waks you through EACH step in the game so you get used to all the phases and steps.

[Aggort]

Out of curiosity, how much does it cost to draft online? Is the new MtG Online finally working well? Is the community alright, or full of jerks?

I've been thinking of getting into MtG Online this summer. I'm getting tired of all these cards taking up so much space in my closet. Plus it'd be nice to be able to play a challenging game whenever I wanted...

Sorry I am late replying. I hated MtG:O since you have to pay for the cards. I've been using Magic Workstation and Apprentice for a while.

Apprentice is awesome, but without card images, some are turned off. It has a built in Draft, but there is accompanying software named NetDraft that most use.

MWS has the ability to show card images, which can be downloaded from several databases instantly using other software. It's also a little more featured, especially in deck creating, and drafting.

Both are perfect for creating, managing and play testing decks, which is what I do before buying the cards I need. The people at Magic-League.com are great and everyone is often helpful and very nice. They split the games up into two separate categories for each program and then split them by gametype. There are also people who just want to have an exhibition to test their decks and learn a few things which is absolutely perfect. If you get one of the apps, let me know 'd be glad to play with you!