(Howdy everyone, J typing from the void here. A while back, Mars reached out to me about doing a Magic: The Gathering article, and honestly? How could I say no? They’ve been one of my closest hobby partners in crime. So please enjoy our first guest author, and some good TCG talk.)
Basically, I asked people on insta to ask me some MTG questions for me to answer here in this blog. So here they are!
Q: “I’m an OG. Played MTG when it first came out in the 90s. How screwed am I if I get back into it?”
Actually not as screwed as you might think! There’s been a ton of releases and reprints, which makes things more exciting, and some cards have dropped in value. My suggestion is to ease back into MTG using MTG Arena (just play a few games with free decks), or make a Modern deck where you can use almost all the cards ever printed.
What you might need to pay extra attention to are the new mechanics and keywords!
Q: “What’s your favorite game type, and what do you like about it VS others?”
I have a very soft spot for Planechase. Recently, WOTC released the March of the Machines pack, as well as the Dr. Who pack, which made me very happy!
Planechase is such an exciting game mode since it evens out the playing field for everyone involved. You can use it with 60-card decks, or you can even do Planechase Commander. Your friend brought their OP eggs deck? It means nothing if we all got stuck in the milling plane for 7–8 turns…
Q: “Best news source to keep up with releases and changes?”
Surprisingly, Reddit is the best place for this. Every time there are impending releases, there would be a ton of spoilers and very good discussions! Check out the r/magictcg sub, or even r/badmtgcombos!
Q: “What’s the best color for beginners?”
For mono colour, I would recommend either green or red.
Put tons of big creatures or make mana with green spells, then buff to hit face for massive damage! Or play red spells and fling straight to their face, or play creatures that can attack immediately upon summoning.
For two colours, I recommend green and white (Selesnya) for awesome creatures, tokens, and buff synergy. It’s probably the easiest 2-colour combo to pick up for beginners.
Q: “What was your first deck?”
My first proper deck was a Modern Dimir mill deck. By “proper,” I mean 100% homebrew deck list, and the first deck I invested money in (not from cards won via draft/prerelease, etc.). I still have it to this day, though the deck list has seen many iterations over the years.
Q: “Favorite card?”
Credit to Hasbro
Consuming Aberration forever and always. I first saw it not through spoilers or any official card release information, surprisingly. I saw it at a local Target during one of my interstate holidays, showcased within one of the Gatecrash pre-constructed decks. At first, I ignored it, but after looking at the card effect online, I knew I had to get it.
My hotel was 2 km away from the Target, and I walked all the way there and back to get that deck, and the foil Consuming Aberration that came with it. It was around 2 hours of walking through the sandy beach (fastest route), and I got hella sore feet, but it was worth it.
Q: “Have you been to any MTG events like GP, etc?”
Yes, plenty of times! I was fortunate enough to have been part of the Hasbro/ WOTC PAX demo team for 3 years, from 2014 to 2017. We were there teaching people how to play the game and distribute limited-edition Pinny Arcade MTG pins!
I was also part of many Super Sunday Series events and went to other expos such as Supernova (in NZ) and Oz Comic-Con as part of WOTC. It’s a shame they don’t run these events anymore in AU! We had an amazing team and even more amazing team leader (Sherry) who I’m still in contact with to this day.
Q: “Have you met any MTG celebrities?”
I’ve met Aaron Forsythe and 1v1d him… does he count as a celebrity? xD
He also signed a bunch of my foil Forests…
Apart from that, I’ve met artists such as Adam Paquette, Ryan Yee, Luis Lasahido, RK Post, etc, and I’m pretty sure I’ve also seen LSV briefly…
Q: “MTG has a lot of cool art. Who is your favorite artist?”
Adam Paquette is my favorite artist! I am in love with how he draws lands. I met him randomly at a coffee shop in Melbourne, and he drew on my trade’s folder for free! That folder is now my designated “Lands Folder”. At that time, he injured his left hand. But he managed to still sign my cards also.
Q: “Would you rather be manaflooded or manastuck?”
Neither.
Q: “Which company makes the best accessories, e.g., sleeves, etc? I want to get back into MTG, but need more sleeves and accessories.”
I’ve used many brands, and honestly, everything comes down to personal preference. I don’t care so much about “shuffle feel” or “card spacing”. I love sleeves that are affordable and have good art! If you just want sleeves for bare minimum protection, try Legion sleeves. They fray easily, but they got a ton of meme art.
I use a lot of Ultra Pro for everyday stuff, though, including playmats. I only have 1 deck sleeved with Dragon Shield. DS sleeves are expensive in AU, hence why I mostly sleeve with UP.
In terms of deck boxes, I highly recommend the Ultimate Guard Boulder 100+. One of them fits 2x 60-card decks, or 1 commander deck with extra sleeves and tokens. And further to that, I recommend the Ultimate Guard Omnihive carry case!
Q: “Have you tried doing card alters?”
Yes, I tried to do foil alters back in the day for fun, and I’ve done a couple of just funny alters with paper and blue tac. No biggie.
Q: “Where to get cheap cards?”
There are plenty of good spots around the world for cheap MTG cards, but firstly: NEVER discount buying foreign language cards! For example, a JP Rhystic Study is about 40 AUD at the time of writing, but the EN version is about 70-80 AUD. This is even more true for JP Tutors, with your Commander staples averaging about 20-30 AUD cheaper than the EN equivalent. Make sure to provide translation for your peers.
In terms of good pricing, always go with the Japanese stores (BigMagic, TokyoMTG, Hareruya) since they list EN cards lower than other EN stores. eBay is also a hidden goldmine, and if you are an eBay+ member, you can even get 20% off or a $5 coupon with no minimum spend, making your fetchlands $5 cheaper!
Finally, ALWAYS check your LGS’s bulk pile. I have found cards from the bulk rares section that are now worth hundreds. Like 4x copies of Rhystic Studies that got shoved into the “common bulks”…
Q: “Do you pay the 1?”
Only sometimes.
Q: “Favorite planeswalker”
My boy Garruk, he gets no love these days.
Q: “I started playing MTG at my LGS with commander, thinking it’s mostly casual plays, but disappointed that they are all running game changers, and all games run the same and even more competitive than 60-card MTG. Is this the case with your pod/ LGS in Australia?”
A friend of mine told me that Commander is basically like joining a CS: GO/ TF2 Lobby back in the day. Some servers are all knives, no AWP, no rifles, Scouts only, etc, and those who don’t follow the rules are kicked. Therefore, communication is VERY important.
Commander is the more “social” aspect of MTG, and this is why it’s blown up over the past few years. But just with any social group, you need to communicate and find out which “pods” are for you. It’s worth being part of multiple pods just to spice things up. I personally have one pod of 10 friends, but we all have one of each tier deck. So we can always mix it up, and we have something for newcomers who just want an “exhibition match”.
And in terms of “every game runs the same”, it’s to be expected, sadly, if a deck is running, say, 8 tutors, and they are always searching for the same key components. But this is also why it’s important to always spice things up and change up your deck or find a different pod. Or communicate with your pod and tell them to spice things up, too!
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Have a happy Wednesday!
Creeping for Scale Models 