MtG in My Neighborhood

In need of some cards to finish out your deck? Want to sleeve that 50 cent rare? (not really- but it never hurts) Where to go?

The MtG club gets a slew of bulk commons and uncommons donated from The Groton Hobby Shop as well as some cool swag for prizes and is my go to place for most of my MtG needs. What follows here is a primer for where to go in the area and what to expect when you get there.

Word to the wise...

Decide upfront if you are a casual "kitchen table" player or plan on playing in local FNMs. Keep in mind there are 2 main formats most MtG players get into for FNMs (Standard and Modern) and it is a good idea to decide which camp you fall into before you go out and start building decks. Card prices for Standard change often. A $5 dollar card today can be a 50 cent card tomorrow (I'm looking at you Butcher of the Hoard). Some cards are hugely popular and are considered staples for Standard and run a hefty price now but will go down in price when the format rotates as newer sets come out.

Modern, on the other hand, is a very stable format but cards that are considered staples (i.e. several different decks run them) can be some of the priciest cards around. Building good decks can be done but will take time and effort on your part. Check out PUCA's Building on a Budget Series for ideas.

If you need a card for a casual deck, WAIT for it to rotate out BEFORE buying it as it can be the difference between $35 and $5 dollars. Trade fair with newer players but keep in mind that there are those who know the value of the cards you hold and will sometimes offer trades that benefit them while giving you junk that might look cool but is not a fair trade.

On to the shops...

~ The Card Shop ~ (Cortland) 

Good place to buy needed MtG products- located across from Tops. While he does have singles, they tend to be cost a little more than other stores. If you see a rare you'd like to get your hands on, check the price online before going to know how much it is selling for. The owner doesn't check the prices beyond the first time he boxes his singles, so it pays to have him check the current price as it is often lower.

~ Heroes and Villains ~ (Cortland) 

New store that just opened in the Corset Factory in Cortland. The owners are very interested in growing their stock of MtG items and Role Playing books. They have a great collection of comics and are starting to offer casual events. A good place to get together and practice MtG in a casual setting.

~ Groton Hobby Shop ~ (Groton) 

9.5 miles from RT 222 sits my home for MtG events and the official sponsor of our MtG club. They have a great selection of singles in the case upfront as well as in the back separated by set. Two binders rest there filled with bulk rares and uncommons to help finish out your decks. The staff is super friendly and during FNMs and Events the players are welcoming and open to new players of all ages. FNMs rotate between Modern and Standard every other week ($10 for four rounds of play) with prizes offered for the top players of the night. They also hold prerelease events ($25) for new sets that are a blast to attend.

~ Enchanted Badger ~ (Ithaca) 

20 miles from Cortland past Tops in Ithaca is the Badger. They also have a great selection of singles with a friendly staff. Bulk singles are sorted by color not set in huge 5,000+ card boxes, so it might take a decade to find the card you're looking for. Their other singles are sorted by binder depending on their price and in the display case for the really rare rares. Come to drool. FNMs are always Modern ($5); Saturdays at 4 pm they hold Draft events ($15 gets you 3 packs to build your deck with); while Sundays are reserved for Standard ($5) with prizes offered for the top players of each event.

~ Comics for Collectors ~ (Ithaca)

Good place to buy needed MtG products it is located off the Commons. While he does have some singles in binders, his collection does not include many recent cards and his rares tend to be priced at the height of the value. A card which might currently sell for $5 might be posted at $10. The price is the price. The shop also offers newer sets and duel decks + booster packs but specializes in games and comics.

~ Play the Game, Read the Story ~ (Syracuse)

Next to the Spaghetti Warehouse sits the main store while a satellite store can be found at Destiny. They hold 3 FNM events ($5) starting a 6 pm and staggered every half hour and range from: Standard, Modern, and Commander League ($5 for 1 month) with prizes to the top players in each event. Saturday they also hold an 11 am Standard Event ($5)

Store	Singles	Merchendise	Events
The Card Shop (Cortland)	Commons: 10-15¢ Uncommons: 25-40¢ Bulk Rares: $1	Good selection of most MtG products	None
Heroes and Villains (Cortland)	None	booster packs; duel decks	Casual Events
Groton Hobby Shop (Groton)	Commons: 10¢ Uncommons: 15¢ Bulk Rares: 25¢	Good selection of most MtG products	FNMs (Standard & Modern) Prereleases
Enchanted Badger (Ithaca)	Commons: 10¢ Uncommons: 20¢ Bulk Rares: 20¢	Excellent selection of all MtG products	FNMs Prereleases Sunday Magic
Comics for Collectors (Ithaca)	Rares: doesn’t check prices so tends to be higher than other locations	Selection of some MtG products	None
Play the Game (Syracuse)	Cards are priced individually from commons on up	Excellent selection of all MtG products	FNMs Prereleases Saturday Magic Sunday Drafts
Target / Walmart	None	booster packs; duel decks	None

MtG Tournament of Hoodlums (2/18/15)

I'm really excited about tomorrow's (2/18) first MtG tournament and wanted to fire out a quick reminder about what to expect.  

• Location: Cortland Free Library (Youth Section)

• Corner of Church and Court Street

• Entrance on the Court Street side and head down the stairs to the "Youth" section.

• Time: 10 to 10:30 Register and Sign-up

• We'll start Round 1 at 10:30

• Bring: 1 deck of at least 60 cards- this will be your tournament deck for all 3-4 rounds and cannot be exchanged for another deck. You can include a "sideboard" of 15 cards to exchange with cards in your deck between matches. 

• Lunch- Bring your own food- we'll snack and eat lunch between rounds but will look to play through until 2:30 to 3:00 pm

• Any other decks you want to play between rounds and/or trade cards to exchange with other players

• Make arrangements to be picked up by 3 to 3:30

We'll be playing a traditional set up for MtG tournaments- each player will be paired with 1 other player at random during Round 1. After that, players will be paired depending on how they do each round after that. You are guaranteed to play in all the rounds. Prizes will be given to players who place 1st to 5th with additional prizes available throughout the tournament. I'd like to thank Groton Hobby Shop and The Game Store in Cortland for donating cards for the prize packs. Without their support we wouldn't have any prizes for our first tournament.  

Prize Packs ~ Themed booster packs of 22 cards 

• Warriors
• Dragons
• Boros Batallion
• Rakdos
• Artifact
• Mulitcolored
• White
• Red
• Green
• Blue
• Black

Booster Packs ~ 15-16 card packs with 1-2 rares/mythic rares, random foil cards, 1 land, and assorted commons and uncommon cards from current sets on back. 

1st Place: 3 Prize Packs and 2 Booster Packs

2nd Place: 2 Prize Packs and 2 Booster Packs

3rd Place: 1 Prize Pack and 2 Booster Packs

4th Place: 1 Prize Pack and 1 Booster Pack

5th Place: 1 Prize Pack

From the Ground Up- Deck Building

Deck building can be one of the most challenging parts of Magic: you have 100s of cards, all of which look great laid out on your kitchen table and you can't bring yourself to cut any of them. There is no easy way to break the habit of the deck of two hundred cards, but you'll find that if you trimmed it down to the standard 60, you'll end up with a well oiled deck ready to hit the battlefield with a fighting chance. If you still like the idea of the mega deck, maybe Commander is the format for you. But... want to play at Friday Night Magic (FNM) or at a local tournament? You'll want to cut that massive deck down to size. 

First rule ~ In any deck you can have 4 cards of the same name with the exception of basic lands. A good way to think of how many of a specific card to include goes something like this...

4 = a card you want to see EVERY game at least once and hopefully in your opening hand

3 = a card you'd be happy to see in your opening hand, but would rather draw into

2 = a card that answers a specific threat or bails you out of a sticky situation

1 = a card for dire straits or to seal the win

2nd Rule ~ Versatility ~ Make sure that the cards you include are the best for the job. There are tons of 2 mana 2/2 creatures (known as bears) that are nothing but a creature, which is fine, but for every 2/2 bear, there are a plethora of 2 mana creatures that do more than just growl. In evolutionary terms, any of the cards below are miles better than Runeclaw Bear: Ashcoat has flash, but Skylasher also can't be countered and has protection from blue for the same mana cost. There's even a deck built around cheap 2 mana creatures called Hate Bears. 

In the same way, Instants are more versatile than Sorceries, while Charms offer several options- the Swiss Army equivalent for MtG. Azorius Charm offers the best of Unsummon, Lifelink, and Divination in one package at instant speed and, unlike Unsummon, it places the bounced card on top their library messing up their card draw for 1 turn. 

3rd Rule ~  Synergy ~ As powerful and versatile as the spells are in your deck, if they don't work well together, or worse work against each other, then your deck isn't doing all it can do. Power alone is not enough. I'd love to put Ash Zealot in most of my red decks, but if I'm playing cards with flashback or unearth then I'll be bolting myself each time I cast one of those spells. The Warrior Deck below tries to follow these basic ideas- Versatility and Synergy to create a budget deck that's fun to play and competitive. This is the deck for you if you like building an army, removing any and all threats, and swarming your foes before they can recover. Check out a different take on the Black / White Warrior deck (Athreos's Warriors) for other ideas. 

4th Rule ~ Curve ~ The final part of deck design is to ask yourself- will your deck be able to cast spells and play creatures each turn most of the time? If you only load your deck with 4+ mana cost spells, your early game will go something like this: Turn 1- play land, pass turn; Turn 2- play land, pass turn... not too exciting. Plus, what happens if you miss your turn three land drop? You might not be able to cast any spells until turn 5! In the meantime, your opponent will be building an army and attacking for 4-5 free turns before you can do anything. To figure out if your deck is balanced, lay out your cards by mana cost from 1 up and see how many of each type you have in the deck. 

The 60 card Warrior Deck below is an Aggro deck, meaning it is looking to win as quickly as possible. It doesn't have time to beat around the bush and so needs fewer higher mana cards. It wants to flood the field with low-costing creatures and put our opponent on the ropes as quickly as possible. It's curve breaks down as follows:

1 mana ~ 6 spells (3 creatures / 3 removal spells)

2 mana ~ 22 spells (16 creatures / 6 removal spells)

3 mana ~ 5 spells (3 charms / 2 removal)

4 mana ~ 1 spell (Enchantment)

5+ mana ~ 3 spells (3 creatures- 2 sweepers to clear the field and 1 beater)

Our curve is very low with 45% of the deck costing 1-2 mana. Because of this, we'll be happy to see a 2 land opening hand with several of our early threats out. As the game develops, we'll start to see some of our charms and other removal spells to take care of any threats that start to clog the field. If the game gets out of hand, Ankleshanker (our 2 of sweeper) can help clear the board followed by a mid/late game Zurgo to close it out. If we loaded up the deck with more Zurgos and Ankleshankers, we'd be more likely to flood our opening hand with cards that would be dead for several rounds. For an aggressive deck, this curve is perfect to help dish out max damage over the early rounds. 

Mardu Warriors (Tribal Deck) 

CREATURES (22)

• 3 Disowned Ancestor (B) Common Spirit Warrior (0/4)
• 4 Chief of the Edge (WB) Uncommon Warrior (3/2) 
• 2 Chief of the Scale (WB) Uncommon Warrior (2/3)
• 4 Oreskos Swiftclaw (1W) Common Cat Warrior (3/1)
• 4 Borderland Marauder (1R) Common Human Warrior (1/2 & 3/2 when it attacks)
• 2 Mardu Skullhunter (1B) Common Warrior (2/1)
• 2 Ankle Shanker (2RWB) Rare Goblin Berserker (2/2)
• 1 Zurgo Helmsmasher (2RWB) Rare Legendary Orc Warrior (7/2)

The goal here is to play early treats that share the creature type Warrior, building synergy from the Chiefs and Raider's Spoils pumping them (+0/+1) with Chief of the Scale and (+1/+0) with Chief of the Edge to ensure they continue to threaten the board. Disowned Ancestor is a great 1 drop to slow down explosive openings with decks that use Monastery Swiftspear. The only non Warrior in the deck is the little goblin that could, Ankle Shanker, who gives all your creatures first strike and deathtouch to sweep the board of any threats (Versatility). Call out Zurgo to wrap things up-

SWAPS ~

• 4 Borderland Marauders for War-Name Aspirant or Battle Brawler
• 3 Disowned Ancestors for Bloodsoaked Champion or Mardu War-Reaper
• 3 Mardu Charm for Merciless Executioner 

REMOVAL (14)

• 3 Oppressive Rays (W) Common Enchantment- Aura
• 4 Lightning Strike (1R) Common Instant
• 3 Mardu Charm (RWB) Uncommon Instant
• 2 Pillar of Light (2W) Common Instant
• 2 Ride Down (RW) Uncommon Instant

To get through your foe's defenses, you'll need removal and plenty of it. These spells should take care of most of your opponent's threats while making sure that yours get through round after round. Consider swapping out the Oppressive Rays for Banishing Light (hits all permanents though a little slower) or Suspension Field. Other budget cards worth mentioning: Kill Shot, Magma Spray, Dark Betrayal, Bile Blight, Valorous Stance or Ulcerate. If you can get your hand on Crackling Doom go to town removing their best creatures.

COMBAT TRICKS & OTHER SPELLS (1)

• 1 Raiders' Spoil (3B) Uncommon Enchantment (Creatures get +1/+0) and allows for card draw

LANDS (23)

To figure out how many different lands to run, add up all the color mana symbols in your spells.

BLACK: BBBBB BBBBB BBBBB BBB (18)
WHITE: WWWWW WWWWW WWWWW WWWWW WWW (23)
RED:      RRRRR RRRRR RRRRR (15)

and round up... Black (20), White (25), Red (15) then divide by 10: Black (2), White (2.5), Red (1.5)

This part gets a little tricky with the maths :) but is worth it in the end: For every 2 Swamps I add, I'll need 2 1/2 Plains and 1 1/2 Mountains. Now I'm not one to tear my mountains and plains in half so for an easier fix, double everything to get ride of the half. Now it's simple- for every 4 Swamps I need to add 5 Plains and 3 Mountains. To help balance my land base, I'll use Dual Lands and Tri-Lands for consistency.

• 5 Plains 
• 4 Swamps 
• 3 Mountains
• 3 Nomad Outpost (taps for R, W, or B)
• 3 Scoured Barrens (taps for W or B and gains me 1 life)
• 2 Bloodfell Caves (taps for B or R and gains me 1 life)

For the last three lands, not wanting any more "comes into play tapped lands," I'll add 1 extra Plains, Mountain, and Swamp to round it out. 23 lands is about right for a 3 color deck with most of its spells costing 3 or less mana. The whole deck comes in at around $7.00 dollars as it is built with mostly  Commons costing 10 cents each. Most uncommons here are 25 cents each and the lone Zurgo a whooping $0.65.

For more deck ideas, check out the last post on Aggro Decks.