Hello, I am a returning "new" player to MTG. I have a core deck from 2010 and I love it, but obviously it's outdated. I do have a thing for elves and that's why I love that deck. I want to get a new deck but not sure which one to get. The Masters 25 or wait for the Core 2019. What advice can you give me? I don't plan to play tournaments, but I do play cards with my kids. (They got me back into this!) Thank you in advance!!!
Hello, I am a returning "new" player to MTG. I have a core deck from 2010 and I love it, but obviously it's outdated. I do have a thing for elves and that's why I love that deck. I want to get a new deck but not sure which one to get. The Masters 25 or wait for the Core 2019. What advice can you give me? I don't plan to play tournaments, but I do play cards with my kids. (They got me back into this!) Thank you in advance!!!
Check out the EDH/Commander format and the Commander product line (pre-constructed decks) - it's possibly WoTC's best annual product as far as value and setting up a new person to jump in with a respectable precon deck.
Hello, I am a returning "new" player to MTG. I have a core deck from 2010 and I love it, but obviously it's outdated. I do have a thing for elves and that's why I love that deck. I want to get a new deck but not sure which one to get. The Masters 25 or wait for the Core 2019. What advice can you give me? I don't plan to play tournaments, but I do play cards with my kids. (They got me back into this!) Thank you in advance!!!
Check out the EDH/Commander format and the Commander product line (pre-constructed decks) - it's possibly WoTC's best annual product as far as value and setting up a new person to jump in with a respectable precon deck.
I'll echo this. EDH is fun, and Commander decks play well enough out-of-box, especially against one another.
If you don't mind waiting 2.5 weeks you can pick up one of the Challenger Decks for Standard; I think they retail for $30 (but the actual value of the individual cards is greater than that, making them a great value buy). In general, they appear to be good enough straight out of the box to take to your LGS on a Friday night and do pretty well.
What exactly do you mean by "deck" in this instance? Are you looking for preconstructed material or were you planning on buying the cards to build a deck? Masters 25 doesn't have any preconstructed product, and is a very bad product for getting back into Magic in general.
If your kids play/are willing to start playing Commander, then the Commander precons are definitely the way to go - they have decent value, a wide range of cards, and are pretty fun out of the box. If you are going to be playing 60-card Magic, you might be best off picking up one of the Challenger decks that will be coming out - they're more competitive than most preconstructed decks, but they are also the most consistent and reasonably built decks they've ever printed.
If you were wanting to buy into a non-preconstructed deck, it's not a bad idea to just do some research - Commander is generally the format of choice for casual play these days, so it's not a bad idea to look at their forums and see if you can't find a budget list you like.
[size=12]Well I guess a pre-constructed deck that I can buy boosters to upgrade and get better cards so if I do go to my LGS I can be somewhat competitive and not die within 2 secs of gameplay. I have read that the Masters 25 isn't as good because of the duplicate problem, so that deck is out. Since I am new, how do the vs. decks work? Are they any good?
[size=12]Well I guess a pre-constructed deck that I can buy boosters to upgrade and get better cards so if I do go to my LGS I can be somewhat competitive and not die within 2 secs of gameplay. I have read that the Masters 25 isn't as good because of the duplicate problem, so that deck is out. Since I am new, how do the vs. decks work? Are they any good?
I think there is some confusion here. M25 is a booster set, not a deck. Secondly it sounds like you would want to go to play at FNMs, so you have to figure out what format they play, so you can't just show up with any deck with any cards you may have bought. For example, Standard would not allow cards from M25, Vs decks, Iconic Masters, etc. unless they were printed in a Standard set.
Okay, so I am very new. I have no idea now. What is what, and what to play. Things have definitely changed in the 10+ years. Can someone explain all this to me? Let's just say that I know nothing about this game, and I want to start playing. How do I go about it?
Things haven't changed too much, but if you're getting back into the game after a long break it might be best to treat it like starting from scratch.
First, before you choose a deck you need to know what format you're playing. Since you'll definitely be starting out casually, your formats will basically break down into 60-card or Commander. This distinction is mostly important since you will want to be playing with the same kind of deck as the other people you are playing with.
60-card Magic requires a 60+ card deck, with no more than 4 copies of any given card (outside of basic lands), and will be further broken down into Standard, Modern, Legacy, or Vintage based on what cards you play in your deck (but I wouldn't worry about that for casual play - just play what you have). Most competitive Magic falls into this category.
Commander (occasionally called EDH after its original name) is a 100-card format where you cannot use more than 1 copy of any card (except for basic lands), and it is based around using a legendary creature that has been designated as your deck's "Commander" - there are additional rules compared to the base game, but they are detailed in the official rules. Commander is a huge format for casual play since it is inherently less consistent meaning that no 2 games will play out exactly the same way (or at least are highly unlikely to).
As for product that is available, you mostly have randomized boosters, preconstructed decks, and single cards sold by third parties. Masters sets (Masters 25, Iconic Masters, etc.) are only sold as boosters, making them a very bad place to get started (especially since they're US$10 a pop). The other products with boosters readily available right now are Standard expansions (Kaladesh, Aether Revolt, Amonkhet, Hour of Devastation, Ixalan, and Rivals of Ixalan being the most recent 6 in order) and Unstable (a silly set that isn't generally legal to play, but that depends on who you're playing against). Bundles, which you'll see for Standard expansions, are just a collection of boosters in a nice box with a 20-sided die.
Preconstructed decks are printed with each Standard set under the name "Planeswalker Decks" - they aren't very good, but you can often get them pretty cheap (and they come with a couple of booster packs to help shore up the deck a little bit). You also have the Deckbuilder's Toolboxes, which are semi-random cards that are basically guaranteed to give you enough cards to get a vaguely playable deck, but not a particularly good one. Your next option would be to pick up a Duel Deck, which are 2 decks that are specifically designed to be played against each other but will be perfectly serviceable for casual play.
Your last 2 options for preconstructed products, and the 2 that most people here are suggesting, are the Challenger Decks and the Commander precons. Challenger Decks will be coming out soon, and will feature a deck of cards from recent sets that is pretty finely tuned to be effective (most preconstructed decks contain cards that are weak to the point that nobody would play them except to learn the game). Commander preconstructed decks are the only 100-card preconstructed decks available, and are excellently designed, fun decks even out of the box.
Too Long; Didn't Read Version: If you want something playable out of the box, pick up either a Challenger Deck or a Commander preconstructed deck depending on whether you'll be playing 60-card or 100-card Magic. If you don't know which one, just pick based on what colors/themes you like. After you've played it enough to get comfortable with it, you can pick up booster packs (avoid Masters 25/Iconic Masters, though, since they are too expensive for what you get) or buy singles (either from your local card shop or from an online retailer) to customize the deck.
If you want a single, simple product to build off of, they released a box set of 4 decks called "Explorers of Ixalan" https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/explorers-ixalan It's MSRP is $60 but you can find it for $40ish if you hunt around online.
You get 4, complete 60 card decks, each themed around a creature type, Merfolk, Vampires, Dinosaurs and Pirates. They each come with a deck box that is large enough to hold the cards in sleeves.
Each deck has a good number of rares and a few mythics.
The current 2 magic sets, Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan have more cards that would easily work with the decks, or you can take them apart and modify them.
There is a special way to play multiplayer included with the Explorers game, that has unique tiles and game pieces, this is optional. The decks work fine on their own.
What do you guys think of the Core decks that are released in July? Would that be something I could get?
Core 2019? Again, not actually a deck, but a booster set like any other.
Core sets are supposed to be a new player's introduction to the game, but they haven't been made for a couple years and are just going to be making their return again with this year's release. Other than the generals of core sets, though, we have no idea what it'll be like. The set will have precon products associated with it in the form of two planeswalker decks, which have unique cards. One of them will be for Tezzeret and the other for iirc Chandra. These are both well-established characters, so we kinda have an idea of what those decks will be like (blue artifacts and red burn).
The planeswalker decks are fun but are at an "intermediate" level according to WotC.
Do they always have two colors as planes walkers? I hate to say this, but I love the green and blue, and I really want green because I am partial to elves. I know, I am a total dork. That is why I am not running out and get Ixalan. I don't like the green deck. So would it be better to just wait for the Core?
I mean, there are always two Planeswalker Decks per set and I don't see that changing anytime soon, but what those decks'/cards' colors is "whatever is appropriate."
Again, as others have said, nobody's forcing you to get a precon. That's easier to do, but you'd be able to make a better deck by reading up on current decks in Standard/Modern/Commander and buying singles to make them.
If you just want to play casually I'll endorse Commander again but if you want to play at FNM I'd get the aforementioned Challenger Decks.
This product is aimed squarely at you. Click the link and decide which one looks best to you. This is the Standard format. This is probably about the cheapest way to buy in and be reasonably successful at a FNM Standard constructed event.
30 bucks and you have a 60 card deck with 15 card sideboard ready to go. Buy yourself some sleeves for them and let 'er rip.
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most products wotc releases are not premade decks. and the premade decks they do have (aside from commander and the challenger decks) are absolutely horrible.
so here is an idea of the packs of cards that do not form any kind of decks. it does mean you need to like to actually make a deck yourself, but its better than premade and more ethical and cheaper than copying pro decks.
booster pack, pack of 15 cards, 1 rare/mythic, 1 wild card, 4 or 5 uncommons, and like 9 commons.
starter kit: good value for starters containing a land pack of around 100 basic lands
fat(or whatever it was called now pack: contains 40$ worth of (from what i heard slightly rigged) packs of cards.
booster box: 100$ worth of booster packs meaning about 32-34 rares and 4-5 mythics?
my advice: just get a starters kit for $20 and spend any remaining money you planned to spend for now until you relearn better on booster packs.
for a quick refresh if you really forgot deckbuilding: stick to 1-3 colors, preferrably 2 colors, 21-23 total lands, about 1/3 of the deck should cost 2-3 mana per card, 1/3 of the deck should cost 3-4, and the last 1/3 can be used A for more cheap cards or B for big splashy explosion cards.
stick to those rules for your first few decks, play your deck alot, observe what your deck lacks and why it loses or wins, what are its flaws, and improve upon them. when you got building good decks deacently under control you can A continue brewing decks with what you have or B look up cards on mtg cardsearch, order those cards, and create decks this way.
in stores where they sell mtg they also hold casual events called friday night magic. but since you play with your kids i assume they dont care alot you play the legal sets. to make sure you can ask them.
if im correct you can just look around which set you would enjoy and buy that.
some points of refference:
-ixalan the latest set is about 4 tribes that must be played homogeneous as each tribe only buffs their own units
-dominaria is an upcoming set and my suggestion to buy as its theme is well... the original plane, dominaria. since you are a returning player you will surely enjoy that.
-amonkhet/hour of devestation is egyptian themed and playstyle is themed about being cruel, olmost torturing your oponents to death with things like torment of hailfire and torment of scarabs
-kaladesh/eather revolt is steampunk themed with not alot of neccesarily strong individual creatures, but decks made with this set shine with cheap to play vehicles. artifacts that turn into strong monsters when you give them pilots. next to this the set has powerfull energy counters, a powerfull currency which the cards that use it broke standart play for a long time.
-(out of standard) return to innistrad is a set which focuses on gothic lore with werewolves and fallen angels in a demonic world. altough it has a few big stompy creatures and certainly has many strong cards it also has "flip cards" cards that have art on both sides and are unplayable without good sleeves.
-coresets. they have everything you need to build any deck and because they dont feature any special gimmicky mechanics what you learn from them will apply to all magic sets and are easier to learn, this without sacrificing powerful and fun cards that will do hilariously strong or fun things.
much behind this i am out of knowlege though i do know
- battle for zendikar. a set which is themed around the eldrazi, a collorles collective evil out to destroy stuff. there are 3 main eldrazi titans which all 3 are similiar but different. they are game ending creatures that cost 10+ colorsless mana. these 3 titans command their army of scions to do their biding. yet these scions are no joke either, many being equally able to end the game. the main feature of eldrazi is annihilator, an imo unfair ability that forces their foes to sacrifice (depending on their strength) 1-6 permanents whenever they attack not including the chump blocker it will cost to keep their massive power away from your life total.
again, dominaria is probably a good starting point ASSUIMNG you dont have just 10k lying around to spend on older sets you enjoy more due to nostalgia
one last note, magic has no to little powercreep, the makers sell new sets by making them the ultimate counter vs the previous one. so assuming you dont wanna play standard, your 2010 deck is not outdated at all. just modify it with some new cards you collect and tadaa.
Check out the EDH/Commander format and the Commander product line (pre-constructed decks) - it's possibly WoTC's best annual product as far as value and setting up a new person to jump in with a respectable precon deck.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-general/334931-what-is-the-most-pimp-card-deck-youve-seen-or?comment=5361
Commander
RGOmnath, Locus of Rage Grenades! EDHGR
UWSygg's Defense, EDH - Voltron & ControlWU
BUGMimeoplasm EDH ft. Ifnir Cycling-discard comboBUG
WBTeysa, Connoisseur of CullingBW
BWSelenia & Recruiter of the Guard suicice combo EDHWB
UBRWGO-Kagachi - 5 Color Enchantments - EDHUBRWG
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/metagame/standard#online
I'll echo this. EDH is fun, and Commander decks play well enough out-of-box, especially against one another.
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If your kids play/are willing to start playing Commander, then the Commander precons are definitely the way to go - they have decent value, a wide range of cards, and are pretty fun out of the box. If you are going to be playing 60-card Magic, you might be best off picking up one of the Challenger decks that will be coming out - they're more competitive than most preconstructed decks, but they are also the most consistent and reasonably built decks they've ever printed.
If you were wanting to buy into a non-preconstructed deck, it's not a bad idea to just do some research - Commander is generally the format of choice for casual play these days, so it's not a bad idea to look at their forums and see if you can't find a budget list you like.
I think there is some confusion here. M25 is a booster set, not a deck. Secondly it sounds like you would want to go to play at FNMs, so you have to figure out what format they play, so you can't just show up with any deck with any cards you may have bought. For example, Standard would not allow cards from M25, Vs decks, Iconic Masters, etc. unless they were printed in a Standard set.
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
First, before you choose a deck you need to know what format you're playing. Since you'll definitely be starting out casually, your formats will basically break down into 60-card or Commander. This distinction is mostly important since you will want to be playing with the same kind of deck as the other people you are playing with.
60-card Magic requires a 60+ card deck, with no more than 4 copies of any given card (outside of basic lands), and will be further broken down into Standard, Modern, Legacy, or Vintage based on what cards you play in your deck (but I wouldn't worry about that for casual play - just play what you have). Most competitive Magic falls into this category.
Commander (occasionally called EDH after its original name) is a 100-card format where you cannot use more than 1 copy of any card (except for basic lands), and it is based around using a legendary creature that has been designated as your deck's "Commander" - there are additional rules compared to the base game, but they are detailed in the official rules. Commander is a huge format for casual play since it is inherently less consistent meaning that no 2 games will play out exactly the same way (or at least are highly unlikely to).
As for product that is available, you mostly have randomized boosters, preconstructed decks, and single cards sold by third parties. Masters sets (Masters 25, Iconic Masters, etc.) are only sold as boosters, making them a very bad place to get started (especially since they're US$10 a pop). The other products with boosters readily available right now are Standard expansions (Kaladesh, Aether Revolt, Amonkhet, Hour of Devastation, Ixalan, and Rivals of Ixalan being the most recent 6 in order) and Unstable (a silly set that isn't generally legal to play, but that depends on who you're playing against). Bundles, which you'll see for Standard expansions, are just a collection of boosters in a nice box with a 20-sided die.
Preconstructed decks are printed with each Standard set under the name "Planeswalker Decks" - they aren't very good, but you can often get them pretty cheap (and they come with a couple of booster packs to help shore up the deck a little bit). You also have the Deckbuilder's Toolboxes, which are semi-random cards that are basically guaranteed to give you enough cards to get a vaguely playable deck, but not a particularly good one. Your next option would be to pick up a Duel Deck, which are 2 decks that are specifically designed to be played against each other but will be perfectly serviceable for casual play.
Your last 2 options for preconstructed products, and the 2 that most people here are suggesting, are the Challenger Decks and the Commander precons. Challenger Decks will be coming out soon, and will feature a deck of cards from recent sets that is pretty finely tuned to be effective (most preconstructed decks contain cards that are weak to the point that nobody would play them except to learn the game). Commander preconstructed decks are the only 100-card preconstructed decks available, and are excellently designed, fun decks even out of the box.
Too Long; Didn't Read Version: If you want something playable out of the box, pick up either a Challenger Deck or a Commander preconstructed deck depending on whether you'll be playing 60-card or 100-card Magic. If you don't know which one, just pick based on what colors/themes you like. After you've played it enough to get comfortable with it, you can pick up booster packs (avoid Masters 25/Iconic Masters, though, since they are too expensive for what you get) or buy singles (either from your local card shop or from an online retailer) to customize the deck.
For a breakdown of different formats and the official rules, see here: https://magic.wizards.com/en/gameplay/rules-and-formats
You get 4, complete 60 card decks, each themed around a creature type, Merfolk, Vampires, Dinosaurs and Pirates. They each come with a deck box that is large enough to hold the cards in sleeves.
Each deck has a good number of rares and a few mythics.
The current 2 magic sets, Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan have more cards that would easily work with the decks, or you can take them apart and modify them.
There is a special way to play multiplayer included with the Explorers game, that has unique tiles and game pieces, this is optional. The decks work fine on their own.
Core 2019? Again, not actually a deck, but a booster set like any other.
Core sets are supposed to be a new player's introduction to the game, but they haven't been made for a couple years and are just going to be making their return again with this year's release. Other than the generals of core sets, though, we have no idea what it'll be like. The set will have precon products associated with it in the form of two planeswalker decks, which have unique cards. One of them will be for Tezzeret and the other for iirc Chandra. These are both well-established characters, so we kinda have an idea of what those decks will be like (blue artifacts and red burn).
The planeswalker decks are fun but are at an "intermediate" level according to WotC.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Again, as others have said, nobody's forcing you to get a precon. That's easier to do, but you'd be able to make a better deck by reading up on current decks in Standard/Modern/Commander and buying singles to make them.
If you just want to play casually I'll endorse Commander again but if you want to play at FNM I'd get the aforementioned Challenger Decks.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/challenger-decks
30 bucks and you have a 60 card deck with 15 card sideboard ready to go. Buy yourself some sleeves for them and let 'er rip.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
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Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
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so here is an idea of the packs of cards that do not form any kind of decks. it does mean you need to like to actually make a deck yourself, but its better than premade and more ethical and cheaper than copying pro decks.
booster pack, pack of 15 cards, 1 rare/mythic, 1 wild card, 4 or 5 uncommons, and like 9 commons.
starter kit: good value for starters containing a land pack of around 100 basic lands
fat(or whatever it was called now pack: contains 40$ worth of (from what i heard slightly rigged) packs of cards.
booster box: 100$ worth of booster packs meaning about 32-34 rares and 4-5 mythics?
my advice: just get a starters kit for $20 and spend any remaining money you planned to spend for now until you relearn better on booster packs.
for a quick refresh if you really forgot deckbuilding: stick to 1-3 colors, preferrably 2 colors, 21-23 total lands, about 1/3 of the deck should cost 2-3 mana per card, 1/3 of the deck should cost 3-4, and the last 1/3 can be used A for more cheap cards or B for big splashy explosion cards.
stick to those rules for your first few decks, play your deck alot, observe what your deck lacks and why it loses or wins, what are its flaws, and improve upon them. when you got building good decks deacently under control you can A continue brewing decks with what you have or B look up cards on mtg cardsearch, order those cards, and create decks this way.
in stores where they sell mtg they also hold casual events called friday night magic. but since you play with your kids i assume they dont care alot you play the legal sets. to make sure you can ask them.
if im correct you can just look around which set you would enjoy and buy that.
some points of refference:
-ixalan the latest set is about 4 tribes that must be played homogeneous as each tribe only buffs their own units
-dominaria is an upcoming set and my suggestion to buy as its theme is well... the original plane, dominaria. since you are a returning player you will surely enjoy that.
-amonkhet/hour of devestation is egyptian themed and playstyle is themed about being cruel, olmost torturing your oponents to death with things like torment of hailfire and torment of scarabs
-kaladesh/eather revolt is steampunk themed with not alot of neccesarily strong individual creatures, but decks made with this set shine with cheap to play vehicles. artifacts that turn into strong monsters when you give them pilots. next to this the set has powerfull energy counters, a powerfull currency which the cards that use it broke standart play for a long time.
-(out of standard) return to innistrad is a set which focuses on gothic lore with werewolves and fallen angels in a demonic world. altough it has a few big stompy creatures and certainly has many strong cards it also has "flip cards" cards that have art on both sides and are unplayable without good sleeves.
-coresets. they have everything you need to build any deck and because they dont feature any special gimmicky mechanics what you learn from them will apply to all magic sets and are easier to learn, this without sacrificing powerful and fun cards that will do hilariously strong or fun things.
much behind this i am out of knowlege though i do know
- battle for zendikar. a set which is themed around the eldrazi, a collorles collective evil out to destroy stuff. there are 3 main eldrazi titans which all 3 are similiar but different. they are game ending creatures that cost 10+ colorsless mana. these 3 titans command their army of scions to do their biding. yet these scions are no joke either, many being equally able to end the game. the main feature of eldrazi is annihilator, an imo unfair ability that forces their foes to sacrifice (depending on their strength) 1-6 permanents whenever they attack not including the chump blocker it will cost to keep their massive power away from your life total.
again, dominaria is probably a good starting point ASSUIMNG you dont have just 10k lying around to spend on older sets you enjoy more due to nostalgia
one last note, magic has no to little powercreep, the makers sell new sets by making them the ultimate counter vs the previous one. so assuming you dont wanna play standard, your 2010 deck is not outdated at all. just modify it with some new cards you collect and tadaa.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝