So, you have decided to play modern. Good choice, this is a very balanced format with well defined pillars. What makes this format different from other formats is it is free of benchmark decks. Unlike legacy where you have to be able to beat goblins, modern has no deck that you have to beat. But I'm not here to sell you on the format I'm here to tell you how to get into it.
This will be a short 1-2 page introduction into the formats metagame, and price point. This will be broken down into 3 points. First I will be talking about the current state of modern and what you should know coming into it from a legacy perspective, and a standard perspective. Secondly I will be covering the pillars of the format and what are easy choices to get into each pillar. Third I will cover card prices and staples and what you should buy and when. Ready? Ok here we go.
First off is the current state of modern, Due to the recent banning of second sunrise the format is devoid of any tournament oppressive decks. By this I mean decks that are a drain on the game in a logistical standpoint. All decks currently are capable of finishing there matches within a decent time frame. No blue decks exists that take 5 minutes a turn. Coming from legacy this will be almost like legacy turbo mode. Majority of legacy decks exist in modern to some extent. Some decks such as Tron exists because legacy's counter suit do not exist in this format. If legacy where a color it would be blue. Modern is a Red format. By that the defining decks are red. UWR control, Jund, Burn. While in legacy the defining factors where Fish,Miracles,Stone blade. RUG, ect. Turns are quicker and more streamlined than legacy. Misplays are a but more forgiving in modern but not a lot. Coming from T2, modern is a rough format that caters to better players IMHO. If you have never tried legacy, modern will be interesting. More decks exist and as a standard player you have to learn that boarding is the biggest change from standard. In T2 you board against the 1 or 2 decks you struggle with. IN modern you side vs strategies rather than decks. Misplays are very harsh compared to standard. Where as in T2 one or 2 cards might be problems, the larger card pool means that more unknowns exist. anyway thats the jist of entering modern from the different formats.
Now the pillars of the format.
Currently the 3 pillars of magic are all active in modern.
--- In the aggro decks you see stuff like Jund and burn. These decks typically are green and red in nature but they all pack ,with the exception of burn and affinity, some control elements.
---Combo decks such as pod,twin, and scape shift are all solid aggro decks, with the exception of twin, that win off of a combo. although they combo these decks can win without there combos. they are just a little clunkier than a streamlined version of the decks.
---Lastly is control, These decks are Loam, UB, UWR, TRON, D&T. All these decks are in the long haul. some tend to be mid range and others namely tron resolve large creatures. these decks tend to pack combo factor into them to help in the short haul. Tron with its slavers and d/t with its mangara are notable suspects. All the named decks should be studied up on weather you intend to play them or not. they are popular decks and reading there primers to learn how they run helps a lot. A pro tip is that if the card seems sub par when they play it, it is probably a combo piece.
my final point is the purchase order of modern. I recommend starting with a 1 or 2 color deck to start off with. Burn, Tribal kithkins, RG aggro, UB control, TRON are all sub 500$ decks that will help you out while you acquire the cards you need for the format. so my buy recomendations in order
1. Fetches (retail for all of them are 500) These will only go up in price. Buy them now. All decks that play 2+colors use them.
2. Shocks. They are as cheap now as they will ever be they are used in pretty much every deck. (all of them cost 400)
3. Now pick a deck you want to start building and acquire the STAPLES of the deck. this allows you to have value in trades if you change your mind later. Get play sets. Nothing sucks more than having only 2 of a card and needing 4.
4. Get budget possible future staples. Here is the tricky part. In modern cards sky rocket over night if they see success. So I recommend picking up particularly under priced cards in the uncommon and rare slots of old sets. One example is suppression field the card is way too good for the price. if it becomes a thing it will easily hit 20$ for a play set and getting the set at sub1$ is always a good choice.
5. Acquire cards you think you might want to play in the future. Since you already own staples if your still in that color you are set. pretty much repeat step 3-5 with each deck you want.
Most important thing to keep in mind when starting Modern is that there are likely hundreds of viable Tier 1 decks out there just waiting to be discovered, the card pool is large and diverse, outside of collecting the mana base, it's far from necessary that you need to go out and buy/trade for some of the more ridiculously expensive offenders that show up in popular decks. Pick up strong and reliable sideboard cards like Spellskite, Rule of Law, Stony Silence, Rest in Peace, Suppression Field to have a variety of options available.
Brewing up a solid deck is difficult, but the feeling of blowing apart the competition with your own creation against players whose sideboards are prepared for the common, popular decks is amazing.
I don't want to be that guy, but isn't this thread meant to address this matter?
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Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have. - René Descartes
Most important thing to keep in mind when starting Modern is that there are likely hundreds of viable Tier 1 decks out there just waiting to be discovered, the card pool is large and diverse, outside of collecting the mana base, it's far from necessary that you need to go out and buy/trade for some of the more ridiculously expensive offenders that show up in popular decks. Pick up strong and reliable sideboard cards like Spellskite, Rule of Law, Stony Silence, Rest in Peace, Suppression Field to have a variety of options available.
Brewing up a solid deck is difficult, but the feeling of blowing apart the competition with your own creation against players whose sideboards are prepared for the common, popular decks is amazing.
THIS!!!
Modern is a huge MTG sandbox. Tier 1 decks represent a tiny portion of the available power in Modern. Lemmings will do lemming things, but if you are truly creative and cunning you can find an amazing amount of undiscovered territory in Modern.
What makes this format different from other formats is it is free of benchmark decks. Unlike legacy where you have to be able to beat goblins, modern has no deck that you have to beat.
I disagree with this little part, but the rest is great.
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"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not." - John Lennon
Another strategy for buying in is to pick up the cards that appear in multiple archetypes. One of the interesting things about Modern is that a lot of format staples are uncommon. They are still fairly expensive though., but a lot of these cards show up in multiple archetypes.
The one worry with these cards, except for IoK, is that they are all likely to be reprinted in Modern Masters, so their prices might go down. Lastly, be sure you have 4 copies of Lightning Bolt. It is the most played card in Modern on MTGO.
this tread addresses how to buy into modern, not why you should play modern. It has some exclusive info not found in that thread,
See if you can use a little more formatting to make it easier to read and then update the title to make it a little more clear that you are addressing how to set up a modern collection, or buy into modern.
I think the information is good, and I think Lantern might like to link to this.
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():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
This will be a short 1-2 page introduction into the formats metagame, and price point. This will be broken down into 3 points. First I will be talking about the current state of modern and what you should know coming into it from a legacy perspective, and a standard perspective. Secondly I will be covering the pillars of the format and what are easy choices to get into each pillar. Third I will cover card prices and staples and what you should buy and when. Ready? Ok here we go.
First off is the current state of modern, Due to the recent banning of second sunrise the format is devoid of any tournament oppressive decks. By this I mean decks that are a drain on the game in a logistical standpoint. All decks currently are capable of finishing there matches within a decent time frame. No blue decks exists that take 5 minutes a turn. Coming from legacy this will be almost like legacy turbo mode. Majority of legacy decks exist in modern to some extent. Some decks such as Tron exists because legacy's counter suit do not exist in this format. If legacy where a color it would be blue. Modern is a Red format. By that the defining decks are red. UWR control, Jund, Burn. While in legacy the defining factors where Fish,Miracles,Stone blade. RUG, ect. Turns are quicker and more streamlined than legacy. Misplays are a but more forgiving in modern but not a lot. Coming from T2, modern is a rough format that caters to better players IMHO. If you have never tried legacy, modern will be interesting. More decks exist and as a standard player you have to learn that boarding is the biggest change from standard. In T2 you board against the 1 or 2 decks you struggle with. IN modern you side vs strategies rather than decks. Misplays are very harsh compared to standard. Where as in T2 one or 2 cards might be problems, the larger card pool means that more unknowns exist. anyway thats the jist of entering modern from the different formats.
Now the pillars of the format.
Currently the 3 pillars of magic are all active in modern.
--- In the aggro decks you see stuff like Jund and burn. These decks typically are green and red in nature but they all pack ,with the exception of burn and affinity, some control elements.
---Combo decks such as pod,twin, and scape shift are all solid aggro decks, with the exception of twin, that win off of a combo. although they combo these decks can win without there combos. they are just a little clunkier than a streamlined version of the decks.
---Lastly is control, These decks are Loam, UB, UWR, TRON, D&T. All these decks are in the long haul. some tend to be mid range and others namely tron resolve large creatures. these decks tend to pack combo factor into them to help in the short haul. Tron with its slavers and d/t with its mangara are notable suspects. All the named decks should be studied up on weather you intend to play them or not. they are popular decks and reading there primers to learn how they run helps a lot. A pro tip is that if the card seems sub par when they play it, it is probably a combo piece.
my final point is the purchase order of modern. I recommend starting with a 1 or 2 color deck to start off with. Burn, Tribal kithkins, RG aggro, UB control, TRON are all sub 500$ decks that will help you out while you acquire the cards you need for the format. so my buy recomendations in order
1. Fetches (retail for all of them are 500) These will only go up in price. Buy them now. All decks that play 2+colors use them.
2. Shocks. They are as cheap now as they will ever be they are used in pretty much every deck. (all of them cost 400)
3. Now pick a deck you want to start building and acquire the STAPLES of the deck. this allows you to have value in trades if you change your mind later. Get play sets. Nothing sucks more than having only 2 of a card and needing 4.
4. Get budget possible future staples. Here is the tricky part. In modern cards sky rocket over night if they see success. So I recommend picking up particularly under priced cards in the uncommon and rare slots of old sets. One example is suppression field the card is way too good for the price. if it becomes a thing it will easily hit 20$ for a play set and getting the set at sub1$ is always a good choice.
5. Acquire cards you think you might want to play in the future. Since you already own staples if your still in that color you are set. pretty much repeat step 3-5 with each deck you want.
Notable Staples Include
also check me out on fb
Brewing up a solid deck is difficult, but the feeling of blowing apart the competition with your own creation against players whose sideboards are prepared for the common, popular decks is amazing.
this tread addresses how to buy into modern, not why you should play modern. It has some exclusive info not found in that thread,
also check me out on fb
THIS!!!
Modern is a huge MTG sandbox. Tier 1 decks represent a tiny portion of the available power in Modern. Lemmings will do lemming things, but if you are truly creative and cunning you can find an amazing amount of undiscovered territory in Modern.
I disagree with this little part, but the rest is great.
Path to Exile
Lingering Souls
Remand
Inquisition of Kozilek
Dismember
Lightning Helix
Eternal Witness
Kitchen Finks
The one worry with these cards, except for IoK, is that they are all likely to be reprinted in Modern Masters, so their prices might go down. Lastly, be sure you have 4 copies of Lightning Bolt. It is the most played card in Modern on MTGO.
I don't always post about Rafiq of the Many, but when I do, I cardlink to the original artwork, and not the supplementary product version.
"I trust myself to do my duty, even unto death. It's what comes after that I'm afraid of."
"Just fight without fear. Your soul is protected by the hand of Avacyn and will never submit to evil."
See if you can use a little more formatting to make it easier to read and then update the title to make it a little more clear that you are addressing how to set up a modern collection, or buy into modern.
I think the information is good, and I think Lantern might like to link to this.
Standard: lol no
Modern: BG/x, UR/x, Burn, Merfolk, Zoo, Storm
Legacy: Shardless BUG, Delver (BUG, RUG, Grixis), Landstill, Depths Combo, Merfolk
Vintage: Dark Times, BUG Fish, Merfolk
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion / Krenko, Mob Boss / Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
thanks
also check me out on fb