Could anyone recommend a beginner deck for my 8yo daughter? We played some rounds of Portal and I think we can take the next step of introducing instants and more abilities to the mix.
She said she would like a white/blue/black deck. From white she likes the ability to heal, from blue it is about preventing and returning cards and from black it is the ability to instantly destroy.
If possible I would like to avoid having cards with complicated instructions on them as reading through walls of text will likely kill the enthusiasm she has right now.
I hope this request is not asking for too much, but maybe someone here finds this a fun challenge. I'll gladly take pointers instead and try rolling my own, although I have little experience building decks myself.
So Sphinx's Revelation's now cheap to purchase. Question is, is X too much for a beginner/someone who hasn't even studied algebra at school yet?
Is control itself too much for a beginner? I don't think so - "stop your opponent from doing things until you land your finisher" is not a hard concept - but it involves hard, frustrating timing.
Thanks for the input. I like your suggestions so far.
She's going to be in 4th grade this summer so algebra is not a big deal I think. Portal has Blaze and she can deal with it fine.
I think named abilities like vigilance, flying etc. are no big problem either, I just don't think reading walls of rule text on the cards is particularly motivating at that age.
If you’re using black solely for removal, you could cut it for white removal, of which there is plenty.
If you’re using white solely for life gain, you could cut it for black life gain/drain, of which there is plenty.
Cutting down to two colors would simplify things a bit, especially in regards to the mana base, which would also become more reliable if not more affordable.
Also, it sounds like you have a little Spike on your hands, so she may actually enjoy black’s life drain more than white’s life gain. Black even mixes removal with life gain.
It's tough to build good manabases for three color decks. It either means expensive lands or budget dual lands (with a lot of text). Also the decisions tend to be more complex (cantrips to dig into lands, knowing which cards to turn away and which to keep, and knowing how to sequence your land drops to play the spells you need). Playing 7 of each basic land means she will not get to cast her spells most games, which will be frustrating.
IMO she's better starting with 2 colors. White can kill creatures too, so maybe cut the black. Also avoid too many cards with double-colored mana costs because they will be harder to cast with a simple manabase.
Here are some good cards to consider that aren't too expensive to buy:
Swords to Plowshares (amazing instant kill spell, not too pricey, and the new versions using "exile" have less text) Sunlance (another cheap kill spell) Pacifism (another "kill spell") Counterspell/Cancel/Mana Leak (countermagic with little text) Inspiration (instant card draw - if she doesn't care about end of turn plays then Divination is fine) Sphinx's Revelation (life gain and card draw) Day of Judgment (mass kill spell with little text) Serra Angel (classic creature win condition) Man-o'-War (returns creature to their hand, easier to cast than Aether Adept) Cloudblazer (if this is not too much text for her, life gain and card draw and a flying creature all in one!) Mahamoti Djinn (old classic flying win condition) Rhox Faithmender (might be too much text, but doubling lifegain is a simple concept and good math practice too)
Mesa Unicorn, Seraph of the Dawn, Bishop's Soldier, and Aerial Responder are great cheap lifelink creatures for her to play
Felidar Sovereign might be too much text and unnecessarily complex with the alternate win condition? Up to you. If she wants to win with lifegain then this could be a fun 1-of.
Healer's Hawk, Dawnstrike Paladin, Catalog, Lifelink, Champion of Arashin, and even Sungrace Pegasus are pretty bad cards. I would not bother running them.
Knight of Meadowgrain is a great creature but it's harder to cast and First Strike makes combat more complicated. More Mesa Unicorn might be good enough.
Do you think she'd like an infinite combo? An enchantment-based deck that stalls until getting out Exquisite Blood and Sanguine Bond might be fun once she gets more advanced; the former is a bit expensive to acquire but you only really need one copy if you have ways to draw cards or tutor.
The other day she total beat me when I played against her with the Portal 40 card beginner deck (the only one we have in German).
So I upped the ante and today we played another round, for which I created a not too tough 60 card deck out of 7th edition's Way Wild and 8th edition's Life Boost. I didn't want to confuse her with too complicated cards but also didn't want to make it to too easy for her. She's still struggling a bit in choosing when and with which creatures to attack.
In the end she was able to beat me though. I found that the deck is a tad slow which leads to losing quite a bit of life before recovering with all the lifelink cards. It was a fairly long match since I also had life gain cards, and we had our ups and downs. At one point she was a bit frustrated because I had more creatures on the table, but then she recovered, got a lot of life back and finished me off with Angler Drake and Windbrisk Raptor.
While I agree that this deck has its flaws, I think she likes the cards for their great effects. Lifelink, Deathtouch and returning creatures/preventing spells is something she enjoyed a lot, even if she doesn't yet strategise much yet.
@void_nothing: WTF? Are those even legal? That's basically an instant win as soon as you have 5 lands, right?
@FTW1987: I had ordered the cards before you posted, but I'll keep your suggestions in mind in case we want to extend her deck, maybe reduce to two colors. I have to admit, I didn't spend too much time picking those cards. I basically ran the abilities through a magic database and picked cards at random. As I said, I'm not an experienced deck-builder.
Edit: BTW she loves Felidar Sovereign. The idea of instantly winning the game at 40 life was instantly appealing to her.
For now I think I would like to show her some finer points of the rules and some basic strategies. We're planning to play the Horde format or a three player game together with my wife to mix things up a bit.
Could anyone recommend a beginner deck for my 8yo daughter? We played some rounds of Portal and I think we can take the next step of introducing instants and more abilities to the mix.
She said she would like a white/blue/black deck. From white she likes the ability to heal, from blue it is about preventing and returning cards and from black it is the ability to instantly destroy.
If possible I would like to avoid having cards with complicated instructions on them as reading through walls of text will likely kill the enthusiasm she has right now.
I hope this request is not asking for too much, but maybe someone here finds this a fun challenge. I'll gladly take pointers instead and try rolling my own, although I have little experience building decks myself.
Thanks a lot!
Is control itself too much for a beginner? I don't think so - "stop your opponent from doing things until you land your finisher" is not a hard concept - but it involves hard, frustrating timing.
Pick up Day of Judgment, Mana Leak, Doom Blade, and rare lifelinkers. It's not too hard to make a simple-cards control deck imho.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
She's going to be in 4th grade this summer so algebra is not a big deal I think. Portal has Blaze and she can deal with it fine.
I think named abilities like vigilance, flying etc. are no big problem either, I just don't think reading walls of rule text on the cards is particularly motivating at that age.
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/decks/10421-daughters-buw
I have the feeling that I could have used a few more lands, but we'll start with this.
@void_nothing I used all the cards that you suggested, thanks again for the input.
If you’re using white solely for life gain, you could cut it for black life gain/drain, of which there is plenty.
Cutting down to two colors would simplify things a bit, especially in regards to the mana base, which would also become more reliable if not more affordable.
Also, it sounds like you have a little Spike on your hands, so she may actually enjoy black’s life drain more than white’s life gain. Black even mixes removal with life gain.
There’s more, but you get the idea. Have fun!
IMO she's better starting with 2 colors. White can kill creatures too, so maybe cut the black. Also avoid too many cards with double-colored mana costs because they will be harder to cast with a simple manabase.
Here are some good cards to consider that aren't too expensive to buy:
Swords to Plowshares (amazing instant kill spell, not too pricey, and the new versions using "exile" have less text)
Sunlance (another cheap kill spell)
Pacifism (another "kill spell")
Counterspell/Cancel/Mana Leak (countermagic with little text)
Inspiration (instant card draw - if she doesn't care about end of turn plays then Divination is fine)
Sphinx's Revelation (life gain and card draw)
Day of Judgment (mass kill spell with little text)
Serra Angel (classic creature win condition)
Man-o'-War (returns creature to their hand, easier to cast than Aether Adept)
Cloudblazer (if this is not too much text for her, life gain and card draw and a flying creature all in one!)
Mahamoti Djinn (old classic flying win condition)
Rhox Faithmender (might be too much text, but doubling lifegain is a simple concept and good math practice too)
Mesa Unicorn, Seraph of the Dawn, Bishop's Soldier, and Aerial Responder are great cheap lifelink creatures for her to play
Felidar Sovereign might be too much text and unnecessarily complex with the alternate win condition? Up to you. If she wants to win with lifegain then this could be a fun 1-of.
Healer's Hawk, Dawnstrike Paladin, Catalog, Lifelink, Champion of Arashin, and even Sungrace Pegasus are pretty bad cards. I would not bother running them.
Knight of Meadowgrain is a great creature but it's harder to cast and First Strike makes combat more complicated. More Mesa Unicorn might be good enough.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I'd bought this deck I made against the recommendations of reducing to two colors, because she really wanted those three colors:
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/decks/10421-daughters-buw
The other day she total beat me when I played against her with the Portal 40 card beginner deck (the only one we have in German).
So I upped the ante and today we played another round, for which I created a not too tough 60 card deck out of 7th edition's Way Wild and 8th edition's Life Boost. I didn't want to confuse her with too complicated cards but also didn't want to make it to too easy for her. She's still struggling a bit in choosing when and with which creatures to attack.
In the end she was able to beat me though. I found that the deck is a tad slow which leads to losing quite a bit of life before recovering with all the lifelink cards. It was a fairly long match since I also had life gain cards, and we had our ups and downs. At one point she was a bit frustrated because I had more creatures on the table, but then she recovered, got a lot of life back and finished me off with Angler Drake and Windbrisk Raptor.
While I agree that this deck has its flaws, I think she likes the cards for their great effects. Lifelink, Deathtouch and returning creatures/preventing spells is something she enjoyed a lot, even if she doesn't yet strategise much yet.
@void_nothing: WTF? Are those even legal? That's basically an instant win as soon as you have 5 lands, right?
@FTW1987: I had ordered the cards before you posted, but I'll keep your suggestions in mind in case we want to extend her deck, maybe reduce to two colors. I have to admit, I didn't spend too much time picking those cards. I basically ran the abilities through a magic database and picked cards at random. As I said, I'm not an experienced deck-builder.
Edit: BTW she loves Felidar Sovereign. The idea of instantly winning the game at 40 life was instantly appealing to her.
For now I think I would like to show her some finer points of the rules and some basic strategies. We're planning to play the Horde format or a three player game together with my wife to mix things up a bit.