So the story goes, is that there is a massive MTG community in my town, but out of the 100 or so people (Considering town size, it is indeed massive (That's what she said)), 90 of them play Commander exclusively. Nothing wrong with Commander, I play it myself quite a bit, but Standard/Modern only has 10 or so people, with a 5-6 people turnabout for each Modern Monday.
Now, the current Modern scene isn't exactly the greatest, with the Modern players slinging mud with "You guys should play a REAL format!" and "If any of us Modern players started playing Commander you would all lose!", and other elitist dickitry. That can't really be helped until later on, when others start getting better at the format. The problem is how to get people into Modern in my area.
Talking to people, the biggest problem seems to be Cost. I myself have a Mill and Nivmagus Shotgun deck, so I don't have to worry about it too much. However, due to my dropping $1000 on Zur to get it T1 Competitive, and wanting to build Gary Pod after, I don't have the money to actually buy a bunch of decks to leave at the store for when people want to play (The FLGS owner is down with the idea).
So I'm thinking of creating eight decks or so and leaving them at the store. The Owner said he would do it but he's opening up another store two hours away and it's stretching him to the limit as of right now. The question is what decks to create?
I wish to restate that this is SOLELY to get people interested in the format in my area.
But the decks I was thinking was:
1) Soul Sisters
2) 8Rack
3-8) ????
Trying to have some Aggro and Control/Combo and generally have a hand in each cookie jar. Any suggestions as to which decks I should make?
Aggro
-Burn (best deck to allow players to dive into an unknown format)
Control
-UW Control (for those who would rather live long than kill the other fast)
Combo
-Living End (very cool combo deck that isn't too unfun for new players like Splinter Twin or Scapeshift)
Midrange
-Kiblers Naya Midrange (one of the greatest luxuries in Modern is the mana base, this should let them enjoy 3-colored decks without proxying BGx/URW decks)
Tempo
-Merfolk (lots of players love the idea of tribal decks and this one is no slouch)
Ramp
-RG Tron (if they are Commander players, they might like the idea of a deck that Turn 3 Karns often)
I know you said 8 decks, but these 6 are the best I can think of when restricting budget and representing deck archetypes.
I was having a similar problem but I just went and built 8 fully functional Modern Decks. The New Fetch Lands helped me out a lot. Decks I have are Jund, Melira Pod, UWR Control, UW Twin, UR Storm (No Fetches), Affinity, GR Tron, Burn. It's really not that bad to get a few extra decks up and running. This way you can mix up what you play every week and have extras to lend out.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern GBRJund GBW Junk GBWMelira Pod GB Rock GRTron URStorm UR Delver URTwin RUG Twin UWR Twin UWRKiki Control UWR Control UWR Midrange URWBAffinity GRW Zoo RBurn
BW Tokens and Mono-Blue Tron are pretty flexible and powerful for their cost. There's usually at least one player who will gravitate towards Storm, too.
I don't think 8 Rack is a great deck to "get people interested in the format". It's a great one to put people off playing Modern though as it just pisses you off being on the other end of it.
Lol! You are completely right of course, but if you are the guy playing 8Rack you really get to nurture your inner griefer. I think if we are honest with ourselves, control players are griefers at heart. 8Rack really scratches that itch that many of us have to piss people off.
But what about Storm? Not the easiest deck to play... but it's pretty cheap and it's the kind of thing EDH players can't really do. Being able to play combos consistently in constructed without investing in Legacy can be appealing. There's also Amulet is quite fun with Titans on turn 2 and then giving it haste and attacking for again 2 more lands! The deck also showcases Hive Mind.
If you want aggro, but no goyf, zoo can do that (one drop zoo, or gruul zoo) and with fetches coming up its even cheaper. I'm suggesting zoo because comparitly to affinity its an "Easier deck". Theres a lot less micromanaging of triggers. And it feels more like a "real" aggro deck because its 1/3 burn/removal 1/3 land 1/3 creatures.
Burn is easy as hell, and its still aggro (rush aggro vs zoo's sligh) but the lack of turning things sideways and its repetive nature makes it good for new players... til the 3rd touri or so. If you're trying to get new players in you should not take the most complicated decks NOR the easiest. Like shoes when you were a little kid, give it a little room to grow into.
That in mind I'd suggest:
Aggro:
Zoo (No bais here, its a nice mid way point between really complicated and really simple)
Midrange:
Hatebears
Combo:
Twin
Control:
W/U Control (flash basicly)
Ramp:
Tron (g/r)
Tempo:
R/U Delver
The last two I'd make semi competive but fun decks like Soul Sisters, Shamans, Infect, Norin, Goryo's Vengence (only if you add grave hate to the other decks),Midrange tokens, merfolk, and Naya midrange.
DECKS I WOULD NOT SUGGEST TO NUTURE A MODERN FORMAT:
Now these aren't bad decks, just I'd say that people would "think" are too high on the complicated board state scale, or too low on the way too simple scale. Ala, losers saying "I only lost because you just burn me every turn." or "I lost because his deck was just a bunch of strong cards shuffled togather" Or worse, people going "I lost and I hate modern because that deck shows how stupid modern really is.
Examples:
8-rack
jund
pod
blue moon
fae
burn
boggles
living end
Amulet of Vigor
Dead Guy Ale
Again, these are common decks that people think are either too easy, wont be able to understand easily, or lead to "bad feelings". These decks are a modern truth, however, and will show up at some point... But I'd rather see them show up after modern intrest has been sparked. Metas tend to evolve to adapt to it, but early on you might wanna shy away from them.
I have no doubt any LSG that has 90 freakin' edh players will eventually be ok with "Absurd decks" being thats what EDH mostly is.
On a side note, I'm so happy we have a "Aweful human being rule" in our EDH group that says if the 3 outta 5 people say "You're an aweful human being." You have to play the rest of the night speaking backwards. (you lose 4 life, and I gain 2 = 2 gain I and, life 4 lose you.)
Everyone is sticking to the "no goyf" requirement but OP only said he doesn't want to print 20 goyfs. I read this as he wants to promote the format diversity and not only have goyf decks. I assume that should apply to every staples.
That said, since Tarmogoyf is an important part of Modern. At least one deck should showcase it.
Also, Lantern. OP is talking about introducing the format to EDH players. They are not necessarily beginners. And while they might be punting their first game with Storm or Amulet.. or even activating Pod without really knowing what to get with it. It doesn't mean that would push them away from the format. They are magic players. Am I overestimating people when I think that they can gain an even bigger interest in the format if they lose because they did not know the deck well enough? I know I would want to improve myself with such deck if I lost my first game that way. This room for improvement would be a source of motivation. I understand where you're coming from but since I assume the new players would be able to pick one of these 8 decks, those whole will pick a combo deck will know what to expect. Out of 8 decks I would expect 2 of them being more complex combo decks.
Another goal is that the deck are somewhat affordable. I feel this is why 8rack, u tron and burn were suggested in the first place. I know this contradicts the "one goyf deck" idea but there could be an exception.
Pod should be showcased. It's a dominant deck in the format and its Toolbox style is something that comes back in EDH. The deck has combos but doesn't depend on them and while it's hard to pod without knowing your deck list, it's not hard to understand value. It's not a cheap deck, but not the most expensive either Pod itself and many creatures are affordable. Noble and the fetches are driving its price.
Mono U Tron. The cheap option for someone interested in control.
Zoo. The goyf deck that can be built in several ways.
UR Delver and Twin might be a bit redundant but are an important part of Modern. They should pick 1 or 2 spots in the list.
I don't think Burn is interesting because I assume you can be familiar with it without even knowing the format. Burn is a multi format archetype. However I think it should be in if anyone wants to try it against other decks to see how it plays out.
Amulet of Vigor. I know this is fringe but this deck plays cards that aren't played in any other decks. It's great to show diversity. It's also a budget deck. Scapeshift could pick that spot on the list too I guess.
Finally I guess Soul Sisters/Hatebeats/D&T could be interesting to have. It's budget and it's not redundant with other decks I mentioned. Merfolk could also take that spot as the Aether Vial tribe deck.
Well OP, I think you got a nice project and I hope you can make a nice pool of decks for people to try, you can always add more in the future.
Aggro:
Zoo (No bais here, its a nice mid way point between really complicated and really simple)
Midrange:
Hatebears
Combo:
Twin
Control:
W/U Control (flash basicly)
Ramp:
Tron (g/r)
Tempo:
R/U Delver
The last two I'd make semi competive but fun decks like Soul Sisters, Shamans, Infect, Norin, Goryo's Vengence (only if you add grave hate to the other decks),Midrange tokens, merfolk, and Naya midrange.
I really like Lantern's list for the most part, but I would move Junk or Jund to the list and would add RUGScapeshift. Scapeshift is not the easiest deck to play well (for me at least), but it plays like a control deck for the most part. I think Affinity is tempting to add to the list, but it is really infuriating to play against at times and feels kinda "cheap" at times.
So the story goes, is that there is a massive MTG community in my town, but out of the 100 or so people (Considering town size, it is indeed massive (That's what she said)), 90 of them play Commander exclusively. Nothing wrong with Commander, I play it myself quite a bit, but Standard/Modern only has 10 or so people, with a 5-6 people turnabout for each Modern Monday.
Now, the current Modern scene isn't exactly the greatest, with the Modern players slinging mud with "You guys should play a REAL format!" and "If any of us Modern players started playing Commander you would all lose!", and other elitist dickitry. That can't really be helped until later on, when others start getting better at the format. The problem is how to get people into Modern in my area.
Talking to people, the biggest problem seems to be Cost. I myself have a Mill and Nivmagus Shotgun deck, so I don't have to worry about it too much. However, due to my dropping $1000 on Zur to get it T1 Competitive, and wanting to build Gary Pod after, I don't have the money to actually buy a bunch of decks to leave at the store for when people want to play (The FLGS owner is down with the idea).
So I'm thinking of creating eight decks or so and leaving them at the store. The Owner said he would do it but he's opening up another store two hours away and it's stretching him to the limit as of right now. The question is what decks to create?
I wish to restate that this is SOLELY to get people interested in the format in my area.
But the decks I was thinking was:
1) Soul Sisters
2) 8Rack
3-8) ????
Trying to have some Aggro and Control/Combo and generally have a hand in each cookie jar. Any suggestions as to which decks I should make?
Aggro
-Burn (best deck to allow players to dive into an unknown format)
Control
-UW Control (for those who would rather live long than kill the other fast)
Combo
-Living End (very cool combo deck that isn't too unfun for new players like Splinter Twin or Scapeshift)
Midrange
-Kiblers Naya Midrange (one of the greatest luxuries in Modern is the mana base, this should let them enjoy 3-colored decks without proxying BGx/URW decks)
Tempo
-Merfolk (lots of players love the idea of tribal decks and this one is no slouch)
Ramp
-RG Tron (if they are Commander players, they might like the idea of a deck that Turn 3 Karns often)
I know you said 8 decks, but these 6 are the best I can think of when restricting budget and representing deck archetypes.
GBR Jund
GBW Junk
GBW Melira Pod
GB Rock
GR Tron
UR Storm
UR Delver
UR Twin
RUG Twin
UWR Twin
UWR Kiki Control
UWR Control
UWR Midrange
URWB Affinity
GRW Zoo
R Burn
Erebos B | Ghost Council WB | Grimgrin UB | Jhoira UR
Jor Kadeen RW | Melek UR | Mimeoplasm GUB | Rasputin WU
Savra BG | Sisay GW | Teneb BGW | Thada Adel U | Wort BR
I draft and play EDH. If a Standard player can't understand who a card is for, it's probably for me.
I also write things about good films.
8Rack
Soul Sisters
Burn
Infect
U Tron
Living End
Merfolk
BW Tokens
UR Delver
Sleeving those up will show off the diversity and affordability of Modern.
Lol! You are completely right of course, but if you are the guy playing 8Rack you really get to nurture your inner griefer. I think if we are honest with ourselves, control players are griefers at heart. 8Rack really scratches that itch that many of us have to piss people off.
But what about Storm? Not the easiest deck to play... but it's pretty cheap and it's the kind of thing EDH players can't really do. Being able to play combos consistently in constructed without investing in Legacy can be appealing. There's also Amulet is quite fun with Titans on turn 2 and then giving it haste and attacking for again 2 more lands! The deck also showcases Hive Mind.
Burn is easy as hell, and its still aggro (rush aggro vs zoo's sligh) but the lack of turning things sideways and its repetive nature makes it good for new players... til the 3rd touri or so. If you're trying to get new players in you should not take the most complicated decks NOR the easiest. Like shoes when you were a little kid, give it a little room to grow into.
That in mind I'd suggest:
Aggro:
Zoo (No bais here, its a nice mid way point between really complicated and really simple)
Midrange:
Hatebears
Combo:
Twin
Control:
W/U Control (flash basicly)
Ramp:
Tron (g/r)
Tempo:
R/U Delver
The last two I'd make semi competive but fun decks like Soul Sisters, Shamans, Infect, Norin, Goryo's Vengence (only if you add grave hate to the other decks),Midrange tokens, merfolk, and Naya midrange.
DECKS I WOULD NOT SUGGEST TO NUTURE A MODERN FORMAT:
Now these aren't bad decks, just I'd say that people would "think" are too high on the complicated board state scale, or too low on the way too simple scale. Ala, losers saying "I only lost because you just burn me every turn." or "I lost because his deck was just a bunch of strong cards shuffled togather" Or worse, people going "I lost and I hate modern because that deck shows how stupid modern really is.
Examples:
8-rack
jund
pod
blue moon
fae
burn
boggles
living end
Amulet of Vigor
Dead Guy Ale
Again, these are common decks that people think are either too easy, wont be able to understand easily, or lead to "bad feelings". These decks are a modern truth, however, and will show up at some point... But I'd rather see them show up after modern intrest has been sparked. Metas tend to evolve to adapt to it, but early on you might wanna shy away from them.
I have no doubt any LSG that has 90 freakin' edh players will eventually be ok with "Absurd decks" being thats what EDH mostly is.
On a side note, I'm so happy we have a "Aweful human being rule" in our EDH group that says if the 3 outta 5 people say "You're an aweful human being." You have to play the rest of the night speaking backwards. (you lose 4 life, and I gain 2 = 2 gain I and, life 4 lose you.)
That said, since Tarmogoyf is an important part of Modern. At least one deck should showcase it.
Also, Lantern. OP is talking about introducing the format to EDH players. They are not necessarily beginners. And while they might be punting their first game with Storm or Amulet.. or even activating Pod without really knowing what to get with it. It doesn't mean that would push them away from the format. They are magic players. Am I overestimating people when I think that they can gain an even bigger interest in the format if they lose because they did not know the deck well enough? I know I would want to improve myself with such deck if I lost my first game that way. This room for improvement would be a source of motivation. I understand where you're coming from but since I assume the new players would be able to pick one of these 8 decks, those whole will pick a combo deck will know what to expect. Out of 8 decks I would expect 2 of them being more complex combo decks.
Another goal is that the deck are somewhat affordable. I feel this is why 8rack, u tron and burn were suggested in the first place. I know this contradicts the "one goyf deck" idea but there could be an exception.
Pod should be showcased. It's a dominant deck in the format and its Toolbox style is something that comes back in EDH. The deck has combos but doesn't depend on them and while it's hard to pod without knowing your deck list, it's not hard to understand value. It's not a cheap deck, but not the most expensive either Pod itself and many creatures are affordable. Noble and the fetches are driving its price.
Mono U Tron. The cheap option for someone interested in control.
Zoo. The goyf deck that can be built in several ways.
UR Delver and Twin might be a bit redundant but are an important part of Modern. They should pick 1 or 2 spots in the list.
I don't think Burn is interesting because I assume you can be familiar with it without even knowing the format. Burn is a multi format archetype. However I think it should be in if anyone wants to try it against other decks to see how it plays out.
Amulet of Vigor. I know this is fringe but this deck plays cards that aren't played in any other decks. It's great to show diversity. It's also a budget deck. Scapeshift could pick that spot on the list too I guess.
Finally I guess Soul Sisters/Hatebeats/D&T could be interesting to have. It's budget and it's not redundant with other decks I mentioned. Merfolk could also take that spot as the Aether Vial tribe deck.
Well OP, I think you got a nice project and I hope you can make a nice pool of decks for people to try, you can always add more in the future.
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!