The primers are great sources for their respective decks. I also like users like Ulka (for more niche ideas) and ISBPathfinder (just really strong deck building all around), as well as just about any list here that walks through card choices and such.
The aforementioned EDHRec is also really good for beginners, if you're just looking at starting an idea or learning the ins and outs of deckbuilding, and it's something I wish I'd had access to when I started.
For me, it's less of a hard number and more about theme. Taking the example of enchantress cards, it's less about how many enchantments I run, and more about whether or not I actually care about enchantments. If I'm looking for a source of draw, I might consider running it without the theme if I think that I can consistently get draw off of an enchantress effect (though, if I'm not focusing on enchantment themes, I probably am not running enough low cost enchantments for it to be worth it, regardless of how many enchantments I actually have), but those occasions are usually not common.
Instead of setting a hard rule, really I'm just looking at how much use I can realistically get out of a card. That might depend on the deck (if I want to abuse fetch lands, for example, I will run Crucible of Worlds, and it might not need to be a deck with 10 fetches).
Oh I fully understand and intend to upgrade, I just need a starting point. Are there enough "staples" in the precons to warrant buying an entire years set?
It really kind of depends on what price point you're able to get them at, as well as how much you can actually use the cards since they're usually spread out to be even across the colors (as much as possible in the two more recent sets, at least).
Agreeing with other posters here, there isn't a right way to play. If an entire group has issues with a player, it's time to have a conversation. But even then, it's not that anyone is wrong, it's just that playstyles don't necessarily mesh.
I will say, however, as someone who plays a lot of "Combat Deck Wins (sometimes)", player 3 is playing the way they need to in order to have a chance. You don't really have the luxury of bringing everyone's life totals down together. The longer you have multiple people alive, the less likely you are to be able to actually get in to a winning position in the face of removal. Or life gain. Or any of the other dozen ways to shut down aggressive decks in multiplayer.
I'm more likely to not run cards because I disagree with the playstyle, rather than power level. I try to go a bit lighter on hard combo (or at least, my ability to just search for combo pieces) because I like varied games with my decks. I also avoid stax and MLD, because I don't particularly enjoy playing against them, so I'd prefer not to inflict it upon others.
Old thread. Please feel free to start a new one if you'd like to continue discussion of the topic.
The aforementioned EDHRec is also really good for beginners, if you're just looking at starting an idea or learning the ins and outs of deckbuilding, and it's something I wish I'd had access to when I started.
Instead of setting a hard rule, really I'm just looking at how much use I can realistically get out of a card. That might depend on the deck (if I want to abuse fetch lands, for example, I will run Crucible of Worlds, and it might not need to be a deck with 10 fetches).
Old thread. Please feel free to start a new one if you'd like to continue discussion of the topic.
I will say, however, as someone who plays a lot of "Combat Deck Wins (sometimes)", player 3 is playing the way they need to in order to have a chance. You don't really have the luxury of bringing everyone's life totals down together. The longer you have multiple people alive, the less likely you are to be able to actually get in to a winning position in the face of removal. Or life gain. Or any of the other dozen ways to shut down aggressive decks in multiplayer.
Old thread. Please feel free to start a new one if you'd like to continue discussion of the topic.
Old thread. Please feel free to start a new one if you'd like to continue discussion of the topic.
Old thread. Please feel free to start a new one if you'd like to continue discussion of the topic.