Awesome idea I am going to build a couple of decks to play with friends, definitely starting with Devine visitation.
I haven't updated it for Guilds of Ravnica! Lol! Yeah, that's a fun build! I've been busy playing with paper Magic and life! Hahaha... Post your build here so I can add it on the next decklists! Thanks!
Obviously, not every set will have balance against one another. A player who has played for a while may have access to a New Phyrexia deck that simply has a higher power level than a newbie's Guilds of Ravnica deck. In that respect, your goal where "new players can have equal footing with veterans" is kind of null and void. This is reason (as I understand it) that Brawl is restricted to standard cards, restricting the cardpool to cards that new players and veterans have relatively equal access to.
Otherwise, you end up with something like this:
1 Literally any mythic
2 Black Lotus
2 Contract From Below
2 Demonic Tutor
2 Channel
2 Regrowth
2 Dark Ritual
2 Llanwar Elves
2 Fireball
2 Pestilence
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Sinkhole
2 Fog
2 Red Elemental Blast
5 Mountain
6 Forest
6 Swamp
It's a deck that literally holds lotus-channel-fireball for a 1 turn kill... and has two demonic tutors and two contract from below to find the pieces... and regrowth to regain lost pieces/red elemental blast to disrupt counterspells. If you go with the 5 rares for sets with no mythics idea, I'd shove black lotus into the mythic slot and slot in a wheel of fortune.
Yeah, it's a little bit disengenuous to say that you are putting veterans and new players on a level playing field... or that you are letting players get competitive use out of cards like Arcanis the Omnipotent... when the format will inevitably gravitate toward the expansions towards the most powerful cards (which veterans are more likely to have) and entire SETS will be rendered unplayable.
Mind you, I still like the format. I just see the flaws that come with it.
Awesome feedback! Will definitely ponder on that! I'm guessing you checked on the rarity of the Alpha cards? I'll try it out as soon as I find the time so I can tweak the rules. Thanks a bunch!
I think that for older blocks, prior to mythics, you allow for another rare from that block, in place of a mythic. I’d rather build that way than being stuck with a planeswalker out of flavor.
True! You mean another Mythic Rare from another set? I'd thought about that, I'm just not sure if there will be broken interactions with Mythic and older cards, that's why I chose Planeswalkers because I don't think they can do that much damage. If you try out other Mythics let me know how it goes! Also, if you encounter broken combos too! Thanks for the input! I appreciate it!
No I don’t mean another Mythic from another set.
Say I choose Urza’s Saga block, instead of four rares from that block and a Mythic Rare from a future set, I just get five rares from Saga block. This way all my cards are from the same sets.
Sounds great! Let me know if there are broken combos that come out of it, but I'm guessing its safe enough. Have fun!
I think that for older blocks, prior to mythics, you allow for another rare from that block, in place of a mythic. I’d rather build that way than being stuck with a planeswalker out of flavor.
True! You mean another Mythic Rare from another set? I'd thought about that, I'm just not sure if there will be broken interactions with Mythic and older cards, that's why I chose Planeswalkers because I don't think they can do that much damage. If you try out other Mythics let me know how it goes! Also, if you encounter broken combos too! Thanks for the input! I appreciate it!
BAGBRO2 asked me in Reddit about why limiting it to a Single Block, I've been asked that a couple of times so here's my answer:
About the limiting to a Single Block, its there not only for theme, but for practicality as well. Yeah, it can turn off deck brewers to the idea, but they have lots of formats to choose from. The main inspiration for that is this scenario:
1. Let's say you introduce someone to the game, he/she can't have a competitive game with you or your play group because of the different power levels of your decks right? So that new player can't play any games without getting good cards or borrowing decks, otherwise they'll just get the crap beaten out of them. That's not a good introduction to encourage them to play. I've known a few that didn't like the game because they need to spend a hundred dollars to win. Limiting it to a Single Block and putting boundaries on deck building makes it sure for that person can play with your group on an equal footing;
2. Same as with people who just played for a season or two. Grinders and collectors like us don't really notice it, but a bulk percentage of people who know magic has stopped playing. I know lots of people who played the game at certain expansions only. The Single Block Rule can allow them to play an equal game with you. They can dig out their cards and play again without the need to buy modern or legacy meta cards. I guess I come from a community where practicality takes precedence over spending on cards, and I would like those people to still enjoy playing the game; lastly
3. Let's say you joined a draft or a pre-release, you can just keep the deck you built, make some changes, you now have a another new Planar deck!
Its not meant to be "This is my deck, I'll pimp it out and add Full Art lands and Masterpieces" type of deck. You should have 3, or 5, or a dozen Planar decks to enjoy.
This sounds really cool. I could totally see myself building one of these.
Thanks! Been telling this to my friends who stopped playing and doesn't own new cards and don't have competitive modern decks so that we can still play something fair and balanced. I hope this works in your circle! Let me know how it goes!
For how many players? Will the first player be the first on every turn? The last player may be the most advantageous here. The balancing of the pool is very significant, that maybe the hardest to balance out.
You should be able to balance low casting PW and higher ones. PW ultimates are game changing, you should manage that as well. Maybe you can use the minus abilities on the amount of turns? -3 abilities can be used on the third turn for example since you're already counting the turns.
- Lorwyn and Morningtide are considered as one block, and Shadowmoor and Eventide as another.
- This is where the Planeswalker card came out and the last expansion which has no Mythic Rarity.
To solve this dilemma, Planeswalkers are considered Mythic on both Lorwyn and Shadowmoor block.
I.e. If you are playing a Lorwyn deck, you cannot have 4 Planeswalkers on your Rare count. You can only use 1 Planeswalker as your Mythic; also
If you are playing a Shadowmoor deck, you can only use one of the five Planeswalker from Lorwyn.
I haven't updated it for Guilds of Ravnica! Lol! Yeah, that's a fun build! I've been busy playing with paper Magic and life! Hahaha... Post your build here so I can add it on the next decklists! Thanks!
Awesome feedback! Will definitely ponder on that! I'm guessing you checked on the rarity of the Alpha cards? I'll try it out as soon as I find the time so I can tweak the rules. Thanks a bunch!
Sounds great! Let me know if there are broken combos that come out of it, but I'm guessing its safe enough. Have fun!
True! You mean another Mythic Rare from another set? I'd thought about that, I'm just not sure if there will be broken interactions with Mythic and older cards, that's why I chose Planeswalkers because I don't think they can do that much damage. If you try out other Mythics let me know how it goes! Also, if you encounter broken combos too! Thanks for the input! I appreciate it!
Reddit Thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/budgetdecks/comments/9co76m/creating_a_budget_format_for_beginners_casuals/
About the limiting to a Single Block, its there not only for theme, but for practicality as well. Yeah, it can turn off deck brewers to the idea, but they have lots of formats to choose from. The main inspiration for that is this scenario:
1. Let's say you introduce someone to the game, he/she can't have a competitive game with you or your play group because of the different power levels of your decks right? So that new player can't play any games without getting good cards or borrowing decks, otherwise they'll just get the crap beaten out of them. That's not a good introduction to encourage them to play. I've known a few that didn't like the game because they need to spend a hundred dollars to win. Limiting it to a Single Block and putting boundaries on deck building makes it sure for that person can play with your group on an equal footing;
2. Same as with people who just played for a season or two. Grinders and collectors like us don't really notice it, but a bulk percentage of people who know magic has stopped playing. I know lots of people who played the game at certain expansions only. The Single Block Rule can allow them to play an equal game with you. They can dig out their cards and play again without the need to buy modern or legacy meta cards. I guess I come from a community where practicality takes precedence over spending on cards, and I would like those people to still enjoy playing the game; lastly
3. Let's say you joined a draft or a pre-release, you can just keep the deck you built, make some changes, you now have a another new Planar deck!
Its not meant to be "This is my deck, I'll pimp it out and add Full Art lands and Masterpieces" type of deck. You should have 3, or 5, or a dozen Planar decks to enjoy.
Thanks! Been telling this to my friends who stopped playing and doesn't own new cards and don't have competitive modern decks so that we can still play something fair and balanced. I hope this works in your circle! Let me know how it goes!
For how many players? Will the first player be the first on every turn? The last player may be the most advantageous here. The balancing of the pool is very significant, that maybe the hardest to balance out.
Some points to clarify on these blocks:
- Lorwyn and Morningtide are considered as one block, and Shadowmoor and Eventide as another.
- This is where the Planeswalker card came out and the last expansion which has no Mythic Rarity.
To solve this dilemma, Planeswalkers are considered Mythic on both Lorwyn and Shadowmoor block.
I.e. If you are playing a Lorwyn deck, you cannot have 4 Planeswalkers on your Rare count. You can only use 1 Planeswalker as your Mythic; also
If you are playing a Shadowmoor deck, you can only use one of the five Planeswalker from Lorwyn.