Magic: The Gathering – Creating Your First Deck

If you’re eager to dive into the challenging trading card game known as Magic: The Gathering then a good place to start is by creating your first deck of cards., There is a huge array of cards that could be used in a deck and this can be overwhelming if you are new to MTG. But once you start to learn the basics of Magic: The Gathering then building your first deck could be simpler than you think. For beginners, there are three ways that you can start to do this, but there is no right or wrong way to build a deck so go with your instincts and don’t be too formulaic.

Let’s take a look at three ways to get started:

1.  Start with a ready-made Commander Deck:

One of the quickest ways to get started paying and developing your Magic skills is to choose a ready-made Commander deck. These decks are themed around iconic MTG characters, allowing you to quickly get going playing the game, And after all that’s when the fun and the challenges begin so getting started quickly is one of the best ways to learn quickly.

After playing a few games, you can start to personalise your deck by swapping in cards from booster packs to tailor it to your preferences. But, remember, it is a long-term game (I know people who started playing at 16 years-old and are still playing in their 30’s) so you won’t necessarily develop your preferred playing style overnight. You will be constantly learning new techniques and adapting your style to win more often.

2.  Build a Deck Around Your Favourite Card:

Another option for creating your first Magic: The Gathering deck is to construct a deck centred around your favourite card. Maybe you’ve heard from other players about a quirky spell that appeals to you or an exciting Commander. Let this be the cornerstone of your deck and choose other cards that complement that favourite card.

Use the colour of your favourite card to guide your selection of supporting cards that will help enhance its impact on the game. Sticking with just one colour (possibly two) is a good starting point for MTG beginners. When adding cards to your deck, you can only have one of each card apart from basic land cards. Build out your deck to around 100 cards with about 16 spells and the remainder divided equally between lands and creatures.

3.  Craft a Deck Around Your Playing Style:

Another approach is to build your MTG deck based on your preferred playing style. Whether you enjoy overwhelming opponents with creatures or disrupting their plans with intricate spells, tailor your deck with cards that complement your planned strategy. Magic: The Gathering is one of the most complex cards games around and even computer algorithms are unable to predict who will be the winner based on two competing decks of cards.

You may have heard about some of the most successful strategies from the best players who take part in live face-to-face national MTG events and international tournaments and conventions. Learn from their expert gameplay strategies and remember, they were once beginners just like you. Who knows where you could be this time next year!

Key Tips for a Beginner’s MTG Deck

The way you construct your Magic deck will evolve over time based on your gameplay experiences. Whether you assemble an elf army because they’re your favourite characters or disrupt your opponent’s strategy with specific cards, the choice is yours. As I’ve already said, there’s no right or wrong approach to playing Magic – who knows you could develop a new strategy and be the next World Champion one day. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! Here are some key points to remember for your deck if you are just starting out with Magic: The Gathering.

• Aim for 100 cards.
• Start with 42 lands, 42 creatures and 16 spells.
• Remember, a Commander must be either a creature with the Legendary type or a Planeswalker with the statement ‘This can be your Commander’ on the card.
• Keep it simple initially by sticking to one or two colours at most for your deck.
• You can only have one copy of the same card, except for the basic lands.
• Remember to use cheaper spells early in the game and save powerful spells for later to secure a victory over your opponent!

Ultimately, playing Magic: The Gathering is all about experimenting to gain skills and experience by playing. Playing the game is both challenging and fun – even more so at the local face-to-face events organised by game stores across the country. Enjoy!