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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 7:19AM
#1
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Date Joined:
Jan 12, 2013
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I am a 45 year old school teacher and I am a little overwhelmed. Never had any interest in Magic until recently. I have two sons, 9 and almost 11. We play a lot of board games. One of the games we recently picked up was Dominion which is a card game. We absolutely love playing it and I started looking at other card games that we might like. Figured I might as well look at what appears to be the best of all. I figured with the longevity of Magic, it must be worth looking at. The problem is, the more I try to learn, the more confused I become. I really don't know where to begin. What I want is some basic decks that I, and probably my 9 year old, can play against each other. I don't see getting into this competitively but who knows. There is a local shop but I have never been and I don't know what kind of crowd they draw. Being old and a teacher, I really don't want to be hanging out with a bunch of my students. So what does everyone think? What do I need to pick up to start out with? Probably something prebuilt? I bought the Xbox version and downloaded it on my ipad also. Turns out I have a lot to learn. I can not win the first game to save my life. 
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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 7:53AM
#2
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I once tried teaching my mother how to play the game....long story short, she's still confused on how Rix Maadi Guildmage  works. Maybe I'm just lousy at teaching, but Magic can be a bit complicated at times. A good place to start is to pick up a deck from the Magic 2013 Core Set. The major keywords are generally explained in there, such as haste, vigilance, and trample. It also consists of major cards needed in any game. Duel of the Planeswalkers is good practice as well, but some of the decks you face can be downright evil. Against the first one, I'd say go with the red one you start with so you can burn away those pesky Fog Bank  s.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 8:59AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Jul 28, 2010
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I can recommend the Duel Decks for learning Magic that's how I currently teach my roommate  I'll give you my opinion to the duel decks I own Garruk vs. Liliana is a pretty straight forward deck, that I'd recommend for this purpose Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas is relatively simple on the Ajani side, but Bolas being a control deck is a bit more complex. the power level of these decks is also the highest of all the duel decks, it's very swingy. Elspeth vs. Tezzeret is pretty straight forward for Elspeth, but Tezzeret has lots of interaction and combos with counters, so that can be complicated Koth vs. Venser is relatively simple, Koth is a big red deck without many bells and whistles, Venser is a bit more complicated with lots of ETB effects and bounce spells Izzet vs. Golgari is so far the best duel deck they released, but it is rather complicated for new players. Izzet is a kind of control deck and Golgari uses the graveyard as a ressource, which is a strange concept for new players Knights vs. Dragons: the Dragons are pretty straight forward, just play big bad ass Monsters. the Knights are a bit more complex, with Forecast and especially searching for lands with Knight of the Reliquary  Phyrexia vs. the New Coalition is not recommended. Phyrexia is a suicide black deck, Coalition is a 5 color deck which is very hard to build properly on this sort of budget. easily my least favourite duel deck
proud member of the 2011 community team
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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 9:11AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Mar 22, 2009
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Personally, I wouldnt recommend Duel Decks for new players. IMO they are too complicated, and feature too many different mechanics.
I would suggest Intro Packs to start with. You dont get as much value for money, they arent as good, but they should be very easy to pick up and play with. You can always progress to Event Decks or Duel Decks later.
~ Tim
 Reached DCI Rating 1800 on 28/10/11. :D Sig
Show
Not bad. But what happens flavor wise when one kamahl kills the other one?
Zis iz a sign uf deep psychological troma, buried in zer subconscious mind. By keelink himzelf, Kamahl iz physically expressink hiz feelinks uf self-disgust ova hiz desire for hiz muzzer. [/GermanPsychologistVoice]
That makes no sense to me.
If they spelled the ability out on the card in full then it would not be allowed in a mono-black Commander deck, but because they used a keyword to save space it is allowed?
~ Tim
Yup, just like you can have Birds of paradise  in a mono green deck but not Noble Hierarch  . YAY COLOR IDENTITY 
Is algebra really that difficult?
Survey says yes.
You want to make a milky drink. You squeeze a cow.
I love this description. Like the cows are sponges filled with milk. I can see it all Nick Parks claymation-style with the cow's eyes bugging out momentarily as a giant farmer squeezes it like a squeaky dog toy, and milk shoots out of it.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 11:46AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Oct 27, 2007
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Being old and a teacher, I really don't want to be hanging out with a bunch of my students.
I'm 46. My store has 13-year olds. Some players are older than me. My daughter is turning nine in a few days and beats me regularly: She's just too shy to play in store events. If you literally would be playing with some of your students, that's a separate issue, but don't worry about the age thing. However, I do recommend you visit the store during the next FNM: Some stores attract very casual, laid back, fun loving crowds, some get hard core competitive crowds, and some get something in between.
So what does everyone think? What do I need to pick up to start out with? Probably something prebuilt?
In your particular case, depending on yoru budget, I would recommend this:
- Three of the five Return to Ravnica intro packs, so each one of you gets to play a particular theme (see www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.a...)
- One Return to Ravnica "fat pack" to get a guide to the cards, a nice storage pack, and some booster packs that you can use to augment the intro packs
The intro packs are not competitive enough to play even at store events, but they are good for learning the game.
I bought the Xbox version and downloaded it on my ipad also.
I'm only familiar with the PC version on Steam, but I assume those versions have the same tutorials. If so, go through them. Then play, play, play. You'll pick it up with experience.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 11:49AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Oct 27, 2007
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Poor guy, now he's gotten three different sets of advice. 
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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 11:50AM
#7
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Date Joined:
Jul 28, 2010
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the "Duels of the Planeswalker" games do get some of the rules wrong, mostly about priority
those games are often a game of reaction, which Magic is not
still, a good learning experience, if you want a game with correct rules try the "Magic Online" demo (that's how I learned after a crash course from a friend)
proud member of the 2011 community team
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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 1:08PM
#8
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Date Joined:
Oct 27, 2007
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the "Duels of the Planeswalker" games do get some of the rules wrong, mostly about priority those games are often a game of reaction, which Magic is not
I don't think it's that different: The steps aren't broken down with the same accuracy and detail as in Magic Online, but you essentially have a few seconds to interrupt the timer to cast an instant or activate an ability. In practice this is not very different how we play in real life, unless you are annuncing each trigger. The advantage is that it has much better tutorials than Magic Online: It's a good option for someone who does not have a friend who knows the game. And even friends get some of the rules wrong.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 2:38PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Mar 22, 2009
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Poor guy, now he's gotten three different sets of advice.
Dont get me wrong, I like DoTP (what little I have played of it... bought it 3 times for the promo but dont actually own a PC that will run it) and I love the Duel Decks.
One of the best things about Magic is that it can be whatever you want it to be - there is something for everyone. There isnt a right or wrong answer when it comes to learning the game, as different things work for different people. Personally I think Duel Decks cover too much for brand new players, but for all I know OP and his kids could be adept at picking up new games and might find them a breeze.
~ Tim
Reached DCI Rating 1800 on 28/10/11. :D Sig
Show
Not bad. But what happens flavor wise when one kamahl kills the other one?
Zis iz a sign uf deep psychological troma, buried in zer subconscious mind. By keelink himzelf, Kamahl iz physically expressink hiz feelinks uf self-disgust ova hiz desire for hiz muzzer. [/GermanPsychologistVoice]
That makes no sense to me.
If they spelled the ability out on the card in full then it would not be allowed in a mono-black Commander deck, but because they used a keyword to save space it is allowed?
~ Tim
Yup, just like you can have Birds of paradise in a mono green deck but not Noble Hierarch . YAY COLOR IDENTITY
Is algebra really that difficult?
Survey says yes.
You want to make a milky drink. You squeeze a cow.
I love this description. Like the cows are sponges filled with milk. I can see it all Nick Parks claymation-style with the cow's eyes bugging out momentarily as a giant farmer squeezes it like a squeaky dog toy, and milk shoots out of it.
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6 months ago ::
Jan 14, 2013 - 9:56PM
#10
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Date Joined:
Jun 14, 2006
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While there are exceptions, and I'm sure your kids are bright, in my experience 9 is a little too early to get a good grasp on the game. I've played, and taught many kids how to play the game and on the average I think 9 is too young, however, it certainly helps to have an older sybling who may be interested. I started teaching my daughter (10 years old) with intro packs from worldwake. She had the "flyover" intro pack and it just never came together for her. The "flyover" deck probably wasn't the best intro pack for teaching a new player featuring cards like unsummon  , apex hawks  (multikicker in general wasn't great for her), and gomazoa  . There were too many chances for her to "throw away" cards and/or not get full value out of her plays which meant that I was either constantly interrupting the game with "lessons" or I would have to play poorly so the game wouldn't be a blowout in my favor. In the end I constructed two simple decklists which I used for awhile when she was still learning the basics. While I don't remember the exact decklists that I used I will post 2 decks that are similar to the ones I used when teaching my daughter how to play. I haven't checked the prices but these are mostly bulk commons which are usually a quarter each. a couple of the uncommons will be a little higher priced but they're probably worth it. 24 x forest  4 x arbor elf  2 x garruk's companion  4 x deadly recluse  2 x elvish visionary  1 x wilt-leaf cavaliers  3 x borderland ranger  2 x leatherback baloth  4 x primal huntbeast  1 x wildheart invoker  2 x acidic slime  1 x hollowhenge beast  2 x yavimaya wurm  4 x rancor  4 x giant growth  The basic idea here is that it plays bigger and badder creatures than other decklists. Since the creatures are all french vanilla there isn't a whole lot of learning each card and instead the players can focus on learning combat. 24 x mountain  4 x rakdos cackler  4 x drooling ogre  4 x gore-house chainwalker  4 x guttersnipe  4 x bloodfray giant  2 x furnace whelp  2 x lightning greaves  4 x lightning bolt  4 x searing spear  4 x brimstone volley  It's red and agressive. It has an advantage in that it can destroy the opponent's creatures, however, rancor is an overpowering card that will give the green deck an advantage. Either of these decks can be constructed at the cost of an intro pack (I suspect although I didn't price check anything and if something is too high it's easy to substitute like swiftfoot boots  instead of lightning greaves for instantce) but they will likely be easier to learn and/or teach with.
Don't be too smart to have fun
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