Meta help (not the kind of help you are thinking)

[thatoneguy]

So I don't really have a meta game, yet I want to play legacy. There are a few ladies and gentleman who play around me, but they play something different every time. I am going to ask the age old question, what do I play? I don't want to know which deck is the best, I want to assemble and play something half way decent (doen't have to win, but would be nice if it could), is reasonable in price ($500 or less), and is easy enough to understand but is still fun to play. Im just a mediocer magic player, so please don't recommend the epic storm, I borrowed it from a friend, and that ended in epic fail. I am game for agro or combo, control is something i would rather not try yet.
So long as the original dual lands can be subbed out for the ravnica duals i am good.

Thank you

[Atwa]

So I don't really have a meta game, yet I want to play legacy. There are a few ladies and gentleman who play around me, but they play something different every time. I am going to ask the age old question, what do I play? I don't want to know which deck is the best, I want to assemble and play something half way decent (doen't have to win, but would be nice if it could), is reasonable in price ($500 or less), and is easy enough to understand but is still fun to play. Im just a mediocer magic player, so please don't recommend the epic storm, I borrowed it from a friend, and that ended in epic fail. I am game for agro or combo, control is something i would rather not try yet.
So long as the original dual lands can be subbed out for the ravnica duals i am good.

Thank you

You could try out dredge without LED's. I know it's a (sort of) combo deck, but I think it's the cheapest deck to build in Legacy (aside from Burn). Also you could try out Boros. You only need a bunch of fetchlands along with 2 Plateau (or the Rav versions, you can play Lightning Helix to compensate for the life loss).

[TheShaun]

You could try out dredge without LED's. I know it's a (sort of) combo deck, but I think it's the cheapest deck to build in Legacy (aside from Burn). Also you could try out Boros. You only need a bunch of fetchlands along with 2 Plateau (or the Rav versions, you can play Lightning Helix to compensate for the life loss).

Depends on what you're trying to do. If you are trying to work your way into a group of current Legacy players, I honestly would not play dredge at all. It's not fun at all to play against, and has kind of a bad rep among friendly players. "Friends don't let friends play dredge". If you just want to go to a local tournament and roll heads, feel free.
Something like Goblins would be great IMO, as it is a tier 1 deck that isn't too expensive to build (other than Wastelands now), and isn't incredibly hard to learn. No deck is easy to master, but I'd say that Goblins has one of the easier learning thresholds.

[OurSerratedDust]

Depends on what you're trying to do. If you are trying to work your way into a group of current Legacy players, I honestly would not play dredge at all. It's not fun at all to play against, and has kind of a bad rep among friendly players. "Friends don't let friends play dredge". If you just want to go to a local tournament and roll heads, feel free.
Something like Goblins would be great IMO, as it is a tier 1 deck that isn't too expensive to build (other than Wastelands now), and isn't incredibly hard to learn. No deck is easy to master, but I'd say that Goblins has one of the easier learning thresholds.

I agree with this. Dredge is not particularly fun to play against.

[Octopusman]

Depends on what you're trying to do. If you are trying to work your way into a group of current Legacy players, I honestly would not play dredge at all. It's not fun at all to play against, and has kind of a bad rep among friendly players. "Friends don't let friends play dredge". If you just want to go to a local tournament and roll heads, feel free.
Something like Goblins would be great IMO, as it is a tier 1 deck that isn't too expensive to build (other than Wastelands now), and isn't incredibly hard to learn. No deck is easy to master, but I'd say that Goblins has one of the easier learning thresholds.

Obviously, you'll get all kinds of answers.
Dredge is an important deck to learn how to play against and I would argue that it's unfun to play against or to play. If your friends can't beat it, tell them to cry more and to stop playing with Island Fish Jasconius.
If you want to play casual, that's up to you.

Better yet, make your own competitive Legacy deck. Coming up with a viable strategy is fun.

I would recommend dredge over burn. IMO burn is the least fun deck there is. Though I have to admit that I have lost to sulfuric vortex with leyline of sanctity out... that was pretty awesome.

Dragon Stompy is pretty cheap too. I love that deck.

[Humphrey]

actually its tough to decide if we dont have more information.
dredge is good, but not fun
goblins is ok, much fun
dragon stompy is an absolute meta call, i wouldnt recommend it
the gate might be a good choice

[Hanni]

I'm going to have to say Goblins too. The deck is an absolute blast to play, and I actually prefer the mono red version over the color splashes regardless of cost. Since cost is an issue, mono red Goblins looks like a clear winner. It's a top tier deck, low cost, and is fair in a friendly environment.

If you have a little extra cash to dish out, you may consider (mono blue) Merfolk also. It's also a blast to play, still relatively cheap (cost wise) in comparison to many of the other 3 and 4 color decks out there. It's also a top tier deck, and fair in a friendly environment.

In general, aggro is a pretty good place to start if you're a novice player. Combo and control require alot of critical decisions, and can be very unforgiving with play mistakes, even minor ones.

[ivanpei]

You can also try playing GW aggro. You don't need savannas or you can sub em for the rav duals. Play more canopies, just 1 savanna and you are all good. Goyfs are not compulsory, it's actually the worst creature in the deck. I'd play with a bunch of hate bears (Mindscensor, revokers) + Stoneforge/Natural Order as your bomb finish. Extremely fun deck, very interactive and you can slowly evolve into a full version of GW with goyfs, and later Zoo or Junk.

[TheShaun]

I'm actually enjoying Death and Taxes quite a bit too, and I think over half that deck is common/uncommon. Vials and Karakas' are the only expensive parts, unless you go really heavy equipment package.

[4eak]

It sounds like you might be interested in competitive budget decks. I've gathered a small set of budget decklists (~15 decks, all of them less than $500) here. It might be useful to you.


peace,
4eak

[thatoneguy]

Thank you, all this is helpful.
May I ask how well goblins or reanimator does in a slightly competative envirnment?

[Malchar]

Dragon Stompy wouldn't be that great in my opinion. It is only good in certain metas, and if your opponents frequently change decks, it won't work that well.

Goblins is a great deck. It has been a "deck to beat" for longer than any other deck on that list. It is extremely competitive. In particular, it beats any kind of "next level blue" deck, counterbalance, and merfolk. It's also great against any decks that use blood moon. The mana-denial package of wasteland + rishadan port makes it very good against "random" decks.

Goblins is also pretty inexpensive compared to other top decks. Also, the decklist literally hasn't changed for years except for like 4 cards. It's also pretty good for a new player and it seems "fair" since it doesn't rely on counterspells or combos. It's just a really solid aggro deck with good mana denial and card advantage. The only deck that goblins has significant trouble against is straight up combo, but those decks usually have consistency problems anyway.

Personally I learned how to play legacy with a goblins deck that I got back in 2006 or so. I only had to get a few new cards like warren weirding and goblin chieftain, and they aren't even necessary for the deck. The deck has been great, and I recommend it to everyone.

[sclabman]

Aggro elves, then upgrade to Natural Order Elves. Possibly Combo Elves if you want. It's really damn cheap and a great deck too.