New to legacy- any advice?

[Tephura]

Hi to whomever is reading/replying. I've started playing legacy with some friends in the last couple of months. What advice/links/things would you want a newbie to share?

Before someone asks, I play a W/G punishing fire maveric deck I borrow from friends. However, I am still new (like 2 months in). What advice do you have?

[thefringthing]

Try to familiarize yourself with the variety of strategies you'll encounter. This article (http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/22988_Eternal_Europe_The_Ultimate_Legacy_Compendium.html) might be helpful in this regard.

And here's a basic primer (http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/23421_Eternal_Europe_Legacy_Fundamentals.html) on the format by the same author.

[jrw1985]

Review SCG decklists each week. Memorize those GP Indianapolis Top 8 decklists. Read the tournament reports folks post here on the Source. Play often. Find a weekly tournament to play in. And play that Maverick deck for a little while before switching to a new deck. You will better understand how other decks work if you first understand how your deck works. Without that foundation you will be treading water. And have fun. It's a great format.

[Beatusnox]

Just a short list of things I think are necessity.

Pick a Deck you like, Play it often
Check Starcity every week, See what is popular and how those decks work
Buy Staples even if not for the deck you play, You never know what deck you may want to play in the future having a good base of staples is key
Test and Play seriously, Magic is a Game and by nature supposed to be fun, but if you muligan to 7 often or just "screw around" in games you will not get to the level of skill it normally requires to win major events.

[socialite]

Play Vintage.

[from Cairo]

Play a lot, proxy up other lists to playtest with your friends. Initially this can be helpful to determine the best fit for a deck to play, and once you find what you like, it's a great way to get familiar with strategy and lines of play versus other decks.

In terms of building a collection I'd echo Beatusnox, especially keeping an eye out for deals on staple commons/unc's. Grabbing stuff that's standard-legal when it's unpopular/undervalued.

[Oiolosse]

I second that you should proxy up other decks. And not just any, choose a combo, tempo and mid range control. Legacy has a huge list of viable decks that play very differently.

[betterthenandrew]

Play a deck with Brainstorm is the best advice I can give to an aspiring legacy mage. Whether you're digging for Ritauls or Force of Wills you can't really go wrong.

[Plague Sliver]

Playtest all the popular decks and archetypes. Don't limit yourself to one particular strategy until you've tried them all.

Always think about your endgame, and what you need to do to get there.

Just as important as playtesting is watching good play. Observe matches and have a friend critique your play.

Take your time and avoid auto-piloting any turn. The format has many complex interactions that aren't obvious.

I actually like the "Play Vintage" advice, wishing I could do more of that. I am 99% certain that it would sharpen your skills.

[sdematt]

Highly agree with above post, but also playtest against different people playing the same deck. I might not play RUG deck the same way the actual RUG player plays it.

-Matt

[Tephura]

Thank you everyone, I will do my best to follow your advice. Legacy is not played strongly here. Is anyone on cockratrice willing to play with a newbie? (I'm also slow on that program, FYI)

[xfxf]

tappedout.net is a good site to proxy your deck and draw some hands. You can playtest a few decks there to see what you like. I came back to Legacy last summer after a long break and I tried a bunch of decks there first to introduce myself to the format. I checked out the prices for my favorite decks and completed one of the cheapest based on what I had. Started playing with it while collecting the other staples. It enabled me to get involved with a single deck to learn it to a decent level, allowed me to learn the format and the balances. I was also able to acquire a good deal of staples within a year.

Maverick is one of the nicest decks out there imo if you can borrow it. It's both a very solid deck in the metagame, a tad cheaper compared to the blue Tier1-1.5 decks and offers a lot of strategic depth and customization. But as I said, proxy some of the popular decks on tappedout and try to see what you like first. Maybe you'll feel like getting through your learning curve with another deck.

[Malchar]

Read threads about different decks that you're not familiar with. You'll have a better idea how to play against them.

[Tephura]

tappedout.net is a good site to proxy your deck and draw some hands. You can playtest a few decks there to see what you like. I came back to Legacy last summer after a long break and I tried a bunch of decks there first to introduce myself to the format. I checked out the prices for my favorite decks and completed one of the cheapest based on what I had. Started playing with it while collecting the other staples. It enabled me to get involved with a single deck to learn it to a decent level, allowed me to learn the format and the balances. I was also able to acquire a good deal of staples within a year.

Maverick is one of the nicest decks out there imo if you can borrow it. It's both a very solid deck in the metagame, a tad cheaper compared to the blue Tier1-1.5 decks and offers a lot of strategic depth and customization. But as I said, proxy some of the popular decks on tappedout and try to see what you like first. Maybe you'll feel like getting through your learning curve with another deck.


I had never heard of tapped out.net, that is a neat site, TY. Maverick is what I'm borrowing now, I'd tend to agree. I'm not exactly rolling in money. Those dual lands are what makes my heart hurt.

[Tephura]

Does anyone here play on Cockratrice? I'm still new on there to, but I don't like playing with jerks on there. If you screw something up (due to newness) they cuss you out, WTF?:cry:

[aahz]

Playtest all the popular decks and archetypes. Don't limit yourself to one particular strategy until you've tried them all.

Always think about your endgame, and what you need to do to get there.

Just as important as playtesting is watching good play. Observe matches and have a friend critique your play.

Take your time and avoid auto-piloting any turn. The format has many complex interactions that aren't obvious.

I actually like the "Play Vintage" advice, wishing I could do more of that. I am 99% certain that it would sharpen your skills.
+1

Watch and play as many different decks as you can. You want to be able to predict your opponents plays once you identify their deck. A few times on Sunday, I told my opponent what they were going to do before they did it because I was probably more familiar with their deck than they were (which is fun when they have to read my cards because they have no idea what they do).

The advice about picking up staples when you have the opportunity (even if you don't need them immediately) is good as well.

Also:


Play Vintage.

[JACO]

Getting into Legacy can be a bit overwhelming because of the large card pool and large number of decks and variants of decks. I would recommend proxying up and testing some of the more popular deck variants at the moment:
UWx StoneBlade
GWx Maverick
BGW Junk
Sneak and Show
Faithless Looting Dredge
UGR Tempo
UWG Bant
Burn
Reanimator
and if you're comfortable with combo decks, High Tide and/or Ad Nauseam Tendrils (UB)

Give those decks a runaround for a few weeks to familiarize yourself (and any new testing partners) with the interactions of the cards, and then branch out from there to see what you like, and what you feel comfortable playing.