Deck Present Idea For a Beginner

[xfxf]

Hey guys,

I recently got my girlfriend's 18y.o. brother hooked up with this game. He's just learning the game and currently trying to get into the gaming community where he lives. He doesn't have much money to spend on this so after I explained him a bit about the formats and the cards and the game overall he thought Legacy was cool but way to expensive. He obviously decided to explore his options for Standard and Draft (economically).

But I'm thinking I can give him a real Legacy deck to get him into the format and without him wasting his money on a bunch of Standard cards etc. I don't want to give him something noobish like Burn and obviously I can't afford to give him a Tier deck so I'm looking for some options. I am currently considering to build him Elves since its around $500, has nice flavor (who doesn't like Elves right?), is an aggro deck but also mainly a combo deck so he can quickly start learning the more complicated aspects of the game. But I'm not sure if it would be too much to grasp at first.

Do you guys have any recommendations? What would be a cheap(ish), not too complicated not too simple, real Legacy deck to give to someone new to the hobby?

[tsabo_tavoc]

Elves is a good choice, and so is Goblins, Affinity, and if he can bear with it, Dredge.

[Chikenbok]

Friends don't let friends play dredge.

I'd go with elves or gobbos - or even, if you have an extra set of FOW's lying around, you can throw him some fishes (a top example of combat math, stack interaction, etc).

Definitely the best three decks that will show him all the aspects of the game without be too overwhelming.

Oh wait no, give him solidarity and make him master the stack.

[from Cairo]

If he likes Green agro, Elves seems good. Green Sun's Zenith, fetches, the white splash can start a player in the direction of Maverick at a later time.

U/R Delver might be another option with Zendikar fetches and maybe just run 2 Volcanic Island, should be someplace in that ~$500 ballpark. Opens up upgrade pathways to RUG.

I think Goblins and Merfolk could be fine, they get the player a set of Wastelands and promote the whole agro/disruption pillar which has been pretty timeless. The dudes don't transfer well to other decks, but also aren't super pricey.

Don't do Affinity or Burn, those decks are boring as hell and glass canons. I'd be weary of Dredge too, while I think it's a very good deck it's a poor deck to start buying into the format with since the cards are unique to the archetype.

Honestly, I'd try to get a feel for what strategy he likes in Standard. Best way to get someone excited about Legacy is to appeal to their playstyle then show them the busted stuff this format offers that archetype. Other than dedicated Blue control there should be budget approaches to most archetypes.

[anonymos]

Friends don't let friends play dredge.

This.

On a more serious note, don't give him anything right away. Loan him different decks until he gets a feel for the game and figures out what he likes. He may even go out one night and buy it himself slowly instead of you buying it for him that way. Also decks pieced together slowly are valued more than one given to you.

[Octopusman]

I would suggest dredge. It's fine because I'm not his friend.

Seriously though, most of the cheaper decks don't have cards that are good outside of their list for the most part.

I like the UR Delver idea. Buying into green afterwards is really expensive, though because of the duals/goyf/ooze especially.

To a new player, dredge will blow his mind. It will be nice to have a very competitive deck as well. It will make him an expert on triggers and fighting hate cards post board as well as being taught how to correctly set up a win with proper use of cabal therapy.

Do it before Lion's Eye Diamonds go higher.

[TheArchitect]

You can make mono green elves with just one geae's cradle and crop rotation for less than 200$ and that deck is a blast for people getting into legacy. I have friends that started on it and loved it. Its combo, its aggro, its elves! Unlike, say UW, or dredge, you dont really need to know the exact lists everyone is running so you can bring out your hate/fight through hate correctly or punished severely.

Affinity is actually not a bad option too, and dirt cheap <200$ theres also a lot of room here for him to try different colors, and cards which for a lot of people, the deck creation/tuning aspect of the game is really fun/important. Elves also has some room for change, with emerkul, VV/fauna, adding white, or going pure aggro/combo etc.

U/R delver isnt a bad idea too. You could even argue that FoW is unnecessary in that deck (althought I wouldnt), but inlike say UW, or RUG, U/R wont miss FoW nearly as much. Being a deck with such a fast clock, Using rav shock lands wouldnt be toooo bad since most games if you get the point where that 2 life matters, you have probably already lost. And ya, he can easily upgrade it to RUG if he gets the money.

[HokusSchmokus]

I vote for elves. It can be a bit overwhelming at the start, but maybe you can help him a bit there. If he understands the elves deck, he understands combat math, sequence of playing your spells,the stack,etc.