[Casual] First Deck I built...ever..

[Tjdojjo]

First Deck I built...ever..

just beginning to play...was given an enormous amount of decks to choose from.. kinda went through picked 23 mana 30'ish low cost creatures spells..and 7'ish high cost ones...

[G. Moto]

     It looks like a cool deck so far and I do see the theme that you're going for by using the mono-Black. I recommend looking into the INNISTRAD block and to try and incorporate some of their black zombies. Also any card that you can find that's related to Liliana Vess (like liliana's reaver, liliana's specter and cards like nightmare) would all be good additions to the deck.

[Tjdojjo]

thank you!    i actually began uploading all my decks to try to make it easier to make decks...  and i realized that i have a lot of zombie type cards... i plan on re inventing my first deck...  especially using artifacts cards...but i'm staying away from them because i feel it's a level of complexity i'm not ready for as very noob beginner.. but thank you for your input!!!      I'm really glad my thought to add zombies was a good one.

[G. Moto]

Sure no problem. And remember, a big part of playing magic is reading your cards. If you have the mana and the creature base for a deck then run with it, then just add your other spells to it later. Also it's important to know what the mission goal of your deck is, because frankly anyone can put together a deck full of zombies but if they don't WORK together then it's just a mess of cards. Find out what you want your deck to do, then find the zombie and mono-Black cards that help you fulfill that mission. That's why black cat, bone splinters, maalfeld twins and polluted dead are cool cards because when creatures start dying effects start to trigger and it is rarely good for your opponent.

[Tjdojjo]

Yes!  I basically did just that... put my cards together based off recommended amounts of what land, creature, spells, etc...   60.. then started playing...figuring i'd be able to gt a better sense of what's going on in my deck or what i like...so i can go back and rebuild... i definitely will work on it and use your suggestions...because i do definitely have black cat and some other's of that type.. i'm very excited to continue modfying my deck and i will post my second attempt at my first magic deck soon!   thank you again for all your insight!  this game has turned into a very fun family activity...and considering i have over 500 of each color cards not including mana...it's a daunting yet fun task ahead of me.. ..  ill still to the monochromatic decks for now..' til i'm more comfortable with the game and the rules....  i've researched some online..but they are vague (to me) 

  i understand this game with noobs comes with a lot of questions... but ill post them just incase

DISCLAIMER:  YOU DONT HAVE TO ANSWER THESE.

     my biggest struggle is... when cards attack.. can they attack you? or just your cards? or both?

    i understand that if they attack you, you can use your cards to defend?...

    if they attack a certain card of mine then i can try and save that card with spells (instants) or let him die?...   

DISCLAIMER : THESE QUESTIONS ARE SIMPLY REGARDING THE DEFAULT COUNTER ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF THE CARD AND DO NOT INCORPORATE CREATURE EFFECTS OR SPECIAL INSTRUCTION WRITTEN ON THE ATTACKING OR DEFENDING CARD or SPELLS...

if a 3/3 attacks a 3/3  do they both die?

if a 3/3 attacks a 4/3 card.. do they both die and i do +1 damage to the attacking player (if true, can that +1 dmg be blocked?) ?

if a 3/3 attacks a 2/2 card, does the 2/2 card die and i still take -1 dmg (if true, again can i use another card to block that -1 dmg?) ?

thanks again for your time

[G. Moto]

     It's not a problem man and i'm glad that I can be of assistance to you. I'l take these questions one at a time;

1. When a creature is attacking the creature is attacking the player directly. However there are spells that make your creatures "FIGHT" other creatures. If the "fight" takes place before actual combat then you can have two creatures fight, eliminate their blocker and then swing for an attack. SO basically you killed a creature and secured a hit on the opponent.

2. When a creature attacks YOU, you can defend yourself by using one of your creatures as a "blocker" to protect your health. OR you can use a spell to kill their creature before the damage takes place, but you need destroy their creature with the spell BEFORE blockers are declared. This is because if they declare the blocker before you target their creature for destruction then no damage goes through even if you destroy their creature.

3. As far as creatures living and dying in combat; If your spell is fast enough (mostly referring to instant spells) then you can save your creatures. As long as your spells are FAST enough then you can use any spell on any creature that has a proper target.

4. if one 3/3 creature fights another 3/3 creature they both deal their damage to each other at the SAME TIME, so they would both die.

5. in the case of the (4/3) and the (3/3) yes they would also both die. However, your 4/3 creature only deals the extra damage to the opponent if your creature has TRAMPLE as a card effect and your creature with trample is THE ATTACKER. The only way trample works is if you're attacking, it doesn't work if you're defending.

6.  in the case of the (3/3) and the (2/2)  the smaller creature would die but the 3/3 creature would be reduced to 3/1 for the turn because IT receives the damage and stays that way until the end of the turn.The 3/3 only deals the extra damage if it was attacking you and if it has TRAMPLE. Remember TRAMPLE and ATTACKING are the two factors needed.

     Hope this all helps you man. Let me know if you need anything else.

[Tjdojjo]

OMG!  Thank you soo much... that was soo simple to read and understand besides what i've looked up.. thank you soo much!  one thing to clarify

if attacker says," ill attack your 2/2 card with my 3/3 card."

is this a legal move or must it always be, "I'm attacking with my 3/3 card." thus always giving me the option to block or absorb the damage?

obviously spells can attack or attach to creatures not just the player..
 is this scenerio correct?

attacker claims, "  I cast enfeeblement on your 6/6 card and attack with my 3/3 and my 3/1 card."     (please keep in mind i'm just throwing a random spell out there and have no idea what that card does..but lets say it drags me down from 6/6 to 2/6)   My 2/6 i block with.. thus leaving a 2/3 card until the end of his turn.. his 3/3 card dies... he attacks with his 3/1, i block with my now 2/3 card.. they both die.. no other moves can be made... end of turn..

?     sorry this will clear everything up for me

[G. Moto]

Ok here I go;

1. You are attacking them not the creature unless a spell of effect makes you do so. So this is the scenario; "i'll attack you for 2 (because your creature is a 2/2)." then the opponent says; "ok i'll block your 2/2 with my 3/3" your creature dies and their's lives.

2. Reiterating the number one, no matter what the enemy plays, THEY are always your intended target. Your spells are used to clear the way for this to happen.

3. Some enchantments called AURAS are able to attach to other creatures or enchant whatever target it specifies on the card itself. ARTIFACTS can EQUIP themselves to only your creatures and once equipped can be passed to another creature just by paying the equip cost again. Remember, if it does not say that the opponent is a target in the CARD TEXT then they CANNOT be target by that spell.

4. I'm going to play out htis move for you step by step so make sure you pay careful attention;
   a) Your opponent (the attacker) cast enfeeblement on your 6/6 so it actually becomes a 6/4 not a 6/2.
   b) He swings (attacks) with his 3/3 and 3/1 (which means if you don't block it you'll be taking 6 points of damage). Unless your creature specifically says or you gave it the effect, it can only block ONE creature, but if you have multiple creatures (which you didn't specify) then you could have multiple creatures block the same single attacking creature if you wanted. This is what some people call "double blocking", "triple blocking", etc. 
   c) You choose which single creature to block because you only have one creature. Preferably you'd want to block his 3/3 with your 6/4. This way you'd only take 3 points of damage this turn, you would have killed off his stronger creature just by defending, and your creature would survive the turn with at least one point of toughness remaining (because it would be a 6/1 before the turn is over). No more moves end turn.
   d)  Play plague witch from your hand and use her effect on your opponent's remaining creature. Because it's toughness will be reduced to ZERO or LESS then it would automatically die (and that is a STAT REDUCTION NOT DAMAGE, it's a nice little loophole to know for later games). Now that your opponent's only creature is gone you can swing for 6 damage unblocked and still have your plague witch as a defender for next turn (if your opponent plays a creature that has HASTE, meaning it can attack the turn it's summoned).

     These are the kind of plays that you'd want to make in that kind of situation. If you can't remove the enchantment then play kheru bloodsucker and sacrifice your 6/4 enchanted creature. Both of the effects will activate, your opponent will lose 2 and you'll gain 2, and if you play ghoulcaller's chant you can return it right back to your hand to replay that creature. See the cool things you can do when you plan out your plays?

[Tjdojjo]

awh yes! that's beautiful! i totally have a much better understanding of it now.  i'll be examing your notes closely and often while me and my son are still learning this game..  thank you soo much for your time and patience! 

[G. Moto]

     Hey if I can help bring a family together over a card game then it's my pleasure. Also you can always go on the main magic the gathering website for game play updates and rulings involving the different formats. One thing I use often is the card archive on that same website because it shows you every single card ever made, it's great reference material.

     Also one important thing Tjdojjo, the multiverse is a very large place in magic and there are many worlds that can be visited. I say this because some places are not as nice as others. To help keep your young person from walking down the dark path (if it can be helped) try to guide them through the multiverse before they go planeswalking on their own. This way they will have a better grasp of MTG and not succumb to any negative forces that may be out there. On the main magic the gathering website there is a section where you can look at all the PLANES in the multiverse visited so far and read up on their backgrounds and stories. Some worlds are different than others as far as flavor and genre go. The way I learned magic was in this direction (though the sets may be out of chronological order it helped me learn the game better);

 Return to Ravnica (great way to teach the meaning behind COLOR IDENTITIES), Theros (Because it was the STANDARD set at the time and also incorporated color identities as a form of playing), Innistrad (because of the flavor), Tarkir and Alara (Great way to teach how to play 3-color decks). After that I then just went to whatever world seemed cool to me. I like doing creative writing with Genre/Action/Adventure being my key points so anything related to those topics fit me just right. Learn your son's color identities and personal feelings and philosophies then he'll grow into himself with more ease. MTG is like making friends, it's a learning experience. 

[Tjdojjo]

Awh that's awesome ill definitely keep that in mind..   He built his first blue deck when i built my black deck....and weve been battling it out with these two decks since we made them...   From what i know...which is very little... He has built his deck really well...   And is surprisingly strong for him doing it on his own...   We're about even in our duels so far...  We're identifying problems with our decks and planning on changes as we play...   He literally just got done roflstomping me with his blue deck just now..   He really wants to explore so well definitely be looking into the other worlds now that we have some basic guidelines for survival under our belt...   Ill be posting his blue deck he has so far soon.  Thank you again

[G. Moto]

     Your welcome Tjdojjo. Also another way that I build decks (and build up my rare collection) is by Building each of my decks tailored to a specific plane/world. So Retrun to Ravnica decks only use RAVNICA related cards and vice versa. Just a little training tip to help you get on your feet. Also the emblem on the bottom left hand side of the card's picture tells which set the card came from (also available in the card archive and in what's called "the gatherer", the search engine for cards). If the emblem is BLACK then it's COMMON. SILVER means UNCOMMON, GOLD means RARE and ORANGE means MYTHIC. I recommend getting a collector's album because the Rare an Mythic cards you're gonna want to keep safe until you actually have to use them.

[G. Moto]

Also for this deck you may want to try and focus on one card set first as far as deck themes go. I can see that most of these cards came from an older set but if you try and make a mono-Black Kamigawa deck then you might see some more consistency in your game play.

[Tjdojjo]

Yes focusing on one theme will be my goal during my rebuild!  .  Ive learned tons from your advice and input! Ill continue to post my deck as it matures .

[G. Moto]

Good to hear. How's the young person doing as far as game play and deck building?