MTGO First Steps...

[Twoflower]

I started up an MTGO account this week (being a general noob at magic but inspired by LRR) and actually got in on the Friday night draft. Didn't get to fight Graham and he nabbed Orzhov while I was nabbing Orzhov, which was awkward, but I won a round and had a good time all the same.

The question is, now what do I do with these cards I got from the draft?

I'm not sure constructed is something I want to shoot for; my deckbuilding skills are not up to par and MTGO is a bit flooded with people who really expensive and brutal decks, I understand. I could sell off the cards to pay for future draft fun.

Or, I could hang onto them and do standard constructed, if that'd be worthwhile. I have been having fun doing one-off Planeswalker games even though I keep running into the same crazy mana ramp + direct damage decks. Maybe constructed would also be fun...? Or maybe the cards I'm getting in draft wouldn't be worth selling so I should just hang onto them?

Dunno what my next steps should be for maximizing fun while minimizing costs. I am planning to hop in another draft, given I won a booster I can put forward towards it, but JUST drafting may get expensive unless I'm missing something here.

Also props to the other LRRers I was playing against in the draft. Even when I was losing they made it a fun experience!

[Kapol]

Drafting will get expensive sadly. There's no way around it. I personally sell the cards I get from drafting to help pay for further drafts. The reason being that I don't really care about the cards. Like mentioned, constructed standard is an option. I just don't think it's worth it since the deck level fluctuates so much. You could face a $1000 deck (or what would be if physical cards), or something a complete;ly new person built. There's no real way to be sure.

That's just my two cents.

[Drecon]

There are lots of different play rooms for constructed. There is actually a 'new players'-room in which you could play an adapted limited deck and try to just have some fun.
Once you get some more cards you can move up to the 'just for fun'-room and play a little more competitively. (there are some people there playing tournament decks, but that's usually not the norm.

Drafting can indeed get expensive. It's about on par with going out with friends for a night. If you think about it that way it's usually easier to strike a balance.

Good luck on the starting out.

[Kapol]

There are lots of different play rooms for constructed. There is actually a 'new players'-room in which you could play an adapted limited deck and try to just have some fun.

Sadly, that doesn't necessarily matter. I've played people with decks full of shocklands, sphinxes revelations, and so forth in the New Player room. I've also played people with decks that just didn't work at all. Hence why I mentioned the fluctuation of skill/cost in decks.

[Drecon]

There are lots of different play rooms for constructed. There is actually a 'new players'-room in which you could play an adapted limited deck and try to just have some fun.

Sadly, that doesn't necessarily matter. I've played people with decks full of shocklands, sphinxes revelations, and so forth in the New Player room. I've also played people with decks that just didn't work at all. Hence why I mentioned the fluctuation of skill/cost in decks.

That's true, there's a lot of variance there.

It might get better once people start using the new client's 'getting serious'-room. It is a long-time frustration of mine though.

[Twoflower]

It's costly to draft, but it does provide an evening's entertainment -- and with three boosters worth of cards, all hand-picked by you. Plus if I win even one round that knocks some off the cost of entry. So, while I won't be perpetually drafting, it's something I can do every week or so.

Constructed seems to be the only other way to go -- I guess it depends on whether the New Players / Just For Fun rooms are insane or not. I know when I play my Planeswalker deck (culled from just the cards they give you with a new account) half the time I'm facing someone overloaded on mythics and rares with an Ikea Gun combo. Which is AMUSING but may get old fast.

[Lord Hosk]

I had a lot of fun with my planeswalker deck until I started running into people who just buy wins. If you spend $40 on extra deck sets to build a "competitive planeswalker deck" why are you in the "new players" room. It gets old REALLY REALLY fast.

They should put some sort of algorithm in place that if you have more than 10 or 15 cards from outside the starter packs in your deck you cant play in that room anymore.

[AdmiralMemo]

Hey twoflower. Great to play against you that draft. It was fun.

[Twoflower]

O HAI! Yah, that was a ton of fun; it seems when LRR drafts, even if you don't get to play against LRR (0 for 2 so far) you still get to play against great people.

May as well update, now that I remember this thread exists...

I've given up on Planeswalker; the $40 Planeswalker masters cruising the Just Starting Out room are obnoxious as heck. So, I tried Constructed / Just Starting Out, which was Very Hit and Very Miss.

Sunday afternoon I ran into plenty of new players with average M13 decks, using the starter cards and a few extras. I actually won a number of matches using the Borzhov deck I'd slapped together from what I drafted in the LRR drafts. Had a few very fair fights, some friendly folks, met someone who wanted to trade... good times.

Sunday night I ran into psychotic maniacs with bottomless pockets packing tons of shock lands and gonzo combos I had no way of stopping, who never talked and just mercilessly destroyed you. A few at least said GG, but it was clear they did NOT belong in the "Just Starting Out" room in the slightest and were looking for easy prey.

Sooo... I'm unclear where to go from here. Do I join the arms race and escalate my deck, looking up netdeck lists and buying singles? Do I just skip trying to play Constructed and do a draft now and then? (Expensive but at least a level playing field.) Do I give up entirely and get back to clearing my Steam backlog? Etc.

It's not so much that I want to WIIIIN constantly, I just want to find a part of this game which is reasonably fair without breaking the bank. Win or lose is fine by me, as long as it's not a foregone conclusion either way due to external factors.

[AdmiralMemo]

Yeah, Constructed is very hit and miss, though I've met and friended a few people on there who like playing something other than standard aggro crush.

You want a level playing field on Constructed? Play with friends directly, rather than in the public rooms. Down-side: finding someone on at the same time.
Drafts are nice, too, but expensive, as you said.

Also, know that each of those God-tier decks has weaknesses. This post that I just made shows that, where my so-so Mill deck beat a God-tier 90% foil rares and mythics, with just a little luck.

[Drecon]

I feel the best way to compete in these casual rooms is to build an original deck and tune it to the meta-game (and there really is one, it's just a little more diverse).
You can't really compete with the money decks, and you probably shouldn't try (unless you have money to throw away, in which case, go right ahead).
Try to find some overlooked mechanic or strategy and try to attack from another angle. That way you can often win in a cool manner, and even if you lose, you're still having fun, as it's your own deck, doing cool new things.