Decks for NEW Players | Deckbuilding Contest 08/2024

[@serrademers6047]

For the Jasmine Boreal of the Seven deck, remember that Oran Frostfang gives other creatures the ability Deathtouch so they will be blockable.

[@MicaSkogkatt]

Thank you for making my deck a finalist! I'm so happy😄

[@EDHRECast]

Thanks for participating and for such a terrific list!

[@medioxcore]

that jasmine deck is perfect. i might build one myself for those days where i don't really want to think a lot or keep track of a ton of stuff

[@nikszot5654]

I love the EDHrec cast and these videos! Olivia is freaking awesome too!

[@EDHRECast]

Thanks so much!

[@OwenCarr]

While I get the "39 basic lands" approach with the Jasmine deck I think you have to run more nonbasics in a deck with Gigantosaurus, Kalonian Tusker, and Leatherback Baloth in it. Nothing too fancy just some guildgate types etc. but if a new player picks this up and can't cast their GGGGG spells reliably I think it'd be more frustrating than anything else.

[@MooGiGon666]

As someone who also submitted a Jasmine deck, my thinking is that duals and other nonbasics up the complexity threshold of things that need to be explained to the player in a way they probably wanted to avoid. Remember, the prompt isn't someone with a passing familiarity with Magic (or even other tcgs), it's a total new/beginner player, so every piece of information needed to understand and play the deck, no matter how trivial it seems to us, adds to the learning curve and cognitive load. They may not necessarily have hit the right balance, but for this prompt especially I get erring heavily on the side of caution. Also worth noting that their build is orders of magnitude more complex than mine was by virtue of card types alone, so their thinking may have been entirely different

[@burnsboy101]

@@MooGiGon666 if the new player can’t figure out duel land types they have bigger problems 😂

[@chasm9557]

@@burnsboy101 The only hard rules I follow when trying to introduce new players to MTG and specifically commander are play something that won't get mana screwed (you want them to be able to play their flashy cards, not become frustrated they have useless cards in hand), stay away from decks with tutors (you don't want them overwhelmed from feeling like they have to learn what every card is in order to make the right choice), make sure the deck has plenty of interaction that will be relevant to what you're playing against them (don't have them play a deck with 15 pieces of creature removal if you're playing an enchantress deck; you don't want them to feel like they have useless cards), and make sure their deck has a simple theme they can understand (simple tribal stuff like elves or zombies, or something like an enchantress or token deck where most turns the deck kind of plays itself and doesn't have to be piloted perfectly to be highly functional and interactive.

[@DuckDuckGoose13]

​@chasm9557 I agree. When I first started years and years ago, all of the dual lands, tri lands, and utility lands were just too confusing to keep up with when there's 4+ kinds of permanents and non-permanent spells. Zendikar was a kick in the head for a first standard experience. I remember facing a jund deck with grave titan and 4/3 Green/Red land and just wanting to scoop instead of finding out what a $300 deck difference can be lol that's actually what made me get out of standard forever.

[@CHAREDot9]

@@burnsboy101I do recall one of my first memories playing magic I played azorious chancery untapped and did not bounce anything… pretty sick upside to not reading your cards lol

[@michaelgriffith7033]

Looking forward to the decks. I am not new to Magic, but new to EDH. I have two WotC precons, but would love to see these decks. And Cardshere is Excellent!!

[@TeaHauss]

The Jasmin deck is genius, I'm actually tempted to build that

[@EDHRECast]

It is a good one! Make sure to upvote the deck if you like it!

[@KCEBGaming]

I also just built a Zoo themed Jasmine deck

[@terrasnatais]

Oh man, wanted to submit a version of my Jasmine deck but did not get in time. Not much of a fan of using a lot of tokens though, they are a way to make the deck more powerful, but extra abstract cardboard is not the best for new player IMO.

[@MooGiGon666]

The drop from the joy I felt at seeing the thumbnail to the despair at seeing the Jasmine deck's username cannot be fathomed

[@eebbaa5560]

just looked up the username how did you even know what that was bruh😭

[@spiralshadow]

what the hell does this comment mean lmao

[@Jrocko0]

As a fellow player who submitted a Jasmin deck , I have to admit I got excited there for a moment too. While we didn't get nominated , the idea of picking Jasmin for a new player was a good one. And the most important thing for me is that my partner for whom I've build the deck enjoys piloting the deck.

[@Lazydino59]

This prompt seemed so cool I wish I knew this was a thing, I may need to figure out how to get involved in future ones

[@giraffanat]

Love the idea of this contest!!! ❤

[@EDHRECast]

So did we!

[@nigelcicero9093]

The best deck for a new player is something like omnath locus of rage. Just play lands and get stuff, attack, play more spells for more lands. Simple, easy to pilot, gives you tons of mana and a board state. Don't overcomplicate it

[@acicon]

Finally. Blue-Eyes White Dragon support

[@Hydra615]

Love the content, waiting for another Upping the average!

[@sifem2789]

I like the edhrecast crew, any combination of them is 🎉

[@otterfire4712]

I'll have to see about participating in next month's contest. I'm new to this channel, but I'd love to share some lists.

[@bryankopkin6869]

I was going to make a deck for this contest but I ended up not going for it. Excited to see what next month’s is!

[@Clean_Cup]

Video was too short. Love these people. :D

[@peeporiot9948]

Yeah looking at these and comparing them to my counsel of four deck mine was probably way too complicated 😂

[@EDHRECast]

There's always next month!

[@IneptCardCollector]

Thanks, y'all. Are you going to update the Patreon uploads?

[@chezpizza3869]

wow. i cant believe i missed this contest I literally created a pauper elf ball deck for my 12 year old nephew ...simply so he can learn basic algebra.

[@chezpizza3869]

to continue on, i build decks to help my kids to learn to read, sequence and math... thus far the best decks for this are goblins and elves

[@Pugwest]

Great Video

[@mietto]

Where can I find the Mishra deck mentioned at the beginning?

[@eebbaa5560]

linked in description of lastmonth’s episode

[@janmelantu7490]

I’m more interested in the mindsets and criteria people are using to build the beginner decks than the decks themselves.

[@eebbaa5560]

you can go through the archidekt thread; some people wrote breakdowns on their deck ideas. i think most people’s opinions on the prompt were misguided though.

[@brieucferaud1037]

misguided how?

[@narvuntien]

Didn't win this month maybe next month. I do have a DragonLord Ojutai deck but its... very very mean, despite sharing that decks core premise.

[@joaoscianni5948]

Link to participate is not working

[@EDHRECast]

If you follow the individual deck links in the description those will take you there. You will need to sign in to your Archidekt account to upvotes

[@anthonygames4451]

How do you vote?

[@EDHRECast]

Follow the links to each given deck and upvote on the deck's page for each deck you like. You can vote for just one or all three.

[@ichhaltebenmann]

Ojutai has 33 lands and little draw. I don‘t think that works well for a beginner deck that aims to be „castable“. Expecting new players to mulligan multiple times will result in frustration and/or mana screw

[@elijahskutt1619]

yeah that Ojutai deck sucks lol

[@michaelpohl9077]

Are you sure? It looks pretty ok since Ojutai provides card advantage straight out of the command zone. Digging three cards deep with an evasive and pretty protected commander should not be underestimated imo.

[@ichhaltebenmann]

​@@michaelpohl9077Yes, but the commander is 5cmc and I doubt you're getting there consistently without annoying amounts of mulligans on average

[@ebonezra8073]

Darn... My Rafiq of the Many deck is almost identical to the Ojutai voltron deck, but with one extra color... oh well. Congrats.

[@danaroach29]

I saw that deck, but three colors was a big strike against it because it's been my experience that three colors really makes things trickey for a new player.

[@ebonezra8073]

@@danaroach29 fair. My first deck was Inalla Grixis precon, so that's where my mind went. I'll know the thoughts of the judges for next time! Thanks for checking it out, though.

[@eebbaa5560]

⁠@@ebonezra8073honestly, i think people severely overrate how hard this game is to pick up for a new player and what things actually make the game hard for new players. colors are definitely not one of those things imo especially if someone else is building your mana base for you. the idea that you need to play a one or two color tribal deck to learn the game is frankly just silly. i didn’t really look through the thread that much because of most of the submissions this month were really boring decks with no room for growth. the most upvoted decks didn’t account for anything other than just play this creature, then play that creature, then play another creature. also, as a side note, it’s hilarious that they apparently care about three colors being difficult for new players but one of these decks has cards with GGGGG in their mana cost with that kind of mana base.

[@ebonezra8073]

@@eebbaa5560 I appreciate this empathy. I specifically made a point of _not_ going for the standard "mono color/ vanilla creature" build. I think, as a new player, I would feel bad if I saw someone else doing fun emergent things, but my deck is shut down by my one commander getting blown out in a voltron deck or if, after two games, I'm already bored of only using vanilla creatures when my commander dies for the 4th time, now costing 10! Decks that rely on only one or two cards are simple, but only fun if you draw them/ can cast them. I didn't want to argue with the judges, but my mom, granted not a _new_ player, thought the hardest part was choosing _which_ creature to start making the voltron. And she chooses cards based on how pretty the art is - no joke. It's very annoying. My deck was basically a flexible, commander supports (but isn't crucial) aura deck. I thought it was a slam dunk and didn't pigeon-hole players into boring "safe" lists. I think a new player could start with my deck and still discover powerful interactions long after the Jasmine vanilla player lost interest. But, every pot has a lid and every deck has a pilot. Check out: archidekt.com/decks/8741422/all_for_one_one_for_all For your own assessment of viability and excitement for a new player. Thanks!

[@eebbaa5560]

@@ebonezra8073 you bring up a very good point, which is the fact that decks that need their commander in play are inherently flawed. i think these kinds of decks are oftentimes worse for new players because they'll learn bad habits and have far more frustrating experiences when they play against better players who know how to deal with their fragile wincons. also, i've always wanted to teach one or both of my parents the game, just as an experiment if anything, so i think it's cool that your mom knows how to play. that honestly sounds pretty fun lol. i took a look at your decklist and it seems like a pretty good aura deck that doesn't need rafiq in play to win. i like the idea even though a bant enchantment deck isn't something in my usual wheelhouse. the deck is straightforward but it looks like it could easily be upgraded with more complex cards. if i were a new player, i think i'd much rather try your deck over that jasmine deck any day. i wasn't planning on winning, but i tried my hand at building a deck for this competition too: archidekt.com/decks/8802887/the_infamous_cruelclaw_and_his_notsomerry_men_august_2024_deckbuilding_contest_submission i don't think my deck is great by any means and it could probably be a lot more focused in its theme, but i also think it's a lot more engaging than playing creatures that literally don't do anything. either way, my point is that people should probably give new players more credit and teach them how to fish. you can give any player a stack of 100 cards and they'll have something to do, but less isn't always more when it comes to the new player experience.

[@ClexYoshi]

This prompt had me a tad stumped. I had no good answers for something that wouldn't be just like... something with an obvious tribal payoff like elves or goblins, which are such boiler-plate answers. I also thought about Ruxa, but I just cannot imagine a world wherein the Vanilla deck is competitive.

[@brieucferaud1037]

I don't get what that jasmine deck is doing here, nonbos and inexistant mana fixing, the other two are fine, the ojutai deck could have used 2 or 3 more lands I think.

[@DeinOmma]

Oh man i dont know if Budget is a theme for new players, but dragons are most of the time on the expensive side of life 😢

[@cylonsteve2511]

Deck for old players next? Everything seems a little dull.

[@mathimus55]

We just did a contest with a theme for more established players last month as well...

[@burnsboy101]

Deck has ggggg and you run that many basics? New players love not being able to cast their spells

[@bennguyen4664]

With 23 forest ….

[@burnsboy101]

@@bennguyen4664 and? You do know where are white spells in the deck as well? Playing it on turn 10 cause you needed the 5th green source is not a good play

[@notgonnasay09]

I see at least 33 sources of green mana in the deck, commander included. Not to mention stuff lime Mirari's Wake and Cultivate. They would be fine.

[@burnsboy101]

@@notgonnasay09 why risk it? Even precons from 5+ years ago have better mana bases

[@notgonnasay09]

@@burnsboy101 Because these decks are intended for beginners? I mean, I probably wouldn't bust out this deck against someone playing Voja or Edgar Markov, but that's not the intent of these decklists. The decks in this video are meant to be the thing you give to someone whose never played Magic, let alone Commander, a chance to learn how to play, not something you give someone when everyone else busts out their Turbo Naus or Blue Farm lists.

[@anonymous-dk3um]

These are not the finalists I would have chosen, you have two decks that coulda been pulled off of edhrec here with minimal changes and no playtesting

[@atevalve]

Your "how to enter" link leads to a 404 error. I know it's because you haven't announced the next theme but it's kind of annoying having that there when it goes nowhere. Idk just offputting and feels unprofessional

[@brieucferaud1037]

I don't get what that jasmine deck is doing here, nonbos and inexistant mana fixing, the other two are fine, the ojutai deck could have used 2 or 3 more lands I think.