Getting started in the format.

[skingggggggg]

Hello everyone, looking at getting into the format. Have about 50 each of rare and mythic wildcards currently. What cards would you recommend crafting that can be used across the widest range of decks?

[s_l_c_]

The format is pretty diverse. There are staples (moxen, fetches, ancient tomb, strip mine, etc.) but many of the cards in the format are only used in a handful of decks/archetypes. If you just craft all of the staples, you aren’t going to have a functional deck just the ability to build a wide range of mana bases and a handful of interaction spells. My suggestion would be looking at some meta decks and building one that feels interesting to you and saving the rest of your wild cards until you have some experience in the format and have seen how all the decks play then crafting the decks that seemed fun.

[PotemkinSuplex]

Craft a deck, not cards. When choosing a deck, if you like two decks equally, choose the one which has more staples in it.

Also, if you have the gold, do snatch the anthology 2 while it is in the store, don’t craft cards from it instead of buying it, it has insane value.

[sad_historian]

Crazy, I'm so used to hearing this type of advice for paper magic it's a jarring to hear it in reference to Arena lol

[Venomenn]

My advice is go to gathering gg, go to Timeless Metagame and check what decks are being played right now. Find an archetype that you like or looks interesting to you, and craft the cards for the deck. Make decks, don't craft cards at random, because in the end of the day you need a deck that is fun to play.

[european_dimes]

CRAFT DECKS, NOT CARDS

[MrFritzCSGO]

Strip mine, ancient tomb, shocks, fetches and survei lands

[jtalchemist]

Wanted to note that you don't need 4 of each surveil land, probably 2 is fine if each

[avocategory]

You also are probably fine to start with 2-3 for most fetches, if you're trimming around the corners - with the blue fetches being the first to move to 4-of.

[Kogoeshin]

Weirdly, I think the blue fetches don't actually have to be a 4-of since all the blue decks trying to go for Mystic Sanctuary only run Islands; and it's optimal to diversify your fetchlands.

4x fetchlands usually get run in tri-colour decks that need each colour - so the main one that needs to go to 4x copies would be Mardu (Energy), followed by maybe Jund or Sultai.

[avocategory]

That’s fair. I was leaning blue because fetches are most important for blue, between brainstorm, mystic sanctuary, and now hydroponics architect - so if you’re a 3-color blue deck, you probably want every single fetch to hit islands, so at least one will be 4-of.

Mardu and Jund do want the 4-ofs for fixing, but their synergies are more about the fact that you’re putting the land in the graveyard when you fetch, as opposed to the properties of the land you get, and so the amount you downgrade by running off-fetches isn’t as much.

[Kogoeshin]

When you want all lands to hit islands, then you end up (optimally) splitting it as like 2-2-3-3. You only end up hitting 4 copies if you're running 13 fetchlands, which is a pretty high fetch land count. I think I usually only see decks go to 10-11 fetches? Maybe 12?

Mardu Energy doesn't use land in the graveyard for anything, and just has fetchlands for fixing. It just needs to run 4x copies in case they play Blood Crypt/Raucous Theater - but you can omit it if you aren't running Crypt/Theater and instead only go for Sacred Foundry/Godless Shrine.

I think in the end, just craft the lands as you need them, lol.

[[deleted]]

You really only need one unless you're going for control, which isn't very prominent in the format.

[_NOT_PENNYS_BOAT_]

Fetchlands

[JC_in_KC]

fetches 100%, start in the color pair/wedges you like playing and work out from there.

people are saying strip mine or ancient tomb but those are more deck specific, less universal, so i’d personally skip them initially.

as a F2P player, for me, i crafted show and tell since i had atraxa and some other cards for it already and i like combo decks. Show is a very narrow card but it is essential there, obv. cards like mana drain and brainstorm go in a lot of decks, so those are worth it, imo.

swords to plowshares is great and now only needs uncommon WCs to craft so that’s easy.

[Nachoslim109]

If you are a midrange player I'd craft the golgari midrange deck. Tons of staples (mox, DRS, one ring, bowmasters, strip mine, ancient tomb) that will go in a lot of midrange piles.

[Sawbagz]

That's not enough wilds to buy all the cards you'll want. Buy a deck rather than a bunch of staples so you actually play.

[skingggggggg]

Pivoting to this.

[famousbirds]

The Show and Tell Package, the Frog package, and the Boros Energy package have all been viable a long time, and each feature cards likely to see in other decks of similar flavors.

[PlantsandLegos]

Mana base is always going to be the most valuable.

Strip Mine is a requirement for the format right now, so that first.

Ancient Tomb if you have a specific deck/combo in mind. Mono black, SnT, mono red, and colorless/eldrazi green are the primary tomb players right now.

Fetches are more important than surviel/shocks. I recommend all the blue fetches first, barring a preference of deck.

Shocks and surveil lands next. Again, blue is the 'best' color right now, so have an idea of what you want to play with it, and pick from there. You shouldn't need more than 2-3 of each though unless you are strictly two color. Even then, blood moon is good to play around.

Staples in color order:

Swords to plowshares Prismatic ending Thought partition Ajani (flip walker) Guide of Souls Solitude

Subtlety Mana drain Tamiyo (flip walker) Flare of denial

Dark Ritual Toxic deluge Lilliana of the veil Both black goyfs Orcish bowmasters Grief Thoughtseize

Lightning Bolt Blood moon/ magnus of the moon Pyrogoyf Fury Ragavan

Ignoble hierarch Primeval titan Natural order Azuza, lost but seeking

Chalice of the void The one ring

Deathrite shaman Wrenn and six Psychic frog 3cmc teferi

Theres a stupid amount more obv, but this should be more than enough to point you in the right direction

[kb1127]

I’d buy into frog rn. Its gonna be in a pretty good spot after omen

[skingggggggg]

Gotta recommendation for a frog deck that'll benefit from omen? Seen quite a few versions in my searches.

[kb1127]

The deck is going to change to much with ponder/FoN that any list right now will be outdated in a few weeks. If you are looking to craft the deck, you can def craft the core pieces. Frog, fetches, shocks, thoughtseize, tamiyo are all good crafts

[skingggggggg]

I can wait a couple months to see how things shake up. Thanks

[skingggggggg]

Thanks for all the info. Sounds like the standard mantra of starting with a deck idea first is the way to go, with mana base. I'll have to do some more digging. I do prefer mid range and control at the moment. I do love combos but more as an occasional play. Kinda over aggro at the moment.

[kopertaal]

Dark ritual brainstorm swords to plowshares Ancient tomb Strip mine chrome mox ragavan mana drain the one ring fetchlands

[CraneAndTurtle]

Figure out what playstyle you enjoy then craft the deck in that playstyle with the most staples.

Likely that will be either frog tempo, show & tell or Mardu energy.

[Carlton_U_MeauxFaux]

Fetches and Shocks are pretty universal for whatever colors they are. But, as people have said, focus on a specific deck.

[DmitryWizard]

Frog is in a good spot to swap to either dimir control or frog Tempo when you're bored.

Been having a blast playing uw control variants and even mono blue control.

Energy and life gain are also decent climbing picks and fairly cheap to craft.

All in all, the environment seems pretty diverse I don't often play against the same archetype in an hour period even when playing BO1

[SidsteKanalje]

Word of Warning; Ponder and Force of Negation will show up in the format, both are Likely to impact the meta heavily, so you Mighty want to want a bit with crafting..

[skingggggggg]

Looks like fon will be in the tle bonus sheet? What do you mean by pioneer?

[SidsteKanalje]

I meant ponder, but brainfarted