MTG – The New Player’s Guide To Planeswalker Decks for Magic: The Gathering
[Music] the new players guide to planeswalker decks for Magic the Gathering planeswalker decks are claimed by Wizards of the coast as the best first purchase for a new player once such a player has learned the game through either magic duels or a welcome deck purchasing a planeswalker deck is intended as a potential first step towards becoming an established magic player but is this the case this video will examine what planeswalker decks are what they contain what purpose they serve and who they are for although this video will use its examples and illustrations The Allman Tet planeswalker decks unless significant changes are made to the product it can be applied to future decks as well please note this video is intended as an introductory guide to the product for brand new players to Magic the Gathering for a more advanced and critical analysis of the product from the perspective of an established MTG player please be sure to see my is it worth it video for planeswalker decks which I have linked in the description below what is a planeswalker deck planeswalker decks are a product intended to teach brand-new players the basic strategy of Magic the Gathering the game settings its characters and to simply provide that very first 60 card deck to begin their magic journey with that’s the intent but what are these decks really before I get into what they are it might be helpful to begin by defining what they are not flames Walker decks are not for Friday night magic this includes upgrading the deck to be reasonably competitive at FM and similar in-store events planeswalker decks are not competitive planeswalker decks are not for playing against non planeswalker decks the power level on these is low as is their consistency using them to play against friends with anything other than other planeswalker deck will result in overwhelmingly unbalanced and unfun gameplay planeswalker decks are not forgetting cards to start a Magic the Gathering collection now this is the most likely of these knots to one-day chain as planeswalker decks do contain a selection of cards not available anywhere else these cards are intentionally designed to be non competitive however there is always the potential of an unintended usefulness from one of these exclusive cards were this to ever happen such as a planeswalker from the decks unexpectedly being a key piece in standard then the decks would indeed contain collectible cards of value to established players and likely no longer even be found on shelves except at an extremely marked up price due to everyone buying them up just to get that hypothetically useful exclusive card also some players have expressed fondness for these underpowered Planeswalkers in the casual format of commander so what are planeswalker decks for first and foremost this is the very first purchase for brand new players a player should begin learning Magic the Gathering ideally from a patient friend or on their own via magic duels and then as a very first purchase by one planeswalker deck so as to have a complete 60 card constructed deck to continue practicing with planeswalker decks are like training wheels on a child’s first bike they are introductory temporary not needed by everyone and a quickly discarded thing what else are these decks for well this is highly subjective many more casual players may find them fun weather just as an item to open up and enjoy an exclusive planeswalker however intentionally poorly designed or to just get a few fun games against a friend however I really must stress the incredible simplicity of these decks and establish players looking for fun would probably have a much more successful time with something such as a dual deck but we are focusing on new players here a planeswalker deck contains the following [Music] – booster packs from the current set a 60 card beginners deck comprised largely of Commons and uncommons as well as a selection of exclusive cards a strategy insert and a magic learn to play guide are also included let’s look at those exclusive cards within each planeswalker deck are five exclusive cards designed to be fun and flavorful but also designed to not I repeat not be competitive for Friday night magic and other in-store events despite this these exclusive cards are still legal in all formats including standard [Music] these exclusive cards are one foil planeswalker two copies of a rare spell that tutors for the specific planeswalker three copies of an uncommon permanent that is enhanced by having the planeswalker in play four copies of a common with the basic effect and finally four copies of a non-color common dual and in other words a basic cap land the decks themselves highlight and sample mechanical themes of the block from which they are from utilizing the new keywords and mechanics the decks are also two-color even if the corresponding Planeswalkers mono colored [Music] trades and upgrades since planeswalker decks come with two booster packs there is the possibility of both upgrading the decks and trading for upgrades this is luck dependent of course and an intended means of getting players hooked on cracking Zack’s but on color cards can be added to the planeswalker deck and others can be traded with friends the issue here is that you need other players on the exact same level as you as you’re going to be looking to mostly trade Commons and uncommons to improve this deck and that’s not something most established players look to trade in fact most established players are more likely just to leave piles of those Commons and uncommons at the end of a table after draft [Music] so who is this deck for these decks are for one person and one person only a brand new player to the game who has no or almost no Magic the Gathering cards whatsoever they are a first purchase and after that first purchase something that you will never need to purchase again I think that analogy of training wheels for your bike is very apt in conclusion planeswalker decks are an acceptable first purchase for a brand new player however they are far from a vital one they can make a great gift for younger players just getting into the game and they can serve as a beginners deck for fun and practice there’s a lot of other options out there including deck builders toolkits rookie and battle decks and one of my favorites simply attending a pre-release and then a draft speaking critically once a brand new player has purchased one planeswalker deck they have no need to ever do so again established players do not ever need to purchase a planeswalker deck and as a reminder for a more detailed critical analysis from the perspective of an active player please be sure to watch my is it worth of video for planeswalker decks linked to in this video’s description I hope very much this video has been of some help to you you can help me out by remembering to like share subscribe or just by leaving a comment what was your first purchase when you started playing Magic the Gathering and is it something that you would recommend to prospective new players who might be reading the comments below let us know and this program was made possible thanks to a sponsorship from card Kingdom as well as the patreon support of viewers such as you so thank you you [Music] you [Music]
For a more critical analysis, be sure to check out "Is it worth it to buy a Planeswalker Deck" here: https://youtu.be/uH3rF9GdBv0
Hmm… These decks are okay. I have almost as much fun playing them with my friends as I do playing the inevitably "one is better than the other" Standard or Modern decks. They also allow for decent casual games with less competant players – albeit frustrating at it's slowness sometimes.
I actually bought a duel deck for my first introduction deck for mtg. Then, after getting hooked after 2 friendly matches with my friends, I bought my friend a Planeswalker deck. Since that was his only deck, we played with one of the decks from the duel deck set and the Planeswalker deck. I quickly realized how op that Planeswalker was againist my mind deck ;-;
Me and two other friends decided to just buy a booster box each and make decks out of them.
I bought a box of the brand new Scars of Mirrodin and my friends bought Conflux and Shards of Alara. I crushed them with my collection of colorless artifacts while they tried to get the mana for their +3 color decks going.
While it was a ton of fun getting into MtG that way, I'd recommend buying boxes from the same block as the powerlevel can vary greatly and the cards might not work together at all (so theres no point in trading between each other).
Just started MTG. SO GLAD i found your channel!
My first purchase was a lilina planeswalker and in my inexperienced opinion some of the cards in there were helpful in making my final standar deck which uses a lot of green and black.
i actually liked the lilian one
I started playing at the beginning of this year, and I started with a deckbuilder's toolkit and the Chandra planeswalker deck. Both were good and helped me learn and have fun, but I soon moved on to buying singles to build better decks that matched my favorite style of play.
i been playing mtg for an couple of weeks now, and used my friend extra decks to play. all his decks are really expansive and op decks. but i want to buy my self some decks and start using aswel my own cards versus other people. what is an good start to buy?i know how the game works aswel as al rules.
My first purchase was the Planeswalker deck "Ajani Goldmane". I still like it, because it helped me very much at the beginning. I only use 1-2 cards from it, but i think it was a great experience for me. However, I'd never recommend it to my friend 😀
I like to buy them every new set due to the 4 packs and the foil planeswalkers for £20 but I should probably stop and just spend the extra £10 for a bundle
My first purchase was a shadows over Innistrad toolkit. In one of the booster packs, I got Odrick, Lunarch Marshal. My first deck was built around him, and with some later tweaking, it became and still is my strongest deck.
So if a player is just starting out? What's best to get/should a starting player make their deck from scratch? (with a general idea of what to do/what they want to do)
How would I start building a deck?
Is it a good idea to buy a Planeswalker Deck with a toolkit to upgrade it ? I'm new to MTG and i don't really know what to buy or what to do first, too many cards :
). (I don't want a super competitiv decks for FNM, but just to play against friends at home and having fun). Sorry for my really bad english :/the gideon is actually semi-decent for exert decks.
Funnily enough, when I used the Liliana Death Wielder planeswalker deck, I consistently beat my friend who used a pretty intense deck. Granted, he did do some minor upgrading to it, like adding a couple deathrite shamans and desiccated nagas, it combos quite well making a dumb high life build which slowly crushed him.
I bough Lili's deck solely for the great cards for Hapatra EDH.
i got both as a gift and i felt in love with liliana. after some research and luck in my drafts i was able to participate in a friday night event. As a heartshtone player i loved how much this game was more developed and complex. But the most satisfying part was that i was able to hang out with one of my old best friends. Thanks lord the magic community is less salty than the hearthstone comunitg i felt so welcomed as a noob.
liliana's mastery goes right along with lili's deck
I got a few of those free starter decks from the hour or devastation. Are those similar? I was thinking about just buying a bunch of packs because I'm already hooked on opening Pokemon cards with my kids.
Core set, 7th edition
So what's the best product(s) for new players to get into FNM?
The narrator speaks annoyingly slow.
i got my first (and only for now) invocation from a boster pack inside a bolas planeswalker deck so i fell in love with them on the first place. And i loved the planeswalkers , exclusive the these decks , they are best for collection and you got a nice deck box too . Other than that the decks are pretty bad as you say .
Perhaps if you make another Planeswalker Deck video, you can add some suggestions as to how they might be improved, i.e. what cards to swap out first or what theme to lean into…
I got a black/blue starter deck free at Boldo's Armory my local game store
My first purchase was a M15 Intro deck
My first purchase was an intro deck from 9th edition, a 40 card deck with Mahamoti Djinn. Those were the days..
I actually really liked these decks and the intro packs. I think it's too bad that there's now only a choice of 2 decks.
I'm not new to TCGs, I played Yugioh competetively online, and Pokemon with a few friends.
I started off playing Magic by buying a Tezzeret Plainswalker deck in June. I then bought a Gideon when it came out, while my friend got the Liliana.
Even against people with more established decks, I was able to play casual games of magic no problem. I even won my first magic game using an Ornithopter and Tezzeret's Touch. I believe having a semi functional deck allowed me to join in and play; plus having the deck made me want to upgrade to play competitively.
Buying a Plainswalker deck helped me conciderably, and if I didnt buy it I doubt I would be into Magic at all.
Bah I just threw all my cards into a rainbow deck
im a new mtg player. havent played it ever. This summer however, i bought two of the planeswalker decks of Hours of Devestation, Nicol Bolas and Nissa. I just bought it to start with, to get into it without spending more than 25€. They are great in 1 vs 1 and playing with friends. They are, it feels like, made to have fun with friends with a extremly easy start into the magic world. My girlfriend gots catched now, we are playing like every night one or more matches with these decks. I agree that they are crap for established player.
But they are made for beginners to have fun and you are just talking about not to buy them… thought this is a good guide talking about adding new cards to the planeswalker deck, but its just another video about how u extremly hate the planeswalker decks.
1 vs 1 with friends perfekt.
9:24 Invasion Kavu Chameleon deck (green white) was my first, its more powerful cards ware armadillo cloak, and charging troll
My second purchase was Black White Avatar of Woe deck, i fallen n love with it, and won a lot.
Sorry to comment on such an old video, but I'm considering returning to MTG after a 20 year absence. Would I now be considered a new player and where do I start?
I think the Liliana deck is alright as it at least makes an attempt to have a consistent theme.
i won my first FNM upgrading the nissa planeswalker deck from hour of devastation LOL
Ok I got a planes walker deck before I watched this video I need to know can I build this deck around it? And what cards are still legally in and what are not.
I think that pw decks are sitting on a level below even intro packs, i remember the Kolaghan intro pack which was a good start for an aggro deck but instead even the new Bolas deck don't say nothing to me
my first purchase was to go oline and use gatherer, read over a bunch of cards and ultimately build a mono white knight list. i bought the singles and made a deck.
This was a great description and very accurate thank you
I went into magic with 6 friends
they're not fnm legal you're saying?
I picked up a couple of these (Chandra and Huatli) to play with my 11yo son. But I feel like neither of us know enough about what we're doing to put them to use.
Mmmm…….. How much is cost?
i buy decks like this for when a friend stops by with out there cards we can play a game of magic. i keep them as they are never swapping out cards. Sometime when i meet a new player it is good to have one of these around to play against there deck so as not to over power them.
Yeah, alright, but what about that Nicol Bolas…
am I the only one who still buys planeswalker decks I love them… they are so fun
I thought the Gideon one wasn't half bad. I mean, it's not at all gonna be playable in competitive magic but it does come with some cards that are rather useful for deck building in my opinion.
Not all of the Planeswalker Decks are complete garbage. The Chandra's one was not so weak. I bought it to check new mechanics and it was a lot of fun to play… at home with my wife, of course.
the first time i played mtg i bought an intro pack to start playing gainst a friend. the deck was great against him. i beat him a couple of times and he changed his deck a bit. refined it and so did i after a couple of weeks. it was an even match. learned the game fast and got a deck of mine and recieved as a gift an intro pack wich gave me the idea of one of my favorite decks ever.
my first deck was nissa vs ob nixolous
I only find Deck builders toolkits the best. I mean You get a shit ton of lands, You learn how to build a deck, and it is just for casual play. At least Deck builders toolkit 2014 was the way I learned how to build and play.
Thanks
Ou seja. Nao serve para nada!
I first started playing Magic way back during Urza's Saga and got my first deck during Nemesis and played seriously up until the first Ravenica block. After this I was pretty burned out and foolishly gave my cards away to friends who would use them cause I swore I was done, But I ended up missing the game after a long while. I wanted to play fun and casual games but didn't like how competitive even the average player's deck felt. Then my little niece bought me a Nissa deck from Hour of Devastation and she had her first pre built deck (Nissa from I think Revolt). We played for hours and hours and had a lot of fun with these low powered decks. While I still buy tool kits and packs to help my commander and standard decks, I do collect these planeswalker decks for a very laid back and enjoyable night of magic with friends and family who may or may not have much Magic experience.
I saw this vid a month after I got the liliana deck he was showing. I had played maybe 3 or 4 times and was borrowing decks made from scratch buy some friends that they had been using for years. I went to the card shop and I ask the guy what I should do for my first deck and he suggested that one rather than the duel decks because the duel decks were made to fight against each other is how we put it. And for the first many games that I played with Liliana I actually did very well against their set decks. I don't think they'd really encounter the – 1 – 1 mechanic as tuned as it is in the deck but after a week or two of play I went and got some more cards to fill her out, so much fun! I really love magic now and I've been watching a lot of your videos to help me understand more of the game. They've been a great help and they really help me whenever I was tuning the Liliana deck!! I can see how it could be considered underpowered considering what the other guys were using but if you play it smart, I think it actually does rather well on its own. It was hilarious against my friends sliver deck, he didn't have the Shroud sliver and when I used liliana's tutor it killed off all of his creatures!! 😆
I already know how to play a bit so i bought the builders tool kit My feiend however isnt very confident he saw one of these decks for rival of ixalan My friend who has been in magic for a while Im excited to see a competitive deck vs deck builders deck vs planes walker haha hope it goes good
3 random booster packs i dont really know wich set tho but im into the game now and i love it
I have about 200cards from what i understand they are all legacy cards, but had never played them before. After a friend introduced me to MTG i went back to look at my old cards i have. Now i just want to use my old cards buy some new cards and assemble a strong deck for casual play. QUESTION: Am i better off with a toolkit or a preconstructed deck (like a duel decks box or a planeswalker deck)? KICKER: I only have about 12lands of each color atm, so no problem for using decks with 2colors or more but not enough to play one color alone. Thx
Are these competitive with the ones they substituted? For instance, would one of these Planeswalker decks compete with Simic?
Wow prof seems to find the mere existence of these things offensive, like holy trap he was passed from start to finish
I'm not even able to be considered a new player. I have a decent grasp of the rules, but I don't have a single card. A guy at my library suggested to buy a planeswalker deck and a deck builder toolkit as a starting point. Does anybody have any specifc recommendations? I know that he at least plays modern, if that helps. That would probably be the format I could play in most often.
Hopefully this helps other people out but I started like this
1. Had a nice and encouraging friend who knew the game well
2. Friend had basic cards and built a basic deck to help teach me the game.
3. Eventually had me go to the card shop with him and talk with the store owner about starting to play Magic such as what to buy first( from an absolute beginners point of view who at the moment doesn’t have a competitive interest in the game)
4. Bought a duel deck because the store owner thought it might be a good way to get into the game(considering how the two decks are very basic and easy to grasp/learn from)
5. To expand my collection my friend was nice enough to give me cards I didn’t use and recommended draft and pre-release but I honestly prefer pre-release since you get to keep the cards you open up, you get an instruction manual, and it’s a fun day were you don’t have to worry about adapting to the draft format and just stick to the format that you initially learned)
6. Now I continue to do pre-releases and buy singles to expand my collection(with my friend being nice enough to give me cards he doesn’t use)
I have a question, are all planeswalkers made this way?? Or are there legit useful ones made outside of these planeswalker decks?
Martial Paragon is actually decent.
I'm mad af because there is no prerelease event in my town and that prerelease was gonna be my first purchase. What can I do now?
I like to offer up a piece of information with the new legendary Planeswalker rule which allows you to have multiple of the same Planeswalker but with a different name the exclusive creatures that say you can only activate disability with a certain Planeswalker out on the field now or good for tribal decks so Jace's Sentinel from the ixalan Planeswalker Jace deck can actually be good in a tribal Jace deck
Ooooops I've bought 4 😂😂😂 I bought the two ixelon ones the Gideon from kaladesh and I was going to buy the black One For Rivals
Well I skipped the tricycle and the training wheels I guess if you know
While these are certainly for new players, I think they serve that purpose quite well, actually. My first product was indeed a Planeswalker deck (I got Tezeret, my girlfriend got chandra) and it gave us a starting point to play together and learn the game. (Actually, my first ever purchase was a draft, which was a terrible idea for a first time playing the game. It was fun, and has continued to be my favorite way to play the game, but it was terrifying going in). Anyway, she and I have continued to get almost every planeswalker deck released, using them as a fun way to play together without worrying about having huge collections or crafting specific decks. We've left them entirely alone, not swapping any cards, and just playing them as is. It's a fun way to get new friends into it, too, by just cracking them open and giving them a selection for their color pool (B/G Liliana? got it. U/W Teferi? just added that to the collection, too!) Yeah, they're not great for deckbuilding, and actually these videos confirming that the planeswalkers are not available anywhere else does explain a lot, but I don't think they're a bad product by any means. Not great card value for their cost, but a really fun way to continue having casual play with new and returning players. No they're not for FNM, but honestly, at my local shop, FNM is just draft anyway. I enjoy this game in a somewhat different way than you, and that's okay. But Planeswalker decks are a big part of it.
I got a free card from my now ex then I bought a 100 pack from the dollar store, don’t do that. Little did I know… Every. Card. Was. Rotated. Out by the time I bought it
I think you undervalue the casual appeal. I dont like spending lots on magic, but using the same old decks gets stale. I like to buy these planeswalker decks just to casually enjoy magic without having to worry about buying singles for the competitive FNM, so I can just play the game with casual friends.
I bought first Nissa the Genesis mage the angrath the Minotaur pirate I'm still a noob at this game but I still play it and love it
And here I was so hyped in ordering one of this then you just screw it up
I got a Lyra Dawnbringer out of one of the two dominaria boosters i got with the planeswalker deck lol
I up ground my deck to play and I win alot
Planeswalker decks > battle decks
My friends made me buy a challenger deck. All my Yugioh and hearthstone experience made it easy. I started whooping ass out the gate. Now that I'm tutoring some new players planeswalker decks are invaluable tools, excluding intro decks, for teaching magic.
So would you be allowed to use them for FNM? And what's the difference between the planes walker decks and normal/ FNM decks?
Would this be useful to a new person who has a free newbie deck?
Some planeswalker decks are very playable in Friday or thursday night magic, I won most of my games with about a 10% modified mono green vivien deck
I bought the Gideon planes walker deck today
My first bought was the Tezzeret AER planeswalker deck 3 months ago, it was perfect to understand how to play magic, better than a free 30 cards deck. Now I only buy singles, waiting for Ravnicas Pre
I'm finding it difficult to stop watching your videos!
Hello, I'm a beginner, I haven't had one game yet and I appreciate the video and its contents… I've taken your advice on this and previous videos, I've joined a prerelease (so I get a PreRelease pack) where as a novice I know I'm going to be completely overwhelmed, have no idea what's going on and ultimately, lose every game I play. I have also bought a Plainswalker Deck, which I'll be playing against a beginner friend/ wife. I have a feeling the Plainswalker Deck will be a lot more valuable to me in the early days, but I'll be very happy that I will have decent cards to upgrade my deck with from the PreRelease Pack, and have a unique date stamped card. Without playing it's hard for me to make a worthy decision, but I believe having both of these are worth it, for £23ish I don't see a disadvantage, 7 boosters, dice, 40 good cards from specific colours, 60 beginners cards = very happy beginner. I can't bloody wait :)))
I feel really jiped my dad when I was 10 took me to his room and told me to build a deck and to put 20 creatures 20 spells and 20 lands and then he later kicked my ass we did this every night for like 3 weeks I had a blast but then somehow i started winning I made different decks and then we were on even skill level also I found this video looking for the lore behind the plains walkers in magic duels because I have never seen those plains walkers before
Man, I really wish I had found your channel before I started delving back into MtG. SO MANY of your videos have clarified how I have made so many mistakes.
New player here. Just bought one of these decks and quickly found myself getting whooped using it on arena. I understand the core concepts of the game, but being an older dude I don't have a ton of people to play with. Whats the next step purchase-wise?
and if you just buy it for the cards and try to build decks out of the available components?
But, i mean I bought a Vraska, Regal Gorgon planeswalker deck, and that was my second deck, i upgraded it and now it’s pretty good. But i also just bought a Jace, Ingenious mind-mage deck, and it’s really fairly good. Like tbh i think that ypu’re slightly underestimating planeswalker decks.
First Purchase: M14 Blue White Intro Pack with Jace's Mindseeker. Say what you want about it, but I love the damn card.
I buy a planeswalker deck. It is Nissa, Genesis Mage. I love this deck and i change them i little here and there. Got some awesome mythic god cards such as The Scarab God, Athreos God of Passage, a masterpiece Forbid foil and a Seventh edition rare The snaring bridge. Yeah i also buy one deck build kit of…. well i forgot the name of it, its a green box. And i think i try not to go overboard with my money spending on new box set i went to the threft shop and found thousands upon thousnads of mtg boxes. They are $15.00 each and i cant say no to that. There pack full of them ill tell you and wbat is worth is more than what he sell. Due to the small amount of change on them cards it turn out to be worth it to spend $15.00 of mixture of rares, uncommons and commons. It is almost $100.00 guve and for about 500 to 600 cards in one box. I keep buying them and they are in pretty good shape and the arts on them cards. Boy their beautiful!
My very frist MTG product like ever was… that 2000 Starter Set with Rhox. Since everybody however did play Pokemon I discarded it. No idea what happened with it. I have no cards from it.
Valuables? None. Even though, the Llanowar Elves are timeless classics. Rhox wasn't good. Pretty meh. But I was 10. No local gamestore nearby.
I play since… Mmh… 2002? Can't remember, when those decks appeared I bought the one of Liliana, I found some of those cards fun to play (and that Liliana ca be useful in a commander deck). And, well, if there's a future deck that I found interesting I still gonna buy it. Just 'cause I find it fun.
My first MTG purchase was a 2019 green/black deadly discovery challenger deck. I love it, and continue to play with them, they are well balanced against other challenger decks (when shock lands are added) and I have bought the blue red deck as well. All around excellent product!
My first purchase for mtg is 2 booster packs from Battle for zendikar, deck box and of course sleeves, and for 3,5 years later, i have three double sleeved edh decks for multiplayer. To the new players who read this comment, the first purchase you must make after get a welcome 30 card deck is deck box and sleeves, and then try to spend money for deck builder's toolkit, or attend prerelease event of course. See ya)
im a new player and I purchased 2 planes walker decks to only find out that my local store playing friday night magic play tournaments and 100 card deck games. but my son and I play with our planes walker decks.
What do I purchase to be able to play a 100 card deck game?
things are getting frustrating for this newbie… seems like you have to keep buying cards just to play. Can you not just buy a deck and play?
I'm collecting all of the Liliana planeswalkers. Liliana, Death Wielder and Liliana, the Necromancer were only in premade planeswalker decks so I had to buy them separately. The rest I'm buying individually. I currently have six of the ten Liliana planeswalkers in the game.
Plainswalker decks seem to be for selling us more cards. I started playing in 1998 with Urza's Saga. I have always built my own decks, and don't have any interest in these Plainswalkers.
My first purchase was a spellslinger starter kit, but I would suggest my 2nd purchase: I bought a Selessnya Guild Kit, but any Guild Kit works, although many stores only carry Azorious and Gruul Guild Kits these days