Precon history was made just a few short months ago with the launching of the Event Decks for Mirrodin Besieged. The two had bumped into one another along the fringes every now and again as with decks featuring affinity (Bait & Bludgeon) and monoblack Vampires (Rise of the Vampires), but never before had there been deliberate overlap between the Preconstructed and Standard communities. Before the advent of the Event Decks, the overlap was accidental: an archetype arose in Standard that happened to be featured in a theme or intro deck. “What would happen,” Wizards seemed to ask, “if we created preconstructed decks specifically for constructed play?”
It was bold, risky, new ground. Given the need to balance content versus cost, Wizards set a high bar with the following blurb found on the back of each deck:
Event Decks let you enter the world of tournament play knowing you’ve got a powerful deck designed to let you be immediately competitive. Each Event Deck contains 60 powerful cards and a supplemental 15-card sideboard. Rest assured that each one of these weapons was handpicked to inflict pain upon any opponent who takes you on.
Looking to deliver on that promise first was Into the Breach and Infect & Defile. Containing no mythics and only seven rares, Wizards offered a monored aggro deck in the style of Kuldotha Red, and a blue-green midrange infect in the latter. When we first looked at the decks, we wanted to gauge the level of power they possessed with an eye towards estimating their performance in Standard.
Could they compete? Given their design restrictions, did they still have enough tools to be viable? When your entire raison d’être is predicated upon being “tournament-ready” these are vital considerations.
It wouldn’t take long to realize that Wizards had a solid idea on their hands, but that they needed to fine-tune their process: Infect & Defile was not holding its own. The problem was a simple one: the deck simply needed too much time to fire off, and that time gave the opponent too much time too develop their board state. A Hand of the Praetors may look pretty cool in abstract, but when your opponent plays Jace, the Mind Sculptor on their turn, you’ve got a problem. The deck was also two-colored. Rare-filled manabases are a given if you’re playing more than one colour, but what Event Deck (with its seven-rare limit) has the quota room to spend cards on the less-sexy land content? Infect & Defile puts forth a game effort with a pair of Drowned Catacomb, but for the most part you’re making do with a playset of Jwar Isle Refuge. Competitive decks ramp the power level up quickly. To beat them with inferior cards, you need to be faster.
Enter New Phyrexia.
Once again, we’re treated to a pair of Event Decks which undeniably draw their inspiration from Into the Breach. Gone is the slower, more reactive permission suite. Gone is the two-color construction. And if there’s going to be a rare slot spend on a land card, it’s going to be something that is a win condition (Inkmoth Nexus) rather than a mana fixer. Enter War of Attrition and Rot from Within. Monowhite and monogreen respectively, these decks are ones designed to have the game well in hand by the midgame. The question is less whether or not they are competitive, because an opening hand of Forest, Forest, Glistener Elf, Groundswell, Groundswell, Mutagenic Growth, and anything else is going to win you the game on the play unless they have a one-drop critter or say, a Spell Pierce. The question now is this: given our second release of Event Decks, what do the they tell us about the future of the product line?
The Swagger has Been Tempered
That bit above about being “immediately competitive?” Gone. See if you can spot the subtle difference in tone between that and the current blurb:
Event Decks let you jump into tournament play with a powerful deck that will give you a fighting chance. Each Standard-legal Event Deck contains 60 cards from a variety of sets and also includes a 15-card sideboard. Rest assured that each one of these weapons was handpicked to inflict pain on every foe.
“Immediately competitive” versus “a fighting chance?”
Midrange is Out
The slower-paced Infect & Defile might well be the last of its kind. It’s too slow, too cumbersome, and perhaps just too much of a risk to run when dealing with an uncertain metagame. In truth, there will be plenty of times that Infect & Defile performs as it should as Friday Night Magic (FNM) is the home of the vast, wide open metagame. You’ll have Tier 1 competitive decks, sure, but also rogue decks, budget decks, and other sorts of oddball goodness. The problem, though, lies in planning. Optimize a deck for a casual metagame and it will going to crash and burn when it hits a more competitive room, as will the goodwill of the player who just shelled out 25 bucks for the privilege of scrubbing out. Optimize instead for a more competitive environment and you may end up with a deck that can grab a few wins in the challenging room, and simply win even more in the casual. Who could complain? Of the two, only Into the Breach seemed to be the latter. Lesson learned.
Speed is In
As mentioned, Rot from Within is perfectly capable of a turn two or three win, with a good enough start. War of Attrition won’t be as explosive, but will often have established a solid board position quickly, one that takes a little speed off the top-end in return for a dose more durability. They’re both cut from the same cloth as Into the Breach, looking to maximize their win percentage by striking before the enemy’s battle plan has been enacted.
With Event Decks already confirmed for both Magic 2012 and Innistrad, the format appears here to stay. The worry, though, is that we’re going to see nothing more than a series of fast aggro decks for each release. The goal was ambitious: make a variety of decks competitive in the Standard environment. But it might well be that the limitations placed on that ambition have painted Wizards into a corner with regards to their archetype choices.
Looking to get a little more insight on the format, I checked in with Jesse Smith. You might know Jesse as @Smi77y on Twitter, a host of The Eh? Team Podcast, and an up-and-coming deckbuilder on his site 60Cards. “With good synergies,” he told me, “you can beat a deck with Jace, the Mindscuplter in it, without the bomb mythics.”
Alright, that’s encouraging! What else?
“Without using mythics, at least currently, aggro is best strategy, and possibly combo with Splinter Twin. Seven different rares? I mean monored and Elves are doable without mythics, as is Splinter Twin. All of these obviously only capable at FNM level. A solid red deck, which would be Goblins or standard burn would be best. Vampires are clearly the best choice for a non-mythic deck on a high competition level though.”
It’s interesting to note that the one combo Jesse mentioned, Splinter Twin/ Deceiver Exarch, is one that Wizards R&D didn’t catch until it began to be played. Is it possible that they’ll build a viable combo Event Deck? If the archetype works, it certainly seems possible. At a certain point Wizards is going to want to offer some non-aggro strategies, otherwise the product line will become too stale. Vampires is another intriguing option. With Innistrad speculated to be a “Gothic horror” set, the odds may seem good that we’ll see some monoblack aggro as well.
I am still uncertain that Wizards had the right measure for the first set of decks for Mirrodin Besieged, but they have also shown themselves to be a company that adapts as needed demand. The improvement in the New Phyrexia Event Decks shows promise, but the burden now will be to diversify the product range.
Bring on Magic 2012.
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It’s giveaway time!
Want a copy of War of Attrition all your own? We’re giving one away! To enter, simply reply to this article and answer the following:
Have you bought any of the Event Decks? Why or why not?
If so, what are your thoughts?
If not, what would it take (if anything) to get you to invest in one?
As always, you don’t need to write the “Great American Novel,” just let us know what’s on your mind! We’ll pick a commenter at random next Wednesday, June 23 2011, and they’ll get a brand-new, factory-fresh copy of War of Attrition!
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Jay Kirkman
I bought both of the MBS ones. I needed the extra GGuides for the Kuldotha rebirth deck I built, and my wife wanted some of the other staples….the Kuldotha deck merged with Breach and did well. Infect and Defile was simply ripped apart and used as scraps….
The story is close for the Neal Patrick Harris set, War of Attrition, like it or not came with two pretty ladies…did I need them? No, but the value was just too good. And again, I already was running a solid Puresteel Champion deck, so a couple extra core pieces were great….
Something interesting struck me though, and it might be true even for Infect and Defile….you want that “instantly competitive” bit? Buy two and know what to double up on and you should do very well with these decks. I saw 5 people do or say they did just that, and they took top finishings at Gameday.
I will continue to buy these….and I would certainly love a free one
Hi Jay! I haven't bought an Event Deck. If I'm going to play a sub-par deck I would rather it be one I made myself. I guess that comment speaks to the perception problems that these decks have. I'm a casual player who does the odd FNM but I do read tons of MTG content online and I don't believe that these decks can be better than something I'd brew up myself.
I would play one at FNM only if everyone else was going to (like an Event Deck release event; do those even exist?). That might actually be kind of neat
Otherwise, I might pick one up if it had some cards I really wanted but the way I figure it is if they include something expensive (like Stoneforge), it should bring the price down and make it easier for me to trade for them (and save the $25).
q1006662[at]hotmail[dot]com
I've never bought any of the Scars block event decks. I'm really against prebuilt decks because I feel like they limit strategy. Just about the only thing they're good for is taking apart and improving. The last prebuilt deck I bought was an Izzet Gizmometry deck from Ravnica and boy was that fun to pull apart and improve.
I do really like the looks of this one though because I've been working on a white equipment deck for my girlfriend.
The reason I’m not buying Event Decks any time soon is, well, they’re just not targeted at me. I’m not interested in playing Constructed competitively. If I’m buying precons, they’re the summer multiplayer releases; if I’m playing in a tournament, it’s Limited, not Constructed; if I’m building a casual deck, it’s with multiplayer in mind; and anyway, if I need a Constructed deck, I have a couple friends I can mooch a Standard deck off of for one tournament.
If the price were super-low, like, if I saw one at a yard sale for five bucks or whatever, eh, maybe. That’s good value. Hard to resist. Or, obviously, free. I’d take that.
I have not bought any of the Event Decks. Though they contain valuable cards, I don't think the supply will be limited enough to keep the prices of those cards high, and so I expect the decks themselves to cost more than the cards they contain
I believe it’s a step in the right direction for wizards. I bought war of attrition just simply because I wanted to give tournament play a go and I didn’t have a standard legal deck. I did get beat down but with a few switches you can do yourself to the deck or if the next batch has just a little more power they can definitely make event decks a competitive edge.
I've thought about about purchasing War of Attrition just haven't been able to find the cash to make the purchase yet. They're great decks honestly spend 50$ (two of the same kind) and you have a deck for FNM that won't make top but it will get you far and let you experience the game more, since honestly we all like to win a few times. It'd have to take me getting a stable income! Wizard should continue like they are doing with about 2 – 4 per block. It's a good number.
I haven't yet bought any of the event decks. They do look really solid, akin to well-made competitive precons, so they are good for those making the transition between casual and FNM level magic, but I already have a couple of FNM level decks that I am happy playing and I don't yet find myself wanting any of the cards in the decks, individually, enough to warrant buying a deck.
Having said that, one of my friends has bought the Infect and Defile deck, and just looking at the box it comes in makes me really want to acquire one! Really nice design and would be great for holding my FNM deck.
I didn't buy the previous Event decks…at the time, I was taking a break and playing mostly online. I'm trying to work my way back, so picking these up might at least get me some cards I'm interested in.
I think these can be good introduction for new players, perhaps a chance to pick up specific cards to fill out ones own deck. I'm glad to see they scaled back their expectations a bit, as far as competitiveness is concerned. I think these have been a decent start, but I'd almost suggest giving them a bit more 'oomph'. 'Competitive' can mean different things depending on the local metagame; I don't think these would be all that effective in my area, for example.
After a six years hiatus I just came back to Magic. So I picked up both MOB Event Decks at my local shop since they had a 50% discount.
The decks are rather well made though not as competitive as one would like. Nevertheless I broke the decks up and at least got some cards I needed. But I probably wouldn't have bought the MOB ones at full price.
As for the NP Event Decks:
I think 'Rot From Within' looks good but I won't buy it since I can get most of the cards I need for my planned infect deck individually at a lower price.
But I am definitely thinking about getting 'War Of Attrition' twice and update my WW/Equipment deck. This might give me a chance to actually compete at my local FNM.
I have not bought any of the event decks simply because I don't find them that competitive. I guess for their price they're alright, especially the latest ones, but even then I'm not too sold out on them. I think they're a good start however, and if I was very into standard I just might have bought War of Attrition. Again, they're just not that great. I don't see anyone winning a tournament with an event deck.
But as a building foundation they're great – although I'm thinking mostly about War of Attrition. You can improve it a lot, and that's a great thing. It gives you the cards to start off.
For me to buy one.. I'd say an even lower price. That plus perhaps even better event decks? Even then I would be surprised if I ever bought one. Simply because I find it much more fun to play limited. Booster draft costs a bit every time you do it, but in the end it adds up to the cost of playing competitive standard and it's much more fun in my opinion. Heck if you don't draft a lot you probably spend less money than you would playing standard – that's the case for me at least.
It seems to me that with the Mirroding Beseiged event decks, you needed to buy 2 of the Red ones simply to get your requisite 4 Goblin Guides and 2 Contested warzones. That made you the skeleton of the Kuldotha red deck.
I've not bought any as I had already constructed the gobos before the event deck hit my local store.
Again with the New Phyrexia event decks, you're only looking at buying the white version, and again, you need to buy 2 of them to assemble the 4 Stoneforge Package. While I can understand this on WoTC's part, from a financial standpoint, To be a pre-con that is "instantly competitive" you need better design, they simply have too much trying to hapen. to combo out 2nd or 3rd turn you need more focus.
I thought very seriously on buying the "Into the Breach" Event Deck, but gave up for two reasons: First, the price. I live on Brazil, and although not too much expensive, it still costs to us $37 US Dollars, which is much higher than Wizard's MRSP. Secondly, I didn't want to expend too much money on a deck I'm not that interested in playing. I've never piloted an RDW before, as I usually stick around white-weenie ones, and this one could't change my mind.
I have not. I typically own all the cards in the decks by the time they come out. And if I don't I know that my drafting will eventually fill those needs. And drafting is so much cheaper. BUT if the continue to reprint high-value cards such as this that don't come often in draft situations, then I'm all in, as long as the retailers don't gouge and charge more than MSRP… $24.99!
I bought both of the new ones. I am living in the Middle East right now, but I am moving home soon, so I ordered them last week so that they will be waiting for me when I get back. I plan on taking them apart and attempting to built a UW Puresteel Paladin/ SF Mystic deck with Venser. I sure could use a couple more Mystics though…
I haven't bought any of the decks yet. Work and two little kids keep me from actually going to a store. From what i've heard the white deck is sold out anyway, and that seems the most interesting to me. I don't really care about the stoneforge mystics as much as others since i don't play competitive. I just like the deck
As soon as i can find the time, i'll head over to the nearest store (which, unfortunately is still an hour away for me) and see if i can pick up a copy. Else i'll just wait until the standard format rotates so they become a reasonable price and better available again.
I got the white one, not because i wanted a competitive deck (I'm kitchen table player) but because i wanted a white weenie/equipment deck at the time they were announced, and i liked it.
I think they're a bit pricey outside the US, so maybe you shouldn't buy it if you only play casual. However, if any of them catches your eye, better get one copy before it gets too difficult to acquire.
These decks feel like compleated precons, with a lot of full playsets of the important cards, and they do pretty well against other precons and even against duel decks.
I haven't bought any of the event decks because I would use them to play Standard and I have no interest in playing Standard just to lose to Jace the Mind Sculptor every time.
Being that I don’t have access to a regular Tourney living out in the boondocks I haven’t bought a event deck. Its definitely something I am keeping my eye on, but for now I am just nosing around the fringes.
Honestly, to get me to buy I would really have to see a change in my own location as opposed to anything they would do. That being said, the inclusion of some Rares that people have been chasing, such as StoneForge Mystic, might be enough to get me to drop money on it for other decks at the moment.
I bought the mini kuldotha red one for my 9 yr old. it allowed him to take a small step up from his jank decks or precon stuff. it allowed me to pull out some of the lesser powered decks I’ve been assembling with real grown up money and us still feeling the matches were fun and fair. if I had a lot more money, I’d pick them all up (2x even). I love the care they took with the packaging.
I bought Infect and Defile because I was intrigued by midrange infect with control elements. It honestly does okay if you sideboard properly, which I know relates to one of Jay’s complaints about the Event Decks. The handbooks they come with don’t give enough instruction on how to use a sideboard, which I agree hurts these products (and their players).
While Infect and Defile was fun and challenging to run, I don’t think I’ll be buying another event deck until they improve the model. Unfortunately I think we’ll continue to see aggro Event decks since combo and control decks require too high of a rare count.
I bought Into the Breach, and was very impressed with it. With a few tweaks, it easily became a budget kuldotha red, and It was fun to drop your whole hand in 2 turns and swing for 27 on turn 3.
However, for me anyway, aggro strategies get boring after awhile. Of course everyone has a different opinion on this, but to me, aggro is just too non-interactive to have real replay value, you might throw an arc trail at some creatures when playing into the breach, but you pretty much play the exact same way each time, and thats a problem, especially when looking at event decks.
Honestly, I would like to see them do some control decks. I’ve found 2 other things that help you against a superior deck besides (and possibly in place of) speed. They’re Jace’s wont be any good if you counter them, and they’re stoneforge mystics wont be able to work to full potential if you doomblade it.
Perhaps 2 mono colored control decks, one blue, one black?
I haven't bought any of them because I just got back into MtG a few weeks ago when my son decided he wanted to play. So I've picked up the intro decks as a way to relearn the game and the new mechanics, and teach my kids to play. But haven't started playing at my local game shop yet, so "tournament-ready" isn't a selling point yet. I am eyeing the two NPH event decks, though, and will probably pick them both up when my game group makes their next free-shipping order from coolstuffinc. Even if I don't ever do FNM, it'll be nice to be able to show my kids some different ideas in deck building strategies.
I've bought the Into the Breach Kuldotha Red deck a few weeks after release, and I abandoned it as soon as I saw Marrow Shards from the New Phyrexia spoilers. That card just kills Kuldotha Red so easily.
I was considering to buy the Blue/Black Infect and Defile for one of my friends to make an Infect deck shell, but I was open to Blue/Green and I snatched up the precon Ravaging Swarm instead. I'd say it's doing quite well.
I was quite surprised to see two Stoneforge Mystics in the War of Attrition deck, but a few days later I was immediately put off by this tweet for Aaron Forsythe:
"According to blacklotusproject, Stoneforge was under $4 when that event deck was sent to the printer."
I believe that something like this won't ever happen again unless if precon design and tournament play intersect in the Venn Diagram again.
No, I haven't bought any. I'm not playing standard until Jace and Caw-Nonsense rotates. I am close to buying War of Attrition beacuse White is my favorite color and it gives me some rares that I don't have 4 of (0 SFM). But at this point I think I'm closer to picking up a commander deck if I have $30 lying around!
I haven't bought any of the Even Decks yet, mainly because none of them have really interested me. I like the infect decks, but I'm already running one with most of the same cards, so spending twenty bucks to get more of the same isn't really appealing. I think I'm just waiting for a nice mono-black deck to be released.
I am new to magic and I am going to buy one tomorrow. At this stage a "fighting chance" is the very best I can hope for.
I purchased into the breach to do just what it said, "be semi-competative at an fnm level". I had gotten bored of spending so much cash on magic, so i sold the u/b control deck i was playing at the time. i later decided i wanted to play again at fnm and i wasnt going to spend 500+ on a deck for three or four monthes of tournies. The deck mostly did what it said it would and it was twenty dollars well spent.
You know, I'm not sure it's so much that the event decks have been type casted, if you will, as agro so much as they simply need to be one color to maximize value. Unfortunately the current standard environment with Jace means that we're not likely to see a mono-blue control variant since wizards seems to be avoiding reprints of this monster at all costs. Printing a mono-blue control deck without Jace just equates to a not-as-good-as-it-could-be deck that none of us will get excited about. I think it very possible that we will actually see a mono-black control deck as wizards has been trying to push the deck, first with phylactery lich and now with phyrexian obliterator. The fact that mono-green went agro instead of zoo is just because they want to showcase infect — plus it's probably the better choice of the two at the moment. Having said that, speed is certainly key for the moment.
I purchased the War of Attrition deck and my son purchased the Rot from Within deck. Of the two Rot is the winner. Being able to take out top tier decks on turn two is very satisfying (granted, at game day, they all had answers in the side board). War of Attrition on the other hand lacks a meaningful equipment suite. I can't tell you how many times I'd cast SfM and grab a sword of vengeance only to have my opponent cast a SfM and grab a real sword or batterskull. In fact, the deck actually worked better when trying to play as a control deck (thanks to all of the artifacts being played in standard right now). Leonin Relic-Warder was by far the workhorse over both SfM and Puresteel Paladin. Even so, the decks are fun to play with, well balanced against each other, and, I think, well worth the money.
I have bought all the event decks to date. I bought them for simple value, and to be able to hand one to a friend to play. Since I buy them pre-released/upon announcement the prices pretty much is set and doesn't fluctuate for me.
I have not yet bought any of the event decks, although they are tempting. The main thing that puts me off is the price tag- as others have said, I could probably put together a better deck from singles for the same price, and I already have playable decks for FNM.
The newer decks are much better value for money, with the two stoneforge mystic on their own making the purchase more justifiable. This brings me to my next point- I generally enjoy legacy more than standard these days, so I'd like to see some legacy competitive cards in the box too. Again, with the addition of stoneforge mystics in a WW deck, this seems to solve this issue I had. In a similar vein, a mtg veteran has done well taking infect to legacy with another event deck. If my local supplier keeps them in stock for long, I might just grab one…
To be honest, I bought both of the NPH ones for the rares; I did not buy the MBS ones. I don't get out to draft or otherwise play much (like you, I have a child under one year, and you know how that is), so the opportunity to get a few rares that I was interested in in one shot was nice. I'm not just talking about the SFMs, I'm talking about the Zenith, the Baloths, Melira, and Kemba, too; I have uses for all of them.
Having bought them, I have them sleeved up, and have tried them against my current Legacy decks. As embarrassing as it may be, sometimes, the event decks do win pre-board. I haven't tried games post-board, as I wanted to get a feel for the decks before I attempted to sideboard properly.
I'm on deck with everyone who says the sideboarding information is insufficient; it really is. Even though I wouldn't be likely to use it, it'd be nice to see if they'd thought of something I didn't.
Since future event decks do seem to be on the agenda, I'm not sure about my continued interest in them. To me, it's obvious that NPH wasn't really underway when these were sent to the printers; note how there's only a combined total of 3 NPH cards in Rot from Within, and 4 in War of Attrition (as opposed to the high numbers from Zendikar and Worldwake). I understand that the cards from Zen block are powerful, but for "event decks" released as NPH decks, it would make more sense to me to have a greater quantity of cards from NPH.
If the EvDs continue to behave this way, I might wait past several EvDs for one that strikes my fancy rather than snatch a copy of each up. If they don't, and begin to feature more cards from the set they claim to hail from, while still retaining pseudo-competitive playability, I'll probably buy a few more.
Have you bought any of the Event Decks? Why or why not?
No. I play competitive standard, and already owned all the cards, should I want to play them.
If so, what are your thoughts?
My thoughts from playing against the Kuldotha style event deck was that it was a blast. It could nutdraw me out, or fizzle completely. Either way, I got to have short rounds and a nice play break.
If not, what would it take (if anything) to get you to invest in one?
More money rares that aren't in jeopardy of being banned. :p
Never bought one. They always seemed underpowered and the cost to get "a couple good cards plus a bunch of crap that I don't need" never made sense for me. I play a lot of limited, so I tend to get the staples I need opening packs or trading.
To buy one, there would need to be a great card/cards that I didn't have that totally offset the cost of the deck or it would just have to be such great value to be stupid.
…but given that if that happens they get sold at higher than MSRP or the cards themselves totally plummet in price, that seems highly unlikely all around.
I haven't bought any of the event decks due to the high price for a premade deck ($20 and up). In order for me to think about investing in a event deck, it would have to be more competitive to justify its price or a crazy fun theme along w/ value. I do though think that this is a step in the right direction. These decks would help someone who is just getting into the game learn some of the strategies and basics involved.
I'm fairly new to magic and haven't bought an Event deck yet. The bloke in the card shop marketed them as hi powered decks and I didn't want an unfair advantage over my magic buddy; he was buying Reign of Vamps.
I'll quite happily buy one if the theme looks like it is really fun to play.
Have you bought any of the Event Decks? Why or why not?
The first set was too underpowered and the one from NPH is too expnsive here and ordering online i’ll be paying the same with shipping. I really love magic but being just a student is hard to justify expenses like that.
If not, what would it take (if anything) to get you to invest in one?
I would buy one if I get a better job and maybe I would make the effort to buy a goblin themed deck.
I have bought 2 Into the Breach and 2 War of Attrition online for the rares (goblin gude and stoneforge mystic respectively) since both cards were overpriced on online and at my LGS. I knew both decklists well in advance and knew for sure that both decks were far from FNM ready (WOTC's blurb is clearly overstated), but figured that they were more than capable of standing their ground against the casual play group that I am in. I have not been disappointed so far though as I was able to break out of the gate several times with Into the Breach and have fun tutoring out living weapons in War of Attrition.
Looking forward to the next few event decks.
I didn't buy either event deck, for this set or the last. Unfortunately, I was just finishing up my Kuldotha-Red deck when the lists for the MBS ones were revealed, so had I waited a couple weeks on getting Goblin Guides I could've saved some money
My brother did the same thing with the white equipment one this time. BLARRRGH.
I bought War of Attrition; because lets face it 2 Mystics are too good to pass up. Future purchases will depend on content/value.
No i havent bought an event deck. The main reason would be either I already have the cards that i wanted or the decks simply are not worth my money. The reason being not worth my money is simple. When event decks are announced, the price of which the rares are featured in will drop. An example of this would be Stoneforge mystic and also green sun zenith. At my place their price dropped by a steady 40% right after wizards announced those cards being printed in the new event decks. Thus, it would have been cheaper if i had taken upon myself to simply buy singles and construct a better deck myself.
Another would be it includes cards that are soon to be rotated. I am a new player and i do not own a stoneforge mystic. Though the card is great and i could have fun with it, i feel it not being worth the bang for my buck as i am a new player and the only format i am currently comfortable with is Standard.
The easiest way, and simple way out for WIzards would be able to attract buyers would to include some good mythics in it. For example, infect and defile would have sold well had they thrown in a Skithryx.
Another suggestion, which i feel is pretty bold and risky move, is to include rares that are pretty good that will be featured from future sets ( Preferably, the next set). Yes, i know, this will bring a bit of unrest but please do listen. Event decks are usually announced after players had gotten the cards that they had wanted from the sets, thus rendering the decks welcoming only to new players. If wizards could try to do so, they will no doubt attract a lot of attention as this had never been done before and would of course win a whole new set of sales.
Anyhow, this is my few bits of opinion, and may or may not be too much worth listening to( I only stated playing since the scars)
I have yet to buy an event deck, mostly because my budget is limited and I get more fun out of buying intro packs which contain a deck, and a booster. More value, in my opinion.
Honestly, if I could find the mono green infect deck at a discount, I'd take the plunge. It's the deck out of the two that will be priced lower, (below msrp in some cases) but yet is not as inept as infect and defile was. I'm monitoring prices, and may take the plunge depending on how the deck finishes it's review.
I have not bought any of the event decks, because I find the normal Precons to be quite fun, and less expensive to purchase. Plus, I am strictly a casual player, and thus don’t need to have “tournament competitive” deck. If I ever DO want to enter a tournament, I want it to be with a deck that I’ve modified and created myself, not one that Wizards gave me all put together already.
Honestly I can’t think of much that would get me to buy one, other than them lowering the price to be competitive with the regular theme decks, but since that would go against their trying to portray these decks as “elite”, it’s almost certain that will never happen.
I have not bought any of the Event Decks, mainly because I don't have much money to spare for Magic cards. However, if I ever plan to enter into serious tournament play, these decks will be my first thought, as they seem to offer some good rares and coherent decks/plans (Kuldoltha Red/Mono White Equipment/Mono Green Infect).
I would consider these decks if they started adding a lot more good rares, mythics (Batterskull?), or dropped the price to about $20.
I have bought the War of Attrition deck, mostly for the Stoneforges. When Worldwake came out, I saw the Stoneforge Mystics and wanted four copies for my casual equipment deck, but I waited a while before getting it. Unfortunately, the Boss Naya deck soon came about and Stoneforges rose to $8 apiece. Thinking that it couldn't possibly rise higher, I decided as per my standard operating procedure to wait for them to rotate out of standard and pick them up afterward.
To my chagrin, as time went on they started seeing more and more play, to the point of being one of the best creatures in Extended and Legacy. When the event deck came out, I decided to just bite the bullet and buy one because it seems unlikely Stoneforges will ever fall below $8-10 again, even when they rotate.
Don't really have much thoughts on the deck itself since I just picked it apart for singles and don't really play standard. On looks alone though, it seems fairly underpowered for a supposedly competitive standard deck. It really doesn't have many good targets for Stoneforge (+1 Batterskull, +2 Swords would greatly improve the deck), and it has virtually no reach for when the opponent inevitably stabilizes. While the idea behind these event decks is nice, it just doesn't seem feasible for precon decks with no mythics and only a few rares to actually be competitive against real standard decks.
I haven’t bought an event deck because my friend bought one, the “infect and defile” one, and it didn’t look to exciting. However, after reading the reviews on ertais lament, I have considered buying the “war of attrition” since it looks pretty solid.
Have you bought any of the Event Decks? Why or why not?
No but I am planning to, I have been off magic for a couple years and I recently got pulled back in.
If so, what are your thoughts?
If not, what would it take (if anything) to get you to invest in one?
They seem fun to play and a good place to start playing catch up.
Have you bought any of the Event Decks? Why or why not?
no i haven't bought any event deck, altough i started playing MTG since 8th edition. i always bought either precons that or only booster one time every new release from MTG. if there is an interisting precons i would buy precons.
If not, what would it take (if anything) to get you to invest in one?
event deck cost more than booster or precons. that's why i prefer to buy booster so i can get more rare cards…
building on budget…