How to build with a poor card pool

rob443 · July 2016

Hi guys,

i just started playing MtGPQ two weeks ago and i like it alot.

I'm an experienced MtG player, altough that does not seem to help me all that much.

So I've been pushing my Nissa to lvl 53 and now i'm starting to get in serious trouble.

The second last opponent of the OGW event was by far out of reach for me to beat and i'm also starting to have problems in chapter three of Origins and chapter two of Zendikar.

Since i've not spent any money yet, my card pool is pretty weak.

This is what i'm currently running

-Creatures-
Elvish Visionary (C) (just as a poor ramp spell)
Conclave Naturalists (UC)
Undercity Troll (UC)
Kozilek's Channeler (UC)

-Spells-
Sylvan Scrying (UC)
Earthen Arms (C)
Scour from Existence (C)

-Supports-
Nissa's Pilgrimage (C)
Fertile Thicket (C)
Llanowar Wastes (C) (also just poor ramp)

Besides having obviously serious trouble against green opponents, i've been able to go off with the Sylvan Scrying and Nissa's first ability and then race my opponent most of the times. For that reason i took out all defender creatures and went pretty straight forward but now all opponents are dropping much larger things and start to combo off on the board even more than i am able to with my Scrying.

I am willing to spend some money on the game but would prefer to have a small overview first what to archieve in which specific order and i hope that some of the experienced players here can help me out a little bit.

Here is a list of my uncommon, rare and mythic cards, so maybe one of you can identify a solid deck in between my collection.

(I don't have Mantle of Webs or Titanic Growth among my common cards to add it to my green deck)

-Mythic-
Quarantine Field

-Rare-

White:
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch

Black:
Painful Truths
Guul Draz Overseer
Fetid Imp

Colorless:
Smoldering Marsh

-Uncommon-

White:
Drana's Emissary
Blessed Spirits
Unified Front
Anointer of Champions
Aven Battle Priest
Knightly Valor

Blue:
Halimar Tidecaller
Whirler Rogue
Herald of Kozilek
Cryptic Cruiser
Hydrolash
Ruination Guide
Coralhelm Guide
Clash of Wills
Retreat to Coralhelm

Black:
Drana's Emissary
Consecrated by Blood
Fleshbag Marauder
Bloodbond Vampire
Malakir Cullblade
Rising Miasma
Weight of the Underworld
Tormented Thoughts
Retreat to Hagra
Vampiric Rites

Red:
Herald of Kozilek
Blighted Gorge
Vile Aggregate
Volcanic Rambler
Lavastep Raider
Demolish
Turn Against

Green:
Embodiment of Insight
Brood Monitor
Undercity Troll
Conclave Naturalists
Sylcan Scrying
Elemental Bond
Reclaim

Colorless:
Hedron Archive
Ramroller
Pathway Arrows

Should i invest in some boosters first and then pick a planeswalkers that fits my strongest cards? And which set should i buy first?

Thanks in advance, good luck and hf !!

PapiLouis4 · July 2016

rob443 wrote:

Hi guys,

i just started playing MtGPQ two weeks ago and i like it alot.

I'm an experienced MtG player, altough that does not seem to help me all that much.

So I've been pushing my Nissa to lvl 53 and now i'm starting to get in serious trouble.

The second last opponent of the OGW event was by far out of reach for me to beat and i'm also starting to have problems in chapter three of Origins and chapter two of Zendikar.

Since i've not spent any money yet, my card pool is pretty weak.

This is what i'm currently running

-Creatures-
Elvish Visionary (C) (just as a poor ramp spell)
Conclave Naturalists (UC)
Undercity Troll (UC)
Kozilek's Channeler (UC)

-Spells-
Sylvan Scrying (UC)
Earthen Arms (UC)
Scour from Existence (C)

-Supports-
Nissa's Pilgrimage (C)
Fertile Thicket (C)
Llanowar Wastes (C) (also just poor ramp)

Besides having obviously serious trouble against green opponents, i've been able to go off with the Sylvan Scrying and Nissa's first ability and then race my opponent most of the times. For that reason i took out all defender creatures and went pretty straight forward but now all opponents are dropping much larger things and start to combo off on the board even more than i am able to with my Scrying.

I am willing to spend some money on the game but would prefer to have a small overview first what to archieve in which specific order and i hope that some of the experienced players here can help me out a little bit.

Here is a list of my uncommon, rare and mythic cards, so maybe one of you can identify a solid deck in between my collection.

(I don't have Mantle of Webs or Titanic Growth among my common cards to add it to my green deck)

-Mythic-
Quarantine Field

-Rare-

White:
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch

Black:
Painful Truths
Guul Draz Overseer
Fetid Imp

Colorless:
Smoldering Marsh

-Uncommon-

White:
Drana's Emissary
Blessed Spirits
Unified Front
Anointer of Champions
Aven Battle Priest
Knightly Valor

Blue:
Halimar Tidecaller
Whirler Rogue
Herald of Kozilek
Cryptic Cruiser
Hydrolash
Ruination Guide
Coralhelm Guide
Clash of Wills
Retreat to Coralhelm

Black:
Drana's Emissary
Consecrated by Blood
Fleshbag Marauder
Bloodbond Vampire
Malakir Cullblade
Rising Miasma
Weight of the Underworld
Tormented Thoughts
Retreat to Hagra
Vampiric Rites

Red:
Herald of Kozilek
Blighted Gorge
Vile Aggregate
Volcanic Rambler
Lavastep Raider
Demolish
Turn Against

Green:
Embodiment of Insight
Brood Monitor
Undercity Troll
Conclave Naturalists
Sylcan Scrying
Elemental Bond
Reclaim

Colorless:
Hedron Archive
Ramroller
Pathway Arrows

Should i invest in some boosters first and then pick a planeswalkers that fits my strongest cards? And which set should i buy first?

Thanks in advance, good luck and hf !!

if i were you id save up crystals from the events and story missions and buy an origins big box or bfz big box as it does give an extra ogw booster pack, then buy one of the original cheap planesalkers that you recieved the best cards for

EDHdad · July 2016

Personally, I'd be inclined to take out Sylvan Scrying until they get around to fixing it. In my experience, they tend to match you up in Quick Battle against someone playing the same color, so this is going to be a dead card a lot of the time.

You might consider stuff that buffs your creatures over ramp spells. If you have any of the supports that give your creature +1/+1, +2/+2, +2/+0, stuff like that, it can really help. If you have Seek The Wilds, that also can be useful. If you have no creatures in hand, you can use it to fetch a creature.

If you hang out in story mode, you should be able to farm over 1,000 crystals eventually. One thing you might do is at least buy the cheap planeswalkers - Jace, Gideon, Liliana, Chandra, and then put together the best decks you can with them. In story mode, if you defeat a level with each color planeswalker, you get 10 crystals. Pretty soon, you should be able to save up for some booster packs or a fat pack or a big box.

If the events continue the way they've been going, you should be able to get enough crystals to buy some product. If so, one thing that might happen is that you'll open up a very good card in a non-green color. So having some non-green decks to slot that into might be really useful.

The two basic ways to go are to pick one planeswalker and level it up until you get to 60, or to get at least one planeswalker of each color and level them all up as you go along. I play on two devices and have done it both ways. Neither is necessarily better or worse. By the time I defeated Origins story mode (which is all there was back then) using just Nissa, she was in the mid-40's. When I did this on a different device using all 5 color walkers, keeping them more or less at the same level, each walker was in the mid-20's, but I still did beat all the levels.

majincob · July 2016

rob443 wrote:

Should i invest in some boosters first and then pick a planeswalkers that fits my strongest cards? And which set should i buy first?

My preference is to get at least one planeswalker to 60 right away so that you can grind runes from QB and it's not too hard to get a few rares a week by finishing in the top 150 as well as logging in twice a day for the free packs and daily login bonuses. Then save up runes and crystals until you have enough runes to fully level a planeswalker. Buy a big box or two, see if you get any good rares then you can pick a planeswalker to level up. I'd recommend the dual color ones if you can save up for them as they make doing the color challenges much easier and you have almost twice the card selection for them if your card collection isn't very deep.

I'm not sure which set is better, some people say that Origins is overall more versatile. It really is a diminishing-returns proposition to buy packs as the chances of getting something new becomes ever smaller as your collection fills out. Before the new events came out with their fresh flood of crystals I was resigned to buying just one big box of each set coming out and hoping to get lucky with the daily and QB prizes. Now you should be able to save up enough crystals between QB, events, and story missions to get a big box every other week easily.

rob443 wrote:

Here is a list of my uncommon, rare and mythic cards, so maybe one of you can identify a solid deck in between my collection.

One top strategy that doesn't need rares uses Gideon to buff white first strikers to make them flying walls of unkillable defense. If you have Murder Investigation you can pair it with Knightly Valor to make infinite defenders. If you can get an early board advantage Quarantine Field can stall while you pump your creatures with Gideon's abilities, or it can stall them while you strategically shuffle your creatures around to fill them until the field gets popped and their costs drop back down creating an instant army. Smite the Monstrous and Scour from Existence are both fantastic.

rob443 · July 2016

Thanks for your input guys.

EDHdad wrote:

If you have Seek The Wilds, that also can be useful. If you have no creatures in hand, you can use it to fetch a creature.

I just got this with my morning free booster pack, thanks for karma ;o

The idea to beat the 5 color challanges sounds quite rewarding, so i'll go for this now.

I'm willing to buy some packs now, do you guys think i should make use of the crystal bonus before its gone and get an BFZ / OGW big box or maybe better wait for new special offers, since there have not been any new ones for quite a while now?

My idea is to use the cards to build a deck in each color and then beat the 5 color challenges to maybe buy another box.

Do you think thats a good plan?

Thanks for your help

rob

edit: @majincob

Since i'm already very close to maxing Nissa, this might actually be the way to go.

I think i'll go with an BFZ/OGW big box then, since i've spent most of my crystals on Origins boosters so far.

That Gideon deck sounds interesting, since my only mythic so far seems to fit the strategy quite well.

How'd you build it with my pool?

Here is a complete list of my white and colorless cards:

White:
-Commons-
Kytheon's Tactics
Auramancer
Gideon's Reproach
Makindi Patrol
Stalwart Aven
Topan Freeblade
Yoked Ox
Angelic Gift
Grasp of the Hieromancer
Sheer Drop
Smite the Monstrous
Charging Griffin
Cleric of the Forward Order
Courier Griffin
Shadow Glider
Felidar Cub
Kor Castigator
Mighty Leap
Akroan Jailer
Expedition Envoy
Murder Investigation
Enlightened Ascetic
Kitesail Scout

-Uncommons-
Drana's Emissary
Blessed Spirits
Unified Front
Anointer of Champions
Aven Battle Priest
Knightly Valor

-Rares-
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch

-Mythics-
Quarantine Field

Colorless:

-Commons-
Kozilek's Channeler
Scour from Existence
Mortuary Mire
Guardians of Meletis
Alchemist's Vial
Battlefield Forge
Llanowar Wastes
Prism Ring
Runed Servitor
Veteran's Sidearm
Bonded Construct
Evolving Wilds
Fertile Thicket

-Uncommons-
Hedron Archive
Ramroller
Pathway Arrows

-Rares-
Smoldering Marsh

Thanks in advance !!

majincob · July 2016

rob443 wrote:

That Gideon deck sounds interesting, since my only mythic so far seems to fit the strategy quite well.

How'd you build it with my pool?

In no particular order:
Scour from Existence
Quarantine Field
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch
Smite the Monstrous
Auramancer
Blessed Spirits
Gideon's Reproach
Murder Investigation
Knightly Valor
Pathway Arrows

That's 3 creatures, 2 spells, and 5 supports, I'm not sure if Gideon (the first, cheap one) can can have 5 supports right off the bat but he ends up able to have 7. If you had to drop some I'd drop the arrows and/or the quarantine field.
Felidar Cub is the eleventh card here simply because he is the only answer white has to supports.
Anointer of Champions is the next creature up as he is the most efficient bigger guy you have.

zaann85 · July 2016

I would get cards from Origins first, as any free 5 packs you get are going to be BFZ. Origins also has arguably better cards. It is the core of the game. Check your missing commons and uncommons though. Once you have most from the sets, it will be time for planeswalkers, because rares and mythics are hard to pull, and spending money on duplicates hurts. If you dont have a couple of walkers to 60, just get cards. Having a dual color walker won't help if you got nothing good to cast.

rob443 · July 2016

Thanks for all your input guys, much appreciated.

I made a decision for the Zendikar big box since it had a booster more.

I pulled a mythic and some rares. I do now have:

White:
Quanrantine Field (M)
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch
Munda's Vanguard

Black:
Painful Truths
Gruul Draz Overseer
Fetid Imp

Blue:
Part the Waterveil (M)

Colorless:
Endless One
Smoldering Marsh

I was also able to improve my Nissa deck.

This is what i am running now:

Creatures:
Endless One
Relentless Hunter
Pilgrim's Eye

Spells:
Seek the Wilds
Chitinious Cloak
Earthen Arms
Scour from Existence
Sylvan Scrying

Supports:
Fertile Thicket
Nissa's Pilgrimage

My plan is now to lvl my Nissa from 54 to 60, while collecting crystal rewards that are still open from lower level opponents in story mode. I then want to buy an Origins big box with it. That should help to build a solid deck in each color to collect the rewards from the color challenges to maybe buy the next box.

How does that sound?

majincob · July 2016

rob443 wrote:

How does that sound?

Sounds like a plan, man.

EDHdad · July 2016

For the White deck, I'd probably go:

Smite the Monstrous
Murder Investigation
Enlightened Ascetic
Blessed Spirits
Anointer of Champions
Knightly Valor
Scour from Existence
Gideon's Reproach
Ramroller
Pathway Arrows

The last 2 are the weakest, but with all the supports, Ramroller can become a 5/3 berserker fairly easily. I'm not sure what comes in the default decks for the other planeswalkers, but I'm pretty sure you should wind up with a Brawler's Plate. If so, I would highly recommend it.

I've tried to make Quarantine Field work, but never have. Partially because I probably want to get cute and make it the only support or creature in my deck. Then I'd play it either with a planeswalker who can create creatures (such as Gideon II) and/or spells which create creatures (such as Thopter Foundry). Unfortunately, none of those planeswalkers allow you to put 9 spells in your deck.

As for which product to buy, if you're getting a big box, I'd be inclined toward Battle for Zendikar at the present time, because you get a free bonus Oath of the Gatewatch pack, and right now the only Oath of the Gatewatch cards are uncommon, rare and mythic.

UrbanNinja · July 2016

Elemental Bond is incredible.
Sylvan Scrying is garbage if your planeswalker is only single color.
My early green deck had Reclaim alongside the visionaries.

Pathway arrows are ok I guess. I don't have them, but they come out pretty often

Bastrakova · July 2016

Hello dear friend,
First of all Sorry for my english.
I want to give you advice with Decks.

Just let you know Strength\Weakness

Green
Strength
-Support Color (more mana each turn)
-Buff spells
Weakness
- offensive spells
- buff support
- defense (hard to stop the pressure)

Blue
Strength
- Debuff spells
- debuff support (+ increase manacost of the opponent cards)
- spam Unis (has a lot of cheap units)
Weakness
- slow start (should open a lot of support cards or use spells to stop atack)
- weak creatures
- buff support

Red
Strength
-offensive spells
-strong creatures for all costs
Weakness
- buff support

White
Strength
-buff support
-offensive spells
Weakness
- get a card (in game mode)

Dark
Strength
-unique cards that destroy cards in opponent's "hand"
-strong creatures
- debuff support
Weakness
-buff support
-offensive spells
-defensive creatures

About the deck construction

In case of 3 creatures on the field there is no reason to have more than 5 creatures in your deck. For balance will be usefull to have 4 creatures (they should have different benefits, for each strategy)

So we have
4 Creatures (1 cheap 1-6 cost, 2 mid cost 9-12, 1 expensive cost 14 and higher)
2-4 spells (1 Destroy the creature, 1 debuff/buff the creature, 1 Destroy support, 1 Destroy cards on opp hand)
2-4 supports (1 color support, 1 buff/debuff creture, 1 Mythic support (or rare))

______________________________________________
Color Decks
You should save the crystals and get 2 colored Plainswalker. (with discount they cos around 500). Do not recommend to buy for 950cryst as the first one.
I've got Red/White - it is Very Strong combine.
Such combination has:
Strong creatures, buffs, heal spells, destroy creature spells.
......................................................................................

Nissa Deck
I recommend you cards (cost) (you should take those that you already have) :

Conclave Naturalists (11)
Outland colossus (16)
Rhox Maulers (11)
Undercity Troll (13)
Vastwood Gorger (11)
Spells
Sword of the Animist (7)
Support
Nissa Pilgrimage (3)
Zendikar’s Roil (9)

Just let you know that Nissa's benefits on 2nd plainswalker ability +4/+4, try to use it wisely
Recommend you to buy 2 colored Plainswalker/
___________________________________________

EDHdad · July 2016

Regarding the decision to buy Origins vs Zendikar:

Bear in mind that over 90% of the cards you pull will be common or uncommon (this is also true in paper Magic).

If you go to "inventory", then "filters", you can click on a card set and see how many cards from that set you have. Then, if you click "show all cards", you can see how many total cards would fit the criteria.

You can further filter by rarity - just commons, just uncommons, or commons and uncommons combined.

If you have, say, 50% of BFZ commons / uncommons but only 25% of Origins commons / uncommons, then maybe consider buying Origins. If it's the reverse, then maybe go for BFZ.

How to build with a poor card pool

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