A side-effect from my stint to sea:

Yay, a thread for me!



Green/White (Selesnya) is pretty good in RtR. Also if you play competitive Standard, GWx decks are probably the best in the format right now (because of Thragtusk).

If you're constrained by budget but still want to play a lot, there's a program called Cockatrice that simulates online play. It requires you to have a very good knowledge of how the rules work, though, so it's not really for beginners unless you play with friends. And if you have a group of friends you can play with in RL (like 4+) you guys can do your own draft. Draft is probably some of the most fun you can have in Magic and rewards skill and ability to choose cards, instead of rewarding whoever has the most money to buy expensive cards.

There's also a format called EDH/Commander, which is my favorite. Look into it, it's a ton of fun for multiplayer and lets you play cards that normally suck.

If you like storyline tying into the cards, it used to be a TON better in older blocks with the Weatherlight Saga and Odyssey saga. They used to have novels for each set that came out, and many of the cards/artwork/flavor text tied directly into the story. PM me if you're interested in reading about Magic lore, it's one of my favorite parts of the game.

I bought a fat pack of Shards of Alara, and it came with a 2-3 chapter sample book. I loved the storyline in that, but cannot afford to purchase the book alone (something like 30 bucks for it >>)

I know older sets had novels, but I cannot find them easily either. Do you know where I can find them in paperback/ebook?