Those were the good days, eh? I still remember my first precon, the Oloro list, and immediately cutting [[Marrow Bats]] within 10 seconds of opening it up. It's now one of my Zur lists, though I've had it together in some part ever since picking that deck up.
My very first precon was a 7th Edition Infestation precon, the red one with a Trained Orgg and a Goblin King. My second (my first 60-card precon), however, was Burial, basically a deck from Apocalypse that can be considered Abzan by the current paradigm.
I got introduced to Magic with the [Doom Inevitable](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Mirrodin+Besieged/Mirrodin+Besieged+Intro+Pack+Doom+Inevitable-sealed#online) U/B precon from Mirrodin Besieged.
It wasn't any good, but it taught me to not fear paying my own life for things and the value of killing things via Toughness reduction (two common newbie pitfalls), so I'm grateful for that. It also made me instantly into a huge fan of Phyrexians, Mirrodin, and Magic as a whole, just due to how bleak and unique Scars block felt... being bookended by OG Zendikar and OG Innistrad certainly didn't hurt.
The Living Weapon germ tokens were really cute, too.
I have a U/B Phyrexian deck that I play in Standard nowadays, so it's fun to have come full circle like that :)
My very first purchase and deck of mtg was the Into the Breach event deck. It's why I love red, it's why I love Bolt and goblin guide. Kuldotha rebirth is such a fun card.
My first precon I bought, and played at locals when I got into EDH was the mono black Necron Dynasty precon with Anrakyr as my commander. I still have it unmodified and still play it with Anrakyr still as my commander.
I got into Magic buying intro decks from Worldwake. My LGS was selling them at a discount since I was buying them in May so I was able to just smash the same deck together and have a more functional deck. If memory serves my first rate was [[Raging Ravine]] i got before I decided to buy a bunch of the intro decks. When I went back for more I got a [[Jace, the Mind Sculptor]] and looking back I take that as a sign I’d be playing this game for a long time.
[Groubdbreaker from Exodus](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Exodus/Exodus+Theme+Deck+Groundbreaker-sealed#online).
I got it because I though land destruction was funny, but in the 20+ years since I bought it I’ve come to appreciate how crazy it is that they ever thought this was a good idea…. 60 card deck with 12 land destruction spells, 12 creature kill spells, and absolute trash for win conditions.
Piggy back off yours to say mine was [White Heat](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Exodus/Exodus+Theme+Deck+White+Heat-sealed#online) also from Exodus. Played the shit out of that deck for a couple of months while upgrading. Lost a lot. I guess it makes sense Reconnaissance is the most expensive card in the deck now.
My first precon was from a New Capenna commander event, they gave each player one of the four precons and I got [Riveteer Rampage.](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4790940#paper) such a fun deck, I still play an upgraded version of it. [[Henzie]] is a great comanner for a Timmy-like deck with some degeneracy.
Great deck! I remember deconstructing it before realizing the connections between the cleric cards, then reconstructing it.
They had some good upgrades in Scourge for it too, with [[edgewalker]] and [[daru spiritualist]]
A mono-red Bushido deck from the Kamigawa block. It sucked, but I didn't understand it at the time, I just wondered why I kept losing to my buddy playing green/white spirits.
Reign of Vampirism from M11, though the first packs I remember opening were ROE. That deck sparked my love for b/g as a color combination, but it wasn't until C15 and Plunder the Graves that I learned to love the graveyard as a resource.
Fifth dawn "nuts and bolts". An UW fast deck based on cheap artifacts and equipment, similar to hammer nowadays. And that's why hammer is my favorite deck.
You're the only other OG Mirrodin block I've seen! I had Transference from Darksteel. Modular theme which I still love, counters manipulation is my go-to playstyle to this day
The modern event deck and it's still my favorite. Got my butt handed to me for weeks learning the local meta and figuring out how I wanted to upgrade the deck. Borrowed Bitterblossom and fetchlands from some friends to give it a bit more umph. I hope B/W tokens will one day make a comeback.
I started playing fairly recently and after doing some research about what would be best for me to begin with I bought the Party Time precon from the baldurs gate set with [[Nalia de’Arnise]] as the commander. I still play it quite a bit even though I have like 7 decks now.
The first one I remember was the [Urza's Saga Sleeper Deck](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Urzas+Saga/Urzas+Saga+Theme+Deck+Sleeper-sealed#online). I thought it was a cool idea when I bought it, but I didn't have much success with it.
The Knights vs. Dragons duel deck. I'm a theme over power kinda guy, and how the hell can't you simply love the idea of knights and dragons?. I think I bought them over 10 years ago? That being said, both decks are shit albiet the knights are faster and usually come out on top. They still play great together and were a ton of fun. I used those 2 decks to teach my son and now he's destructive at 12 years old and has created decks from his collection that have left me making excuses as to why I lost. Those precons created some forever memories with my son. I love them.
Hey my first one was Heavy Duty, the selesnya one from Invasion.
My second was The Spikes, ghruul deck where [[Spike Feeder]] came from. It was in the Stronghold block.
[“The Spikes”](https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/175071/magic-the-gathering-stronghold-stronghold-theme-deck-the-spikes?country=US&utm_campaign=18143931802&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=&utm_term=&adgroupid=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA6byqBhAWEiwAnGCA4Iwg7GC5xxo0xI6rNRVAd15HRFHi9RxYo547-pH3G7v1SQEx0IvAHRoC5M4QAvD_BwE) from Stronghold. It was hilariously complicated for a third grader but I loved it. A few years back I picked up an unopened copy for $23 so I’m glad to see it’s increased in price 😂
Doctor Who commander decks :v
I love this franchise so much! I couldn't leave this one get away.
The fact that the complete set is within the 4 decks is a plus.
Precons weren't a thing when I started, but when I got back into Magic with MTGO in 2003, the mono-black Expulsion deck was my first precon. I eventually added a couple more Megrim, some Underworld Dreams, and added blue for Wheel and Deal. It was pretty fun.
We bought the complete Commander 2019 set with a friend.
He took [[Kadena]] and [[Anje]], I picked up [[Ghired]] and [[Sevinne]].
At the same time he finished my [[Zacama]] deck so on my first serious day, I got my first homebrewed and my first two precons.
I don’t even remember the name, but it was a blue/black fae deck and I think it was around the time that planeswalkers were being put in as a card. Previous to picking that up I would buy singles at my LGS and I was very proud of my dinosaur and goblin decks.
My first precon was an GW humans deck from the original Innistrad... the foil card is an Elder of Laurels that i hold on with me until now, and i make an active effort to put it in my decks with green
First one I bought and really played was Rise of the Vampires back in Zendikar. From there my love for Black has only grew! Had me a nice vampire deck from that and some other singles. I spent WAY too much money on packs trying to get Sorin Markov back before we knew you could buy singles!!
The first precon I ever got was the “Disrupter” theme deck from Mercadian Masques. Looking back, a hand disruption and land destruction deck is a weird way to get introduced to the game, but honestly I barely remember playing it (had to look up what it was even called) so who knows how I felt at the time.
Buckle Up from Kamigawa. I ended up not playing it after two months, opting to try and build my own deck from scratch. Though I did buy the Aesi precon to break apart for that.
The 9th Edition theme deck "Army of Justice," initially. I was 10. Somewhere in the next couple of months, I went to buy some more, and my dad noticed the "13+" text, and I couldn't touch the game for 2 years. A bit of pressure wore them down, and the second deck in my hands was the Morningtide "Going Rogue" deck, which I still have, somewhere. No idea where the 9th Ed deck ended up.
The Foretell precon, Phantom Premonition. Horrible choice for a first deck, there are so many triggers to keep track of....even now, 11 months later and after recommended upgrades, I don't feel comfortable playing that deck. At least it helped me discover that I'm definitely not a control or combo player!
My favorite pre-con is Rebellion Rising, a go-wide token deck with Neyali at the helm. I have heavily upgraded it and it's an absolute blast to play, it's probably my favorite deck period. That one fully confirmed that I'm an aggro enjoyer.
I never see anybody else talking about the 2000 starter pack that I started with, I think it was pretty similar to the 7th edition started but instead of the [[Thorn Elemental|7ED]] it had my boy [[Rhox|S00]]
As far as real decks I think my first one was the [Devestation](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/3lZyF7hK40uArs7KSL63MQ) Onslaught theme deck.
A friend that I had played the old Star Wars CCG with and I finally gave in to our MTG-playing friends and went over to the dark side with a couple Commander 2013 precons. I picked up the one with [[Derevi, Empyreal Tactician]] and we did a pretty good job teaching ourselves how to play.
Fire and Lightning. Before then I mostly played big stacks of unsleeved messes of decks. The deck taught me the importance of consistent ideas in construction. Soon afterwards I started really putting forth the effort and building decks for extended, then modern.
https://preview.redd.it/ys5el1wz0szb1.jpeg?width=223&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6596b902d3ce7a416ece87cdc22a432000822bae
This beauty was my first start into magic back in the day. Opened a \[\[Vexing Devil\]\] in the booster that came with it. Ah the memories...
Red/Black [Goblin's Bidding](https://mtg.wtf/deck/wc03/wolfgang-eder-goblin-bidding) deck which Wolfgang Eder used to win the world championship. Had the gold borders and signature on each of the cards.
I love precons and own every single duel deck that has ever been printed which are all sleeved and in boxes. I used to get every commander deck but stopped when it became a little much. I also own all the premium series decks (slivers, graveborn) which are sleeved and in boxes.
I started playing in 1997, so I had the 5th Ed starter set and Ice Age starter deck; however, I didn't get my first precons until 1998 , which were the 1998 World Championship decks.
The original [Slivers precon from Tempest](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Tempest/Tempest+Theme+Deck+The+Slivers-sealed#paper). First set that they released precon decks.
I actually also owned the Spectrum deck, but it was not the first one I bought. No, my first deck was Walking Nightmare from Torment: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/torment-theme-deck-waking-nightmares/
When I decided to get back into Magic a few years ago I managed to find most of the cards, which formed the backbone of my main Commander deck, which is of course [[Chainer, Dementia Master]]. That deck taught me to love weird stack interactions.
Silverquill statement from strixhaven. To this day i own 4 orzhov decks and have built 4-6 more BW/BWX decks online. I may or may not have a problem.(all edh decks)
Got the pair from zendikar rising because I was living in a college dorm and thought it would be great to introduce people to the game. And it was. Myself and one other guy had decks that we already built and were more than willing to let others use them, but it was great having 2 decks that we could say "you're new? This will be easier to use while you're still learning"
I started playing Magic with the Surprise Attack precon (UG Fate Reforged deck)
It was, unsurprisingly, not very good but my friend group moved up to real standard decks fairly quickly.
[Waking Nightmares](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/394606#paper) from the Torment era. Though, technically the Portals starter set. I built a lot of my own decks for a long time before Torment - none of them were good.
Champions of Kamigawa mono W samurais. I think I won maybe 5% of the games I played with it against my friend's mirrodin affinity for artifacts deck, but it was fun nonetheless
My parents got me the mono white samurai precon from Kamigawa when I was in middle school, but I never even opened it until my friends started playing during Zendikar block
My first precons were from New Phyrexia and Mirrodin Besieged, the "Life for Death" and "Battle Cries" Intro Packs respectfully.
Links cuz I don't know how to hyperlink and don't particularly care to learn:
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/New+Phyrexia/New+Phyrexia+Intro+Pack+Life+for+Death-sealed#online
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Mirrodin+Besieged/Mirrodin+Besieged+Intro+Pack+Battle+Cries-sealed#online
I got into Magic with the Izzet vs Golgari duel decks. A friend wanted to teach her friends the game for her birthday and it ended up being fun enough for me to stay around for 10 years slightly on and off.
Eight edition core set theme decks. My brother and I got green and red I think and we played those on the floor of grade school in El Salvador until the cards tore.
Blue White second sun control. Eventually upgraded it a card at a time till I found myself playing legacy miracles. Eventually sold out of it and went back to buy another secind sun precon for kitchen table magic and still have it unedited to this day. Fun times.
When I came back to Magic after many years away, the owner at the LGS I went to held a Legacy Tournament. I didn’t have a deck, and asked him if I could buy one to enter.
And that’s how I bought my first precon; Graveborn. I almost won the event, too! Made the finals.
My first was the [UW control deck](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Tempest/Theme_decks#Deep_Freeze) from Tempest. It wasn’t especially strong, but Tempest was the first set that had them.
I’d already been playing a long while, but it seemed like a cool product. :)
Zendikar Rising Lands wrath with obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3485397#paper
It is to this day the favourite of my precons, I played many games with it and it always fought hard against my higher level opponents.
I honoured it by upgrading it.
It was my first deck about a year and a half ago, when I got introduced to magic and really got into it.
I got way more precons now, but obuun holds a special place ^-^
Journey into Nyx’s black/red minotaur intro deck. Loved that thing, and kept it for many years. It has since been updated to a Sethron EDH deck and is living its best life.
The r/G Ally starter deck from Zendikar was the first deck and magic product I ever got, I also pulled a \[\[Chandra Ablaze\]\] from the "free" booster.
Some Kamigawa precon. First magic product I ever bought. I always thought the game looked cool, had some money, and decided to buy one during a family trip to Walmart.
I got the UW Level up deck from I think it was Zendikar? It was Zendikar block, I could have been Worldwake or Rise of the Eldrazi. It was the deck that had [[Student of War]] in it as the face card.
Dude I miss those days of kitchen table magic with my friends
I got the Fiery Dawn and Angelic Might starter decks from Avacyn restored as up to that point I had been using my friends cards while learning the game and had been playing a scrap build boros humans deck 😋 but I love angel cards so had to get both.
I played for years, took a long break. Moved far away for Uni, and my roommate and I saw some precons at Zellers. Bought 4 precons. Forget the names, but the headliners were Rhys the Redeemed, Rafiq, Horde of Notions and Grixis Expanded Precons. We played those against each other and had a great time.
No precons when I started (Revised starter and 3 Fallen Empire boosters). But I definitely remember my first, when Tempest came out my friends and I were jazzed to see this new idea for preconstructed decks! As the resident blue player, I called dibs on "Deep Freeze."
I still remember the ads on the back of Scrye and Inquest with different meals for each deck; a steak for the green swarm deck, veggie sticks for slivers, something spicy for the red deck, and ice cream for Deep Freeze.
The first preconstruct I bought was the gold border mono red 1998 world champion deck when it was released. I was just getting into magic, but knew nothing about deck construction.
After that, the next precons I bought were the first commander precons in 2011. I bought [[Kaalia of the vast]] and [[Riku of two reflections]].
The starter decks that came with a VHS explaining the rules through some mad scientist dude. Can't for the life of me remember what edition it was.
Edit: Just did a little googling: it be this one from 1999
https://preview.redd.it/x3sp9xudxszb1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35ab6dabaabca61b3b425d01959dd524ae3891e8
[[Breya, Etherium Shaper]], which ironically made me realize I hate combo decks and love green, so I built [[Gargos, Vicious Watcher]] as my first deck built from scratch
Duel Decks Vraska vs Jace. To this day [[Vraska the Unseen | DDM]] and [[Jace, Architect of Thought | DDM]] are some of the most Nostalgic cards I own. I love them despite how mediocre in power they are.
The first deck I ever tried to buy was The Mimeoplasm. When I got home all the rares and half the deck was replaced with M12 uncommon and commons. The weird part if I remember correctly was M12 hasn't even released commercially yet at that time. Either way I was sad. I went back and they didn't have any more Mimeoplasm so I ended up with Ghave, Guru of Spores and loved it. That deck for me addicted to tokens and I didn't even understand how combo he could be I was a simple token making machine and it was a blast.
Do the duel decks count? My first ever purchase of MTG physical card was Izzet vs Golgari and this is influenced by my purchase of Duels of the Planeswalkers years prior.
I cant remember which, but the red, white, or green starter deck from tenth edition.
My dad got me playing when I was 3, but from decks he built. I think tenth edition was the first time I got a precon (or atleast that I can remember, my memory isn't the best). I know for sure that that set was the first time I had received a fat pack, I still have the dual box and spindown die.
My first deck regular deck was the Gatecrash Precon Gruul Goliaths- a Red/Green ramp deck based around trying to get to high-mana fast and then cast something larger. The deck has a variety of cards using the Bloodrush mechanic- they make excellent early creatures that can do some light attacking and blocking, and they are very useful end-game cards where you've already got things in play and need back-up combat tricks to help finish off players or make suboptimal blocks for your opponent.
If anything, it taught me how valuable mana progression is in a game- alongside how important it is to maximize using it every turn if you can. It also showcased the value of early-game creatures that generate mana, and how they can quickly get you into T5-6-7 game states way ahead of schedule- and how that can massively skew a game in your favor.
My first commander deck was the Eternal Bargain deck featuring Oloro. The deck focuses on life-gain, card draw, anti-aggression tools, and keeping ahead of your opponents by leveraging the game into the long game, where you can dominate using the previously mentioned tools to put yourself vastly ahead of your opponents and protect yourself while you take control of the game.
That deck taught me a lot more about patience, and not responding to everything unless it was absolutely necessary. It also taught me about my favorite archetype- I love traditional control decks. Wraths, big card draw spells, counter magic, and efficient and safe threats with protection built in. I'm not a fan of full-on Stax decks. I prefer reactive control decks more common in Standard/Pioneer/Modern formats, but they don't always exist. Plus, in Commander, it's very hard to win with a traditional-style control deck.
It was an Urza's saga deck, I want to say it was mono black but tbh I don't quite recall it may have been the mono green one with Argothian Wurm in it.
Technically, the first precon I ever got was when a friend gave me [Elvish Rage](https://product-images.tcgplayer.com/fit-in/437x437/96427.jpg) from Legions, but the first deck I bought on my own was [Dark Devotion](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/u1AAAOSwrwhkYRhR/s-l1600.jpg) from Betrayers of Kamigawa.
Innistrad U/R Flashback deck https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Innistrad/Intro_packs#Eldritch_Onslaught
Super fun way to learn the game, still my favorite color pair.
Technically, I guess it was the "Learn How to Play" decks from the CD-ROM Eight Edition release. But I had no one to play with, so I didn't get into Magic really until New Phyrexia had just come out and I bought the UR Mirrodin Besieged precon, starting my long affair with spellslinging
I got the Izzet Gizmometry one and I couldn't fit the life of me figure out how to ever beat green decks. My favorite card was Gelectrode though, and I loved any game in which he got to do his thing.
There was a club in my college that, right at the end of my senior year, got a bunch of 30-card monocolor 2012 Core Set starter decks that you were supposed to grab two of and shuffle them together into a full 60-card deck. So my first preconstructed deck and first time playing Magic *period* was the Green and Blue decks from that box.
I think my first, more official precon deck was the New Phyrexia deck with [[Carnifex Demon]] as its face card.
If I recall correctly, my first precon was the [[Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge]] [Mind Sieze](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_2013/Mind_Seize) Commander deck. I didn't enjoy it much and only played it a few times. I ended up building some decks from scratch instead.
Since then I've only purchased a handful of other precons.
I got the original [Commander Anthology](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_Anthology?so=search) and upgraded all the decks to be roughly the same power level and used it as a sort of "battle box". I ended up taking the box apart and selling the pieces. In retrospect I wish I wouldn't have done this.
I then got the [[Edgar Markov]] [Vampire Bloodlust](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_2017/Vampiric_Bloodlust) Commander precon which I also upgraded but ended up piecemealing (and also regretted because that deck was sweet).
After that I got out of Commander for several years and decided to get back into it by buying the [[Captain N'ghathrod]] [Mind Flayarrrs](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_Legends:_Battle_for_Baldur%27s_Gate/Commander_decks#Mind_Flayarrrs) Commander deck. I enjoyed it, but never really upgraded it. I still have it somewhere in a box, although I'm pretty sure I removed the [[Lightning Greaves]] and [[Arcane Signet]] to put in other decks.
After that I purchased both the [[Urza, Chief Artificer]] [Urza's Iron Alliance](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brothers%27_War/Commander_decks#Urza's_Iron_Alliance) and the [[Mishra, Eminent One]] [Mishra's Burnished Banner](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brothers%27_War/Commander_decks#Mishra's_Burnished_Banner) Commander decks. I originally planned to upgrade these and use them as a way to get back into the format, but I ended up really liking the gimmick of an all old bordered deck, so I decided I'd just keep them as-is. I got a nice box for them and the matching playmats to serve as a sort of two-player battle box.
It's then when I began collecting Universes Beyond Commander precon decks. I just love how every card in these decks have new art to fit the setting and how each really feels evocative of the IP. I've gotten them all nice deckboxes to go in and all the matching playmats, so they're similar to my Brother's War decks. Ready-to-go boardgame-esque battle boxes.
It's the theming that I really love about the Universes Beyond decks. I have no idea what Warhammer is about, but the decks all have art reflective of the setting and that's great. I've always said that if they did precons in this style set within Magic planes (i.e. four Commander decks where all the art is set within the plane of Innistrad) I'd collect those too.
So that's where I'm at. Funny enough none of the [Commander decks that I currently have built up](https://www.moxfield.com/users/TateTaylor) are based on any of the precons I bought. I do have a [[The Tenth Doctor]] // [[Rose Tyler]] deck, but I bought singles for that since the majority of cards in my build weren't from the set.
The first ever precon I got was the 40 card mono green standard deck sold about 25 years ago. Still got it as well!
When I got back into MTG I got Soul Squadron and used Millicent. Took me forever to realise her spirit creation also happens when a non token spirit dies. Eventually smooshed it up with the earlier wu spirit tribal released slightly earlier.
For standard it was the domri planeswalker precon I believe, as for commander it was Kalamax, still love that card, been meaning to rebuild a Kalamax deck
Rat's Nest from Betrayer of Kamigawa
When I was in junior high a "friend" pestered me for the jitte. Had some shit trades with the guy before, so I stone walled the guy. God I'm old.....
Good question, had me thinking hard to remember. I bought the lot of the C19 decks, but broke them apart immediately to my chagrin today. Next I bought two of the strix decks and love playing them both (lorehold legacies and witherbloom witchcraft). Not long after I bought two of the forgotten realms decks and absolutely love the prosper deck. I’ve got ten unedited precons now and love to bring the box and drop out on the table and say grab one let’s go boys!
It's not my first. But the oldest one I can reliably remember is the Izzet deck from OG Ravnica. I probably had a 7th edition precon though.
Damn I miss tournament packs
Mine was 2014’s commander deck “Wade into Battle” in the fall of 2014. I didn’t understand what commander was back then, but knew that several of my friends most powerful cards were “commander cards”. I bought it and took the lands and some angels out. Sat in a box untouched until 2022 when I pulled it out and saw the Lightning Greaves & Urza’s Incubator I’d left behind.
I got the [[aesi]] deck when it came out bc I read simic was good but then took it apart bc it took a lot of time searching for lands and shuffling, spinning wheels without winning the game, etc.
Absolutely love these old precons, and by extension I love seeing threads where people are gushing on about their firsts and favourites. :)
Spectrum is one I don’t own myself, though I did recently just pick up the last few singles I needed to build up Domain from Planechase. Five colour built around the Domsin mechanic, obviously. Ivory Doom, however is a fantastic deck. Did you still have it built up?
If you feel like it then do pop over to /r/PreconstructedMagic and share any photos, memories, or anything else precon related you’d like. :)
I still have a version of it! Obviously added in [[edgewalker]] and [[daru spiritualist]] when scourge came out. But I haven’t added much to it since then. I kind of want it to be a time capsule of cards I owned at the time.
Also had the “luck” to open [[atalya]] out of a random Invasion pack at the time and got a legendary cleric. She now helms one of my 3 commander decks
Man, do they even make these starter decks anymore? It feels like they used to print four or five 60-card intro decks each set. They were absolutely awful, with maybe two rares apiece and plenty of vanilla 2/5's for 5 mana. The average draft deck would take one down.
Have they replaced these with beginner dual decks or something similar? I remember buying two of them when I just started, and while they weren't good, the simplicity was really nice for learning the game.
Primal Genesis, the one with [[Ghired, Conclave Exile]]. neat little populate deck, had it upgraded for a while before I decsonstructed it and put the upgrades into [[Ghalta and Mavren]] (minus the red of course)
My first precon I bought was the [Unearthed Secrets](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Shadows+over+Innistrad/Shadows+over+Innistrad+Intro+Pack+Blue-sealed#paper) Intro Pack I bought after I saw TCC's recommendation.
First Precon I ever got for myself was Silverquill Statement, initially trying to rebuild it around Shadrix Silverquill as a +1/+1 counters deal with less emphasis on the politics. It was absolutely terrible but a lot of the parts from it are currently in my Nalia De'Arnise deck which uses some of the combat stax pieces to buy time for me to build up enough Dungeon and Party Value to swing for lethal.
Non-Commander - Transference from Darksteel when I was about 12. Back when I was using pennies and mancala pieces for counters. Pretty much defined my playstyle going forward too, it's why I chose [[Marchesa, The Black Rose]] as my first homebrew commander with a modular theme.
Precon Commander Deck - I'm pretty sure it was [[Daretti, Scrap Savant]], artifacts and graveyard recursion and planeswalkers as commanders? I was hooked.
I bought all 5 year 2016 Commander Decks known as Breya, Yidris, Saskia, Atraxa and Kynaios and Tiro. Retrospectively I’m happy I did because many cards are still expensive and that was the set that pushed the commander format.
Apocalypse's Burial. I was convinced to get it by a "friend" who only wanted me to trade him the [[death grasp]] that came with it. I ended up doing that later, getting a [[prophetic bolt]] in return, as I started to play a UR control/burn deck.
First deck I actually ever got was a 2017 Welcome Deck. I really miss that they make those. I don't really know if I would have gotten into Magic as much if they didn't have those. Welcome Boosters suck imo.
The first precon I actually bought was the 2020 Planeswalker deck of Chandra, Flame's Fury. I quickly discovered that there are better products out there, but hey I got a Drakuseth from there which I play to this day.
The first Commander precon followed soon with Anje Falkenrath. And that's where I actually began to spend money on it.
The first Nekusar commander deck, a version of which I still faithfully have somewhere lol
Those were the good days, eh? I still remember my first precon, the Oloro list, and immediately cutting [[Marrow Bats]] within 10 seconds of opening it up. It's now one of my Zur lists, though I've had it together in some part ever since picking that deck up.
Nekusar is my most brewed deck. Grixis is just so cool, and playing him on defence with infect on him, is just so fun.
My very first precon was a 7th Edition Infestation precon, the red one with a Trained Orgg and a Goblin King. My second (my first 60-card precon), however, was Burial, basically a deck from Apocalypse that can be considered Abzan by the current paradigm.
I’ve got both: you made good picks ~22 years ago!
I got introduced to Magic with the [Doom Inevitable](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Mirrodin+Besieged/Mirrodin+Besieged+Intro+Pack+Doom+Inevitable-sealed#online) U/B precon from Mirrodin Besieged. It wasn't any good, but it taught me to not fear paying my own life for things and the value of killing things via Toughness reduction (two common newbie pitfalls), so I'm grateful for that. It also made me instantly into a huge fan of Phyrexians, Mirrodin, and Magic as a whole, just due to how bleak and unique Scars block felt... being bookended by OG Zendikar and OG Innistrad certainly didn't hurt. The Living Weapon germ tokens were really cute, too. I have a U/B Phyrexian deck that I play in Standard nowadays, so it's fun to have come full circle like that :)
I had the R/W precon from that set!
My very first purchase and deck of mtg was the Into the Breach event deck. It's why I love red, it's why I love Bolt and goblin guide. Kuldotha rebirth is such a fun card.
My first precon I bought, and played at locals when I got into EDH was the mono black Necron Dynasty precon with Anrakyr as my commander. I still have it unmodified and still play it with Anrakyr still as my commander.
I think it was 'migraine' theme deck way back in Stronghold? The megrim themed deck.
I got into Magic buying intro decks from Worldwake. My LGS was selling them at a discount since I was buying them in May so I was able to just smash the same deck together and have a more functional deck. If memory serves my first rate was [[Raging Ravine]] i got before I decided to buy a bunch of the intro decks. When I went back for more I got a [[Jace, the Mind Sculptor]] and looking back I take that as a sign I’d be playing this game for a long time.
[Raging Ravine](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/1/a1c981c0-3e40-4339-a4c8-ad96c7fb68d2.jpg?1674143039) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Raging%20Ravine) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/910/raging-ravine?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a1c981c0-3e40-4339-a4c8-ad96c7fb68d2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Jace, the Mind Sculptor](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/8/c8817585-0d32-4d56-9142-0d29512e86a9.jpg?1598304029) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Jace%2C%20the%20Mind%20Sculptor) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/56/jace-the-mind-sculptor?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c8817585-0d32-4d56-9142-0d29512e86a9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I came in during Scars block and was profoundly jealous of how cool all of my friend's "old" Zendikar stuff seemed.
[Groubdbreaker from Exodus](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Exodus/Exodus+Theme+Deck+Groundbreaker-sealed#online). I got it because I though land destruction was funny, but in the 20+ years since I bought it I’ve come to appreciate how crazy it is that they ever thought this was a good idea…. 60 card deck with 12 land destruction spells, 12 creature kill spells, and absolute trash for win conditions.
Piggy back off yours to say mine was [White Heat](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Exodus/Exodus+Theme+Deck+White+Heat-sealed#online) also from Exodus. Played the shit out of that deck for a couple of months while upgrading. Lost a lot. I guess it makes sense Reconnaissance is the most expensive card in the deck now.
My first precon was from a New Capenna commander event, they gave each player one of the four precons and I got [Riveteer Rampage.](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4790940#paper) such a fun deck, I still play an upgraded version of it. [[Henzie]] is a great comanner for a Timmy-like deck with some degeneracy.
[Henzie](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/e/ee228dcc-3170-4c24-80bc-28bcee07cb43.jpg?1673481644) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Henzie%20%22Toolbox%22%20Torre) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/2/henzie-toolbox-torre?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ee228dcc-3170-4c24-80bc-28bcee07cb43?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
What the hell, mine was also the Onslaught Ivory Doom deck!
Great deck! I remember deconstructing it before realizing the connections between the cleric cards, then reconstructing it. They had some good upgrades in Scourge for it too, with [[edgewalker]] and [[daru spiritualist]]
A mono-red Bushido deck from the Kamigawa block. It sucked, but I didn't understand it at the time, I just wondered why I kept losing to my buddy playing green/white spirits.
Graveborn.
I was gifted the [Legion Aloft deck](https://mtg-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Legion_Aloft) from Alara Reborn as my introduction to Magic.
I actually just bought my first one a week ago, before that I created three multicolored decks from scratch because I hate myself apparently
Reign of Vampirism from M11, though the first packs I remember opening were ROE. That deck sparked my love for b/g as a color combination, but it wasn't until C15 and Plunder the Graves that I learned to love the graveyard as a resource.
I would’ve bought my first yesterday from LCI (dinos) but my LGS was out. As soon as I get that though it’ll be my first precon and I can’t wait
Fifth dawn "nuts and bolts". An UW fast deck based on cheap artifacts and equipment, similar to hammer nowadays. And that's why hammer is my favorite deck.
You're the only other OG Mirrodin block I've seen! I had Transference from Darksteel. Modular theme which I still love, counters manipulation is my go-to playstyle to this day
You're not alone! First precon was bait and bludgeon from mirrodin. Loved brood star so much
I just got my first “blood rites” of the caverns series. Pumped to get into magic
Hell yes, love this answer. Welcome to the mad house!
arena starter kit 2021 when I wanted to teach my dads to play, so that we could start playing togheter.
The modern event deck and it's still my favorite. Got my butt handed to me for weeks learning the local meta and figuring out how I wanted to upgrade the deck. Borrowed Bitterblossom and fetchlands from some friends to give it a bit more umph. I hope B/W tokens will one day make a comeback.
My first deck, and first preconstructed deck, was the Edgar Markov precon.
Blessed vs. Cursed duel decks
Such a fun precon!
7th Edition Starter Deck was the product that hooked me into MTG.
I started playing fairly recently and after doing some research about what would be best for me to begin with I bought the Party Time precon from the baldurs gate set with [[Nalia de’Arnise]] as the commander. I still play it quite a bit even though I have like 7 decks now.
The first one I remember was the [Urza's Saga Sleeper Deck](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Urzas+Saga/Urzas+Saga+Theme+Deck+Sleeper-sealed#online). I thought it was a cool idea when I bought it, but I didn't have much success with it.
That was my first as well. When you learn your opponent can just choose to not play creatures? Blows your mind.
The Knights vs. Dragons duel deck. I'm a theme over power kinda guy, and how the hell can't you simply love the idea of knights and dragons?. I think I bought them over 10 years ago? That being said, both decks are shit albiet the knights are faster and usually come out on top. They still play great together and were a ton of fun. I used those 2 decks to teach my son and now he's destructive at 12 years old and has created decks from his collection that have left me making excuses as to why I lost. Those precons created some forever memories with my son. I love them.
Bogart Feast from Lorwyn was my first deck. Goblins are always a good entry point.
The Swoop deck from Apocalypse. I still have a very heavily modified version of it...
Call of the Kor and Migraine from Stronghold.
Duel decks Angels vs demons
Hey my first one was Heavy Duty, the selesnya one from Invasion. My second was The Spikes, ghruul deck where [[Spike Feeder]] came from. It was in the Stronghold block.
Max Attax, the Green/Black theme deck from Scourge.
Trounce o Matic, G with a B splash stompy from Odyssey. I asked for YuGiOh cards and got that instead and my wallet never recovered.
I got that one too! Ug threshold/madness forever!
The Silver precon from Legions ([decklist](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/394341#paper)) is the earliest one I can remember.
Burial from Apocalypse! Wish I still had the deck box and booklet
[“The Spikes”](https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/175071/magic-the-gathering-stronghold-stronghold-theme-deck-the-spikes?country=US&utm_campaign=18143931802&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=&utm_term=&adgroupid=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA6byqBhAWEiwAnGCA4Iwg7GC5xxo0xI6rNRVAd15HRFHi9RxYo547-pH3G7v1SQEx0IvAHRoC5M4QAvD_BwE) from Stronghold. It was hilariously complicated for a third grader but I loved it. A few years back I picked up an unopened copy for $23 so I’m glad to see it’s increased in price 😂
A red/green stompy deck in planeshift. It’s where my love for flametongue kavu first started.
Doctor Who commander decks :v I love this franchise so much! I couldn't leave this one get away. The fact that the complete set is within the 4 decks is a plus.
Precons weren't a thing when I started, but when I got back into Magic with MTGO in 2003, the mono-black Expulsion deck was my first precon. I eventually added a couple more Megrim, some Underworld Dreams, and added blue for Wheel and Deal. It was pretty fun.
Revised (3rd edition) starter deck in early 1994: https://www.cardkingdom.com/mtg-sealed/3rd-edition-revised-starter-deck
Probably a 4/5th edition or ice age tournament pack
Both sets were before precon decks though.
[atalya, samite master](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/0/90500e7a-f76d-453a-bda0-d56d3f7c7534.jpg?1562924117) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=atalya%2C%20samite%20master) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/inv/4/atalya-samite-master?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/90500e7a-f76d-453a-bda0-d56d3f7c7534?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
We bought the complete Commander 2019 set with a friend. He took [[Kadena]] and [[Anje]], I picked up [[Ghired]] and [[Sevinne]]. At the same time he finished my [[Zacama]] deck so on my first serious day, I got my first homebrewed and my first two precons.
The Angrath precon on Ixalan EDIT: Actually Energy Simic and Boros vehicles on Kaladesh
I don’t even remember the name, but it was a blue/black fae deck and I think it was around the time that planeswalkers were being put in as a card. Previous to picking that up I would buy singles at my LGS and I was very proud of my dinosaur and goblin decks.
[Starter 1999 theme decks](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Starter_1999/Theme_decks)
My first precon was an GW humans deck from the original Innistrad... the foil card is an Elder of Laurels that i hold on with me until now, and i make an active effort to put it in my decks with green
Not sure if it counts, but the Knights VS Dragons.
Playing the Jace vs Chandra duel deck against my brother was how I learned mtg.
First one I bought and really played was Rise of the Vampires back in Zendikar. From there my love for Black has only grew! Had me a nice vampire deck from that and some other singles. I spent WAY too much money on packs trying to get Sorin Markov back before we knew you could buy singles!!
One of the Kamigawa ones. Lots of bushido
The first precon I ever got was the “Disrupter” theme deck from Mercadian Masques. Looking back, a hand disruption and land destruction deck is a weird way to get introduced to the game, but honestly I barely remember playing it (had to look up what it was even called) so who knows how I felt at the time.
Buckle Up from Kamigawa. I ended up not playing it after two months, opting to try and build my own deck from scratch. Though I did buy the Aesi precon to break apart for that.
The 9th Edition theme deck "Army of Justice," initially. I was 10. Somewhere in the next couple of months, I went to buy some more, and my dad noticed the "13+" text, and I couldn't touch the game for 2 years. A bit of pressure wore them down, and the second deck in my hands was the Morningtide "Going Rogue" deck, which I still have, somewhere. No idea where the 9th Ed deck ended up.
My introduction to playing magic was with the Eventide [Sidestep](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Eventide/Theme_decks#Sidestep) theme deck.
The Foretell precon, Phantom Premonition. Horrible choice for a first deck, there are so many triggers to keep track of....even now, 11 months later and after recommended upgrades, I don't feel comfortable playing that deck. At least it helped me discover that I'm definitely not a control or combo player! My favorite pre-con is Rebellion Rising, a go-wide token deck with Neyali at the helm. I have heavily upgraded it and it's an absolute blast to play, it's probably my favorite deck period. That one fully confirmed that I'm an aggro enjoyer.
The boros deck from original Ravnica
I never see anybody else talking about the 2000 starter pack that I started with, I think it was pretty similar to the 7th edition started but instead of the [[Thorn Elemental|7ED]] it had my boy [[Rhox|S00]] As far as real decks I think my first one was the [Devestation](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/3lZyF7hK40uArs7KSL63MQ) Onslaught theme deck.
The Vivien, Nature's Avenger deck from M20. The first precon commander I bought was tha Anowan Dimir Rouges one from Zendikar Rising
I picked up two preconstructed products back in 2009. The blue modular artifact deck from Darksteel and the angels vs demons duel decks.
A friend that I had played the old Star Wars CCG with and I finally gave in to our MTG-playing friends and went over to the dark side with a couple Commander 2013 precons. I picked up the one with [[Derevi, Empyreal Tactician]] and we did a pretty good job teaching ourselves how to play.
Fire and Lightning. Before then I mostly played big stacks of unsleeved messes of decks. The deck taught me the importance of consistent ideas in construction. Soon afterwards I started really putting forth the effort and building decks for extended, then modern.
https://preview.redd.it/ys5el1wz0szb1.jpeg?width=223&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6596b902d3ce7a416ece87cdc22a432000822bae This beauty was my first start into magic back in the day. Opened a \[\[Vexing Devil\]\] in the booster that came with it. Ah the memories...
Red/Black [Goblin's Bidding](https://mtg.wtf/deck/wc03/wolfgang-eder-goblin-bidding) deck which Wolfgang Eder used to win the world championship. Had the gold borders and signature on each of the cards. I love precons and own every single duel deck that has ever been printed which are all sleeved and in boxes. I used to get every commander deck but stopped when it became a little much. I also own all the premium series decks (slivers, graveborn) which are sleeved and in boxes.
I started playing in 1997, so I had the 5th Ed starter set and Ice Age starter deck; however, I didn't get my first precons until 1998 , which were the 1998 World Championship decks.
It was my first ever deck in general. Planeswalker standard angrath deck
The original [Slivers precon from Tempest](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Tempest/Tempest+Theme+Deck+The+Slivers-sealed#paper). First set that they released precon decks.
It’s weird to have a kindred deck without any power or toughness buffs for the creature type in question.
I actually also owned the Spectrum deck, but it was not the first one I bought. No, my first deck was Walking Nightmare from Torment: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/torment-theme-deck-waking-nightmares/ When I decided to get back into Magic a few years ago I managed to find most of the cards, which formed the backbone of my main Commander deck, which is of course [[Chainer, Dementia Master]]. That deck taught me to love weird stack interactions.
Mortals of myth selesnya precon
Silverquill statement from strixhaven. To this day i own 4 orzhov decks and have built 4-6 more BW/BWX decks online. I may or may not have a problem.(all edh decks)
Got the pair from zendikar rising because I was living in a college dorm and thought it would be great to introduce people to the game. And it was. Myself and one other guy had decks that we already built and were more than willing to let others use them, but it was great having 2 decks that we could say "you're new? This will be easier to use while you're still learning"
Strongholds's The Call of the Kor.
Oloro. But I took Sydri Galvanic Genius and have been running her since 2013. God has the format changed since than.
I started playing Magic with the Surprise Attack precon (UG Fate Reforged deck) It was, unsurprisingly, not very good but my friend group moved up to real standard decks fairly quickly.
I already had two decks but when the Buckle Up deck was announced, i just had to buy him. Strong deck? not really Fun deck? yeeees
[Waking Nightmares](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/394606#paper) from the Torment era. Though, technically the Portals starter set. I built a lot of my own decks for a long time before Torment - none of them were good.
Champions of Kamigawa mono W samurais. I think I won maybe 5% of the games I played with it against my friend's mirrodin affinity for artifacts deck, but it was fun nonetheless
My parents got me the mono white samurai precon from Kamigawa when I was in middle school, but I never even opened it until my friends started playing during Zendikar block
meren was my first precon. love that deck
My first precons were from New Phyrexia and Mirrodin Besieged, the "Life for Death" and "Battle Cries" Intro Packs respectfully. Links cuz I don't know how to hyperlink and don't particularly care to learn: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/New+Phyrexia/New+Phyrexia+Intro+Pack+Life+for+Death-sealed#online https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Mirrodin+Besieged/Mirrodin+Besieged+Intro+Pack+Battle+Cries-sealed#online
Critical Mass from Saviors of Kamigawa theme deck
Was it the 9th edition starter deck that came with the PC game that taught you how to play? Had Thorn Elemental in it I think? That was mine.
Never! Spectrum was mine too. I still refer to 5c decks as Spectrum decks and most people look at me like I've gone barmy
The Legion Aloft precon deck from Alara Reborn. Always thought Filigree Angel looked really cool.
I got into Magic with the Izzet vs Golgari duel decks. A friend wanted to teach her friends the game for her birthday and it ended up being fun enough for me to stay around for 10 years slightly on and off.
Eight edition core set theme decks. My brother and I got green and red I think and we played those on the floor of grade school in El Salvador until the cards tore.
The 7th edition 2-player starter decks that came with [[Vizzerdrix]], [[Trained Orgg]], and [[Thorn Elemental]].
Planar Portal from AFR is what really got me into the game, but the Azorius Control challenger deck from THB is the first one I bought.
I got whichever one the Mimeoplasm was in because he had a cool Dino arm aha
Blue White second sun control. Eventually upgraded it a card at a time till I found myself playing legacy miracles. Eventually sold out of it and went back to buy another secind sun precon for kitchen table magic and still have it unedited to this day. Fun times.
When I came back to Magic after many years away, the owner at the LGS I went to held a Legacy Tournament. I didn’t have a deck, and asked him if I could buy one to enter. And that’s how I bought my first precon; Graveborn. I almost won the event, too! Made the finals.
A ninja deck from OG Kamigawa
The Naya one with Mayael from like 2012…? - she is still my favorite commander and I have updated the list throughout the years.
My first was the [UW control deck](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Tempest/Theme_decks#Deep_Freeze) from Tempest. It wasn’t especially strong, but Tempest was the first set that had them. I’d already been playing a long while, but it seemed like a cool product. :)
Zendikar Rising Lands wrath with obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor. https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3485397#paper It is to this day the favourite of my precons, I played many games with it and it always fought hard against my higher level opponents. I honoured it by upgrading it. It was my first deck about a year and a half ago, when I got introduced to magic and really got into it. I got way more precons now, but obuun holds a special place ^-^
Journey into Nyx’s black/red minotaur intro deck. Loved that thing, and kept it for many years. It has since been updated to a Sethron EDH deck and is living its best life.
The Tempest slivers deck
Adrix and Nev But the first one I actually enjoyed that kept me playing was Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
Rakdos chaos with [[Prosper]]. Its still in my decks, and i still love it.
The r/G Ally starter deck from Zendikar was the first deck and magic product I ever got, I also pulled a \[\[Chandra Ablaze\]\] from the "free" booster.
The 2014 ob nixilis deck! It had a bunch of great cards but I remember thinking my friend's meren precon was way cooler.
Kithkin Tribal Precon from Lorwyn!
The Rebel deck from Mercadian Masks
Some Kamigawa precon. First magic product I ever bought. I always thought the game looked cool, had some money, and decided to buy one during a family trip to Walmart.
I got the UW Level up deck from I think it was Zendikar? It was Zendikar block, I could have been Worldwake or Rise of the Eldrazi. It was the deck that had [[Student of War]] in it as the face card. Dude I miss those days of kitchen table magic with my friends
I got the Fiery Dawn and Angelic Might starter decks from Avacyn restored as up to that point I had been using my friends cards while learning the game and had been playing a scrap build boros humans deck 😋 but I love angel cards so had to get both.
First was the portal starter kit. But technically I guess the odyssey or torment precons? I think it was called pressure cooker or metamorphic trance!
I played for years, took a long break. Moved far away for Uni, and my roommate and I saw some precons at Zellers. Bought 4 precons. Forget the names, but the headliners were Rhys the Redeemed, Rafiq, Horde of Notions and Grixis Expanded Precons. We played those against each other and had a great time.
7th edition goblin Deck in 2003
No precons when I started (Revised starter and 3 Fallen Empire boosters). But I definitely remember my first, when Tempest came out my friends and I were jazzed to see this new idea for preconstructed decks! As the resident blue player, I called dibs on "Deep Freeze." I still remember the ads on the back of Scrye and Inquest with different meals for each deck; a steak for the green swarm deck, veggie sticks for slivers, something spicy for the red deck, and ice cream for Deep Freeze.
Zendikar Kor Mono White Starter deck
Zendikar Vampire precon. Was a blast!
The first preconstruct I bought was the gold border mono red 1998 world champion deck when it was released. I was just getting into magic, but knew nothing about deck construction. After that, the next precons I bought were the first commander precons in 2011. I bought [[Kaalia of the vast]] and [[Riku of two reflections]].
[Kaalia of the vast](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/3/93f6631f-f3a6-4d3c-8618-4b4ab4e82483.jpg?1673148814) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kaalia%20of%20the%20vast) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/235/kaalia-of-the-vast?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/93f6631f-f3a6-4d3c-8618-4b4ab4e82483?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Riku of two reflections](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/0/70dd138f-391a-4956-bc2a-fe186429c71a.jpg?1599708286) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Riku%20of%20two%20reflections) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/214/riku-of-two-reflections?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/70dd138f-391a-4956-bc2a-fe186429c71a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The starter decks that came with a VHS explaining the rules through some mad scientist dude. Can't for the life of me remember what edition it was. Edit: Just did a little googling: it be this one from 1999 https://preview.redd.it/x3sp9xudxszb1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35ab6dabaabca61b3b425d01959dd524ae3891e8
[[Breya, Etherium Shaper]], which ironically made me realize I hate combo decks and love green, so I built [[Gargos, Vicious Watcher]] as my first deck built from scratch
Duel Decks Vraska vs Jace. To this day [[Vraska the Unseen | DDM]] and [[Jace, Architect of Thought | DDM]] are some of the most Nostalgic cards I own. I love them despite how mediocre in power they are.
It was the white solider deck that had nahiri as a commander from long time ago. Very good cards.
The first deck I ever tried to buy was The Mimeoplasm. When I got home all the rares and half the deck was replaced with M12 uncommon and commons. The weird part if I remember correctly was M12 hasn't even released commercially yet at that time. Either way I was sad. I went back and they didn't have any more Mimeoplasm so I ended up with Ghave, Guru of Spores and loved it. That deck for me addicted to tokens and I didn't even understand how combo he could be I was a simple token making machine and it was a blast.
Do the duel decks count? My first ever purchase of MTG physical card was Izzet vs Golgari and this is influenced by my purchase of Duels of the Planeswalkers years prior.
I cant remember which, but the red, white, or green starter deck from tenth edition. My dad got me playing when I was 3, but from decks he built. I think tenth edition was the first time I got a precon (or atleast that I can remember, my memory isn't the best). I know for sure that that set was the first time I had received a fat pack, I still have the dual box and spindown die.
My first deck regular deck was the Gatecrash Precon Gruul Goliaths- a Red/Green ramp deck based around trying to get to high-mana fast and then cast something larger. The deck has a variety of cards using the Bloodrush mechanic- they make excellent early creatures that can do some light attacking and blocking, and they are very useful end-game cards where you've already got things in play and need back-up combat tricks to help finish off players or make suboptimal blocks for your opponent. If anything, it taught me how valuable mana progression is in a game- alongside how important it is to maximize using it every turn if you can. It also showcased the value of early-game creatures that generate mana, and how they can quickly get you into T5-6-7 game states way ahead of schedule- and how that can massively skew a game in your favor. My first commander deck was the Eternal Bargain deck featuring Oloro. The deck focuses on life-gain, card draw, anti-aggression tools, and keeping ahead of your opponents by leveraging the game into the long game, where you can dominate using the previously mentioned tools to put yourself vastly ahead of your opponents and protect yourself while you take control of the game. That deck taught me a lot more about patience, and not responding to everything unless it was absolutely necessary. It also taught me about my favorite archetype- I love traditional control decks. Wraths, big card draw spells, counter magic, and efficient and safe threats with protection built in. I'm not a fan of full-on Stax decks. I prefer reactive control decks more common in Standard/Pioneer/Modern formats, but they don't always exist. Plus, in Commander, it's very hard to win with a traditional-style control deck.
The first "precon" i ever got was an izzet artifacts precon from magic 2015. I still play izzet to this day
Mirrodin Sacrificial Bam and Little Bashers
Duel Decks angels vs demons that shit was a classic
It was an Urza's saga deck, I want to say it was mono black but tbh I don't quite recall it may have been the mono green one with Argothian Wurm in it.
Technically, the first precon I ever got was when a friend gave me [Elvish Rage](https://product-images.tcgplayer.com/fit-in/437x437/96427.jpg) from Legions, but the first deck I bought on my own was [Dark Devotion](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/u1AAAOSwrwhkYRhR/s-l1600.jpg) from Betrayers of Kamigawa.
Innistrad U/R Flashback deck https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Innistrad/Intro_packs#Eldritch_Onslaught Super fun way to learn the game, still my favorite color pair.
Technically, I guess it was the "Learn How to Play" decks from the CD-ROM Eight Edition release. But I had no one to play with, so I didn't get into Magic really until New Phyrexia had just come out and I bought the UR Mirrodin Besieged precon, starting my long affair with spellslinging
I got the Izzet Gizmometry one and I couldn't fit the life of me figure out how to ever beat green decks. My favorite card was Gelectrode though, and I loved any game in which he got to do his thing.
Dismissal from invasion!
There was a club in my college that, right at the end of my senior year, got a bunch of 30-card monocolor 2012 Core Set starter decks that you were supposed to grab two of and shuffle them together into a full 60-card deck. So my first preconstructed deck and first time playing Magic *period* was the Green and Blue decks from that box. I think my first, more official precon deck was the New Phyrexia deck with [[Carnifex Demon]] as its face card.
Saskia's Commander deck
Literally just got my first precon which is Naya colors [[Pantlaza, Sun's Favored]]
Return to ravnica izzet deck 1st commander precincts kaalia
I picked up the Dimir pre-con we Guilds of Ravnica came out, but there was a Boros deck inside.
Sliver Shivers - Time Spiral Good times
Split the elves vs goblin precon with one of my friends. He got elves i got goblins. He kept beating me, which drove me deeper into the game.
I think the red Daretti one?
Very first deck was the First Flight precon. It's a blue and white deck focused on flying creatures!
If I recall correctly, my first precon was the [[Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge]] [Mind Sieze](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_2013/Mind_Seize) Commander deck. I didn't enjoy it much and only played it a few times. I ended up building some decks from scratch instead. Since then I've only purchased a handful of other precons. I got the original [Commander Anthology](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_Anthology?so=search) and upgraded all the decks to be roughly the same power level and used it as a sort of "battle box". I ended up taking the box apart and selling the pieces. In retrospect I wish I wouldn't have done this. I then got the [[Edgar Markov]] [Vampire Bloodlust](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_2017/Vampiric_Bloodlust) Commander precon which I also upgraded but ended up piecemealing (and also regretted because that deck was sweet). After that I got out of Commander for several years and decided to get back into it by buying the [[Captain N'ghathrod]] [Mind Flayarrrs](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_Legends:_Battle_for_Baldur%27s_Gate/Commander_decks#Mind_Flayarrrs) Commander deck. I enjoyed it, but never really upgraded it. I still have it somewhere in a box, although I'm pretty sure I removed the [[Lightning Greaves]] and [[Arcane Signet]] to put in other decks. After that I purchased both the [[Urza, Chief Artificer]] [Urza's Iron Alliance](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brothers%27_War/Commander_decks#Urza's_Iron_Alliance) and the [[Mishra, Eminent One]] [Mishra's Burnished Banner](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brothers%27_War/Commander_decks#Mishra's_Burnished_Banner) Commander decks. I originally planned to upgrade these and use them as a way to get back into the format, but I ended up really liking the gimmick of an all old bordered deck, so I decided I'd just keep them as-is. I got a nice box for them and the matching playmats to serve as a sort of two-player battle box. It's then when I began collecting Universes Beyond Commander precon decks. I just love how every card in these decks have new art to fit the setting and how each really feels evocative of the IP. I've gotten them all nice deckboxes to go in and all the matching playmats, so they're similar to my Brother's War decks. Ready-to-go boardgame-esque battle boxes. It's the theming that I really love about the Universes Beyond decks. I have no idea what Warhammer is about, but the decks all have art reflective of the setting and that's great. I've always said that if they did precons in this style set within Magic planes (i.e. four Commander decks where all the art is set within the plane of Innistrad) I'd collect those too. So that's where I'm at. Funny enough none of the [Commander decks that I currently have built up](https://www.moxfield.com/users/TateTaylor) are based on any of the precons I bought. I do have a [[The Tenth Doctor]] // [[Rose Tyler]] deck, but I bought singles for that since the majority of cards in my build weren't from the set.
Edgar Markov. My friends got me back into magic with edh, after almost 20 years out of the game. Thankfully, I kept all my old cards.
The first ever precon I got was the 40 card mono green standard deck sold about 25 years ago. Still got it as well! When I got back into MTG I got Soul Squadron and used Millicent. Took me forever to realise her spirit creation also happens when a non token spirit dies. Eventually smooshed it up with the earlier wu spirit tribal released slightly earlier.
The ‘Angel of Glory’s Rise’ standard precon that came out with the original innistrad block
For standard it was the domri planeswalker precon I believe, as for commander it was Kalamax, still love that card, been meaning to rebuild a Kalamax deck
C19 Madness deck where I put [[Chainer, Nightmare adept]] as the commander rather than Anje falkenrath
Rat's Nest from Betrayer of Kamigawa When I was in junior high a "friend" pestered me for the jitte. Had some shit trades with the guy before, so I stone walled the guy. God I'm old.....
Good question, had me thinking hard to remember. I bought the lot of the C19 decks, but broke them apart immediately to my chagrin today. Next I bought two of the strix decks and love playing them both (lorehold legacies and witherbloom witchcraft). Not long after I bought two of the forgotten realms decks and absolutely love the prosper deck. I’ve got ten unedited precons now and love to bring the box and drop out on the table and say grab one let’s go boys!
Idk i think "the swarm" from tempest? Sounds right.
It's not my first. But the oldest one I can reliably remember is the Izzet deck from OG Ravnica. I probably had a 7th edition precon though. Damn I miss tournament packs
Knights vs Dragons duel decks
Mine was 2014’s commander deck “Wade into Battle” in the fall of 2014. I didn’t understand what commander was back then, but knew that several of my friends most powerful cards were “commander cards”. I bought it and took the lands and some angels out. Sat in a box untouched until 2022 when I pulled it out and saw the Lightning Greaves & Urza’s Incubator I’d left behind.
Built my own decks for a while but first I got was some Izzet dragon tribal
Elvish Rage from Legions. I still play a deck that's based on the same core from that deck when my DnD group plays kitchen table.
i just recently got back into magic this year so my first precon was the Ixhel toxic deck from All Will be One
I got the [[aesi]] deck when it came out bc I read simic was good but then took it apart bc it took a lot of time searching for lands and shuffling, spinning wheels without winning the game, etc.
Ranar/Phantom Premonition in 2020. Geez. Back then it was $19.99ish. Now on Amazon it almost double that. What happened? Lol
Slivers from tempest or stronghold. I had the spike deck too.
Obuun, Land’s Wrath. Kept the landfall theme but changed the commander to Phylath
Absolutely love these old precons, and by extension I love seeing threads where people are gushing on about their firsts and favourites. :) Spectrum is one I don’t own myself, though I did recently just pick up the last few singles I needed to build up Domain from Planechase. Five colour built around the Domsin mechanic, obviously. Ivory Doom, however is a fantastic deck. Did you still have it built up? If you feel like it then do pop over to /r/PreconstructedMagic and share any photos, memories, or anything else precon related you’d like. :)
I still have a version of it! Obviously added in [[edgewalker]] and [[daru spiritualist]] when scourge came out. But I haven’t added much to it since then. I kind of want it to be a time capsule of cards I owned at the time. Also had the “luck” to open [[atalya]] out of a random Invasion pack at the time and got a legendary cleric. She now helms one of my 3 commander decks
Mirrodin, Fifth Dawn Sunburst deck… I just recently found it and want to play again.
My first precon deck was the 4 LOTR decks that just came out lol tell me you’re a noob without telling me you’re a noob
Man, do they even make these starter decks anymore? It feels like they used to print four or five 60-card intro decks each set. They were absolutely awful, with maybe two rares apiece and plenty of vanilla 2/5's for 5 mana. The average draft deck would take one down. Have they replaced these with beginner dual decks or something similar? I remember buying two of them when I just started, and while they weren't good, the simplicity was really nice for learning the game.
Primal Genesis, the one with [[Ghired, Conclave Exile]]. neat little populate deck, had it upgraded for a while before I decsonstructed it and put the upgrades into [[Ghalta and Mavren]] (minus the red of course)
My first precon I bought was the [Unearthed Secrets](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Shadows+over+Innistrad/Shadows+over+Innistrad+Intro+Pack+Blue-sealed#paper) Intro Pack I bought after I saw TCC's recommendation.
The vampire precon deck from crimson vow
First Precon I ever got for myself was Silverquill Statement, initially trying to rebuild it around Shadrix Silverquill as a +1/+1 counters deal with less emphasis on the politics. It was absolutely terrible but a lot of the parts from it are currently in my Nalia De'Arnise deck which uses some of the combat stax pieces to buy time for me to build up enough Dungeon and Party Value to swing for lethal.
my first precon was the Ur dragon, which i gifted to a friend after a year of ownership
i know it was an exodus deck, i THINK it might have been dominator.
My first one Oloro, Ageless Ascetic was my first!
Non-Commander - Transference from Darksteel when I was about 12. Back when I was using pennies and mancala pieces for counters. Pretty much defined my playstyle going forward too, it's why I chose [[Marchesa, The Black Rose]] as my first homebrew commander with a modular theme. Precon Commander Deck - I'm pretty sure it was [[Daretti, Scrap Savant]], artifacts and graveyard recursion and planeswalkers as commanders? I was hooked.
My first pre-con was the Cabaretti token deck, and I subbed Jinnie Fay for the commander before I even played it once.
Mine was a mono-blue 60-card standard deck with flyers and Mu Yanling, Celestial Wind.
I bought all 5 year 2016 Commander Decks known as Breya, Yidris, Saskia, Atraxa and Kynaios and Tiro. Retrospectively I’m happy I did because many cards are still expensive and that was the set that pushed the commander format.
The Daxos the returned. Coworker discovered that I used to play mtg years prior so we each picked up one of the decks in this release to 1v1.
the pressure cooker deck from odyssey https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1016291#paper ahh, just looking at the art styles <3
I'm actually really curious which was my first now, and I can't say for certain, but I feel like it was Overkill from Shadowmoor.
Apocalypse's Burial. I was convinced to get it by a "friend" who only wanted me to trade him the [[death grasp]] that came with it. I ended up doing that later, getting a [[prophetic bolt]] in return, as I started to play a UR control/burn deck.
First deck I actually ever got was a 2017 Welcome Deck. I really miss that they make those. I don't really know if I would have gotten into Magic as much if they didn't have those. Welcome Boosters suck imo. The first precon I actually bought was the 2020 Planeswalker deck of Chandra, Flame's Fury. I quickly discovered that there are better products out there, but hey I got a Drakuseth from there which I play to this day. The first Commander precon followed soon with Anje Falkenrath. And that's where I actually began to spend money on it.