"Hold the Line" at FNM

I took a modified hold the line deck to FNM. [1] The list can be found here.

TL;DR: Final record of 2-3; though some of the lost matches were very close.

Round 1 (Loss in 3) - a slightly underpowered UW Humans build... Invisible Stalkers being the main bit of weirdness in the deck.

• Game 1: Stuck on two lands, beat down like a boss.

• Game 2&3: I almost won the race, but a 2nd Angelic Destiny on Geist of St. Traft after my answering the 1st Destiny with Oblivion Ring won out.

Round 2 (Loss in 3) - GB Glissa Recursion

• Game 1: stuck on two lands and got beat down with O-Rings and Fiend Hunters in my hand.

• Game 2: Small Beats, Answers, and Mirran Crusader + Honor of the Pure got there.

• Game 3: Flooded out with nine lands, couldn't answer Glissa recurring Perilous Myr & Ratchet Bomb over multiple rounds. E/G no Fiend Hunters, No Oblivion Rings, and no Celestial Purges... The fact I beat him down to 4 life before he got the Myr Machinegun online was of little solace. He played well though, casting Beast Within on his Myr to ping Mirran Cursader.

Round 3 (Win in 2) - Mono B plan of Reassembling Skeleton + Swords for the win backed by Discard and creature control.

• Games 1&2: Overloaded his creature removal, removed his creatures despite hand disruption, and Mirran Crusader clocked him mightily. His board postion both games was two Skeletons and an Inkmoth Nexus...

Round 4 (Win in 3) UB Control

• Game 1: Flooded out at nine Mana, and got overrun by Grave Titan.

• Game 2: Small beats got there. An interesting turn of events, when he decided to Ratchet Bomb away some one drops, there was a Nihl Spell Bomb on my side that only hit a single mana leak out of the yard. Losing the counter spell meant he couldn't stop the follow up Honor of the Pure with Snapcaster+Leak... I've got to admit, blanking Snapcaster is awesome when it works... I even drew into a second Spellbomb and prevented him from recurring two Think Twice from the yard when he was digging for answers to my horde.

• Game 3: Champion of the Parish, Champion of the Parish and five other humans.... His removal deserted him; so the UB plan is to play out your god hand while your opponent's deck hates him mightily...

Round 5 (Loss in 2) - R(b)DW - Stormblood Bezerkers + Olivia & Bloodline Keepers...

• Game 1: Looked like a typical RDW win. My weenies got burnt out while Stormblood Bezerkers did their job. I didn't even see the vampire sub-theme, as the RDW portion of the deck did it's job quickly.

• Game 2: We fought over a Stormblood Bezerker multiple times due to multiple fiend hunters; he used his burn to free them & then pinged with Fireslinger for the counters. I used my one O-Ring on Olivia as I'd sided in Purges for better tempo plays, and then couldn't answer a Bloodline Keeper.

Conclusion
All in all, I'd say the deck accomplished what I expected, which was making my opponent sweat but ultimately not getting there some of the time. Other than tinkering more with the sideboard, changes would be to cut 1-2 lands for some more action.

The games where I flooded out were particularly frustrating, and with the curve topping out at 3, the deck could afford to go to 22 or 21 lands depending on what action was added into the deck.

An FNM Deck for Under $50...

If you want to play Standard at an FNM and be a tiny bit competitive, the cheapest way I know to do so is the following:
Get an "Hold the Line" event deck. ($25.00)*
Make the following changes:

• -2 Butcher's Cleaver; +2 Honor of the Pure. ($1.80)*
• -1 Plains, -2 Elite Vanguard; +3 Champion of the Parish ($10.50)*

Sideboard:

• -3 Suture Priest, -1 Celestial Purge; +4 Timely Reinforcements ($4.60)*

Total Spent: $42.00

Even if you get your ass beat from Decks on the Pro Tour because the store is a PTQ-Gridner's Dojo, you'll at least give your opponents a run for the money while knowing that you've spent a fraction of what they did.  This post partially expires in Febuary of 2012 with the release of the "Dark Ascension" set of the Innistrad Block.

*Prices checked in Late October

Winning isn't "Griefing"

Winning isn't "Griefing"

One view of competitive players that I'd like to dispel is that competitive players are synonymous with "griefers".   Some casual players feel that competitive players ruin their game because the competitive player with a competitive will repeatedly beat a casual player's pet deck without mercy.  While repeatedly losing usually isn’t anyone’s idea of fun, repeatedly winning a zero-sum game doesn’t fit within the definition of “griefing”.

When one looks at the origin of the term “griefer” it usually refers to an individual who intentionally plays a multiplayer game in such a way to interfere with the enjoyment of the game.  The usual Magic game, by its design, is a game that leads to a winner and a loser; it isn’t a roleplaying game where one can decide to pursue goals that don’t include “winning the game” or a team based multiplayer game with support roles.  Because “winning the game” is core to Magic, attempting to frame “playing a winning strategy” as a form of griefing is disingenuous.

Competitive players attempt to insure that their strategy for victory will either be as quick or inevitable as they can possibly make it.  For example, if a casual player designs a deck that wins on turn eight, on average, but the competitive player’s deck is designed to win on turn four, then the casual player is likely to lose long before they ever get to play their win condition most games.
 

While the above scenario may feel like the competitive player is stopping the casual player from “having fun”, the reality is that the casual player’s strategy was just too slow for that competitive player’s strategy.  While it is possible to design a deck that to be a “griefer’s tool”; this is usually a project taken on by a “Johnny” type player who wants to play mind-games with their opponent. 

Examples of decks that are designed to cause grief would be a Commander Deck nicknamed “The Mathematician’s Wet Dream” that was designed to generate as much math as possible by changing casting costs, damage dealt, and other effects to frustrate their opponent.  Another griefer deck would be a deck that used the card “Soldier of Fortune” to abuse another person’s cards with rough shuffling back in the days before card sleeves, as both players were required to randomize a deck in a competitive setting. 

To be intellectually honest, a deck is only “griefing” if its primary win condition is centered around extracting a concession from the opponent as opposed to achieving a win condition available through the rules of the game.

 How to prepare for your first Friday Night Magic

FNM Cultures: Every shop is different

Here is the Wizard's of the Coast FNM page if you are looking for an event near you.  FNM's can be great fun and a way to meet and hang out with others who enjoy this awesome hobby, but I've found that some players are apprehensive about going to an official event, and there are some common themes in "FNM horror stories" that will be addressed so they can be mitigated by the proper attitude and social conventions.


One thing that you cannot determine without research or referrals is whether the store has a casual atmosphere where people are running their best "kitchen table" deck or is a "PTQ Dojo" where people are playing to win with decks that are either designed by pro-players or have won recent high-level events.  Each atmosphere has it's advantages, casual shops simulate the proverbial "kitchen table" so may be more comfortable for a first time FNM experience.  PTQ Dojo's generally allow for a higher level of play and are in tune with the culture and commentary around magic - making it easy to start up a conversation if you follow the magic commentary on the web.

FNM's occupy a unique space between kitchen table games and tournament level magic.  The enforcement of rules is less stringent for an FNM, so some play mistakes which would earn you a game loss at a tournament may result in warnings, and in many locations there isn't an official DCI Judge to officiate so that responsibility falls on the tournament organizer/store owner, and any time I use "judge" it can also mean the tournament organizer if a there isn't an official judge available.  The culture of the store makes a large difference as to rules enforcement as some stores encourage a very laid back, "we allow take-backs" atmosphere and other stores tend to simulate the more technically stringent Pro Tour Qualifier experience.

If you don't know whether your opponent will allow you to "take back" a bad play or a missed optional trigger, ask your opponent.  If you assume that your opponent will allow some type of "take back", you may be disappointed.  It is within your opponent's rights to insist you "play your mistakes" at an FNM, and would be absolutely mandatory at any high level event.  The competitive players may glare or scoff at you, but you won't know until you ask.  The Infraction Proceedure Guide discusses "Rules Level Enforcement" and while it isn't "required FNM reading", it can help as a reference at the PTQ Dojo's.

On the assumption of fairly stringent rules enforcement, you have certain "rights" under the rules.  The first is that you are allowed to ask either your opponent or the judge for the official rules text of any card played by your opponent, so you are never required to "take their word for it" when it comes to text.  You can also call a judge to determine if a certain line of play is legal, however, a judge cannot give you advice on what is a "good" play only whether a certian play is "legal", i.e. allowed under the rules.  A judge can also tell you how to properly correct a play mistake.  Most players will recognize that this is your right under the rules, and those that give you a hard time for calling a judge are categorically wrong.

FNM Jackasses: Don't let 'em get you down

One issue that many people have faced at their first FNM is having their first opponent or two be some sort of unpleasant human being.  Some people who play magic do fit the "awkward, severely lacking in social skills" stereotype portions of the public at large have of gamers.

One particular type that has been complained about in the forums I visit is the "wanna-be pro' magic player jackass" who feels he can berate other players for their lack of skill, rules knowledge, or poor deck choice.  It is unfortunate, but Magic attracts its fair share of jackasses who's egos have over inflated due to winning a few booster packs now and again.

If you run into one of these players that' just lacking in social skills or takes themselves and the game way too seriously, please try and brush it off and see if there are any worthwhile players at that particular location. One or two jackasses may not be representative of the entire culture at a particular store.

Also, be aware that even the friendliest magic player can get frustrated from time to time after a particularly harsh loss.  A feeling known as "tilt", of pinball and poker origin, by competitive players.  If your opponent "tilts",  just let him recover in his own time and hopefully they'll be able to enjoy the rest of their evening and be their normal pleasant selves after the feeling passes.

First things First: Your DCI Card

Also, one other formality prior to playing will the the issuance of a DCI card so that your newly minted tournament career can be tracked by the DCI and you can earn Planeswalker Points.  A DCI card looks something like this:

A Temporary DCI Card

If you don't receive a DCI card prior to playing, then you're at an unofficial event.  While unofficial events are fine, a shop that advertizes an FNM that doesn't have the desire or ability to sanction one could be a little sketchy which, again, is a complain that has come up in some forums. 

Looking the Part: MtG "Accessories"

One thing that will mark you as an FNM newbie is what magic specific equipment you bring to the table.  I mention it more for the ease of passing as a person who's attended FNM's if you want to "blend-in" as a seasoned FNM player.  Equipment that is considered "de rigure" for Magic players in order how magic specific the item is, with explanations to follow:

1. A deck of 75 Magic cards in opaque card sleeves.
2. A deck box.
3. A box of beads or dice for counters.
4. A play-mat.
5. A pad and pencil for tracking life and poison totals.*
6. Token cards, if your deck generates token creatures.
7. A bag/backpack to contain the other items on this list.
8. A trade binder.

Items 1 & 2 are near universal at FNM's.  A 75 card deck, the 60 minimum required cards and your exactly 15 card or 0 card sideboard, are pretty standard at FNM's; a 200 card deck would be an unusual sight. A sleeved deck in a deck box is expected at an FNM.s so if you just pull out a stack of naked cards in a rubber-band, expect a few looks.  There are at least two reasons for sleeves and a deck box.  The first is that most people don't want to replace their expensive cards on a regular basis, and sleeves prevent your cards from being beat up with shuffling, sweaty plams, etc... while a deck box keeps your cards from getting beat up in transit. The second is that opaque sleeves help prevent cards from being inadvertently marked by wear.  The last thing anyone wants to happen is to have a judge look at their deck and say that they're cheating because the cards have different levels of white around the edges and one important spell has a small crease on the corner.

Item 3, a block o' dice is useful and can substitute for both the pad for tracking life and tokens if you don't want to bother so they are a the magic player's multi-tool at FNM's. Beads can be used as well, but once you get into the 1/2 dozen bead range, it just looks silly when they're piled onto a single card.

Item 4, a play-mat, is where you start to signal that you're a dedicated magic player.  A play-mat is not universally expected, and it's main purpose is to prevent wear on your sleeves; sleeves do wear out after a few months of regular playing.  Play-mats also help when you're in a more crowded venue and playing on the edges of two different tables and they are also just fun personal flair for their artwork. 


Item 5, a pad & pencil for life tracking is the accepted practice for competitive players because dice can get knocked over, and it records every life  total change, so if the totals don't agree, you can find the discrepancy by looking for the math error or missed life loss, e.g. "Oh, I forgot to mark that 1 point life payment from my Marsh Flats on the pad." All that being said, a majority of FNM players I see use "spin-down" life counters or a 20-sided die to track their life.

Item 6, token cards for the effects in your deck that create them are appreciated, but not required by the rules.  Token cards are generally the best "tokens" because dice can get confusing for a number of reasons. It can be difficult to tell if creatures are tapped with both dice and beads and with multiple different types of tokens, it becomes a pain to remember what's what if you have multiple 1/1 Solider Tokens, 1/1 Flying Spirit Tokens, and 3/3 Beast tokens all out a the same time.

Item 7, a backpack or messenger bag, because items 1-6 don't stack every well for transport.

Item 8, your trade binder if you so choose.  It is helpful to organize a trade binder in some logical fashion is mentioned because you will find traders at FNM, if you're looking to move a few cards or are looking for that random rare.

The big moment: Playing the game.

Most FNM's are Swiss Tournaments, meaning you can play in all preliminary rounds.  A match is a best of three games.  Wining a match awards 3 points, a draw awards 1 point, and a loss awards 0 points.  

You will usually being paired against players with close to your record, so you usually don't need to ask how your opponent's night is going because you both should either have the same record or have been "paired up/down" with a player with one additional or one fewer wins.  The number of matches is dependent on the number of players.  After the prescribed number of Swiss rounds, the organizer can either award based on standings or "cut to top eight" and have a three round single elimination final.

All of the math for standings and tiebreakers is done by the DCI event reporter software provided by Wizards of the Coast, so if your match results were reported correctly, then your standings should be accurate. 

Here's a quick guide for what you do after you sit down across from your opponent at an "official" Magic event.

1. Introduce yourself, and insure that you have the correct opponent.
2. Offer a random method, e.g. dice or a coin flip, for determining who's on "the play", i.e. playing first but skipping their first draw, and who's on "the draw" playing second and drawing a card. You need to choose this before you look at your initial hand.
3. Randomize, i.e. shuffle, your deck.
1. Types of Shuffles:
1. Riffle and Bridge Shuffle - this is the standard shuffling method for a deck of playing cards, but is difficult to accomplish in sleeves.  More power to you if you can accomplish this feat.
2. Pile Shuffling - this is taking your deck and dividing it into piles.  Be wary, a few pile shuffles can lead to potential cheating; so this should not be your sole method of shuffling.
3. Drop Shuffling -cutting the deck then sliding the cards together in an ugly approximation of a riffle shuffle.
4. Once your deck is sufficiently randomized, then you can present it to your opponent by placing it in the center of the table and wait for your opponent to do the same.
5. When your opponent presents his deck, you can randomize it however you please.
• If you want to simply cut your opponent's deck at an FNM, you can - though more stringent requirements apply at higher level events; if you want to pile shuffle it to count the cards in their deck you can do that as well. 
• One thing you can't do is look at your opponent's deck while you randomize it. 
• Also, as a courtesy, be gentle with your opponent's deck.  Avoid riffling and bridging your opponent's cards unless you ask permission first. Once you're done, return the deck, both you and your opponent now cannot manipulate your library.
6. Draw seven cards and decide whether you wish to mulligan..
• One courtesy that I'd like to make common practice yet is to place your cards into easy to count groups so that your opponent knows you drew the correct number of cards.
7. Determine whether you want to keep your initial hand or mulligan, i.e. reshuffle your hand into your deck and draw one less card. If you're playing in an official event, then always draw down one card each time you mulligan as require by the rules. 
8. Once you and your opponent have chosen to keep a starting hand, start playing.
9. Play & have fun.
10. After the match either you or your opponent will report your results. At an FNM you usually just verbally report to the tournament organizer; for a larger event there will be a match slip that both players must sign to report results.  When reporting usual phrase is "I won/lost in two/three",  Draws due to time means that if the draw was in game one or three, then it was a pure draw. If there is a draw in game 2, the person who won the first game wins the match.

Magic the Gathering Beginer's Guide - Card Aquisition

Card Acquisition for an FNM 

-or- 

How do I keep Magic from breaking the bank?

TL;DR: Go to Ebay and look for Common/Uncommon play-sets of the current year's core set and block. Get an "Event Deck" if you want to play immediately. 

This guide assumes you've read the previous post regarding the basics of Wizards of the Coast organized play program for Magic the Gathering.

If you're getting back into paper magic again and wanting to play with strangers - your most basic event will probably be a Friday Night Magic event, which is usually "Standard" format.

The advantage of having a standard legal deck is that you can walk into a card shop most anywhere in the country on Friday night and have a "legal" deck to play with.  A disadvantage that will be discussed below is that tournament quality magic decks cost between $150-$600 on an average; for reasons which will be discussed further down the post.

If you're getting back into magic, this post should show why one thing you should decide ahead of time is a rough budget for your magic expenditures, particularly if you have a competitive streak where winning greatly affects the amount of fun you have playing magic.  If other players refer to you as "Spike" for some reason, you may fall into this category.

The Magic Lottery

The most common way to acquire cards is the "Booster Pack". Booster packs are about $4.00 retail and are guaranteed to contain 11 commons (black set symbol), 3 uncommons (silver set symbol), and one rare or mythic rare (gold/burn orange set symbol) per pack.

As much fun as opening booster packs can be, they are better treated more like lottery tickets instead of a viable way to build a collection; though some returning players choose to play limited so they can get additional enjoyment out of opening pack while they work on their collection. 

Building your Initial Collection - Goals and Budgeting:

The goal this advice seeks to achieve is to allow for the greatest amount of deck building options, balancing out the goal of spending the least amount of money and time acquiring cards.

Without getting into deck construction advice, the ability to build a solid deck is greatly enhanced by having play-sets of cards, i.e. 4 copies of one card, usually, as 4 is the maximum number of any individual card, besides basic lands, that you can have in your minimum 60 card deck and 15 card sideboard.

Buying singles or even single play-sets of non-rares, particularly for the newer sets, is an expensive way to go about it unless you're picking up a second set to have two decks built.

 

The best general advice to new players about acquiring cards for Standard: 

Go to Ebay and look for Common/Uncommon play-sets of the current year's core set and block.  These sets will run about $35 a piece on average for 500-800 cards & provide the basic fodder for any deck; by comparison collecting 800 cards via booster packs is about rounds out to about $215.   If a listing for a common/uncommon play-set states that it's excluding a card, it's usually because that card has risen in price to the point where it's price is measured in dollars instead of cents.

Play-sets for the previous year's block are more difficult to find and possibly be more expensive, so it's a personal choice whether to just wait until set rotations to make collecting the older block a moot point as far as standard goes.

The reason for getting the common/uncommon playsets is that the usual first line of deck building advice is to increase most of the cards to playsets to reduce variance in the deck's draws; so it will just save time if those who are answering a request for a deck critique can assume that the deck designer has access to playsets of anything that costs under $0.50.

After you have "caught up" to the point of having common/uncommon playsets from all of the sets in standard, the next step is to choose your deck and acquire the rares individually either by bargain hunting or through trades with other players.  While playsets that include the rares and mythic rares are available, the cost of these sets are a few hundred dollars and can run into the thousands of dollars.

If you're looking for casual kitchen table fodder, then you can look at some of the smaller site's "grab bag" type deals where they send you "X" hundreds of jank cards for $10-$20.  Another option is to proxy cards.  While you can just write the name of a card on a land with a sharpie, the more aesthetically pleasing way to proxy card would be to go to Magiccards.info; this site allows for you to search for a card and it will give you the option to print the card yourself if you want to play with it causally.

The best general advice for attending a Standard Event without currently owning a deck:

Wizards of the Coast has started to produce what they refer to as Event Decks which are released alongside the Magic Game Days that they hold on a quarterly basis.

Event Decks should not be confused with Intro Pack Decks, as Event decks are usually superior in their construction and are pre-packaged with a side-board for competitive event.  The superiority in construction comes from the fact that Event Decks will actually contain play-sets of cards and have more rares, increasing the consistency and card quality beyond that of an Intro Pack Deck.

Trading and Card Valuation:

Once you actually have trade-fodder, study up on your card values for the formats you play. Prices range from $.10 for most commons and land to $50 for a tournament playable mythic rare.

As a side note, if you sell "bulk" commons and uncommons to retailers they go for $7.00 per 1,000, so don't expect anyone to pay you $.10 a card for random Type II commons unless they're trade throw-ins.

Now, a brief and incomplete comment on what drives prices for the $600 decks - rarity is obviously one of the most important factors, as is age of the card, but the defining factor of a card's value is tournament playability. 

As discussed in in my initial blog post, there are two broad classifications of magic players, "casual" and "competitive".   The competitive player has the greatest effect on the price of an individual magic card because they will purchase tournament playable card at a much higher price than a causal player is willing to pay.

The more decks and formats that a tournament playable card can be played in, the more expensive it will be.  A historical example of this is Jace, the Mind Sculptor, as the graph found in the link shows his rise in price over time.

JacetMS applies every possible reason for being a potentially valuable card outside of age, as he was released in January of 2010. JacetMS was a Mythic rare that was played in every standard tournament deck with Islands before his banning in standard in July 2011 and he was also seeing play in Legacy and Vintage decks as well.  JacetMS was also a linchpin for a Standard Legal deck which was the most dominant at the time by a wide margin, Caw-Blade.  The price for Caw-Blade was up in the $800 dollar range prior to the JacetMS banning from standard and modern, with half the value of the deck being the 4 JacetMS found in the deck.  JacetMS is still playable in Legacy and Vintage, so he'll likely remain a $50 to $100 card for as long as he's playable in Legacy.

Casual demand will affect prices as well, particularly for formats which allow older cards like Commander. Doubling Season is the poster child for a casual-only card that has risen in value with the rise in popularity of the Commander format.

There are several good sites for researching the prices of cards.  TCG Player, Find Magic Cards, and All Magic Cards.  All of these sites have several different stores contributing to their price lists.  You don't want to use an average price from TCG Player because it includes foils and for older cards - random levels of wear and tear & because some stores randomly put in $100 as a price for no good reason; If you are going to use the store aggregators just look for the cost from the lowest price provider that can provide the card in the quantity and condition you are trading for as a baseline & factor in instant gratification & lack of shipping costs.  A maximum price for any card should be Ebay' s "Buy it Now" price for that card.

For cards in Standard, generally Bulk/Junk rares will go for a $1, Bulk mythic rares will go for a bit more. Expensive rares go for $10~, and the sky's the limit for mythic rares as JacetMS has shown. Sometimes common & uncommon cards that are very sought after can go for a the price of mid-ranged rare.

The reason you want to know prices is that trading is a good way to get rares you might want to use later & you don't want to insult someone by offering them a Lightning Bolt for their mythic rare planeswalker, and similarly you don't want to be trading away a rare planeswalker for a five cent common either.

Some advice for new players on trades is to use your or your fellow magic player's cellphone's web browser or any number of app's to check on the price of a card prior to making a trade if you're at all unsure about the value of your cards.

A common tactic in trading for a savvy trader will be to ask "What do you value this card at?"  The rub being that your opinion on the value of a card is irrelevant to the market and if you undervalue it, they'll be happy to trade it from you at your mistaken value.

An historical example of why this distinction matters: If you look at the value graph for Splinter Twin you'll note that it went straight up from $.50 to almost $10.00 seemingly overnight.  The reason for this was the printing of another card which could be combined with Splinter Twin to make a "I win on this turn" two card combination. Being one-half of a combo' took what was a "bulk rare" care to "tournament playable" overnight.  Players who don't track the competitive scene may have missed the distinction and traded away these cards at 5% of their value because Splinter Twin was a $.50 card for the first year after its release.

The flip side of this is that when you're making a trade, it clogs up the process if you're attempting to match values down to the penny.  Remember that the prices you see on the web don't include the convenience of having the card immediately, any possible taxes or shipping from ordering it off of the web, or the value of having some good-will with a fellow magic player.  

Further Magic "Finance" Reading

There are several resources on for those who would like to learn more about the market for magic cards.

The premier site for the Magic economy is Quiet Speculation, though the site requires a subscription, similarly Jonathan Medina at Star City Games writes an article that is behind a pay-wall for a month prior to becoming available to the public.  Free resources for magic finance are Quiet Speculation's editor Kelly Ried, who is writing a column at TCG Player and Channel Fireball author Brian Grewe.

Magic the Gathering Beginer's Guide - Official Magic

The Flavors of "Official" Magic
-or-
"What's Friday Night Magic?"

As a preliminary discussion, I'd like to state that "casual" magic, or "kitchen table" magic isn't a format, its the lack of an official, organized rules - it's a way of saying "We're playing magic the game with a completely random selection of cards from Magic's 20 year history." Causal players will 'ban' certain cards from their group because they are too expensive, powerful, or otherwise 'unfun'. Which is fine, when everyone knows those rules & annoying for everyone when a few people don't.  I mention the difference because there is a minor culture divide between some casual players and players who follow the professional magic commentary to help improve their game.

The other difference between "casual" and "official" magic is that official magic has tournaments ranging from Friday Night Magic ("FNM") to the Pro Tour with varying levels of rewards and other perks. The rating system has been switched from the Elo System player rating used in Chess to Planeswalker Points. Prizes for DCI sanctioned events can range from 5 Boosters for an FNM to $40,000 for 1st place in a pro-tour.  If you use the Wizard's Event Locator to find an FNM, they'll give you a DCI card when you pay your entry fee, and from then on out, you can track your  Planeswalker Points and Level versus the rest of the world on the web.

If you start reading about magic on the web, you'll find most of it written to help those going to "Pro-Tour Qualifier" tournaments. Which is where the "serious" players are and why 80% of the decks you find in those articles start at a few hundred dollars and can cost much, much more if you were to buy single card to build the deck yourself.  TCG Player, Channel Fireball, and Star City Games are good places to start if you'd like to read commentary about tournament Magic.

The official formats with a link to the Wizard's of the Coast web site are as follows:

1. Vintage (Formerly called "Type 1")
2. Legacy (Formerly called "Type 1.5")
3. Modern
4. Block Constructed 
5. Standard (Formerly called "Type 2")
6. Extended (Also a "Type 2" format) 
7. Limited - Sealed & Booster Draft

The Type 1 formats are "eternal", meaning that they are both non-rotating and you can use most, but not all, of the cards in magic's history including specialty sets such as the "Starter 1999", "Portal Three Kingdoms", Planechase, and Commander products.  These formats can be expensive due to the "Reserved List", which prevents Wizards from ever reprinting certain cards from early in Magic's history.

Modern is also an "non-rotating" format, but the legal card pool starts at the 8th Edition Core Set and moves forward vice starting with the very first set of magic; Modern also doesn't include expansion products like the "Starter 1999" or "Portal Three Kingdoms" sets that Wizards allows in Legacy and Vintage.  Modern also completely replaced Extended as the longer, multi-year format.  

As a historical note, Extended allowed 7 years worth of sets until the announcement of Modern, where it was shortened to four years worth of sets.  Modern and Extended ran concurrently for approximately two years prior to Extended ceasing to be a format.     

"Type 2", now only Standard,  only uses cards that are legal in the last 2 years; making the entry barrier a little less daunting because you can just open packs if you need filler. Block Constructed is a format rarely seen outside of the Pro Tour, and the term "Block" is explained below.

The Limited formats,Sealed and Draft, allow you to play magic without a deck. Both of these involve you using booster packs to build a 40 card deck that doesn't have the limitation of only 4 of any one card & the store should provide your basic land cards.

Sealed events give you 6 packs to build a deck with in 30 minutes. Drafting involves each player starting with 3 booster packs. You begin by opening a pack, taking one card, then passing the pack to the next player, and picking your next card from a pack that has been passed to you.

While both are a way to play magic without investing in a deck, these formats are also a much more skill intensive way to play because it tests your knowledge of the cards in the set, your deck building skills under harsh time constraints, and knowledge of what strategies/archetypes work in the format.  The benefit of the limited formats is that it requires the least amount of investment to begin playing and removes card prices and availability as a factor between players.

Currently, Wizards of the Coast releases a total of four sets a year on a quarterly basis; one Core Set and "Block" per year. A core set is considered magic-lite and generally only use basic mechanics that have a long history in magic, such as "flying" or "trample." A Block is usually a group of three sets that are linked by similar mechanics and have underlying story arc that is partially "told" with the flavor text on the cards.  New Core Sets are released in July-August and new Blocks start in October. The October time frame is important because that's when sets leave the "Standard/Type II" formats and become legal only in the non-rotating formats.

Also, for returning players, if a card is reprinted in a new set, older versions of that card are equally as legal in all of the eligible formats. This link goes to the WotC forum for official rules changes, it should allow returning players to cover the sometimes substantial rules changes that have taken place over the years.

There are a few causal formats such as Commander, Pauper, and Cube-Drafting, which have enough of a following to have websites dedicated to promoting official rules, but without the prize money.

The online version of Magic are the following: Magic the Gathering Online (MTGO or Modo) a.k.a. official electronic magic, Magic Workstation, Lackey, Cockatrice and OCTGN (Online Card and Tabletop Gaming Network). I'm honestly not very knowledgeable in any online tool, though I do putz around on MTGO - which is silly as it's the more expensive way to go about it.

One inexpensive way to play Magic on the computer & get used to the newer rules in general, with the notable exception of Planeswalkers, is to invest in the Steam/Console game "Duels of the Planeswalkers". The game used pre-constructed decks that you can only add unlocked cards to, making it more akin to a fighting game once you've learned the decks - but it's fun enough.