I teach High School English. Recently, our school's Anime and Games club (of which I am the sponsor) was donated a collection of about 40,000 bulk cards from a number of different nerdy philanthropists. After hours of sorting, I got to work on creating as many casual decks for the kids as I could. For many, these were their first MTG decks ever. I spent extra time with kids here and there, after school or during our lunch breaks, teaching them the game and playing the various decks I was able to brew. In this article, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorites. As we continue to get more students interested in the game, and I continue to build decks from the massive amount of donated cards, I may make this a regular segment!

The first of the decks that I want to highlight is a Mono-Green ramp deck I made for a student named Sam. When telling me what he wanted, he was sure to mention that he enjoyed gaining life while also dealing large chunks of damage. Considering this was his first ever deck, I wanted to make sure to give him a simple strategy that could be used to teach some of the core mechanics of the game. This is what I was able to find:

Sam's Green Ramp Deck | Casual | James Heslip

• Creatures (22)
• 1 Abzan Beastmaster
• 1 Annoyed Altisaur
• 2 Caustic Caterpillar
• 2 Pelakka Wurm
• 4 Arborback Stomper
• 4 Colossal Dreadmaw
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Viridian Emissary

• Instants (4)
• 4 Natural Connection

• Sorceries (10)
• 2 Roar of Challenge
• 4 Gift of the Gargantuan
• 4 Rabid Bite

• Enchantments (24)
• 2 Entangling Vines
• 22 Forest

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Cost: $9 at the time of publication

The ramp of the deck is fairly traditional. Four Llanowar Elves enable a turn two Natural Connection, which is likely the deck's best set of introductory plays. If the elf is nowhere to be found on turn one, then a turn two Viridian Emissary is fine. It helps put up some early pressure, and Sam doesn't need to worry about it dying, since that would just result in more mana for his bigger creatures.

Since gaining life was one of Sam's requests, I chose Arborback Stomper and Pelakka Wurm as the main ramp payoff cards. Each gives a hefty boost to HP the moment they come down. This actually worked out really well for the deck, since it will often take a few hits in the early game while it tries to build up mana. Though they were not present in the donated boxes, Obstinate Baloth and Thragtusk would have been ideal additions to the list. Both are powerful ramp targets, and both continue the theme of gaining lots of life.

I wanted the deck to have plenty of interaction with his opponents, so there's more going on than just mana and fatties. Caustic Caterpillar stops pesky artifacts and enchantments, which is pretty important in the casual meta we have. Pacifism, for example, is one of the key removal spells he'll see. Rabid Bite kills most threats, and Entangling Vines deals with anything too big to bite to death.

Gift of the Gargantuan provides some draw manipulation, allowing Sam to find lands, mana ramp creatures, or a fatty. Basically, whatever he might need at the moment. Even the aforementioned caterpillar can be dug for using Gift.

Cody's Token Deck | Casual | James Heslip

• Creatures (14)
• 1 Selesnya Guildmage
• 1 Sunhome Guildmage
• 4 Crusader of Odric
• 4 Herd Gnarr
• 4 Siege Wurm

• Instants (12)
• 4 Fortify
• 4 Outnumber
• 4 Raise the Alarm

• Sorceries (8)
• 4 Forbidden Friendship
• 4 Saproling Migration

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Goblinslide

• Lands (24)
• 5 Mountain
• 5 Plains
• 6 Forest
• 2 Gruul Guildgate
• 2 Holdout Settlement
• 2 Stone Quarry
• 2 Tranquil Expanse

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Cost: $9 at the time of publication

Though still fairly new, Cody has played the game before. For this reason, I knew three colors wouldn't be too complicated of a concept for him. He's played an Izzet Drake deck, and loved the idea of singular large threats. Swarming the field with tokens, however, was not something he'd ever done himself. I happened to be throwing this deck together anyways since finding four copies of each of the two-cost token producing spells. So, I found some ways to benefit off of lots of creatures, grabbed some additional token production, and then tried my best to make a three-color mana base that worked.

Saproling Migration, Forbidden Friendship, and Raise the Alarm are the primary token makers. If present, Goblinslide can turn each one into a pseudo Hordeling Outburst. If Cody gets stuck in the late game and runs out of gas, Sunhome Guildmage and Selesnya Guildmage serve as perpetual token spewing machines. Though costly, it can keep him alive in a game he otherwise might've lost.

If lots of small creatures aren't enough, Cody has access to some beefy beaters, too. Crusader of Odric gets bigger every time a token is made. Similarly, Herd Gnarr can pack a punch if multiple token producers are chained. Then there's Siege Wurm, which can be paid for using the many differently-colored tokens available.

Outnumber is the deck's on-theme removal option of choice. It's able to kill most threats as long as there's a big enough army to fuel it. Fortify is both a finisher spell as well as a protection spell. Usually, it helps to make big game-ending shots in the final stages of the game.

Looking back, I think some artifact or enchantment removal would've been helpful (Maybe Sundering Growth if I could find any in the boxes). Additionally, life gain from Impassioned Orator could be helpful, possibly after replacing some Herd Gnarrs, which are situational and seem superfluous much of the time.

Octavian's Act of Treason Sacrifice Deck | Casual | James Heslip

• Creatures (20)
• 2 Enthralling Victor
• 3 Dragon Egg
• 3 Hobblefiend
• 4 Goblin Arsonist
• 4 Grim Initiate
• 4 Mudbutton Torchrunner

• Instants (4)
• 4 Magma Spray

• Sorceries (8)
• 4 Act of Treason
• 4 Wrangle

• Enchantments (6)
• 2 Furnace Celebration
• 4 Makeshift Munitions

• Lands (22)
• 22 Mountain

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Cost: $8 at the time of publication

Octavian's first deck was a Mono-Green landfall list that I threw together a week or so ago. Learning the game with a deck that requires the player to remember multiple triggers every time you play a land was probably not the best plan. He picked it up like a champ, though, and is now constantly asking to play in the middle of class.

Wanting to switch it up, we decided on a Mono-Red list for his second deck. Straight up burn is boring, though. Instead, while searching through the Red bulk we found a full playset of Act of Treason and Makeshift Munitions, and the rest of the deck just came together.

We are definitely not the first to combine these types of cards, but that doesn't mean it's not still fun! Act of Treason, Wrangle, and Enthralling Victor steal opposing monsters, while Makeshift Munitions and Hobblefiend tribute them before the opponent regains control.

The rest of the list is built to take advantage of these sacrifice effects regardless of whether or not we are stealing creatures. Grim Initiate and Dragon Egg replace themselves after getting shot from the cannon, while Mudbutton Torchrunner and Goblin Arsonist dish out extra damage. Meanwhile, Furnace Celebration gives a little more umph to each round of ammunition. Simple, but effective, and Octavian's first game with the deck resulted in a win!

With 40,000 cards at our disposal (and hopefully more on the way) we have a growing number of students becoming enamored with the game. Our Anime and Games club is more popular than it's ever been, and I'm hearing students talk about meeting outside of school to jam cardboard daily. It's everything a big nerd like me could ever want, and it's all thanks to the generosity of the MTG community! With new kids coming to me for decks every day, and some learning to make their own (with a little guidance from yours truly, of course) there will definitely be more lists to showcase in the coming weeks, of that you can be sure!