mtg card pricing tool Urza's Filter [Invasion] it helps you ensure your cards get the grade they deserve How to Cost Magic: Pricing

The initiative mechanic is very powerful in 1v1 games, and White Plume is the cheapest way to get the engine started

By removing what card will you maximize your chances

Give the tokens pants Adding an equipment subtheme into a format can help give a way for token decks to profitably use and attack with their tokens

Cards like Volrath's Laboratory also give you choices to make but are more open-ended

Non-foil borderless mythic rare creatures and extended-art new-to- Magic rare cards can be found in Collector Boosters

I also had the bad fortune of losing my creatures fairly regularly, but that helped me get through the mid game and not be a problem that had to be dealt with