Tag: magic

The Ultimate Introduction to Deckbuilding in Magic 6 Steps

You’re not fast enough, or your deck is just a bad match for the tables you’re playing. You’ve picked out your commander, but you still need to refine the 99. One of the most fun time in Hearthstone history was when the Patron Warrior was the most dominant deck in the meta. This combo deck came out of nowhere mtg decks when a few cards were introduced that synergized exceedingly well with some of the Warrior class’s most under-utilized Basic and Classic cards.

Any abilities that trigger when a spell is cast or put onto the stack trigger at this time. If the spell’s controller had priority before casting it, he or she gets priority. The best way to determine this is to play the deck in casual play against as many different decks as you can. Once you find out a weakness, write it down, be it land, creature or spell. Once you have a list, group common things into a single category, such as Weenies, Burn, Permission, Land Destruction, Discard, Enchantments, Artifacts, and Green, whatever.

Understanding MTG Deck Builds

For instance, a user named dontblamemarce shared their long-standing deck with minor adjustments, expressing concern over its lack of evolution. “I’m struggling a bit now because it doesn’t have any evolutions,” they shared while seeking recommendations for which cards to evolve. This sentiment resonates with many players who feel that a lack of card upgrades can hinder their progression.

Deck Building Tips from Pro Players

Magic the Gathering MTG Land Station: Optimize Mana Base

It’s up to your strategy, your commander, and what you want out of the deck. Every commander desires something from their 99, and these desires are often what give you your deck’s themes. Of course, you can also always refer to existing decks and then adjusting them, such as our Lich King Deck guide. For this sample decklist we’re switching it up and going to a Pioneer Azorius () control deck MTGO user Harry13 took to second place in a recent Pioneer Challenge event.

You might ask, “if you want this card in your deck, why not just run four copies? ” In many cases you’re right, but let’s run through a basic example of why this probably won’t work. In older formats you have access to as many of these lands as you want, along with the fetch lands that dominate Modern and Legacy, but maybe you have your budget to consider.

It isn’t overly reliable, but when there is no other source, it should help. You use your engine to get your kill mechanic (how you win). For frogs, they’re most often used to sacrifice for Monarchs, while Flamvells are used to spam synchro monsters. When building a deck, you should try and identify the most important cards that allow you to win.

Block ConstructedAny block can be used for a block constructed format. Zendikar block constructed would include Magic cards only from Zendikar, Worldwake, and Rise of the Eldrazi. What lessons have you learned when building Commander decks?

For examples of these, look up Dredge (note the variety of land counts within one archetype, based on cardpool differences!), Belcher, and Legacy Lands. Your mission statement should include what your deck is overall and what it aims to do during a game. If you’re ever unsure about a deck-building choice, this is the enshrined phrase you can look back to for guidance. Write it down and put it in the deck box if you want to. If a card doesn’t fit the mission statement, then you need to question why you want to include it. Hybrid Decks & Cluster DecksMagic decks don’t have to fall into just one of the three above categories they can be hybrids.

There’s a lot to think about when constructing a mana base. Most Standard Magic decks have many spells that cost two, three, and four mana, and fewer spells that cost one or less and five or more. The graph would look something like a bell curve, which is where the term “mana curve” comes from.

You also need to answer artifacts, planeswalkers, enchantments, and occasionally even lands like Cabal Coffers. This is a great spot to look for cards that fill multiple roles like Feed the Swarm, which deals with creatures and enchantments. You can also file spells that protect your creatures in this slot because it interacts with your opponent’s interaction, like Tamiyo’s Safekeeping. In my last article I touched on disruptive aggro decks, so today we’re going to build a black and colorless disruptive aggro deck featuring many new Eldrazi from Oath of the Gatewatch. “Disruptive aggro” is a term we use to describe a deck that is trying to be as aggressive as possible while also disrupting the opponent with removal, discards, and counterspells. A deck built around its commander uses its themes as a guideline for a powerful deck.

Let’s say you really like Bard Class (maybe you even play a bard in your local D&D game), so you want to build a deck around it. You’ve decided to build an aggro deck and stick to just red and green. Using these databases to search for all red and green legends available for the format you’re building in will go a long way towards helping you figure out how to build your deck.

The range of experiences and viewpoints shared in the comments displays the diverse cast of tactics, frustrations, and triumphs within the game. Whether it’s through overwhelming your opponent with creatures, outlasting with control spells, or pulling off a combo, defining your win condition will guide your card choices. I usually make a list and keep it in my card box so I can simply pull it out (I usually show a judge so they dont have a fit) and quickly sideboard. Never pull out cards that are integral to your deck concept, like Pestilence in a Pestilence deck or a Stone Rain in a Land Destruction deck.

Master Aurelia in MTG: Strategies and Tips

If you cut lands in favor of ramp, your deck suffers because ramp only works if you hit your land drops. I generally don’t run less than 37 lands and don’t mind going as high as 40, with 38 being my standard. A high land count allows you to hit all your land drops.

magic the gathering How many lands do I need for a Commander deck?

In this study, we will only be looking specifically at direct ramp spells that cost 3 or less, so that we can play them on turn 3 or earlier. When building your Commander deck, pay attention to the mana curve. The mana curve represents the distribution of cards based on their mana value (formerly converted mana cost). Look to have a mix of low, medium, and high-cost cards to ensure a balance of early, mid, and late-game plays. Analyzing your mana curve helps you find the optimal balance between lands and spells, which in turn increases your deck’s consistency.

Mana Dorks are euphemisms for Creatures that are able to generate Mana on their own, such as Llanowar Elves , Elvish Mystic and others. Because generating Mana is a core characteristic of the colour Green, you’ll find many of these dorks in Green, though Red also has a sub-theme of generating bursts of Mana (though at a cost). Unfortunately if you’re running Blue, White or Black, Mana dorks are going to be hard to come by, and that’s when you rely on rocks instead. But there is something that does the job of land while also allowing you to accelerate your board, ramp. Ramp is much better than land because you can play more than 1 a turn.

To do this, we used deckstats probability calculator to show how your land count will look. As such, we came up with a formula to help players build efficient decks. There are no hard and fast rules for the amount of lands to include in a two-color versus a five-color Commander deck.

If you are playing more than a couple cards with mana costs of five or higher, increase the number of lands. For starters, if you’re using a lot of cards that can create extra mana, whether that be mana rocks or ramp cards, then you can occasionally use fewer lands. This is also true if you’ve got ways to make your spells cheaper like Jodah, Archmage Eternal or Warden of Evos Isle. If you’re new to Magic or the Commander format, following this general guideline of 37 Lands and 7 ramp spells will get you up and running nicely.

Second, since combos edh the Commander format is typically played with more players, you need to be prepared for longer games. Additionally, the format is designed for multiplayer games, which means that games tend to last longer and require more resources to win. Understanding the Commander format is key to determining your land count. Utility lands are always valuable to have and tons of mana for the late game is also valued. The nature of land bases hasn’t changed for Brawl compared to its Commander predecessor in that respect.

In the beginning, it was 40 lands, then 35, and now people say anywhere around 33-40. This can make it more difficult for your opponents to disrupt your game plan. Another way to enhance your Commander deck is to adapt to control strategies.

It is important to strike a balance between lands and other types of cards, as having too many or too few lands can both be detrimental to your deck’s performance. Conversely, if your deck has a lot of low-cost spells, you may be able to get away with including fewer lands. Another starting point is to include one land for every two to three mana value in your deck. For example, if your deck has an average mana value of three, you would include 33 to 50 lands.

Mana Dorks

Tons of big stuff means you need tons of mana and can call for tons of lands to complement this. Your mana curve is often the easiest way to find your starting point for how many lands you need. Mana dorks are creatures that tap for mana, often named because of the original mana dork, Llanowar Elves.

Cycling Cards

We have the new Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder or Rakdos, the Muscle. I think Lyzolda is more interesting than other Rakdos sac commanders. She specifically wants you to sacrifice creatures that are both red and black to her ability. There is no maximum deck size, however, the player must be able to shuffle their deck unassisted. Players may transfer cards between their sideboard and their main deck after each round of a match. Commander also has its own “banned list” of cards, separate from any other format which is controlled by the Commander Rules Committee.

How Many Lands Should Be in a Commander Deck?

How Many Lands Should Be In A 60 Card MTG Deck: A Definitive Guide

A Commander must be a legendary creature and remain in the Command Zone. Creatures are, however, easy to destroy, particularly as many of the mana producing ones have low toughness like Birds of Paradise or Llanowar Elves. Considering that, the 40% lands rule is still fairly close to normal (lightened obviously for the reasons above).

They’re commonly used to help ramp up your available mana pool and act as additional mana sources. Examples of popular mana rocks include Sol Ring, Signets, and the Talisman cycle. Aim for 10 to 15 mana rocks in your deck, though the quantity may vary based on your deck’s needs and your commander’s mana cost. Keep in mind that these numbers may vary depending on your deck’s strategy and mana curve. In general, you should aim for 33 to 40 lands in your deck, alongside your other mana sources like mana rocks and ramp spells.

There are two general classifications for ramp spells – direct and indirect ramp. Direct ramp are cards such as Cultivate, Farseek, Three Visits, Kodama’s Reach that pull Lands out of your Library and into the Battlefield. That means you’re ahead of curve by having an additional Land put into play while also thinning your deck (slightly) to reduce the chances of drawing a Land later in the game. You can also consistently re-use this extra Land in all your subsequent turns.

I’ve run land decks successfully, but usually you see with some of the previously mentioned accelerators. Some of the cheapest dual lands in MTG include Snarls, Bouncelands, Zendikar Creature Lands, Checklands, Temples, Thriving Lands, Tango Lands, and New Capenna’s Hideouts. However, it is recommended to have around 37 to 40 lands in a Commander deck. Some of the best dual lands include OG Dual Lands, Fetch Lands, Shock Lands, Battlebond Lands, Pain Lands, Check Lands, Pathway (MDFC) Lands, and Filter Lands. Dual lands, especially the Revised Dual Lands, are considered important for a deck and are sought after by players.