One of the best parts of playing MtG is deck building, but this can be a significant challenge when you’re new to the game. Fortunately, there are a few basic guidelines that can make this an easier process.
A great place to start building is the standard constructed format. These are decks of 60 cards, with an optional 15-card sideboard. For this article, we will be focusing on this format.
What Color/s Should I Use?
For your first deck, don’t stress too much about this. You’ll build several, and to really enjoy this game, it’s best to just go with your gut here. What has the coolest artwork to you, and what general description sounds the most fun? Go with that and don’t look back. For an overview of the colors available, check out my other article here: https://fordytoo.com/archives/3930
What Type of Deck Should I Build?
This is where we’ll decide the general playstyle of our deck. While there are several strategies and combos that you can build decks around, there are three primary types that most of these will fall under.
Aggro
Aggro decks focus on doing as much damage in as little time possible. These typically focus on low-cost creatures and direct damage-dealing spells. Regardless of the set, red is usually king here. White and green can also make very effective aggro decks, and blue and black are less common.
Control
Control is typically very reactive at the beginning. You may go several turns not playing anything, saving your mana to counter spells that are cast by your opponent. Usually, the trick is to keep the other player at bay until you have enough mana available to start your end game (this is commonly some remarkably powerful monster or card combo. Blue and black decks tend to perform very well in this category.
Midrange
Midrange, as the name implies, takes both the strategies above and meets them in the middle. You’ll usually spend the early game trying to control the board, until mid-game when you start dropping some larger creatures. Green generally seems to work best in this category, though you can often find solid decks of any color and color combination here.
How Many Lands Should I Put in My Deck?
This will vary from deck to deck, depending on its mana curve (we’ll get into that later). Fortunately, there are some general rules to follow that will work more often than not. Aggro decks typically use 20 – 24 lands, and some mono decks (that is, a single-colored deck) can safely go below 20. For control, it is best to start with a minimum of 26 lands. These decks rely on getting to play a land every turn. Midrange decks will want somewhere between 22 and 26.
What is the Mana Curve?
The mana curve is best thought of as a bell curve, representing how many cards of each mana cost there are in your deck, smallest to largest, from left to right. Generally, you will see a low number of 1 and 2 mana cards, more 3 -5 mana, and back down to fewer 6 mana and above.
Note that this will vary by deck type. Aggro decks tend to want mostly 1 and 2 mana cards, and control decks often have a larger amount of high-cost spells.
What Cards Do I Use?
This is going to vary significantly from set to set. Keep in mind everything we’ve gone through above, and pay attention to your mana curve. Try to find cards that lend themselves well to the deck type you’ve chosen (aggro, control, midrange). Also, keep an eye out for powerful combos.
Another thing to be aware of: you can have multiples of a card. In a standard constructed Magic deck, you may have a maximum of four of any card (excluding lands). If you want a card to appear in every game or opening hand, it is best to have four copies. For an important card that you want to use a few of throughout the game, have three copies. Two copies for cards you only need to see once (these are usually high mana cost, game-ending cards that the deck may be built around. Feel free to have only one copy of a card that may only be useful in certain situations.
Get Out and Play
The most important part of deckbuilding is playtesting. I’ve built several decks that looked great on paper that ended up being duds. Mess around with your mana curve. Try out new cards. Don’t be afraid to try new things, or to give up on a card combo that sounds cool but never works. Above all else, go have fun.
Did I miss anything? Did you just make your first deck and want to show it off? Let me know about it in the comments.
