How do you go about optimizing a deck?
Deck Help forum
Posted on May 30, 2013, 12:32 a.m. by Kodiac
Hi, so i added the following deck to my account, but after choosing what cards could be awesome/useful,how do I choose wich ones to remove?
Grim Procession Std Alternative
Thanks
Decks should be 60 cards and no more than 60. It increases the chances of drawing your most important strategies and to do so consistently. Even playing with 61 cards changes the number of possible starting seven cards drawn at the beginning of the game by a lot (like...over 100).
You'll want four of every card that is important to your strategy, i.e. cards you want to see multiples of every game. In the case of your deck, Precinct Captain is a good example of this. Almost every game, you're going to want to play him no later than turn two and always happy when you draw a second one.
Three-ofs are cards that are important parts of your strategy, but you may only be able to cast one or two of the card throughout the game, whether due to mana costs or how situational it is. Epochalyptik mentioned this with Angel of Serenity . She's an amazing card that's probably your win condition, but drawing too many early on means you dont' want four of her. Likewise, Renounce the Guilds may be too specialized that you can't justify running four when you may only have one situation the entire game to cast it.
Two copies of a card means you'll want to draw one and only one copy of that card through the entire game, but it's not helpful when you draw more. Examples include legendary permanents (like Obzedat, Ghost Council ) and cards that don't have many benefits beyond the first (like Blind Obedience ).
Singletons are cards you only ever want one of, generally because they fit such a niche role in your deck. Chromatic Lantern is a good example.
Your choice of creatures should be based on their mana cost in comparison to their power and toughness. There's what's called the "Grizzly Bears Test," so named because of Grizzly Bears . If a creature is a 2/2 for one colorless and one colored mana with an ability, it means it's a worthy creature. In general, for each increase in mana cost, especially colored mana cost, the creature needs to have matching power and toughness or an ability. While Angel of Serenity costs seven and only has five power and six toughness, she makes up for it with two abilities: flying and removing three creatures from different zones. Maze Sentinel isn't that great because he's only a 3/6 for six mana with a very situational ability.
Your land count should be between 20 and 26. 20 land for a mono-colored aggro deck with all of its cards under four mana. 21 to 22 for a two-color aggro deck or slightly higher mana curved mono-color deck. 23 at a minimum for a three-color deck. 24, 25, and 26 for control, midrange, or any deck with slightly higher mana curves. This is a general principle and not set in stone, handled on a deck-by-deck basis. With what you're trying to build, I'd recommend 24.
Those are some general deck building tips, and there's certainly more. I hope this can get you started with narrowing down your deck. For starters, I'd focus on including:
2x Angel of Serenity 3x Blood Baron of Vizkopa 1x Desecration Demon 2x High Priest of Penance 1x Necropolis Regent 1x Obzedat, Ghost Council 2x Treasury Thrull
...and focus on building a W/B Midrange deck.
May 30, 2013 1:29 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #4
Usually I just throw a combo together, playtest, playtest, playtest.
Then take out what isn't doing much, and put something else in.
Then, playtest, playtest, playtest.
May 30, 2013 1:39 a.m.
Thanks Sylvannos.. What do you think about lands that give colorless mana and gates. also, Would those cards fall under the 20-26 mana rule?
May 30, 2013 1:40 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #6
If you are looking to make the deck competitive, no gates. Shock lands and check lands only.
Gates are way to slow.
May 30, 2013 1:56 a.m.
Schuesseled says... #7
The amount of lands you want to run are really deck dependent.
Descending Mana Curve (up to 3 cmc): 18 lands - 20 Lands
Descending Mana Curve (up to 4 cmc) 20 - 22 Lands
Descending Mana Curve (up to 5 cmc) 22 - 24 Lands
Higher top end: 24 minimum.
If your mana curve does not descend i.e it has less lower cost spells than higher cost spells , then you'll probably want to up the amount of lands you have.
The ranges should give you an idea of how many lands to run, but really only experience can dictate the exact amount to use.
May 30, 2013 2:52 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #8
Experience could also translate into "math."
What I usually do (typically when drafting) is count the mana symbols in mana costs per color and the divide by two.
So say I have a deck that has eighteen blue mana symbols in the costs of all cards, I'll play nine sources of blue mana.
To determine how many total lands to run, I generally go with 24 for dual colors to begin with. Play testing determines if to add more or to take away. Unless im playing aggro, at which point 22 is a lot.
May 30, 2013 3:07 a.m.
Thanks everyone, i think with all the feedback I got a deck down that pretty good and my playstyle.
May 30, 2013 3:12 a.m.
I'd probably go with 25 since black/white doesn't have much in the way of ramp or card draw. Missing a land drop will really hurt your deck. Standard Midrange decks usually get around this problem with Farseek or Think Twice , but you have neither.
Evolving Wilds isn't bad if you don't have a playset of your dual lands, same goes with Orzhov Guildgate . You'll want four Godless Shrine and four Isolated Chapel in your deck. Guildgates aren't bad either if you run out of other dual lands and still need more (usually that will happen if most of your cards are two or more colors).
You'll want to run plenty of removal for your lower casting cost cards. Orzhov Charm , Oblivion Ring , Tragic Slip , just to name a few.
May 30, 2013 3:32 a.m.
Schuesseled says... #11
@ vampirelazarus Your only emphasizing my point by adding exceptions to the rules of your "math".
Different decks can have the same number of mana symbols, and yet require different amounts of lands to perform effectively.
For example an aggro deck, often requires less lands than a control deck, because aggro decks are most effective in the early stages of the game, even if there mana curve is similar to the control deck, it would be best to play an aggro deck with less lands so you get more creatures to attack with.
So many exceptions to simply dividing your mana requirements arbitrarily.
May 30, 2013 7:18 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #12
Yeah,the math is for determining how much of each color to run.
Kodiac says... #2
Thanks Epochalyptik and cartwheelnurd
May 30, 2013 1:13 a.m.