How to build a good mana base?
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on July 2, 2015, 3:18 a.m. by Hideousgamer
Ok I been testing my deck Dragonlord BUG Modern and I keep getting this feeling like the mana base is falling short. That the deck could be 1000 times better if I could some how make sure that I get blue, green, and black out by turn 3 and double green for turn 4. I know that this is all an matter of math; but I was just wondering is there any trick to put into effect to help or is it just an matter of doing the math?
Hjaltrohir says... #4
I usually run between 7-10 fetches and 4-6 shocks in a deck. Then for sultai you'll want 3 Creeping Tar Pit, 1-3 Tectonic Edge and 3-5 basics.
As LeaPlath said, don't run Mana Confluence.
July 2, 2015 7:28 a.m.
ouroborobelisk says... #6
Every multi-color deck I make runs a couple Mana Confluence's at first, then after I play with them a little bit ... yup, out they go. You would think I'd learn my lesson with City of Brass ... both are "good" cards, but ...
July 2, 2015 10:04 a.m.
The general rules that I follow with my manabase on a three-color deck are as follows:
1. I figure out what my curve is. My general rule of thumb is 20 lands if my most expensive card is a 3-drop, 22 if it's a 4-drop, and 24 if it's a 5-drop. However, if I have 8+ 4-drops in the deck (as some control decks tend to), I'll bump the land count up to 24. For argument's sake, let's say I need 24 land.
2. I count up the symbols I have for each color in my deck, what symbols I need to cast my 1-drops, and how many sources of a given color I need in order to cast everything on curve.
So for example, a Sultai Control deck may have 20 
symbols, 12 
symbols, and 12 
symbols, which include Serum Visions, Inquisition of Kozilek, Thoughtseize, and Spell Snare (need or by turn 1), along with Cryptic Command (which means I need 3 sources by turn 4) and Liliana of the Veil (which means I need 2 sources by turn 3).
3. Based on what my primary color is, I play 8 fetchlands, all of which can fetch my primary color and half of which can fetch my secondaries. In the example presented above, I would play 4 Polluted Delta and 4 Misty Rainforest.
4. Next are the shocklands. I like playing 2 of each shockland with my primary color, and 1 of any shocklands that do not include my primary. Going back to my example, that would mean 2 Watery Grave, 2 Breeding Pool, and 1 Overgrown Tomb.
5. Now, I go back to how many sources I need by what turn, as well as the 1-drops, and add dual lands (preferably ones that double of manlands or otherwise have utility) to fit. In this case here, I need a lot of and early, so I'll go for 3-4 copies of Creeping Tar Pit, which is a great manland. If it's aggro and I can't really afford to have lands that come into play tapped, I'd opt for Darkslick Shores instead. doesn't have any great manlands or fastlands, so we'll have to settle for Hinterland Harbor.
6. After that, it's time for the basic lands. In general, I like having 2-3 basics for my primary color, and 1-2 basics for my secondary color, depending on how many symbols I have for each one. To continue our example, I can probably roll with 2 Island, 1 Forest, and 1 Swamp.
7. Once all of that is taken care of, if you have the room, you can probably get away with 1-2 colorless utility lands. Because the example I provided was Sultai Control, cards like Tectonic Edge are a great fit, so let's try and sneak one in there.
8. In summary, my land base for a Sultai control deck with 20 symbols, 12 symbols, and 12 symbols that needs to cast Inquisition of Kozilek/Serum Visions/Spell Snare/Thoughtseize early, as well as Liliana of the Veil and Cryptic Command on curve (and has 8 4-drops) is as follows:
- 2 Breeding Pool
- 4 Creeping Tar Pit
- 1 Forest
- 2 Hinterland Harbor
- 2 Island
- 4 Misty Rainforest
- 1 Overgrown Tomb
- 4 Polluted Delta
- 1 Swamp
- 1 Tectonic Edge
- 2 Watery Grave
It gets a bit more complicated if you need sources of one color early, and sources of another color late, but in that case I recommend that you show a mild preference to the color you need early, and let the fetches get you the color you need late. Durdling is death in Magic.
Anyway, I hope that all of this is helpful.
July 2, 2015 11:50 a.m. Edited.
Hideousgamer says... #8
Thanks for all the tips :D A lot of info has been drop on me here. So it will take some time for me to move myself though it all and make sense of it. But with this drop of info I can better myself as a builder and help others down the road :D.
July 2, 2015 7:03 p.m.
Hideousgamer says... #9
I have one last thing just so I know that got this mana base building down. Dragonlord BUG take a look? I think I got the base right now under the idea of fetch lands take about 6-9 spots within the base. Then the next 10 spots get used by dual lands/tri-lands. Lastly you fill in the last few spots with the basic lands be it whatever colors you need.
July 2, 2015 11:20 p.m.
I also recommend Darkslick Shores and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
July 4, 2015 1:13 p.m.
I'm not really a fan of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in Modern - most of the good cards in will require 2 sources or less, and anecdotally I found that I was fixing my opponent's manabase as often as I was mine. Additionally, giving your opponent the option of waiting to crack his/her fetchlands (because they have access to mana already) can be relevant.
July 5, 2015 9:36 p.m.
Hideousgamer says... #12
Rothgar I think you looked at my Standard deck :P. But you're right in the idea that using it I only help out others in today's meta.
JDMCRIB says... #2
Your deck is Sultai, so for fetches you have Verdant Catacombs, Polluted Delta, and Misty Rainforest and for shocks you have Breeding Pool, Watery Grave, and Overgrown Tomb. These will be the bread and butter of your mana base. I don't know the exact math, but basically if you draw any fetchland with this setup you can get any of your three colors on turn 1. Doing this on turns 2 and 3, you'll have BUG on turn 3 like you wanted. I'd say something like:
4x Misty Rainforest
3-4x Polluted Delta
1-2x Verdant Catacombs
1-2x Breeding Pool
1x Overgrown Tomb
1-2x Watery Grave
It is imperative that you run more fetches than shocks. Essentially, each fetchland in your hand is a virtual copy of all 3 of your shocklands. So, you want more of those to get a more rounded-out manabase.
So that leaves roughly 10 lands left. These are going to be your utility lands and basic lands. These will depend on what you're running, so these are really up to you. Maybe something like
3x Creeping Tar Pit
1-2x Mana Confluence
1, 2, 3, 4x Ghost Quarter/Tectonic Edge
And the rest should be basics. You always want some number of basics in your deck in the event that you get Path to Exiled. If you don't run any Path becomes a very one-sided spell, and that's really bad for you. 1 of each a Swamp, Forest, and Island is perfectly fine for your deck.
TL:DR - Run fetches and shocks for the majority of your lands, and then round it out with utility lands and basic lands.
July 2, 2015 3:51 a.m.