In some ways, tuning a casual deck seems like an oxymoron. Tournament decks are tuned, with the designers playing a huge number of games with a single deck design. Tuning a tournament deck can mean changing a single card, then playing another ten games against each deck in the test gauntlet to see if the change is warranted. By this time in a PTQ Constructed season, pros will have played hundreds of games with a given deck design.
In contrast, in casual play, I rarely play a deck more than a dozen times before I tear it apart and build something completely new. Most other casual players are not that obsessive about deckbuilding, but they are generally more interested in building a fun and interesting deck than in tuning a deck to make it a killer, stalking its metagame like a lion on the Serengeti.
That said, all casual decks can use some tuning. Some simple steps and tricks can improve the performance without a lot of effort.
Its not a perfect analogy, but think of cars. PT level decks are NASCAR-caliber stockcars, custom-built from the ground up and tuned to a perfect pitch. Casual decks are more akin to normal, civilian transportation – but even a ’73 Nova can benefit from a tune-up and a pair of fuzzy dice. In that spirit, here are ten things that will help every deck.
1) Check The Mana Curve
You want to lay out your deck, with the creatures sorted by mana cost in one area, and the support spells in a second area. Really do this – lay out the cards on the table. Nearly every casual player adds some cards, pulls some cards and generally tweaks the deck as time goes along. After a while, the mana curve may surprise you.
Here’s an example, using an old deck of mine:
Casting Cost | Creatures | Other Spells |
1 | 4 | 4 |
2 | 8 |
|
3 |
| 4 |
4 | 8 | 2 |
5 | 4 |
|
6 |
| 2 |
7+ |
|
|
That deck is a bit top-heavy, but it has eight mana creatures and eight spells to fetch lands, plus 24 lands, so it does manage to cast everything it needs and to have mana left over to activate abilities. By comparison, here’s a deck I pulled off a discussion forum.
Casting Cost | Creatures | Other Spells |
1 | 4 | 4 |
2 |
| 2 |
3 |
| 3 |
4 | 4 | 6 |
5 |
| 5 |
6 | 4 |
|
7+ | 6 | (3 X spells) |
The deck had eighteen lands. To be fair, there were two Lay of the Land and three Krosan Tuskers, but that is still way too much to be cast with way too little. I have to assume that the builder simply hasn’t looked at his mana curve recently, because it will lose him games.
I could – and probably should – write a whole article on mana issues, but I’ll assume most of you know what too look for. Given that, lay out your deck – what you see may surprise you.
2) Cycling Lands
Most casual decks, and nearly all multiplayer decks, develop slowly. Especially in multiplayer, explosive starts are not so important – they generally just make you a target, and probably first out of the game. Since early turns are less critical, you can generally replace some of the basic lands with cycling lands. The”comes into play tapped” problem will not hurt most casual decks, and the ability to cycle past a land draw in the late game is often golden. Cycling lands are simple, cheap and readily available, so unless you have a special reason to play just basic lands (like Tsabo’s Web or Yavimaya Elder), add a few cyclers.
3) Sol Ring
Unless your deck has a flat mana curve or runs nothing that costs colorless mana, do yourself a favor and order a Sol Ring from StarCity now. It’s the one card that I put in nearly every deck I build. One colorless mana buys two the turn it’s cast, and two more every turn thereafter. It is one of the cheapest of the T1 restricted cards, but worth it at twice the price.
4) Cantrips
In many cases, standard effects have been reprinted as cantrips – cards that do something and draw a card. In tournament play, where cutting the casting cost to the bone is a vital necessity, only a few cantrips (like Repulse) see play. In casual and multiplayer games, where mana is less of an issue, then it may make sense to replace Disenchant with Dismantling Blow and Terror with Annihilate. Card drawing is good.
5) Lose The Life Gain
This is something most players eventually learn, but life gain is only good in a couple specific situations. If it merely prolongs losing for a turn or two, then it is bad. Think about it: If you drew Stream of Life, cast it, and lived for an additional turn, almost any other type of card (removal, a chump blocker, a reset button) would have been equally useful. Life gain is only truly useful if 1) it buys significantly more than one extra turn before you are killed, or 2) it gives you a turn and a card, so that you can win in that extra turn. The only cards that fulfill the first criteria are cards like Congregate in a big multiplayer game, or infinite lifegaining combos. The second type are rare, and usually something like Moment’s Peace serves better as methods of setting up a win. Expensive, sorcery-speed life gain, like Stream of Life, is almost always the wrong card. If you have little mana, Stream does nothing interesting. If you have a ton of mana, why cast Stream when you could cast Fireball and just win?
6) Alternate Victory Paths
I always like to have a second method of winning in case my primary path becomes closed. In many of my decks, I build in a strange and wonderful combo – but that’s just me. However, some form of backup plan is always a good idea. If you cannot attack with creatures, have a Prodigal Sorcerer in the deck, or two Gaea’s Blessings, or a single X spell, or even a poison creature and a Traveler’s Cloak. It doesn’t have to be strong, but casual and multiplayer games have a lot of strange things happening, so it pays to be prepared.
7) Tutors
Most decks run a couple utility cards, some mana acceleration and blockers and a few win conditions. If you are running enough copies of win conditions and silver bullets to ensure drawing them, consider cutting the numbers a bit and making room for some tutors. The Wishes are exceptionally good tutors. Outside of Sol Ring, the cards I most generally find myself moving from deck to deck are Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Living Wish, and Cunning Wish. Enlightened Tutor, Intuition, and Planar Portal are also solid cards that find homes in many of my decks.
8) Add Some Evasion
Many, many casual games become creature stalls. A touch of evasion can work wonders. For one example, look at the Extended Psychatog decks now fetching Shadow Rift with Cunning Wish – a Psychatog with Shadow is a truly scary beast. Most colors have some useful evasion cards in their colors: Shadow Rift, Shelter, Unquestioned Authority, Falter, Dirge of Dread, Filth, and Rancor are classics. Even Flying Carpet can be useful, if not particularly cost efficient. In small games, a card that provides that evasion for a turn or so is good. In larger games, you can have a lot of fun borrowing evasion with Phyrexian Splicer.
9) Land-om Removal
Every so often, it is useful to have some practically uncounterable removal. If your mana base can support it, look at putting in some land that doubles as removal or damage. Shivan Gorge is a path to victory, but only that. Arena, the old promo land, is just removal, like Quicksand and the marginal Balduvian Trading Post. Keldon Necropolis and Rath’s Edge hit both players and creatures. Finally, the animating lands can always attack and block. Treetop Village and Mishra’s Factory are probably the best, but Stalking Stones is highly splashable and still quite affordable.
10) Dual-Use Creatures
In casual decks, and especially in multiplayer, I love creatures that provide some protection as well as a potentially useful ability. Wall of Roots has to be one of my favorites – it blocks and provides mana acceleration, even on the turn it enters play. I prefer Wall of Roots to almost any other green accelerant – with the sole exception being the green Ancestral Recall, Yavimaya Elder. Other creatures with particularly good abilities, that can also double as blockers, include Viashino Heretic, Capashen Unicorn (not amazing, but it is a Seal of Cleansing that can attack and block), Master Decoy, or even Orcish Artillery. Stinging Barrier, Heavy Ballistae, and Eater of the Dead also qualify, but are not three drops. The nice thing about these cards is that they serve as early blockers, to convince opponents to keep their weenies home or to attack someone else, while having the potential to be useful later on. Moreover, they are not overtly threatening, unlike a fast 3/1 or even a 2/2, so they are good politics.
One other class of 1/3 for 3 mana creatures deserve some mention: the Advocates. Advocates return cards to an opponent’s hand, but do so as the cost to do something useful. Nullmage Advocate kills artifacts and enchantments. Shieldmage Advocate prevents damage, and Spurnmage Advocate destroys attacking creatures. These creatures are not that amazing in duels, but they shine in multiplayer. You see, you don’t have to return the cards to the same player that you target with the effect. This means that the cards can be great for making friends and cementing alliances.
One example that can show this effect. Barry was attacking with both Rith and Treva, and Rith was wearing an Armadillo Cloak. The attacks will take out two players, leaving the fourth to deal with the dragons and a little cluster of Saprolings. Of the two players about to exit the game, Chris is mono-black and was not a serious threat at the moment. Ingrid was playing U/W/R deck with lots of scary instants, Lightning Angels and Cognivores, and had Treasure Trove in play and the mana to activate it several times a turn. However, I had Nullmage Advocate in play. I was able to kill the Treasure Trove, while returning two Terrors to Chris’ hand. The Terrors killed the Dragons and the game continued, with two of the other players feeling in my debt – even Ingrid, since she would have died to Rith that turn.
So there you have it – ten simple tips for tuning up casual / multiplayer decks.