From cac00a3ec39bb6631e41cd037862d58403282d72 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: tiyn Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2023 03:26:42 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] games: added deck building to mtg --- wiki/games/magic:_the_gathering.md | 158 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++- 1 file changed, 156 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/wiki/games/magic:_the_gathering.md b/wiki/games/magic:_the_gathering.md index 2f1df65..702dd23 100644 --- a/wiki/games/magic:_the_gathering.md +++ b/wiki/games/magic:_the_gathering.md @@ -6,14 +6,15 @@ MTG is published by [Wizards of the Coast](https://company.wizards.com) - which reffered to as Wizards. In Magic: The Gathering there are many different formats that are all listed on [the official website](https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats). +Rules can also be found on [Wizards website](https://magic.wizards.com/en/rules). ## Playing Online There is a fully digital and online version of MTG called [Magic: The Gathering Arena](https://magic.wizards.com/mtgarena) - or MTGA for short - that has nearly the same rules as the tabletop variant. -Another alternative to playing fully digital is [Magic: The Gathering Online](https://www.mtgo.com) -- MTGO. +Another alternative to playing fully digital is [Magic: The Gathering Online](https://www.mtgo.com). +This is also known as MTG Online or MTGO. It is also possible to remotely play with tabletop cards. This is most easily done on [Spelltable](https://spelltable.wizards.com/) which is an official @@ -107,3 +108,156 @@ The following sites sell MTGO tix and rent cards. to buy tix. Lastly [decklist.org](https://decklist.org/) can be used to neatly print out decklists. + +## Deck Building + +A central part of MTG is the composition of cards to a deck. +This section addresses the act of building a deck and important topics regarding deck composition. +Starting with the general topics of deck building this section will then split into multiple +subsections for building decks of different deck size. +This following general part is mainly based on a +[video by Pompeius IIb.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a37dLTiV58o). + +It is generally recommended to stick with the minimum number of allowed cards in a format for a +deck. +This will assure that cards that are in the deck have a higher possibility to be drawn or in the +starting hand. + +The first step of building a deck is setting up a clear strategy. + +There are 3 main strategies. +Aggro decks are meant to build pressure and end the game fastly. +They are generally proactive and have minimal interaction with the opponent. +On the other side of the spectrum are control decks. +They counter the opponent and neutralize their strategy. +Due to this they are reactive. +These type of decks usually use a lot of card draw to get the advantage and find the correct counter +for a given opponent. +As a third theme combo decks use a combination of cards that are meant to finish the game. +They are based on finding these cards and performing the combo. +These kind of decks can use loops that can take a long time or even are infinite. + +There are also combination of these strategies. +Aggro and control decks are called tempo or midrange decks. +Control and combo decks use the combo as a finisher to the game but are generally similar to control +decks. +The combination of aggro and control are generally fast, non-interactive and are synergy based Aggro +decks. + +To find a strategy for your needs the following three questions are important to answer. + +- How to end the game? +- When to end the game? +- How many interactions with the opponent? + +The other big topic in deck building is card selection. + +For picking a card multiple things have to be considered. +The card has to be efficient mana-wise. +It should therefore always be compared to other cards that are played similarly. +For creatures without any bonus attributes it is said that 1 Power and 1 Toughness per Mana is a +good starting point. +Additionally cards should fit the strategy and shouldn't be too specific. +Modal spells (1 card with multiple options) can be useful to be prepared for different +situations without too specific cards +They shouldn't be "win-more"-card and play good on their own. +The cards selected should include some few good concepts and synergies between cards. + +Another thing to consider is the mana curve. +Mana curve describes the histogram of the mana values of the cards in a deck. +The curve should always begin at 1 and when the point is reached that wasspecified to end the game. +Using mana-acceleration a turn and its mana cost on the curve can be reduced or skipped. + +The mana base is the land cards that are in a deck. +The mana base should include the right colors in the right ratio. +This ration can be calculated by calculating the mean of all used mana colors. +Sometimes it can be useful to increase the mana color of cards that are needed very early in the +game to ensure they can be played. +In non-mono decks double lands are useful but their restrictions they come with should be noted. +Approximately 1/3 of a deck should be reserved for land cards. + +### Building a 60 Card Deck + +This section will focus on the building of a 60 card deck. +60 cards per deck is the minimum requirement for most formats like standard, modern and more. +For 100 card decks navigate to the [following section](#building-a-100-card-deck) +This section is also mainly based on a +[video by german YouTuber Pompeius IIb.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a37dLTiV58o). + +All tipps that are in the [above section](#deck-building) are to be considered in this section too. + +As a rule of thumb the number of lands in a 60 card deck should be around +`18 + [cost of the most expensive card] (+- 1)`. + +It is recommended to use playsets (4 cards) of cards or use multiple cards that are similar to +reduce the possibilities of draws. + +### Building a 100 Card Deck + +This section will focus on the building of a 100 card deck. +100 cards per deck is most notably the minimum requirement for the commander format. +Therefor this section will mostly focus on commander +For 60 card decks navigate to the [previous section](#building-a-60-card-deck) + +All tipps that are in the [above section](#deck-building) are to be considered in this section too. + +For commander decks it is also important to select a commander to build the deck around. +Selecting the commander should be done in a step before choosing the strategy. + +There are four main templates to build a commander. +The first three templates are fairly similar and will be explained as one in the +[following section](#9x7-8x8-and-7x9-deck-templates). +The last in the [section thereafter](#the-command-zone-deck-template). + +#### 9x7, 8x8 and 7x9 Deck Templates + +This section is mainly based on a [EDH Wiki entry](https://edh.fandom.com/wiki/7_by_9). +These three templates are considered to be very flexible. +Each theory gives a number of categories and a number of cards in that category. +Those categories of cards are intended to use many cards with similar effects to make the deck more +robust and redundant to draw similar cards consistently. + +The categories are usually a combination of the following ones - though other categories are +possible. + +- Card Draw +- Ramp +- Board Wipes +- Spot Removal +- Protection +- Reanimation Spells +- Tutors +- Haste Enablers +- Counterspells +- Buffs +- Blink Spells +- Token Makers +- Lifegain +- Lifegain Payoffs +- Graveyard Hate +- Pet Cards +- Miscellaneous + +The three templates are the following: +The first is 7 categories by 9 cards (7x9) which will leave 36 cards for the mana base. +8 categories by 8 cards (8x8) which will leave 35 cards for the mana base. +9 categories by 7 cards (9x7) which will leave 36 cards for the mana base. + +The category number and sizes can be adjusted. +It is considered that 10 cards in a category will make 2 cards of that category appear in a game and +a good chance to draw one card of that category in the starting hand. +categories with 5 cards are considered to make 1 card of that category appear in a game. + +#### The Command Zone Deck Template + +The fourth template is a template made by [Command Zone](https://www.youtube.com/@commandcast). +This section is therefore based on the corresponding +[video by Command Zone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K9PEeLG_6M). + +It specifies the following categories and number cards in them. +The first card is the commander. +36 to 38 cards are used for the mana base. +10 cards are used for mana ramp. +10 cards are used for card draw. +5 cards each are used for targeted removal and board wipes. +The remaining 31 to 33 cards are used for the intended game strategy and deck plan.