So I was on starcity looking up cards for a deck but an add in there news feed thingy came up and it caught my attention. It was for a PDF of the "Next Level Deck Building" written by Patrick Chapin. If you don't know who he is he's a great MTG pro who loves building decks that is why he wrote the "Next Level Deck Building".
(here is a link to youtube to kinda show you a little aobut Next Level Deck Building: Youtube link:
Anyways I was kinda inspired by this and decided that to better myself, and hopefully other players, to start a discussion board, for players of all ranges, to talk about there deck builds and building techniques. This is so everyone who can learn a few tricks here and there and help others along the way.
To make sure players get valuable information please answer at least one or more of the fallowing questions or add one that i don't have already posted bellow
- - ? ? The Big Questions for this thread ? ?- -
1: How do you decide your Deck archtype(s) (what draws you to it and what makes it effective as a deck)
2: What makes you put what in a deck
3: How is what you choose for your deck effective compared to other your other card options? Dose it syengerize well?
4: What makes you decide what you chose for sideboards
5: What makes a deck Competitive vs Casual and how to make a competitive deck
6 (Final question): What makes your choices effective (both side and main) Effective against other decks as well as what makes.
- - So without further a due lets get started with the deck building techniques- -
I try to build decks that are not only fun to play but they are also good in the meta. I also like using cards that not a lot of other people use ex. Desecration Demon.
Have a plan and stick to it. Don't try to do a little bit of everything or throw in random stuff just because "it's cool". If something doesn't work towards the goal of the deck then it better have a very good reason for its place (i.e. it hoses the best deck in the format, or something else along those lines).
Think about how you expect games to start. How are your first 5 turns going to look against aggro/midrange/control? What if you don't draw Farseek? Play these scenarios out in your head step by step and think about weak spots and how to fix them.
Don't try and beat everything at once. In a diverse format you can't crush every matchup, something has to give. If you try that what will often result is a dilution of what made your deck good in the first place. What you can do is know your deck well enough to make the adjustments needed to keep up with changes to the metagame. Make educated guesses about what you expect to face and play the version of your deck that is best suited to beating those decks. Most decks have about 20-30 cards locked in and then 5-15 slots that are flexible. Once you have a lot of experience with a deck you will know which slots are flexible and you will know how to use them to adjust.
In my personal opinion i prefer agro decks so this is coming from a agro point of veiw.
decks like "The Aristocrats" are effective because it has all of 3 three things: Spot Removal, Protection, and a fast passed tempo that pressures players.
Spot removal (IMO): works most effectively by making it safe for creatures to hit so that they could be of use later in game. Also it eliminates threats like Planeswalkers or painful creatures like say Savagborn Hydra, Primordial Hydra, Archangel of Thune.
Effective Removal cards are: DoombladeUltimate Price,Murder,Tragicslip,Orzhov Charm,Dreadbore( This one being used for Planeswalkers).
If your using Burn for spot removal you also have an option to hit them for damage, this is also effective against control decks.
Effective Burn cards are: Searing Spear, Mizzium Mortar, Annihilating Fire (also get the Exile).
In decks like the Aristocrats you have 2 Forms of protection
1st is creature protection: Namely Falkenrath Aristocrat and Cartel Aristocrat. Both need to have a sac to trigger there abilities but in exchange you can either win combat or protect them from either damage or ablitites (this being Cartel Aristocrat)
2ed Self protection: In this deck you make use of cards like Lingering Souls, Sorin, Lord of Innstrad, and Doomed Travler. Also depending on your deck mod you also have Skirsdag High Priest. You can use them to either hold over and have as chumpies in a bad situation, or have for sac fodder to your Aristocrats. Also you have heavy hitting Offensive/Defensive player here too, Boro Reckoner. He will either hit clean through, trust me no one likes blocking him unleass its with chumpies. Let him sit on the sidelines and just wait....either way works.
Lastly the Tempo. If playing a deck you gotta think of your tempo/speed of the game and how long you need to wait before you can effectively win. Good and effective control decks like Esper and Bant control work best late game and will win when they take contorl of the game. These decks have the means to make it easly to turns 6+. However though, if an agro deck like mine pushes the tempo and forces them to use Sphinx's Revelations before it would be most beneficial then you've effectively taken game advantage.
These are just some of my deck tips, Removal (remove problems before they litterally kill you), Protecting both you and your creatures (don't leave yourself open with out a viable reason) , deck pace and tempo (how long do you need for an effective win)
1. I pick a creature, creature type, type of magic (as in mage of wind, of fire, or time, etc.), or pick a specific card effect that is rarely used and abuse it immensely.
2. The deck has to be fun, synergize well with the strategy I'm going for, and has to be fun in casual groups (even if it obliterates people. e.g. My casual group loved playing my Dragonstorm deck and played Archenemy against me using it and always tried to beat it).
3. I do not know what you mean.
4. Pick depending on the meta.
5. Competitive is when you start overpowering or restricting your opponent and start it early and keep it going. Casual is anything that you find fun and play with friends. Even Competitive decks can be casual decks.
6. My choices in both same and main are effective against most decks since most decks in the meta I build for have hardly anything to disrupt my strategy. For example, I run a legacy Cataclysm Deck. Everyone I have versed with it has complemented on it's uniqueness and strategic play. Sadly I do not have everything to finish it yet, but still a fun deck to run.
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Modern: U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
my biggest advice is dont be afraid to try something new, even if it gets bashed on here.
there are a lot of people on here with great knowlege of the game and its various metagames and you should always look for advice, but there are also a fair number of people on here who will dismiss an idea without thought, or just because you run an "unplayable" card.
i remember toying around with blood artist and sac outlets before he became popular. my original deck wasnt anything compared to decks like aristocrats or zombies, but the same engine was there. the idea was mostly shot down on the standard forum but after playing a lot with the card i was convinced it was definitely playable. lo and behold artist sees good play in the right decks.
another of my rogue decks was an artifact combo deck relying on semblence anvil, clock of omens, and otherworld atlas. it consistently comboed out on turn 4-5, either drawing them out via atlas or an army of golems from golem foundry. it was fairly weak to artifact destruction games 2 and 3 but it was so fast that if they didnt draw the sided in hate within those first turns it could still win. the deck went almost unnoticed on the forums and the few people that did comment didnt add anything helpful, but i played it and knew it was a decent deck that attacked the meta from a different angle so i kept at it.
TL/DR
if you think your deck is good keep playing and testing it until you can prove it with a good record or you find out why it isnt. dont let forum haters bring you down cause a pro didnt come up with it.
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Quote from DEADMANSEVEN »
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it put an evasive creature in its deck over a narrow hate card.
Quote from DARCYKUN »
If a card isn't worth your opponent removing, it's not worth putting in your deck.
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(here is a link to youtube to kinda show you a little aobut Next Level Deck Building: Youtube link:
Anyways I was kinda inspired by this and decided that to better myself, and hopefully other players, to start a discussion board, for players of all ranges, to talk about there deck builds and building techniques. This is so everyone who can learn a few tricks here and there and help others along the way.
To make sure players get valuable information please answer at least one or more of the fallowing questions or add one that i don't have already posted bellow
- - ? ? The Big Questions for this thread ? ?- -
1: How do you decide your Deck archtype(s) (what draws you to it and what makes it effective as a deck)
2: What makes you put what in a deck
3: How is what you choose for your deck effective compared to other your other card options? Dose it syengerize well?
4: What makes you decide what you chose for sideboards
5: What makes a deck Competitive vs Casual and how to make a competitive deck
6 (Final question): What makes your choices effective (both side and main) Effective against other decks as well as what makes.
- - So without further a due lets get started with the deck building techniques- -
Think about how you expect games to start. How are your first 5 turns going to look against aggro/midrange/control? What if you don't draw Farseek? Play these scenarios out in your head step by step and think about weak spots and how to fix them.
Don't try and beat everything at once. In a diverse format you can't crush every matchup, something has to give. If you try that what will often result is a dilution of what made your deck good in the first place. What you can do is know your deck well enough to make the adjustments needed to keep up with changes to the metagame. Make educated guesses about what you expect to face and play the version of your deck that is best suited to beating those decks. Most decks have about 20-30 cards locked in and then 5-15 slots that are flexible. Once you have a lot of experience with a deck you will know which slots are flexible and you will know how to use them to adjust.
decks like "The Aristocrats" are effective because it has all of 3 three things: Spot Removal, Protection, and a fast passed tempo that pressures players.
Spot removal (IMO): works most effectively by making it safe for creatures to hit so that they could be of use later in game. Also it eliminates threats like Planeswalkers or painful creatures like say Savagborn Hydra, Primordial Hydra, Archangel of Thune.
Effective Removal cards are: Doomblade Ultimate Price,Murder,Tragicslip,Orzhov Charm,Dreadbore( This one being used for Planeswalkers).
If your using Burn for spot removal you also have an option to hit them for damage, this is also effective against control decks.
Effective Burn cards are: Searing Spear, Mizzium Mortar, Annihilating Fire (also get the Exile).
In decks like the Aristocrats you have 2 Forms of protection
1st is creature protection: Namely Falkenrath Aristocrat and Cartel Aristocrat. Both need to have a sac to trigger there abilities but in exchange you can either win combat or protect them from either damage or ablitites (this being Cartel Aristocrat)
2ed Self protection: In this deck you make use of cards like Lingering Souls, Sorin, Lord of Innstrad, and Doomed Travler. Also depending on your deck mod you also have Skirsdag High Priest. You can use them to either hold over and have as chumpies in a bad situation, or have for sac fodder to your Aristocrats. Also you have heavy hitting Offensive/Defensive player here too, Boro Reckoner. He will either hit clean through, trust me no one likes blocking him unleass its with chumpies. Let him sit on the sidelines and just wait....either way works.
Lastly the Tempo. If playing a deck you gotta think of your tempo/speed of the game and how long you need to wait before you can effectively win. Good and effective control decks like Esper and Bant control work best late game and will win when they take contorl of the game. These decks have the means to make it easly to turns 6+. However though, if an agro deck like mine pushes the tempo and forces them to use Sphinx's Revelations before it would be most beneficial then you've effectively taken game advantage.
These are just some of my deck tips, Removal (remove problems before they litterally kill you), Protecting both you and your creatures (don't leave yourself open with out a viable reason) , deck pace and tempo (how long do you need for an effective win)
2. The deck has to be fun, synergize well with the strategy I'm going for, and has to be fun in casual groups (even if it obliterates people. e.g. My casual group loved playing my Dragonstorm deck and played Archenemy against me using it and always tried to beat it).
3. I do not know what you mean.
4. Pick depending on the meta.
5. Competitive is when you start overpowering or restricting your opponent and start it early and keep it going. Casual is anything that you find fun and play with friends. Even Competitive decks can be casual decks.
6. My choices in both same and main are effective against most decks since most decks in the meta I build for have hardly anything to disrupt my strategy. For example, I run a legacy Cataclysm Deck. Everyone I have versed with it has complemented on it's uniqueness and strategic play. Sadly I do not have everything to finish it yet, but still a fun deck to run.
U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
EDH:
G Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Fighting for Rivendell
WU Brago, King Eternal, Long Live the King
WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Worship the Dragon
I haven't bought it yet but from what it sounds like i think its worth the read....just not 38-40 dollars
I actually have read it twice.
would you mind posting a quick summary of some of the more important/interesting things that you read as well as your own personal tips.
there are a lot of people on here with great knowlege of the game and its various metagames and you should always look for advice, but there are also a fair number of people on here who will dismiss an idea without thought, or just because you run an "unplayable" card.
i remember toying around with blood artist and sac outlets before he became popular. my original deck wasnt anything compared to decks like aristocrats or zombies, but the same engine was there. the idea was mostly shot down on the standard forum but after playing a lot with the card i was convinced it was definitely playable. lo and behold artist sees good play in the right decks.
another of my rogue decks was an artifact combo deck relying on semblence anvil, clock of omens, and otherworld atlas. it consistently comboed out on turn 4-5, either drawing them out via atlas or an army of golems from golem foundry. it was fairly weak to artifact destruction games 2 and 3 but it was so fast that if they didnt draw the sided in hate within those first turns it could still win. the deck went almost unnoticed on the forums and the few people that did comment didnt add anything helpful, but i played it and knew it was a decent deck that attacked the meta from a different angle so i kept at it.
TL/DR
if you think your deck is good keep playing and testing it until you can prove it with a good record or you find out why it isnt. dont let forum haters bring you down cause a pro didnt come up with it.