How Do I Decide How Much Mana I Should Have In My Deck?
Asked by Human_Rogue_21 12 years ago
A friend told me to split the number of colored permanents in half and then add 2 and thats how many lands I should have? Not sure though...
Jarrod_0067 says... Accepted answer #2
To expand on this, different deck archetypes require different amounts of land.
Aggro can get away with 20 to 22 lands if it is mono colored, 22 to 24 if it is dual colored
Control sits between 24 and 26 lands
Combo is very dependent on the converted mana cost of your highest combo card (eg. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Pestermite , highest cmc is 5 so you want to not miss your first 5 lands)
September 2, 2012 9:59 p.m.
Jarrod_0067 says... #3
Exceptions are made though. Some decks run 28 lands. A famous example being Jund, which wanted a land drop every turn and relied on the cascade mechanic to 2-for-1 spells, netting card advantage
September 2, 2012 10 p.m.
atreyujames says... #5
i use a calculator
i add all the numbers of say the white mana symbols in the cost of all cards, then i divide it by the number of red mana symbols. then i take that number and times it by the number of lands i have space for in my deck.
p.s. this is for a boros deck of course
September 2, 2012 10:03 p.m.
Human_Rogue_21 says... #6
Hmmm... Interesting I Will Try Both Methods And See Which Works Better!
September 2, 2012 10:09 p.m.
Jarrod_0067 says... #7
This is how I usually do my lands. Just use this as a starting guide and go from there
- Start with 20 lands
- If control, add 4 lands
- If combo, add land equal to the converted mana cost of your highest card. If you answered yes to #2, deduct 2 lands, then skip step #4
- If the deck is dual colored, add 2 lands
- For each additional color, add another land
- Maximum of 28 (In most circumstances)
Also, fetch lands don't exactly count towards your land total, as they're really just for thinning. Running blue spells like Brainstorm , Ponder , Preordain and Jace, the Mind Sculptor means you can run more lands if you wish. These cards are really good at sorting out your land drops and chucking any unwanted lands in places you won't see them again :)
September 2, 2012 10:10 p.m.
Usually I look at my mana curve first. If I have nothing that costs me more then 4 mana (an aggro type deck) I can get away with 20 to 23 or so lands. But if i have a deck that has many cards that are pretty expensive to cast (an early game control, big creatures later type deck) then 24 to 25 lands are probably better. Then once you figure out how many lands you need look at how many colorless mana land you can fit in that wont slow you down but will help out in most duels. The final thing I do at this point ( if I am running more then 1 or 2 colors) is look at dual lands/ basic land. Count up the cost of each color on your cards and make a ratio of each color to the other color(s). Finally try to make your lands as similar to that ratio as possible and you should be good.
When you have 3 color decks tho land distribution can get a bit crazy, I mean look at my deck deck:naya-warmongrrs-rtr-update for example. I am so glad shocklands have been confirmed lol.
September 2, 2012 10:13 p.m.
Jarrod_0067 says... #9
I should note, the type of land is really important too. This is why rare lands are so expensive. In a monocolor deck, it's okay to run 24 Forest etc, but if you have mulitcolor, you should be using duals like Rootbound Crag and Darkslick Shores . There's nothing worse in my opinion, than having a Forest and a Mountain on turn 2 with a Strangleroot Geist in hand
Jarrod_0067 says... #1
usually, whatever is consistent is best
September 2, 2012 9:56 p.m.