Captain Hammer
11-23-2008, 02:35 AM
Basically a small group of us got sick of basically seeing every one of our decks consisting of 15 4x cards, or something close to that, and seeing the same cards over and over again each game. Yes, the decks are more consistent that way, but they're a lot less diverse, and the matches always seem to play out the exact same way.
So we came up with a new rule for deck construction, and I have to say, it has done wonders for the diversity of the games...
The rule is basically this, roughly 1/4th of the deck has to be 4 ofs, 1/4th of the deck has to be 3 ofs, 1/4th has to be 2 ofs and 1/4th has to be 1 ofs.
So basically, the deck plays 4 4x, 5 3x, 7 2x, and 15 1x cards or something close to that. A small amount of leevay is allowed as long as the deck roughly meets these guidelines.
The lists look as follows...
4x
4x
4x
4x
3x
3x
3x
3x
3x
2x
2x
2x
2x
2x
2x
2x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
You would be very surprised just how much having to conform to this format livened up both deck construction, and gameplay.
There is just enough 4x ofs that you get to play 4 copies of the most broken cards in the deck, stuff like Force of Wills, Tarmogoyfs, Tombstalkers, Brainstorms and such. You can play 3 ofs of other solid cards that don't absolutely need to be 4 ofs.
And this type of deck design works far better with multicolored decks so having a mana base that conforms to these rules is not difficult.
The real fun begins with the singletons (and the two ofs to some degree). This rule gives you the oppurtunity to play with tons of great cards that you otherwise wouldn't bother to play, cards like Kitchen Finks and Cold Eyed Selkie and others, that while strong, never quite met the threshold to be popular in legacy. It also encourages the use of tutors.
Having to play all those singletons means that you never quite know what card you will draw, each game plays out completely diffently. Sometimes, the key card that wins you the game is an Eternal Witness, or a Krosan Grip, or a Pernicious Deed, or a Reanimate, or a Kitchen Finks, or Engineered Explosives or a Cold-eyed Selkie or Garruk or something else completely random that you included as a 1 of because it was a solid card that wasn't particularly broken, but was good nonetheless.
If any of you get the oppurtunity, I strongly encourage your playgroup, or store to try out such a rule for a bit. You would be surprised how much fun deck creation can be.
Basically, this is kind of like Highlander, but doesn't really give you the feeling that you're playing an inferior deck. You are still allowed to play 4 copies of stuff like Tarmogoyf, so you don't feel like the deck is subpar. But it does feel a lot more flexible, the deck construction is more interesting, and the games still feel very variable. So it's the best of both worlds.
So we came up with a new rule for deck construction, and I have to say, it has done wonders for the diversity of the games...
The rule is basically this, roughly 1/4th of the deck has to be 4 ofs, 1/4th of the deck has to be 3 ofs, 1/4th has to be 2 ofs and 1/4th has to be 1 ofs.
So basically, the deck plays 4 4x, 5 3x, 7 2x, and 15 1x cards or something close to that. A small amount of leevay is allowed as long as the deck roughly meets these guidelines.
The lists look as follows...
4x
4x
4x
4x
3x
3x
3x
3x
3x
2x
2x
2x
2x
2x
2x
2x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
1x
You would be very surprised just how much having to conform to this format livened up both deck construction, and gameplay.
There is just enough 4x ofs that you get to play 4 copies of the most broken cards in the deck, stuff like Force of Wills, Tarmogoyfs, Tombstalkers, Brainstorms and such. You can play 3 ofs of other solid cards that don't absolutely need to be 4 ofs.
And this type of deck design works far better with multicolored decks so having a mana base that conforms to these rules is not difficult.
The real fun begins with the singletons (and the two ofs to some degree). This rule gives you the oppurtunity to play with tons of great cards that you otherwise wouldn't bother to play, cards like Kitchen Finks and Cold Eyed Selkie and others, that while strong, never quite met the threshold to be popular in legacy. It also encourages the use of tutors.
Having to play all those singletons means that you never quite know what card you will draw, each game plays out completely diffently. Sometimes, the key card that wins you the game is an Eternal Witness, or a Krosan Grip, or a Pernicious Deed, or a Reanimate, or a Kitchen Finks, or Engineered Explosives or a Cold-eyed Selkie or Garruk or something else completely random that you included as a 1 of because it was a solid card that wasn't particularly broken, but was good nonetheless.
If any of you get the oppurtunity, I strongly encourage your playgroup, or store to try out such a rule for a bit. You would be surprised how much fun deck creation can be.
Basically, this is kind of like Highlander, but doesn't really give you the feeling that you're playing an inferior deck. You are still allowed to play 4 copies of stuff like Tarmogoyf, so you don't feel like the deck is subpar. But it does feel a lot more flexible, the deck construction is more interesting, and the games still feel very variable. So it's the best of both worlds.