[Trrible Idea] What is the correct number to own?

[Master Shake]

I am typing this up as I head out the door, but I want to list some cards and ask what people feel the best to number to own for a well rounded collection or what you feel the upper limit on the number a person should own is (Zero is an acceptable answer.) Alternatively/Additionally you can list how many you own and how many more or less that is than the number you feel you should own. Your criteria can be for collection purposes, having multiple decks built so that the cards do not need to slide from one deck to the other or whatever:

Staples:

Brainstorm
Ponder
Force of Will
Tarmogoyf
Swords to Plowshares
Dark Ritual
Lightning Bolt
Daze
Duress
Krosan Grip
Thoughtseize
Chalice of the Void
Æther Vial
Lion's Eye Diamond
Cabal Therapy
Mishra's Factory
Mutavault
Lotus Petal
Wasteland
Engineered Explosives
Dark Confidant
Chrome Mox

Slightly less commonly used cards:

Rishidan Port
Nimble Mongoose
Life from the Loam
Standstill
Cunning Wish
Fireblast
Armageddon
Mother of Runes
Burning Wish
Orim's Chant
City of Brass
Llanowar Elves
Fact or Fiction
Intuition
Iona, Shield of Emeria
Spell Pierce
Blood Moon
Magus of the Moon

Deck Specific Cards:

Counterbalance
Natural Order
Chord of Calling
Reset
Manabond
Decree of Justice
Doomsday
Tendrils of Agony
Price of Progress
Mogg Fanatic
Exhume
Reanimate

Fun:

Shahrazad
Goblin Game
Squire

I'm sure cards were omitted from our favorite deck and this entire thing may have been an awful idea, but I was curious to see the numbers that would be thrown out.

[Dan Turner]

I had to pull a binder or 2 to see what I have

Staples:

Brainstorm x16
Ponder x16 +I have some in a box
Force of Will x10 need 2 more
Tarmogoyf x12
Swords to Plowshares x8
Dark Ritual x100 plus (I collect these and Icy's)
Lightning Bolt x20 at least
Daze x12
Duress x16+
Krosan Grip x12 at least
Thoughtseize x4
Chalice of the Void x7 need 1 more
Æther Vial x12 had 16 but secret santa gave a set away
Lion's Eye Diamond x4
Cabal Therapy x12 or more
Mishra's Factory x 16 or more
Mutavault x8 (I just picked them up on the cheap)
Lotus Petal x12
Wasteland x8
Engineered Explosives x6
Dark Confidant x12+ One of them sets I purchased 2 cases of for Christmas one year
Chrome Mox x8

Slightly less commonly used cards:

Rishidan Port x4
Nimble Mongoose x12
Life from the Loam x4
Standstill x4
Cunning Wish x7
Fireblast I have 12 in a binder but i know there is more in boxes
Armageddon x4
Mother of Runes x2
Burning Wish x4
Orim's Chant x4
City of Brass x16 I use to collect these
Llanowar Elves x100 plus my wife collects them
Fact or Fiction x13
Intuition x4
Iona, Shield of Emeria x2
Spell Pierce x14
Blood Moon x6
Magus of the Moon x2

Deck Specific Cards:

Counterbalance x8
Natural Order x4
Chord of Calling x4
Reset x4
Manabond x4
Decree of Justice x5
Doomsday x8 thansk to secret santa sending me a playset of BB ones
Tendrils of Agony x8 at least
Price of Progress x6
Mogg Fanatic x a lot I have 4 pages plus some in a box
Exhume x4
Reanimate x9

Fun:

Shahrazad x4
Goblin Game x2
Squire x5

It took me forever but I have 4x of every common and uncommon in my collection I have up to 20x of some staple commons and uncommons.

For higher priced rares I only have 4x (except some of them) (except goyf for some reason I have 12x and no idea where I picked the last play set up from but I use them all)

I am working on a second playset of the following

Dual lands
Shock Lands
Fetches (all 40)

My magic budget runs around $250 per month and I try to get as many staples as I can find for sale

[Nonex]

I'm based on what you could call a Legacy card pool. This is what I think you should have so most likely you won't need to ask for additional copies when building a deck, although in case of multiple decks sharing cards you just can't have them all ready to use.


Staples:

Brainstorm 4
Ponder 4
Force of Will 4
Tarmogoyf 4
Swords to Plowshares 4
Dark Ritual 4
Lightning Bolt 4
Daze 4
Duress 4
Krosan Grip 3
Thoughtseize 4
Chalice of the Void 4
Æther Vial 4
Lion's Eye Diamond 4
Cabal Therapy 4
Mishra's Factory 4
Mutavault 4
Lotus Petal 4
Wasteland 4
Engineered Explosives 3
Dark Confidant 4
Chrome Mox 4

Slightly less commonly used cards:

Rishidan Port 4
Nimble Mongoose 4
Life from the Loam 4
Standstill 4
Cunning Wish 3
Fireblast 4
Armageddon 4
Mother of Runes 3
Burning Wish 4
Orim's Chant 4
City of Brass 4
Llanowar Elves 4
Fact or Fiction 3
Intuition 3
Iona, Shield of Emeria 2
Spell Pierce 4
Blood Moon 3
Magus of the Moon 4

Deck Specific Cards:

Counterbalance 4
Natural Order 3
Chord of Calling 2
Reset 4
Manabond 1
Decree of Justice 2
Doomsday 1
Tendrils of Agony 2
Price of Progress 4
Mogg Fanatic 4
Exhume 4
Reanimate 4

Fun:

Shahrazad X
Goblin Game X
Squire X

(X = number of copies you currently own)

Basically, a playset of every staple except SB cards and cards that don't see play as a 4-of for multiple reasons. Also, playsets of most uncommon cards because when you play them, you generally want 4 as well. With deck specific cards there's more variety. About cards for fun, my opinion is 4 of each of them but always as cheap as possible (it doesn't matter if it's NM or literally destroyed unless you have personal reasons to prefer something specific) and always after acquiring all the cards from the previous groups; the more expensive a card for fun is, the lesser priority it will have.

[Atwa]

I'll first list the number I have, then the number I think a decent Legacy collection should have.


Staples:

Brainstorm 12+, (4, maybe 8 if you want to play several decks)
Ponder 8, (4)
Force of Will 4, (4)
Tarmogoyf 4, (4)
Swords to Plowshares 12, (4)
Dark Ritual 4, (4)
Lightning Bolt 12, (4)
Daze 16, (4)
Duress 20+, (4)
Krosan Grip 8, (4)
Thoughtseize 4, (4)
Chalice of the Void 4, (4)
Æther Vial 6, (4)
Lion's Eye Diamond 4, (4, but only if you plan on playing combo)
Cabal Therapy 8 (4)
Mishra's Factory 7, (4)
Mutavault 0 (0-4, depends on what decks you play)
Lotus Petal 10, (4)
Wasteland 9, (4)
Engineered Explosives 4 (2-3)
Dark Confidant 5, (4)
Chrome Mox 4 (4)

Slightly less commonly used cards:

Rishidan Port 4, (0-4, depending on the decks you play)
Nimble Mongoose 7, (0-4 only usefull in certain decks)
Life from the Loam 4, (0-4, depending on the decks you play)
Standstill 4, (4)
Cunning Wish 1, (0, this card sees almost no play)
Fireblast 9, (4)
Armageddon 7, (0-4, depending on the decks you play)
Mother of Runes 4 (0)
Burning Wish 4 (4)
Orim's Chant 4 (0-4, depending on the decks you play)
City of Brass 7 (0, this card sees almost no play)
Llanowar Elves 20+ (4, no man can call himself a magicplayer without a playset of these)
Fact or Fiction 4 (2-3)
Intuition 2 (0, this card sees almost no play)
Iona, Shield of Emeria 1 (0, this card also doesn't see any serious play, I have 1 for my Legendary collection)
Spell Pierce 3 (4)
Blood Moon 2 (0-4, depending on the decks you play)
Magus of the Moon 6 (0-4, depending on the decks you play)

Deck Specific Cards:

Counterbalance 4 (4)
Natural Order 4 (0-4, depending on the decks you play)
Chord of Calling 2 (0, this card sees almost no play)
Reset 0 (0-4, depending on the decks you play)
Manabond 1 (0-4, depending on the decks you play)
Decree of Justice 2 (0, this card sees almost no play)
Doomsday 9, (2-3, depending on the decks you play)
Tendrils of Agony 4 (2-3)
Price of Progress 8, (4)
Mogg Fanatic 12, (4)
Exhume 15, (0-4, depending on the decks you play)
Reanimate 3, (0-4, depending on the decks you play)

Fun:

Shahrazad 0
Goblin Game 0
Squire 7

I'm sure cards were omitted from our favorite deck and this entire thing may have been an awful idea, but I was curious to see the numbers that would be thrown out.

[godryk]

Some time ago we made a general list of staples...

http://www.factoriademishra.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=629#p10626

[JeroenC]

Based solely on how I would want my collection to be, my current collection is no good point of reference. Things I think about:
-whether or not the card will also be used outside of tournaments decks
-price
-numbers ran in decks
Staples:

8 Brainstorm
8 Ponder
4 Force of Will
4 Tarmogoyf
8 Swords to Plowshares
4 Dark Ritual
8 Lightning Bolt
4 Daze
4 Duress
5 Krosan Grip
4 Thoughtseize
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Æther Vial
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Cabal Therapy
8 Mishra's Factory
4 Mutavault
4 Lotus Petal
4 Wasteland
3 Engineered Explosives
4 Dark Confidant
4 Chrome Mox

Slightly less commonly used cards:

4 Rishidan Port
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Life from the Loam
4 Standstill
0 Cunning Wish
0 Fireblast
0 Armageddon
4 Mother of Runes
4 Burning Wish
4 Orim's Chant
8 City of Brass
8 Llanowar Elves
4 Fact or Fiction
3 Intuition
2 Iona, Shield of Emeria
4 Spell Pierce
4 Blood Moon
4 Magus of the Moon

Deck Specific Cards:

4 Counterbalance
0 Natural Order
0 Chord of Calling
0 Reset
0 Manabond
0 Decree of Justice
4 Doomsday
2 Tendrils of Agony
4 Price of Progress
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Exhume
4 Reanimate

Fun:

0 Shahrazad (And burn all copies you find)
0 Goblin Game
40 Squire (as seasoning, use 4 Thrumming Stone and 16 Plains)

[anonymos]

Your criteria can be for collection purposes, having multiple decks built so that the cards do not need to slide from one deck to the other or whatever:

Staples:

Brainstorm 8-12
Ponder 4
Force of Will 8-12
Tarmogoyf 4-8 (I have 4 now :D)
Swords to Plowshares 8
Dark Ritual 8
Lightning Bolt 4-8
Daze 8-12
Duress 4
Krosan Grip 8
Thoughtseize 4
Chalice of the Void 4
Æther Vial 8-12
Lion's Eye Diamond 4
Cabal Therapy 4-8
Mishra's Factory 4
Mutavault 4
Lotus Petal 4-8
Wasteland 8-12
Engineered Explosives 4
Dark Confidant 4
Chrome Mox 4

Slightly less commonly used cards:

Rishidan Port 4
Nimble Mongoose 4
Life from the Loam 4
Standstill 4
Cunning Wish 4 (I only keep 3 for me but playsets are easier to acquire)
Fireblast 4
Armageddon 4
Mother of Runes 4
Burning Wish 4
Orim's Chant 4
City of Brass 4
Llanowar Elves 4
Fact or Fiction 4
Intuition 4
Iona, Shield of Emeria 4
Spell Pierce 4
Blood Moon 4
Magus of the Moon 4

Deck Specific Cards:

Counterbalance 4
Natural Order ** however many you play
Chord of Calling **
Reset 0 bad deck, trust me
Manabond **
Decree of Justice 4
Doomsday 2
Tendrils of Agony 4
Price of Progress 4-8
Mogg Fanatic 4
Exhume 4
Reanimate 4

Fun:

Shahrazad xX
Goblin Game xX
Squire xX


Also make sure to have at least one set of duals and fetches. I know you have more than that, but if you're paring down those monster boxes, make certain you have a full set put aside so you don't kick yourself later. That includes Badlands...

[MMogg]

I think if you have more than one playset of any card, it's ok to keep them if they're cheap, but I wouldn't suggest new players to go out and get multiple playsets of anything, since you'll never truly need them.

Also, this list is missing some cards. Maybe we could start building an increasingly accurate list. For example, how is it that Spell Snare (a common maindeck card) isn't on the list at all but Spell Pierce (an not so common sideboard card) is? :confused: And how does Counterbalance make the list, but SDT, which appears in decks without Coutnerbalance and hence more prevelant, does not?

Edit: I think godryk's list divided by color is a better way to separate cards than by use. You could always list them within each color from most necessary to least, or use a star system where ***** is most necessary and * isn't, etc.

[emidln]

Staples:

12 Brainstorm
12 Ponder
0 Force of Will
0 Tarmogoyf
0 Swords to Plowshares
12 Dark Ritual
4 Lightning Bolt
0 Daze
12 Duress
12 Krosan Grip
12 Thoughtseize
0 Chalice of the Void
0 Æther Vial
12 Lion's Eye Diamond
0 Cabal Therapy
0 Mishra's Factory
0 Mutavault
12 Lotus Petal
0 Wasteland
8 Engineered Explosives
12 Dark Confidant
12 Chrome Mox

Slightly less commonly used cards:

0 Rishidan Port
0 Nimble Mongoose
4 Life from the Loam
0 Standstill
6 Cunning Wish
0 Fireblast
0 Armageddon
0 Mother of Runes
12 Burning Wish
12 Orim's Chant
12 City of Brass
0 Llanowar Elves
4 Fact or Fiction
4 Intuition
0 Iona, Shield of Emeria
12 Spell Pierce
12 Blood Moon
12 Magus of the Moon

Deck Specific Cards:

12 Counterbalance
0 Natural Order
0 Chord of Calling
0 Reset
0 Manabond
0 Decree of Justice
12 Doomsday
12 Tendrils of Agony
0 Price of Progress
0 Mogg Fanatic
0 Exhume
0 Reanimate

Fun:

0 Shahrazad
0 Goblin Game
0 Squire

You're looking to build multiple copies of storm combo right?

[mchainmail]

I think if you have more than one playset of any card, it's ok to keep them if they're cheap, but I wouldn't suggest new players to go out and get multiple playsets of anything, since you'll never truly need them.

Also, this list is missing some cards. Maybe we could start building an increasingly accurate list. For example, how is it that Spell Snare (a common maindeck card) isn't on the list at all but Spell Pierce (an not so common sideboard card) is? :confused: And how does Counterbalance make the list, but SDT, which appears in decks without Coutnerbalance and hence more prevelant, does not?

Edit: I think godryk's list divided by color is a better way to separate cards than by use. You could always list them within each color from most necessary to least, or use a star system where ***** is most necessary and * isn't, etc.


coughthiscough (http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/18259_So_Many_Insane_Plays_The_Complete_Legacy_Checklist.html)

[Dan Turner]

coughthiscough (http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/18259_So_Many_Insane_Plays_The_Complete_Legacy_Checklist.html)

Cough "cost money" Cough

[JACO]

My recommended numbers, assuming you have the means and intention to play different decks and archetypes at a moment's notice:


Staples:

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Force of Will
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Dark Ritual
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Daze
4 Duress
3 Krosan Grip
4 Thoughtseize
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Æther Vial
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Mutavault
4 Lotus Petal
4 Wasteland
4 Engineered Explosives
4 Dark Confidant
3 Chrome Mox

Slightly less commonly used cards:

4 Rishadan Port
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Life from the Loam
4 Standstill
3 Cunning Wish
0 Fireblast
4 Armageddon
0 Mother of Runes
4 Burning Wish
4 Orim's Chant
4 City of Brass
0 Llanowar Elves
3 Fact or Fiction
4 Intuition
3 Iona, Shield of Emeria
4 Spell Pierce
4 Blood Moon
4 Magus of the Moon

Deck Specific Cards:

4 Counterbalance
3 Natural Order
0 Chord of Calling
0 Reset
4 Manabond
0 Decree of Justice
3 Doomsday
3 Tendrils of Agony
4 Price of Progress
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Exhume
4 Reanimate

Fun:
0 Shahrazad
0 Goblin Game
0 Squire

I'm sure cards were omitted from our favorite deck and this entire thing may have been an awful idea, but I was curious to see the numbers that would be thrown out.
There is no real reason to own more than 4 of anything, other than laziness, especially if you are on a limited budget. Those extra copies should always be converted into other cards you don't have that you can use (ie Tabernacle, random duals or fetches you would actually use, Survivals, etc.).

[Wargoos]

Am I lame just because I use the same sleeves for staples I use in different decks?
U kno, poor students kinda should do that - anything else is just decadence.

[anonymos]

I have a feeling that the guy listing this isn't looking for any major cards he doesn't own (although last I knew he had no goyf). He is a bit of a pimped card monger.

I know that he has the bulk of what he wants and probably just wants to see what people think he needs so that he doesn't have to move things between decks very often. Sadly, I'm working toward the same goal right now with the exception of FoW, Goyf, Duals, LED and old fetches.

[Atwa]

I have a bulk of playable (un)commons, but normally I have a few favoreds. I have lot's of duresses, but I only play with my saga foil onces. Same goes for cards like StP, Counterspell, I only use my IA Brainstorms etc.

The rest are simply part of my collection which I have gathered together in some years of playing. As I almost never really trade (don't have the time to go to tournament or the local shop), they sit in my binders just in case a friend wants to use them.

[Link Ramirez]

Am I lame just because I use the same sleeves for staples I use in different decks?
U kno, poor students kinda should do that - anything else is just decadence.

I also use the same sleeves approach and it was pretty convenient.
Until my wife decided to play Tarmogoyf. Now I'm stuck with Goyfless Landstill :cry:

[Forbiddian]

Brainstorm 6+
Ponder 0
Force of Will 4
Tarmogoyf 0
Swords to Plowshares 10+
Dark Ritual 10+
Lightning Bolt 10+
Daze 3
Duress 4
Krosan Grip 0
Thoughtseize 0
Chalice of the Void 0
Æther Vial 3
Lion's Eye Diamond 0
Cabal Therapy 2
Mishra's Factory 6
Mutavault 0
Lotus Petal 1
Wasteland 4
Engineered Explosives 2
Dark Confidant 0
Chrome Mox 0


Some of these really aren't staples, like Mutavault isn't more of a staple than Lord of Atlantis. Same with Chrome Mox. If that's up there, so should Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors be.

I guess it wasn't designed to encompass all the cards, but staples are really exclusively cards that are played in enough different decks that if your opponent plays them, you wouldn't be sure what he's playing.

[Forbiddian]

There is no real reason to own more than 4 of anything, other than laziness, especially if you are on a limited budget. Those extra copies should always be converted into other cards you don't have that you can use (ie Tabernacle, random duals or fetches you would actually use, Survivals, etc.).

Some people have friends, and some of those friends would like to borrow decks.

I'd rather shell out a few extra bucks to have a few functioning decks, say, Threshold, TES, and Ichorid than tell my friends, "Oh, sorry, I'm 4 brainstorms short on Threshold, two ponders short on TES, and 4 LEDS short on Ichorid."

Or, as you put it: I'd rather have four functioning decks than like a Tabernacle, even if I could always play, regardless.