Each year, after the core set release, and before the Fall rotation, I like to take a minute and document where the Deck of Many Things is, and how it has evolved. This year I plan to break this documentation up into several smaller documents, each focused on a specific portion of the deck. Now for those that may not know, this deck is made up of 300 cards, in a highlander style. 5color dictates the size of the deck, and that there must be atl east 25 cards of each of the five colors. I have been playing this deck very heavily for a full 2 years now, and still love it. Today, I'm going to begin by talking about he manabase of the deck.
The most basic of deck construction principles, is that a deck should be about 40% mana, which would put the decks manabase to 120 cards. The common line of thought in the 5color world, is that this is too much, putting the correct number to roughly 110. With today's revision I am going to push down to a daring 105. I think this number is achievable due to the quality of the cards I will be including, and the number of mana/land helpers.
A Word on Maze of Ith (0)
Yes, it's a land, but the best thing you can do for our game is to stop thinking of it that way. Why? Sure, it may well be the single best land ever printed, but ti doesn't make mana. What it does do, is count as your land drop for a turn though. In other words, it's going to put you a mana behind where you otherwise would have been.
The Trinity (30)
A deck like this benefits so much from the Trinity, that it really should be the first thing you include. If you have not already done so, this really should be a top priority for your collection. The inclusion of (10) Dual Land cycle, (10) Fetch Land cycle, and the (10) Shock Land cycle allows almost any deck of this type to be stable, and fearless. One of my goals for this past year was to finish my Trinity, and to eliminate the need for pain lands in my deck. I am happy to report in this update that both those goals have been reached.
Utility and Lands which produce Five Colors (30)
2 or 3 Mana Fixers (20)
Basic Lands (25)
Academy Ruins
Adakar Wastes
Battlefield Forge
Calciform Pools
Dark Depths
Darkwater Catacoms
Desert
Dreadship Reef
Forbidden Orchard
Fungal Reaches
Gargoyle Castle
Golgari Rot Farm
Henge of Ramos
Karplusan Forest
Llanowar Wastes
Molten Slagheap
Mossfire Valley
Murmuring Bosk
Orzhov Basilica
School of the Unseen
Selesnya Sanctuary
Shadowblood Ridge
Shivan Reef
Skycloud Expanse
Snow-Covered Mountain
Snow-Covered Plains
Snow-Covered Swamp
Soldevi Excavations
Sungrass Prairie
Underground River
Yavimaya Coast
The most basic of deck construction principles, is that a deck should be about 40% mana, which would put the decks manabase to 120 cards. The common line of thought in the 5color world, is that this is too much, putting the correct number to roughly 110. With today's revision I am going to push down to a daring 105. I think this number is achievable due to the quality of the cards I will be including, and the number of mana/land helpers.
A Word on Maze of Ith (0)
Yes, it's a land, but the best thing you can do for our game is to stop thinking of it that way. Why? Sure, it may well be the single best land ever printed, but ti doesn't make mana. What it does do, is count as your land drop for a turn though. In other words, it's going to put you a mana behind where you otherwise would have been.
The Trinity (30)
A deck like this benefits so much from the Trinity, that it really should be the first thing you include. If you have not already done so, this really should be a top priority for your collection. The inclusion of (10) Dual Land cycle, (10) Fetch Land cycle, and the (10) Shock Land cycle allows almost any deck of this type to be stable, and fearless. One of my goals for this past year was to finish my Trinity, and to eliminate the need for pain lands in my deck. I am happy to report in this update that both those goals have been reached.
Utility and Lands which produce Five Colors (30)
- Bojuka Bog
- Halimar Depths
- Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
- Sejiri Steppe
- Tolarian Academy
- Flagstones of Trokair
- Karakas
- Kor haven
- Mystifying Maze
- Wasteland
- Dust Bowl
- Strip Mine
- Ghost Quarter
- Krosan Verge
- Reliquary Tower
- Mishra's Factory
- Vesuva
- Deserted Temple
- Skarrg, the Rage Pits
- City of Brass
- Gemstone Mine
- Rupture Spire
- Shimmering Grotto
- Exotic Orchard
- Reflecting Pool
- Vivid land cycle
2 or 3 Mana Fixers (20)
Basic Lands (25)
- Forest 6
- Mountain 5
- Island, Plains, Swamp 4 each
- Terramorphic Expanse
- Evolving Wilds
Academy Ruins
Adakar Wastes
Battlefield Forge
Calciform Pools
Dark Depths
Darkwater Catacoms
Desert
Dreadship Reef
Forbidden Orchard
Fungal Reaches
Gargoyle Castle
Golgari Rot Farm
Henge of Ramos
Karplusan Forest
Llanowar Wastes
Molten Slagheap
Mossfire Valley
Murmuring Bosk
Orzhov Basilica
School of the Unseen
Selesnya Sanctuary
Shadowblood Ridge
Shivan Reef
Skycloud Expanse
Snow-Covered Mountain
Snow-Covered Plains
Snow-Covered Swamp
Soldevi Excavations
Sungrass Prairie
Underground River
Yavimaya Coast
Comments
I have to say, I think 105 lands is pretty aggressive, Id like to see what artifacts/creature accelerants make up for this.
I don’t count Maze as a land anymore. I group it under Artifacts, so I don’t get confused.
Im surprised you aren’t running the 10x Shadowmoor Filter lands. I really love those things for their ability to fix double color ccs.
I am testing out Petrified Field in Second Reminder as a recursion for Strip Mines.
I like the idea of Deserted Temple, but other than Library of Alex and Maze of Ith what does it really untap? Color fix?
No Tectonic Edge?
The downside to the filterlands, aside from not owning them, is they don't do anything on their own. I really don't like lands that potentially do nothing. I've considered these for the EDH portion, to make triple costs easier, but I really don't have man problems there anyways.
Petrified field is pretty great, but with Life from the Loam, and Crucible, I felt like I had enough land recursion, for the sac lands I'm running. But it could easily be used at a later date.
I do use deserted Temple mostly for fixing, but double using utility lands in a pinch is sort of nice. Tectonic edge just didn't make the cut in going from 110 to 105, if I was land heavier, it would probably be one of the first things to go in.