Hello everyone and welcome back to commander basics, where I give you some basic tips and knowledge on building your commander decks better. These are not all advance tips but a guide to help you.
Today we finish up your mana base.
#1 mana fixing part 1 lands Here
#2 mana fixing part 2 artifacts Here
The previous parts were telling you your options on what you can use for your mana bases. This part will explain a basic rules of thumb oh how much mana you need.
I have watched both tcc way to build a commander mana base and MTG goldfish video on how many lands to put in a 60 card deck and want to expand this to commander.
Jan 09, 2014 Awesome 1-Mana Creatures, part 4: Red. January 9, 2014 Robin 6 Comments. Today, we get to see Red’s wide array of 1-mana creature greatness. The gathering mtg.
So for our example today we will start with an average of 5cmc for your commander deck.
This is our starting point to go above or below.
A basic rules of thumb for commander is between 40-45 mana 'Lands'. But this will be a bit different.
By 'land's' I mean land cards, artifact ramp, spells that search for lands, effects that produce mana, cost reduction effects, and effects that produce extra mana.
Now I will go off of Seth's (saffron olive) lands rule of thumb. Plus a few of my own rules.
- lands that only tap for 1 mana =1 land
- Artifacts that make mana= 0.5 lands
-Spells that search for lands=0.5 lands
- cost reduction effects=0.5 lands
Mtg Red 2 Dmg 1 Mana Pc
- extra mana effects = 0.5 lands
Lands that add more then 1 mana= 1.5 lands
Effects that produce mana(example: elvish mystic)=0.5 lands
Now you may ask why things count as 0.5 lands right? Well these effects all cost you mana to be able to get the mana later. Sometimes you tap out to cast these spells so you don't get the stuff until next turn. Now that that is out of the way let's go with our example.
For an average of 5 CMC I would suggest the full 45 'lands' for the deck in any combination you want but since he we want to pay out stuff on time we will go with this .
38 normal lands+3 cost reduction+8 mana rocks+3 land search+
38+1.5+4+1.5=45'lands'
My basic rules of thumb is for every 0.3 CMC under 5 you can remove a 'land' from the deck but still try to stay at 40 best you can but rather having more cost reduction cards or extra mana effects in the deck. Then you can remove actual land cards from the deck. Let's see if my commander decks follow these rules.
Average CMC:4.83
1mana lands 32=32 'lands'
2 +mana lands 4= 6 'lands'
Artifact ramp 2= 1 'land'
Extra mana effects: 4= 2 'lands'
Land search 6= 3' lands'
Mana producers:8= 4 'lands'
Total:49 'lands'
This deck is higher then our example. But his deck I have built to ramp as fast a possible. Also it's a green deck. Thoes typically have a higher 'land' count because they plan to run you over as fast as possible.
Mtg Red 2 Dmg 1 Mana Full
Let's try my deck that has the least amount of land cards and see if I still reach the 'lands' I need.
Average CMC: 3.88
1 mana lands: 29
2+ mana lands: 3= 4.5'lands'
Mana rocks: 4= 2 'lands'
Cost reduction: 2 =1'land'
Extra mana effects: 2 =1'land
Land search:4=2 'lands'
Total:40.5 lands
This deck is built close to the ground and has a low curve so I can skimp on a few land cards in favor of other ways to gain mana. I am running a bit close to the edge tho.
remember none of these are set in stone. You do as you feel you need for your deck.
I suggest a more control deck or big Creatures deck to be closer to the 45 'land' count and more aggro to the lower end of the range. You can remove 2 mana rocks or a land card if you have a lower curve but always compensate.
That's your lesson today. Hope you enjoyed.
How right or wrong do you feel I am? Let me know in the comments.
Keep tapping and play on :+1: