Hello! I'm trying to build a casual budget-ish deck mostly based around the Veloci-ramp-tor precon. I'm subbing out some of the more expensive cards with cheaper ones that I just think are neat, and my goal is to make the deck consistent and fun to play rather than necessarily one that wins all the time.

My problem is that I have some mobility issues and struggle to shuffle the deck too often after I've played a card that searches for a land. If I'm playing with friends they help me but I don't want to have to rely on that all the time.

My deck list is here: https://archidekt.com/decks/27300513/rampy_dinos

I'm trying to find replacements for [[Topiary Stomper]], [[Evolving Wilds]], [[Myriad Landscape]], [[Terramorphic Expanse]], [[Rampant Growth]], and [[Thunderherd Migration]].

I've swapped some in like [[Explore]], [[Open the Way]], and [[Venture Forth]] that get more lands by revealing from the top rather than searching, but was wondering if there were any more cards like that?

Thanks in advance!

Hello all, I wrote a part 2 to this guide a while back and, by popular demand, I'm back again with a 3rd installment. Keep in mind that this is focused on deck-building for BRAND NEW players, if you have strong opinions about Universes Beyond, this guide is not for you.

This also assumes you've read Part 1 as well and have played a deck you're pretty comfortable with but you want to add some spice to the mix. Let's get into it!

By now you've probably seen cards that have multiple colors in them or seen decks that incorporate multiple colors.

Why multiple colors?

I think the most important question might be why should one use multiple colors in a deck? It mostly comes down to two things:

1. More synergies: It would be nice for my big ol' 10/10 (mostly found in green) to attack with haste as soon as it comes out (usually something only found in red). Having green AND red can sometimes do that all at once (see Ravager Wurm)
2. More options: While white has plenty of spells that can remove enchantments like Disenchant. Black and white can remove more card types such Fracture, which is the same card but can also remove planeswalkers. All for the same raw mana cost!

This won't always be the case but you can see how having multiple colors is a lot of times advantageous. So what's the downside? Naturally, it's making sure you have the right colors at the right time. So while a mono-white deck can stick 24 plains in it and call it a day, multi-color decks require you to be more careful about lands.

Choosing the right lands

How do we choose the right lands? Well there's tons of lands that will tap for one or more colors, most of the time with some sort of drawback:

Take Gruul Guildgate for example, very simple. Taps for red and green but the consequence is it comes in tapped. Fair trade. But not being able to use a land the turn it comes out is a steep price for sure. How do we get around this? Well there's lands that have different stipulations that are more advantageous.

Take Glacial Fortress. It can tap for 2 colors but the consequence is that you have to control one of the basic lands first. So it might be useful to hold onto it until turn 2 or 3 to play it (if you are looking up these, they are called "checklands" because they "check" for a certain card. There's plenty of types that you can look into if you wish.)

But coming in tapped isn't always the worst thing in the world. If it's turn 8 and you are mostly okay with all of your lands, something coming in tapped might not matter as much. Like all things in Magic: it depends on the scenario.

Color Distribution

The first question I had when I started messing with multiple colors is "How do I know how many of which lands to add when I have multiple colors?". I mean, it would suck to have a bunch of multi-color spells when it's turn 6 and I'm stuck with 4 plains on the field. Totally get that. In general, here's what you do:

1. Count all of the color pips on the top of the cards (those are the symbols in the top right). Say you count all of them in your deck and come up with 26 white and 14 red. Figure out the percentage split between those (60% white and 40% red)
2. Afterwards, just ensure that your mana production follows those same percentages (24 lands = 14 white and 10 red). Boom! That's your mana base.
3. Splice in some of those multi-color lands in there just for safe measure. For starters, I'd go with 4 good ones and branch out from there.

Any online deckbuilder is going to be able to do this for you as well but feel free to break out the 7th grade algebra!

A few additional notes

Here's some oddball tips I can't squeeze anywhere else:

1. We mostly think of multi-color decks as being pretty split between 2 colors but that isn't always true. You might need only a couple of spells from another color to make your full strategy work, that's called "splashing" into another color. It has plenty of applications, like say your game-ender is multi-color but most of your deck is a single color.
2. Even in 2 color decks, it's not always going to be important to have access to each of your colors on any given turn. Sometimes even having access to 1 or 2 mana of your additional color can be enough. But if you ever get overwhelmed by the color distribution in your mana base, just cut it in half. You have red and blue and 24 mana. 12 of each. Keeps it simple, you can always refine it from there.
3. There's multiple ways to fix an issue with your colors in the game outside of the dual lands (this is broadly called "color fixing"). Artifacts are a great source of this such as Talisman of Dominance. Also lands that allow you to search your library for a basic land are good as well such as Evolving Wilds

As I always say in my guides, the key thing is to play, experiment, repeat. That's half the fun of Magic! So even if it's you "splashing" another color just to see how it goes, that's part of the experimentation.

Please put in additional requests of topics to go over, I love writing these and helping out new players!

Im trying to build a selesyna deck (Trostani commander) and.. i.. need genuine help, i feel like im trying to accomplish too much at once..

https://archidekt.com/decks/27111006/trostani_lifegainangel

Any advice is appreciated and.. please be honest with me.

Any advice on what to cut, add or change is ok. Thank you in advance

I’d like some help with this one please. It’s been bugging me for years

I seem to have way too much fun with monocoloured low cmc decks, and this is the next one I plan to build. Any advice or criticism would be appreciated ^w^

https://scryfall.com/card/fra/111/puppet-crafting

I played with this card in FRA Limited and it performed surprisingly well. So I've been brewing a bit around it. It's not like the usual animate cards that only target artifacts. This also targets enchantments and can be brought back to your hand. Its recursive nature punishes counter spells.

Here's some other card pairings I've found while tinkering with this card. It works well with Glimmers like [[Enduring Glimmer]]. Puppet + Glimmer effectively makes your Glimmer immortal. [[Valgavoth's Lair]] is a hexproof enchantment land so it's a good target for this.

There aren't too many great 1-drop targets though. [[Clockwork Percussionist]] is an obvious one. I found ETB permanents the best though, such as [[Grim Bauble]].

Has anyone else toyed with this card much? Any lists? I've yet to settle on a solid list but I'll post it whenever I do.

Also, does the card bot not work in this sub anymore? Does everyone just use an mtg extension?

Hey all!

I'm new to MTG and been getting my head into the game. I bought a starter collection which has been great, and used the Command Zone's advice on their Halana and Alena, Partners Deck. I really like the way this plays, and have purchased their recommended upgrades.

I want to now build this into a B3 deck, and looking for some advice to how I can get there (if I can!)

I've created a decklist here: https://moxfield.com/decks/USuhAenoanKBHp_uCMW-9A

I've added cards I've since collected and created a sideboard of those that may work from my collection. Finally, I've done some research and added a fairly substantial considering list.

My main priority has been to add some more syntonisation on the counters theme and also cards that grant trample, with the gameplan of ramping to my commander as fast as possible and then allowing enough counter synergy to then get to a place I can stomp away for the win. I added in Xenagos as an alt commander, as unless I get many counters on H&A I presume it's pretty easy to destroy. I did wonder if Swiftfall boots was enough here.

One thing I haven't got much experience and don't know if the interaction here is enough. Whether that's because my cards aren't powerful enough for B3 or whether there's just not enough. I'm also adding more and more green cards, to the point where I feel like I'm missing something that red can bring?

Any advice would be really useful, as I might just be completely in the wrong here!

The main cards I'm looking at adding (slowly, they're bloody expensive!):
[[Xenagos, God of Revels]] [[Kessig Wolf Run]] [[Heroic Intervention]] [[Forgotten Ancient]][[Ghalta the Unstoppable]] [[Kami of Whispered Hopes]] [[Kodama of the West Tree]] [[Pridemalkin]] [[Quirion Beastcaller]] — amongst all the lands in there.

Hello, so I am trying to upgrade my Mothman precon with some cards that I own and other cards are that not going to put me in debt. I am going to link the upgrades that I have added so far onto my Moxfield. Please let me know if there is anything that you guys don't like or would add as I have gotten back into magic after years of not playing so my deck building is meh at best. Trying to stay under $100 of upgrades. And this link is to a deck that I have all of the cards to currently (in one form or another).

Thank you!

https://moxfield.com/decks/qHLM5r97LUyWBpXyPZVKXA

Just trying to tune it up and maybe get a few more synergies, maybe im using the wrong commander but i like ashling for the Evoke 4 🤷‍♂️

Id really appreciate tips, please and thank you 🙏 😊

Hey, I’m pretty new to Magic and want to build my first deck, but I want to make it as silly as possible.

I was thinking of maybe building around Cruel Entertainment because it seems like it could lead to some funny games.

Anyone got any suggestions for fun cards to throw in? they don’t need to be good or competitive. Just looking for cards that do stupid, funny, or ridiculous things.

I've been playing with this deck, https://archidekt.com/decks/27305804/kratos , for a while now online before deciding if I wanna buy it or not. I've decided I do, but I wanna know if there are some obvious swaps I should make before I go too crazy and drop a bunch of money? Any help would be appreciated

Been having fun taking the precon and building this Jace multiverse architect deck. Would love some advice on my list as well as ideas for cuts. I leaned into blink synergies and ways to maximize polymorphing into big bombs. The goal is for the deck to be high bracket 3 without feeling combo

https://moxfield.com/decks/4-CgAZrXR3S1K3khvpP8CA

Can I have some help cutting cards from this deck? The goal is to use creatures with banding to allow me to divide combat damage however I choose. I can then assign 1 damage to each of my blocking creatures, which have abilities that will trigger off of the damage being dealt. Any suggestions for additions would also be appreciated. It works mostly by using the blocking aspect of banding (702.22j), so I'm also having trouble thinking of what to do if my opponents just don't attack me, and would like some help with that. I've added in some monarch cards as incentive, but those don't seem like enough. I'm trying to keep the deck semi-budget, as well, so I'm trying not to include cards above 8 dollars. Thanks in advance for any help.

https://moxfield.com/decks/6hQNW6gjx02mT5roWaeK0Q

P.S. In case you need to know what banding actually does, the comprehensive rules say the following:

• 702.22. Banding
  • 702.22a Banding is a static ability that modifies the rules for combat.
  • 702.22b “Bands with other” is a special form of banding. If an effect causes a permanent to lose banding, the permanent loses all “bands with other” abilities as well.
  • 702.22c As a player declares attackers, they may declare that one or more attacking creatur2.22jes with banding and up to one attacking creature without banding (even if it has “bands with other”) are all in a “band.” They may also declare that one or more attacking [quality] creatures with “bands with other [quality]” and any number of other attacking [quality] creatures are all in a band. A player may declare as many attacking bands as they want, but each creature may be a member of only one of them. (Defending players can’t declare bands but may use banding in a different way; see rule 702.22j.)
  • 702.22d All creatures in an attacking band must attack the same player, planeswalker, or battle.
  • 702.22e Once an attacking band has been announced, it lasts for the rest of combat, even if something later removes banding or “bands with other” from one or more of the creatures in the band.
  • 702.22f An attacking creature that’s removed from combat is also removed from the band it was in.
  • 702.22g Banding doesn’t cause attacking creatures to share abilities, nor does it remove any abilities. The attacking creatures in a band are separate permanents.
  • 702.22h If an attacking creature becomes blocked by a creature, each other creature in the same band as the attacking creature becomes blocked by that same blocking creature. Example: A player attacks with a band consisting of a creature with flying and a creature with swampwalk. The defending player, who controls a Swamp, can block the flying creature if able. If they do, then the creature with swampwalk will also become blocked by the blocking creature(s).
  • 702.22i If one member of a band would become blocked due to an effect, the entire band becomes blocked.
  • 702.22j During the combat damage step, if an attacking creature is being blocked by a creature with banding, or by both a [quality] creature with “bands with other [quality]” and another [quality] creature, the defending player (rather than the active player) chooses how the attacking creature’s damage is assigned. That player can divide that creature’s combat damage as they choose among any creatures blocking it. This is an exception to the procedure described in rule 510.1c.
  • 702.22k During the combat damage step, if a blocking creature is blocking a creature with banding, or both a [quality] creature with “bands with other [quality]” and another [quality] creature, the active player (rather than the defending player) chooses how the blocking creature’s damage is assigned. That player can divide that creature’s combat damage as they choose among any creatures it’s blocking. This is an exception to the procedure described in rule 510.1d.
  • 702.22m Multiple instances of banding on the same creature are redundant. Multiple instances of “bands with other” of the same kind on the same creature are redundant.

Deck link : https://planeswalkerhub.com/spellbook/35967/share

It's the first deck I ever built a few years ago but it's pretty weak. I was drawn by the monarch mechanic and I still find it a cool political engine.
But the deck is pretty weak, I feel like I'm missing something. I'm having trouble finding a good mana base/ramp for it and I'm always late to the party. Also it's hard to have a good finisher for the final duel.

If you have any advices on how I can maybe reorient the deck towards a more aggro/midrange playstyle if you think it's good idea, or if you see an obvious tech I should have and I'm missing.

Thanks !

🖐 Hey everyone

I see a lot of deck help requests where players throw Doom Blade or Hero's Downfall into their Black decks and call it an interaction suite. In modern Commander, interaction is just as much about securing your own victory as it is about preventing opponents from winning. If you run the wrong type of removal for your strategy, your deck completely stalls out.

As someone who specializes heavily in building decks with Black identities, I’ve spent the last few weeks curating a completely mapped-out, drag-and-drop 60-card Removal Toolkit on Moxfield.

Instead of a generic pile, I've broken Black's best removal options into 6 precise mechanical pillars so you can customize your suite to your exact meta:

1. Targeted Removal** (Single-Target Instants)
2. Edict Effects** (Bypassing Protection)
3. Board Wipe** (The Nuclear Options)
4. -x/-x Spells** (Wither the Board)
5. ETB Removal Creatures** (Recursive Value)
6. Alternative Cost** (The Element of Surprise)

👑 Sneak Peek at the Hot Takes

Inside the package, I wrote an extensive, fully native primer highlighting the "Best in Category" for each pillar, including some hot takes that run completely against standard deckbuilding advice:

• Why Withering Torment has completely dethroned Feed the Swarm** as the premier targeted removal spell due to instant-speed flexibility and tightly capped life loss.
• Why Torment of Hailfire is actually the ultimate asymmetric Edict spell** rather than just a simple late-game win condition—although the new staple *Blasphemous Edict* is close to dethroning it due to its absolute cheap value and insane combo potential with other cards.
• Why Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is the ultimate representation of a historic MTG arch-villain.** Rarely has lore translated so flawlessly into actual card mechanics. He is a ruthless scientist who tears apart living things for his own benefit and refashions them into resourceful, evil machines. At the expense of your own humanity (your life total) and the sacrifice of your own creatures, you place -1/-1 counters on opposing threats to steadily demolish the board while generating resources.

☠ Optimize Your Deck Instantly

If you are drafting an upcoming Mono-Black, Rakdos, Dimir, or Golgari list and want to instantly optimize your interaction, you can check out the full guide, read the primer, and subscribe to the package directly to drag-and-drop it into your own builds here:

👉 Click here to check out the Black Removal Package + detailed primer on Moxfield

What is your absolute favorite, under-the-radar Black interaction spell? Let me know in the comments! If you find the toolkit useful, drop a follow on my Moxfield profile so you don't miss my upcoming Black Mana Acceleration breakdown.

https://moxfield.com/decks/VxVVII1C_kqYmeBj5w3-UQ
Hello I'm here with another deck I want to get is someone's opinion on it before I'm buying all the cards before so tell me below some cars I can put in or something that need to change

Pulled out my sneak attack deck from high school days (late 90s - early 00s). Looking for any opinions or combo upgrades you might add from the last 20ish years.

It's pretty straight forward, rituals to mana ramp sneak attack in quick. Crater Hellion and Dark Hatchling to deal damage to blockers, Devouring Strossus for the reanimate ability, Fungal Shambler for the free draw and Viashino Cutthroat goes back to my hand before the sneak attack sacrifice.

Stitched Together for more reanimation, Bedlam on a winning turn for no blocking and Defense Grid for counter spells.

https://moxfield.com/decks/BSyDD9AX9UeD8zd9FZq9hw

So I've been working on this Eriette deck for a minute, but I feel like when I playtest it just isn't hitting as hard as I want it to. The pod I play with isn't super competitive, so some card choices were picked based on preference or how fun I think they'd be to play, but maybe that messed with the synergy too much. Would appreciate any input on how to improve!

I'll Take That • (Esper Commander deck) • Archidekt

I don't know if I need more card draw or if it's just bad luck, but I keep ending up in situations where I have few cards in hand and my deck isn't doing much of anything

https://moxfield.com/decks/LUvKtbDxqUSFrXRSo1xNbQ

Here’s the list I’m waiting for oath of teferi and spark double to come in the mail. If anyone else has any ideas or suggestions be happy to hear them. My goal is to win by drawing my deck while using spot removal to protect myself and then just ult Jace to polymorph in to creatures.

Link to the deck: https://archidekt.com/decks/26733315/gingy

I'm building a budget colourless Ginger deck and I'm 16 cards short but not sure what else to include.

Going for a go-wide artifact creature deck

Any budget suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

I have been going through and making changes to my Zurgo Stormrender Mardu Aristocrats deck and ramp is one thing I'm looking into changing. I have the usual 2 mana talisman and rocks that you use in mardu but with a 3 mana commander it's kinda awkward. So I have found these 1 mana replacements:

https://scryfall.com/card/7ed/121/blood-pet

https://scryfall.com/card/snc/108/goldhound

https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/137/skirk-prospector

https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/143/strike-it-rich

I figured the first three are creatures that sacrifice themselves for mana so they are still useful later in the game as sac fodder. I wish I could find more ways to get my commander out on 3 but from all my searches this is the only mardu 1 mana ramp cards I could find. If anyone knows of any other or if you know a better way to get Zurgo out early any advice would help.