Greetings patriots! I’m glad to see you’re all here to help me fix another deck, but I’ve got bad news; we won’t be fixing a deck today. It’s part of a new regime my council of advisers (all clockwork constructs of course) has, well, advised I put into action. Now hold on there, I have good news as well! The reason we won’t be working on a deck today is because there is another thing we can gain from pushing back the clock, and that’s a lesson from Magic history.

You see, Magic in terms of trading card games is one of the oldest ongoing games out there, and it has a rather rich history. From its humble beginnings in Alpha to Arabian Nights (the first ever Magic expansion), to changing the symbol for White mana, to the new card frames, to even the fantastic digital world of Magic Online, Magic has been full of glorious achievements. Of course, every great success has multiple great stories in its wake. Over the history of professional Magic, there have been countless lessons gleaned from amazing plays, brilliant strategies, and perfectly precise card choices. It is from these moments of Magic history that I will share some lessons that still hold value today, and hopefully give you a new appreciation for old wisdom.

What does this mean for Clockwork Manor? Fear not; a plan has been laid. Here’s how it’ll break down: I’m starting an alternating system of articles between fixing decks and relearning lessons. One day, you might see an article on a new idea for an old deck; oh, I don’t know, let’s say **cough**Gro**cough**. (What? I wasn’t hinting at anything….) A little later you might get an article on a lesson. (No hint for you! Wait, no, I never said that last one was a hint, uh….) That’s of course not to say I might not impart some old-fashioned wisdom while building a deck (if it’s relevant), nor does it mean that I won’t use decks as examples when talking about lessons. Sorry to say there won’t be a deck this time, but Magic isn’t just about playing the cards (though that is a good portion of it), it’s also about learning how to fully evaluate a card and how it would affect your deck as opposed to another card that’s almost the same. (Darnit! That wasn’t a hint, I just, ARG!) That kind of precise decision making along with other skills are what separate a regular player from a champ. Common misconception: You don’t have to be a pro to be a great player.

Today’s article is about a problem that’s been plaguing players for years: Mana screw **cue dramatic music**. Mana screw, along with its close relatives mana flood and color screw, have terrorized countless unprepared players since the beginning of Magic. Unfortunately, not much has changed. The problem lies in the fact that people get really upset when they lose simply because they had “stubborn lands,” but more often than not they are ill-prepared to fix the problem or don’t even realize that a problem exists. Sure, sometimes you can have the perfect mana base and still get messed up, but the odds are extremely unlikely, especially compared to your odds when you have so few lands. Today, I’m going to analyze all three issues and how to tackle them, but first let’s look at a chart from an article by Magic genius Jay Moldenhauer-Salazar specifically discussing what kind of land configurations a deck should have.

Note that these costs aren’t set in stone. Obviously a deck built around Seismic Assault is going to have a few more lands than what this might suggest, but this is a good chart to refer to when starting your mana base. Another important tip I recommend is to always build your mana base last when forming a deck (I’ll explain why later).

Now then, before we start, one last thing. I’m sure most of you know the easiest way to fix a deck’s mana is to go out and buy the best lands there are. Unfortunately, that can cost quite a bit of money, especially for those who largely play Casual. Trust me, I know how you feel when it comes to the “hundred dollar land base.” I’m in the same boat, and I don’t feel like busting my wallet in half so that I play more consistently. I’m here not just to tell you how to solve your problems, but to also provide a more “budget” solution to them.

With that, we press on.

Mana Screw:

Of all the luck-based issues in Magic, mana screw—the event in which you can’t play anything because you don’t have enough lands—is considered one of the most common, and definitely the most aggravating by many players. It really sucks when you have a grip full of cards that could win you the game if just one or two of them spontaneously became lands. Despite its frequency, the solution to mana screw is quite simple.

• Look at the chart - The most common reason mana screw exists is because people don’t realize that you can’t run a deck full of four and five mana cards off of 20 lands. The 20/20/20 rule of Magic (20 creatures, 20 spells, 20 lands) is effective, but it isn’t a one-size-fits-all rule; it only works when you’re building a very aggressive build with little or no cards above three or four mana. If you’re the type of person who has issues determining land count, I highly recommend you either print out or copy this chart on a sheet of paper and reference it until you’ve got the hang of it. I know this sounds a little silly, but it’ll definitely improve your skills.
• Cut some cards - Let’s face it, we all like cards. We especially like cool cards. We like them so much that we don’t want to cut them from our decks because they’re so cool. So instead, we cut lands, and that will lead to our downfalls. I know as someone who’s built many original decks that it’s hard sometimes deciding what to cut. It’s such a big issue that I might address it in a later article. (There, happy? I just couldn’t stand not giving out another hint.) The easiest way to decide what to cut is to look at what your deck is trying to do. If you are piloting a lightning-quick Aggro deck, then maybe you don’t need those expensive fatties or slower burn spells. Realizing what doesn’t work effectively with a deck’s end goal—or as we call it in Clockwork Manor lingo, a wind-up key—is an important skill to hone and perfect to not just ensure better land counts, but better decks.

Mana Flood:

Mana flood—drawing too many lands and not enough spells to play using those lands—goes hand in hand with mana screw. Following the directions above for mana screw should also work well for mana flood (except instead of cutting cool spells, cut some cool lands you really don’t need).

Color Screw:

Finally, color screw—getting land that produces one color and spells that require a different color—has become increasingly prevalent in today’s multi-colored environment. Obviously, the easiest way to get rid of color screw is play only one color in a deck. If you’re playing a mono-colored deck and still are getting color screwed, you need to stop playing for a second and relocate your brain from wherever you dropped it. Of course, not everyone wants to play mono-colored decks all the time, so here are some tips for those in need.

• Use “fix” lands - Any land that can get you more than one color of mana is clearly a good candidate for getting rid of mana screw. I know I just said that I wouldn’t talk about using expensive lands like the “tribe lands,” “shock lands,” and “pain lands,” but let’s face it, color screw is what these guys were built to stop. That doesn’t mean there aren’t cheaper, albeit slower, lands to help you out. From Time Spiral you get the cheap “search land” Terramorphic Expanse, a land I’ve always recommended when using two or more colors in a deck that doesn’t need a turn one play; and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, a must-have for all your Tendrils of Corruption needs! Lorwyn gives us a new look on the old “depletion lands” in the “vivid lands,” a great solution for when you don’t have much of a color or you’re just splashing it, along with Shimmering Grotto. These lands aren’t the best in their class, but they're affordable, easily accessible (With the exception of Urborg), and are great ways to help smooth out mana issues.
• Artifact fixin’ - One great source for fixing colors other than lands are artifacts, as there are multiple artifacts built just for that purpose. If you’ve got a box of Time Spiral commons on you, look up two staple fixers: Chromatic Star and Prismatic Lens, along with Wanderer's Twig and Springleaf Drum from Lorwyn. Higher up in the uncommon department we find the totem cycle, with such cards as Phyrexian Totem, Chronatog Totem, etc. which act as both fixers and beaters; and Paradise Plume, a great fixer for slow decks against an Aggro-centric metagame. Finally in the rare box is Coalition Relic, and even though it’s a little pricey, trust me, Control decks everywhere love this card.

Here’s one last tip before we go: My personal strategy to building mana bases. Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, have your spells already laid out and ready to go. Next, organize your spells in piles by casting cost, going from your lowest mana cost to your highest, then X spells last. Next, add up all the casting costs of your cards (for this, count X as the highest mana cost on a spell you have) and find the average. From here refer to the chart above, and wherever your number hits is roughly the number of land you want to have. Then, if you have too many or too little spells, adjust accordingly.

Next, for color issues: Divide your spells into separate piles based on color. (Note: gold cards have separate piles for each combination of colors.) Once again, count up the number of mana symbols of each color of your spells, and make sure to remember any activated abilities; for example, Momentary Blink counts towards both White and Blue due to its flashback cost. Next, to the color(s) that are most common in your lowest mana costs, add one. Add two to the smallest color(s) you have. (This is especially important when splashing.)

For those that may be confused by this explanation, allow me to provide some context and clarity. Say you are playing a Blue/Black Rogue deck, and the ratio ended up as 18 Blue:23 Black. In Rogue, your staple (and often only) one-drops are Prickly Boggart and Nightshade Stinger, so obviously Black would get the bonus, adding one to the ratio on Black's end. However, Blue has the lower number overall, so you end up giving it two. Now your final ratio is 20 Blue:24 Black—a nice 5:6 ratio. Assuming you aren't using any nonbasics and are running 22 lands, you end up roughly with 10 Islands and 12 Swamps. Note, of course, it's uncommon that you would end up with such an even balance.

Now make a rough ratio of your color numbers and apply this ratio to your land base. Obviously, you’ll rarely get a perfect ratio, so you’ll have to work at it a bit until you get a feel for how lands should be allotted. Furthermore, any "search lands" (i.e. Wooded Foothills and the like) or lands that tap for multiple colors subtract from your total lands, but don’t count toward your ratio. Using this doesn’t guarantee you’ll always draw smoothly (I’m sorry, but modern science has yet to invent a way to magically turn every player into copies of Jon Finkel), but through my years of using it my draws on average have vastly improved; just be sure to shuffle well first!

Whew, this has been a long discussion! Hopefully though it was worth it and some of you can take these tips to heart. Remember, even a good player can learn something by going back to the basics. Just because you already can build good mana bases doesn’t mean these tips won’t help you, so look over them and take what you need. If you don’t need them, that’s great for you, and I’m curious as to why you’re still reading (not to say I’m not grateful, of course). Next time we’ll be looking at another old deck and how cards aren’t the only things that change over time.

I’m also curious to know what you think of the new article style. Should I write them more frequently? Should I stick to deck building? Was the article itself good? As always, you can sound off in the forums giving me your opinion, your advice, even a piece of your mind. (Figuratively please, I only accept real brain pieces on special occasions.) I have a promise I made to Magic Deck Vortex resident SKEITH that I would give a thought-out response to any reader that commented on my articles, and I plan to keep that promise.

Until then, sincerely hoping you curve out nicely, this is Death by Aggro, signing off.

You can discuss this article in the MDV forums here.
Find other articles by this author here.
Find other articles from this series here.

[ Back ] [ Home ] [ Up ] [ Next ]

Articles Spotlights from 2008:
A Fresh Perspective: Stasis - Part One.
The Apprentice Magician - Part Six.
Design on a Dime: The Lunch Meat Edition!
Fit the Flavor 2008 - FINALE!
The Games People Play - Market & EDH.
Sarpadian Empires, Vol VII: Foreword.
More Evil Than Evil.
Pauper Chronicles: Top O' the Morningtide to You!
Words from the Streetz: Uncommon and Common Magical Treasures.
The Writers Guild: The Inside Scoop.