Tech & Hidden Gems

Ban Ki-moon's deck construction guidelines

1. Choose two reasons for your deck to exist, two main themes that'll be the center of gravity for everything your deck is about. Not too broad ("Ramp and card draw!"), but big enough that they can fill substantial deck space. One theme is too few, because your deck will be too linear and repetitive, but too many makes it to too scattered.

2. This is the most important one, imo: Make sure BOTH themes cause problems for your opponents to solve AND solve problems caused by your opponents. Make sure you're playing with your opponent, rather than around them.

3. Make sure both themes are completely intertwined. Every major spell in your deck should be related, on average, to 1.5 of them. This'll make sure your decks have strong personality, and force you to dig deep into your collection for those underplayed gems.

4. Add 3 or 4 subthemes that are all linked strongly to each main theme. This part is less necessary, but if you can manage it the subthemes will keep things fresh and fun for way longer, as well as giving you a bunch of unique potential for play when your main game plan is disrupted (we're still trying to win, here).