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Tips for cutting cards from decks

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Morganator 2.0:
There have been a lot of requests lately for help with cutting those last few cards from the deck. Sometimes it's 3 cards, sometimes it's 50 cards. I'm going to give my tips for cutting cards from decks, and I'm sure other members will include their own tips, or reinforce what has already been said. This is not an all-out guide for building the perfect deck, I'm just giving the starting point. For the sake of simplicity, I'm assuming the majority of people are on a budget.

Guideline: Number of each card
Some decks will go outside this range, but if you're making a totally new deck that you're unfamiliar with, start here. As you play the deck and get more comfortable with it, you can adjust these numbers.

* 34 to 40 lands. Green decks can use less (provided they have the mana ramp), other mono-colored decks will use more.
* 7 to 12 forms of mana ramp. Green decks will use mana dorks (Elvish Mystic, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Elves of Deep Shadow), multicolored decks will use Talismans, Signets, and Fellwar Stone. In case it wasn't obvious, you want Sol Ring as well.
* 3-5 forms of creature removal.
* 3-5 forms of artifact removal.
* 6 or so forms of card draw.
* 5 cards for dealing with your meta. See below.
* 26-30 cards that go with the theme of your deck. See below.
Lands and ramp
When possible, try to avoid using lands that unconditionally enter the battlefield tapped. Examples: Frontier Bivouac, Rakdos Carnarium, Swiftwater Cliffs. Lands and ramp are pretty easy to cut, so I won't spend any more time on it (if someone wants me to, ask away).

Creature and artifact removal
You want a max of 5 each. As you get more comfortable with the deck, you may choose to add more. For now, let's just work on what to cut. Prioritize removal with these qualities.


* 3 or less mana cost (if it's 4 or more, you should probably remove it).
* Instant-speed
* Synergy with commander (Reclamation Sage is good with Marwyn, the Nurturer, Fleshbag Marauder is good with Gisa and Geralf, Flametongue Kavu is good with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker)
* Can hit multiple supertypes. When possible, your artifact removal should also hit enchantments. Cards like Abrade and Hero's Downfall are also good.If you have removal that doesn't fall into enough of these categories, cut it away. You can always swap it back later.

Dealing with the meta
Look at the decks you'll be going up against. If they use lots of indestructible and hexproof creatures, use boardwipes like Merciless Eviction, or sacrifice effects like Plaguecrafter, and Slaughter the Strong. If you frequently go up against boardwipes, use protection like Counterspell, Selfless Spirit, or Heroic Intervention. Exploit the weaknesses of your opponents' decks, while mitigating yours.


Synergy cards
This is the hardest section, because it varies from deck to deck. I would say, stick with one major theme, and maybe one subtheme. For example, if you want Edgar Markov as your commander, make vampire tribal the major theme, and maybe tokens as a minor theme. Don't try to do tribal vampires, tokens, lifegain, sacrifice, recursion, and curses as themes. Just pick two for now.

Soren841:
I'd also recommend not going over the deck limit in the first place (a couple cards is fine but like 150 card in EDH and trying to cut to 100 is not good)

Morganator 2.0:

--- Quote from: Soren841 on January 09, 2019, 11:04:25 pm ---I'd also recommend not going over the deck limit in the first place (a couple cards is fine but like 150 card in EDH and trying to cut to 100 is not good)

--- End quote ---

This thread is entirely for people that went over the limit. Over the past week or so there has been several requests to the community for what cards should be cut. Check them out here if you'd like to help:
https://deckstats.net/forum/index.php/topic,42546.0.html Need help cutting cards from my Sigarda, Host of Herons voltron deck (4 cards)
https://deckstats.net/forum/index.php/topic,42530.0.html Lavinia No Fun (31 cards)
https://deckstats.net/forum/index.php/topic,42386.0.html Vampires are alive! Need some help to cut cards and refine my deck (50 cards. See? I wasn't kidding)
https://deckstats.net/forum/index.php/topic,42399.0.html issues trying to widdle down the deck (20 cards)
https://deckstats.net/forum/index.php/topic,42359.0.html EDH Gishath Enrage Naya Dinos, need to cut 9 cards!
https://deckstats.net/forum/index.php/topic,42213.0.html Help Wanted! Shalai Angel EDH deck, need to remove 31 cards

Soren841:
Well yeah but the best way to do it is to just never go over..

ApothecaryGeist:
I tackle Commander deckbuilding in a very similar way to Morganator 2.0.  My numbers are a little different.  But it isn't important what exact numbers you use (as long as they are sufficient).  What is important is that you have a skeleton of effects you want/need in your deck and stick to them.

I begin by making a skeleton for each deck, with lands, ramp, removal, card draw, etc.   I also break down the main deck components into the various effects I am looking for.  Here is an example.
https://deckstats.net/decks/97591/905186-etali-casts-all-the-spells/en

This is my Etali deck that I built a while ago.  It is a good example of various categories.  I have a library manipulation category; i have an extra attack phase category; I have a land destruction category (worried about Homeward Path in my meta).  I didn't make these categories after the fact.  They were there from the beginning to help me build the deck.

By tackling your deckbuilding in this fashion, you should end up with right about 100 cards.  Sometimes you may have a few slots where you have trouble deciding among a few choices.  That's where this forum can come in handy ... trying to decide among those last few slots.  Putting up a deck list with 150+ cards and generically asking for cuts is much like saying "build my deck for me".

Most of us on this forum are very happy to help with whatever stage you are in.  You will get far better advise when your deck list starts as close to 100 cards as you can possibly get it on your own.

Happy Brewing :)

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