![]() ![]() It's important to keep all the variables here in mind though. However, if you have an extremely slow deck or one that builds up massive defenses, going for the kill by running your opponent out of cards can be realistic. I want to stress this is not a common scenario, so you shouldn't just start jamming an extra card into every deck to ensure you don't run out of cards. It's an interesting discussion point in theory, but not practical. Not only is it unlikely to happen in today's era, but it's likely someone has card draw or Rampant Growths to reduce deck size in a long game like that anyway. ![]() In Constructed, decking your opponent because you were playing 61-plus is not a realistic thing. Just make sure to cut down to 60 by the time you leave to go battle in your event. For example, if you want to try out two different cards and collect data on both and that puts you to 61, this can be an efficient way of doing so. Playing with an extra card, if you're not sure what to cut or want to try something out, can be a fine way to gather information. Playtesting should be used for gathering information. But it is a reasonable time to go over the minimum. Yes, that's right, the first one doesn't even involve playing a deck in a tournament. There are three times I'd say this comes up most often (without involving the words " Battle of Wits"): ![]() Rather than keep describing why not to do this, I'd prefer to focus on a few very, very specific times you can try correctly playing more than the minimum. Patrick Chapin wrote a great article on this very subject that you can read here. If you'd like further reading on some of the common arguments (and why they're incorrect), It is extremely unlikely, unless you're Huey Jensen, that you've cracked a compelling reason to break the 60-card rule. While there are a few examples of 61-plus card decks that have done well in tournaments, even many of those are quite arguable-and for every one of those, I can point to 20 other decks of a similar archetype that were successful running 60 cards. The number of reasons you could argue playing more than the minimum number of cards is near endless anything can be rationalized. If you want that card in there, cut something else. That's doubly making your deck worse: you're playing a card you apparently don't even want that often and reducing the chance you draw the cards you want more. In several cases, I've been the person making those claims-I remember one long road trip in particular where I was trying to convince people you should play 41 cards if your deck had enough Harrows. In my sixteen years as a Magic player, I've seen a wide gamut of rationale made to include 61 (or 41) cards. (And no, being clever and saying that your 61st card is a land or a one-drop to circumvent this exact example doesn't count.)Įvery draw step, you're just taking a tiny chance you'll draw something weaker than the strongest cards in your deck. That card is making it less likely you draw everything beneath it-which are the cards you would prefer to draw. Otherwise, you would have included it sooner! The 61st card, definitionally, is going to be a worse fit than the cards that came before it when building your deck. These are generally stronger than the cards you're using to round out your deck.īy playing more than the minimum number of cards, you are reducing your chances, however slightly, of finding your strongest cards as often as possible. The Selfless Spirits, Grim Flayers, and Lightning Bolts of the world. So why don't people generally play more than the minimum? After all, playing more gives you access to additional different cards and can even prevent decking if the game comes down to that.Įvery deck is going to have some cards you want to draw more than others-your "best" cards. You can play as many cards as you want in a Magic deck. Get that 61st card out of your deck, Han Solo. Why is this? What makes the game that way? And can it ever be correct to break this rule? The same is true for Limited decks and 40 cards. If you look at every successful tournament deck ever, with very, very, very rare exceptions, they all play exactly 60 cards. It may not sound like such, but you are actively harming your chances of winning by not cutting down cards further. ![]()
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