A Deckbuilding Primer for EDH Decks that Tap Left
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How to build EDH decks that maximize the quality of time you spend at the gaming table. This is a working treatise. It will evolve as my approach does.
Both my professional and family life keep me busy. Scheduling time where I can escape to the gaming table is difficult. I am not willing to waste this precious time. Below I share my method to building EDH decks that maximize my time at the table with my friends. Maybe this can work for you too.
The Goals of an EDH Deck that Taps Left
It's important to start with this caveat, I'm not building with my win rate in mind. This isn't a method for building cEDH decks. My measurement for success is different. I want to be engaged in what I'm doing while at the table. In an EDH game, that means I have something to do or think about. I want to feel like I am able to impact the game at all times. I want to feel like I am able to contribute. That's very different from being able to win at all times. Over the last year I have realized that I would rather lose doing something cool, than sit at the table doing nothing.
This might be easier to describe in the negative. Generally, I do not want to be unable to progress my game plan due to constraints created by another player. Specifically, I do not want to be unable to move forward due to lack of, or incorrect, mana. I do not want to run out of ways to progress my game plan due to ineffective cards in my deck. I do not want to be knocked out of the game until my life is zero. In order to maximize my enjoyment of my time at the table, I have determined that I have to build in a way will actually decrease my probability of winning.
This also excludes certain deck archetypes. I'm not looking to combo off on turn 4 or lock everyone down with stacks. I like decks that focus on interactions with the other people at the table. I can play by myself at home. In short, I build to have fun interactive games of Magic: The Gathering, not maximize my possibility of winning.
Building an EDH Deck that Taps Left
What follows covers the nuts and bolts of an EDH deck. The "unfun" part of deckbuilding. The win conditions and theme of the deck aren't discussed here. Those are largely driven by what you find fun. If you want to swarm people with Merfolk, do it. If you want to gain 200 life and blow everyone out with Aetherflux Reservoir activations, do it. The deckbuilding techniques below will keep you engaged and entertained on your path to achieving those goals.
The Mana Base
You have to be able to cast spells to play the game. People take a good mana base for granted. Then they complain when they can't cast their spells. Yes, variance exists, but it's on you as a deck builder to account for it. If you don't, it's not the fault of the card gods, it's your fault. That's a hurdle the game asks you to jump over. It's not going to do it for you, so don't complain.
Mana Fixing Lands
So, after determining how I want to win, I select a general. You could reverse that if you want to play a specific general, but I like to determine how I want to play first. My first deckbuilding task is the mana base. I target 37 lands and tackle mana fixing first. I start with the classic land paradigm: Dual, Fetch, Shock, Fast, Filter. Then start deviating only when I have reason to do so. Without a reason, I don't play tap lands and I don't play Karoo lands. For me, the bar for a land coming into play tapped is high. As for the remaining land slots, let's set them aside for now. The win condition cards, colored fixing spells, and mana rocks will provide useful direction on how to spend them later.
My approach differs from common EDH philosophy in several places, this is the first. I build with original Duals, Fetch Lands, and as few tap lands as possible. Yes, the incremental advantage this provides is small, but building this way directly reduces mana problems. That's the primary goal here.
With a land base like that, you have likely noticed, budget doesn't appear to be a factor. It is, but not in the mana base. To me, buying expensive spells for a deck with a bad mana base is backwards. You only need a few copies of these lands to establish your collection. You will never need to buy them again. After you have them, you can then brew more often and switch between decks faster because you have the mana base to support anything you could dream up. Usually, wacky dreams are cheap. This means you can move from deck to deck faster.
It's worth noting that I only keep 4 EDH decks active. They are chosen so they don't have many overlapping colors. A new one is built and rotated in about every three months. For example, I'm currently running 1 Mardu, 1 Golgari, 1 Selesynia, and 1 4-color-no-green. This allows me to allocate cards among them to minimize needing duplicates. Where I only have a single copy of an expensive card, I will swap it out from deck to deck. All four decks are double sleeved identically. Shared cards are marked on the inner sleeve so I can move them from one deck to another quickly between games. My original duals are the most frequently swapped cards. It's as easy as side boarding.
Spell Ramp and Fixing
I'm looking to have at least 8 sources of ramp and 8 sources of fixing that are NOT in my land base. When combined, this is usually nine to eleven cards. My first step is to add any applicable colored natural ramp and fixing methods. In Green this means the Cultivate, Farseek, and Kodama's Reach. In white, Land Tax. You get the idea. At this point I prioritize effects that ramp as well as fix.
It's important not to miss this step. Don't make the mistake of skipping straight to mana rocks. Rocks are filler, my priority is the colored ramp and fixing spells. Vandalblasts, Shatterstorms, and artifact stealing run rampant in my meta. Land destruction, not so much. That's why I prefer Farseek over a Golgari Signet.
Artifact land fetch is my next step; I always include Expedition Map. With the land base described above, it's rare that I crack it for fixing purposes. Even in four color decks I find myself set for all colors relatively early. This allows my Expedition Map to fetch a utility land. Depending on your meta, you may want another source of the fetch any land effect. As for fetching basics, Armillary sphere is a great addition for 4 and 5 color decks. I don't reach for anything deeper in this category because I can usually find better colored spell options.
I add the mana rocks next. The two most common mistakes regarding the selection of mana rocks are greed and neglect. Brewers either dream too big and add rocks detrimental to their plan, or don't add enough of them.
Let's cover neglect first. With an average deck, I like at least eight sources of ramp. Ramp is not fixing. Do not count rampless fixing as ramp, you will find yourself behind your opponents.
Let's examine the following list.
There are only 6 sources of ramp in that list. We have met the fixing requirement, but not the ramp. You will be able to cast your spells, but your opponents will be casting bigger spells earlier in the game than you.
Fill your eight slots with the premium two drop mana rocks first, then the premium three drops. More if your spells are more demanding. When possible, your mana rocks should also provide colored mana and fixing. Signets may not be sexy, but they are flat good.
On to greed. The lure of high casting cost mana rocks is real. Don't succumb to it unless you have a specific reason for doing so. In the early game you want to cast your mana rocks as soon as possible. In the mid game you want to get them onto the board without disrupting your progression. The two drop mana rocks are ideal for this, they should be your priority. If you still have a need, then resort to the three drop mana rocks. Rocks with a casting cost of 4 or greater are reserved for special purposes. Think Paradox Engine combos and Teferi artifact manipulations. Outside of those conditions, you could be casting something smaller and earlier that disrupts your mid game agenda less. I find the cost of taking a turn off to cast a 5 drop mana rock too steep.
Continual Ramp and Fetching effects. There is icing to this cake. Continual ramp and fetching effects can be backbreaking if your opponent's don't deal with them. Sword of the Animus and Land Tax going off every turn add up dramatically. Hit your minimum requirements then add one or two of these for spice.
Bulk Ramping Effects. They are too much fun not to play. Just don't include them in your counts. Traverse the Outlands isn't any good if it sits in your hand because you can't cast it.
Basic and Utility Lands
Basics do matter. I often have to fine tune the number of basics against the number of utility lands. I start with the number of basics my colored ramp spells and colorless land fetch artifacts are going to need to fetch. Then I add 5-8 more with the understanding that some will already be in play or my hand. When you are using the green fetch spells or Land Tax, make sure to memorize the number of basics in your deck or write it your deck box. There is nothing more comforting than knowing you have pulled all 20 basic lands out of your deck with land tax and are likely going to draw gas with your next draw spell.
Utility lands are last. Like mana rocks, greed is an easy trap here too. Among the utility lands, Maze of Ith and Strip Mine are auto includes for me. One of these two is almost always my Expedition Map target. I build for options and for solutions. Maze of Ith and Strip Mine are two of my favorites. Any remaining slots get filled with utility lands that aid what the deck is trying to do, or benefit from what the deck is already doing. Gaea's Cradle for token decks. Haste Lands for aggro decks. Karoo Lands for Landfall decks.
Card Draw for Resiliency
Card draw effects are what keeps a deck's play consistent. Like color fixing, the purpose of card draw is to fight variance. You are going to need at least eight sources of card draw. Unfortunately, The type of card draw required changes throughout the game.
Types of Card Draw
Early, you want cheap card draw you can actually cast. These small bursts of cards help you find more lands, rocks, and small creatures. Your priorities are hitting your land drop, ramping, and developing your board. In that order. I like three to five of these effects.
Mid game you want a recurring source that can keep a trickle of cards coming into your hand while you develop your board state even further. Depending on how far you extend, you may lose a piece or two to targeted removal at this stage. I like two to four of these effects.
End game you want massive draws that allow you to overwhelm your opponent or find that last missing removal card or combo piece. You are either trying to win before a board reset, or racing to be the first to recover from one. You are going to need to draw multiple cards to do that. I like three to five of these effects. The trick to keeping these big draw effects affordable is to capitalize upon what you are going to naturally have at this point in the game.
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If you are going to have big creatures, there are green and or black effects that draw a card for each power of that creature.
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If you are going to lots of creatures, the green effects that draw for each creature.
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If you are going to have lots of artifacts, blue has ways to draw cards equal to the number you have or the CC of your largest.
I like to have 0-2 sources of sustained card of card draw these depending on the deck. I will also occasionally tutor for these if I'm expecting a long game in which multiple bigger threats are likely to stick on the board. Unless catered to the theme of the deck, I find the turn window in which these cards excel is fairly narrow. Early game, you want to be spending your mana on ramp and fixing. Due to their mana costs they aren't typically good in the late game; they simply aren't efficient when the game is going to be over in a turn or two. Take this thought experiment:
Compare Phyrexian Arena to Painful Truths.
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Turns 1-4: I don't want to be casting either. I want to be ramping. It's a tie.
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Turns 5-8: 3 Mana and 3 life for 3 cards immediately vs. 3 Mana and 3 life for 4 cards over 4 turns. Slight advantage to Phyrexian Arena.
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Turns 9-11: 3 Mana and 3 life for 3 cards immediately vs. 3 Mana and 3 life for 2 cards over 3 turns. Massive advantage to Painful Truths.
Obviously the calculus changes when Painful Truths is subbed for Read the Bones and Painful Lesson. But this doesn't factor in the risk that your Phyrexian Arena isn't taken out by a Merciless Eviction or Tranquility. The faster and more interactive your meta, the less Phyrexian Arena looks to be an auto include.
End game card draw should have the effect of making your opponents groan when it resolves. They should look at their own hands and exhale in nervous anticipation. Plays like drawing eight cards off of Shamanic Revelation in Green, Damnable Pact in Black, or Brain Geyser in Blue. I also like 2-4 of these types of draw spells as well.
Using Card Draw Effects
Using these card draw effects wisely is almost as important as building for them. You need to take a proactive approach to card draw. It's best to use card draw before you need it. It's an engine that feeds itself. It's much easier to maintain it after it's running than to start it from a dead stop.
If given the option to break parity and go ahead on board state or draw three cards. I'm choosing to maintain parity and fill my hand prior to breaking parity. Being ahead and refilling your hand and draws more attention than being at parity and adding a few more cards to your hand.
Choosing when to play colored sustained draw is more complicated. Soul of Harvest in Green. Greed in Black. Sunbirds Invocation in Red. Rhystic Study or Mind Unbound in blue. Mentor of the Meek in white. Be careful when you play these. If you let them be the juiciest target on the board, they are going to be taken out. Or worse, the other players don't have targeted removal, so they just start swinging at you for player removal. I have seen players drop Rhystic Study on turn three and draw hate they never recover from. Hell, I was one of the other players swinging at that guy.
Unconventional Removal
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Planning Removal is the fun part "unfun" part of deck building. I like 8-10 sources of removal. This might stem from a sadistic joy I get from always having an answer. My favorite type of removal could be categorized as unconventional removal. As commander has evolved, it's not enough to send a card to the graveyard. A card in the graveyard is going come back, or some Golgari player is going to make use of it. That leaves exile, tuck, control, and state change effects. I treasure the grimace on my opponent's face when I turn their Kallia the Vast into a Forest with Song of the Dryads. Especially when I know that opponent rarely includes Enchantment removal in their decks. My favorites include Song of the Dryads, Chaos Warp, Beast Within, the Orzhov Exile package (Anguished Unmaking, Utter End, Unmake).
It's important to note that these types of removal will bring a bit of hate. If you turn Grenko into a forest and that player has no way to fix his problem, he is coming at you the rest of the game out of spite.
Be sure to vary the removal as well. Orzhov has great removal, but don't use it as a crutch. If all your removal contains white, you are one Iona cast away from being shut out completely with no answers.
Ancillary Categories
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Protection, GY Recursion, GY Hate, Tutors. These categories make a deck well rounded. They are easy to skimp on, don't.
You need something to protect your board state when you reach for the win. A Boros Charm to make your creatures indestructible. A Heroic Intervention does the same thing in green. Something to thwart your opponents last ditch effort to stop you. A counter can fill this spot as well. Don't play these effects unless you need them. They are to prevent dying and ensure winning. By the time you are 30 cards into your deck, you will likely find one. Save it.
Graveyard hate is required. Play more of it. Someone in your pod is going to do something dumb with their graveyard. Or maybe even your graveyard. You need answers to this. Pack 2-3. Exiling individual cards is fine too.
I include graveyard recursion and tutors for similar reasons. They find specific answers and threats. I want an additional copy of an effect and I'm going to use these slots to get it. These cards can be multiples of anything in your deck. That means your graveyard recursion slot could bring that Doubling Season back once someone has blown it up. A tutor provides the ability to go get the Parallel Lives still in your deck.
How These Decks Play
They play remarkably well. They are resilient. They are explosive. They bounce back from board wipes and removal well. This has unintended consequences. Your playgroup may adapt. All else being equal, my decks are targeted early. Which is understandable and fun for me. My regular opponents have learned to preemptively remove my permanents to limit explosiveness. They have taken the mantra of "You can't knock him down, you have to kill him or he will be back." I don't typically exceed my share of the win percentage, but I'm usually taking someone out with me when I lose. Build with the concepts above in mind and you will always be doing something, whether you are winning, losing, or at parity.