by Chris R.W.

Created on: January 14, 2008   Last Updated: August 27, 2011

1. Buy Singles - The idea behind this is to build your deck to its optimum build. Exactly as you want it, and right away with all the cards you need.

The way most players get started is to start by obtaining a few booster packs every once and a while, building their deck out of the growing card pool based on what cards they have the most of in a certain color, creature type, etc. It results in a mess of a deck with cards all over the curve and will destroy and shred of consistency your deck could hope to have in a game.

So instead of this haphazard deck building, you want to buy the singles you need and build the deck to its optimum build. The cost might seem a bit high for the singles, but compared to all of the booster packs you'll be addicted to buying, hoping for that one card to finish off your deck (which you won't ever open), buying singles will be ultimately cheaper, and result in the construction of an actually consistent deck with four copies of every critical card in your deck.

2. Net Deck Net Decking is the practice of getting your deck lists from people who've placed high in notable tournaments, or from famous players, or wherever else you find a deck list that is not your original idea.

Some players have reservations against this, a kind of moral code against stealing card-for-card deck lists, but even these players who hope to build a viable deck must a least look at the net decks available, to get an idea of the metagame (the other deck lists being played by others and approximately how many) they're up against.

Straight net decking lists isn't always the greatest idea either. What worked in a world tournament that had 1,000's of players in the brackets at some point might not work as well as a local Friday Night Magic. But the principle behind the decks that have placed high always will work out. You can alter the deck lists to fit your personal preferences, local metagame, or just borrow a synergy included in the deck that you think is neat.

You don't have to net deck, but you can always find something to take from the proven deck lists and apply them to your own deck.

3. Get your Mana Curves Right Mana curves are probably the most essential part of building a working deck over anything else. You can fill your deck up with the biggest, baddest creatures and huge bombs, but if they all cost you more than 4 mana, you won't be able to play anything for the first four drops and you've already lost.

It's all about getting your tempo right. You've

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