Step 1- Buy Dragon Shield, which says 100 Sleeves Step 2- put cards in all 102-105 sleeves provided. Step 3- Point to "100 sleeves" on the Dragon Shield box
@MortonFMurphy No joke, my first ever deck I did that. Took me a while to realize I had an illegal deck. I figured it was an "if it fits, it ships" situation
Shocked the # 1 tip wasn’t putting the deck into Moxfield and use tags. It was a total game changer when I did this 3-4 years ago. Can’t imagine brewing without it.
@ you can create universal tags for your account like ramp, card draw, artifact removal or life gain. You decide what to call it and what is what. After you can sort by tags and easily see how many treasure makers you have or tribal lords and make cuts so easily. It’s a small amount of work upfront with a lifetime of payoff after.
@@finks1 it seems that archidekt already does this (Im newish, and un-sure how to categorize things myself sometimes) - but it also seems mox is far more popular
Over the years, after watching many videos from many creators here on YT on how to build decks and make cuts, i can now consistently get my commander decks down to 160 cards
Don't pigeonhole yourself to some arbitrary number that was made up by someone else. This is a casual format and you do not have to have exactly 100 cards
This is a bonus tip for everyone. After you have your deck sorted in Archidekt or Moxfield in the different categories, card draw, removal, ramp, etc., I find it helpful to sort by mana value. If you have too many cards in your deck, axing cards with the highest cmc is often a great place to start.
I've actually found it better to make a deck with like 200 cards in it, put them all in a maybe pile and force myself to figure out which are the most important to put in. Arguing why it should be in just works better for my brain than why it shouldn't be there. I've also found it makes me end up with a more cohesive vision than just a pile trying to do 3 different things.
That's a good idea and you can always just stick with that. No one is going to complain. If you have a 200 card deck. It actually means you're going to have less consistency and so if you win it is even more impressive
@@Blacklodge_Willy Not at all Mr Wonka. Less than 100 cards creates less variance, which would be cheating. While more card options creates more variance and is more fun. 100 is just the minimum... so glad I could clear that up for you
@@Kjos_jax 100 cards (99+ your commander) is also the maximum (with the exception of companion) otherwise you're cheating. Unless of course you want to rule zero every time you play a game with strangers.
@@Blacklodge_Willy That's exactly what you do before every game if need be anyway and if they have a problem with more than 100 cards they aren't someone you'd want to play with to begin with. I'd literally laugh if they took issue with something that increases their chances to win and creates more fun. In our store, running things like Thoracle combo, heavy counters, or stax is something we don't allow so it's all relative. There are many cards we don't play that are "legal" and many we play that are banned. The list was never something seasoned players took seriously anyway and now it is completely obsolete. i.e. Hullbreacher which is banned because people like Cass thought wheeling people out of hands was funny. It isn't, but that has nothing to do with the cool merfolk. It's a player problem in that case, not a card problem. So anyone can run it as long as they don't use it the wrong way. You're really insistent on playing by rules that were arbitrarily created by a tiny group of people. Being so rigid, is part of the problem and why they had to ban things. If people just respected others, their time, etc, things would be much smoother. There shouldn't be a rule 0 but it exists because of people like yourself. Never too late to change though...
Genuinely playtesting my new deck at 111 cards as I listened to Beezy saying he likes to do that to cut cards. I just wish I could draw a card that felt bad and I didn't just have 111 that I love seeing at all times
Good advice, nerds! I just put together a Pauper deck with Minthara, Merciless Soul inspired by the short you all put out a few days ago. Average mana value without lands is 2.65, and I can’t wait to test it out next week!!
My way of sticking to 100 is to put 40 basics in the deck when i start. And then i immediately start categorizing cards as i add them. And then playtest a lot
I am dying to put Marvin Murderous Mimic and General kreat, the boltbringer into my Krenko, Mob Boss Deck and I'm sure there will be tons of cool new Goblins in Aetherdrift since it's confirmed they're being given support that set. The hard part is going to be figuring out which cards I can afford to cut. Thanks for all the quality tips guys!
The way I do this is that I tag my deck and cut EVERYTHING. Then I start adding. Just go by category and add whatever is the best in there and keep the categories balanced. It's much easier to invite cards to your deck than saying goodbye. ;)
ya know what I found to be weirdly helpful when making a decklist, I will add whatever cards I think could be useful, when I am finished adding I will create a new list and pull from the cards from best to worst, it makes seeing what will be more impactful a lot easier, for me atleast.
my favorite thing to do when i do go over 100 cards is replacing 3 cards for a single removal/draw, eventually u will end up with a good consistent deck, as long as u dont replace lands!
I build up to 100 starting with whatever 5 or 10 card jank combo/synergy im trying to work with then immediately add 37 basics as placeholders. Then i slowly build up from 50ish to 100 making sure to eat my veggies (ramp, removal, draw). After I hit 100 I swap my lands for mdfcs, duals, utility lands etc. Then i run the sims (solo playtest), tune a bit. Then printer go brrrrrr.
I used to be in this exact situation stuck at 105-110 cards in a list. Nw I can comfortably cut down to 101-103 and then can’t justify anymore cuts so I’ll leave the list 😂
Hi Nitpicking Nerds! Great Video! Do you guys determine your land count by the Average Mana Value or does it all depend with the ramp and draw in deck?
I have a gruul dragon deck with a 3,75CMC 😭 I am actively lowering the curve by slowly buying really good low CMC dragons but yeah. I dont think the deck will ever go below 3.3 average CMC
@@monomanamaniac oh wow haha, i’m using 38 lands and 13 ramp so 3,5ish average CMC isnt that bad. But 4,5 CMC must make it really difficult to get consistent great games no? If you miss your land drop even once you’re really behind.
@@axelbrackeniers5488 oh yeah, that deck is terrible lol. But it's full of a ton of low cost ramp and draw, and a lot of very expensive to cast dragons. I think it's hovering around 34-35 lands, but there's so much ramp and draw in a five color dragon deck lol
I once ran 15 sol rings in a deck cuz i wanted to always play a turn one Sol Ring. I was never caught. Except those 12 times i got laughed at for having so many sol rings for such a dumb reason.
My win con with miirym is copying miirym with spark double and doubling the tokens. After that dragpn tempest, terror of the peaks, scourge, or just an army of dragons that i can instant speed regen through a board wipe.
god unholy annex is just the fixed version of phyrexian arena honestly, its only more life but it replaces itself the turn it comes in so it doesnt feel that bad if it gets murdered
Or just have a rule zero conversation with your group that no one's deck needs to be a hundred cards. It's only when it's less than 100 that the variance becomes an issue. There is absolutely nothing wrong with 150 card decks... except the shuffling
I have a mill deck ive been trying to brew based around copying abilities and spells and im struggling to find good ways to make big mana. Theres also a funny combo that i want to be the “secret commander” thats 4BB that i want to copy for each player so that turn would require 2 copy pieces and atleast 10-12 mana
This may sound crazy, but I never find myself cutting from ~120 down to 100. I will trim as I go, get to 100, then maybe debate over an additional 2 or 3 cards. If anything, because I'm so particular about my includes, I find myself in the situation I'm in now with my new build where I can't seem to get UP to 100 because the list has to be just right. Anyone else?
My recommendation is don't. I had a deck for a bit that was 400 cards and i just took 100 at random. It was fun but the mana base had a lot of basics an tappdd lands
So I will say y’all are sleeping on well of the lost dreams. Everytime I cut it I kept thinking I’m losing because I cut the well… cards great with your soul wardens when you’re top decking. 1 mana draw a card when your opponents play a creature. It’s only NOT GOOD when you’re splashing life gain in your deck… you have to be able to consistently gain life (preferably gain the life at instant speed) for it to really be effective.
I cant decide whether my Ognis, Dragon's Lash deck should remain mono red mana base for simplicity/theme or switch to gruul for more ramp focused early game. Soooo it's sitting at 170 cards till I decide 😅
Black has some really sweet options if you decide to go for the treasure theme.. Marionette Master, Mirkwood Bats etc just win games. Green is just a disgustingly strong color you would miss out. Also you have some token doublers and good power and thoughness in green...
@@austinhill5550 I think you misunderstand. Obviously you don't test a deck with 130 cards in it. But there comes a point where you're down to almost 99 cards and everything seems important and it's completely fine to just give the deck a spin a couple of times on moxfield, archidekt etc. because even if the ratios are off, it really helps understanding, what generally works and what sits in your hand and that makes cuts way easier. And then you actually playtest/goldfish the deck at the 99. The big issue for many is to even get near the 99. Some deck ideas I sit on 150 cards after a romp through scryfall/edhrec and It can be paralyzing to figure out which cards to cut.
Wierd thing. It’s so easy for me to cut down to deck size when playing limited, because we want that guarantee of consistency. But when it’s commander we want to play all the cool and flavorful things that synergize with the theme or chosen legendary creature.
There is literally no way to cut down to 100 cards, it's impossible and everyone is secretly running 103 card decks and hoping no one counts
You can run 130 cards and I don't care. It only creates more variations and permutations... Which both equate to more fun
Step 1- Buy Dragon Shield, which says 100 Sleeves
Step 2- put cards in all 102-105 sleeves provided.
Step 3- Point to "100 sleeves" on the Dragon Shield box
@MortonFMurphy No joke, my first ever deck I did that. Took me a while to realize I had an illegal deck. I figured it was an "if it fits, it ships" situation
With how math works, I hope people run higher card count decks. Less chance of drawing into both lands and digging deeper into a deck lmao
All of y’all’s responses are wild and hilarious. All viable answers but I’ll be that guy that counts your board and grave lol. 😂😂😂
Shocked the # 1 tip wasn’t putting the deck into Moxfield and use tags. It was a total game changer when I did this 3-4 years ago. Can’t imagine brewing without it.
can you elaborate on what tags are on moxfield?
@ you can create universal tags for your account like ramp, card draw, artifact removal or life gain. You decide what to call it and what is what. After you can sort by tags and easily see how many treasure makers you have or tribal lords and make cuts so easily.
It’s a small amount of work upfront with a lifetime of payoff after.
Yeah tagging my own stuff was unbelievably helpful and changed my deck building for the better
@@finks1 it seems that archidekt already does this (Im newish, and un-sure how to categorize things myself sometimes) - but it also seems mox is far more popular
I always wanted to tag my decks but the process is so tiresome doing it one card at a time.
Over the years, after watching many videos from many creators here on YT on how to build decks and make cuts, i can now consistently get my commander decks down to 160 cards
My stuggle with every deck literally...
Don't pigeonhole yourself to some arbitrary number that was made up by someone else. This is a casual format and you do not have to have exactly 100 cards
Same
This is a bonus tip for everyone. After you have your deck sorted in Archidekt or Moxfield in the different categories, card draw, removal, ramp, etc., I find it helpful to sort by mana value. If you have too many cards in your deck, axing cards with the highest cmc is often a great place to start.
I've actually found it better to make a deck with like 200 cards in it, put them all in a maybe pile and force myself to figure out which are the most important to put in. Arguing why it should be in just works better for my brain than why it shouldn't be there. I've also found it makes me end up with a more cohesive vision than just a pile trying to do 3 different things.
That's a good idea and you can always just stick with that. No one is going to complain. If you have a 200 card deck. It actually means you're going to have less consistency and so if you win it is even more impressive
As I watch this I have a deck sitting on the table on my left and two cards on my right that I’m trying to shoehorn into it.😊
Pro tip just add them. Your deck does not need to be 100 cards
@@Kjos_jax that's terrible advice lol
@@Blacklodge_Willy Not at all Mr Wonka. Less than 100 cards creates less variance, which would be cheating. While more card options creates more variance and is more fun. 100 is just the minimum... so glad I could clear that up for you
@@Kjos_jax 100 cards (99+ your commander) is also the maximum (with the exception of companion) otherwise you're cheating. Unless of course you want to rule zero every time you play a game with strangers.
@@Blacklodge_Willy That's exactly what you do before every game if need be anyway and if they have a problem with more than 100 cards they aren't someone you'd want to play with to begin with. I'd literally laugh if they took issue with something that increases their chances to win and creates more fun. In our store, running things like Thoracle combo, heavy counters, or stax is something we don't allow so it's all relative. There are many cards we don't play that are "legal" and many we play that are banned.
The list was never something seasoned players took seriously anyway and now it is completely obsolete. i.e. Hullbreacher which is banned because people like Cass thought wheeling people out of hands was funny. It isn't, but that has nothing to do with the cool merfolk. It's a player problem in that case, not a card problem. So anyone can run it as long as they don't use it the wrong way. You're really insistent on playing by rules that were arbitrarily created by a tiny group of people. Being so rigid, is part of the problem and why they had to ban things. If people just respected others, their time, etc, things would be much smoother. There shouldn't be a rule 0 but it exists because of people like yourself. Never too late to change though...
Mia you look stunning! Great job with your make-up!
Get your own girl!
Lol She does look nice though seriously
I JUST got on RUclips at 3:59 (one minute ago) and was like man, I guess no NN video today then boom, prayers answered 😂 Hi Nerds!
Hello! Thanks for waiting that one minute!
@ Well, countless days and one minute 😅
Genuinely playtesting my new deck at 111 cards as I listened to Beezy saying he likes to do that to cut cards.
I just wish I could draw a card that felt bad and I didn't just have 111 that I love seeing at all times
Usually a few of them will be dead draws in the first 5 turns and they're the ones I cut 😅
Good advice, nerds! I just put together a Pauper deck with Minthara, Merciless Soul inspired by the short you all put out a few days ago. Average mana value without lands is 2.65, and I can’t wait to test it out next week!!
The cutting is easy when you shuffle the maybe cards, and randomly pull the ones to keep.
Chaotic brilliance.
this video is just right for me. I struggle to get below 130 cards on my sheoldred//true scriptures deck im building
27:14 is the Moxfield ad for sure 🗣️
Awesome advice, especially about the MDFCs - still underrated, even with all the new ones being printed.
Love ya'll, can't wait to see you guys
My way of sticking to 100 is to put 40 basics in the deck when i start. And then i immediately start categorizing cards as i add them. And then playtest a lot
40 lands! Oof
@xXtheONEandONLYXx (I never stick to 40 but I start high so I can cut lands and not feel bad 🤣)
Dance Gavin Dance slaps. Hell yeah.
Was actually in the process of making the final cuts from a new deck today so this was fortuitous timing.
Definitely needed this video as a bit of a wake up call. Now I just need to get over my decision paralysis on what to build
Perfect timing to come across this video. Only need to cut 39 cards from one I’m drafting up online
I am dying to put Marvin Murderous Mimic and General kreat, the boltbringer into my Krenko, Mob Boss Deck and I'm sure there will be tons of cool new Goblins in Aetherdrift since it's confirmed they're being given support that set. The hard part is going to be figuring out which cards I can afford to cut. Thanks for all the quality tips guys!
The way I do this is that I tag my deck and cut EVERYTHING. Then I start adding. Just go by category and add whatever is the best in there and keep the categories balanced. It's much easier to invite cards to your deck than saying goodbye. ;)
The subtheme thing always gets me.
I always sort the cards in archidekt and usually there is one subtheme in each new deck I can 100% cut.
ya know what I found to be weirdly helpful when making a decklist, I will add whatever cards I think could be useful, when I am finished adding I will create a new list and pull from the cards from best to worst, it makes seeing what will be more impactful a lot easier, for me atleast.
Listening to Dance gavin Dance, and who do i see in the Music vid? Nitpicking Nerds! So random and cool 🤣
Anyone else lose sleep over these choices? 😬 Nothing like a 4am “what if I cut and add…”
You guys nailed a lot of good things. I had to cut the one ring from my lower power hobbits list cause it was way too powerful for what we were doing.
You guys are a great couple, I love watching your videos.
my favorite thing to do when i do go over 100 cards is replacing 3 cards for a single removal/draw, eventually u will end up with a good consistent deck, as long as u dont replace lands!
Mia’s hair looks dope!
Her hole swag i dig
I build up to 100 starting with whatever 5 or 10 card jank combo/synergy im trying to work with then immediately add 37 basics as placeholders. Then i slowly build up from 50ish to 100 making sure to eat my veggies (ramp, removal, draw). After I hit 100 I swap my lands for mdfcs, duals, utility lands etc.
Then i run the sims (solo playtest), tune a bit. Then printer go brrrrrr.
I am 100% a beezy builder. So hard to go from like 200 interesting cards to 110 good/great cards and say goodbye to the ones I love from there
Bruh DGD is so sick. I new there was a reason i liked you guys
damn I knew that plushy in the background was the DGD plushy!
I totally got wrecked by a Deflecting Palm when they used it on my Tuvasa (who was, like 40+ power). 😅
I love your channel and OML I NEEDED THIS VID SM 😭😭
I used to be in this exact situation stuck at 105-110 cards in a list. Nw I can comfortably cut down to 101-103 and then can’t justify anymore cuts so I’ll leave the list 😂
love the dance gavin dance shirt :)
I'm building Imskir right now, and this is quite helpful. I have like 150 cards I want to play and need to make some tough cuts.
Yo it was super cool meeting yall at magic con! Hope yall had a good flight back
Thank you! Our flight was nice and easy :)
Love the Dance Gavin Dance Tee! 🎉
You guys are the BEST!
Soooo for your sub theme issue… many times I’ll make two different decks with the SAME commander. So you can still get your builds
Hi Nitpicking Nerds! Great Video! Do you guys determine your land count by the Average Mana Value or does it all depend with the ramp and draw in deck?
I was literally working on a Henzie deck as I started watching this video
Henzie has some big bois for sure
Lol made a gotcha deck *Megatron and it's pretty much nothing but deflecting palms inkshields and mardu counterspells pretty fun
Man y’all saying to keep your deck under 3.5 average cmc and I’m over here stressing if it’s over like 3.15 😂😅
I'm personally aiming for 2.5, but that's just me. My big green stompy deck hurts my soul because it has a 3.0 curve lol.
I have a gruul dragon deck with a 3,75CMC 😭
I am actively lowering the curve by slowly buying really good low CMC dragons but yeah. I dont think the deck will ever go below 3.3 average CMC
@@axelbrackeniers5488 I think the tiamat deck I built my kiddo has like a 4.7 average so you're already getting there.
@@monomanamaniac oh wow haha, i’m using 38 lands and 13 ramp so 3,5ish average CMC isnt that bad. But 4,5 CMC must make it really difficult to get consistent great games no? If you miss your land drop even once you’re really behind.
@@axelbrackeniers5488 oh yeah, that deck is terrible lol. But it's full of a ton of low cost ramp and draw, and a lot of very expensive to cast dragons. I think it's hovering around 34-35 lands, but there's so much ramp and draw in a five color dragon deck lol
Nice, right after I just mass edited all 16 of my decks the past few weeks….
I once ran 15 sol rings in a deck cuz i wanted to always play a turn one Sol Ring. I was never caught. Except those 12 times i got laughed at for having so many sol rings for such a dumb reason.
My win con with miirym is copying miirym with spark double and doubling the tokens.
After that dragpn tempest, terror of the peaks, scourge, or just an army of dragons that i can instant speed regen through a board wipe.
My list: Budget, CMC, cut a land and spell that does X, for a MDFC that also does X
How'd they know what I'm currently struggling with
Mia's makeup looks great!
29:26 *Stops editing my Xavier Sal deck and frowns*
30:02 *The Xavier Sal deck has a planeswalker subtheme, frowns even harder*
You guys get a glow up? Looking good!
amazing vid!
Let a Nitpicker know!
Quick and easy fix:
Just put everything you want in there, sleeve up all the cards, shuffle up, then take 99 cards face down, the rest is out.
Sweet DGD shirt
Thats a great look on Mia
Mia ur makeup looks great but you both look so cute 💖
My etali, Primal Conqueror deck has no wincon. All you need is the flipside of Etali
god unholy annex is just the fixed version of phyrexian arena honestly, its only more life but it replaces itself the turn it comes in so it doesnt feel that bad if it gets murdered
Nice Dance Gavin Dance t-shirt homie, didnt know u were this acculturated ;)
Encourage archenemy! That way you can have a power level 8 deck against 3 power 6-7 decks and it evens out 😅
I have a Saskia the Unyielding deck at 122 cards and I'm in pain. Hopefully I'll be enlightened by this video lol
Just cut basics 🤡
I have a 180 card Savra decklist and I'm already at that point Beezy mentioned where I can't decide on 10 cards to cut. Lol
Try your best to whittle down with our tips to 115 or so and then use playtesting to thin it to 100!
Can you guys do a deck tech on the karador list beezy top 16 with pls
Sick DGD shirt Beezy
I had to cut 80ish cards from my Doran, the siege tower deck. After i purchased the cards.
Mia trying to make this a thirst trap channel 😍😍😍 lovely!!!
Fire Dance Gavin Dance shirt dude!
Or just have a rule zero conversation with your group that no one's deck needs to be a hundred cards. It's only when it's less than 100 that the variance becomes an issue. There is absolutely nothing wrong with 150 card decks... except the shuffling
I have a mill deck ive been trying to brew based around copying abilities and spells and im struggling to find good ways to make big mana.
Theres also a funny combo that i want to be the “secret commander” thats 4BB that i want to copy for each player so that turn would require 2 copy pieces and atleast 10-12 mana
We just need a 200 card format. Easy!
This may sound crazy, but I never find myself cutting from ~120 down to 100. I will trim as I go, get to 100, then maybe debate over an additional 2 or 3 cards. If anything, because I'm so particular about my includes, I find myself in the situation I'm in now with my new build where I can't seem to get UP to 100 because the list has to be just right. Anyone else?
My recommendation is don't. I had a deck for a bit that was 400 cards and i just took 100 at random. It was fun but the mana base had a lot of basics an tappdd lands
I've been gone for like 2 years from the magic scene. And from the RUclips scene. What happened to Joe Cherries?
You can run payoffs like say a bunch of big bombs that have synergy with your deck. and ontop of that get work done on there own
My pet cards are like smothering tithe, alhammaret's archive, immortal sun :x
Nice to see Mia get all glammed up 😜
How to cut down to 99 cards? Easy. I built my decks with only 95 slots, fill those and then I am like wait... I still have room...
Math Rock Mentioned!
My Alela deck has 27 lands and 10 MDFCs XD
So I will say y’all are sleeping on well of the lost dreams. Everytime I cut it I kept thinking I’m losing because I cut the well… cards great with your soul wardens when you’re top decking. 1 mana draw a card when your opponents play a creature. It’s only NOT GOOD when you’re splashing life gain in your deck… you have to be able to consistently gain life (preferably gain the life at instant speed) for it to really be effective.
Beezy: it takes me at least 5 days to cut 1 magic card
Mia: and he bellyaches about it the entire time!
Mia you're an absolute trooper 🫡
Sometimes I just sit and stare at the deck for 10 minutes and only accomplish anything in my head
DGD for the win!
Based dgd shirt
I cant decide whether my Ognis, Dragon's Lash deck should remain mono red mana base for simplicity/theme or switch to gruul for more ramp focused early game. Soooo it's sitting at 170 cards till I decide 😅
Black has some really sweet options if you decide to go for the treasure theme..
Marionette Master, Mirkwood Bats etc just win games. Green is just a disgustingly strong color you would miss out. Also you have some token doublers and good power and thoughness in green...
@FlowBerni oh for sure. I was mainly talking about early game first 3-4 turns. I jammed lots of big green/black spells to cast with treasures 🤑
Cutting down to 100 is the roughest of rough.
And if you ask anyone for help they always start by suggesting more cards! xP
30 lands should be fine. I don't even have anything that costs 30 mana.
😂
Solid curve consideration right there
I need help bad, I love every card and have justifications for them all. I wish I had a deck editor that just cut them for me. My friends are no help.
nice shirt Beezy
Calling Moxfield ad at 1:12:23
Never go above 100 cards. Always take a card out before putting a new one in. Simple rules, simple deck building.
yeah don't understand what anyone would be doing with more. ratios and pulls would all be off.
@@austinhill5550 I think you misunderstand. Obviously you don't test a deck with 130 cards in it. But there comes a point where you're down to almost 99 cards and everything seems important and it's completely fine to just give the deck a spin a couple of times on moxfield, archidekt etc. because even if the ratios are off, it really helps understanding, what generally works and what sits in your hand and that makes cuts way easier. And then you actually playtest/goldfish the deck at the 99.
The big issue for many is to even get near the 99. Some deck ideas I sit on 150 cards after a romp through scryfall/edhrec and It can be paralyzing to figure out which cards to cut.
i just cut lands, straight gas in my decks
A friend told me take out bolas citadel
Wierd thing. It’s so easy for me to cut down to deck size when playing limited, because we want that guarantee of consistency.
But when it’s commander we want to play all the cool and flavorful things that synergize with the theme or chosen legendary creature.
I don’t cut down to 100. I just make my deck and once I hit a 100 it’s done.
Looking good mia. Hughug