First Deck Ever

 

This week saw a noteworthy event: my son made his first Magic deck. Here it is:

Deck: "+1 Gain Life"

2 Feral Invocation (M20) 170

2 Forest (SLD) 108

2 Inspired Charge (M20) 24

1 Island (SLD) 102

1 Dismal Backwater (M21) 245

2 Blossoming Sands (M21) 244

1 Might of the Masses (M20) 182

2 Nightpack Ambusher (M20) 185

3 Growth Cycle (M20) 175

1 Infuriate (M20) 145

3 Plains (SLD) 101

1 Ancestral Blade (M20) 3

1 Evolving Wilds (M20) 246

1 Overcome (M20) 186

2 Metropolis Sprite (M20) 66

1 Griffin Protector (M20) 20

4 Dawning Angel (M20) 11

1 Swiftwater Cliffs (M21) 251

2 Bloodfell Caves (M20) 242

1 Netcaster Spider (M20) 184

1 Angel of Vitality (M20) 4

1 Aerial Assault (M20) 1

2 Jungle Hollow (M21) 247

1 Scoured Barrens (M21) 250

1 Unholy Indenture (M20) 119

2 Hard Cover (M20) 63

1 Brineborn Cutthroat (M20) 50

1 Lavakin Brawler (M20) 147

1 Inspiring Captain (M20) 25

1 Rugged Highlands (M20) 250

1 Yarok's Fenlurker (M20) 123

1 Daybreak Chaplain (M19) 10

2 Moment of Heroism (M20) 30

1 Loxodon Lifechanter (M20) 27

1 Barkhide Troll (M20) 165

1 Glaring Aegis (M20) 18

1 Wind-Scarred Crag (M21) 259

1 Tranquil Cove (M21) 258

1 Thornwood Falls (ELD) 313

2 Swamp (M19) 269

2 Mountain (DAR) 265

He pulled cards from his small collection (of M20 and M21 cards) to construct the above. Let's analyze it.

The good:

• He strikes a good balance between land and non-land cards, going for the standard 24/36 breakdown.
• He strikes a good balance between creature and non-creature spells (18 of each).
• His mana curve is well within the recommended shape, with an average spell cost of 2.9
• There is some synergy here on two fronts: 
• cards that gain life (like Dawning Angel) and cards that profit from doing so (like Angel of Vitality)
• cards that want you to play cards on your opponent's turn (like Nightpack Ambusher and Brineborn Cutthroat) and instant spells

The bad:

• The deck is unfocused- it tries to do too many things.
• The deck has too many colors (see first point).
• The deck has cards that don't mesh with the others (like Lavakin Brawler, who benefits from other Elementals- there are no other Elementals in the deck).
• The land distribution doesn't match the mana cost distribution.
• There are far more white and green spells than the others, but the lands are evenly distributed through the five colors. This lowers the probability of having lands that match your spells.

This is by no means a good deck. But it's his, and that is what makes Magic fun- the creativity and sense of ownership. Plus- and I should have said this at the start- my son is five, and is learning how to read. Well done, my young apprentice. Well done.