Deck

A deck is the collection of cards that a player plays with; it becomes that player’s library. 
==Description and history==
A regular deck needs a minimum of 60 cards. While the maximum is technically infinite, a player must be able to shuffle satisfactorily within the normal time frame; this puts the upper bound to something around 250 cards. When Magic first began, the rules dictated a 40-card deck, and there was no restriction for the number of copies of each card. Constructed and Limited had the same deck size. It quickly became apparent that 40 was too small for Constructed as it both made the game too repetitive and made it too easy to pull off key combos. There is a maximum of 4 cards with the same name in each deck. 
The only exceptions to this rule are the basic lands or if a card's text contradicts this rule (such as <c>Relentless Rats</c>). The four-of-limit was not originally part of the game. That rule didn't roll around until WotC started pushing organized play more than half a year after the release of Alpha.
==Rules==
===Minimum deck size===
===Starting deck===
===Supplementary decks===
Supplementary decks, or side decks, are separated card decks that may be played in casual games to enhance the gaming experience. They are recognizable by alternate card sizes and/or alternate card backs.
The first side deck was the planar deck that was introduced for the Planechase format. It contains oversized Plane and Phenomenon cards.
Un-sets featured the Attraction deck and the Contraption deck. They have alternate card backs and are not Eternal legal.
Thunder Junction Commander introduced the Bounty deck.
====Glossary====
==Parts of a deck==
A deck can be commonly organized in two fashions:
*By card types
*By purpose of the cards
This section will deal with the latter. The former is often employed on websites uniformly because not all of the following categories are featured in all decks. Cards within categories are usually listed alphabetically or from lowest to highest converted mana cost.
===Mana base===
The Mana base are all cards, which can either produce mana or give access to cards that do without requiring a mana cost to be paid. While a mana base is necessary for all decks, there are many ways to achieve it depending on the environment of the deck, but in almost all cases Lands make up the majority of mana sources. Conventional wisdom is to have 40% of a deck being mana (16/40 in Limited, 24/60 in Constructed, 40/100 in Highlander), but curve, mana sinks, and game plan may shift it up to 50% or down to 30%.
A subcategory that may be included here is mana acceleration with cards that do cost mana themselves but yield an amount of mana as their effect.
===Win condition===
The Win condition is simply the way the deck plans to win the game it participates in. Since there are multiple ways to force an opponent to lose a deck is usually trimmed to achieve just one of them. The most common win condition is dealing more damage to an opponent than their starting life total. However, combo decks or prison decks may target the opponent's library instead and attempt to force them to draw more cards than their library contains. Some cards provide an alternate win condition which a deck may employ.
===Interaction===
The third large portion of a deck is usually used to either shield oneself from attempts by the opponent to halt the game plan or cards that do so to the opponent.
*Counters are predominantly blue and prevent a spell by the opponent from resolving and usually have the card representing the spell be put in the graveyard.
*Discard is usually black and is a proactive way to stop the opponent by removing cards out of their hand.
*Removal is used to put a permanent on the Battlefield into a different zone. This includes direct damage spells that can target creatures, though they may also be used as a win condition.
===Card advantage===
This category is for cards that simply make other cards accessible either by putting additional cards in hand or manipulating the library. This may include Tutors, cards such as <c>Ponder</c> to alter what cards will be drawn next, or card draw such as <c>Divination</c>. Not all decks require this category, though most competitive sideboards will have some form of them.
===Utility===
Utility cards are cards that may serve more than one function in a deck. A utility category may be named if categories such as Protection or Card Advantage do not include enough cards to warrant a distinction in any one given deck.
==Deckbuilding==
Deckbuilding is creating a deck.The Official Deckbuilders' Guide 
*A little more than 1/3 of your deck should be mana. In a 60-card deck, 24 mana will suffice. 
*If you have too many different colors in your deck, the chance that you'll draw the right color reduces. Therefore, it is better to create a deck with 1, 2, or maybe 3 different colors. Artifacts and multicolor spells reduces the danger of mana screw. 
*Most people have more creatures than other spells in their deck.
*Competitive players should consider their sideboard as part of their deck rather than an afterthought.
==Decklist==
A decklist is the written version of a deck. Most tournaments require a decklist submission, but this has moved from paper to digital in the late 2010s.
==Deck names==
In the earlier years of the Pro Tour, decks often had esoteric and opaque naming schemes, but this was later discarded as the viewer's experience was worsened. Additionally, as mechanical or strategic theming became the stronger deckbuilding norm and online decklist proliferation more widespread, weird deck names became less prevalent as players would often not keep the nickname when porting decks.
There are no hard and fast rules to deck naming. Some popular decks get their unique nickname, but in sanctioned formats, decks are usually described by their color, archetype, and sometimes format. 
*The deck's color comes from the colors of its cards, being some combination of Black, Blue, White, Green, and Red (or colorless if all cards lack a color). If the deck uses only one color, it is referred to as mono (for example, mono-red). Multi-color decks are also sometimes referred to using the associated two-colored Ravnican guild, or three-colored shard or wedge.
*The deck's archetype refers to its strategy or theme. The main archetypes are Aggro, Combo and Control. Combo decks are usually named after the cards that form their combo. Decks centered around using a certain creature type or mechanic will often use their name instead.
*When it isn't clear what format a deck is intended to be played in, it can be included in the deck's name. The most popular sanctioned formats are Vintage, Legacy, Standard, Modern, Block and Limited.
Some example deck names are "mono-blue <c>Eye of the Storm</c> combo", "extended green/blue aggro-control deck", and "Rakdos vampires". 
In the Commander format, decks are usually referred to by their Commander, since that's usually enough to determine a deck's color and archetype. For example, you might have a "<c>The Most Dangerous Gamer</c> deck" or a "<c>Tom Bombadil</c> deck".
==References==
==External links==
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Category:Magic theory
Category:Magic slang