103.4. Each player draws a number of cards equal to his or her starting hand size, which is normally seven. (Some effects can modify a player’s starting hand size.) A player who is dissatisfied with his or her initial hand may take a mulligan. First, the starting player declares whether or not he or she will take a mulligan. Then each other player in turn order does the same. Once each player has made a declaration, all players who decided to take mulligans do so at the same time. To take a mulligan, a player shuffles his or her hand back into his or her library, then draws a new hand of one fewer cards than he or she had before. If a player kept his or her hand of cards, those cards become the player’s opening hand, and that player may not take any further mulligans. This process is then repeated until no player takes a mulligan. (Note that if a player’s hand size reaches zero cards, that player must keep that hand.) After all players have kept an opening hand, each player in turn order whose hand contains fewer cards than that player’s starting hand size may look at the top card of his or her library. If a player does, that player may put that card on the bottom of his or her library.
There is a rule that has a bit of a side effect on mulliganing, yet most people seem to ignore it: "104.4i In a tournament, all players in the game may agree to an intentional draw. See rule 100.6." Let's say your opponent goes first, you know you are likely to mulligan, and your opponent declares they are going to mulligan. Before you declare your choice, you may offer them to draw the game: if they agree then the current game ends in a draw, a new game begins, and both players shuffle and draw a brand new opening hand. If they don't agree, then the mulligan process follows as usual (you declare whether you'll take a mulligan, then the mulligan(s) actually happen, and so on). Hence, if the opponent agrees to the draw, the effect is quite like a "free" mulligan for both players. This possibility seems to be looked at as something weird or fishy, but it is perfectly within the rules and it's completely fair: if both players wanted to mulligan, and both of them agree to it, they can both get a fresh 7 card hand.
I wont be doing most of your tips because I mostly just play casually with a my buddies in town. But I am enjoying this series and if I ever start going to tournaments again I will probably rewatch this whole thing. Thank you for making this videos, I have learned some good stuff.
i am pretty new to magic. been playing for about 2 months and like most things i do i try to immerse my self in the game and learn as much as possible. one thing i have learned is information about your opponent is key. one way to learn some thing about your opponent before the game even starts is to look at your opponents deck box and card sleeves because most people including my self match those things with the type of cards they will be playing with. so you can be like hey he is runnyng black sleeves so he might be playing a removal deck or zombie tribal deck ect….
It's an official tournament rule - if a player wins the right to choose to go first or second but does their draw, it's assumed they're going first as they've gained an unfair advantage to their choice at that point (as they may have a hand that's suitable for being on the draw but not the play, such as a 2 or 5 lander). For anyone that wants to source check - rule 2.2 of the tournament rules. Edit: in terms of how mulligans operate, what happens is, in turn order, each player decides whether they'll mulligan or not (ie. person going first says "I'll mulligan", and person going second says "I'll also mulligan"). Then all mulligans happen at the same time. Then the mulligan decision happens again, once again in turn order. This time person going first says "I'll keep", and person going second says "I'll mulligan". Then after all mulligans happen at the same time, the mulligan decision happens again, until everyone decides to keep (when it's a 2 player game it basically becomes autopilot once one person decides to keep, but in multiplayer formats you can have the potential for one person to keep and 3 people to mulligan, so you still have to go in turn order). In terms of people who are scrying because they took at least one mulligan - that also happens in turn order. It's 103.4 of the comprehensive rules, and can be found here in an easy to read format: mtg.gamepedia.com/Mulligan
Rules that I could use a refresher on. Commanders dying and tokens for that matter. Can I let my commander be exiled or go to the graveyard sort of rules. Does my commander die? If a creature has an ability to deal damage to something and that trigger goes on the stack and the creature dies, does it still deal that damage (a recent commander clash says they do?)
I run a three color deck and I normally mulligan when I get mana flooded or mana starved. And I mulliganed all the way down to four because of crap hands. And I run a 23 to 24 land mana base.
For various reasons, no. It's been done and I didn't want to do one early on because WOTC always goes after the first person to talk about exploits/tricks etc in any of their products...you know, instead of actually correcting the problem, they just blame everyone else.
Quick question how many more of these videos are you planning on making, I've actually improved since I started taking some of your tips into advice. So more cant hurt.
God, I really hate it when people draw 7 cards and look at them before we have even decided who is going first. It is simply irritating, since it is such a simple rule. Also on an unrelated note, my first deck had 18 lands in it because my friend who basically built it for me was a complete idiot. I quickly learned after my first couple times playing the deck (though I had already suspected 18 was really low) that something was wrong, did the odds and realized "I need 22 lands, what on earth was he thinking" and to this day I still worry that his decks run 18 lands when they shouldn't be. Also that deck had horrible cards like Boros Battleshaper that has absolutely 0 chance of being cast with only 18 lands in the deck. The only deck I think should run 18 lands is like an elf deck with a ton of mana dorks. And even then I would push it to 20 to make sure you can actually get those mana producers out. So a tip to anyone teaching someone new to play: make sure they know to always start with at least 21-22 lands when building a deck so they don't have a bad time and need to mulligan to 5 every game for no good reason.
Burn decks can run low land counts, depending on how tightly they're built and the format. If you're playing multiplayer in general, there's absolutely no way you can function without at least 1/3rd land. You simply can't win against multiple players like that. But for 1v1 matches, I find 20 land is just way too much for a deck that runs 16 1 cost spells and only 2 that cost more than 3.
the other day me and my friend were playing and we both had 21 card decks he ended up drawing 14 lands In a row i ended up drawing 8 in a row and we both ended with all our lands on the field it was so bad. what are the odds
One group said a static background was boring, another said unrelated gameplay from Rainbow 6 was unusual and annoying, other people said MTG gameplay is too distracted, and everyone loved the random puppies and kittens photo roll but I only have so many puppy and kitten pics :(
I'm cool with the MTG gameplay actually, you obviously need something in the background and this makes perfect sense. I didn't mean it as a complaint, it was more like "whoa there's two entertaining things that I have to pay attention to". I'd much rather have actual gameplay in all the videos than a single frame, it's bonus content and I don't mind watching them twice to catch everything.
Desolator, I like your topics but damn, your videos are way too long for the point you wanna bring across! This is a 16 minute video to basically say "Mulligan in order, it gives you more information and gives your opponent less. Also, think more carefully about doing it in the first place."!
DesolatorMagic Shit happens, brah. This is not an isolated incident though. Don't get me wrong. I like your style and those little anecdotes you combine with information about the game but your pacing often is too rambley (for me, that is). I'd prefer a script that's a bit tighter and videos under eight or at least ten minutes. Can't speak for the rest of your viewers though, just my personal two cents.
+Mortyee Of course i can only speak for myself, but i love the length of his videos. Though maybe they should be podcasts, but even so, if i sacrifice even 30 min pr video for really good information, or great sarcasm, then it is worth it to me.
+DesolatorMagic booo mortyee I personally get excited when I see a longer time stamp. then again I work in the 3rd party lending department for a bank sooo its nice to hear people spend more time talking magic (also I enjoy listening to passionate people speak their passion) if you never make a video less than 15mins long I would be way happy. do you dude.
You can always cut out where you're repeating yourself, cause it usually sounds like you talk and clip a video to it and post w/ no crop editing to make it nice and tidy
103.4. Each player draws a number of cards equal to his or her starting hand size, which is normally seven. (Some effects can modify a player’s starting hand size.) A player who is dissatisfied with his or her initial hand may take a mulligan. First, the starting player declares whether or not he or she will take a mulligan. Then each other player in turn order does the same. Once each player has made a declaration, all players who decided to take mulligans do so at the same time. To take a mulligan, a player shuffles his or her hand back into his or her library, then draws a new hand of one fewer cards than he or she had before. If a player kept his or her hand of cards, those cards become the player’s opening hand, and that player may not take any further mulligans. This process is then repeated until no player takes a mulligan. (Note that if a player’s hand size reaches zero cards, that player must keep that hand.) After all players have kept an opening hand, each player in turn order whose hand contains fewer cards than that player’s starting hand size may look at the top card of his or her library. If a player does, that player may put that card on the bottom of his or her library.
There is a rule that has a bit of a side effect on mulliganing, yet most people seem to ignore it:
"104.4i In a tournament, all players in the game may agree to an intentional draw. See rule 100.6."
Let's say your opponent goes first, you know you are likely to mulligan, and your opponent declares they are going to mulligan. Before you declare your choice, you may offer them to draw the game: if they agree then the current game ends in a draw, a new game begins, and both players shuffle and draw a brand new opening hand. If they don't agree, then the mulligan process follows as usual (you declare whether you'll take a mulligan, then the mulligan(s) actually happen, and so on). Hence, if the opponent agrees to the draw, the effect is quite like a "free" mulligan for both players.
This possibility seems to be looked at as something weird or fishy, but it is perfectly within the rules and it's completely fair: if both players wanted to mulligan, and both of them agree to it, they can both get a fresh 7 card hand.
I wont be doing most of your tips because I mostly just play casually with a my buddies in town. But I am enjoying this series and if I ever start going to tournaments again I will probably rewatch this whole thing. Thank you for making this videos, I have learned some good stuff.
i am pretty new to magic. been playing for about 2 months and like most things i do i try to immerse my self in the game and learn as much as possible. one thing i have learned is information about your opponent is key. one way to learn some thing about your opponent before the game even starts is to look at your opponents deck box and card sleeves because most people including my self match those things with the type of cards they will be playing with. so you can be like hey he is runnyng black sleeves so he might be playing a removal deck or zombie tribal deck ect….
It's an official tournament rule - if a player wins the right to choose to go first or second but does their draw, it's assumed they're going first as they've gained an unfair advantage to their choice at that point (as they may have a hand that's suitable for being on the draw but not the play, such as a 2 or 5 lander). For anyone that wants to source check - rule 2.2 of the tournament rules.
Edit: in terms of how mulligans operate, what happens is, in turn order, each player decides whether they'll mulligan or not (ie. person going first says "I'll mulligan", and person going second says "I'll also mulligan"). Then all mulligans happen at the same time. Then the mulligan decision happens again, once again in turn order. This time person going first says "I'll keep", and person going second says "I'll mulligan". Then after all mulligans happen at the same time, the mulligan decision happens again, until everyone decides to keep (when it's a 2 player game it basically becomes autopilot once one person decides to keep, but in multiplayer formats you can have the potential for one person to keep and 3 people to mulligan, so you still have to go in turn order). In terms of people who are scrying because they took at least one mulligan - that also happens in turn order. It's 103.4 of the comprehensive rules, and can be found here in an easy to read format: mtg.gamepedia.com/Mulligan
Rules that I could use a refresher on. Commanders dying and tokens for that matter. Can I let my commander be exiled or go to the graveyard sort of rules. Does my commander die? If a creature has an ability to deal damage to something and that trigger goes on the stack and the creature dies, does it still deal that damage (a recent commander clash says they do?)
It's good to hear someone shuffles incorrectly, destroying their sleeves in the process, just like I do
I run a three color deck and I normally mulligan when I get mana flooded or mana starved. And I mulliganed all the way down to four because of crap hands. And I run a 23 to 24 land mana base.
Lol. Glad I'm not the only one who seems to always end up with their deck shuffled with half the card upside down.
If you have 1 free mulligan and you are allowed to scry 1 when you start with fewer than 7 cards. How would that affect my mulligan decisions?
Hey Des are you gonna make a video about EMN boxes supposedly being mappable?
Great series btw love these hope you have a couple more in you
For various reasons, no. It's been done and I didn't want to do one early on because WOTC always goes after the first person to talk about exploits/tricks etc in any of their products...you know, instead of actually correcting the problem, they just blame everyone else.
Even if it was "fixed" that wouldn't effect all the boxes already on the market, which as far as I know would be most of them.
You must mulligan if you have less than 2 lands correct?
Were you playing the mister nibbles deck in the background?
Yes :D Absolutely blasted the first person then kept a sketchy hand in the 2nd and paid for it, lol.
+DesolatorMagic I have been doing pretty well with mr. nibbles, love swinging with a buffed stormchaser for like 13
What program are you using?
Thanks! Always wanted to know the order of mulligans
Quick question how many more of these videos are you planning on making, I've actually improved since I started taking some of your tips into advice. So more cant hurt.
At the moment, 2, but I have a feeling more like 30 as the ideas come to me.
God, I really hate it when people draw 7 cards and look at them before we have even decided who is going first. It is simply irritating, since it is such a simple rule.
Also on an unrelated note, my first deck had 18 lands in it because my friend who basically built it for me was a complete idiot. I quickly learned after my first couple times playing the deck (though I had already suspected 18 was really low) that something was wrong, did the odds and realized "I need 22 lands, what on earth was he thinking" and to this day I still worry that his decks run 18 lands when they shouldn't be. Also that deck had horrible cards like Boros Battleshaper that has absolutely 0 chance of being cast with only 18 lands in the deck. The only deck I think should run 18 lands is like an elf deck with a ton of mana dorks. And even then I would push it to 20 to make sure you can actually get those mana producers out. So a tip to anyone teaching someone new to play: make sure they know to always start with at least 21-22 lands when building a deck so they don't have a bad time and need to mulligan to 5 every game for no good reason.
Burn decks can run low land counts, depending on how tightly they're built and the format. If you're playing multiplayer in general, there's absolutely no way you can function without at least 1/3rd land. You simply can't win against multiple players like that. But for 1v1 matches, I find 20 land is just way too much for a deck that runs 16 1 cost spells and only 2 that cost more than 3.
The Vancouver mulligan rule
There is actually a rule against it I believe. Doesn't it fall under acting out of turn?
the other day me and my friend were playing and we both had 21 card decks he ended up drawing 14 lands In a row i ended up drawing 8 in a row and we both ended with all our lands on the field it was so bad. what are the odds
try to shuffle your deck as thoroughly as possible between games, if it happens again then that's some bad luck
Another great video.
Why not do a Q and A sometime?
Yeah for real.
Cupcakes.
I did and it got almost the least views of any video on my channel.
Pro tip: you will never need to mulligan if you believe in the heart of the cards
who runs under 24 lands in a regular deck?
i keep my decks with "just" 20 lands, why would you play more then that?
Delver is a regular deck and I run 18.
I run 22 in most of my decks, runs fine since most of my cards are usually 3 cmc or less.
I run 18 in elves, so yeah
Modern-Pauper infect. 17 Basic land forest. Still win turn 2
Tragic arrogance... that was funny.
I keep paying attention to the game and losing track of what you're saying
One group said a static background was boring, another said unrelated gameplay from Rainbow 6 was unusual and annoying, other people said MTG gameplay is too distracted, and everyone loved the random puppies and kittens photo roll but I only have so many puppy and kitten pics :(
I'm cool with the MTG gameplay actually, you obviously need something in the background and this makes perfect sense. I didn't mean it as a complaint, it was more like "whoa there's two entertaining things that I have to pay attention to". I'd much rather have actual gameplay in all the videos than a single frame, it's bonus content and I don't mind watching them twice to catch everything.
Desolator, I like your topics but damn, your videos are way too long for the point you wanna bring across! This is a 16 minute video to basically say "Mulligan in order, it gives you more information and gives your opponent less. Also, think more carefully about doing it in the first place."!
I recorded it at 1AM after a reeeeally bad day and without a script :(
DesolatorMagic
Shit happens, brah. This is not an isolated incident though. Don't get me wrong. I like your style and those little anecdotes you combine with information about the game but your pacing often is too rambley (for me, that is).
I'd prefer a script that's a bit tighter and videos under eight or at least ten minutes. Can't speak for the rest of your viewers though, just my personal two cents.
+Mortyee Of course i can only speak for myself, but i love the length of his videos. Though maybe they should be podcasts, but even so, if i sacrifice even 30 min pr video for really good information, or great sarcasm, then it is worth it to me.
+DesolatorMagic
booo mortyee I personally get excited when I see a longer time stamp. then again I work in the 3rd party lending department for a bank sooo its nice to hear people spend more time talking magic (also I enjoy listening to passionate people speak their passion)
if you never make a video less than 15mins long I would be way happy. do you dude.
You can always cut out where you're repeating yourself, cause it usually sounds like you talk and clip a video to it and post w/ no crop editing to make it nice and tidy
10:35 rekt ^^
XD "coco can bhrn in hell"
"Mr. Nibbles is gonna kick u in the nuts now"
great vid 0-0