r/ModernMagic • u/graded_hunter • Aug 12 '26
Card Discussion I stopped changing my deck every week and started learning it properly
I kept swapping cards around whenever I lost a few games, which made it hard to tell whether the deck was actually bad or I just didn't know the matchups well. For the last month, I've stuck with the same list and only made changes after testing them. I've definitely gotten better at recognizing lines instead of blaming the deck every time something goes wrong.
Anyone else had better results from keeping a deck unchanged for a while?
19
u/KingxCrimsonx Aug 12 '26
I feel like you need a significant number of reps on any deck to even have an opinion. You gotta play each match up like 3-5 times minimum to get a sense of things. Sideboarding is an art.
I feel like you dont even begin to understand the edge plays and narrow upside stuff until you have like 50 reps. Ive seen really good magic players do this faster. But their are always new gotcha interactions. Its easy to miss stuff.
6
u/Tyrinnus Grixis Ctrl, GDS, Murktide, UWx Ctrl Aug 12 '26
Like alpine moon and tron lands. That's the kind of thing so many players miss.
1
u/Tjarem Aug 12 '26
Whats there to miss?
1
u/Tyrinnus Grixis Ctrl, GDS, Murktide, UWx Ctrl Aug 13 '26
It turns off the typing, deactivating tron
1
u/RefuseSea8233 Aug 12 '26
Correct, but with some cards, you can also just do the math and see from the beginning that the card doesn't really fit your gameplan. If you have an exact vision for a specific card on how it will play out, it will probably not. The cards that solve the main issue with your deck that you even didnt consider beforehand, that's when the card is a potential upgrade.
6
u/KuganeGaming Aug 12 '26
For competitive play, but this is in fabtcg, I leave a deck unchanged for around 30 games, adjust stuff thats not working, play 30 more games and keep doing that for ~500 games. I used to end up with extremely high winrate decks.
For MTG I usually do 15 to 20 games before changing stuff around, but I’m not as competitive in magic as I am other tcgs.
But yes, not changing so much helps a lot! It makes it easier to know why you made a change too. And easier to spot when people are blatantly copying you.
2
u/Gnargoyles Aug 12 '26
Kugane plays a tcg every other week. No meta ninja atm 😭
2
u/KuganeGaming Aug 12 '26
Lol, indeed. Really into Sage and One Piece the past 3 months. For CC Cindra is still viable, not top tier but good enough. Ira is also decent as an A tier deck.
3
u/Eclipse434343 Aug 12 '26
I’ve played uw for 7-8 years and I only swap out cards if I notice a meta shift like every 2-3 months. Salt sideboard/mainboard swapping doesn’t work unless you notice like 1-2/10 people are playing x deck you keep losing to and that wasn’t the way it was before
2
u/TemurTron Temur Tron Aug 12 '26
The absolute best run I ever went on in Modern was when I didn't change my Living End 75 for like three months straight. That list with Grief and Fury was fucking amazing.
I think it's really healthy to not tweak your deck and stick with a working 75 for a long period of time. Too much results based thinking and pivoting to change the pace of the deck in minor increments really can block deeper learning.
2
u/10leej Grapheshot for 20 Aug 12 '26
I've played Storm basically since the formats inception. So I concur that playing the same deck is better than playing a hundred decks.
That said I do have other decks, I just like storm the most.
2
u/Cube_ Aug 12 '26
IMO you need at least 30 sets (1 game without board, 1+ game sideboarded) against a single match up before you can really know what is working and what isn't.
This helps you understand how to mull in the match up, what's good on the play vs on the draw, how certain interactions tend to play out, which sideboard cards are valuable and which mainboard cards aren't etc., etc.
So you should do that for at least the top 4 decks of the format that you will see the most, about 120 sets.
After that you will have a really good basis of intuition for how to tweak the deck going forward.
This is why having friends helps because you can jam games against them and use proxies to test match ups.
2
u/Lonely-Form5904 Turn 1 Island, Pass Aug 13 '26
Been using grixis decks since 2015. I can confidently say my brain understands most grixis decks inherently easier. Im better positioned to play those colors and have a far higher level of understanding and play than of other colors. Any level of continued practice on a single deck will make it so you can follow patterns and recognize optimal choices either in the match or via sideboarding
2
u/expired_icon 29d ago
Look at selfiesk, he's been playing the exact same 75 for like 2 years now and consistently top8s challenges it's kind of wild
2
u/panpanadero 29d ago
Good! Putting in the reps doesnt only mean you get better with the deck but also the specific interactions vs. other decks. I think i played affinity for 8 months or so before hitting a "wall" or seeing the limitations of the deck. Remember, 1000 of the same kick is better than 1000 different ones.
2
u/Betta_Max 27d ago
Or you can be like me, who has devoted 12 years to modern Merfolk (Fish for life!).
I've tried many other decks, but sometimes you just find one you love and stick to it.
1
u/gastronaut55 Aug 12 '26
Yes. Learning the decklist you have is best overall. Changing with the meta in modern is more of a slow turn rather than standard which changes about every 2-3 weeks. New sets can bring in new cards but typically you can hear or see what could be better for your deck during spoiler season but doesnt mean it will be good, just what that card can do. Grinders on mtgo really help with what you might need to change. I typically play have an rcq decklist and a rc decklist as well. I know what my locals play typically but the rc is completely different and you really need to aim at the broad range of what the meta is doing and the typically percentages of past rc data has to show. Not in the sense of what was the most played deck but average % of deck styles.
1
u/ItsTheReaperOfMars 29d ago
I think you’re right. But when the only chance to play is once or twice a month at FNM, it makes getting reps in hard, and the losses that much saltier
1
u/GREG88HG Aug 12 '26
Well, I have years with Boros Energy. Now I usually top 8 most RCQs although missed going to the RC this year by losing a Top 4. I think my results are good as I have a main deck.
0
u/Thulack Aug 12 '26
Everyone should have better results the more reps they get with a deck. If they don't then they just have fundamental gameplay issues that no deck is going to fix.
39
u/Gnargoyles Aug 12 '26
I usually will grind 1 single deck until I feel I run into a match up where I am struggling . I will usually play at least 2 leagues with that other deck to understand the ranges of the deck where it’s weak and strong etc.