MTG Deck Checklist: Everything to Review Before You Play

You finished building your deck. Now what?

Before you shuffle up, run through this checklist. It catches the mistakes that lose games — the ones you only notice three turns in when you’re stuck on two lands or realize you have no way to deal with your opponent’s biggest threat.

This checklist works for 60-card formats (Standard, Modern, Pioneer) and Commander. Use it every time you build a new deck or make significant changes to an existing one.

Tip: Bookmark this page or print it out. Keep it next to your deckbuilding space.

60-Card Format Checklist

Use this section for Standard, Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, or any 60-card constructed format.

Deck Construction

[ ] Deck size: Exactly 60 cards.
Resist the temptation to run 61 or 62. Every card above 60 reduces your chances of drawing your best cards. If you can’t decide what to cut, that’s a deckbuilding problem — solve it, don’t dodge it.
[ ] Land count: 22-26 lands.
Aggro decks lean toward 22-23. Midrange decks want 24-25. Control decks and decks with high mana curves need 25-26. If your average mana value is above 3.0, you probably need more land than you think.
[ ] Mana curve: Does it match your strategy?
Lay your nonland cards out by mana cost. Aggro decks should peak at 1-2 mana. Midrange peaks at 2-3. Control can afford a higher curve but still needs cheap interaction. If your curve looks flat or back-loaded, something is off.
[ ] Color fixing: Enough sources of each color?
Follow Frank Karsten’s widely-cited mana base guidelines. To reliably cast a one-drop that costs a single colored mana, you need roughly 14 sources of that color. A two-drop with two colored pips needs around 18-19 sources. Don’t just count lands — include mana dorks, treasures, and other fixing.

Strategy & Game Plan

[ ] Win condition: Can you name how this deck wins?
Say it out loud. “I win by attacking with efficient creatures and burning the opponent out.” If you can’t clearly describe your path to victory, your deck lacks focus.
[ ] Interaction: At least 6-8 removal or interaction spells.
Removal, counterspells, discard — whatever fits your colors and strategy. A deck with zero interaction is a goldfish deck. Your opponents will have threats you need to answer.
[ ] Focus test: Does every card support your gameplan?
Read each card in your deck and ask: “Does this help me win the way I described above?” If a card is cool but doesn’t serve the plan, cut it. Deck coherence wins more games than individual card power.

Metagame & Preparation

[ ] Metagame check: Do you have answers to common threats?
Look at what decks you expect to face. Do you have answers for them? At a minimum, think about how you handle aggressive starts, large creatures, enchantments, and planeswalkers.
[ ] Sideboard: 15 cards of targeted answers.
Your sideboard is not a pile of cards that almost made the main deck. Each card should come in against specific matchups. Know your sideboard plan before you sit down — which cards come in and which come out for each common opponent.

Testing

[ ] Playtest: Goldfished at least 10 opening hands.
Shuffle up and draw 10 sample hands. How many are keepable? Can you consistently execute your plan by turn 4-5? If more than 2-3 hands are unplayable, your mana base or curve needs work.
[ ] Budget check: Does the total cost fit your budget?
Price out your deck before you buy. Use a site like Moxfield, Archidekt, or TCGPlayer to check current prices. There’s almost always a budget-friendly alternative for expensive staples — especially at the casual level.

Commander Checklist

Commander deckbuilding follows many of the same principles, but the singleton format and 100-card deck size change the numbers. Use this section alongside the strategy checks above.

Deck Construction

[ ] Deck size: Exactly 100 cards (including your commander).
No more, no less. Every card above 100 dilutes your strategy more than it does in 60-card formats because you already can’t run duplicates.
[ ] Land count: 35-38 lands.
Lower-curve decks with heavy ramp packages can get away with 35. Most decks want 36-37. Landfall decks or decks with mana-hungry commanders should run 37-38.
[ ] Mana curve: Weighted toward 2-4 mana.
Commander games go longer, but you still need to develop your board in the early turns. A pile of 6-drops will leave you doing nothing while three opponents build their positions.
[ ] Color fixing: Enough sources for each color in your identity.
Multi-color Commander decks need serious fixing. Command Tower and your mana rocks help, but count your sources carefully. Two-color decks are forgiving. Four and five-color decks need dedicated attention to the mana base.

Commander-Specific Checks

[ ] Card draw: At least 10 sources of card advantage.
This is the number one mistake in Commander deckbuilding. You will run out of cards. Include draw spells, engines, and your commander’s own card advantage abilities (if any). Ten is the floor — twelve or more is better.
[ ] Ramp: At least 10 sources of mana acceleration.
Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Cultivate, mana dorks — whatever fits your colors. Falling behind on mana in a multiplayer game is painful because three opponents are all progressing faster than you.
[ ] Interaction: At least 10 removal and interaction pieces.
Board wipes, targeted removal, counterspells, and graveyard hate. Commander games produce massive threats. If you can’t interact, you’re at the mercy of whoever has the biggest board.
[ ] Win condition: Can you close out a game?
Commander games need to end. Include at least 2-3 ways to actually win, whether that’s combat damage, combo, or commander damage. “Eventually attacking with creatures” is not a plan when three opponents have blockers.

Testing & Budget

[ ] Playtest: Goldfished at least 10 opening hands.
Same rule as 60-card. Draw your hands, play out the first few turns in your head. Can you cast your commander on curve? Are you doing something meaningful by turn 4?
[ ] Budget check: Set a budget before you start.
Commander decks can spiral in cost fast. Decide on a budget up front and stick to it. A $50 deck with a tight game plan beats a $500 pile of individually powerful cards that don’t work together.

Quick Reference: The Numbers

Category	60-Card	Commander
Deck size	60	100
Lands	22-26	35-38
Removal / Interaction	6-8	10+
Card draw sources	4-6	10+
Ramp sources	Varies	10+
Sideboard	15	N/A

FAQ

How often should I use this checklist?

Every time you build a new deck, and again after any major update (swapping 5+ cards). Over time, you’ll internalize these checks and run through them automatically. Until then, use the list.

My deck passes every check but still loses. What now?

The checklist catches construction errors, not strategic ones. If your deck is well-built but still underperforming, the issue is likely your matchup knowledge, play decisions, or metagame read. Ask someone in your playgroup to review your games, or record yourself playing and watch it back.

Can I use this for Limited (Draft/Sealed)?

Partially. Deck size (40 cards), land count (17), and mana curve checks all apply in Limited. Interaction and card draw checks apply too, but the numbers will be lower. Sideboard construction is different in Limited since your sideboard is your entire card pool.

Print This Checklist

Want a quick-reference version? Copy the checkbox lines from this post into a note on your phone or print this page. Use it every time you sleeve up a new deck. The five minutes it takes to run through these checks will save you from frustrating games where the problem wasn’t your opponent — it was your deck.

Series Wrap-Up

This checklist is the final installment in our modernized Ultimate Guide to Deckbuilding series, originally published by The Casual Planeswalker in 2009. Here is the complete series:

How to Build a Magic: The Gathering Deck (Beginner’s Guide) — Foundations of deckbuilding from the ground up.
MTG Mana Curve Guide: Build a Better Deck — Understanding and optimizing your mana curve.
MTG Mana Base Guide: How Many Lands Should You Run? — Land counts, color fixing, and mana source math.
How to Choose the Best Cards for Your MTG Deck — Card evaluation, synergy, and building a focused 60.
How to Build a Commander Deck (EDH Guide for Beginners) — The complete guide to 100-card singleton deckbuilding.
MTG Deck Checklist: Everything to Review Before You Play — You are here.

Each post stands alone, but together they walk you from zero to a well-built, well-tested deck. Start from the beginning if you’re new, or jump to whichever topic you need right now.

Happy brewing.

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