Truths and Myths About Deck Selection

Magic is such a complex game that one of the most important decisions happens before you even start playing the game! PVDDR is here to help you perfect the art of deck selection and avoid the common pitfalls players fall into!

PVDDR
July 25, 2022
Premium Strategy

A while ago, I made a Tweet about deck selection that was, at least to me, apparently simple. It spawned a series of comments ranging from “jeez so you’re saying good decks win more than bad decks, thank you captain obvious” to “actually this is all wrong, in fact I won a ptq in 1998 with the opposite strategy. In this essay I will…”.

Now that local qualifiers are happening, this is the biggest piece of advice I can give:

When it comes to deck selection, It is MUCH more important to avert disaster than it is to hit the jackpot. Don't try to reinvent the wheel, just do the bread and butter as well as possible.
— [Tempo] PVDDR (@PVDDR) July 18, 2022

Given that, I felt it was worth elaborating on what...

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PVDDR

Paulo Vitor "PVDDR" Damo da Rosa has been a professional Magic: the Gathering player and writer for over 20 years. He was Player of the Year in 2017, World Champion in 2020, and is tied for most Top Finishes in history with 17. He will play whichever decks he thinks are the best, but his favorite style is aggro-control. Other than Magic, PV is also a fan of watching TV shows, reading fantasy novels and playing several other games such as Bridge, LoL, TFT, Storybook Brawl, Baldur's Gate 2 and Diablo 2.

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