Resource Management-Knives101

      Does anybody out there get sick and tired of people that run around saying ,"Your Mana Curve is too high!!!"? Does the term topdecking confuse you? Do you think card economy and mana curve mean the same thing? Well, relax. I'm here to end all the confusion.


      Everyone knows what it means to have a bad mana curve (better called a mana average). It means that you have too many costly cards in your deck. It can also mean that you do not have enough cheap cards in your deck. If your mana curve is too high then you won't be able to play your cards quickly enough to win.

      Not everyone knows what topdecking means. Topdecking only happens when you have no cards in your hand. Topdecking is the act of just drawing a card during your turn, and then playing it. Topdecking can also mean drawing what you need from the top of your deck (I'm not talking about that kind of topdecking though). Topdecking is a very bad thing, because it leaves you with almost no playing options. How does topdecking occur? It happens when you have such a low mana curve that you wind up playing cards faster than you can draw them. Eventually you will wind up with no cards in your hand. That is when topdecking begins. It may be hard to believe, but it is possible to have too low of a mana curve. When your mana curve is too low you will start to topdeck.

      Surprisingly bad card economy is not exactly the same thing as a bad mana curve. Many decks that have a bad mana curve also have bad card economy. It is possible for a deck with a good mana curve to have bad card economy. Many decks with a bad mana curve, can perform very well thanks to their good card economy. Card economy is the overall cost of the card versus the effects, abilities, and (if it's a creature) attack power of the card. Corile provides good card economy. With Corile you wind up paying two mana for a creature that has a power of two thousand. You also wind up paying three mana to place one of your opponent's creatures on top of their deck. Rainbow Stone provides bad card economy. With Rainbow Stone you are paying four mana to gain one mana (for the record this article was written before the third set came out). Critical Blade can be a very economical card. Paying two mana to destroy an opposing blocker that cost three or four mana is a very good trade off. When deciding whether a card is worth it's cost you have to keep in mind that paying mana is not always the only cost of a card. Having a Beast Folk in play is part of Dual Fighter Fang's cost. If you don't have a Beast Folk in play then you cannot cast Dual Fighter Fang. Losing two of your own mana is part of Explosive Fighter Ucarn's casting cost. Even playing the card from your hand is part of it's cost. Playing a Rumbling Terahorn is better than playing a Dimension Gate. For one card Rumbling Terahorn gives you a creature, and a searching effect. Rumbling Terahorn may cost five mana, but most gamebreaking cards will cost over five mana.
For the very same reasons it is better to play a Meile, Vizeir of Lightning than to play a Solar Ray.  

      Anyway next time you build a deck don't forget to manage your resources. If anyone wants to contact me my e-mail address is Knives101@wmconnect.com, and my aim handle is Knives101.