In Magic the Gathering, the decks are required to be no less than 60 cards, but can be larger. Since you can only have 4 of each card (except for basic lands), it seems you would want the limit size to improve your chances of getting the cards you want. Why would you want to play with a larger deck?
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You can easily run yourself out of cards if you build a standard-sized deck based around card-drawing, decking mechanics (where you try and exhaust your opponent's deck), or graveyard-pilfering (where you want to get as much stuff into your graveyard as possible). This can quickly happen if you play with Recycle, Worry Beads, Anvil of Bogardan, Riptide Director, Tolarian Serpent, Cephalid Vandal, Prosperity, Ambassador Laquatus... or any of the infinite card drawing combos. These are some of my favourite kinds of decks for casual play, and are routinely large. Another strong argument is if you expect to be on the receiving end of someone trying to 'deck' you. I built a deck specifically for this purpose after getting annoyed with my friend's Millstone deck. Clearly this is not a general approach, but is handy for wiping the smirk off your regular gaming partner's face. ;) A third reason is if you want to keep your deck general, and include lots of options for dealing with different types of enemies. You can build powerful decks around this approach, using the idea of cycling, digging or searching through your deck with e.g. Tutors, Skyship Weatherlight, Captain Sisay, and so on, to find the exact card you need for any situation. |
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From a strategy standpoint, my answer would be "You wouldn't". The mathematics of probability in drawing from a 60 card deck vs a 61 or 62 card deck change (almost dramatically). Here's an interesting article. However, I think that often you can start with more than 60 cards when 'testing' a deck. Often you find that a card doesn't fit or 'play nice with others' and should come out. Same with cards that you draw and think "I wish I hadn't drawn that". Those cards come out also. So to summarize, when testing ideas, 60+ is okay. For tournament play, reduce to 60. |
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Adding diversity seems to the biggest reason you'd want to go over 60. Since most decks are designed around getting certain cards, increasing the size of the deck beyond sixty decreases the probability of drawing any one card. Since a deck is limited to only four copies of a non land card usually, this added diversity comes at the cost of significantly reducing the chances of getting a certain card in a given game. I think for players looking to experiment, or looking for decks that deliver truly random results, having a deck larger then sixty isn't an issue. Larger decks could be fun for some people to play since they can have a much larger selection of spells, but I don't there are any strategic reasons for doing. Larger decks are going to be much less constant on getting the cards you need, when you need them. Most magic decks are highly focused one or at most two strategies for winning. Especially when your looking for a certain card combination to win, having extra cards will just reduce the odds of you getting the cards you need. |
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You might be playing in a format that mandates it. One example is Commander, which uses a deck of precisely 100 cards, with no cards repeated save basic land. |
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Why would you play with a larger sized deck? 1- More fun 2- To show those who rely on law of probability that you can throw that out the window when you're dealing with thousands of options(number of existing cards.) It's the exact same science that "proves" that there is no life on other planets. Take a good look at the math for that. Nowhere is there mentioned number of possible planets which, until we know more, is infinite. Every math that I've seen has always ignored other parameters that should be in the equation. The theories for most card mechanics involve 52 different cards(54 if you count the jokers). Even this is sat on it's head by the sheer determination of luck involved. With that in mind, I wouldn't build an aggro deck over 60, or ones that rely on certain combos. You want fewer cards for that and I'd actually prefer fewer cards. If you want to build a defensive deck, then by all means, go over 70 if you want to. Use cards that have more than 1 use. Use card draws. If the others want to stick to 60 out of some fallible math, then by all means, run a milling deck on them until they beg for mercy. In a game that is filled with variety, I cannot understand why players are so stubborn as to not be innovative. Before you quote someone's fallible math, try and prove it wrong. You'll be surprised at the results. |
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