One
of the most commonly heard phrases at any tournament is "I shouldn't have
kept that hand". Most newer players have a rough time know when a hand is
worth keeping and when they should just mulligan and start fresh. While every
deck is diffrent and works best with diffrent hands, here are a few tips to
knowing if the hand is worth keeping or not based on the most common deciding
factor...Land.
The
no-land hand: Easy one, don't keep it. For every story of a win from a no land
hand, I can give you two for a win from a four card hand. It should also be
noted that a no land hand mght be an indication that your deck isnt shuffled
well enough and you should do a thourgh suffle before drawing your next hand.
One land, X spells hand: A little harder to
decide, since there are some decks that can pull this off. A general rule is ,
if you can't put up a defense orhave card draw for two turns, take the
mulligan.
Two land, X spells hand : this is a little
safer teritory as many decks can hold thier own for two turns on this kind of
hand. Depending on the deck, if you can't put up a defense for two turns on it
don't keep it.
Three
land, X spells : this is generally the best ratio you can get for most decks.
Just make sure your mana is on color for the spells in han, and that you can be
defensive/aggresive if you dont see another land for a few turns.
Four
land, X spells hand : this generally a decent hand, as long as you are on color
and not sitting idle for to long.
Five
lands, X spells hand : this is usually not the best hand you can get for most
decks, but if you can play early, and are confident that you will draw well, go
for it.
Six
land,X spell hand : not good, unless you are REALLY confident of your draws,
mulligan and move on.
The
all land hand: DON'T DO IT. much like the no land hand this is a sign that your
deck isn't shuffled right and will most likely give you problems during your
match, mulligan and shuffle well.
Well, that about covers the basics of knowing when to mulligan and when to keep, but I would like to add two more tips to consider while you are mulliganing. Never
look at the top card of your deck if decide to mulligan. Knowing what could
have been isn't going to help you, and might distract you with thoughts of
"IF only i had kept it". Lastly when putting your hand back in the
deck, don't just put them back on top and shuffle,but instead take the few
extra seconds to separate them into the deck. You would be surprised how often
you will see the same hand come back if you just shuffle them still together,
and if you thought it looked bad with seven, it's going to look worse at six.
....till next time, relax and enjoy
the game!
