Last Friday I was playing against a good Jund deck when a spectator commented the following. "Wow, looks the same as last game." I was playing a deck that made Jund play the long game and in both games was able to turn the tides and pull out the win. Just barely, but a win all the same. Unfortunately, the comment came right at a point where the game was shifting and every play was critical. I got a little snappy and responded something like "Duh, it's the Rule of Nine. Haven't you read my articles?"

So I would like to apologize to Bonner (pronounced bONner like on/off not a dirty nickname). First, for being so conceited as to assume he has read all of my stuff. And second for being a Jerk in general.

That got me thinking though. Not all of my readers have read all of my stuff. Feel free to click on my name at the top of this article to get a list of all 30 plus articles that I have written here for Mananation. One of my first pieces was the Rule of Nine.

The main idea of the Rule is to use 4 copies of 9 different cards to design a deck. The other 24 cards are left for land. The Rule is just a beginning to deck building and very few decks end up with all 4 of's. So when do want four and when do you want less? And how much less if any at all? Today I will hopefully answer those questions.

When to play 4

1. It's a building block of your deck. At its core this deck needs this card to operate. Mostly effects combo style decks but can also be an essential card in agro or control as well. Can you imagine a Turbo Fog deck without four Howling Mine?
2. This card is sick and can help significantly to my winning the game. Sometimes there are cards that just warp an environment. Blightning, for example, is a card that often tips games in Jund's favor. But a card doesn't stay on top forever. Sometimes the environment changes. Baneslayer is card that often fits in this category because ultimately it dies to Doom Blade and the black mages have learned to save their removal for the lovely lady.
3. This card just gets better and better with multiples. Let's look back into the extended season real quick. Many players jumped into the All In Red bandwagon. The deck had so much potential firepower but lacked the consistency to be a true top deck. Now think about Rite of Flame in that deck. If an AIR player drew three Rites in his opening seven with just one Mountain and a Demigod of Revenge in his hand would he Mulligan? The answer is a resounding NO. Therefore Rite of Flame is an automatic 4 of in any build of All in Red.
4. You really want to see this card in your opening hand. One of the current decks that I love in the new Standard is a deck I've heard called "Big Bant Theory." The fundamental thought of the deck is to accelerate the mana as hard as you can to play a game changing spell like Baneslayer Angel or Sovereigns of New Alara with Eldrazi Conscription to back it up. Other cards like Thornling and Rafiq can easily fit the deck as well. In this deck we play four copies of Noble Hierarch because we really want to see one in our first seven. Basically an unbolted Noble puts us on turn three a turn early with the potential for having a normal turn 5 Angel jumping in on turn 3 as well.
5. This card has an effect on every phase of the game. Some cards are great early and fizzle later like the Noble Hierarch mentioned above. Or they could be strongest in the mid game like Blightning. Or they could be late game finishers like Cruel Ultimatum. Some cards have effects in all parts and these cards should be 4 of in any deck they fit with. One of my favorites of all time is Mana Leak. In the early game it's an auto counter since your opponent won't have access to the 3 mana. Mid game your opponent has to conserve his or her plays because of the fear of having a card with significant mana investment being wasted because of not enough mana. Finally in the late game it not only serves the same dampening effect but also plays very strongly in the counter your counter war.

When to play 3

1. "We can still be friends." This card is one the makes your deck, but just barely. Maybe your just not in love with it. Sure it's cute and fun to hang around with but you're not ready to buy it a ring. Maelstrom Pulse in Jund is often an example of a good 3 of. While there are multiple times you're happy to see it as a player you don't want it to be a focus of your play.
2. It's not a cheap date. Some cards are just too expensive to see 4 in a deck. When I say too expensive I'm not referring to the Kelly Reid type of expensive where our wallets are affected. When I say expensive I mean its converted mana cost. Look at Sphinx of Jwar Isle. At 6cc to come into play his evasion and shroud protection can win the game BUT you don't want see them in bunches.
3. Dare I say it? Legendary. Legendary cards are just too risky to see more than three of them in your deck list. Basically once you play one the rest are immediately dead draws. There are a couple of exceptions. The first is if they die easily and often so you need to replace them as fast and soon as possible. Another exception is if they serve some purpose that is limited in nature. The original Jace for example is totally cool with just drawing three cards and then have his second step in.
4. This card is sometimes great but other times it's just average. The jury is still out on Deprive but I put in this category. With the proper land or with mana accel that jumps past its drawback it can be an AWESOME hard counter but by its lonesome the cost of setting back a turn in development can be a deal breaker.
5. The blender. Kinda like a Strawberry/Kiwi fruit drink. Sometimes you don't need all Strawberry just a hint of Kiwi makes it happen. Let's say you want the accel of Noble Hierarch but you don't want to risk multiples to a well timed Pulse. Then simply go with 3 Noble and 1 Birds. Almost the same but the flavor just blends better.

When to play 2

1. The Numbers. This deck really needs 26 land. 4,8,12,16,20,24,28,32,….. What about 33 and 34? Well I guess I could go with 2 of these. Same would apply to a deck that can get away with 22 land.
2. The Maindeck sideboard. In the right deck Celestial Purge can hose Jund but is it any good against Bant? 4 of would probably be a bad idea but if you're expecting a ton of Jund then slipping 2 in could make a difference between top 8 and signing up for side table drafts.
3. Looking for more flavor. Like the blender example above but now putting in equal parts of the two flavors.
4. The Hammer. This card is only useful in the late game but it is a bomb. Basically playing it without counter leads to a "good game" from your opponent. Martial Coup is one of my favorite 2 of's right now. It still has some function early but a late game huge mana investment basically seals the game.
5. Depth from the Bench. When a coach has access to Varsity level players from his bench the whole team benefits. Say you have a deck that really uses and abuses Duress. Adding two Inquisition of Kozilek could put it over the top. While the cards don't do the exact same thing they basically are equals. If having 4 is mathematically good then having 6 is even better.

What about 1?

1. Luck be a Lady tonight. Often called the Miser's copy it's that random one of in a deck that just pops up right when you need it. Rarely is it a downfall but in that one out of ten matches it wins.
2. Who knows maybe that is the match the makes a difference between Qualifying and getting second at a PTQ. Do you really need that 23rd land? "Do you feel lucky punk? Well do ya'?"
3. Just a tool in a Toolbox. Some decks are designed to tutor out a specific card at the needed time. You don't want to see it in your hand because it isn't always needed but you want to be assured of getting it when the time is right. So instead of flooding ourselves with 4 copies of a card we instead put just one in the deck with multiple ways to fetch it.
4. I really like Kiwi. Just as in the above example with Strawberry only now we only use one Strawberry and three doses of Kiwi.
5. I hope this helps in your deck building as you progress past the Rule of Nine into the crazy territory of refined deck lists. I myself almost never find myself using these ideas. I just can't stay loyal to a deck long enough. I can't remember a time that I carried the same deck into consecutive FNM's.