A little fun Magic Math

I wrote this a few months back and wanted to share on my open forum. Enjoy!


Unwritten rules of Magic:

You should not get more mana out of something than you put into it.

Drawing cards is an advantage and should have an equal cost.

After that, it is pretty much fair game. Wizards has put a lot of time and effort into creating new cards and making sure they are balanced for both Standard play and the other 15 or so formats floating around. They take care to catch cards that may become too powerful or not see any play at all. Even though they go through great lengths to do this, cards still make into the environment that fit both ends of the spectrum.
With the two major unwritten rules above, I would like to throw a little new math out there that may explain some of the reasons cards are graced with the title “broken” and highlight a few cards that either come close to breaking the unwritten rules and some that even, based on the new math, break the rules, but are overlooked.

Lets look at the basics as it applies to mana production.

First remove all costs. Not just overall, but colorless for colorless and a single color for a single color produced. +1 if the item can be used the turn it comes into play (i.e. an artifact that is not a creature). +1 for each color it can produce. -1 for each requirement item involved (-3 if it has metalcraft, -3 if it only has three counters, etc.) +X, where X = Average Power/Toughness if it is a creature. – casting cost at 2 to 1.
Lets start with a creature like Llanowar Elves. Remove the cost (one green mana and it produces one green mana) and he is at 0. Add the average of power and toughness and Llanowar Elves becomes a 1. Sphere of Suns is a two color casting cost artifact that produces one of 5 color mana. Removing cost makes it a 3. Add one for being used the turn it comes into play and subtract 3 for the counters drawback now makes it a 1. If you look at a big rule breaker like Sol Ring, you remove casting cost and it is a 1. It produces an extra colorless mana after the cost is removed (+1) and can be used the turn it comes into play (+1). Sol Ring is a 2 on the new math scale. The Moxes would be a 2 based on the math. The granddaddy of them all, the Black Lotus, is a 0 casting cost that produces 3 of any color mana and can be used the same turn it comes into play BUT, it has the sacrifice drawback. So, on this math, it is a 3 due to its drawback. Only slightly better than a Mox. Many people may argue that fact, but if you look at the long game, a Mox, although limited to one color, will net the player more use to cost. Speed certainly can be a factor in Magic, but speed does not factor into this math.

Let’s take Lion’s Eye Diamond. In the right deck, it is extremely useful, but the difference in usefulness in the same situations as the Black Lotus show in the math. Lion’s Eye Diamond is a 0 casting cost that gives you three of any color mana. It has two drawbacks, one of which is an immediate -1, the sacrifice effect. The second subtraction comes in how many cards you are discarding. At best, Lion’s Eye diamond is a 3, at worst it is a -4. So, the new math is totally based on usefulness as opposed to speed or casting cost.

This new math for mana producers is not perfect, but it is a guide I have went by for years when choosing the most powerful cards for a situation where I could not make a decision between a few choice cards to fill a spot or two.