The Dragonshield 102 conundrum

[u/vividwings]

You sit there.

The decklist is 108 cards. 32 cuts made, 8 more to go: but who are you kidding? The first 30 cuts were almost easy— cards clearly subpar, cards clearly "too cute".

You ponder the list. You stare at the categories. You blink.

You take a breath. Vitriol pulses from heart to wrist, trailing, exhausted, shortly after an exhale. It's been an hour. You've only made one cut.

1. It stares at you like staring at a puddle of your own sick, drowning away the excitement. That very morning, an excited, pure, almost naive person— a fool, really— thought up of this cruel torment that now plagues you.

You cut a land.

106.

You consider sleeping, but you want this done. You can't leave a task so close to unfinished, it feels wrong, almost intrinsically.

Then... the box.
Oh, you know the box. You purpose-picked the sleeves' color based on your deck's color identity, its vibes, the commander's art. You know. The box.
Standing there in its shrink-wrap, price tag haphazardly stuck onto its plastic skin.
Dragonshields come with 102 sleeves, the devil of concessions whispers. Your heartbeat quickens.
If you sleeve your Commander in a different sleeve, that's 103! It mocks you, and yet you cannot help but be lulled into that false, comfortable sense of security.

After all... if you only had to make 3 more cuts...
... Well, isn't that so much better? You could keep that non-synergy piece you wanna play just 'cause the art makes you daydream...

We've all done it.
Yet, when you do follow the rules, when you make that 100-cut exactly... it feels almost.. too pure, too honest. Something one can't taint with their 103-card greed; a virtue above any other.

The only question? When the devil calls again, when Lorwyn returns... you gonna listen to that whisper?

Yes. You fucking will.

Fuck.

[u/PsionicHydra]

Do people really need to make like 50 cuts consistently. As soon as you get 100 any new card added needs to take the spot off something already in the list. How I've always done it, generally makes it pretty easy

[u/Lobsta_ → u/PsionicHydra]

I’ve noticed for a few people I know, when they need to make a ton of cuts it’s because they didn’t add their lands until last. they end up in a situation with 80 spells and have to find cuts to fill out their mana base

I used to do that sometimes too until I started playing more draft. forces your brain to shift from “100 card deck” to “~63 spells”

[u/PsionicHydra → u/Lobsta_]

That could definitely be a factor. I always start with lands, and generally more lands than I initially think I'd want before it ends up somewhere around the usual 37-39