1. Write down the plan in one sentence
Before counting anything, describe how the deck wins: “Sacrifice tokens to drain the table with Korvold,” or “Ramp into huge dragons and attack.” If you cannot write that sentence, the deck probably lacks focus, and every other step will be harder. Keep the sentence nearby — you will judge each card against it.
2. Sort every card into a role
Go through the list and tag each nonland card with its main job. Some cards do two jobs; count their primary role. Typical categories are ramp, card draw, spot removal, board wipes, protection, engine pieces, win conditions and synergy payoffs.
Most functional casual decks land somewhere around 10 ramp pieces, 10 draw sources, 8–12 interaction spells and 2–4 wipes, but these are starting points rather than rules. Our guides on ramp and interaction go deeper.
3. Check the curve and the mana
Count spells at each mana value. If more than a handful cost six or more, you need more ramp or fewer expensive cards. Then check colors: count the colored pips your spells require and compare with the sources in your mana base. A deck with heavy double-white costs and eight white sources will stumble.
4. Pressure-test the win conditions
Ask what happens if your commander is removed twice, or if a board wipe hits on turn six. Does the deck still have a credible path to victory? Decks with one fragile plan lose to the first answer. Two or three distinct routes — or one route with plenty of redundancy — hold up far better.
5. Hunt for dead cards and weaknesses
Look for cards that only work in narrow situations, cards that do not support the one-sentence plan, and threats your deck cannot answer at all, such as enchantments or graveyards. These are your first cuts and your first additions.
Finally, play a few test hands. Analysis tells you what should happen; goldfishing confirms it.
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The DeckOS Commander Deck Analyzer runs every step above and explains each finding.