Deck Building
Build and manage decks with mainboard, sideboard, and maybeboard—and keep them legal for your format. Rhystic ties deck building to your collection so you can see what you own, what you still need, and which physical copies are allocated to the list.
What sets us apart
- Format compliance — We check mainboard and sideboard against the chosen format (e.g. Commander, Standard) and surface legality issues so you can fix them before you play.
- Collection-aware — Decks show which cards you already own and which come from your collection or a teammate’s (borrowed). No need to cross-check elsewhere.
- Team borrowing — Allocate cards from a teammate’s collection to your deck for events; the app tracks who owns what and supports return flows on the Team page.
- Clear structure — Mainboard, sideboard, and maybeboard are first-class so your list matches how you actually build and goldfish.
List view and Arena view
Open any deck from Decks to use the deck builder. Above the card list you’ll find a List / Arena toggle. Your choice is saved on the deck.
- List view — A grouped table of cards with a hover preview image on the side. Use the Group dropdown to organise by type, subtype, color, or mana value. This is the best view for editing quantities, sorting, and working through allocations in the card modal.
- Arena view — Full-art card stacks laid out like MTG Arena’s mana curve: columns for mana values 0–6, 7+, and Lands on the mainboard. Commander decks show the commander zone separately. Sort order applies within each column. Arena view is ideal for visualising curve and land counts; you can still open cards to edit them.
In both views you can switch between Stack printings (one row or stack per deck slot) and Split printings (separate rows or stacks per allocated printing). That matters when the same card name is filled from different printings or owners.
The collection indicator
Beside each card (or each stack in Arena view) you’ll see a small bar indicator—one vertical bar per copy in the deck, up to four visible with a +N overflow when you run more copies. Hover the bars for a full breakdown.
- Green — Copies allocated from your own collection.
- Dark green — Copies allocated from a teammate’s collection (borrowed).
- Blue — In your collection but not yet allocated to this deck.
- Violet — Available to borrow from a teammate (not yet allocated).
- Pink — On a teammate’s collection but already allocated to another deck.
- Yellow — Available for trade or purchase through Rhystic’s marketplace.
- Red — You own the card, but every copy is already allocated elsewhere.
- Gray — Not owned and no team, trade, or purchase source found yet.
The indicator answers “where will these copies come from?” at a glance. Green and dark green mean you’ve tied physical copies to the list; blue and violet mean you can still assign or request them; gray and red highlight gaps to fill before an event.
Allocations
A deck slot’s quantity is how many copies you plan to play. Allocations link specific collection entries (set, collector number, condition, finish) to that slot so Rhystic knows which physical cards back the list.
- Open a card — Click a row or stack to open the card modal. The allocation panel shows how many copies are allocated versus how many the deck needs.
- Allocate from your collection — For each printing you own, enter a quantity to pull copies onto the deck. Rhystic won’t over-allocate beyond what you have available.
- Borrow from teammates — If a teammate shares the card, you’ll see their printings with “ready to allocate” (already approved) or “to borrow” (request still needed). Borrowed allocations show who lent the copy.
- Adjust or remove — Change allocation quantities in the modal. Reducing to zero frees the copy for other decks.
- Returns — When a borrowed copy is in an active return, allocation edits are locked until the return is finished on the Team page.
Importing a deck list can auto-allocate from your collection when copies are available. After import, review indicators and the allocation panel to borrow missing pieces from your team or mark proxies where needed.
How to use it
Go to Decks to create a new deck, pick a format, and add cards. Use search to add printings to mainboard, sideboard, or maybeboard. The deck header shows format legality and visibility; use deck settings to change format, name, or sharing.
Tune the list in List view, switch to Arena view to check your curve, and use allocations plus the indicator to make sure every copy is sourced before you sleeve up. For team borrow and return workflows, see the Teams article.