For a typical 60‑card Magic: The Gathering deck, the usual range is about 22–26 lands , with 24 lands (40%) being the classic starting point for most “normal” decks.

Quick Scoop: Short Answer

  • Most common baseline: 24 lands in a 60‑card deck.
  • Usual viable range: around 20–25 lands , depending on deck speed and curve.
  • Very low land counts (18–20) show up in hyper‑low‑curve aggro/combo decks.
  • Higher land counts (26+) are used in control or very mana‑hungry lists.

Why 24 Is the “Magic Number”

Many strategy writers and calculators use a simple rule: about 40% of your deck should be lands , which in a 60‑card deck is 24 lands. This is a balance between being “mana screwed” (too few lands) and “mana flooded” (too many), and math analyses plus tournament practice both support this as a solid baseline.

How Archetype Changes Your Land Count

Different styles of decks shift from that 24‑land default:

  • Aggro (very low mana curve): Often 18–22 lands , especially if the deck tops out at 2–3 mana and plays lots of cheap spells.
  • Midrange: Commonly around 23–25 lands , since you want to hit 4–5 lands on time for bigger threats.
  • Control: Frequently 25–27 lands , because your spells are expensive and you want to reliably hit land drops every turn.

Some guides explicitly state that a 60‑card deck “on average” needs 18–25 lands , with the exact number set by your mana curve and format.

Here’s a compact view:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Deck archetype</th>
      <th>Common land range (60 cards)</th>
      <th>Typical reasoning</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Aggro / low-curve</td>
      <td>18–22 lands[web:5][web:9]</td>
      <td>Cheap spells, lower need to hit high mana counts.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Midrange</td>
      <td>23–25 lands[web:3][web:5]</td>
      <td>Wants steady land drops to cast 4–5 mana threats.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Control / slow</td>
      <td>25–27 lands[web:3][web:8]</td>
      <td>Expensive spells, wants to hit every land drop.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Generic baseline</td>
      <td>~24 lands (40%)[web:3][web:7]</td>
      <td>Standard rule-of-thumb for most formats.</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Quick “Forum Style” Take

If you just built a new 60‑card deck and don’t know where to start, jam 24 lands , goldfish some hands, then adjust up or down by 1–2 lands based on how often you flood or screw.

TL;DR

  • Start at 24 lands in a 60‑card deck.
  • Go down a couple if your curve is super low and you’re often flooding.
  • Go up a couple if your spells are expensive or you keep missing land drops.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.