Originally Posted by
Johnny Footstool
You want to design your deck so that you can play a card on each turn, including the first. You want a lot of small creatures, a few big ones, and two or three ways to keep your opponent from attacking you (artifacts, counterspells, etc.). It's a good idea to make a 50 card deck with 18 lands, 10 small creatures, 7 big creatures, 5 artifacts, 5 protection/dispell cards, and 5 offensive spells. Always use 2 different colors in your deck. And remember not to include more than 4 of any one card -- it's against the rules.
BTW - Yes, I've played before.