Understanding the Ink Curve

Your ink curve is how your 60 cards are spread across their costs. Because you add only one ink per turn, your curve decides whether you have something to do on turn 2 — or whether you're stuck holding six-drops with three ink on the table.

Why the curve matters

You gain ink slowly: one per turn, assuming you ink every turn. That means on turn 3 you have (at most) three ink to spend. A deck stuffed with expensive cards will flood — lots of ink, nothing castable. A deck with only cheap cards runs out of gas. The curve is how you balance the two.

A healthy midrange curve

Here's a solid all-purpose shape for a 60-card deck. Treat it as a starting point, not a law:

Visually, a good curve is a hill that peaks around 2–3 cost and tapers off:

Cost 1  ██████              6
Cost 2  ████████████       12
Cost 3  ████████████       12
Cost 4  ██████████         10
Cost 5  ████████            8
Cost 6  ██████              6
Cost 7+ ██████              6

Shift the curve to match your plan

• Aggro pushes the hill left: more 1s, 2s, and 3s, very little above 5.
• Control can afford a flatter, higher curve because it survives to cast its expensive cards.
• Midrange sits in between, like the table above.

The turn-2 test

The single most useful curve check: how often do you have a turn-2 play? With around 12 two-cost cards plus a few one-drops, you'll have an early play the large majority of games. Use the draw odds calculator to confirm — and remember that every card you ink is one you can't cast, so a smooth curve and a healthy inkable count go together.