Why the London Mulligan Helped Combo Decks
A combo deck often needs a particular combination of cards to do something decisive—sometimes before the opponent has had a chance to build a defense. The London Mulligan made it easier to search for that combination without forcing a player to keep every card in the first hand they see.
Under the rule, a player who mulligans draws seven cards again. Once they decide to keep a hand, they put one card on the bottom of their deck for each mulligan they took. After one mulligan, for example, they can choose the best six cards from a fresh seven-card hand rather than simply accepting a smaller random draw.
More Selection, With a Real Cost
That choice is especially valuable to combo decks. A player can look for the cards that make the plan work, keep those pieces, and send less useful cards away. The rule does not guarantee the needed cards, but it gives the player another full look at seven cards each time they mulligan—and more control over which cards survive.
The cost is a smaller hand. A player who mulligans repeatedly may find a powerful combination but have fewer spare cards to protect it, disrupt an opponent, or recover if the plan fails. The decision is therefore not simply “keep a good hand”; it is whether the improved chance of finding the combo is worth starting with fewer resources.
That tradeoff mattered across formats, but it was particularly visible in fast combo strategies, where finding a specific opening setup could outweigh the long-term value of a full hand. The London rule made those decks more consistent—and made each mulligan a deliberate exchange: better selection now for fewer cards to work with afterward.
