Because of their extensive knowledge of the game, cards, and rules, when they create a deck, its a deck that wins games, tournaments, and championships. They clearly understand all/most of the ways to put together a deck, or combos, or exploiting card strengths and weaknesses and construct something that wins. Then everyone wants to get that deck, (because everyone wants to win) or a deck that is so similar, that its not really unique.

Magic does seem like one of the unique games that does have more than 1 path to the top, so to speak, but, does it? I mean if the top players (multiple pro tours, or tournament winners) are all demonstrating that the winning deck is constructed of xyz....is there any reasonable chance that a non mainstream deck can succeed?

On a side note, I did have a wonderful time stomping aggro with a control deck when everyone told me that control was dead a few months back.

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Originally posted by JayC:
I have a friend who thinks like you and refuses to play decks that aren't unique - he's the friend who's played very unique, awkward and sometimes annoying deck lists, decks that utilize cards like Zur's Weirding or Shared Fate - taking them to Vintage/Legacy tournaments. He does win games, receives ridicule, but never wins tournaments because the consistency and the power level just isn't there.

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Originally posted by JayC:
I have a friend who thinks like you and refuses to play decks that aren't unique - he's the friend who's played very unique, awkward and sometimes annoying deck lists, decks that utilize cards like Zur's Weirding or Shared Fate - taking them to Vintage/Legacy tournaments. He does win games, receives ridicule, but never wins tournaments because the consistency and the power level just isn't there.

I respect people for home brewing but there is only so much that can be done, there is a reason the best deck is the best deck and it's not just about a global or local meta, some cards are genuinely better - better costed, more powerful, more versatile, etc.

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Never knew we were friends, do I know you IRL?

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Originally posted by chaos021:
When you say "ridicule," like soul-shattering ridicule or just joking around?

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Mostly joking around. I get props more than jokes, but I wouldn't mind a few more wins. Hey, at least I have more fun when I do win.

__________________
I'm a geek, you're a geek. Let's trade.

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Originally posted by AEther Storm:
Hey, at least I have more fun when I do win.

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to be fair, most of "these types" of players tend to complain about net decking when they lose instead of their inability to build a deck to beat a known quantity.

If you're playing in a tournament with actual prizes, you don't get a bonus for playing cards that nobody else does. if you want to play different cards for the sake of being different, why not play a casual format? There are decks that have proven themselves to be powerful and above the level of the rest, so I don't see a reason to handicap myself. I'll build the deck that best suits my playstyle, I'll playtest the deck until I understand the card choices, and I'll make changes as I see necessary to fit the needs of the deck and the metagame. You'll likely recognize the "net deck" right off, but it still takes a reasonable pilot to perform with the deck.

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Originally posted by Volcanon:
Sligh, Elf Ball and tons of decks were 'unique'. Once they won a tourney, they instantly became netdecks.

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Originally posted by humbleacolyte:
The top magic players make a career out of MTG, they study the game and the cards, other players strategies, creating their own strategies, probably way more than I could even fathom.

Because of their extensive knowledge of the game, cards, and rules, when they create a deck, its a deck that wins games, tournaments, and championships. They clearly understand all/most of the ways to put together a deck, or combos, or exploiting card strengths and weaknesses and construct something that wins. Then everyone wants to get that deck, (because everyone wants to win) or a deck that is so similar, that its not really unique.

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A lot of top players are members of a team of people that are all interested in winning. They bash the best decks against each other and try and find tech that gets them to the top. Very few people have access to the type of play testing groups that say LSV or Connely Woods or Patrick Chapin have access to. These players play too win so they play the best deck.

Home-brew might be good enough for FNM but bigger tournaments favour the more consistent and powerful decks. I respect anyone that wants to play their own deck at a tournament but I think that very few homebrewed decks will get there.

Sometimes you can just be the first to discover how good a card is and make the deck first. I was the first in my area to realize how good arcbound ravager was going to be and built affinity before it showed up online...though it wasn't as good as what was developed.

Then, 2006. The legacy tier 1 decks were Goblins, threshold, and high tide. I built a home brew deck called roman candles (b/c it was 4 color) with burn spells. It was a completely new, rogue deck that had an 80% win ratio against all the tier 1 decks and good game against most deck. The only reason I didn't top 8 gencon that year was b/c Roland Chang had awful tie breakers and wouldn't ID with me in the last round. He got the match 2-1.
http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=12638

I then changed the deck and would have done well at GP Columbus I think if they hadn't changed the errata on flash and forced me to audible into fish b/c roman candle had awful game against flash (as most decks did). That's actually why I quit I as so mad the DCi did that 2 weeks before a major legacy GP.

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Originally posted by AEther Storm:
Mostly joking around. I get props more than jokes, but I wouldn't mind a few more wins. Hey, at least I have more fun when I do win.

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Originally posted by chaos021:
That's good news. I know some people can be real asshats about ridiculous stuff.

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There are those, too, but not as many. These are your typical mid-teenagers, mostly. Which makes it all the more fun when I win or if they have to go all out and avoid being beaten.

__________________
I'm a geek, you're a geek. Let's trade.

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Originally posted by Volcanon:
Sligh, Elf Ball and tons of decks were 'unique'. Once they won a tourney, they instantly became netdecks.

Such is the way of things.

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There is nothing wrong with net decking, but it takes a lot of the fun out of the game for me. I don't get to play that often so most of my time with magic is creating new decks (the fun part!).

The problem I've found is that no matter how creative or obscure the cards I'm using, someone has already beat me to the punch.

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Originally posted by mcelraca:
I'm a home brewer through and through.

There is nothing wrong with net decking, but it takes a lot of the fun out of the game for me. I don't get to play that often so most of my time with magic is creating new decks (the fun part!).

The problem I've found is that no matter how creative or obscure the cards I'm using, someone has already beat me to the punch.

However, in my eyes, it's still my deck. I may not have been the first, but i worked just as hard putting it together.

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Originally posted by humbleacolyte:
I agree wholeheartedly on that point of view. If I found/created the combo on my own, even if its a netdeck right down to the artists on the cards, its still something I take pride in because I figured it out on my own without any help.

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Originally posted by JayC:
When I say ridicule, it depends. I saw people genuinely so upset losing to such '****' cards that they couldn't behave themselves. They had to take it upon themselves (apparently) to say that these cards, his deck, weren't real, they didn't belong, and they basically were bad for the game because they added nothing of actual value in a competitive / professional environment or level.

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I'm a little less concerned with people who netdeck, than people who netdeck and think they must follow it to a point.

My local meta was strictly aggro = naya blitz, jund aggro, gruul, mono red. One blue deck for a while, esper control. Then myself and another playing jund midrange.
This other guy was mainboarding a copy of ground seal, and his best explanation was that it was a good card vs some decks - but wouldn't leave in the SB even though there was no dredge, snap, rites...
I was questioned by him a couple times like "you have X of that card Y? does the deck even run that many/those?"
"Uhm, I dunno, but I obviously do".
Saying this to having more Lilianas, and more mizzium mortars, and having no dreadbores at all.

What a failure of imagination.

__________________
Want Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief, and other vampire females oddities (foreign foil crimp miscut misprint sign testprint alters etc)

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Originally posted by hilikuS:
So they were butthurt.

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