And, I get what you’re saying Chris, but I can’t make people play or build “competitively.” This format is rife with “Casual” players who think a Turn 1 Sol Ring = Turn 3 Craw Wurm. Prob is, I have a demanding job and have to put aside free time to make these vids (woe is me). This means I can’t always square away what is inevitably hours upon hours of taped game play to bring what is often a meh end result. People quit. They cry and freak out. They play as if they narrowly survived a head injury. The list goes on.

I picked this game in particular bc I thought it showed the deck overcoming some obstacles (one of which was my own Back to Basics) and finding its way to a win, albeit pretty slow. Sometimes the decks, the games, are afterthoughts to my banter. It all just depends. Academy lets me what I do, unmitigated, so until someone tries to rein me in and/or people get tired of hearing me verbally defecate I will keep on keepin’ on. I mean, the decks are good, and cobbling together the multitudinous builds week after week proves daunting. I am always open to new ideas, but I will nev do replays, or single out an aspect of the game, as that can be discussed whilst I play. There are some great players out there, not many, but def enough that I should encounter them more often than not.

Does one water down a deck for the sake of not being cheesy in the purported “spirit of the format”, or does one build a nice streamlined deck that doesn’t tape up the sharp ends in a passive attempt to placate the Casual masses?

The answer: there isn’t one. I have tried both routes and yet I get guffaws from either way. So, to quote Hassan I Sabbah: “nothing is true, everything is permitted.” Well, in this instance, if it isn’t banned then …

All the decks in this subseries will be competitive, designed with a clear strategy that doesn’t aim to prance about in a gesture of playful giddiness. More brutal decks inbound. I just wrapped up Monowhite week and will be heading into the Red shortly.

Build a colorless deck and/or a 5-C deck to finish off the subseries idea.

Still pondering, as no deck on earth garners the “why didn’t you play this” as one that could support any card. It is truly the ultimate backseat deckbuilder’s soapbox.

I sincerely do appreciate feedback, even negative, but one thing I hate about making vids is someone else taking the opportunity to, completely out of the context of what was present, point out the superior play – often based on what happens after. I want to breach the static wall of hiss and choke people who do this: a ruse to make them look taller in the funhouse mirror and cast a heavy shadow on the people who take the time to put themselves and their ideas out there for the prodding.

Just sayin…