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A few of my posts this year have started with the phrase “one year ago on this day,” so I thought I’d set up one for next year.
Motivations
Reason 1: MTG’s Changes
The game of Magic has undergone a lot of changes since I fell in love with it in the early 2000s. Like The Professor, I’ve come to believe that large swaths of Magic: the Gathering product isn’t really “for me” anymore, and may be for the next generation of magic players. That doesn’t mean I intend to stop playing the game, but the last few sets that really made me want to spend a lot of money — that I was really frothing at the mouth for — were ONE & MOM (Glory to the one and only Mother of Machines). I have a deep love for Magic’s own story, as well as for their own races. I deeply admire Phyrexians in particular, so naturally those two sets were a hit for me (even if I wasn’t a fan of how they ended).
So the first thing I have to cite as a reason for wanting to do this is what many have called the “fortnite-ification of Magic.” An influx of Universes Beyond cards, a number of sets that feel like “MTG characters with different hats,” and what I believe is an overall reduction in quality of storytelling and belief in their own IP. It’s hard to get excited for new cards when I roll my eyes at the set gimmick, or see cards that are clearly designed to draw Final Fantasy or Spiderman fans into buying and collecting. They’re meant for fans of something, but not for fans of Magic.
The second big change MTG is going through is power creep. As I ranted about in my article about [Retrofuture Commander], the speed at which the game is increasing in power level (often to sell more packs, much like the Universes Beyond product) is making more games more fast and (IMHO) less fun. Power creep has, and always will be, an inevitable part of the game. But in recent years the first and second order derivatives of MTG’s power creep have felt like they’ve really gone up.
I still like magic. I still tune decks online for decktuner. I still play EDH with a goal of getting 3 games in weekly. But I really don’t care for a lot of new content. So, at the end of the day, if product “isn’t for me” then I should speak with my wallet by not buying it, right?
Reason 2: The Wallet
Aside from just being another venue to groan like an old man yelling at a cloud, another simple reason for this venture is to save money. Since I’ve started this blog I’ve really gotten my finances in check. I’ve paid off debts, started saving for the future (heck, I have an IRA and a HSA now), and overall became more responsible with my money. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with a bit of discretionary spending on a fun hobby… going through a “no buy period” such as a “no buy month” or “no buy year” is a pretty hip and trendy “spending hack” proposed by many financial guru-types. This involves a period of time where, as a challenge, one steps back and avoids buying anything but the essentials (bills, gas, groceries - no eating out). This helps the partaker break free of certain overspending habits and often realize just how much they’re spending.
I don’t think I’ve ever spent an undue amount on premium cardboard slices, but this is an expensive game… and I’m sure I can afford to spend less.
Reason 3: The Dedication
If you’ve ever read my article Every Deck I Ever Built (if not I don’t blame you) or perused my Moxfield List “Commander Decks I’ve Built (for myself) and played (in paper)” you may notice that I build up decks and take them down a lot. One of the things that helps me prevent overspending is that I keep a limited number of decks in rotation, and if I build a new deck I always dismember an old one for parts. This lets me recycle the cards into newer decks and spend less.
This pattern has advantages, but what does it really miss out on?
There are players who have had one pet deck together for aeons, who have had multiple iterations of it, who really know the ins and outs of the one individual strategy they’re playing and the cards in it. I admire that dedication and strength of identity.
Yes, I’ve had a few longstanding decks like Lazav or Kothophed… but I think the longest I’ve kept a deck continually together and actively played it is 3 years? And while having those “flagships” I was still quickly rotating decks around them. Though I definitely have my play-style and color-pie preferences, I feel I have a more wide breadth, jack-of-all type of experience… and I’d like to give myself some time to settle into the dedication of sticking to a deck.
The Rules
I don’t expect to be able to actually buy 0 new cards for the entirety of the year. So what do I expect?
Build no new commander decks in paper
Minimize purchases
If I build something new / for an event, it’s online only
It’s not too complicated. Trying to hold steady with no major changes or purchases. Some tinkering is permitted. Playing on Spelltable with OBS/Moxfield will allows for plenty of new decks without buying new stuff.
In addition to building no new stuff, I’ve downsized my current selection to just 6decks (4 active, 2 retired) and also gotten rid of about 80% of my sitting collection. When downsizing my collection in the past, I’ve used CardConduit, so I did that again… [insert obligatory “not sponsored, but would like to be” comment here].
The Decks
Teysa, Opulent Oligarch is my aristocrat, tokens, and life drain deck. It’s got consistency, control, card draw, and lots of chump blockers… and a fair mix of slow-burn life drain and bursty plays. In a lot of ways it is just a stereotypical aristocrat deck, but there are a few things that make it unique. Since I’m playing for [bracket 2], there naturally aren’t any combos.
Venser, Corpse Puppet is my infect-control deck. A controversial pick for [bracket 2], but I believe I’ve designed it to fit well within the perimeters of the bracket. This deck features NO ways to deal 10 infect damage to someone in a single turn by pumping up an infect creature (in fact, it contains no pump spells at all)… instead, it aims to get a single tick of poison on each opponent, and incrementally proliferate them to death… giving players plenty of time to deal with their impending compleation, but trying to play a controlling game to get there.
Gyruda, Doom of Depths is my demon-kindred reanimator deck. I’ve played a lot of demon-kindred over the years, and Dimir is a natural place to seat it (given it is my favorite color combination). This deck features NO clones that Gyruda’s ability can hit, choosing to run a ton of demons instead. The deck does have a few non-demon enablers in the form of one corruptible sea God and two dark Clerics.
Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant is my goad-control-aggro deck. I adore goading creatures as a way of defending one’s self and the chaotic litany of damage that Rakdos can generate… but I also still love Phyrexian Arena, even though it’s long been outmoded by faster draw sources. Karazikar tickles both spots, allowing for goad and card draw in one body.
“Retired” Decks
This is the label I give to decks that I keep together in paper, but don’t really actively play or maintain. I may pull them out from time to time, but for the most part they’ve earned a nice spot in the retirement home.
Kozilek, the Great Distortion is my Eldrazi-Voltron deck. Eldrazi are my second favorite creature type (Phyrexians being the first). Horror that references the cosmic and lovecraftian is indeed one of my favorites, and the ZEN-WWK-ROE is one of the most memorable blocks I’ve ever played through. From the extreme speed change in draft formats between ZEN and ROE, to the mystery of worldbuilding and storytelling, this block will always be one of the most unforgettable times in my MTG career. I have played a lot of Eldrazi commanders (in fact, prior to the release of Commander Masters, I had played every legal Eldrazi legend in the command zone). The reason this deck sits in retirement is that I want to play big Eldrazi legends, but they are often too game warping for my preferred bracket: [bracket 2]. On top of that, the deck can have a real “lightswitch deck” issue where it’s either doing nothing or everything.
Stitcher Geralf is my mono-blue big-token-beats mill deck. Back in C14 (which is my favorite commander set to this day). I built this deck and my best friend built Ghoulcaller Gisa and we bickered about the The Laws of NecroWarfare. This deck got me a signed copy of a book (featuring “embalmers notes”) from AEMarling, a signed copy of Inspiration from The Professor, and many other memories that keep me from taking it apart. I’m not sure if I’d say zombies are my third favorite creature type (under Phyrexians and Eldrazi) or not, but I do love zombies and necromancy in general. The reason this deck sits in retirement is similar to that of Kozilek: big creatures that can warp the game make it too game warping for [bracket 2] but the deck is too slow and do-nothing to reliably fit [bracket 3].
Finale
I won’t stop playing MTG or building decks (online)… and I definitely won’t stop writing (though I write pretty inconsistently as is!)
But I do hope that on a year from today I’ll be able to report back with how this challenge went, any keen observations that have come from sticking to these decks for so long, and details about how they have changed.
And perhaps, some dear readers will be inspired to buy cards with a little bit more fiscal responsibility too!