Man, it has been such a long time since I wrote anything for this outlet, mostly because it has been a really long time since I carried enough to have anything to say. I really had to look back over my last few posts to even remind me what had been going on, then I remembered why I hadn't cared in a while.
I had come to the conclusion to stay an active force in this game, as a budget player, you had to play Standard and win packs. Then I was reminded how, with just a little resources, I had managed to brew up a fairly original Standard deck. It was really coming along, developing a winning record, and the ability to bring home packs consistently. Then...they banned my deck. Well, they didn't ban the whole deck, but the one card that made the the whole thing work.
I simply will never understand why DCI takes the approach of banning utility cards, which allow for creative deck building instead of banning the problematic work horse card. Stoneforger Mystic was a utility card that made budget decks possible. A few copies of this allowed you to play with single copies of expensive Mythic cards, and still have a working deck. The banning of that card forced the acquisition of hundreds of dollars in cards in order to keep the design viable. In other words, the ban-hammer closed Standard to budget players. I guess it really comes down to Wizards doesn't want players to be able to function with out having hundreds of dollars of Mythic cards?
I guess that leaves me with Legacy. My Zoo deck, will be morphed back to Grove Level Zoo the next time I pick it up. My Merfolk deck can probably still be finished over the next year. Merfolk gives me a more controlling option to go along with my agro deck. Goblins, despite being almost fully completed, will most likely be sold off. I just can't see it ever being as good of an agro option as Zoo is, and it's components just aren't used in much else. The same case can be made for Affinity, were the very existence of Nullrod, makes the deck too inconsistent.
I find the Fall rotation approaching, and all I want to do is get rid of even more cards. I estimate my collection to be about 10000 cards right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if that drops by 50-80% this fall. I've found that my lack of investment in new cards really hasn't diminished my ability to play, because even my highest levels of investment simply weren't enough to stay viable in today's Standard environment. I now find myself becoming comfortable with the thought of just having one transformable Eternal deck. My current thinking is that Tendrils could be viable in both Eternal formats with very few cards which didn't overlap. My other thought is to sell it all off, maybe keep a casual deck, and just play limited when the block formats are fun.
This leads my thinking even further down the road. If I can be comfortable today with 2000 cards, how low am I really willing and able to go.?
Could 500 cards be enough to address the occasional need to play:
Or could I be happy just not owning any cards, counting on friends to spot me a deck for those few times a year that I wanted to play constructed?
If that's the case, should I even play limited, knowing I'm just going to get rid of most or all of the cards?
I don't know what the magic number is, but I am really beginning to think that the step I am prepared for this Fall, is really just another stepping stone in this journey.
I had come to the conclusion to stay an active force in this game, as a budget player, you had to play Standard and win packs. Then I was reminded how, with just a little resources, I had managed to brew up a fairly original Standard deck. It was really coming along, developing a winning record, and the ability to bring home packs consistently. Then...they banned my deck. Well, they didn't ban the whole deck, but the one card that made the the whole thing work.
I simply will never understand why DCI takes the approach of banning utility cards, which allow for creative deck building instead of banning the problematic work horse card. Stoneforger Mystic was a utility card that made budget decks possible. A few copies of this allowed you to play with single copies of expensive Mythic cards, and still have a working deck. The banning of that card forced the acquisition of hundreds of dollars in cards in order to keep the design viable. In other words, the ban-hammer closed Standard to budget players. I guess it really comes down to Wizards doesn't want players to be able to function with out having hundreds of dollars of Mythic cards?
I guess that leaves me with Legacy. My Zoo deck, will be morphed back to Grove Level Zoo the next time I pick it up. My Merfolk deck can probably still be finished over the next year. Merfolk gives me a more controlling option to go along with my agro deck. Goblins, despite being almost fully completed, will most likely be sold off. I just can't see it ever being as good of an agro option as Zoo is, and it's components just aren't used in much else. The same case can be made for Affinity, were the very existence of Nullrod, makes the deck too inconsistent.
I find the Fall rotation approaching, and all I want to do is get rid of even more cards. I estimate my collection to be about 10000 cards right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if that drops by 50-80% this fall. I've found that my lack of investment in new cards really hasn't diminished my ability to play, because even my highest levels of investment simply weren't enough to stay viable in today's Standard environment. I now find myself becoming comfortable with the thought of just having one transformable Eternal deck. My current thinking is that Tendrils could be viable in both Eternal formats with very few cards which didn't overlap. My other thought is to sell it all off, maybe keep a casual deck, and just play limited when the block formats are fun.
This leads my thinking even further down the road. If I can be comfortable today with 2000 cards, how low am I really willing and able to go.?
Could 500 cards be enough to address the occasional need to play:
- DoMT/EDH collection ..............300 cards
- Transformable Eternal Deck.......100 cards
- Transformable Warp World........100 cards
Or could I be happy just not owning any cards, counting on friends to spot me a deck for those few times a year that I wanted to play constructed?
If that's the case, should I even play limited, knowing I'm just going to get rid of most or all of the cards?
I don't know what the magic number is, but I am really beginning to think that the step I am prepared for this Fall, is really just another stepping stone in this journey.
Comments
Keep you Legacy zoo deck & the blue staples.
Of course, there are always plenty of decks/cards to share and loan at our casual table. Youre always welcome to borrow and play them.