Subject: Article on Deckbuilding
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 21:26:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: GossNJ@aol.com
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

9/13/97
Building the Truly Original Deck
By Goss Nuzzo-Jones

 The original deck is an elusive prize to be achieved by the Magicx
enthusiast. It is hard to come by, easy to destroy, and altogether priceless,
at least in terms of Magic.  With the beauty of Internet access, we are able
to pop online, grab the first deck idea somebody has come up with, and go
play a tournament with it.  This is great. Unfortunately it also creates
widespread duplication of a single deck type. An obvious example of this
would be the part the Web played in "Black Summer." Therefore, we must strive
to create an original deck, for that sets us apart from the hordes of
duplication.
 Before we start, I must define original and/or unique. An unique deck could
be considered a downloaded deck idea, with a few minor changes. Not so. To
become an original deck builder, your ideas must be truly distinctive,
something very few people have even thought of. This makes building an
original deck not at all easy. With so many players out there, deck ideas fly
fast and furious. So not only must you create an original deck, you must make
one that causes speculation and interest among your "colleagues." One of the
more common ways to build a original deck is called "templating." Templating
is taking a portion of an existing deck type and fitting it into another
portion, unique or existing. This creates an entirely new "species" if you
will, of deck.  Templating is useful on the tournament scene, but pure
creativity is better.
 To start this process of creativity, think of a card you really like. Not
necessarily a more popular deck staple currently, but a card you just like
for kicks. Lets use Pendrell Mists for this example. First, evaluate the
card. What category would the card fall under? In this case, creature/board
control. This card seems somewhat worthy of a deck built around it. All
right, now think of cards work well with this card. Armaggedon comes to mind,
as does the entire card base of non-land mana sources. Jot the cards that you
thought of down. Then think again. What other cards bounce off the Mists?
Perhaps Chimeric Sphere or maybe Ivory Gargoyle. Viashino Sandstalker or
other unafeccted by summoning sickness creatures? After a few minutes of
sitting down thinking of cards that could possibly work with the Mists you
may realize that it's possible to build a deck around it. Or maybe it's not.
To find out, you must follow your whims, build the deck, play it, take it
apart, fix a problem here, remove a card there, and play it again. The basic
components of good and creative deckbuilding are; 1, think of a fairly
"different" card, and brainstorm around it. 2. Playtest the whimsical (or not
so whimsical) deck intensively. 3. Decide whether or not to pursue the deck
to it's fullest extent. Even if you abandon the deck, you have created
something distinct, something unique. Besides,  in Magic, the possibilities
are almost infinite.