Fun Decks: Overview By Sean "Mad Dog" Roney Contact: madcanine@yahoo.com Mad Dog here. I've written a few humor articles for the Dojo and for Vault. However, this is not a humor article. If you're wondering why I even agreed to write a serious essay about games, its because I like fun in Magic. I write humor for fun, and I play the game with crazy decks for fun. So, this essay isn't going to be about making fun of Magic, rather it'll be about how to have fun in Magic with non-tourney decks. Just remember as you read this I am writing nothing in sarcasm, and I truly mean that. I like tourney games, and respect every tournament player for having the guts to go out there and try for the prizes and DCI scores. WHY THE FUN DECK Many of you may be asking "why play a fun deck?" Well, I'll explain. I recognize that Magic is fun in tournaments when you get to win and score that big cash prize. There is also fun to be had when you play just for kicks and don't care about a prize. Fun games aren't just for beginners, either. Professionals can have fun with fun decks. After all that super cool whizzing around their tourneys with their Tradewind Rider/Man-O-War bounce deck, or their Whatever-Geddon, or their Oath of Ultra-Druids deck, they may be burned out from an absolute win. Your decks are cool and powerful and able to get you money. However, you can unwind every once in a while and have some unprofessional fun. You get to just play around with silly decks like a Merfolk/Islandwalk deck, of theat strange Hurr Jackal/Whipoorwil deck that has no point but is fun to play anyway. Granted, these games give no clues as to how to win in tourneys, and they will almost never give you insight into a new tourney strategy, but hey, they are fun. You just get a chance to use up all those cards you put in trade stock but people won't trade you for. Cards like Fissure, Spined Wurm, and even a few of those Portal cards you somehow managed to find in your collection (I know none of us buy them--they just appear :-). Fun games also give different skilled players a more level chance. I know their Pegasus/Unicorn deck will never stand a chance against your Pestilence/Regenerator deck, but they stand a better chance than with tat same Peg/Unic deck against your money-making/tourney-fame-grabbing 5-color green deck. Heck, you can even chit chat during fun games because there isn't a whole prize at stake and fun is the only goal, so talking friendly is all right. Come on, haven't you ever wanted to actually talk to your opponent and become friends during a game, rather than use psych tricks and become nemesis to each other? I've heard people complain that this evening of the field in fun games makes it so that you might lose. Well, fun games do make it more possible, but in tourney games one person has to lose, too. When you look at the total mathematics of it, you, yes you that power player right there, have more of a chance of winning a fun game than you do a tourney game. And if you do happen to lose to a scrub in a fun game, don't take it too hard--there's no prize at stake, and no ranking to lower. DEFINITION Many of you may be wondering what Joe and I are ranting about. "What the hell is a fun deck?" you may even want to shout to me. "Define it you scrub-loving jerk!" you may even be ready to type. There is no solid definition of what a fun deck is. I think the best general description of what a fun deck is that everyone will aceept is this: A deck built for purposes other than winning a tournament. I think that statement is true enough. You build your cool power decks to win tourneys for you. You want to win every game and get all the points and thus score all the prizes. When you construct anything else, its not going to do that for you--so you'd only play it in a fun game. SIDEBOARDS Of the definition of sideboard for fun decks I say: "Get rid of them." A sideboard is something a pro should use for their pro deck to be able to adapt to the threat of other pro decks. I've already stated that there is no pressing need to win every fun game, so the need for adaptation just isn't there as strongly as it is in an important tourney. The only adaptation that should be done with a fun deck is the tuning of it to be ready for more fun games. The matter of sideboards could be added to the definition. A deck that has a sideboard is meant to win every game so badly that it requires the sideboard to adapt. A deck without a sideboard is built to not adapt and thus not be killer against everything. So, fun decks also don't have sideboards in addition to not being built for tourneys. CREATURES Creatures are a matter of nearly every fun deck. I'll bet that the chances are high that every time you think of a fun deck you think of a deck with wacky creatures like Jungle Lion and Gray Ogre. The truth is, fun decks don't have to have any creatures at all. Take, for example, the Life Gain/Channel/Ebon Initiates/Drain Life deck, which uses life gainers and creature destruction to keep itself safe until it can bring out a big drain life. It has one creature, but its not creature based. Or maybe you may think of the Millstone fun deck. "What the hell?" you may ask, "A FUN millstone deck!?" Well, yes, a fun one. It has millstones, as well as a lot of its relatives. It even has that mill-wanabe cantrip from Ice Age. It doesn't lock everything the opponent does like a true tourney mill deck does, it just races to the end of the opponent's deck before it's owner is out of life. There are all sorts of fun decks out there that you can try that don't even have creatures. However, I myself like to use fun creature decks and am currently figuring out a deck that can actually make use of dumb creatures like Hill Giant and Gray Ogre, and even Raging Bull. THEMES Fun decks are often theme decks. Have you ever heard of the Urza Land/Artifact/Hive/Snake deck? Goblin decks are commonly heard of. However, just like with creatures, you don't need a fun deck that has a theme. Themes do not make a deck a fun deck. After all, I would say that any Geddon deck quite easily follows the Land Destruction theme, and a Bounce deck obviously follows a return-that-to-hand theme (otherwise called "bounce"). Themes are an important factor in some of the most fun fun ecks, though. Maybe you just want to play with an assortment of different spells, that's fine. Fun never means an all-out theme that you must follow. If you do choose a theme, you'r not limited to just Magic, though. You could make an AD&D theme (which could possibly use the Hill Giant and Gray Ogre), or a JRR Tolkien theme with Pixies, Brownies, and Wizard creatures. You might even want to try a dance party theme, with things like bone flute and musician. You never know how fun a wacky idea can be until you try it, but it isn't needed to have fun. CLOSING Okay, I've talked enough. If any of you want to know more about fun decks, theme decks, or even strategy about them (yes, fun decks do have strategy), then go ahead and contact Joe or me. I'll be a little....eccentric if you ask me, so if you want all-out direct info, then you better ask Joe :-) Anyway, I hope I haven't pissed any of you off. I know a lot of you like only playing where there is something to be won. How much better prize can you get than a good time playing a game, a prize even the guy (or gal--I won't disrespect some of our best players) who loses gets to have this prize. I hope I have made some of you change your solidified opinions about Magic, and maybe made you think about trying a fun game or two. Like I said, it'll get those cards way in the back of your binder a use finally. +---------------------------------------------------------+ |"Peace is our profession. Killing is just a hobby." + | -Murphy's Laws of Combat + +---------------------------------------------------------+ | http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arena/7627/joe.htm | +---------------------------------------------------------+ ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com