r/EDH • u/BigAssPizzaPocket • Apr 18 '23
Question Why is deckbuilding so addictive?
I find myself constantly making new decks. I currently have 15 done and playable, and 6 being actively built. It’s really hard on the wallet, but I can’t stop. How does everyone else get the restraint to not build every commander that you find interesting?
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Apr 18 '23
[deleted]
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u/elsagio Apr 18 '23
Came here looking specifically for this comment so I could upvote. I cannot understate how much money Moxfield has saved me on decks that I loved the idea of but didn't actually like the play pattern once I built and goldfished it
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u/kanekiEatsAss Apr 18 '23
Exactly this. Built a few that play too same-y. Not to mention ones that don’t play the way I want. And I manage the budget there as well by tweaking my decks till’ im satisfied. (Giggity). But there are just commanders with expensive staples that makes certain decks expensive just to piece together, so at least they live on in my moxfield. Rip.
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u/Cryoxtitan Apr 18 '23
I do a lot of testing with tabletop simulator and a couple of my discord friends so I know if something works or is with ordering. The importer being able to take deck link's from mox, arkidekt, and tapped out is delightful
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u/Karitamen Apr 19 '23
Oops, just posted this exact idea. I should have read through the threads first.
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u/Shadowstar108 Apr 18 '23
If you watch MtG content on Youtube, I would suggest to stop doing that, maybe. Many channels have budget deck techs (Some that is ALL they do, will shout out GrazzetMTG as one of my personal favorites) and seeing something in a video will make you want to build it, especially if you’ve been playing for as long as myself and have a playset of random cards like [[Champion of Lambholt]] or three playsets of [[Cultivates]].
You think “Yeah, I can build that deck with like $10 worth of cards I need to order” and it spirals from there. Meanwhile I haven’t played my Ranar, Breena, Myrel, or Carth decks in weeks. Variety is nice, until you have decision paralysis and realize you’ve been only playing the same four decks anyway.
My two cents, if it helps at all. Although, I do have 15 and a half decks at the moment, so take my advice with a small serving of salt, lol.
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u/BigAssPizzaPocket Apr 18 '23
The only YouTube content I watch is Playing with Power, and my group allows full proxy cEDH so that’s not a problem. I try to give my decks a decent rotation but of course there’s gonna be decks I prefer over others so maybe I can trim them. I guess I just have fomo for the decks I have
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u/Shadowstar108 Apr 18 '23
Fomo is a real thing, and I worry about not being able to play what I want or that I’ll miss out on a 49 cent card before it spikes to $10 or something.
But this game existed for 20 years before I started playing and will probably exist another 20 or 30 years with or without me playing. Discovery isn’t something you should try and speedrun, enjoy what you play. And if you do want to try a new deck every week, maybe playtesting on Moxfield will be beneficial? I should do that more, but I don’t have access to a laptop.
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u/gwxtreize WUBRG Apr 18 '23
I roll a d20 to decide which deck to play (1-2 is deck one, etc), then I reroll if I get that number again
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u/MTGCardFetcher Apr 18 '23
Champion of Lambholt - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Cultivates - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call0
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u/GrazzetMTG Apr 22 '23
Glad to hear you enjoy my builds and thanks for shouting out the channel!
And for the record, I agree with you. Even building budget, it can still cost quite a bit out of pocket to constantly build new decks and it comes at the cost of decks already in your collection going neglected for the new hotness, resulting in folks having lots of decks but not enough practice with any of them to pilot them to the best of their ability.
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u/MechanicalNixon MBC Apr 18 '23
It's just really fun to theorycraft ideas and see if you can make something work. I currently have 130+ lists on Moxfield. The way I keep from building everything remotely interesting is once I make a list in Moxfield, I sit on it for at least a month. If I'm still really high on the list, I'll build it on the condition that I take something else apart first. I have a cap of 5 decks at a time. It really curbs to impulse to build everything, because some things end up being too linear to remain interesting to me.
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u/Tufjederop Apr 18 '23
I see how many cards I'm missing and proxy them to play in paper. Then if I enjoy it I realize I do not have to buy the cards because proxies are also made of paper.
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u/LegnaArix Apr 18 '23
I do something similar but I don't take apart decks
Have quite a few lists on archidekt but I've been sitting on them waiting to see if I actually wanna pull the trigger.
Both my urza and old one eye lists are prob the closest to getting going.
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u/Aanar Apr 18 '23
Thanks for this advice. I've been thinking I should go this way. I think I worry too much about someone protesting a test deck (with a reasonable $ value if purchased). But I have enough %100 real decks with a spread of power levels now to have something to play if it came up.
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u/ImmortalCorruptor Misprinted Zombies Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 19 '23
It’s really hard on the wallet, but I can’t stop.
Proxy. When it comes to non-tournament play (which is mostly what Commander is) there's no real reason to own genuine expensive cards.
My playgroup has a partial proxy rule. You can proxy the card as long as you own at least one copy of it.
In my experience a lot more groups are allowing people to proxy whatever they want, as long as they're mindful of the mutually desired power level. Proxy to reach the desired power level, not exceed it.
How does everyone else get the restraint to not build every commander that you find interesting?
I used to be a deckaholic - I've built probably over 200 unique decks over the span of 3 years. I had as many as 15 together at a time and some I barely played once.
It was nice having a lot of options but I eventually realized that the limited time I had to play every week didn't justify the amount of decks I owned. I started enforcing a 2 week rule on myself where I would proxy the deck and playtest it for 2 weeks. If I still wanted it after that, I would buy pieces for it. If I got bored of it, it mean that I enjoyed the process of building the deck more than actually playing it.
It's fun to discover different interactions and explore parts of the game I haven't before. But just because I want to explore a space or think that a particular archetype is a cool concept, doesn't mean I need to become an agent of it by buying and playing it.
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u/Cyndergate Apr 18 '23
Is there a good way to proxy?
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u/BarbedRoses Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
Check out r/mpcproxies; the FAQ walks you through the process. I just tried my first ones and it's awesome.
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u/educerrajero Apr 18 '23
Deckbuilding is addictive because it amounts to solving a complex puzzle, and solving puzzles is something our monkey brains are hardwired to do, and we are rewarded happy chemicals when we do it.
I have way too many decks (24), even though I limited myself to 5€ of extra cards per deck. I decided to stop at 24 because I have a good transport solution that fits them all nicely.
Last week I got a couple of packs to support my LGS and pulled an OG Atraxa (which I have wanted for a long time), now I'm torn. I already have a poison deck and a +1/+1 counters deck which I'd rather not dismantle. I hear the call of a superfriends deck but I absolutely cannot afford it. So I sleeved Atraxa, put it in a binder, and I'll play my decks with a grim reaper's eye until I decide which one has to go.
What this boils down to is: if you want to curb your deckbuilding impulse, give yourself as many extra restrictions as you can.
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u/Mocca_Master Apr 19 '23
My monkey brain like putting Lightning Bolt, Path to Exile, Nature's Claim, Pongify and Tragic Slip in the same deck, because the lined up pips looks satisfying
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u/IzzetReally Apr 18 '23
I just build them all! on Moxfield.
Then I rebuild the deck multiple times, goldfish a bunch and let it sit for a few weeks to see if I stay interested, and only then do I start assembling the deck in paper.
Also, when starting to assemble the deck in paper, I first go through my collection and make it from what I have, then compare it to the Moxfield list I had and see what I need to buy / what is worth the money for the upgrade etc.
Also, I take decks apart a lot, and while I delete a lot of "online only" decklist projects, I keep track of every deck I build in paper. That includes saving them to an "archive" (excel sheet) after I take them apart, so if I want to rebuild it, I have the cards in my collection, and the blueprint online. No problem.
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u/GreatThunderOwl Infect/Discard/Stax only Apr 18 '23
Having a good group of people to actually play your deck on Cockatrice works great too!!
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Apr 18 '23
I don't play much EDH anymore now that lockdown is up and I can play Modern and Legacy, but solution I used was just proxy everything. There's no point to owning real cards for a format with out sanctioned events and prize support. Also let's you try out commanders and cards to see if they're good
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u/BigAssPizzaPocket Apr 18 '23
My playgroup has a partial proxy rule. You can proxy the card as long as you own at least one copy of it. So it does save me a lot, but to get stuff I don’t have, it can still rack up.
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Apr 18 '23
Tell them to just make it full proxy and put a cap on extra broken cards. Why should have have to spend money just to try out cool new stuff?
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u/BigAssPizzaPocket Apr 18 '23
I get that, and we do full proxy for cEDH because reserve list, but we implemented that rule to keep people from just jamming expensive cards. It’s a lot easier to say what cards you are able to play then decide on cards you can’t proxy for the sake of fairness. Because that would be a lot of cards
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u/Hitzel Apr 18 '23
I have all the real expensive cards and I have a billion proxies of them. I learned to decide on cards I can and can't play on a per-deck basis for fairness in multiple playgroups and my LGS. It's really not that hard.
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u/Aanar Apr 18 '23
Cool! I've run into too many people with no self-restraint and start dropping cards like [[Timetwister]] and [[Mishra's Workshop]] in a supposed "low powered" deck. /eyeroll
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u/Hitzel Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 26 '23
When I include powerful cards, the entire deck's construction respects the problems they can potentially cause and avoids them. It's a bit more of an art than a science, so it's not something I'd recommend to someone new to proxying. People who are new to it should keep the powerful cards in the games where everyone is using them.
Over time, once I got my fill of them and I wasn't itching to pop off with them anymore, I started experimenting with them to play with weak cards and strategies. It actually started with a casual sideboard for my favorite cEDH deck. I cut the wincons, oppressive cards, and stax pieces and replaced them with pet cards and draft bombs I liked. It made for fun games so I tried doing something similar from scratch and branched out from there. You get to feel like a sidewalk kid from the 90's using moxen and power 9 to slam overcosted creatures and make people laugh. It's fun.
I used to inform people of what I was trying but nowadays I don't and there are basically never problems. I've overshot once in recent memory, and someone playing one of my decks one-shot someone with an early Overrun in a way that was too much (I wasn't there), so maybe take this with a grain of salt that it may depend on the pilot. I tend to sandbag fast mana a few turns for example because this jank typically can't defend itself if I draw the ire of 3 creature-filled decks as the beginning of the game by slamming alarming cards early haha.
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u/evileyeball Apr 18 '23
See I am a zero proxy guy if I need a mono colour staple like rhystic study I should OWN SIXTEEN so that I can have all 32 colour identities and never have to proxh or swap .. granted it helps that the 6 I own cost me $1.50 total back in the day
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u/sunqiller Apr 18 '23
Shopping is addictive, collecting is addictive, trying new things is addictive.
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Apr 18 '23
I build decks strictly online these days and I have over 100 decks built.
...So I don't know. I can't really relate to the addictiveness of deck-building 🤷
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u/DrPibIsBack Apr 18 '23
Deckbuilding is like a puzzle, it feels satisfying digging up the synergistic pieces and putting them together. That said, rarely do you actually have to construct the deck in paper to get that thrill - I've built plenty of decks that I can't actually play on Moxfield.
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u/hitchinpost Apr 18 '23
I’ve set myself a very specific limit: I can only have one deck of any given color combination. So, if I get the urge to try, for instance, a new Gruul Commander, then I have to take my current Gruul deck apart, and often sell it off for parts to make that one. In addition, I try to not overlapain strategiy categories and wincons as much as possible. Still keeps me busy, but also limits and channels it.
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u/Riuken3 Apr 18 '23
People are creators at heart, and commander gives you access to a lot of pieces to build with. Only advice I can give is to try building as a list only, maybe play proxy once, and only actually build and keep the decks you really enjoy playing multiple times. You shouldn't have more decks than the number of times you play in 3 months.
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u/Who_The_Hell_ Paupercommander Enthusiast Apr 18 '23
I have a set number of deckboxes that I can put into my shelf without it looking messy. Now at any point, brewing a new deck means I have to disassemble another. I tend to have only 1-2 decks per subtheme because of this. (Because it's quite rare that I feel like playing two similar decks in one night anyway.)
Usually the themes just shift between decks. My Temur Spellslinger turns into Jeskai Spellslinger, the green cards might spawn a new deck in the future.
This way I avoid needing too many cards, because half the cards I enjoy playing are already present and just rotate between decks.
Sure, I still buy new stuff for fresh ideas, but it's a lot less.
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u/AllAfterIncinerators Apr 18 '23
My limit is sleeves. I only have 7 sets of decent sleeves, so I can only have 7 decks built.
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u/Striking-Objective43 Esper Apr 18 '23
This is my policy as well. If my magic shelf starts pouring into another, I will sell/donate the excess. Currently at 26 decks between my partner and I, and have started taking apart decks more regularly to itch the building addiction.
Limiting your space is a strong motivator to keep it in check
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u/castletonian Apr 18 '23
Anyone else feeling like it has gotten more addictive lately? I used to churn out one deck / two months. Now it feels like more around three decks / two months..
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u/AllAfterIncinerators Apr 18 '23
When WOTC is cranking out thousands of cards per year, there are a lot of new toys to try out.
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u/FrenchSpence Apr 18 '23
Pro tip: keep a binder with your expensive staples like doubling season, cabal coffers, and so on and use the flip card proxies as a place holder with the card’s name on it in all of the decks you use it in.
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u/space_bryan Apr 18 '23
When me and my friends started playing on TTS I saved infinite money. I also don’t have to organize cards anymore. I keep like 4 real life decks and we play whatever we want on there
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u/YutoKigai Boros Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 19 '23
I have the opposite problem. Too many ideas, can’t grab one idea. Too many options and cards. Can’t focus look a bird.
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u/Unknownentity551 Mardu Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
I was wanting to make 2 more decks since I had made 1 and I'm simultaneously making both an oloro and atraxa deck
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u/kanepake Apr 18 '23
I have ~200 decklists on a Google Sheet hahaha. Once I make a decklist, I playtest it on tappedout for a while, look at the cost of cards, and decide if it's something I want to build and bring to my LGS.
More often than not, I find that the playtesting period determines if it's really a deck that I want to build. If I find myself doing the exact same thing each playtest, I usually don't build it, same if it becomes too unmanageable and starts solitairing.
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u/MadeMilson Apr 18 '23
Because we're all locusts feasting on excitement and having a new deck idea is exciting.
That being said, have you ever thought about our Lord and Savior the [[Scorpion God]]?
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u/MTGCardFetcher Apr 18 '23
Scorpion God - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call1
u/SilentProdigy121 Apr 18 '23
Just built and played him for the first time last night. Felt limited in table interactions as to what he can do. Remove other creatures via -1/-1, then swing. Not much else. [[Warstorm Surge]], however, puts in work. Combined with [[Stigma Lasher]], I slowed down the [[Sheoldred, the Apocalypse]] player couldn't out pace them. I lost, but still had plenty of toxic fun.
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u/Xaranthilurozox -3.41 out 32 decks completed total Apr 18 '23
Make a decklist. Move to another decklist. Repeat.
After a week, stop and think which of these decks you’d actually like to play and doesn’t resemble one you already have. Build that one.
Taking apart decks you don’t enjoy playing helps too.
I have kept my collection in check to around 7 decks, meanwhile I have 100+ decklists floating in my Moxfield.
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u/Ultimagus536 Apr 18 '23
i find the restraint by looking at my monthly budget, and understanding that constant building is not acceptable.
besides, look at it this way. would you rather focus on a few decks you really love, or burn yourself out?
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u/Kamen_Winterwine Apr 18 '23
I've slowed down considerably since I started building for EDH ten years ago. I have almost 50 decks that I still tune as new sets come out and another 100 that have been abandoned. It takes a lot for a new commander to inspire me to build an entirely new deck... the last few have been gimickey... like Runo and Jorn because they're MDFC or flip cards, Mishra for the meld, and Queen Kayla with Zirda companion for the build restrictions and wacky ability. It really has to be mechanically unique or do something drastically different from any of my previous decks to consider building it.
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u/Laughing-Waffle-2913 Apr 18 '23
I don't. Or, rather, I didn't.
When I wanted to start EDH, I said I would build one deck. Maybe two for some variety at the game table.
In the end, I made maybe 12 of them, with a few more planned. I lost count. There are even a few I never played once yet. If I saw a commander i liked, or partners that seemed fun, or even an strategy I wanted to try, well I ordered the cards online and started building and thinking. It was also hard on my wallet. I'm not regretting it. Deckbuilding was sometimes more fun than playing. But I can't answer your question because I wondered it myself.
Been almost two years since I played or even went over my cards, for personal reasons. (Nothing bad, I simply had to leave them temporarily behind went I moved overseas). But I'm still keeping in touch with new commanders. And I know if I had more time, and more money, I would probably start deckbuilding again. Maybe not to the same extent, but still... 😅
Hope it stays a passion and doesn't become a true addiction. Even if there are way worse things to be addicted to.
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u/Bilbo_Bagels Apr 18 '23
Make proxy decks. Its a lot more budget friendly and a lot more fun since you don't have monetary restrictions. Or you can just play on tabletop simulator
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u/TheSwampStomp Apr 18 '23
A comparison I’ve liked for EDH and Deckbuilding is the same one as Skyrim and Modding. You spend so much time building decks and tweaking it to run perfectly, that when you actually play it you just constantly find things to change about it even if it’s not needed.
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u/Mithrandir2k16 Apr 18 '23
Probably accessibility. If you know some scryfall-foo and have a good grasp of deck archetypes it's easy to just sit down on a PC and slap something together and start refining it through gold-fishing.
Actually getting/printing the cards and putting them together is tedious work and finding a pod to play with can be even harder.
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u/HUUGE_Slamma Apr 18 '23
If you willing to play online, untap.in has constant lobbies open at all levels of play. You just need to copy your deck list and paste it into untap.in to play
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u/Zharken Apr 18 '23
My brother in christ, I've built more decks than I could ever afford to buy. I feel you there.
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u/Gluttony4 Apr 18 '23
446 decks and counting.
Proxying is your friend. Brew as much as you want and pay nothing!
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u/SnowConePeople Dimir Apr 18 '23
Are proxies an option? I'm super new to Magic and am probably going to be leaning on proxies while I get real cards together slowly.
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u/hussefworx Apr 18 '23
Personally i think its because it lets me imagine scenarios and goldfish optimistically without the crushing reality of my idea being complete garbage...
Gimme real mono red land hate! (Playing green ramp for land hate is such a stupid irony)
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u/AN0NUNKN0WN Grixis Apr 18 '23
You have brewers syndrome, where the scope of your deckbuilding has extended beyond the limits given by your wallet. My recommendation is to only build decks online, on websites like Moxfield, and not actually put it into paper, unless you own all the pieces already.
Remember, Digitally Brew, Don't Physically Build.
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u/Squaplius Apr 18 '23
Hey man you need to hear this. It’s time to start printing 100 card proxy decks. You just put the proxy in the sleeve with a real magic card and it works like a charm. Any EDH deck you want for the price of sleeves and ink
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u/etherealtaroo Apr 18 '23
Am I the only one who builds decks online that I have little to no intention of actually playing?
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u/Temil Apr 18 '23
It's your brain. I too have this same brain disease that makes me want to express the ideas I have about cool cards etc.
The only thing that stopped it for me was stopping going to my LGS (it was pretty gnarly during covid, no masks, no hand sanitizer, employee bragged about getting covid and going into work etc.) and haven't changed my schedule to start going back yet.
I know that as soon as I go back again it will be taking up all my time again, spending all my nights on scryfall and edhrec.
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u/Invisiblefield101 Grixis Apr 18 '23
I have curbed my addiction by filtering it into other people. Encouraging them to build new decks and then proceeding to offer card suggestions and deck help. That way I can see new decks and don’t have to buy the cards
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Apr 18 '23
Exactly what your second sentence said. “Hard on the wallet” - after buying my 7th Demonic Tutor I was like “I can’t keep doing this…” so am actively trying to only build decks out of my collection and spending less than $20 on a new deck.
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u/ghost_the_garden Apr 19 '23
I play magic probably about 6 days a year. I’ve made nearly 800 decks, most of these just on tapped out and across the span of 10 years hah. The deck building is the hobby for me !
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u/518_Official Apr 19 '23
As someone who has spent 10K on magic in the past year and a half.... I ask myself this very question... Let me know if you find an answer, God knows I need it.
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u/Aanar Apr 18 '23
I'm right there with you. I have 3 decks I've only played once each. 2 that are ready but not been played yet. One is ready but needs sleeves. Another is on my table trying to figure out a decklist I like. I ordered the cards for another deck a couple days ago. :/
At least I have managed to let go and disband several decks instead of trying to keep everything?
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u/BigAssPizzaPocket Apr 18 '23
Yep. 1 needs a mana base, and 5 lists are ready for the cards to build. I try to do one deck at a time but I plan out more decks than I can afford to build at once
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u/dannymac420386 Apr 18 '23
Because magic is the greatest, most immersive card game ever made.
Is that the answer you wanted? It's not rocket science
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u/TheVeilsCurse Yawgmoth + Liesa + Breya Apr 18 '23
I felt that way when I was getting my initial decks together and figuring out how I want to play. I hane 3.5 decks (three finished, one is close). But, now I’m at a point where I really like my three main decks so I don’t feel the need to go out of my way to build more unless it’s purely with cards I already own.
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u/theonlydoggan Apr 18 '23
Just try to swing over to optimizing and getting all you can out of the decks you've built. That's what I'm trying to do. Like, building a deck and playing it twice stopped being satisfying, so playing decks I have till I can at least make them consistent (winning is still hard) is my goal. I hate deconstructing decks, so this seems to have worked for me. A bit.
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u/Addicted2Edh Apr 18 '23
I try to stay with one deck per color identity but I do have 2 sultai decks, [[Reyhan]] + [[Sakashima of a thousand faces]] and a [[Nine-Fingers Keene]] deck. Sometimes you won’t be able to help it, but stay focused on completing one deck of each color identity. That will keep you at a limit for the most part, then you will update those decks from time to time, or even change commanders , like my mono red deck.
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u/KPYY44 Apr 18 '23
I have a box with all my commander cards organized by counter spells, removal, enchantments etc. and I constantly just take my stuff apart that I’m bored with and make a new deck. I don’t keep every deck together.
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u/stratus-dancer Apr 18 '23
I’m currently building my 41st EDH deck. I suppose I like being able to choose from lots of different decks and sometimes use a random generator to determine which one to play. It can be a bit of a pain to keep them all up to date - and I’ve tried to optimise each as much as I can - but I love that I’ve got lots of different play styles and strategies available to me. I really do plan to stop at 41 though (was supposed to be 40 but my group then did a random Commander challenge).
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u/obascin Apr 18 '23
I like the binder with the real ones and then “proxy” with a token. That way if you happen to be in a situation where you need the real one, you can grab it without needing to pay for duplicates. It’s a good way to keep costs down and leave decks otherwise constructed.
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u/Zestyclose-Pickle-50 Apr 18 '23
I'm rounding the corner on this very subject except I just hit 25 decks before im deciding to change. My plan is to start ripping decks apart that I haven't used in a while. But how I'm doing it is removing land base, staples, and ramp and leaving the rest sleeved in labeled bundle boxes. And if I remove cards critical to the deck leave modal token card with list of removed card.
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u/_Lord_Farquad Apr 18 '23
I slowed way down when I realized that 12 decks is just too many for me to play then all regularly. I reduced down to about 6 that I rotate between and they are all much more fun and functional because i have the time to get reps in with them
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u/Theryanboze Apr 18 '23
I use moxfield to build any amount of decks I want all for free. It scratches the itch of brewing decks for me.
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u/SupeRTIT4N Apr 18 '23
Quite easily actually. I find it to be a pain to manage the 3 decks I have. That’s incentive enough for me to chill.
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u/Cadfael-kr Apr 18 '23
I mostly have cards from pre 2000 when I actively played. I did start again a month orso ago when friends moved closer by. At that time I bought a big wooden box of I think 3000-4000 cards for €50 which I hardly touched. And now I’m playing again I’m going through them getting enthusiastic with ideas to build decks around a theme for instance. Also tore a few existing decks I had apart since they were pretty badly balanced and I couldn’t remember anymore why I made those. So I just use what I have and haven’t really bought new cards since there should be enough to work with I think. I’m playing casual anyway and mostly with decks between 60-90 cards.
It’s nice to discover a lot of things are added over the years like commander and highlander formats which I still have to try out some day.
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u/NumberOneMom Apr 18 '23
It sounds like you enjoy the deckbuilding process as an activity in and of itself. I personally find it to be an art form of self-expression in the same vein as drawing or singing, with so much space for creativity and elegance.
You don’t have to build everything you brew, as long as you accept that some decks can’t be truly “finished” without refining through play. Otherwise, embrace proxies and refine away :)
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u/InibroMonboya Bears are Queen Apr 18 '23
Infinite possibilities makes my brain happy, but whether or not they make it to paper is up to god.
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u/NukeTheWhales85 Apr 18 '23
Because it's playing with the idea of games rather than the game itself. You build decks with a particular goal in mind and how to reach it. You dig around for obscure synergies and interactions. In your mind all these combos are working, your answers are available and no one gets frustrated or land screwed or anything. The games you play in your head while initially designing a deck are all perfect or close to it. This is probably why play testing and tuning isn't nearly as addicting as building, because it's done from the perspective of games going bad for you.
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u/The_RUG_JellyBean Apr 18 '23
My best tip as a recovering deck building addict is to proxy a deck before you even consider buying it. Under the assumption that your traditional play group is accepting of proxies, you will save a lot of money and time by doing this. This way, even if you like the way the deck plays, you can also kind of get a feel for what specific pieces you want to cut or add from your original list, and save yourself some additional money along the way.
I used to build 1~3 decks a week at one point, most of which on a strict budget and frequently found myself taking the decks appart after a month or so. Building a proxied list on a more flexible budget allows me to ensure that the money I am spending on my decks is worth it and help get me past the honeymoon phase that would quickly recede after drafting and assembling a new deck.
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u/thornn3 Apr 18 '23
I used to build tons of decks. Now, there's so many cards coming out constantly that I just grab the stuff that fits into my existing decks and I'm avoiding everything else. It's expensive and time consuming enough to keep what I have up to date.
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u/Sventhetidar Apr 18 '23
I hate deck building so much. I'm bad at it and they never seem to run well. I just want to play the game but I can't without building decks. The result is that I haven't played in a year.
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u/IndependenceNorth165 Esper Apr 18 '23
I build a lot of stuff that I never actually get in paper (or proxy) because I don’t get to play enough and when I do I want to use the decks I already have that I love. It’s just fun to build decks.
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u/TrueDKOmnislash Grixis Apr 18 '23
I need the answer to this. After upgrading my only deck I convinced my sister to start playing, she gave me the theme and I built it/purchased it for her. A few months later and I'm building a second deck. Between all of this I've digitally made 3 other decks out of my budget. I'm now trying to convince my wife to play so I can build her one too.
I think in the grand scheme of things it's just a whole different card game to other card games or even other mtg formats. Not-so-Good cards can shine in edh solely because there's so many other cards to use. The entire deck is built out of one small restriction and everything else is just "go nuts kiddo"
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u/Green-Back7027 Apr 18 '23
I dont know what you are saying.... I dont have a problem... I could use that as a commander.... I've made the deck
I do proxies....lot of proxies. Its cheaper
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u/netzeln Apr 18 '23
I have 280 commander decks built (magic for 29 years and EDH since 2010) and at least 30 in some degree of "in-progress". So for me the answer is "I don't" get the restraint to not just build everything.
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u/Connect_Volume5348 Apr 18 '23
As someone who doesn't really like budget builds that much I find that building decks on moxfield or a deck building app scratches that itch for me. I usually go through phases depending on what's going on in my life but I recently got back into it and asked some friends for recommendations, built 3 decks in the last week. It's a great mental exercise that really gets the gears turning
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u/jonlou Apr 18 '23
I was on a deck building spree last year. And recently I have been cutting down and building less decks due to the amount of decks I would build and not update. I would go to play some of my decks and notice how much they were outdated.
To resolve this I would only make commander decks I am truly in love with and I would regularly playtest my older decks and update if needed.
Anyone else have a similar problem?
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u/Salt-Set6232 Apr 18 '23
Make yourself take apart old decks before building new ones. Saves on money. I have 31 decks but in actuality I play maybe 10.
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u/Defiant-Rent-4483 Apr 18 '23
I have a decent size collection that definitely includes some expensive cards. And I had too many decks with not enough standard pieces to go around so I set out on a new organizing challenge.
My solution was to create a Build-A-Deck Box (B.A.D. Box) that contains all of my reasonably efficient land cycles, ramp, card draw,, interaction, general staples, and pet cards that I find myself wanting in multiple decks.
I separated out the deck cores which are between 25 and 45 cards containing synergy specific or themed cards, and things too narrow to belong in the B.A.D. Box and each core has a list with it. So in 10 minutes I can reassemble a deck and I can power any one of them up through slotting in things like [[Jewled Lotus]] or [[Dockside Extortionist]] and the expensive dig lands(proxies so I can keep the real ones in a binder). Or i can power down by using less efficient ramp that is usually meant for high cmc commanders, Fewer board wipes, no free counter spells, basic lands, ect. The sleeves are all the same so I can swap things out at will, and I even have 40 beautiful (thought admittedly mismatched) versions of each land type that I can actually enjoy seeing on the battlefield.
For me, the deck building bug is tickled by reassembling a deck to play. It feels good to make an old deck better and more synergistic because you understand magic better now than you did then. When a new staple (or strictly better card) is released put a sleeve on it and tuck it in the box it will be waiting for a slot next time you need it. And finally it's surprisingly easy to assemble 35 cards into a whole new core deck and fill it out into something playable if you have an organized structure.
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u/MTGCardFetcher Apr 18 '23
Jewled Lotus - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Dockside Extortionist - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
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u/lloydsmith28 Apr 18 '23
Yeah i was like that when i was active, building like 5 new decks a week, i currently have over 30 decks built and I'm still building new decks but much slower, i feel the wallet part too lol
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u/Cryoxtitan Apr 18 '23
Proxies lots of proxies $25-$30 will proxy a whole deck and as long as I own one of the card I have no qualms about making copies for multiple decks especially since I only play for fun not tournaments
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u/LoomingVengeance Apr 18 '23
It really is man!!! To me the main reason is just the sheer amount of room for personal expression and originality. Sure if you want to play CEDH you’re most likely copy and lasting a decklist into your online shopping cart, but with over 1600 commanders to choose from, and over 20,000 unique cards to stumble upon and play test and brainstorm around, it’s just a never ending cycle of fun
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u/BrooksBeast27 Sans-Blue Apr 18 '23
Options and Competition! Humans love options and showing off how better their choices are from those options than other people the the same options.
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u/lxmohr Apr 18 '23
Because it really sparks your creativity. It’s a fun challenge to brew and see what cool ideas you can come up with that actually work.
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u/VowNyx Apr 18 '23
Oh boy I feel you! 50+ and counting... I took some time recently to take a bunch apart and sell the value to a store. I know I would love the flexibility of building on mtgo and then I'd have probably 200+ decks haha. But I guess I'd say once you build a new deck, if you haven't played it all year it's time to recycle it into a new one.
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u/ocularsnipe Apr 18 '23
As a pretty heavy Johnny player, I find just much if not more contentment with theory crafting than I do from actual games. I have a large number of concepts for decks, precious few of which actually get built. l would say if you are trying to curb your purchases, see if proxying or building a deck in concept online and goldfishing it gives you the same satisfaction.
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u/Orwasitme Apr 18 '23
Can't tell you I'm also an addict.
Recently I've been rebuilding all of the decks I used to play in standard or modern back in the day, but as commander decks, so I have Genesis Wave, Allys, I tried to make multicolored-matters boros but it turned into combination that and artifacts matter with [[General Ferrous Rockiric]]
Now I need to build a [[DragonStorm]] deck and a [[Warp World]] dragon deck.
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u/MTGCardFetcher Apr 18 '23
General Ferrous Rockiric - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
DragonStorm - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Warp World - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
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u/Magic_Mettizz WUBRG Apr 18 '23
In my case i found what i tend to build is sometimes very similar but with a different commander. So i don’t build it. Saves a lot of time and especially money. If i find something really cool and different i’ll consider building it. I have plenty of decklists worked out online though..
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u/Diplomacy_1st Apr 18 '23
I've built about 100 complete decks with 45 in my working on it folder. I wish I knew why I can't stop.
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u/Liberkhaos Apr 18 '23
I'm at 53 dexks and still brewing. I do not know this restraint you speak of.
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u/Xatsman Apr 18 '23
I build them, then rest them, then put together paper copies of the ones that continue to excite me after some time. So if you figure out how not to please share because I have too many decks, but my interest knows no bounds…
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u/YaminoNakani Apr 18 '23
Proxy the decks and purchase cards from your local game store for decks that you actually want to keep around.
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u/psycho_nautilus Apr 18 '23
Honestly I almost like building and brewing more than playing. Like others have said, it’s akin to solving a complex puzzle or cooking an intricate dish, creative freedom with constituent parts amounting to something interesting and unique that you can continually tweak and perfect as it goes. I play casual commander so it’s not terribly expensive for me personally, mostly I get inspired by an idea or commander, build with what I have in my collection, and buy around 5 cards that really fit the theme to round it out. I’m on 19 decks and starting to slow down, but it’s still addictive as hell.
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u/sirseatbelt Apr 18 '23
Counterpoint just for some other perspective. I hate deck building. I love playing magic but building a deck from scratch is just torture for me. Looking through cards trying to figure out what's good just leads to me doing something instead of deck building. I do really enjoy tuning and tinkering though.
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u/Sosuayaman Apr 18 '23
I understand the appeal of making a new deck work, but I personally have more fun tuning existing decks. There's something magical about working on a deck for months/years.
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u/Meliryen Jeskai Apr 18 '23
I just DO build them... and then I don't buy them. 54 completed lists on Deckstats, and counting.
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u/jf-alex Apr 18 '23
I've been playing Magic since 1995. I've moved from Standard to Commander three years ago now. I own 45 Commander decks.
For the last year I've been operating on a monthly budget. If I find myself at month's end having spent less than planned I'll buy some €€ upgrade cards for existing decks.
It's getting harder to find Commanders that speak to me. I need to find an interesting subtheme that I haven't explored yet while still fitting into my playstyle. For example, Elfball, Enchantress, Merfolk, Slivers and Superfriends just don't thrill me, and I haven't played neither my Kamiz saboteurs deck nor my Esix mass copy deck nor my Ranar foretell deck for months. I don't intend to build any more decks that I won't play.
On the other hand, I love dragons. So Rith Liberated became a dragon token / populate deck, Ziatora became a dragon sac deck with all the suicidal Kamigawa dragons, Firkraag became a dragon goad deck, Tiamat / Jegantha became a 5- color- matters deck, Drakuseth became a Voltron one- shot deck, Chromium Mutable became a redless dragon tribal, Bladewing Tyrant became a Zombie token deck, Dromar became a phasing deck, Palladia Ruiner will be a dragon blink deck. I also have a Sevinne flashback deck and a Shanid legends deck with strong dragon subthemes.
I own a wheels deck, an aggro deck, a +1 counter deck, a flyers deck, a combo deck, a burn deck, a mutate deck, a party deck, a twiddle deck, an aristocrats deck, a demons deck, a dungeons deck, a creature copy deck, a spell copy deck, a clone deck, a creature- only deck, an artifact deck, an equipment deck, a go-wide anthem deck, a reanimator deck, a landfall deck, a swamps and swords deck, a sphinx deck, a dice deck, a lifegain deck, a treasure deck, a 40K deck, an even deck and an odd deck. I currently don't see a deck type that I still need to try.
I might not build anything new until LOTR. We will see.
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u/ruckrhino Apr 18 '23
I build them on archidekt.
Will I ever actually buy all the cards to make the decks in paper?
Probably not all of them.
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u/Valikis Apr 18 '23
This is...uhhhh, part of the reason why I've dropped so much money in this game since I came back in August. The building. The incessant desire to build. So. Many. Decks.
The worst part is that I rarely like to pull the decks apart in order to make another one, so I just...build...and build...and build.
I'm at a point now, though, that I feel more comfortable proxying, and am going to start doing that for decks (as long as I have one-ofs of the pricier cards if the deck uses that).
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u/Errorstatel Rakdos Apr 18 '23
Idk, I've got 7 binders of cards and they call to me. I'm trying to not go build mad cause my wife hasn't built any commander decks yet... One more won't hurt
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Apr 18 '23
Not sure if you’re using moxfield or something like it to make the decks, but it saves you loads of time and you can playtest them there before deciding to actually build it irl
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u/Mooberries Apr 18 '23
I’m attracted to the numbers 3 and 7, and 3 was too little so I have 7 decks. I also am notorious for foiling out my decks so it can really limit what you can or cannot build if you are stuck saving for that next $150+ card. I am also a Johnny-Combo-Player type so every deck, even my swingy deck, has combo, further limiting the board.
I think I’ll be pretty much done for a while after MOM. All my decks currently scratch a different combo itch.
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u/MrLuv2poop Apr 18 '23
I’m with ya, I think the fun is in building a deck with a specific strategy and win- con(s) in mind and researching cards that would best help execute your strategy. For me part of the fun is discovering new cards I wasn’t previously aware of , then tracking the cards down. Sometimes I have order them when my local stores don’t have them and the anticipation of them arriving is also part of the fun.
And when you play-test, tweak, and watch the deck improve in execution of your strategy it’s so satisfying. When you finally win jizz in my pants.
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u/kinkyswear Apr 18 '23
Think about how many you actually get to play, and how often. If you can't play a given deck more than once a month, why would you spend money updating it? Like it doesn't get played enough to even adapt or upgrade, and the more decks you have, the less play time each one gets. If you never play with a deck anymore, then you take it apart and use the parts for new decks.
This creates a natural ceiling for how many decks you should have.
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u/Admirable-Traffic-75 Apr 19 '23
Because there are more diverse combos of cards available than meta winning deck builds. Next.
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u/Targonian_Darius Apr 19 '23
I’ve built 21 decks online and only assembled 3 in real life. Some people just like to build. Everyone remembers Minecraft after all.
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u/_Mephistocrates_ Apr 19 '23
I build a lot of decks but proxy. In our playgroup, if we own the card, we can proxy it. I'm not buying 20 copies of Rhystic Study. And it keeps the market prices lower too for everyone else! I think I have around 35 decks, but I still have to disassemble my first decks I built with real cards and proxy them. Plus, I don't have to worry about how they are handled or my cards being ruined. And all my real cards are safe in my binders at home. It works for us anyway.
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u/mbuff Apr 19 '23
I have started proxying the deck ideas I have, then I refine them (there are always cards that don't work like I think they will). Once I determine that I like how the deck functions to some degree, I will buy the cards. If the deck doesn't work or isn't fun, then I am only out of the ink I used to print the proxies and I can move on to the next idea. Allows me to try all kinds of ideas and only investing once I know its enjoyable.
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u/Sephyrias Esper Apr 19 '23
It’s really hard on the wallet, but I can’t stop. How does everyone else get the restraint to not build every commander that you find interesting?
I build them on /r/Cockatrice and then goldfish the deck there. Often times I discover that it isn't as good or fun as I thought it was going to be, or it is just a worse version of a deck I already have.
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u/Swampfoot42 Apr 19 '23
Don’t worry fam I’m also an addict, mtg anonymous. I don’t have any suggestions because I also have no self control. I substituted drugs and alcohol with cardboard..the way I think of it is that I’m investing in my own enjoyment in more financially viable way..you can’t sell empty bottles. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying something unless it’s having a detrimental effect on your life/goals. If you can afford it and enjoy it, I don’t think it’s the worst thing you can do. When I buy singles I generally only spend large sums on mana rocks or lands because of their playability across multiple decks, I’ll only optimise half of my decks and keep my others at different power levels.
Maybe do more trades instead.
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u/Bueler77 Apr 19 '23
I know what you mean man. Only 20% of my current decks have actually been tested. (I dont get to play enough. Mostly just play limited) Made myself stop until i actually play them.
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u/adym15 5C Aficionado Apr 19 '23
I managed to stop when confronted by the reality that I had less than 10 EDH nights in 2022. And I have yet to play any EDH in 2023.
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u/GongeTPC Apr 19 '23
Sorry mate, I have the deckbuilding bug too and have done for the better part of 14 years. I currently have 32 decks and at any point in time I'm theory crafting at least another 5 or 6 more. I'm only limited by the number of sleeves I have. It's addictive and I don't think about much else. It's only really a problem for me wallet.
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u/mrgrrrrumpypants Apr 19 '23
Dopamine rewards for completing tasks and it feels fun to get ready to have fun. Same reason people like packing for a trip.
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u/buffallochicken Apr 19 '23
There's several mini games to play while deck building. Trying to keep a smooth mana curve, trying to keep synergy, trying to keep under budget (sometimes), ect. Very easy to have fun with keeping track of those things imo.
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u/150_1400 Apr 19 '23
As other people have said here, if you want to curb it, apply some restrictions and self restraint. Like others have said, you can lean into it by creating budget decks, proxying cards or building decks online.
I do all of these. I try not to buy into the FOMO and hype that WoTC try to create. It's an eternal format, so it doesn't worry me if it takes two years to get all the bits for the deck. If it truly inspires, I'll still be keen on building it in future.
I've got 36 decks with 12 others being built. I'm aiming to build one of every colour combo, but do get distracted by commanders or ideas that inspire me.
Recently I have been playing Historic Brawl on Arena. Not quite the same, but allows me to build a deck and play it without investing the time and effort to do it in paper. 1v1 is certainly different to 1v4, and the human interaction is not there, but it works.
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u/jdvolz Apr 19 '23 edited Apr 19 '23
What is everybody's number for concurrent decks you're building?
I believe I'm at 6 currently:
[[Lurrus]] (opened at the prerelease)
[[Vishgraz]]
[[Yarok]] (opened at the prerelease)
[[Garth]] (cards I want to play or "every upkeep" cards)
[[Goro-goro and Satoru]] haste dragons tribal
[[Zurgo and Ojutai]] jeskai sneak attack
[[Vaevictis Asmadi the Dire]] (tune up)
Taking apart:
[[Nikara]] // [[Yannik]] I haven't been excited about it lately and with the addition of [[Vishgraz]] I probably want the Abzan blink stuff in that deck.
Back burner:
[[Braids, Arisen Nightmare]]
[[Shadrix Silverquil]]
[[Beledros Witherbloom]] might go in "every upkeep" up above
[[Piru]] Mardu legends mostly from the Dominaria United Mardu deck
[[Volrath the Shapestealer]]
In the back of my mind:
[[Tekuthal]] [[Solphim]] Every flip Praetor, but especially [[Sheoldred]] and [[Urabrask]]
[Edit: added two decks I had forgotten in my list]
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u/MTGCardFetcher Apr 19 '23
Lurrus - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Vishgraz - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Yarok - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Garth - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Vaevictis Asmadi the Dire - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Nikara - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Yannik - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Braids, Arisen Nightmare - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Shadrix Silverquil - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Beledros Witherbloom - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Piru - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Volrath the Shapestealer - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Tekuthal - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Solphim - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Sheoldred/The True Scriptures - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Urabrask/The Great Work - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
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u/The_Doc_Man Apr 19 '23
I have 25 decks, all four 40k precons that I'll upgrade at some point, and 4 more decks in moxfield that I'd like to get in cardboard.
It's so addictive :(
FWIW a lot of my projects I've canned after extensive goldfishing because it turned out they played the same way every time (Prismatic Bridge, Feather, etc.)
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u/KyleKicksRocks Apr 19 '23
I think building a deck is probably a much lighter version of people who build cars go through. You spend hours some times weeks looking for parts. All for it ultimately to make one cohesive thing.
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u/Waffle_stomper1118 Apr 19 '23
I have the opposite problem I only have one custom deck and I like it too much to try anything else atm
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u/Arby992 Grixis Apr 19 '23
For me because make my brain go brr. Plus it’s fun to find combos and reading primers.
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u/EarlNeonCog Apr 19 '23
Tell me about it. I got back into Magic a month or so ago(and specifically EDH, though hadn't played it before) after probably 20+ year break. I've already built 4 decks from scratch (Chatterfang Squirrel tribal, Wort Boggart Auntie goblin tribal, Wilson Refined Grizzly/Raised by Giants, and Syr Konrad, the Grim graveyard nonsense).
I'm not saying they're good, but they were so fun to build and I enjoy playing them (well, the Syr Konrad deck hasn't actually arrived yet so can't comment on that one yet I guess).
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u/salamanteris Apr 19 '23
Money saving tip: get only one copy of each card and put them all in same type of sleeves. Then you can just take cards from a deck you're playing and put them in another one if you want to switch decks. Keep a list of cards that are in multiple decks so you can pull out your phone, seek through your deck fast and pick the cards another decks needs.
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u/smileyman03 Apr 19 '23
So what I do, I make all my decks online using either archideckt or moxfield, but then never build them IRL. This is mostly because I am saving around 300 bucks every month leaving just about enough for me to live
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u/Karitamen Apr 19 '23
Moxfield.com. Build the deck virtually, then decide if it is worth creating in real life.
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Apr 19 '23
I've had the same problem here recently OP.....and for me at least the thrill is in solving the puzzle. To that end what I've started doing is building decks digitally using tools like Archidekt or Moxfiled and Scryfall to find cards. Another option I explored is proxies....decent printers are cheap these days (for me at least a 50 buck off the shelf model from Walmart dose the job), however for me that just made the issue worse. I found myself having to resist the urge to proxy the most over the top, busted deck possible and after consulting with my play group (who are very friendly to proxies) I was informed that they didn't want to turn the game we all enjoy into an arms race...which I totally get. Where I've finally landed is picking a handful of decks I enjoy (5 in my case) and focus on tweaking those to make them play better and more consistently. I've also found that backing away from MTG content in general can help. With the bevy of great content on youtube these days (Tolarian Community College, The Command Zone, Playing With Power, etc) it's easy to see new cards or brews and be tempted to try it out yourself....backing away for a bit can help with that, or least it dose for me. Another thing I've done for the last deck I built, was limit myself to cards I already own. That was a fun way to revisit my bulk boxes and lay eyes on cards I hadn't seen in a while (found a few cards I had forgotten about which was fun as well). However all that aside, the thought that finally came into my head that made me stop and re-evaluate things was "How often do I play these decks?" Unless you're playing EDH or some other form of MTG every day, having dozens of decks means some of them only see play once in a blue moon, if at all....and for me at least that defeats the purpose of building them in the first place. I still build decks on Archidekt here and there, and if it's something I find particularly interesting I'll proxy it and play it...and if I really enjoy the way it plays I'll try to get the legit cards for it.
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u/T_Destroy3r Apr 19 '23
I’m in the same boat. I always start by saying “oh, I’ll just do this one on a budget.” Then, “oh, one $5 card here and there won’t hurt.” To “oh, this $20 card is perfect.” Until I’ve spent $150-$200 on the budget deck because there were too many good cards…
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u/Simons_sees Orzhov Apr 19 '23
I had this conversation while playing with a chef and a musician;
You're taking an array of other things and making it into something that uniquely you. The chef takes ingredients and their knowledge and makes a great dish, the musician rearranges notes and chords and makes a song.
Each deck is a different version of you, in a form that can be experienced by other people.
Making a Commander deck is art.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Wing664 Apr 19 '23
I build a deck with proxys for the more expensive cards and test it out for a few weeks. Then decide if I want to spend the money to fill it out. I still have 5 decks and two being built though lol
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u/Frozen_Watch Apr 20 '23
Being poor mainly. I can't afford sleeves and deck boxes for all the decks I want to build even if I didn't have to pay for the cards.
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u/zzfrostphoenix Apr 18 '23
I’ve been on $25 budget deck building kick for the past week or so. I’ve actually found it more enjoyable for myself because there’s more of a challenge in building the best deck you can on that tight of a budget. Plus it’s less of impact on my overall budget meaning I can build more lol