Teamwork in Deck Construction

After critiquing as a team, each card does more.

*Thought Reflection* illustrated by Terese Nielsen & Ron Spencer

We are a little more than halfway through the eighth season of Fantasy Standard. Some decks have been dominant throughout the season, while others have been successful despite that dominance. Few have reached the alluring 4-0 or 3-0 without help, so let’s look at what’s been supporting our players through to their ticketed victories.

Why Make a Team?

Teams come with a variety of benefits, the most obvious being having someone to practice with. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent goldfishing decks, and while that is a sufficient way to gauge deck speed and understand specific interactions, this form of practice isn’t comprehensive. It is tough to estimate a deck’s resilience to interaction or, in the case of more controlling strategies, when it should employ interaction of its own. Playing against yourself can help you get a sense for these points of interaction, but playing two decks at once has its own problems. First, having perfect information can lead to biases in how you would play either side, affecting what conclusions you come to. Second, playing both sides splits your focus and can decrease play quality. While thinking about your opponent’s plays is helpful in determining your own, having an actual opponent will help you find the blind spots in your logic.

By working with a team, you can come to conclusions together through purposeful testing. Purposeful testing begins with asking questions, such as “What are the most important cards to resolve in the Azorius Control mirror?” or “What should I point my Skreds at in the Red Deck Wins vs. Persist Combo matchup?” Through collaborative analysis, play, and review, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your deck. You’ll then be more easily able to formulate plans to take advantage of those strengths and overcome those weaknesses by altering deck construction and/or altering play patterns.

Sharing these conclusions with others both saves them a lot of hassle and can lead to breakthroughs. If a certain deck idea or card choice just isn’t working no matter how you try to build it, notifying teammates of that “dead end” will save them the time and effort of attempting it themselves. At the same time, those teammates might recommend a card that you hadn’t considered, making the deck suddenly viable. With advice, remember to provide proper context when discussing your conclusions and be constructive in your criticism. You can read more about advice here.

Teamwork Paying Off

*Thistledown Duo* illustrated by Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai

After scouring the format’s card pool, one team found a unique way to attack the meta. They had realized that Grave Pact could keep boards clear, especially when combined with Hidden Stockpile. One member dove deeper into the removal plan, ensuring that it could keep the board small while waiting to draw Grave Pact. The other went for a more synergistic approach, looking to also be able to attack noncreature matchups. Both did well into fields of aggro and low-to-the-ground midrange, validating their analysis of the meta and securing them each a ticket right away.

Another team has taken a different approach, focusing on fitting many generically powerful cards together into one deck: Abzan Armageddon. By bringing roughly identical 75-card decks to a tournament, the members can share their experiences of what cards overperformed/underperformed after it’s over. Through this analysis, they refine their list for the next week, like going up to x4 Kitchen Finks or adding Loxodon Smiter. This has earned most of them a ticket or two.

Yet another team has yet another approach. Each member has specialized in an archetype, allowing for a new deck to run the gauntlet against each of those archetypes. This method of practice reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the new deck from a variety of perspectives and leads to developing general game-plans, such as patterns of play and/or sideboarding. Most members have earned a ticket.

Conclusion

After critiquing as a team, each card in the 75 does just a little bit more. There are more synergies, more smooth curve-outs, and ultimately more competitive results. Whether it’s through theory, experience, or a bit of both, working together as a team explores the bounds of the limited card pool and raises the ceiling of what’s possible in this format. Having a few people share your level of motivation can help you discover deeper conclusions about cards, decks, and even the format as a whole. At the end of the day, the Fantasy Standard community is all on the same team, and I’m excited to see what else we come up with before the end of Season 8!