Dies to Removal

Mardu is fine. It crushes UW Heroic, Abzan, and other non-devotion green decks. It's flexibility is perhaps it's greatest strength.

believe he was talking about the modern list I've been working on.

Mardu is fine. It crushes UW Heroic, Abzan, and other non-devotion green decks. It's flexibility is perhaps it's greatest strength.

believe he was talking about the modern list I've been working on.

That makes a lot more sense.

Mardu in std is gas no doubt.

I've been doing really well with it. First or second everytime basically. Bored with standard.

Play in more relevant events then.

Jeskai tokens takes down the invitational convincingly. It's that or Mardu for me.

I expect to see a lot more Bile Blights now.

Could GB Constellation move into position here? Between Bile Blight and Doomwake Giant that deck is well equipped to beat tokens, and I feel like it's stronger against Abzan and Sultai Whip.

Doomwake and Bile Blight are certainly good cards against tokens, but the power of that deck is its ability to come out of nowhere through all the looting, draw, and conditionally free spells (tap 4 tokens, cast stoke the flames, trigger ascendancy, untap my creatures, they grow, loot, deal 4 to target of my choice is just absolutely disgusting). It's playing on an axis no other Standard deck is capable of. I'm biased since it's what I'm on right now, but I don't know how it hasn't been named THE best deck in the format.

Its SB also matches up really well against most of the cards that attempt to disrupt its strategy.

Who thinks it isn't the best deck?

Play in more relevant events then.

That's the problem. No big events here until January and I don't have the time / extra money / gumption to travel every weekend for magic. That's basically what it would take for me to make it to the next level. I'm fine with just being a FNM hero for now.

Eh, the article is overly-dismissive. It's possible to "play to win," but also feel that something is cheap, not fun, too good, etc. We see it all the time in magic. This very last rotation came with a sigh of relief that Mono U/Mono B were going to die by pretty much every professional player. We even see objectively great players choosing not to play the objectively better decks. Is Kibler a scrub for playing Temur? Is Tom Ross a scrub for playing red aggro in a format with Thragtusk and Restoration Angel when that deck couldn't top 8 for like a year?

Being a scrub isn't inherently bad, it's just the authors term for competitive players who deliberately disadvantage themselves dye to personal bias. By that definition, yes, they're both scrubs. Ill note that neither had success during their period of forcing bad decks though; Kibler hasn't been relevant in years and Ross came to light after rotation.

Are people who aren't pros but try to brew new decks scrubs then? The reason I mentioned Black and Woods is because they brew when there isn't a deck they like. Were we scrubs last year when we worked on Boros Burn? (tone should be read as sincere, not snarky or sarcastic).

Being a pro is not relevant. Brewing isn't relevant - new decks or improvements can be found.

Being a scrub is about playing something you know isn't good, or refusing to play something you know is better for personal reasons.

Sam Black isn't a scrub, he tries to build decks that are the best. When he can't he plays tier decks. Conley is a scrub, he builds decks to be cool or different. Boros Burn was designed to be competitive and to take advantage if the meta, which as discussed in the article, is textbook playing to win.

Don't get caught up thinking about being creative being valuable; creativity only has value insofar as new ideas can lead to competitive advantage. Being creative is unrelated to being a scrub.

If there was a teir deck I liked at all, i'd play it, but there isn't. That led me to try to create my own deck from cards that I know are good. Guess I'm a scrub by their definition. I'm ok with that. I've finished second in my last two modern events, which to me means the deck shows promise. I think I can make those firsts with more tuning. I'll keep working on it.

I don't think you understand the article.

Searching for new ideas is playing to win; you're trying to best what people are doing. This is something that should be encouraged and taken advantage of.

Building a deck within a set if self imposed limitations isn't creative; it's just an exercise in self appeasement.

If your goal is to have fun, you should do whatever maximises having fun.

If your goal is to win, you should do whatever maximises your chance of winning. Trying new things can improve your chance if winning; deciding to play a deck you *know* is inferior doesnt help you improve and doesn't improve your chances to win.

My issue is that you know you're playing an inferior deck, then complain if you lose.

What makes you a scrub is that you knowingly don't maximize your chances to win through either self delusion or wilful ignorance.

I'm a scrub.

I don't like the word scrub for that. "Scrub" is almost a derogatory word. What you guys are describing is someone who knows exactly what he's doing: playing a bad deck the best he can. That's just someone who's not being competitive, but he knows it and acknowledges it. He plays as well as he can without expecting to take the top prize or even top 8. He's just having fun and seeing how far he can get. That's ok. That's even encouraged.

When I hear the word "scrub," I think of someone who pilots a bad deck because he thinks his brew is extra special and can compete with the tier one decks. Someone who wishes he was competitive, but doesn't understand what he's doing wrong. Someone who always blames his losses on bad draws or bad shuffles or something other than his bad deck and his bad play.

I play Jank Ass Clerics in Legacy events. I'm not expecting to win anything. I don't have the delusion that I'm competitive. I'm there to see how far I my deck can get and to learn how to make it better within the constraints I have. I do get a special thrill when I see good, expensive decks fall on their faces to me because the pilot doesn't know how to handle something out of the ordinary. I'm not a scrub because I'm not trying to be a pro player. I don't need my "Magic Career" to pay off. It's a hobby.

^This!

You're all scrubs

Dirty dirty scrubs

unless you played JTMS in Standard from his Worldwakes release to his banning then you're a scrub... even if you started playing mtg after that

The get out of scrub free card is Rev, if you played Rev and regularly cast it for the rest of your deck then you're also not a scrub

flipping a Huntmaster to kill a Delver is also acceptable

Final exception to your scrub status... you have championed a Bitterblossom with Mistbind Clique in Standard

But if you've ever asked "can I play X instead of Tarmogoyf" then I deny your parole

METAL!

PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS IN THE AIR!

How do I embed videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tf4MjK0hGo

Use tags and, but avoid https://

It's really hard for me to pick a deck to play when I like all of them but Abzan.

Is not knowing how to use youtube tags scrub behavior? What if Purp messes them up for fun? Sirlin doesn't cover this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tf4MjK0hGo

Get wrecked, n00b.

Such embed

Current EDH decks: Animar, NivMizzet, Prime Speaker, and Nin
Pauper: Vampire Nighthawk Voltorn and Young Peezy

Is not knowing how to use youtube tags scrub behavior? What if Purp messes them up for fun? Sirlin doesn't cover this.

Purp's a scrub regardless of forum navigation skills

Sorry Purp

Scrub (adj) - Someone who uses Microsoft Paint to create a forum signature.

-see also: Kaitscrat