Thursday Thirteen: The laws of a sucessful deck

I don;t usually do the thursday 13 thing, but today i can actually think of something i can list to 13! Go me! In the life of any card-flopper you're going to learn differrent aspects of the game you play to see certain degrees of sucess. The following are my tips or "Laws" of VS System Deckbuilding.

Law #1
Have a good idea.

what do you want to do? Want to make Juggernaut absolutely ginormous? maybe Exploit Clash of 2 worlds?
Give yourself a goal and then work around achieving that end. however note: "beating everyone" isn't really an applicable goal when trying to get the most synergy out of your cards.

Law#2
Have a strategy valid for the format.

Maybe you have the perfect combo, and then find that one card.... and a popular card at that, completely destroys you. Sometimes a good idea needs to sit on a shelf until the metagame isn't as hateful towards your strategy.
(Injustice gang lex luthor VS venom Burn anyone?)

Law#3
Run Plenty of searchers.

4 searchers isn't enough these days. Deckthinning tactics can reatly help as well, but i personally look for at least 6 dedicated searchers in any deck i build.

Law#4
Have a win condition

So you have a perfect stall... but how do you plan to finish the job? On several occasions i've found intuitive, imaginative combos that don't actually help me win games. It is important to learn and identify these and give your deck a closing play.

Law#5
Don't try to do everything.

I know, you want to completely dominate your opponent. Negating their pumps and controlling their board, and stopping their effects. However, the game isn't called, Make your enemy cry like a little bastitch... it's VS. And as the Versus aspect of the game entails, you just have to leave room to the fact, that you will face strategies you simply have not accounted for.
6 searchers, 8 negators, 8 control cards, 4 effect hate, 4 utility, 8 defensive, and 6 anti rush is great support... leaving you a curve of only 16 character cards. Hope you aren't running loyalty!
On the other side of the same coin, having too few of cards that play an integral role in a teams strategy is also something to avoid. i mean really, who runs doctor doom with only 1 mystical paralysis?

Law#6
Know your weaknesses.

no team is perfect. In fact teams are often designed with planned flaws to offset any potential bustedness that R&D didn't plan for. Often times legacy content helps fill that void, but most times, some simple planning can really go the distance to help you cover thesed openings. These usually consist of "tech" cards that do not necesarrily help your deck perform its duties as much as covers any back doors your strategy may have.

Law#7
PLAYTEST,PLAYTEST,PLAYTEST

I would list it higher in the list if it didn't actually require a completed deck to perform. I cannot stress this enough. You bought the cards, you've put in the time to build it. and newsflash kids, 2 games isn't going to be an accurate representation of a decks overall performance.
In the days of the Pro Circuit, the players that consistently placed, tested HUNDREDS of times with their creations, practically WILLING it into coherency and adding small tweaks after some serious deliberation and after repeated views of the metagame ahead of them. I personally feel that the magic number is 20. I don't know how many times i've seen an AMAZING build lose 1 or 2 quick matches due to bad luck, bad decisions, or an opposing godhand and then watch the creator rip the entire project apart and go back to formula.
This brings up my next point.

Law#8
LEARN from your losses

Ok. so you got OWNED.
Why?
A misplay on turn 3?
A card you hadn't planned for?
A synergy you feel you can't outpace?
You don't learn from winning games, you learn from losing them. Sometimes, it's a simple matter of a single card change to take that consistency and push it over the bar. Other times its actually playstyle. Was searching out that 4 drop really your best option? Would a different combo yield more positive results?

Law#9
All habits are bad habits

Bruce Lee said:
The perfect art, is no art.
the perfect form, is no form.
When an opponent knows your next 3 drops, you are immediately at a disadvantage. If possible, be diverse. Have that element of surprise at your disposal and don't be afraid to go for it. Perhaps perform a feint on an offensive initiative. (purposely not playing pumps to catch an unwary opponent off guard later) or purposely miss or under-drop depending on an opposing strategy. This also applies to any ticks, twitches, or repetitive motions you do while playing. The bluff doesn't only apply in poker, you know. Keep things fluid and you'll do fine.

Law#10
Play the Meta. Not the Man.

This law rings true in most competitive formats. Sure you REALLY want to beat that jerk with the big mouth and the ebayed deck, but in most cases, specializing against one particular match-up will yield more dead cards in another. Besides, trust me, that guy's day is coming. And you have the element of surprise after all.

Law#11
Never overstock a "one-of" card

Some cards aren't meant to be used in bulk. Not as long as you have a means to fetch it. Cards like:
Professor Emil Hamilton <> Ruin
Black Manta
Alfred
At your Service
These can all fetch very situational answers to some very pressing needs. Being mindful of your "tech space" can mean the difference between a win and a loss.

Law#12
Test bad draws

Off initiatives, bad starting hands, even difficult "what-if" situations can be very helpful and yield surprising results in testing. After all, testing isn't meant to show how a "god-hand" can win. It's meant to give you practice at the uphill struggles your deck will face. The bad draw, the wrong initiative, that one worst matchup. All of these in testing, can grant tremendous insight towards avoiding that "If only i had played "THAT" card instead." tale of woe.

Law#13
Play enemy decks

Be the enemy. Play using the decks you expect to face.See the decisions behind that stall that gives you grief for yourself. What cards do you find they rely on? Is there a lynchpin it requires? Knowing what makes a deck succeed, also gives you the keys to defeating it.


Well that's it for now.

-Peace.