If You Scholar, Not A Toy

I started this the way I usually do; via analysis at deckstats.net.

Then I started pulling cards out: Smoke, Uphill Battle were first, then I wanted to eliminate some of the more expensive cards. Hateflayer is a awesome card yet at seven mana I wasn't sure I was ever going to get to use it. I cut two.

I kept goldfishing hands that just had too much cost, with no way to reliably, consistently get there. So I cut more. But that left me with vacancies to fill: You still can't register a deck under 60 cards...

That's when I noticed the real problem: Longshots has no binding theme. It's just a 'red neat-ish stuff' deck. Not even Red Good Stuff. Neatish stuff.

So this deck is a mess. It's causing a bit of depression in me, to be honest. What was I thinking when I built this? Why did I even get this sleeved up?

I've started looking back at my binders of cards-so many interesting cards that I'm not using; why did I not put my energy there?

There are times when Magic is discouraging. Bad beats are probably the most common tales but that, I believe, is really just a variant on the most common characteristic of discouragement: That you wasted your time. All the effort and what do you come away with?

In this instance, I have a pile of 60 cards representing time and money and when I come back to it, I see...nothing. It's just terrible. I even considered dismantling the deck, which is something I have never done. I genuinely believe that some decks just need enough time and they will become worth something, because a new card will be printed or a new mechanic explored that just ~clicks~.

Occasionally, though, you have to make your own value, and I think this might be one of those times. So; what is this deck about? It's about desperation, about getting lucky about last stands...

Hm. Maybe it can be a theme deck. Ragtag heroes of legend appearing to make their desperate stand against stronger, more focused enemies. Craziness ensues! 

Alright. That gives me a core concept to build around. Even if it isn't a 'here's how I win' endgame, I have a direction to go in, not unlike when I was tweaking Frost Hammer. I also stumbled on a nice little combo between Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs and War's Toll while doing some online research. So I've got a place to go from here. Time to play the deck.

Finally, I'm headed on vacation for a bit, so the next update will be Tuesday the 19th!