I would consider Mike Long or Brian Weissman as the most influential deck builder in the history of Magic.
Weissman made the original and first true 'control' deck, that relied on card advantage, in fact -- he coined the term I believe. It influenced every Magic player at the time. Today, the concept of card advantage is so basic it's almost second nature. Weissman's deck and later articles on it are what really brought this idea to the masses of magic players. All control decks, and even the way cards are designed and developed now are influenced by this basic concept. Wafo-Tapa is good deck-builder... but not nearly as influential as Weissman.
Secondly, Mike Long created Pros Bloom (the first, real, combo deck. One that could cycle through the entire deck, play a bunch of spells, and 'go off'. He also later created long.dec, one of the most influential and broken Vintage decks of all time, likely the deepest combo deck, with innumerable paths to victory, the best and most demanding Storm deck of all time.
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"I have seen the true path. I will not warm myself by the fire—I will become the flame."
—Lim-Dûl, the Necromancer
You seem to be Wafo-Tapa's biggest fan, RedKarpenter. I seem to remember other threads you've started about him. Although he is a great deck builder, I would go with:
Alan Comer - father of lower land counts in Legacy by means of using cantrips. Also pioneered Reanimator strategies as well as MiracleGro.
Erik Lauer - Necropotence pioneer and a key reason why counterspells are printed differently today.
Zvi Mowshowitz - maybe the best deck-builder of all time. He was always able to see the format as a whole, and create/tune the best deck to beat it.
You seem to be Wafo-Tapa's biggest fan, RedKarpenter. I seem to remember other threads you've started about him. Although he is a great deck builder, I would go with:
Alan Comer - father of lower land counts in Legacy by means of using cantrips. Also pioneered Reanimator strategies as well as MiracleGro.
Erik Lauer - Necropotence pioneer and a key reason why counterspells are printed differently today.
Zvi Mowshowitz - maybe the best deck-builder of all time. He was always able to see the format as a whole, and create/tune the best deck to beat it.
i mean i just like his mastery of control decks....
but i guess just being good at control doesn't make you the best..i assume thats why alot of you didnt mention him in your posts...is it cause he is just 1-dimensional?
Being a great control deck builder is one thing, but being versatile in the archetypes you create is another. I think the truly great deckbuilders have all demonstrated tremendous range in the decks they've built. That is why I chose the three people on my list.
Weissman made the original and first true 'control' deck, that relied on card advantage, in fact -- he coined the term I believe. It influenced every Magic player at the time. Today, the concept of card advantage is so basic it's almost second nature. Weissman's deck and later articles on it are what really brought this idea to the masses of magic players. All control decks, and even the way cards are designed and developed now are influenced by this basic concept. Wafo-Tapa is good deck-builder... but not nearly as influential as Weissman.
Secondly, Mike Long created Pros Bloom (the first, real, combo deck. One that could cycle through the entire deck, play a bunch of spells, and 'go off'. He also later created long.dec, one of the most influential and broken Vintage decks of all time, likely the deepest combo deck, with innumerable paths to victory, the best and most demanding Storm deck of all time.
—Lim-Dûl, the Necromancer
Nassif is a genious too.
GB [Primer][Competitive][Stax][Combo] Meren of Clan Nel Toth 95% RETIRED
UW [Primer][Competitive][Combo][Stax] Brago, King Eternal RETIRED
BR Rakdos, Lord of Riots (75%)
G Titania - 75%
W SRAM - Welcome to the cheeri0s jam 95%
U Teferi - stax 100%
R Neheb - janky mono red eggs combo 90%
B Gonti - 50% valuetown
EDIT: After additional discussion with a couple users, I have decided to open this thread back up.
Draft my cube! (630 cards)
Alan Comer - father of lower land counts in Legacy by means of using cantrips. Also pioneered Reanimator strategies as well as MiracleGro.
Erik Lauer - Necropotence pioneer and a key reason why counterspells are printed differently today.
Zvi Mowshowitz - maybe the best deck-builder of all time. He was always able to see the format as a whole, and create/tune the best deck to beat it.
i mean i just like his mastery of control decks....
but i guess just being good at control doesn't make you the best..i assume thats why alot of you didnt mention him in your posts...is it cause he is just 1-dimensional?