When I was invited back to these forums, I looked forward to sharing my decklists with others here. However, after posting a couple and getting minimal responses, I'm wondering what the point is. I'm proud of my decklists and have spent a fair amount of time tuning these decks, so to take the effort to post it up in the multiplayer decklist forum and receive little to no feedback is disheartening. Are people here just not interested in other folks' decklists or what?
Are people here just not interested in other folks' decklists or what?
I look at and analyze a lot of decklists, but I rarely have meaningful feedback unless it's a field I'm particularly proficient in (read: mono-black). I post lists primarily for posterity anymore.
I'm also very lazy and after one too many high-effort posts that went unanswered I just kinda stopped unless it's a big, active thread.
It's less about that and more about this place overall being dead as all hell compared to what it was in the past..
Also this. Frankly, there are increasingly fewer and fewer places to get meaningful feedback on decks as the balkanization of the Magic community between Reddit, Facebook, tappedout, and other places continues. The signal to noise ratio is pretty awful.
What the others said. Also unless a thread has "want feedback" or some such in it I only tend to click on the decklists I'm interested in. A lot of people put up lists more for documentation and record keeping than for active feedback so I don't tend to go through lists looking to actively give feedback unless it's requested. Also, if your lists are pretty tuned than aside from expressing some personal preferences I'm not sure there'd be a lot to critique? I'm sorry the response has been lukewarm... it really is quieter here than it used to be, edhrec has something to do with that too.
There is an element that the more tuned the deck is, the less likely that people will give feedback. It is a shame that more people don't just leave one line compliments to appreciate any effort that might have been done on the posters behalf. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a lone-wolf when it comes to responding to peoples decks.
Well, upon reading your comment I checked your decks out. I thought your Unesh list had quite some feedback, but maybe you expected a little bit more? Whenever one invests time into something it's quite common the expect at least some responses, I can understand that. But the amount one expects is certainly a very individual thing.
Anyway, I can understand your concerns to some extend. But then one has to remember a few things: There are only a "couple" of people on these forums that could give you the feedback you need for a very tuned decklist. You put a lot of thinking into your deck, so I guess other people need to think about your choices even more. But that feedback is only concerning the tuning of your deck. There are other options: praising the deck, simply giving a "high 5" for playing the same deck, etc.
What kind of feedback would you have liked to get?
Anyhow, more information about the deck (maybe adding some pictures, writing a story "why did I build it in the first place?", etc.) yields more comments as more people can join in to message you, not only the ones that give constructive advice on cards choices to make the deck more potent. That's at least reasonable claim, but please prove me wrong - I'm a long time lurker (very long time...) but I'm only starting to get involved in the forums now (at least from time to time). So my knowledge about all this is very limited and are more assumptions than anything else.
I remember there was a point where the same thing happened to me, I posted multiple decklists without getting any response. And I remember thinking "wtf, my decklists are sweet, why isn't anyone responding to them?"
And then I asked myself "How many decklists have I responded to while waiting for feedback?" The answer was zero. "Ah, ok. Makes sense."
Not sure if that's true for you as well, but something to keep in mind.
Anyway, I'll echo what others have said as well - unless it's a decklist I'm particularly knowledgeable about, or it's a total train wreck where I feel confident that my general-purpose magic knowledge will be helpful, I don't usually comment. Every once in a while I stumble upon a brew that I can tell is cool and interesting even without being familiar with the commander, and I might take an interest enough to dig into the list and offer thoughtful feedback or at least a compliment...but that's really really rare, especially since I don't usually click on lists unless it's a commander I'm familiar with or they're asking for help. Since my decklists are almost all pretty reasonably tuned, and also because I'm a hipster and rarely build the most popular commanders, feedback tends to be pretty scarce. But also, if I'm being honest, very little feedback is actually useful because 9 times out of 10 they're suggesting cards I've already thought about. Because it's really hard to offer constructive feedback in a format that has so many different decks.
What kind of feedback would you have liked to get?
Questions about the deck, I suppose? Compliments? Delight at seeing odd cards find a home in a cool way? Mostly the sort of feedback I get when I play the decks at my LGS, mostly. People there are always interested in my decks and vice versa.
I honestly don't feel qualified to leave feedback..but I think that's due to my anxiety, I've even attempted to make a primer for relentless rats but I gave up after typing it all up and posting it but I'll gladly go and take a look at what you have posted.
Well, i'd say give it some time. Your two threads have been up for just 4 days and a week.
In my experience comments can come in rather late. In my Traxos, Scourge of Kroog thread it took 18 days to get a reply, Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist took 53 days and Zada, Hedron Grinder a whopping 55 days. Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign comes with another disadvantage, being tribal. Tribal decks usually come with a certain set of creatures and support cards. Not a lot of room for exploration and excitement. I didn't get any feedback on my Ezuri, Renegade Leader list since putting it up mid January, either.
The few threads that don't dry out quickly are usually Primers or threads of writers that give extensive insight about the deck origin, card choices and actively work on mutual communication with readers. It'll propably take some effort to get it rolling, but hey, that's up to you.
As for myself, i only take extended looks at unusual commander choices or decks of members that came up with some intriguing thoughts somewhere else. I hope the latter is why comments started to come in recently for me, so embrace the thought of offering advice yourself. I'm always happy to see original suggestions and get encouraged to give some myself in return. The community thread is a solid place to get involved as well.
What kind of feedback would you have liked to get?
Questions about the deck, I suppose? Compliments? Delight at seeing odd cards find a home in a cool way? Mostly the sort of feedback I get when I play the decks at my LGS, mostly. People there are always interested in my decks and vice versa.
So, I have never posted a decklist up to now but get a lot of comments on my deck as well at our LGS. But those comments are, well, very personal to some extend. I have a very special playmat which is emotionally linked to my kids, and so I tell them my story and "how/why I build this deck". This usually leads to nice comments and well, a good quality conversation. So for me a good feedback is a good conversation starter. This is, more or less, the thing you said in a very specific case. So I can totally understand what you would have liked to hear.
But I guess, this is the internet and not a real life conversation (yeah stating the obvious, I know...:)). But I need to tell this myself many times whenever I drop by and check out some threads.
Also, you said something very important:
Quote from »
... and vice versa.
DirkGently pointed exactly this out. I usually show interest in other people's decks as well and hence, assuming the person I'm talking to doesn't lack basic social skills, they show interest in my stuff. But again, a real life conversation is much easier and "quicker" than one on the internet. It even took about 15min for me to write this up :p...
Anyway, I gladly check your decks out and leave a comment at some point;).
And echoing many of the other peeps here, i'd just say that for me, it's only something i'm gonna be commenting on if the decklist is interesting on some level. Like if someone managed to make a deck where the strategy is to skip all of the turns in the game to win. Or a mono black life-gain list. Or a mono white combo that involves drawing all the cards of the library.
Generally, i've seen a whole bunch of decks that are just middling-mid-ranged, 3 colour decks filled with like 60+ staples of those colours. Even things like group hug decks these days all look exactly the same. I don't think i've seen any genuinely clever or innovative decks in EDH in a pretty long time. I don't think it's got anything to do with you specifically, but more that i'm so jaded looking at deck lists that i just don't even bother generally.
I freely admit I only look at others' playlists when I'm looking for ideas to build the same commander myself.
Then again, I don't post my lists online either. I keep meaning to, but there's not much justification other than for documentation's sake, given the effort involved in writing a thought-for writeup of my decks. (...and if I start down that rabbit hole, well... see my signature.)
I'm far better at 'looking for more cards that are useful in situation X' or 'looking for commanders/builds that kinda do X' topics, heh.
It's also hard to critique anyone else's decklists at a glance, and I just don't feel like devoting a lot of time to actually go through the list. As said above, it's also very likely I'd suggest cards that the creator already thought of.
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I rarely check decklists. Not a lot of time these days.
But when I do, I don't typically comment unless it is a commander I am familiar with or if the poster is asking for help. In your two cases, I don't have much to say. I have never seen either commander. I assume you know what works better than I do.
Because the internet is at a point in which many people want all the attention but don't return it. Its like telling a joke and then laughing during the punchline (and being the only one that does). Things, not just magic related, have shifted to a "look at me" approach. Spotlight stealing/one upping. Or people that read your feedback and reject it without even a modicum of tact or respect to the time it took to provide.
Myself? I feel like I'm playing a different game from most, this awkward limbo of high and competitive where I'm too competitive for the casual table and too casual for the competitive. This coupled with my dedication to one wedge leaves me in the belief that my feedback may not be helpful to others - unless it's about Kaalia due to my rep with that commander.
When I was invited back to these forums, I looked forward to sharing my decklists with others here. However, after posting a couple and getting minimal responses, I'm wondering what the point is. I'm proud of my decklists and have spent a fair amount of time tuning these decks, so to take the effort to post it up in the multiplayer decklist forum and receive little to no feedback is disheartening. Are people here just not interested in other folks' decklists or what?
Firstly. I've never heard of you before, but checked some things out. Big ups for your contribution to the CAG.
I feel the same about putting in the effort of sharing, and not getting anything back. It has put me off going a step further and create a fully modelled primer.
For the threads i've started that didn't get any responses i just put it to personal preference. If the deck idea doesnt appeal to others, they naturally decline getting "on the train". For other decks, i just didn't bother. And with so many flavors of personal preference, power level and playstyle there often times is just not much to say.
I guess the best thing that can happen is for someone to "tag along" if you will. Or that you "hop on the train" and go on together or with a few others somewhere on the planet and brew/share/play/share together. I've had this experience when i was just starting to brew something and found out another person was doing the same sort of thing and just put a topic up. There is a mutual interest from the get-go which leads to great things. It's a blast
The ultimate feel good moment for me is when i sit down witgh my playgroup, play my own brew and it just does what it does and the others on the table compliment the deck/play for being awesome. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.
In the end, i don't think the Internet will ever be like this ever again and as others have stated before me, there is something inherently wrong with the way internet communities work these days.
What kind of feedback would you have liked to get?
Questions about the deck, I suppose? Compliments? Delight at seeing odd cards find a home in a cool way? Mostly the sort of feedback I get when I play the decks at my LGS, mostly. People there are always interested in my decks and vice versa.
A quick review of your recent posts indicates that you want a kind of interaction that you yourself have yet to offer to anyone else. I know that I'd personally feel inclined to reciprocate if someone were to take the time to discuss my deck with me. Though I haven't posted a decklist here yet, I'd recommend taking the time in the first post to discuss more of those interesting/old/niche cards of which you're proud. Speaking only for myself, some interactions or benefits aren't always so obvious just by looking at the list.
It's less about that and more about this place overall being dead as all hell compared to what it was in the past..
^this^
I am more often then not seeing people i recognize. You will have the occasional lurker pop up but overall, the decklist subforum is generally dead. This forum is also rather dead, topics will show up but nothing really gets hyped until the spoilers are released. Then it will die down until the next set is spoiled.
If you want feedback, you actively have to ask for it.
I often have an issue where I tend to prefer posting to commanders I have more knowledge on. I try to help out and ask questions where I can but I primarily play a lot of mono colored stuff that apparently most people don't like much. I post and update my decks in part for my own sanity and keeping track of what I am running.
I would assume we all have a tendency to read and post to other commanders that we have interest in which is part of the problem of getting others to see and give feedback on our decks. I honestly swung by your Angus list because I saw your name and remembered seeing it in Hoogland chat is about the only reason I even swung in lol.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
So I have been looking at various lists for a long time, and we all have access to things like EDHRec which allows you to see average decklists for commanders. I am just so jaded that when I see another Meren list, it can be hard for me to get excited - so I don't make commentary. New commanders are a bit different as they have not been fully explored yet (at least by my brain). I think you are also likely to see more commentary if you posit your list as something different. For example, back in the day I was intrigued by Edric lists, and I thought I knew the in's and out's, so I would check out various lists and make comments only if I saw new or interesting card choices. Then someone posted a Dredge Edric List calling it Dredgric, that drew my attention and caused me to comment and post on it more.
I guess what it boils down to, at least for me, is that if I see a finely tuned list, I just nod my head. But if I see someone playing Angus Spellslinger, I am more likely to get in there and comment, as that would be something intriguing.
Like many are saying, I’m more inclined to comment on decks or commanders that I’m familiar with.
For example, I have a Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign sphinx tribal deck. You use Unesh, who carries a lot of weight in my Yennet deck. But your Unesh deck is storm, which I have zero familiarity with, and is very unique. My comments would cover a very different strategy. If I wanted to create a blue storm deck, your list is likely a good place where I would start (and begin posting).
For your Angus deck, you kind of nailed it in your post - there have been a lot of Angus decks built, and while yours has a few choices that make the deck your own, this strategy (and commander) have been thoroughly discussed. I do not have a deck like it, so maybe if I wanted to build a fog-type deck I’d post on your list, but that’s not something I’ve done. And your post does not ask for help.
“just a fog deck like pretty much every Angus deck out there.”
“I don't have a ton more to say about the deck”
...then why should we?
If you’re looking for specific critiques, I’d include that in the title and you might get more of a response. If you’re looking for dialogue about your own decklists, I’d consider posting on others’ lists as a starting place. Like others have said, if you show interest in someone’s list, I think they’re more likely to take an interest in yours.
1) have a pretty good explanation of their meta and what they want the deck to be
2) ask for feedback
3) are asking for fairly specific feedback I think I can talk about in a forum post vs. a novel
I often have an issue where I tend to prefer posting to commanders I have more knowledge on. I try to help out and ask questions where I can but I primarily play a lot of mono colored stuff that apparently most people don't like much. I post and update my decks in part for my own sanity and keeping track of what I am running.
I would assume we all have a tendency to read and post to other commanders that we have interest in which is part of the problem of getting others to see and give feedback on our decks. I honestly swung by your Angus list because I saw your name and remembered seeing it in Hoogland chat is about the only reason I even swung in lol.
More or less this for me. I took a look at the Unesh list, and it looks awesome. Honestly though, I don't really have a lot of solid critique to add because I don't play the list. And that cuts both ways, too - some of my lists are fairly obscure or things that aren't so popular, so they tend to not get a ton of feedback. The other side of this is 4 of my 12 or so decks are heavily themed, and unless you've read the books they're related to my choices mean didlly squat to anyone who reads the list - it also makes it hard to make suggestions for someone who doesn't get the theme.
But yes, these forums are somewhat less frequented than they deserve - it's a shame, because the frequent posters here have a lot of experience and a lot of solid advice - I'm thinking ISBpathfinder, darrenhabib, DirkGently, Plushpenguin, Pokken, Outcryqq, 3drinks, schweinefett, weltkrieg, ertaiplaneswalker, Hermes, benjameenbear....most of the posters in this thread tbh. Generally if these sort of people weigh in you get feedback, but with less traffic here it's a smaller core of people responding. I don't necessarily think it's all bad, there's definitely less white noise than good signal on the threads these days, but salvation isn't now what it has been in the past. Personally I think it's on account of the way the internet is these days - people are more interested in clickbait than real content. I prefer the opposite and it is why I come here for my MtG fix rather than tappedout or reddit.
I'll have a good look over your threads later today and see if I can offer some feedback - I may or may not be able to, but I have to admit I was definitely intrigued with Sphinx Storm so it definitely deserves another look, as it's a masterfully unique idea. In the meantime don't give up on us though; it's really good to have some of the authorities on the format present here, and while the feedback and responses might be few and far between I generally think when this community does get to talking we generate pretty decent thought provoking discussion and it's often really rewarding.
magicjudge.tumblr.com
GWU Angus Mackenzie's Fog of War GWU / B Sheoldred's Sleepless Cemetery B / R Ashling's Purifying Pilgrimage R
U Unesh's Sphinx Storm U / R Ib's Goblins: What It Says On The Tin R / UR Okaun & Zndrsplt Flip Out UR
Oathbreaker: UB Ashiok's Persistent Nightmare UB
The Unidentified Fantastic Flying Girl.
EDH
Xenagos, the God of Stompy
The Gitrog Monster: Oppressive Value.
Marchesa, Marionette Master - Undying Robots
Yuriko, the Hydra Omnivore
I make dolls as a hobby.
I'm also very lazy and after one too many high-effort posts that went unanswered I just kinda stopped unless it's a big, active thread.
Also this. Frankly, there are increasingly fewer and fewer places to get meaningful feedback on decks as the balkanization of the Magic community between Reddit, Facebook, tappedout, and other places continues. The signal to noise ratio is pretty awful.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
WUBRG Some of these decks can actually win games...WUBRG
How I know I should build a deck:
A) Story content
B) Rumor season
C) Forum games
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Anyway, I can understand your concerns to some extend. But then one has to remember a few things: There are only a "couple" of people on these forums that could give you the feedback you need for a very tuned decklist. You put a lot of thinking into your deck, so I guess other people need to think about your choices even more. But that feedback is only concerning the tuning of your deck. There are other options: praising the deck, simply giving a "high 5" for playing the same deck, etc.
What kind of feedback would you have liked to get?
Anyhow, more information about the deck (maybe adding some pictures, writing a story "why did I build it in the first place?", etc.) yields more comments as more people can join in to message you, not only the ones that give constructive advice on cards choices to make the deck more potent. That's at least reasonable claim, but please prove me wrong - I'm a long time lurker (very long time...) but I'm only starting to get involved in the forums now (at least from time to time). So my knowledge about all this is very limited and are more assumptions than anything else.
And then I asked myself "How many decklists have I responded to while waiting for feedback?" The answer was zero. "Ah, ok. Makes sense."
Not sure if that's true for you as well, but something to keep in mind.
Anyway, I'll echo what others have said as well - unless it's a decklist I'm particularly knowledgeable about, or it's a total train wreck where I feel confident that my general-purpose magic knowledge will be helpful, I don't usually comment. Every once in a while I stumble upon a brew that I can tell is cool and interesting even without being familiar with the commander, and I might take an interest enough to dig into the list and offer thoughtful feedback or at least a compliment...but that's really really rare, especially since I don't usually click on lists unless it's a commander I'm familiar with or they're asking for help. Since my decklists are almost all pretty reasonably tuned, and also because I'm a hipster and rarely build the most popular commanders, feedback tends to be pretty scarce. But also, if I'm being honest, very little feedback is actually useful because 9 times out of 10 they're suggesting cards I've already thought about. Because it's really hard to offer constructive feedback in a format that has so many different decks.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Questions about the deck, I suppose? Compliments? Delight at seeing odd cards find a home in a cool way? Mostly the sort of feedback I get when I play the decks at my LGS, mostly. People there are always interested in my decks and vice versa.
magicjudge.tumblr.com
GWU Angus Mackenzie's Fog of War GWU / B Sheoldred's Sleepless Cemetery B / R Ashling's Purifying Pilgrimage R
U Unesh's Sphinx Storm U / R Ib's Goblins: What It Says On The Tin R / UR Okaun & Zndrsplt Flip Out UR
Oathbreaker: UB Ashiok's Persistent Nightmare UB
In my experience comments can come in rather late. In my Traxos, Scourge of Kroog thread it took 18 days to get a reply, Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist took 53 days and Zada, Hedron Grinder a whopping 55 days.
Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign comes with another disadvantage, being tribal. Tribal decks usually come with a certain set of creatures and support cards. Not a lot of room for exploration and excitement. I didn't get any feedback on my Ezuri, Renegade Leader list since putting it up mid January, either.
The few threads that don't dry out quickly are usually Primers or threads of writers that give extensive insight about the deck origin, card choices and actively work on mutual communication with readers. It'll propably take some effort to get it rolling, but hey, that's up to you.
As for myself, i only take extended looks at unusual commander choices or decks of members that came up with some intriguing thoughts somewhere else. I hope the latter is why comments started to come in recently for me, so embrace the thought of offering advice yourself. I'm always happy to see original suggestions and get encouraged to give some myself in return. The community thread is a solid place to get involved as well.
Anyhow, keep on brewing!
But I guess, this is the internet and not a real life conversation (yeah stating the obvious, I know...:)). But I need to tell this myself many times whenever I drop by and check out some threads.
Also, you said something very important: DirkGently pointed exactly this out. I usually show interest in other people's decks as well and hence, assuming the person I'm talking to doesn't lack basic social skills, they show interest in my stuff. But again, a real life conversation is much easier and "quicker" than one on the internet. It even took about 15min for me to write this up :p...
Anyway, I gladly check your decks out and leave a comment at some point;).
And echoing many of the other peeps here, i'd just say that for me, it's only something i'm gonna be commenting on if the decklist is interesting on some level. Like if someone managed to make a deck where the strategy is to skip all of the turns in the game to win. Or a mono black life-gain list. Or a mono white combo that involves drawing all the cards of the library.
Generally, i've seen a whole bunch of decks that are just middling-mid-ranged, 3 colour decks filled with like 60+ staples of those colours. Even things like group hug decks these days all look exactly the same. I don't think i've seen any genuinely clever or innovative decks in EDH in a pretty long time. I don't think it's got anything to do with you specifically, but more that i'm so jaded looking at deck lists that i just don't even bother generally.
Legacy - Solidarity - mono U aggro - burn - Imperial Painter - Strawberry Shortcake - Bluuzards - bom
Angus is here and Unesh is here.
magicjudge.tumblr.com
GWU Angus Mackenzie's Fog of War GWU / B Sheoldred's Sleepless Cemetery B / R Ashling's Purifying Pilgrimage R
U Unesh's Sphinx Storm U / R Ib's Goblins: What It Says On The Tin R / UR Okaun & Zndrsplt Flip Out UR
Oathbreaker: UB Ashiok's Persistent Nightmare UB
Then again, I don't post my lists online either. I keep meaning to, but there's not much justification other than for documentation's sake, given the effort involved in writing a thought-for writeup of my decks. (...and if I start down that rabbit hole, well... see my signature.)
I'm far better at 'looking for more cards that are useful in situation X' or 'looking for commanders/builds that kinda do X' topics, heh.
It's also hard to critique anyone else's decklists at a glance, and I just don't feel like devoting a lot of time to actually go through the list. As said above, it's also very likely I'd suggest cards that the creator already thought of.
But when I do, I don't typically comment unless it is a commander I am familiar with or if the poster is asking for help. In your two cases, I don't have much to say. I have never seen either commander. I assume you know what works better than I do.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Myself? I feel like I'm playing a different game from most, this awkward limbo of high and competitive where I'm too competitive for the casual table and too casual for the competitive. This coupled with my dedication to one wedge leaves me in the belief that my feedback may not be helpful to others - unless it's about Kaalia due to my rep with that commander.
Does that help you?
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Firstly. I've never heard of you before, but checked some things out. Big ups for your contribution to the CAG.
I feel the same about putting in the effort of sharing, and not getting anything back. It has put me off going a step further and create a fully modelled primer.
For the threads i've started that didn't get any responses i just put it to personal preference. If the deck idea doesnt appeal to others, they naturally decline getting "on the train". For other decks, i just didn't bother. And with so many flavors of personal preference, power level and playstyle there often times is just not much to say.
I guess the best thing that can happen is for someone to "tag along" if you will. Or that you "hop on the train" and go on together or with a few others somewhere on the planet and brew/share/play/share together. I've had this experience when i was just starting to brew something and found out another person was doing the same sort of thing and just put a topic up. There is a mutual interest from the get-go which leads to great things. It's a blast
The ultimate feel good moment for me is when i sit down witgh my playgroup, play my own brew and it just does what it does and the others on the table compliment the deck/play for being awesome. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.
In the end, i don't think the Internet will ever be like this ever again and as others have stated before me, there is something inherently wrong with the way internet communities work these days.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
A quick review of your recent posts indicates that you want a kind of interaction that you yourself have yet to offer to anyone else. I know that I'd personally feel inclined to reciprocate if someone were to take the time to discuss my deck with me. Though I haven't posted a decklist here yet, I'd recommend taking the time in the first post to discuss more of those interesting/old/niche cards of which you're proud. Speaking only for myself, some interactions or benefits aren't always so obvious just by looking at the list.
My 720 Peasant Cube
^this^
I am more often then not seeing people i recognize. You will have the occasional lurker pop up but overall, the decklist subforum is generally dead. This forum is also rather dead, topics will show up but nothing really gets hyped until the spoilers are released. Then it will die down until the next set is spoiled.
If you want feedback, you actively have to ask for it.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
I would assume we all have a tendency to read and post to other commanders that we have interest in which is part of the problem of getting others to see and give feedback on our decks. I honestly swung by your Angus list because I saw your name and remembered seeing it in Hoogland chat is about the only reason I even swung in lol.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
I guess what it boils down to, at least for me, is that if I see a finely tuned list, I just nod my head. But if I see someone playing Angus Spellslinger, I am more likely to get in there and comment, as that would be something intriguing.
For example, I have a Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign sphinx tribal deck. You use Unesh, who carries a lot of weight in my Yennet deck. But your Unesh deck is storm, which I have zero familiarity with, and is very unique. My comments would cover a very different strategy. If I wanted to create a blue storm deck, your list is likely a good place where I would start (and begin posting).
For your Angus deck, you kind of nailed it in your post - there have been a lot of Angus decks built, and while yours has a few choices that make the deck your own, this strategy (and commander) have been thoroughly discussed. I do not have a deck like it, so maybe if I wanted to build a fog-type deck I’d post on your list, but that’s not something I’ve done. And your post does not ask for help.
“just a fog deck like pretty much every Angus deck out there.”
“I don't have a ton more to say about the deck”
...then why should we?
If you’re looking for specific critiques, I’d include that in the title and you might get more of a response. If you’re looking for dialogue about your own decklists, I’d consider posting on others’ lists as a starting place. Like others have said, if you show interest in someone’s list, I think they’re more likely to take an interest in yours.
Currently Playing:
Multiplayer EDH Lists (click italics for a link to the thread!)
[Primer] Lord of Tresserhorn - Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do[Primer] Roon of the Hidden Realm - Rhino Blink
5 Color Tribal Guide (Slivers, Atogs, Allies, Spirits)
Also Playing (most decklists can be found on my profile)
MarathGeistKamahlGrenzoBolasThassaGitrog
PiratesZurVial Smasher&ThrasiosYennettJhoira(cEDH)Strix(Pauper)
Legacy: Maverick
Modern:
Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebears1) have a pretty good explanation of their meta and what they want the deck to be
2) ask for feedback
3) are asking for fairly specific feedback I think I can talk about in a forum post vs. a novel
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
More or less this for me. I took a look at the Unesh list, and it looks awesome. Honestly though, I don't really have a lot of solid critique to add because I don't play the list. And that cuts both ways, too - some of my lists are fairly obscure or things that aren't so popular, so they tend to not get a ton of feedback. The other side of this is 4 of my 12 or so decks are heavily themed, and unless you've read the books they're related to my choices mean didlly squat to anyone who reads the list - it also makes it hard to make suggestions for someone who doesn't get the theme.
But yes, these forums are somewhat less frequented than they deserve - it's a shame, because the frequent posters here have a lot of experience and a lot of solid advice - I'm thinking ISBpathfinder, darrenhabib, DirkGently, Plushpenguin, Pokken, Outcryqq, 3drinks, schweinefett, weltkrieg, ertaiplaneswalker, Hermes, benjameenbear....most of the posters in this thread tbh. Generally if these sort of people weigh in you get feedback, but with less traffic here it's a smaller core of people responding. I don't necessarily think it's all bad, there's definitely less white noise than good signal on the threads these days, but salvation isn't now what it has been in the past. Personally I think it's on account of the way the internet is these days - people are more interested in clickbait than real content. I prefer the opposite and it is why I come here for my MtG fix rather than tappedout or reddit.
I'll have a good look over your threads later today and see if I can offer some feedback - I may or may not be able to, but I have to admit I was definitely intrigued with Sphinx Storm so it definitely deserves another look, as it's a masterfully unique idea. In the meantime don't give up on us though; it's really good to have some of the authorities on the format present here, and while the feedback and responses might be few and far between I generally think when this community does get to talking we generate pretty decent thought provoking discussion and it's often really rewarding.