The Player Vs The Deck
By Austin Evans
What makes a deck good? Is it the cards? Is it the player? Or is it both? I’ve been playing UVS since set one of MHA and I’ve built a lot of decks, starting with Air Occhaco 1 to currently running the King of Monsters, Godzilla. But one thing that I have noticed is that in the always-changing meta is no matter what deck I make, I just can’t get into the top 64. Until now…. This past regional I did the best I have ever done, finishing 54th place. This got me thinking: Out of all the decks that I have built, why is it now that I was able to make it into the top 64?
I started my UVS journey like most people, by building a deck that I thought was cool. My first deck that I took to a regional was Air Occhaco 1 with the Meteor Shower cycle. I went 9 rounds, tying all of them. It was rough. But out of all the testing and playing I did with the deck, it should have given me at least a round win. The second regional I went to with Occhaco, I lost almost all my rounds. Finally, Mirio joined the game, and everyone was saying that Mirio was going to be good. I built Mirio with the Good Punch package and had a better time winning games and sets at my locals. However, I then went to a regional and fell just short of the top 64 with him. This continued to happen with my last few regionals up until Louisville.
So why am I giving you a rundown of my past UVS games? Well, because the questions I mentioned before popped into my head again at Louisville. Last year, I took a local friend’s deck to nationals and I did okay with it, but it wasn’t my deck. I made a small change to the sideboard, but that is all I contributed. However, when he would run it, it performed better. Now you are most likely thinking that “well yeah, you big dummy, it’s called experience!” and yes, that does play a major role in performance, but I think the major factor is in the deck building.
Deck building in this game is really creative and rewarding when what you build works out during a game. Deck building skill can be improved and help your understanding of the game better. But the question remains: what makes a deck good?
I don’t think there is a straight answer to this question. Sorry if you were hoping there was. Godzilla is just going to be strong, Mirio is just going to be okay. But to cycle back to the question again, I believe it’s how you make the deck that makes it good for you. Sure, having sweeping daggers and nine titans with Filled With Doubts helps make the deck stronger, but not always better. Knowing the ins and outs of the deck you created helps get the mind thinking about different routes that the deck can take. Overall, making the deck better and making sure you win more games.
Jumping back to my first few decks, I never really sat down and built a deck. It has always been a copy from decks that won tournaments or a deck made by a buddy from locals. With Godzilla, I took inspiration from fellow Godzilla players to build my deck, but I could fully say that the deck was mine. I understood it, and I knew how to play it. As I am writing this now, I am working on making a Donny deck for my locals. I’ve been Sitting down and testing it, and making notes on what to change. All this will help make the deck better, and the player as well.
Okay, I know I said a lot, and you most likely are thinking “OH MY GOD! STOP TALKING!” but I want to wrap up this article by saying this. There are no bad players, just players who are still looking for their breakout deck. I believe that every player who started playing this game will find that one deck that they will make it to the top with. So take your time and make your deck, learn the weaknesses and the strengths, try out those cool combos, and have fun!
