Deck Naming

[Gandalf_The_White_1]

Credit for specific decks, or the names associated with them, seems to be somewhat of a touchy subject in Vintage.  Individuals and teams put a great deal of effort into testing and tuning each list that they create.  That said, what constitutes a new list?  Where do we draw the line between minor tweaks and major changes?  With so many decks sharing the same card pool, amongst and even in between archetypes, there aren't always many slots to work with.  However, in certain decks, usually those with a great deal of card draw and/or tutoring, even changing 1-2 slots can have a profound effect on how the deck plays out in certain matchups.

So, a couple of questions:

-How can we constitute whether a list is a 'new deck' or simply a tweaked version of an existing deck?  This should try to be as objective as possible, rather than a definition which is intangible or intuitive such as 'it plays differently' or 'it feels different.'  Is there a certain number of card slots that need to be changed?  Does it matter which cards are changed, etc?

-If a 'new deck' is created, how much credit should the creator(s) get for the deck?  Should they be able to name it whatever they want, what if someone tweaks/changes the list, etc?

[ErkBek]

I think a deck deserves a new name when significant changes have been made to it. What I mean by significant is large enough to change how the deck plays. I feel that my changes to "Litz Long" where significant enough to warrent a new name for the deck, however others feel differently. So I've decided to take a poll on what to name the deck.

http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=29079.0

[EnialisLiadon]

If I make a deck with enough significant differences from a similair deck, I'll generally give it a name that's usually a funny reference to something I like--Invader Zim, usually.  I'm not fond of narcisistic names like ZillaStompy or BMG, though I highly appreciate the work they put into them to grave their respective formats with an additional deck to play with and/or against.

[RThomas]

Generally speaking, I do not care what the name is, as long as someone with limited format knowledge can easily identify the basic premise of the deck by looking at the name.  I see no reason why it should be any different.  If you want credit for your idea, win a tournament with it.  Asking for more credit than that is inappropriate.  Really, naming your pet deck something like "The Utmost Holy and Sacred Conquests into the Butt" is ridiculous, because while it tells us nothing about what the deck does, it also makes you look like an idiot asshole.

However, I have little inhibition to attach people's names to decks, to illustrate small changes in an archetype.  If you want to call it Justin Droba Long, or Stephen Menendian Tendrils, or Eric Becker Combo, as long as you can distinguish between how the decks work, go ahead.  That said, this topic is rather subjective, as it is opinion-based.  A consensus should not be expected, nor quick resolution

[Kowal]

Really, naming your pet deck something like "The Utmost Holy and Sacred Conquests into the Butt" is ridiculous,

How did you find out about the newest Reflection tech?  Speak, dog!  Speak!

[The Atog Lord]

Putting your name or your team's name into a deck name seems like chest-thumping and arrogant self-aggrandizement.

[Jacob Orlove]

All decks should have clear, logical names that relate to the key cards and strategies, but that also abbreviate to commonly used internet acronyms. ;)

On a related, but more serious note, names will generally get shortened online if they're more than 4 letters. Sometimes you can get two short words to stick if the deck is a variant on a major archetype, like Uba Stax or Grim Long, but generally the name will just turn into WGD X or similar.

[Hi-Val]

If Meandeck puts our name in front of something, it's our acceptance that we feel that the list portrayed is what we think is the best, and what we personally would run. It's part of our team policy and people have had problems with it since 2003.

If you have a problem with naming conventions, don't freaking call the deck what the creators of it called it. It's that easy.

[Matt]

If Meandeck puts our name in front of something, it's our acceptance that we feel that the list portrayed is what we think is the best, and what we personally would run. It's part of our team policy and people have had problems with it since 2003.

I think if you had made this more clear at the outset, you'd have avoided a lot of the mess that resulted.

I agree with RThomas. Deck names should be descriptive first, and after that if you want to be cute you may go ahead, but not if you have to sacrifice clarity.

[Vegeta2711]

I just accept stupid names now. I'm just happy in T2 and Extended almost all the names are realtively easy to understand / make sense.

I love how some people try to justify continuing a stupid tradition because of the cereal craze / lazy assholes calling every b/g deck Rock. Ah well...

[forests failed you]

I just add a Burning Wish to the maindeck and then add "burning" to the title of the deck.

[LotusHead]

I love how some people try to justify continuing a stupid tradition because of the cereal craze / lazy assholes calling every b/g deck Rock. Ah well...

B/G Control/Beatdown IS "The Rock".  Individual Choices can change the deck by about 30 cards, but the strategy is still the same: 4 Witness, 20 Fatties/etc, 14 MessWithYourOpponent'sPlansCards/MaybeSplashBlueforGifts is "The Rock".

It like "Fish" in T1. Where are the Fish? its just WeenieBeatdown/HoserHateNoobCards(likeNullRod) and shitty cards like Daze/Stifle/StandStil/AEtherVialW/OGoblins).

I have, however, found it difficult to accuratly name the  various TPS/ComboPwn builds in my meta.

I have simply added Bob to any deck packing 4 of them (except for my own pet deck SlapJack2k6)

BobDrainTendrils
BobTendrils
BobStax
BobFish
GiftsBob
BobDragon?
TinkerBob
Bob and Tom
4 Bobs and a Funeral March

On a further note, Heiner Litz had the Ballz to put "Heiner Litz" on the line in TMD open forum, and someone else swapped out 3 cards for +3 Misdirections as a metacall/playstyleTweak.

Kudo's for Heiner Litz for putting "LitzLong.dec" out there for analysis/Study/Testing/successAtSCGP9Tourneis.

Does Heiner's list need re-naming?

Well, Heiner's "LitzLong.dec" was WWWAAAYYY different than "Long.dec" card for card, but the universal concept is the same. "I play combo, deal with it or get no mainphase, n00b!"

I think that due to specific meta differences each deck SHOULD have differing names, given by their pilots/creators/SponsorsOfTheDeck to illustrate that some choices are made for individual playstyle/MetaConsiderations/CardPoolAvailiability.

PlayStile: I will never play Tendrils in a tourney.  I am not that good at Magic (I prever 2-3 card combos to 10 card combos...) I will never get to rename LitzLong's Deck cuz I suck at them.

MetaConsiderations: (out of 26 players at last tourney, there were about 50 Wastelands, about 15 more than previous tourney.) (I changed 3 cards in DCarp's The Gilded Claw. I renamed it to: The Gilded Claw.

CardPoolAvailiablility: SlapJack2k6 won a Mox Sapphire piloted by a 12 year old. It is Salvager/TrinketMage combo/control with MeddlingMage/Bob Beatdown.  We didn't have enough DT's, VT's to go around (or Bob's and Meddling Mages for that matter). It's still called SlapJack cuz it's my deck, dammit! It's SlapJack2K6 cuz its 2006 when it resurfaced.  Bomberman players/creators: more power to you! Pyrite may not be neccessary, but nothing says GG like Conjuror's Bauble. BomberMan and SlapJack2K6 play out exactly the same, but our tools are different. (Is Intuition REALLY that different in Salvagers?).

On people who are new to T1 and don't know what Long.dec means: all they have to do is ask someone who knows, and they will get an answer.  Like Why is Fish called Fish?

Own your deck unless it is pure netdeck.

[Godder]

The Rock and his Millions refers to Phyrexian Plaguelord (The Rock) and Deranged Hermit (his millions of fans around the world, as the wrestler, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, was putting it at the time). Of course, much like Fish, that doesn't stop us from misusing the name regardless...

[Ephraim]

The Rock and his Millions refers to Phyrexian Plaguelord (The Rock) and Deranged Hermit (his millions of fans around the world, as the wrestler, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, was putting it at the time). Of course, much like Fish, that doesn't stop us from misusing the name regardless...

Wow, you learn something new every day.  I had always understood Spiritmonger to be the archtypical card of "The Rock."  I never realized that the name was supposed to refer to Phyrexian Plaguelord and Deranged Hermit.  Heck, I never even realized that "his millions" referred to his fans.  I thought it referred to his dollars.  That's awesome.

[Matt]

Oh yeah, Sol Malka was making B/G decks years before Spiritmonger was ever printed. I think it was a Saga Block Constructed deck originally, or at least Saga-era T2.

[Godder]

Wow, you learn something new every day.  I had always understood Spiritmonger to be the archtypical card of "The Rock."  I never realized that the name was supposed to refer to Phyrexian Plaguelord and Deranged Hermit.  Heck, I never even realized that "his millions" referred to his fans.  I thought it referred to his dollars.  That's awesome.

Duane Johnson was the first 3rd generation wrestler in the WWF (as it was then), making his debut in 1996. His original ring name was Rocky Maivia, taken from his father (Rocky Johnson) and his grandfather (wrestling name: "High Chief" Peter Maivia), but that quickly became "The Rock" (already a WWF-owned Trademark thanks to Don "The Rock" Muraco). He also started off as a face (good guy), but fans quickly turned on him with boos and chants (and signs) of "Die Rocky Die". Consequently, he turned heel (bad guy) and started mocking fans by being a parody of faces. One of his signature catchphrases at the time was to talk about "the millions... (pause) and millions of Rock's fans around the world", which, being a heel, was him being sarcastic (the point of heels is that they don't really have fans).

In other words, one of the most misused deck names started out as a parody catchphrase by a guy who hadn't really caught on yet... I'm not really sure who the joke is on, but there's a joke in there somewhere.