Well, how to put this, trust me, I've tried several drafts, and all didn't seem to work because I struggled to really realise where I finally stood. It's been a few weeks since I felt really at home here.
So what I'm really saying is that this is the final Brainstorming article, and for a while at least, my final deck on the vault, I'll check this deck for comments for a couple of days, but after then its time for a break.
I remember when I first joined the vault, putting up my mono-black aggro deck, and feeling really good when I got nice comments about decks, and when I put up new decks which at the time, I thought were ground breaking! I look back now at some of them and cringe but still, it was fun. I've watched changes happen to the vault, watched stars come about and disappear, I had my own brief time of doing well and had a few decks end up on the hot page which was nice and great to have people taking an interest in my opinions and reading my articles, I always tried to spend at least an hour making sure the content was interesting to read and when I published, I would read every single comment and reply to all of them, offered support where I could.
However the first nail in the coffin is when my friends from my LGS quit the vault, complaining it was dull and obsessed with casual and budget, which simply didn't cater to the way we like to play here, but I kept going, whilst my friends, all those guys would end up on the hot page back when they built, moved away to rely on StarCityGames and Channel Fireball.
Well frankly, the content written by pros is always going to be better than amateur stuff and sadly, vault is very amateurish, after facing the team at several PTQs I can testify that they were distinctly below average, lovely people, but easily beaten (even when you cock up a mulligan but that is a very different story).
It has got to a point where it feels that budget is the most important thing about magic on the website, but it is not. It is about enjoyment of the game, however you get that, around the kitchen table, at your LGS or at a GP it is essentially about enjoyment level. It might be the conditions of how I was brought up to play magic, but I was brought up around the school table until I was told about the 'myth of FNM, where loads of players do battle.' So I turned up one day with a deck to play 4 rounds of standard... oh it went bad 0-3 drop because my Dad had to pick me up, but I wasn't deterred, opponents had been nice to me and I'd seen some of my friends. I went to about 4 FNMs going 0-4 the whole time and 0-2 in every match, but I was enjoying myself and I was improving although I was getting my backside handed to me.
Then I built an on paper terrible deck, but on the battlefield it was great, I took down players vastly more experienced than myself playing decks far better than mine, but hey it worked and my first good FNM ended in the final going 3-1. From then on I got better because I was given more support from those people I managed to beat and begun to sink a bit more money in, my mono black deck was under £20 and I had googled budget decks.
Then I found out about the Pro Tour, and would watch it to try and pick up tips and learn more, seeing players like PV, David Ochaoa, Insane Hayne, Sex Bomb Kibler and Finkel energised me to do better... then I heard the magic words out of BDM's mouth- You can try and get on the Pro Tour by playing in one of our PTQs which you can find locally here!
I told my friends about it and we planned that in late June, we would head to Chelmsford and play... but we needed good decks, I settled for jund midrange, who wouldnt want to cast Thragtusk, Huntmaster and Olivia Voldaren? My friend Rocco settled on American Control and my friend Alex settled on Esper control, and there it was, we spent our money and traded hard, but we also got lent some cards which we couldn't get our hands because of the cost.
Now its got to the point where the vault has just lost something to me because apparently budget and competitive can't work together, I've said it a million times, a deck can be budget, but that is no excuse for it to be poor, if you're first defence is 'I was on a budget' then that is a poor defence in most cases, when you're building Abzan control in standard, you don't throw in the towel because you can't buy thoughtseize, you play Duress or something else similar! If you haven't experienced it, build a top standard/modern/legacy deck, take your time building it, but never lose sight of that goal and then learn it over time and kick arse with it! I usually pick up a single deck throughout a whole season of standard an keep playing it the whole time, it might lose power, but my experience of the deck will improve.
I really hope that this helps some of you, and I implore you to have a go, as I say, I'll be around for a little longer and can point you to a deck or help you build one but essentially, this is good bye.
A final note is to all those that supported me- you know who you are and I know that you will carry the flame in my absence and it is you guys that I feel sad to leave.
In conclusion, Keep Brainstorming, and good bye.