#I've tried my whole life and I've only become more off putting and more undeserving of people's even tolerance as I've got an older and I

[skinnypaleangryperson]

Life would have been so beautiful if people in this generation had decided to actually care about each other instead of arguing on apps all day. For example, I would be alive by 40. Lol

[tergridguy]

The Boom Box Deck; Learning and Playing Standard in Paper

For the last few months, I've been doing what I can to make playing standard in paper in my community a reality. How exactly I got on that trip is a story for another time, but suffice to say there were others in my community who planted the seeds and provided the right conditions for the concept to find root and bloom into reality. What was once an absurd dream has become real, and the event that was dreamed up to make it happen is only a few days away.

On July 17, 2024 at the Game Underground at 349 Moody st, Waltham, at around 6:30 pm, we're gonna have us a real Standard Showdown in paper. There will be decklists submitted, sideboards will be in evidence, a rarity in these parts considering the formats that have them simply aren't played, and we will have us a winner. That's something our events never have, a champion. Maybe you win a few games, 3-0 a draft, whatever, but no trophy, no grand prize, no champion. This week, that changes. This week we are gonna find out who's the best.

It might even be me. I might be a longshot, but if I don't take the gold, it won't be for lack of trying. I've never had the chance to play magic, constructed magic at least, truly competitively. I was born a casual in the era of commander and best of one on my phone, I never got to play a grand prix or a Friday night magic in a 60 card format. My whole life, I feel like I've never put all of myself into a competition, I always said I didn't care or held back or fucked off so when I lost I could say 'well I didn't really try.' This time, I wanted to change that.

I have a problem with pet cards, joke cards, silly, stupid, narrow, 'flavorful' cards. As soon as my decks start to function I get excited to see how much jank I can weigh them down with before they stop working entirely. In my natural stare, I will eventually arrive at all bad cards and a deck that doesn't get to make the joke it wants to make because it doesn't work at all.

I think it's part of my fear of trying my hardest and still failing. The jokes, the jank, the silliness, it's a defense against the pain of really losing, of being bad, of sucking. I'm learning that getting better at the game is about getting better at losing and trying your hardest. You have to learn to be excited to lose because you are excited to learn.

One of my strengths is that I want to try so many things, but it's a weakness when I leave the job half-done, treat my sideboard as a clown car, pepper my deck with one-of's, and put all my wins on my (undeserving)pet cards. I've been trying to beat that shit out of myself, get it out of my system, and learn what it means to play to win 100%.

Having said that, Boom Box seems like an odd choice I guess. It's not exactly many players' idea of a good, or even a playable card. On the surface it looks like just another joke-- a card players squint at real hard thinking if they even want it in their limited deck, but it has matured into something I think is quite serious. There is just so much artifact support in standard right now, it's taken me months to test all the things I've tried in the deck and I would need many more than I have to try all the things I've thought about trying. It's a deck with a very high skill curve, with so many interactions and esoteric artifact lines that only make sense to the deranged or lobotomized mind. I'm hoping none of my opponents have one of those.

The Boom Box Deck as it stands now is my best effort. I've tested and practiced and played hundreds of matches to try to really find out how to do my best. I want to be vulnerable, to go out there and play my hardest, and be willing to accept victory or defeat without qualification. No excuses, no holding back, no bad cards kept around to serve as excuses. I intend to make a decent showing of myself, and I wish each and every other competitor out there the best of luck, I hope everyone else who can comes to support the members of our community who have invested in bringing this event to life because we are going to do our damndest to put on a hell of a show. See you all there.