Some Clarification on Netdecking

Posted on Wednesday, September 23, 2009

So…as I sit here listening to “Pretty Woman” on my Aerosmith Playlist on Pandora, I decided to look at the thread about netdecking. The issue has been probably one of the most debated issues within the game. Well, I can say that I’ve never been more surprised by the judgmental and misrepresentation of ideas on the net decking thread. I think the idea of netdecking could use some clarification.

Netdecking is for a Purpose

If you think this purpose is winning…why sir you deserve a gold star. Of course that is the goal of the game after all, and I hate seeing this idea that winning is somehow wrong or bad. In the long run however, netdecking is done for different purposes that can lead to improving your game and winning more.

There are many reasons to netdeck, the first one is to get a basic list going for the deck you want to build. I feel that this is where pojo usually draws its line of what is “innocent” netdecking. The truth is that sometimes you just don’t know where to start, so why shouldn’t you start with what has had the best results for others? This just feels like it should be common sense for most people. After finding what works and what doesn’t for you, you can make adjustments to the deck accordingly to what works for you. For those who don’t understand this it is fairly simple.

What Works for Others-----What Works for you

Playtesting

Another reason to netdeck is that it can give you a basic structure for a deck type that you might see, and also gives you a standard to use in play testing. When play testing you should always ALWAYS vary what deck you are using and what you are playing against. Now unless you have an abundance of time, writing down your own list for every single top tier deck can be very time consuming, so you need to stick to the standard deck choices.

Need Something to Play

The last reason seems to be the one most associated with netdecking. That reason is just because you need something to play in a tournament so you decide that if it won for someone else then it might just work for you. The success of this varies from player to player depending on how much they play test. Of course if Little Johnny were to walk into a store with a deck he has played with once, then he is probably going to lose a lot more than Big Spike who has tested his netted version of a deck against every deck in the format.

This reason isn’t the worst reason to do it, but it has varied results due to testing. That is pretty much the same with anyone using any deck though.

The Misconceptions about Netdecking

The more and more I read, the more and more people seem to think that people who netdeck are this small group of players who are mindless zombies who just want to win so they go and find the best deck they can and play with it. Honestly, this is way too far from the truth. Granted there are a small number of people who netdeck, don’t play test, and just laugh at everyone else who is running another deck claiming that they will win because they copied the Canadian national champion. Yes these players do exist, these are what we call bad players.

The misconceptions involve but are not limited to these ideas. The first one being that theperson playing their original deck will know their deck better. True, you may know what cards you put into your deck, but the harsh reality is that play testing is what leads to this knowing of the deck. Players do not automatically gain the knowledge of how to make flawless plays because they built their deck, the same goes the guy netdecking as well.

The second misconception I’ve noticed is that the netecker is a free win, this is true, if your opponent is as bad as the person who came up with this notion. Where you got your deck from in no way affects how the match will go unless you haven’t play tested like you should have.

Another misconception is that it proves you have no idea how to build a deck. This isn’t true at all. If anything, it shows that you are competent enough to use your resources to try and produce the best results you want. Honestly, yu-gi-oh has little variance between its best decks anyway, so even if you did build your own version you would probably end up only 1 or 2 cards off of the netdecked version.

Netdecking is Needed

For there to be any form of competitive theory or ideas in this game netdecking is absolutely needed. As a player you need to know what the top tier decks are, how to play with them, and how to beat them. For this to happen you need to get base ideas and builds for decks somewhere.

Netdecking promotes a healthy environment for the competitive play of this game. It isn’t there for just a tool to decide what deck you are going to use in the next tournament. It is there as a tool for identifying a metagame and play testing as well. Without netdecking there really can’t be a defined metagame for this game, it is part of the reason why everyone has to wait for the first jump to see what’s good, and part of the reason why everyone wants to know what is winning regional events.

Not the Anti-Christ of the Game!!!

Players using decks they copied off of online are not evil, or in any way shape or form less skilled than anyone else. I feel like the people who say this are overestimating how much the deck plays a part in a person winning. The idea of netdecking promotes a healthy metagame, and an environment where you can pit your own idea against the ideas of a format and help you improve your own game. It isn’t evil, or immoral, that really is just the idealism of people who are frustrated that they can not get their deck to win, after all, it is easier to blame the deck, rather than the player.

Thanks for reading,

E.P.B.