Back in the day, we sure didn't refer to any red, white and blue decks as "Jeskai." They was "America Decks," young-blood. And this here is an America deck that exchanges bald eagles and heart disease for bald monks and high-flying kicks. I'm happy to make use of a Chinese-text card or two to better seal in the kung fu flavor--even if they were donated to me by that prancing horse's ass, Jay-Key! I sometimes play against that sadistic jerk, and I always soak any cards he's given me in holy water for at least 24 hours before playing with them (...which more often than not destroys the cards, but it's better to be safe than sorry when you're dealing with Jay-Key. And hey, it's not like I could read them in the first place--they're in Chinese!)
Right around the same time that I began forming this deck, I also began a letter campaign to Wizards of the Coast, begging them to publish nunchaku as an equipment artifact. I did a search on MTGCardSmith, and there's only one card that resembles a pair of 'chucks. Sometimes I worry I'm a man without a country...
Construction
These are the ideas that I followed while putting this deck together:
1.) KUNG FU IS A CHINESE CONCEPT | So, adding dragons makes sense. While I'm no longer against the idea of adding non-human monks, I haven't really found anything that must be in this deck (as always, Dear Reader, comment with a correction if you feel the urge to correct me on this.) As I mention in the update,
Taigam, Ojutai Master
and
Ancestor Dragon
played a big role in helping me break out of the humans-only idea.
2.) I GOT MAD LOVE FOR THE OL SKOO | Cutting
Jade Statue
and
Lightning Reflexes
from the roster was a mighty bummer. I greive the loss of those cards, but my pain is eased by having a few
Peach Garden Oath
on the bench. They're cheap to cast, they're exotic (Romance of the Three Kingdoms!? Is GUAN YU a PLANESWALKER? I have so many questions!!) and they pair well with prowess--
Monastery Mentor
's prowess in particular. If I could find a way to fit any other flavor-appropriate ol' skoo card in here, it would absolutely make my day.
3.) NARSET IS BASICALLY CHUN-LI WITHOUT THE BUNS | I'm sorry if that skews the way you look at
Narset Transcendent
, but someone was eventually going to compare her to Capcom's Kung Fu Queen--I merely... beat them to the punch?
Allow me to help you arrive at my conclusion:
When playing
Swift Kick
, it's considered good etiquette to politely yell, "
HAZANSHU!"
When playing
Flying Crane Technique
, it's important to holler, "
SPINNING BIRD KICK!" If you're not loudly announcing the names of the moves
as you are executing them, it's not kung fu. Ask anyone.
When playing
End Hostilities
, it's absolutely
crucial to bellow, "Oohh--
KIKOSHO!!" (
Please notice that I used two exclamation points--you really gotta put that sh-t on BLAST. Employ the larynx. Rattle the windows, if possible.)
Whenever you play
Artful Maneuver
, you don't have to scream anything at all (
--but don't let me tell you how to run your guns. Go ahead and give a ear-piercing shriek should the urge seize you. It's your life.)
Consideration
Motivation:
I am the golden cobra. I am the steel wind. I am one with the universe, and my kung fu is strong. I'm not sad that I had to take out ancient, useless cards because--as long as I keep them in my heart--they will be with me forever. Although I did physically devour my
Jade Statue
to forever absorb its spirit.
Concerns:
- I may have missed some additional similarities between Narset and Chun-Li. This is concerning to me.
Shout-Outs:
- Chun-Li sprites were straight-up jacked from the StreetFighterWiki. Hats off to them, they're a fine bunch of folks who have amassed a staggering amount of knowledge on one of the finest fighting game franchises.
- NumberoftheJon's deck inspired me to add a Bruce Lee reference to the ol' maybe pile:
Hydromorph Guardian
! Bruce Lee once said that we gotta be like water. Are you going to argue with Bruce?