Deck Names
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on July 28, 2014, 10:02 p.m. by GlistenerAgent
As we all know, the Alara block introduced ally-colored planes that have the names Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund and Naya. Nowadays, we call decks with these colors often just by that name, followed by a general archetype (e.g. Naya Aggro, Esper Control, Jund Midrange). Do you think the clans of Tarkir will end up having the same effect, or do you think the now-common names like Junk, RUG, BUG and USA/American will stay?
Gidgetimer says... #3
I think that the clan names will eventually take over. I don't foresee them referring to a specific type of deck though because technically the guilds each have a certain type of deck within their colors but everyone just calls all decks of those colors by the guild names.
July 28, 2014 10:31 p.m.
Pretty sure clan names will take over. It might take a while, but once KTK is fully integrated into the meta and the clan names are commonly seen, it'll be adopted.
July 28, 2014 11:22 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #5
I agree with Fulcrum. I believe Maro said on his blog that the Alara names took a bit of getting used to, but look at how often they're used now. It will take a while, but eventually the names we refer the wedges as now will die out. Mostly.
July 28, 2014 11:27 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #6
Well, i'm definitely not going to stop saying Junk, but the other four needed new names. I am absolutely so sick of people trying to justify the bastardization what is "Borzhov"...
I'm sure that they'll all stick.
July 29, 2014 12:26 a.m.
They'll stick at some point, just like the Alara ones did. People were playing U/B/R and all of those waaaay before Alara was a set.
July 29, 2014 2:02 a.m.
I don't think they'll stick.. maybe one or two, but they won't all take over. None of the clan names are catchy or roll of the tongue nicely and for the most part the old names make it blatantly obvious what the deck is.. (i.e. RUG, American, and BUG). I find it hard to believe there will be some sort of large switch from names that make common sense and everyone recognizes and already associates with those colors to a bunch of new ones even if those names are a big part of the story line in this block. It's not like before, there wasn't highly common names already associated with the ally colors making it much easier for names to be adopted. Whereas now, the enemy colors already have a distinctly recognizable name associated with them.
July 29, 2014 3:52 a.m.
@abenz419: RUG doesn't exactly roll off the tongue either. It'll take some time, but the clan names will become common slang.
Jund probably sounded strange for a while.
Rakdos sounds strange now.
Orzhov sounds strange now.
Gruul, while fitting, is just plain bizarre.
Bant sounds strangely like a gangbang.
July 29, 2014 4:03 a.m.
And Izzet just pisses me off, but that's probably because of all the bad puns. And I mean
July 29, 2014 4:06 a.m.
the biggest difference from before is the fact that there are already established names that everyone recognizes the various deck colors by. It's not like everyone runs around calling it W/B/G and now suddenly we have something to call it other than it's color names. It's called Junk, and that name is already recognizable by the entire magic community. When you hear someone has a Junk deck you already know exactly what that means.
Before, when the names like Jund, Bant, Grixis, Naya, and Esper were introdeced, there wasn't a specific name for each color combination. Which made it easier to adopt those names, because we went from having nothing to call them by to finally having something. That's not the case with the new clans. We're not trying to name something new like before, we're trying to take something already widely recognized by one name and start calling it something else. Just for the sake of doing it, there is no actual reason to rename them. That's why I don't think they're going to stick. Like I said, maybe one or two might stick like the W/B/R one since that color combo probably has the least recognized name. I just don't feel like they're all going to suddenly become household names.
July 29, 2014 10:02 a.m.
The only wedge that has a widely accepted "name" is Junk. And even then it's not nearly as widely used as the Shards, plus new players don't get where the name comes from.
With the shards and the guilds, you can easily explain to a new players what the names mean and where the names come from, while immersing them in the lore and history of Magic. Now we have a chance to do that with Wedges.
The only reason I can see for this not working is that it is only going to be a wedge Set rather than a wedge Block... it runs the possibility of just not being immersive and flavourful enough.
July 29, 2014 11:12 a.m.
While simple and just the colors U/B/G and U/R/G rearranged into words BUG and RUG are very accepted terms and something people easily identify as those specific deck types. The same for "American", W/U/R is easily understood as the colors the represent the U.S., or "American" and it's something people can easily associate with. Even with magic growing to be what is now a globally played gamed.
I'm not saying these names are perfect or that there is even a story line behind them like the shards and guilds. I'm just saying that these terms are all widely accepted already and can easily identify what deck or colors your playing. That's why I said maybe a couple might stick but I don't see them really taking off.
July 29, 2014 12:22 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #18
I see BUG and RUG as being the only ones that could keep their designation. I have seen many people complain about using "American" since the US is not the only, nor the first country to use those colors. Most people don't know WBR as Dega so that one should have no problem catching on; and there are connotations to the word "junk" that many people don't feel comfortable with. With more than half switching I would think that the mostly structured type of thinkers that are attracted to and stick with MTG would just use the entire cycle of names.
July 29, 2014 12:30 p.m.
Just a quick note on that... the term "American" is equally as scorned as accepted. People will welcome an alternative.
Comical note on "BUG" I lent a new player my BUG infect deck once so he could try Modern...
I said "Here, take a look at my BUG infect deck and if you like it, give it a try."
After looking at it for a few minutes he replied, "So... are all Infect creatures bugs?"
A little confused, I responded, "No, all creature types are stated on the card."
He, now just as confused, asked "So... why is this called bug Infect deck?"
- And then there was a few minutes of explanation. Also, since this player already knew the shard and guild names, he was annoyed that there wasn't an actual name.
smoothtraveler35 says... #2
Honestly I think that they could have the same impact. It would be really interesting if the tarkir tribe names ended up referring more to the style of the deck and not only the colors. You know, since each tribe follows an "aspect" of dragon, whatever that may end up meaning.
July 28, 2014 10:24 p.m.