I got kind of inspired to rant by the Theme Decks thread by ShadowBenny. This isnt any kind of angry retort because of it, mind you. I just saw that the replies by people to that thread were totally inconsistent with the choices listed in the Poll that was put up on that thread.
A theme could be attribute, sure. The ones I see people listing a lot of are the sub-type themes (such as Archfiends, Dark World Fiends, or pure Fiends). And then there are the strategy themes.
When it comes to strategy themes though, that is what a deck is about. No one runs the Yugi Moto 40 randomly insane cards that somehow manage to win through love and belief. A theme is centered around a goal. That goal may be the use of a single effect (such as Skill Drain or Final Countdown); it may be a theme around a group of similar effects. For example:
RFP has Warrior, Machine, Spellcaster, Fiend, ect monsters that are devoted to supporting the RFP theme.
Stratos may not be a Destiny Hero, but its effect is uniquely suited to the exact theme of Destiny Hero (plus its a subtype theme).
someone mentioned Gravekeepers in the other thread. Would that be a Gravekeeper theme, or simply a segment of Spellcaster theme?
how would you classify Skill Drain, if the monsters used in it were Earth, Dark, and Wind; Fiend, Beast-Warrior, Warrior, Dragon, and Machine? Its still centered around a specific purpose, right? Wouldn't that still qualify as a theme?
So what deck isn't to a "theme"? Do not all decks run with the purpose of winning through one of the following:
1-beatdown aggression,
2-direct damage,
3-combination manuevers,
4-non-atking win condition,
5-control
its those 5 categories that are what I have always thought was a "theme". Any attribute or subtype based deck can fit within one of those 5 themes.
I know I sound critical, but it just seems to me that there is a lot of discrepancy about what constitutes a theme in this game. A concensus needs to be made about how to define this word and how it needs to be talked about, so that everyone can start off on the same page, talking about the same thing.
This is especially important for teaching new duelists. So many people start off with random Yugi Moto decks and are told by one person that they need to develop a "theme", like Warriors. So they go off and make a Warrior deck (pretty easy to do). But when they come back for more advice, they are told by another person that its just a random assortment of Warrior cards and that they need to develop a "theme".
How confusing is that? If we aren't defining such a basic concept so that EVERYOne is talking about the same thing, then the learning process for new players becomes a very slow, laborious process. Its no wonder that gamers appear seclusive and 1337. The confusion about the most rudimentary of things makes it seem like we are almost trying to hide the right information away.
Ok, Im done ranting. And I will admit that this is probably the least offensive of any and all sites when it comes to trying to erase the confusion. But it exists still, simply due to the ingrained thought processes that we all are used to thinking in and using. Im just as guilty of it as anyone else.
oh, btw: I play a theme deck or two. Combination manuevers. I have a Macro deck, a Dark World deck, a Lava Golem deck, a Destiny Hero Dogma deck, and am working on a Ritual deck. But all of them are focused on the theme of stalling and building resources until I can pull off an intricate win condition.
I think if we examine things through these broader terms, the idea of theme will probably become more apparent to players in their own deckbuilding history. For example, my favorite decks from the past have been:
Necrofear Return
Gravekeeper
Final Countdown
Spatial Collapse
Reversal Quiz
Gren Maju OTK
Magical Scientist/Catapult Turtle
DMoC OTK
Can you see how, even over the course of years, my theme has remained consistent, even though the decks have changed?
Combination Manuever.
So...do you play a theme deck? Of course you do. But now, what THEME is it that you play?
A theme could be attribute, sure. The ones I see people listing a lot of are the sub-type themes (such as Archfiends, Dark World Fiends, or pure Fiends). And then there are the strategy themes.
When it comes to strategy themes though, that is what a deck is about. No one runs the Yugi Moto 40 randomly insane cards that somehow manage to win through love and belief. A theme is centered around a goal. That goal may be the use of a single effect (such as Skill Drain or Final Countdown); it may be a theme around a group of similar effects. For example:
RFP has Warrior, Machine, Spellcaster, Fiend, ect monsters that are devoted to supporting the RFP theme.
Stratos may not be a Destiny Hero, but its effect is uniquely suited to the exact theme of Destiny Hero (plus its a subtype theme).
someone mentioned Gravekeepers in the other thread. Would that be a Gravekeeper theme, or simply a segment of Spellcaster theme?
how would you classify Skill Drain, if the monsters used in it were Earth, Dark, and Wind; Fiend, Beast-Warrior, Warrior, Dragon, and Machine? Its still centered around a specific purpose, right? Wouldn't that still qualify as a theme?
So what deck isn't to a "theme"? Do not all decks run with the purpose of winning through one of the following:
1-beatdown aggression,
2-direct damage,
3-combination manuevers,
4-non-atking win condition,
5-control
its those 5 categories that are what I have always thought was a "theme". Any attribute or subtype based deck can fit within one of those 5 themes.
I know I sound critical, but it just seems to me that there is a lot of discrepancy about what constitutes a theme in this game. A concensus needs to be made about how to define this word and how it needs to be talked about, so that everyone can start off on the same page, talking about the same thing.
This is especially important for teaching new duelists. So many people start off with random Yugi Moto decks and are told by one person that they need to develop a "theme", like Warriors. So they go off and make a Warrior deck (pretty easy to do). But when they come back for more advice, they are told by another person that its just a random assortment of Warrior cards and that they need to develop a "theme".
How confusing is that? If we aren't defining such a basic concept so that EVERYOne is talking about the same thing, then the learning process for new players becomes a very slow, laborious process. Its no wonder that gamers appear seclusive and 1337. The confusion about the most rudimentary of things makes it seem like we are almost trying to hide the right information away.
Ok, Im done ranting. And I will admit that this is probably the least offensive of any and all sites when it comes to trying to erase the confusion. But it exists still, simply due to the ingrained thought processes that we all are used to thinking in and using. Im just as guilty of it as anyone else.
oh, btw: I play a theme deck or two. Combination manuevers. I have a Macro deck, a Dark World deck, a Lava Golem deck, a Destiny Hero Dogma deck, and am working on a Ritual deck. But all of them are focused on the theme of stalling and building resources until I can pull off an intricate win condition.
I think if we examine things through these broader terms, the idea of theme will probably become more apparent to players in their own deckbuilding history. For example, my favorite decks from the past have been:
Necrofear Return
Gravekeeper
Final Countdown
Spatial Collapse
Reversal Quiz
Gren Maju OTK
Magical Scientist/Catapult Turtle
DMoC OTK
Can you see how, even over the course of years, my theme has remained consistent, even though the decks have changed?
Combination Manuever.
So...do you play a theme deck? Of course you do. But now, what THEME is it that you play?
