Our first contribution is listed first because I arbitrarily clicked on this e-mail first even though it was below the other list. Life isn’t fair, ladies and gentlemen. The question is, How fair is this Roon deck? (Boom! Segued.)

Jason Reck wrote to me because I mentioned Jason Rice last week, and he thought being named Jason was some sort of cheat code for being featured in one of my articles. I guess he’s not wrong. He also wanted to respond to my call for Roon decks in last week’s article because I guess guys named Jason R. love Roon.

He writes:

I don’t know that forcing your opponents to play tight against you is the worst thing, but it’s something interesting I hadn’t considered. I always thought a 75% deck was handy because you could beat better decks if you played tight but they would be better than casual decks, allowing you to pump your brakes and play a little looser (“have more fun” is the way I’d put it), but a proper 75% deck forcing your opponents to play tight is a consequence I hadn’t considered. I am not sure I’m not in favor of it. Making opponents work to earn a victory will make them appreciate it more, but as long as the deck doesn’t only lose if you patronize them and not play to win, but rather if it gives them the chance if they play well and earn it, that can be good. This is especially good for exposing shortcomings in their decks, and that can drum up business for you if you’re inclined to sell cards to your group the way I am. We’re learning new stuff already.

Roon of the Hidden Realm ? Commander | Jason Reck

• Commander (0)

• Creatures (44)
• 1 Acidic Slime
• 1 Angel of Finality
• 1 Angel of Serenity
• 1 Arbiter of Knollridge
• 1 Archetype of Courage
• 1 Archetype of Endurance
• 1 Bane of Progress
• 1 Coiling Oracle
• 1 Deadeye Navigator
• 1 Djinn of Infinite Deceits
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Farhaven Elf
• 1 Flickerwisp
• 1 Galepowder Mage
• 1 Hornet Queen
• 1 Karmic Guide
• 1 Loxodon Hierarch
• 1 Masked Admirers
• 1 Mistmeadow Witch
• 1 Mother of Runes
• 1 Mulldrifter
• 1 Murkfiend Liege
• 1 Nessian Wilds Ravager
• 1 Phyrexian Ingester
• 1 Progenitor Mimic
• 1 Prophet of Kruphix
• 1 Restoration Angel
• 1 Reveillark
• 1 Seedborn Muse
• 1 Skyward Eye Prophets
• 1 Somberwald Sage
• 1 Soul of the Harvest
• 1 Sphinx of Uthuun
• 1 Sun Titan
• 1 Sylvan Ranger
• 1 Thragtusk
• 1 Trostani's Summoner
• 1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
• 1 Wall of Blossoms
• 1 Wall of Omens
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
• 1 Lavinia of the Tenth
• 1 Prime Speaker Zegana

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Venser, the Sojourner

• Spells (19)
• 1 Cloudshift
• 1 Ghostway
• 1 Momentary Blink
• 1 Vanish into Memory
• 1 Primal Command
• 1 Aura Shards
• 1 Ephara's Enlightenment
• 1 Primitive Etchings
• 1 Sunblast Angel
• 1 Conjurer's Closet
• 1 Darksteel Ingot
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Proteus Staff
• 1 Simic Signet
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Thousand-Year Elixir
• 1 Akroma's Memorial
• 1 Bident of Thassa

• Lands (35)
• 7 Forest
• 8 Island
• 8 Plains
• 1 Azorius Guildgate
• 1 Bant Panorama
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Opal Palace
• 1 Rupture Spire
• 1 Safe Haven
• 1 Seaside Citadel
• 1 Simic Guildgate
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 1 Transguild Promenade

Buy This Deck

I don’t see anything really all that objectionable here. I think anytime a deck is 70% precon, complaints from your playgroup should be taken with a grain of salt. I think this is a fine 75% deck, if not a bit too weak. Jason gave me a bit of insight into what his group objected to.

Well, yes and no. If you’re pissing people off because they aren’t able to play their game, that’s one thing. But if the problem can be solved with the simple application of removal, they need to add some removal. There is a certain amount of a sense of entitlement in Commander groups that everyone should do their own thing, but those same people sometimes complain that their opponents’ decks are broken if they do something more powerful than theirs does.

I think the biggest problem people are having with determining whether their decks are 75% is coming from their playgroups’ reactions to the deck. I’ve had people like Jason who added $25 worth of cards to a precon accused of “buying a win” with their decks because their opponents didn’t play any removal and they went off on turn twenty-two. If your combo can be brought to a screeching halt by a Relic Crush, it’s not unfair, and you should offer to help your playgroup step up its game. It’s hard to say your deck is underpowered if your playgroup says it is overpowered, but objectively, Jason’s deck is fine. He has some game against tougher decks if he plays tight, but his group should handle him fine if they play tight. Aura Shards is a card that makes me say, “I better deal with that.” What it isn’t is a card that makes me scoop.

Simon Kristoffersen offered to show me his Roon list in the comments last week, and I was all about seeing what he came up with.

Roon of the Hidden Realm ? Commander | Simon Kristoffersen

• Commander (0)

• Creatures (35)
• 1 Acidic Slime
• 1 Arbiter of Knollridge
• 1 Brutalizer Exarch
• 1 Champion of Lambholt
• 1 Clone
• 1 Cloud of Faeries
• 1 Coiling Oracle
• 1 Deadeye Navigator
• 1 Deadwood Treefolk
• 1 Djinn of Infinite Deceits
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Farhaven Elf
• 1 Fathom Mage
• 1 Fiend Hunter
• 1 Flickerwisp
• 1 Karmic Guide
• 1 Kiora's Follower
• 1 Loxodon Hierarch
• 1 Luminate Primordial
• 1 Mistmeadow Witch
• 1 Mulldrifter
• 1 Peregrine Drake
• 1 Perplexing Chimera
• 1 Prophet of Kruphix
• 1 Reveillark
• 1 Slithermuse
• 1 Soul of the Harvest
• 1 Stonehorn Dignitary
• 1 Voidstone Gargoyle
• 1 Pilgrim's Eye
• 1 Ephara, God of the Polis
• 1 Karametra, God of Harvests
• 1 Lavinia of the Tenth
• 1 Saffi Eriksdotter
• 1 Thassa, God of the Sea

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Venser, the Sojourner

• Spells (27)
• 1 Arcane Denial
• 1 Bant Charm
• 1 Blue Sun's Zenith
• 1 Dream Fracture
• 1 Ghostly Flicker
• 1 Krosan Grip
• 1 Momentary Blink
• 1 Plasm Capture
• 1 Swan Song
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Curse of the Swine
• 1 Day of Judgment
• 1 Oust
• 1 Aura Shards
• 1 Gift of Immortality
• 1 Reparations
• 1 Sunblast Angel
• 1 Cauldron of Souls
• 1 Conjurer's Closet
• 1 Darksteel Ingot
• 1 Darksteel Plate
• 1 Illusionist's Bracers
• 1 Minion Reflector
• 1 Strionic Resonator
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Thousand-Year Elixir
• 1 Bident of Thassa

• Lands (36)
• 5 Plains
• 6 Forest
• 6 Island
• 1 Alchemist's Refuge
• 1 Azorius Chancery
• 1 Bant Panorama
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Krosan Verge
• 1 Lonely Sandbar
• 1 New Benalia
• 1 Saltcrusted Steppe
• 1 Seaside Citadel
• 1 Secluded Steppe
• 1 Selesnya Sanctuary
• 1 Simic Growth Chamber
• 1 Temple of Plenty
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Tranquil Thicket
• 1 Vivid Creek
• 1 Vivid Grove
• 1 Vivid Meadow

Buy This Deck

I would say Simon’s deck is a bit more powerful than Jason’s. Simon seems a bit worried about needing to potentially tone the deck down to bring it down to a 75% level. This doesn’t seem broken to me at all. There are infinite combos here, but they are clunky, inconsistent, and easily disrupted. That’s not a bad thing, it’s a great thing! The deck doesn’t rely on these scenarios and doesn’t come by them easily, which is very 75% if you ask me.

I’m not saying you should tell your playgroup to “Planeswalker up” if they struggle against your deck, but I think there is an amount of objectivity to what a 75% deck looks like. I think Simon’s and Jason’s decks are both good examples of 75% builds, and I think examining both of them gives me an idea for another axiom.

• If your deck is built as a 75% deck, you should be able to beat optimized decks if you play tight, and casual decks should be able to beat you if they play tight.

If your opponents can’t beat you because your deck stomps them consistently, and it does it in a similar manner every time, you can probably tone the deck down or try to build a different one 75%. But if your group complains that you win every game when in reality you’re comboing off on turn thirty-three and a Krosan Grip or Day of Judgment would have completely pulled your pants down, your deck may be objectively a 75% deck, and the issue is that your group needs to step its game up. Sometimes, scaling to their power level isn’t enough, and they just need to run a modest amount of removal or identify when you’re setting up a combo a bit better. Sometimes, they make play mistakes that allow you to win. Sometimes, they durdle too much and are more concerned with having a big army than with winning the game. Your deck may be a better 75% build than you think.

No, it was the Dude in The Big Lebowski. Either way, you can’t argue that your deck is a good 75% build with an empty table. If your group can’t cope, help them improve, build a durdle deck to play with them, encourage them to make better lines of play, and trade them a few copies of Viridian Shaman or Venser, Shaper Savant. It’s no good to be right if you’re by yourself.

With all this in mind, I think Jason and Simon both identified the fact that, sometimes, our play results can blind us to whether our deck is a good 75% build. In the future, let’s ask ourselves two questions:

• “Can I beat almost anyone if I get a bit lucky and play tight?”
• “Can almost any reasonable deck beat me if the opponent gets a bit lucky and plays tight?”

If the answer to both of those questions is yes, I think we have a good 75% deck. If your opponents can’t win because they refuse to put any removal in their Yukora, the Prisoner Demon tribal deck, that doesn’t mean the deck isn’t 75%. It just means you may want to make a Thallid deck, too.