This can only be true because you are exploiting the fact that other players are playing in an environment where there is the presence of a greater metagame. It’s the same with any card game. It’s the reason why in Master Duel you see stun decks placing in random official tournaments or why there are some master rated players using them. There are even more environments where these cards don’t succeed because there are tools in a metagame that can deal with floodgate/ stax cards, artifacts, continuous spells/ traps, etc.
There are only so many ways to make decks especially in block formats. If you think the precipice of skill is coming up with your own deck and no other skills are related to success then I am not really sure what to say because that’s just patently untrue. You couldn’t, for example, take a bronze player and give them the top legend deck and expect them to hit legend. I would argue you couldn’t even take most diamond 5 players and do so (and in fact many of them do so already trying to hit even low legend).
There are different ways to climb ranked in any game. If I played Halo competitively and I wanted to play a flanking strategy, that strategy could only work if there is an established way people are playing team slayer. If I wanted to play League and do some duo top strategy where two people are taking smite or someone plays a Nunu or an Ivern then that is a strategy that would work specifically because of an established meta or at the very least a baseline of how people can typically be expected to play the game.
Exploiting metas is ONE strategy for success, it is not THE strategy for success and it’s certainly not a barometer of either skill or intelligence if someone is or is not playing this way. This is such an astonishingly bad take I’m not sure you’ve ever made legend to really speak on how to hit it.
That means you had played for obscene amounts of hours daily to do that; I don’t mean necessarily this month· especially if you have X2 stars into diamond 5 making legend inevitable; I meant in your history in the game.
And since you had played through the patches for obscene amounts of hours it means you knew very well what the opponents are doing.
And that means you had your own data collection of the best decks; it’s not better than going hsguru; it’s just another way.
I make my own counter meta decks that is why im legend, and yes skill is not just make decks but also how you playing. I playing every day, often more that 12hours its not problem sometime to hit legend in few hours if you are lucky to draw playable cards and others aspects. Many players what copying decks playing like childs and have win becouse rng or good luck that is not skill Ok and what about playing chess? Its not alslo about IQ? Do not tel me nonsence. For making good decks and planing strategy, you need IQ believe me.
I’ve probably gone legend in half that time without star bonuses. With that obscene amount played per day why would you need any site that collects netdecks data.
On the one hand, if you refuse to netdeck you are handicapping yourself. No two ways about it. There are only so many answers to the puzzle and, no, you are not smarter than the collective deckbuilding intelligence of the entire Internet. It is hubris to believe that you are.
On the other hand…
… sometimes deliberately handicapping yourself can be fun. Perhaps especially so if one is exceptionally skilled. It’s one thing to make Legend, and another thing to make Legend with your off hand, so to speak.
Personally, I prefer to just start off with my main hand. Not that I don’t see the allure, mind you; I can respect what you do. I just prefer to start off at full power.
That player is playing for more than 12 hours a day which means they play for most of their waking life. That means they already know the netdecks even if they don’t know that they know the netdecks consciously.
E.g. I see the same plague DK in a meta; I keep seeing it so much for hours a day; at some point I can literally just construct the (net)deck myself from memory (the “worst” is that I may change 1 card or 2).
I didn’t say I’m smarter than everyone what copying the decks. And My own decks not handicaping me. About this video, If you are smarter and have faster observational senses than opponent you have significantly advantage. This video is bad example, becouse there is too many different factors why you can loose or win.
So then if there are many factors to losing and winning then how does netdecking make someone bad at the game? That reasoning you’ve maintained in the entire discussion is reductive to players winning and losing based solely on whether or not they are netdecking. It’s one or the other. There’s a clear and obvious reason why people playing the exact same decks are seen throughout various ranks and it’s because the deck you play is not the sole reason why people get to legend.
There are some metas where not playing the best deck might bar you from hitting high ranks (such as in tier 0 metas, which we are not in right now), and we’ve seen this with competitive card games elsewhere – we’ve recently seen it in YGO with Snake-Eyes with majority of top 16 placements being all a single deck. Competition and ladder climbing are two different things especially in a game with no matches or siding (Hearthstone, Master Duel, Runeterra), so there is clear skill expression in the game even when people are playing the same decks.
And to be fair, this Standard is one of the most diverse formats we’ve had in years. It’s not perfect but there are tons of decks to play right now. So if people are only hitting legend because of the decks they play, tell me which decks right now are such high outliers in performance that they are elevating players who have never hit legend before to hitting legend recently?
Can you post a couple of your decks? I want to see how much they differ from netdecks. I have a suspicion that you have made decks that are close to the netdecks; that’s not necessarily bad; but it’s also true that if you see other opponents then you get ideas from their decks.
Do you even know what the meta decks even are? Because you could be could be copying them without even knowing it.
Although, I suppose if you “change one single card” then technically you’re not copying the literal entire deck list. Is there a percentage threshold beyond which you feel your conscious is clear? “Well, I’m not running Dorian therefore it’s not Dragon Druid?” “Hey, it can’t be Flood Paladin if I don’t include the Titan?”
You’re “clever” in the sense that you’re “winning” a game you are playing by yourself. Nobody cares if you netdeck. Aside from YOU.
its not problem sometime to hit legend in few hours if you are lucky to draw playable cards and others aspects. Many players what copying decks playing like childs and have win becouse rng or good luck that is not skill