BDE

If you spend any time online, you're bombarded by 2 things: memes and trolling. If you go looking for MTG memes, you'll eventually come across BDE Games. He catalogs, curates, and obliterates your feed with the best of the best (or worst of the worst) MTG memers out there. Not only is he an online purveyor of side splitting content, but he's also a Commander player. This is where part 2 of my statement comes into play; he has the troll-y-est deck you'll ever see. Any deck like his is going to get a reputation among a play group or at an LGS. I'm talking about his “Worst Deck.” I more affectionately have come to call it the “No Explanations” deck. This deck rewards you for having a deep knowledge of MTG mechanics and cards. It has to, because it has no reminder text on any of the cards. Do you remember how Initiative works, or the stages of the ring tempting you, or even Day/Night? You better, because reading the card will not explain the card in this case. Sorry Professor.

It would be very easy to dismiss this Worst Deck out of hand, but I quickly noticed the time and care that went into crafting it. Each card was carefully selected, each printing reviewed to fit the theme. I never care what version of a card I put in a deck. I don't even care if my Basic Lands match. This is on a different level. I made an off hand comment about the deck that truly breathed life into this idea- there will be No Explanation, Only Reputation.

Lucky for you, I've been subjected to 3 years (call them Eras) of this music and lore to prepare me for this article. I've done a Thorough Investigation, and there is more than enough material here for a full article. Whether seeing a card with no rules text makes you want to Manifest Dread, or you Ba Sing Se along with Taylor Swift's hits, this is the deck for you.

The best place to start, I think, is the true face of the deck. No, it's not the commander, Frodo Baggins. You may be Tempted to think he's the focal point, but he's here for the colors and to be a Ring Bearer. The true heart of the deck is Ellywick Tumblestrum. Her +1 lets you Venture, which lets you pick a Dungeon and start off the first room, or advance to the next room. Which Dungeon do you pick? I hope you have the three token cards that spell them out, or have them memorized. She works well with Goliath Paladin as it brings with it Initiative. Initiative provides a 4^th Dungeon, the Undercity, but the mechanic helps you progress to new rooms each turn if you do it right. Nadaar, Selfless Paladin is more straightforward, as it sticks to Venture and not Initiative. Instead of being straightforward, BDE added in Seasoned Dungeoneer. Not only is it an Initiative staple, but it brings with it the ability to Explore. I hope you were paying attention during Ixilan.

Yes, the deck has more Dungeon synergy in the form of White Plume Adventurer, Immovable Rod, Thorough Investigation, and more, but it's not the reason I think Ellywick is the center of the deck. Is it because she works really well with Will of the Planeswalkers on Path of the Animist or Path of the Ghosthunter? No way, there aren't any Planeschase cards here. Sorry, Susan Foreman. No, Ellywick is Taylor because of her instrument. She is a true musician, just like Taylor. When Ellywick's final lore counter is removed, I'll be crying “Teardrops on My Guitar.”

Are you ready for a deep cut? Taylor has a voice acting credit from a certain Dr Suess movie. This deck comes equipped with its own Lorax in the form of Drayad Arbor. When it gets tapped for mana, and someone becomes confused by the giant Forrest art in the text box, just use your best Danny DeVito voice and say “I Speak for the Trees.” If someone destroys your Dryad Forest, complain about land destruction. Then hit them with the full art version of Vengevine and really leave them puzzled. I wonder if Gylwain, Casting Director had anything to do with her being in the movie? I certainly didn't stack up to be a Monster Role for her.

I can imagine bringing this deck to FNM a few times. People will take a few turns to catch on to what the deck is all about. When they do, they'll be saying “I knew you were Trouble When You Walked In.” Would you Reciprocate the feeling? Probably if they play a textless card like that. How mad could someone really stay when they see the detail that went into all these card choices?

The same time and care that went into crafting this deck went into crafting the BDE format. It takes the best things about MTG social formats like Commander and strips out the roadblocks. Don't worry about getting flooded or mana screwed. Just focus on having a good time. There's no need to worry about endless accessories or a meta. Everyone just shares a central deck, a BIG Deck; new players don't have to worry about the intricacies of deck building. There are instructions right here on how to build your own Big Deck Encounter. Better yet, just go to his shop and pick up a pre-constructed deck, carefully crafted for a good time.

One of the next most prevalent mechanics in the deck is Monarch. This is a great way to draw cards in a game. It's fickle, so your opponents can steal the crown and get the benefit themselves. Having so many cards that make you the Monarch is a great way to ensure you get to draw. It also puts pressure on your life total as opponents have to damage you to take the crown. It also gets opponents attacking one another, which is a win for the deck. If you ever play a deck like this, don't be afraid to get the ball rolling with a card like Court of Bounty or Court of Grace. Save a card like Archon of Coronation as a late game follow up when you need to retake the crown or when someone has a big board state and can wipe you out in one hit.

Radiant Solar is there to keep you Venturing. Every time a non token creature enters, to be more precise. With this many triggers there's no doubt you “Can Make The Whole Place Shimmer.” I'm just glad there are no Lesson cards in the deck, so I don't have to “Get Graded on a Curve.”

Better yet, just cast Palace Jailer. It's great removal and will reward you with a card at the end of the turn. Someone might protest having their creature exiled. If they start to give you a hard time, just respond with “No Body, No Crime” and play innocent. That creature will eventually be “Fresh Out The Slammer” when you pass the crown along, so the “Bad Blood” will be soothed. Except if you exiled a Token Creature, then it's just gone.

We're not “Out Of The Woods” yet with the Taylor references. If you watch that music video, you may believe she's being chased by wolves. A common misconception. They're actually Werewolves. Now, if you didn't know, Werewolves have a “Big Reputation” in Magic, and it's a bad one. They were originally just cumbersome to track, how many spells were cast on a given turn, and if that warranted flipping the creature. It got worse, and more fitting for this deck, when Daybound/Nightbound debuted in the last rotation to Innistrad. There is plenty of that in this deck.

There are some Werewolves that are easy to cast early in the game like Outland Liberator and Hound Tamer that make the table start tracking Day/Night very early on. Do we need to keep track of the number of spells if those early werewolves get removed? Absolutely. Everyone will want to know if it's Day or Night when Avabruck Caretaker is cast many turns later. If it's night, it will come in as Hollowhenge Huntmaster, which is not only more powerful but puts a lot of additional power on the board right away. When you start your turn on Night and cast Howlpack Piper, which is really Wildsong Howler, just whisper to the card, “In the Middle of the Night, In My Dreams, You Should See The Things We Do.”

If all these Taylor Swift call backs, choruses, and trivia bombs haven't made your opponents scoop just yet, the deck will need to close out the game on its own. The first step I recommend is to build a big board presence. Assemble your Werewolves and Ring Bearer, your Dungeon Venturers and Explorers. Then tell opponents to Shake it Off as you slam down Moonshaker Cavalry. This Spirit will pump up your team and bring them up over blockers by giving them flying. You might never know thanks to a full art version of this card running around in the deck.

When you knock out the final hit point from the last opponent, ask them, “Do you know what the T in T Swift really stands for?” Just follow it up and say, “The T stands for Troll” and see yourself off the table and out to your “Getaway Car.”

I'm including the deck list below, but for the full effect, check out BDE's listing on Mana Box. You really get the full effect of the care and curation that went into the deck, and why he calls it the Worst Deck.

Frodo Baggins
Ajani, Sleeper Agent	Gemrazer	Batterskull
Ellywick Tumblestrum	Glistener Elf	Coin of Fate
Nissa, Ascended Animist	Goliath Paladin	Fractured Powerstone
Appa, Steadfast Guardian	Graceful Antelope	Haystack
Arachne, Psionic Weaver	Gylwain, Casting Director	Immovable Rod
Archon of Coronation	Hauntwoods Shrieker	Norn's Annex
Avabruck Caretaker/ Hollowhenge Huntmaster	Hound Tamer/Untamed Pup	Phyrexian Furnace
Avacyn's Pilgrim	Howlpack Piper/Wildsong Howler	Beast Within
Benalish Hero	Illustrious Wanderglyph	Brave the Elements
Burly Breaker/Dire-Strain Demolisher	Kjeldoran Warrior	Fateful Absence
Cenote Scout	Mistmoon Groffon	Get Lost
Champions of Minas Tirith	Moonshaker Cavalry	Reciprocate
Cubwarden	Nadaat Selfless Paladin	Path of the Animist
Curator Beastie	Ocelot Pride	Path of the Ghosthunter
Dryad Arbor	Outland Liberator/Frenzied Trapbreaker	Blind Obedience
Dunedain Rangers	Palace Jailer	Court of Bounty
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite	Psychosis Crawler	Court of Grace
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines	Radiant Solar	Thorough Investigation
Undermountain Adventurer	Sakura-Tribe Elder	White Plume Adventurer
Vengevine	Seasoned Dungeoneer	Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider	Susan Foreman	Tendershoot Dryad
Forest x10		Plains x11
Ba Sing Se	Branchloft Pathway/ Boulderloft Pathway	Dungeon Descent
Evendo, Waking Haven	Inkmoth Nexus	Mosswort Bridge
Murganda Raceway	Stirring Wildwood	Temple Garden
Throne of the High City	Urza's Saga	Windbrisk Heights
Amonkhet Raceway	Arch of Orazca	Avishkar Raceway

That might be the end of my writeup, but don't let it be the end of your interaction with the Big Deck Encounter format. Do yourself a favor: check out his shop and pick up a premade party deck. It's a great way to get your Non Magic playing friends to try the game out without a big barrier to entry.

I've got a bonus for you. I have more puns and jokes than I could work into the article. So I'm including them at the very end for you.

Take a look at Cenote Explorer. A C-Note is a $100 bill, which is fitting because we're here to keep it 100 on the land, sea, and air.

Show your Blind Obedience, like a true Swiftie.

Look your opponents square in the eye and tell them they're not “Out of The Woods” yet, then hit them with Hauntwoods Shrieker. The joke works with Stirring Wildwood as well, especially if you were to animate it. Just leave the song “Wood” out of the conversation.

Infect can certainly scare opponents, but if you hide it in Phyrexian script, it may soften the blow, until a poison counter shows up. That's “The Moment I Knew” that Christmas Lights Glisten, but Glistener Elf will get you hated out of the game.

Taylor pleads, "Don't Put Me In The Basement When I Want the Penthouse of Your Heart.” That's a losing proposition for Undermountain Adventurer.