AI Deck-builder Won’t Stop Adding Counterplay for Carpenter Bees
Mahwah, NJ – A new AI-powered deck-builder is facing criticism this week, after Magic players say it became obsessed with preparing their decks for one specific threat: carpenter bees.
As AI assistants have become widely adopted, many Americans are turning to them to help with their everyday tasks, such as emails, note-taking, or dressing AOC up in a variety of sexy outfits. That’s why when it was announced that Magic: The Gathering deck-building would be the next to receive AI assistance, there was initially much excitement amongst the player base.
The AI assistant in question, Sparky 2.0, was marketed by Anthropic as a tool for players to build decks, test them against the current metas, and improve their ability to compete at the highest levels.
However, many early adopters, eager to try out Sparky, say they experienced something else entirely. One such player, Jim Davis (not that one, or the other one, but a third one), had this to say to the Herald:
“I downloaded Sparky because I suck at building sideboards. And at first, I didn’t sense anything wrong. I followed the instructions, copied my list in, and asked Sparky to help me be able to handle the biggest threats to my deck. Right away, Sparky came back with some suggestions for removal, and I thought that’s always a good start.”
Mr. Davis says things began to go downhill from there.
“When I asked for specifics, Sparky told me to cut all of my disenchants and add multiple copies of Whirlwind, Plummet, Nylea’s Intervention, and other cards like that,” Davis continued. “I said, Sparky, don’t you think those are a little narrow? Flyers can be a problem, but let’s try again. Sparky came back with adding in Arrow Storm and Firecannon Blast, and I was even more confused. I asked why those cards, and it explained that Raid is highly effective against carpenter bees. That’s when I figured out the mix-up. I tried to correct it.”
That was not the end of things?
“No, not at all. Sparky went nuts when I explained the mistake. It completely doubled down, saying my feeble human mind just wasn’t comprehending the true threat of carpenter bees. It generated a completely new sideboard with 15 copies of Pest Control. When I pointed out that Pest Control doesn’t have the Relentless Rats text, Sparky called me a coward, deleted my deck, and added 36 copies to the main.”
Will Mr. Davis consider using Sparky if there’s an update to fix it?
“No, I think I’ve had enough. But I really hope they fix this issue because Sparky keeps spamming me its 700-page matchup guide, CARPENTER BEES: A PLAY/DRAW ANALYSIS.”
With many other players reporting similar experiences with Sparky, we asked Anthropic for comment on these troubling accounts of their product. They released this statement:
“We trained Sparky on thousands of competitive Magic matches. Unfortunately, it seems Sparky can’t yet distinguish between meta threats to a deck and literal threats to a deck. Homonyms are the single biggest hurdle to AGI, but we will get over them. We just need a few more data centers.”
