CUT's 2nd Anniversary!

It's been two whole years. Two whole years of deck challenges, finals, and picking winners from those CUTs. Two whole Single Slices featuring creators from our awesome community battling it out to see who built the best deck. Two whole years that I have asked you to vote for your favourite decks. Two whole years that I have gotten to write these articles for you, myself, and the awesome community of Magic players.

This is a bit of a special article: I'll share some thoughts from deckbuilders I have had featured over the past two years and let them share their thoughts on their experience writing for and participating in CUT.

Before we get to that though, let's see who won the last CUT:

And Robyn is the winner! Congratulations! Looks like Solphim, Mayhem Dominus and the Partners Prava of the Steel Legion and Ich-Tekik, Salvage Splicer compleated your victory. A big thank you to Kenneth for participating in another CUT, it was a pleasure to have you on again, and I hope to see you back on soon! Go and congratulate Robyn on her victory on twitter!

Today we celebrate two years of CUT! I thought the best way to do that was to reach out to the various competitors and get their thoughts on what it was like participating in CUT!

First up is David! You may remember him from the very first CUT and CUT #15. Both of his appearances brought such wonderful and creative decks, and really, I owe a lot to him for being one of the first folks to participate in CUT, so, thank you David!

Lets see what he had to say

What was your favourite deck you built on CUT?

Probably Sisay and Jigantha.

What was your favourite deck you've seen on CUT?

Probably David R's Yawgmoth, Thran Physician superfriends deck. It made me see a favourite commander of mine in a new light.

What was your favourite thing about being on CUT?

Whenever I go to build a Commander deck, I often feel overwhelmed by all the options that I have. Having the restrictions gives me a smaller set of cards to consider.

It feels good to spend a day or two weighing my options and having a well thought out deck at the end.

If you could redo any deck you've built on CUT what would it be and why?

I think if I could, I'd re-do Dong Zhou, the Tyrant. I think my take on him was fresh, but the deck was too mean and went against the spirit of Commander. I treated it as a thought experiment, but I'm not sure I conveyed that properly in the article. If I had to do it again, I would probably write something like a self damage + soul sisters artifact-focused deck around Darien, King of Kjeldor.

Have any of the decks you've built on CUT inspired you to build any decks in real life?

I've always loved the Shrines, and I've built many decks around them over the years.

Now that there are more optimized options, like Go-Shintai of Life's Origin, Shrines feel a little less jank and a little more spikey.

Sisay, Weatherlight Captain and Jegantha, the Wellspring will always be my favourite incarnation of that deck.

Why should people participate in CUT?

It's a fun challenge, a good creative outlet, and it's nice to see something you wrote published in any form.

Any other comments?

Shrines are love, Shrines are life.

Thanks, David! It has been awesome having you on, and I hope I have you on again soon!

Next up is Mike Carrozza!

Mike is a fellow writer here on Commander's Herald, penning the fantastic article series Am I the Bolas? He has been on CUT the most times with three separate appearances. His first appearance was CUT #3, then on CUT #5, and then finally on CUT #8! He has been Mr. Reliable and always was willing to step in whenever I needed a last-minute person. A big thank you to Mike and his contributions to this series, because without him, I'd probably be CUT.

Take it away, Mike!

What was your favourite deck you built on CUT?

What was your favourite deck you've seen on CUT?

Nick Wolf's Queza, Augur of Agonies deck was so simple and good that I basically started the pile on my desk to replicate it the day I saw it before realizing I have too many Esper decks and put it on the back burner.

What was your favourite thing about being on CUT?

I'm bad at cutting cards. Having a deadline and some restrictions makes it so much easier to brew. Most of my decks are, like, 130 cards on Moxfield, and frankly if I have 103 sleeves, I'm using them all so some of my decks have 103 cards and no tutors so my opponents don't really mind. This makes me feel like I can do it, I can be a good deckbuilder.

If you could redo any deck you've built on CUT what would it be and why?

Probably Kels, Fight Fixer on CUT #8.

Have any of the decks you've built on CUT inspired you to build any decks in real life?

The Tymaret deck has inspired me to build Triad of Fates.

Why should people participate in CUT?

I can' t believe I've been on the most. It's just fun. Being able to use the restrictions to discover interactions that you had never considered - because like it or not we all have our own pet cards - makes the experience so much fun. It is a relief to find stuff that works and it gets me to sit up in my chair when I spot cards I've always liked but never found the deck for finally be the absolute perfect fit.

Thanks for the kind words Mike, I really do hope to get you in another CUT soon! You can find Mike right here on Commander's Herald or over on twitter @mikecarrozza.

Lastly we have Lenny! Lenny is an amazing deckbuilder and writer over on EDHREC where he sinks all of his talent into his article series Power Sink. He has been on CUT twice, his first time was CUT #7 and then again on CUT #14. Both times his decks have been an awesome read and super creative. Another reliable person to call upon when needed, thank you again Lenny for being awesome!

Let's look at his answers!

What was your favourite deck you built on CUT?

General Tazri Wolves

What was your favourite deck you've seen on CUT?

Jake FitzSimons' Ukkima, Stalking Shadow and Cazur, Ruthless Stalker in that same challenge.

What was your favourite thing about being on CUT?

I love seeing the wild deck restrictions you come up with and I enjoy the challenge of brewing that way.

Have any of the decks you've built on CUT inspired you to build any decks in real life?

I haven't built anything from the series in paper, but I've used some of the cards I've discovered in decks.

Why should people participate in CUT?

People should participate in CUT because brewing with restrictions is a great way to learn about cards you would otherwise avoid.

Short and sweet! Thanks for the response Lenny, and as with the others, I hope I have you on again, as they say, third times the charm! Just ask Mike! Lenny can be found on twitter @LennyWooley.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed a piece to this and every article so far in the CUT repertoire! Another big thank you to all of the readers and folks who have voted throughout these past two years, this literally could not happen without your support. This next year of CUT I hope is just as good, if not better, than these past two have been. Of course, in order to make this an awesome year, I'll need your help, so if you or someone you know is interested in participating, share this article with them, or feel free to send an email to the.only.travis.stanley@gmail.com! As always, if you don't love it, CUT it!