Harvonsgard wrote:This isn't a zero-sum game! The funds raised for this campaign would not have gone towards e.g. Emmanuel. This deck is trash imo and objectively low-effort, agreed on that (no offense Deryn

). But what is disheartening about the campaign? What is disheartening about someone that creates something? Just because it isn't to ones quality demands or personal liking. Failing is the first part of getting better. Did tje creator fail in creating an art piece? Hell yah! But who knows what this succes might spark in him? If it funds it funds and brings maybe some new folks to the card community that will invest future funds into more artistic decks.
I for my part would not buy Lotrék, S17 and other decks these days, if I didn't had clicked on that KumaFilms video featuring Zach Mueller showing fantastic isolations years ago.
Creators and brands that are consistently called low-effort, lazy and greedy have done more for the overall card community than the hungry artist that sits in his cellar creating amazing art that no one knows about. Sometimes it feels like we are the Parisian societe de arts fine and only Leonardo is allowed to be called great.
OPC for example. I don't buy any of their decks but seeing that they support the cardistry and magic community and how they inspire people to go out there and create is nothing but positive.
I don't know exactly what Deryn did to piss off Amy and LasVegasCards and I don't follow him on social media or anything. I saw him on reddit promoting his impossible bottles and seeing him on instagram in some KWP lives. That's all.
And seriouly, what is it that makes some call this a cardistry deck? The creator is not a cardist. He isn't active in the cardistry scene. This deck has nothing to enhance cardistry. Only because it is a joke/parody on OPC?
Perhaps I was hasty in categorizing this deck as a cardistry deck. I’ll admit, my experience with the cardistry world is fairly limited. It’s nice to hear a different perspective and you have a good point that, despite being lower in effort, other cardistry decks might actually add to the community, depending on what a collector finds important.
I definitely understand your point that support for one design does not mean those funds would have gone to another, had the first design never existed. For me, it’s a comparison of effort and the artistic experience when I compare a hype deck to a fully-custom design. My point of view is, admittedly, selfish. When I like a design, I simply need it to happen. When it doesn’t, I tend to get resentful of the support I see for decks that have the hype to transcend any need for custom artwork. That is what I find disheartening. The brilliant, starving artist is being passed by for the status quo.
Sure, Deryn has created something. I haven’t done shit. But my response is purely from a collector’s standpoint, and a picky one at that. I am amazed by these intricate and beautiful decks like Faunae, Culturae Animalis, Silk, Luminosity, and many more. I see artists share their process on IG and I am blown away, like with Rulers of Korea and Junghee’s timelapse paintings or Jackson’s live drafting sessions. Then I scratch my head seeing decks that are just drag-and-drop clip art, or a dot or a square or a trapezoid or a turd, with standard faces. There’s a disconnect for me, between those two groups. It will be a while before I see them as one group and one community but it certainly helps to see things from the other side of the aisle. Thanks for your response, Harvonsgard. Great insight, homie.