The Definition of Xerox
-
With TMD's recent redesign I have taken it upon myself to make a few basic primers or collections of information regarding certain archetypes. For Xerox there is a beautiful piece written by the one and only @The-Atog-Lord , also known as Rich Shay. While the thread that this definition is from is off topic, I thought it highly worthwhile to link it and to copy the relevant part. So without further ado here it is:
@The-Atog-Lord said in Turbo Xerox and Monastery Mentor:"Turbo Xerox Across Formats
It was 20 years ago that Turbo Xerox theory was introduced to the Magic universe by Alan Comer. Turbo Xerox remains the most powerful approach to building Magic decks today. [...]Turbo Xerox theory is, briefly, the construction of a manabase with a suite of cantrips. A traditional deck might use 36 spells and 24 land. A deck built around the principals of Turbo Xerox Theory might have 20 land, 28 regular low-cost spells, and 12 cantrips. Here, a cantrip is defined as an inexpensive spell that replaces itself, often with a bit of library manipulation. The idea is that replacing lands with cantrips allows for much greater control over draws as the game progresses. Fewer land means fewer dead draws as the game progresses. More than that, the deck-manipulation cantrips mean that each drawstep is much more valuable to the Turbo Xerox deck than the traditional deck. Turbo Xerox Theory enables decks to maximize each draw step, while minimizing variance each game.
Turbo Xerox decks can be observed wherever there are sufficient cantrips. Consider some of the best decks in Modern. The Grixis Shadow deck has Thought Scour, Serum Visions, Street Wraith, and just 19 land. The Modern Storm deck has 18 land, along with Manamorphose, Sleight of Hand, and Serum Visions. In both cases, these Modern decks minimize their land count and dedicated win conditions in order to make room for cantrips. Similarly, in Legacy, some of the most powerful and popular decks utilize Turbo Xerox Theory. The leading Legacy deck is Grixis Delver, featuring 18 land alongside full sets of Brainstorm, Ponder, and Gitaxian Probe. The Legacy Miracles deck, before being hit with a Top banning, had Brainstorm, Ponder, and Top. Even the Legacy Storm deck is a Turbo Xerox deck, with a fairly large number of cantrips. What we are seeing is that across large formats, Turbo Xerox Theory is the centerpiece of some of the most powerful decks."
Here is the link to the thread where I pulled that quote if anyone is interested.
-
This post is deleted! -
@rat3de said in The Definition of Xerox:
With TMD's recent redesign I have taken it upon myself to make a few basic primers or collections of information regarding certain archetypes.
I was thinking about writing a Primer for DPS for a while, i have been playing this deck for years and have gone through a lot of iterations and versions. However, even though i do keep up to date and play quite a lot online (not mtgo sadly), iam not a accomplished tournament player, recognisable name on mtgo or in anyway a person that has any authority on the matter.
Would people still be interested in an overview and breakdown of the Deck and Deck variants by me or should i just rather let someone else do the job? -
@aelien I say go for it. If anyone wants to add constructive criticism after the fact, they'd be more than able to do so.
-
Funny enough that my article this week is about this very concept.
-
@aelien said in The Definition of Xerox:
However, even though i do keep up to date and play quite a lot online (not mtgo sadly), iam not a accomplished tournament player, recognisable name on mtgo or in anyway a person that has any authority on the matter.
Would people still be interested in an overview and breakdown of the Deck and Deck variants by me or should i just rather let someone else do the job?I am not a recognizable name, and have never won a tournament in my life. Do I care? No, I love this game, the people and the community, so I am going to help it in any way I can. If that mean writing a primer I am not
qualified to write, so be it. Cunningham's law states:"the best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer."
If I get something wrong, then others will correct it. Anyone should feel free to write any primers they want, they are contributing, so they are doing something right.
