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Video Series with Ryland: Bogles

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Ah yes, everyone's favorite archetype, Bogles. A deck so frequently complained about that we can't even agree on how to pronounce its name. Hate it or love it (I imagine many more exist on the hate-it side), it's been around for a while and isn't likely to go anywhere. The hexproof mechanic is certainly what put this deck in Modern, but slapping enchantments on a creature to make a huge fatty is a strategy nearly as old asĀ MagicĀ itself.

How much can really be said about this deck? Every deck in Magic has its own complexities, just within different decision points. Most of the interesting decisions with Bogles lie within three main categories:

  1. Deckbuilding decisions
  2. Sideboarding decisions
  3. Mulligan decisions

That is to say that primarily your in-game decisions will be less difficult and crucial relative to some other Modern archetypes. Amulet Titan, for example, will consistently have more difficult in-game decisions than Bogles. In the Magic community this is often a source of contempt for a deck, but realistically, it should be the opposite. When making deck choices for an event, people often overestimate the ability to leverage play skill, and underestimate the advantage of saving mental energy by reducing the number of difficult decisions. You will consistently make more mistakes playing Amulet over 15 rounds than Bogles.

Does that mean people should always be choosing to play Bogles? No, of course not. However, likeliness to make mistakes should play a larger factor than I think it currently does. That said, am I more likely to play Bogles than Titan in a coming event? Realistically, no; you're way more likely to see me slinging Primeval Titans than Gladecover Scouts. There are factors other than simplicity at play. I enjoy Amulet a lot more, I have relatively established sideboard plans for most matchups, and I've played the deck a lot more.

Honestly, Bogles is not a deck I particularly enjoy the style of, and I rarely play anything similar. That said, I am a firm believer that it benefits me to pick up a deck that I would not normally play. It helps me round myself out as a player, and puts me in the shoes of a common enemy that I am likely to face in the future. If you've been on the other side of the table, you will often have a slightly better understanding of the overall matchup.

As the target on Bogles's back gets larger, I think it will quickly become a poor meta call. Frankly, it all just depends on how much people want to come after the deck. Considering, however, how visceral the contempt for the archetype is, I would imagine it will quickly get pushed out again. Regardless of when it falls out of favor, one thing is for certain: it will be back again.

I hope you enjoy the matches and, as usual,Ā I'm interested to hear what kind of content you'd like to see moving forward, so I can continue to evolve and improve my videos. Please let me know your thoughts, and any improvements you would like to see concerning formatting, presentation, or whatever else strikes your fancy. To avoid spoilers, I won't repeat it here, but there is a question in the wrap-up that I'd love your feedback on. If you'd like to see similar content, check out my Twitch channel for some more live Modern!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL261kJ_cAQC9Zt87_QwJmSx9vO8HHgtd2]

3 thoughts on “Video Series with Ryland: Bogles

  1. Iā€™d really like to see a series (or watch you stream) Temur Moon. I know Gerard Fabiano went a ā€œmehā€ 10-5 with it, but Reid Duke was going to play it on SuperLeague until Nassif talked him out of it. I know Ancestral Vision is the controversial card but seems to be a smash hit in the little content Iā€™ve watched where itā€™s played. Alternately, if you feel UW can be good again, how would you update that list?

    Thanks Ryland!

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