The Young Pope w/aandries

My dear faithful ones, I'm sorry I'm late.

But here I am.

Look at me.

Only don't look at me. Look up.

Do you see the MWL? Do you see Boggs?

No? No matter.

Now look at the Corp player next to you. Look joyfully upon him, and remember what Saint Damon said: "If you want to see the MWL, you have the means to do it. The MWL is love."

What have we forgotten? What have we forgotten? We have forgotten Lukas. You!

You have forgotten Lukas.

I want to be very clear with you. You have to be closer to Boggs than to each other. I am closer to Boggs than I am to you.

You need to know that I will never be close to you. Because everyone is alone before Boggs.

I have nothing to say to those who have even the slightest doubt about Boggs. All I can do is remind them of my scorn. And their wretched Corp decks.

I don't have the proof of Boggs’ existence, it is up to you to prove that He doesn't.

Are you capable of proving that Boggs does not exist?

If you aren't able to prove it, then it means that Boggs does exist.

Boggs exists. And He isn't interested in us until we become interested in Him, in Him exclusively.

Do you understand what I am saying? Ex-clu-sive-ly! Twenty-four hours a day. Your hearts and minds filled only with Boggs.

There's no room for anything else. No room for AGOT, no room for L5R, no room for emancipation. "Free yourself from ANR!” I've heard people say. "Liberate yourself from Damon."

But, the pain of liberation is unbearable, sharp enough to kill JNET. Without Boggs... you are as good as dead. Dead, abandoned strays wandering the game stores, looking to play SW: Destiny.

We want to look at your deck!

You want to look at my deck? See how it plays? Go see Boggs first!

I won't help you. I'm not gonna show you the way. Search for it. Find Him. And when you have found Boggs, perhaps you will see me as well.

(someone plays Rumour Mill)

Stop it! How dare you shine a light on Caprice?!? What you are doing is more than a simple lack of respect. I don't know if you deserve her. I don't know. At this point... I don't know if you are worthy of RP... I don't know...

'The Young Pope' possible spoilers to follow...

Thanx to Aaron Andries for the deck's origin, and the Zach Cavis for the refinement advice and spectating. All three of us are big fans of 'The Young Pope'. As a result, I thought it was appropriate to name a throwback deck after the throwback fictional pope, and will try to tie in as many references to the show that I can.

Global Food Initiative - the Vatican-paid villages providing food and water in Africa
Nisei MK II - Lenny Bellardo, prescient and ahead of most in the game
Philotic Entanglement - the Kurtweil scandal the Vatican needs to address
The Future Perfect - baby Pius, the miracle, 'perfect' birth
Clone Suffrage Movement - the homosexual contingent within the Catholic 'upper management', fighting for legitimacy in the Church's eyes
Jackson Howard - Voiello, the Cardinal Secretary of State, multi-faceted and ever helpful
Jeeves Model Bioroids - Cardinal Dussolier, Lenny's old friend and confidant
Mental Health Clinic - the confessional in the Vatican, allowing those to offload their sins, assuaging their guilt in exchange for unwittingly feeding Lenny info.
NASX - the Vatican's merch wing, put on hold by Lenny
Sundew - the pedophile priests, carnivorous at heart
Caprice Nisei - Sister Mary, Lenny's mother figure, protector, and spiritual guide
Ark Lockdown - Lenny's locking down of the Pope's image and public appearances
Celebrity Gift - the many gifts given to the Pope, specifically the kangaroo
Cerebral Static - Lenny's 'power' to talk to God, numbing or eliminating opponents or problems
Friends in High Places - see above; Lenny seems to have a conduit to God
Hedge Fund - the Vatican has a lot of money, able to buy back things like the mitre
Voter Intimidation - Lenny's intimidation and threats, in this case, to the Italian Prime Minister
Chiyashi – unsure of the definition. If it refers to a castle, could represent the power of the Vatican, or Cardinal Spencer, Lenny's father figure
Himitsu-bako – a puzzle box, Lenny’s half of a pipe from his dad, the mystery of his whereabouts
Aiki – Lenny’s balance between appeasing God, those following him, his desires/failings, and his obsession with his parents who abandoned him
Crick – Lenny’s miracle of bringing back his childhood friend’s mom from Death’s door
DNA Tracker – Lenny's unending search for his birth parents
Lotus Field – the gardens of the Vatican, where many important decisions are made my Lenny
Cortex Lock – Lenny’s visions and dreams
Komainu – the Swiss Guard that guard the Vatican