Before I delve any further, for those who are uninitiated, waifu/husbando decks are decks that focus on a single character in the deck. All fifty cards must comprise of that single character or feature them.
First off, is it important that all fifty cards feature that exact character? Well, in my definition or opinion, yes. If you have the capacity to, you should ensure that all fifty cards featured in a deck are that exact character. Of course, this is entirely up to that character and the cards released for them. Not every character has enough cards to actually carry fifty cards featuring them.
Alright, so what constitutes as same character? Can I include special forms of said character or alternative identities? How far can we stretch this concept of same character? What inclusions are allowed? Are there exceptions?
To be honest, there isn’t any official ruling or mandatory deck requirements that define the in-depth rulings for a waifu deck. I will give some suggestions to rulings that I give myself personally.
- All cards must be of the same character
- No dual personalities or alternate identities*
- The card must feature the character in it in both the visual art and the name
- Climaxes must try their best to also adhere to the visual art rule**
*Dual personalities include concepts such as Illya from Prisma/Illya and Kuro from the same series. They count as separate waifu characters. Another example is for Archer from Fate and Shirou from Fate.*
**Climaxes don’t always feature the character in question on the climax. Sometimes the climax itself may be a spell casting incantation for example. Just make sure that climax is the one that adheres to a character that fits the waifu deck rulings.**
Again, these are just my personal rulings. How you choose to decide what constitute as the requirements for a waifu/husbando deck and how many exceptions if you choose to make any are up entirely to you.
Now, are all waifu/husband decks equal in power or the same? Well, for the former, are they all equal? This is an astounding “no”. The problem is that not all characters receive the same amount of support. Usually, at least for Weiss Schwarz, only the main characters of a series realistically have enough cards to tinker with for a full deck. If you are a fan of a side character, you may get only one or even two cards at best. Also, not every character has the same amount of support or strong generic effects attached to them. Some characters are attached to a strong effect such as a Riki, but lack an effect of a brainstorm for say. It really depends.
Now, are all waifu/husbando decks the same? Well the usual reason this question is posed at all is because waifu/husbando decks are generally quite restrictive. This is obvious since unlike a strategy/synergy, you’re only working off what cards are available to you rather than support for an ongoing idea. It’s not about selectivity here, it’s rather availability for most waifu/husband decks. Not to mention, because they’re usually a mountain of just cards that fit together for the sake of being waifu/husbando, they also have a very generic single styled game-play or even no strategy at all (no climax combos for example). You may end us just slugging random cards at your opponent at hopes of winning with little to no consistency. So, yes they can feel the same at times and some do play the same, but are they all the same, not really.
So why play a waifu/husbando deck? Well the answer is because you like that character. If you weren’t a fan, why bother with making a waifu/husbando deck. I’m not saying that you have to make a waifu/husbando deck to show your appreciation for that character, but it is a common thing that fans of that character do. Some people don’t like that restrictive style with these decks, and that’s fine. You don’t have to make one if you don’t want to.
Why do people look down on waifu/husbando decks? There’s thoughts out there that waifu/husbando decks aren’t real decks. Furthermore, people may also consider a waifu/husbando deck tournament to be casual and promoting those kind of players. To be honest, any deck with fifty cards technically is a deck. Also, there’s realistically nothing wrong with having a waifu/husband deck tournament. People can decide how they have fun. As for casualness or competitiveness, I’ll cover that in a separate post.
Pick your favourite character. Compile a deck and have fun with it. Even if you don’t play it, you could enshrine it or frame it up somewhere.