Belcher v. Oops
Should I Belch, or should I Oops?
If you ask the Solitaire Team, they'll tell you that Belcher is the better deck.
While this is (IMO) true, I believe it is an over simplified answer to the question. Why is it an overly simplistic answer? Because the skill required to the two decks is very different.
Belcher v. Oops
Before I dive into the details of each, I should make it clear that the similarity between the deck stops at them both running:
- MDFCs in place of land
- Goblin Charbelcher
Learning one deck will not help you play the other.
Oops
Oops has a rather straight forward game plan:
- get 4 mana, with at least one B(lack) source
- play a Spy or Informer
- flip your deck into your graveyard (no lands)
- sequence the resultant triggers
- win the game
All of this can (and frequently does) happen by the Oops player's third turn. Oops relies on speed to do its thing before your opponent has a chance to establish themselves.
Belcher
Belcher's game plan might also seem rather straight forward:
- get 4 mana
- play a Belcher
- activate Belcher
- reveal your deck, killing your opponent
However, the above is again overly simplistic. While casting Goblin Charbelcher requires only 4 mana, the pay off (activation) requires an additional 3, for a total of 7. This can be done in a single turn, but results in increased requirements.
The deck has a way to assemble the necessary requirements for playing and activating a Goblin Charbelcher on the same turn. It does so through the use of Recross the Paths. Since the deck does not contain any lands (MDFC back sides don't count), Recross allows the Belcher player to stack their deck. This is were the deck becomes complex. It is also where the deck becomes extremely versatile. These are referred to as Recross piles.
The Recross Pile
The Solitaire Team is confident that it is possible to create a Recross pile sequence to solve/overcome most (if not all) game states, thereby allowing the Belcher player to win the game. However, this also requires the Belcher player to have in depth knowledge about their opponent's deck, how it operates, what cards their opponent brought in from the sideboard, and what cards they took out.
Closing Thoughts
Belcher is the better deck, but it requires significantly more skill to pilot to its fullest.
For someone new to the decks, Oops will require less skill/effort to win more than you lose.
In a known meta with a skilled pilot, Belcher simply cleans house.