AI Showdown: ChatGPT vs. Google Bard - The Epic MTG Duel Of The Machine Minds

AI like ChatGPT and Google Bard can do many things - Writing books, poems, coding, and answering questions. You name it; they can pretty much do it. But what about building Magic: The Gathering decks? Well, that's exactly what I wanted to find out. So, I asked ChatGPT to make whatever Modern deck it wanted and did the same for Google Bard, asking them to explain their card choices and include a sideboard. Then, I played the decks against one another. Now, I want to share the results with you.

We'll look at the prompt I gave each AI, the decks they built, their reasoning for their choices, and how the games I played with the decks facing off against one another went. So, let's get into the AI MTG deck-building showdown - Starting with what I requested.

ChatGPT Vs. Google Bard MTG Deck Building Challenge

If you're unfamiliar with ChatGPT or Bard, give them some instruction, and they'll generate, more or less, whatever you asked for in a matter of seconds. This got me wondering: can they build an MTG deck? So here's what I requested from ChatGPT.

The Prompt

I told ChatGPT, "Make me a 60-card Magic: The Gathering Deck in the Modern format. It should be cohesive and powerful. You pick the colors, archetype, cards, etc. I'm going to have Bard.Google also build a deck and play yours against it to see who wins."

I did the same to Bard but told it the deck it built would be played against Chat. Bard had a bit of trouble making the deck precisely 60 cards. Still, after a few more messages telling it the deck was over on the number of cards (and that Collective Brutality was in the deck with no black mana-producing lands), it got its list together. Here's what they built.

Deck Lists

U/B Comtrol By ChatGPT

• Visual
• CMC
• Compact
• Export

Main 60 cards (19 distinct)

Lands - 24

Side 15 cards (7 distinct)

Main 60 cards (19 distinct)

Lands - 24

Side 15 cards (7 distinct)

$€Tix

Main 60 cards (19 distinct)

Creature (8)
4 Snapcaster Mage			$18.00€16.521.29
2 Torrential Gearhulk			$1.20€1.130.09
2 Vendilion Clique			$4.95€4.650.14
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (23)
4 Fatal Push			$23.63€16.95
4 Mana Leak			$0.25€0.140.04
4 Cryptic Command			$8.05€5.920.45
3 Opt			$5.44€4.49
2 Logic Knot			$0.20€0.12
3 Thoughtseize			$11.50€14.453.02
2 Inquisition of Kozilek			$0.60€0.810.15
1 Search for Azcanta // Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin			$3.29€2.800.03
Planeswalker (5)
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor			$21.75€20.371.80
2 Liliana of the Veil			$17.49€15.737.49
Land (24)
4 Watery Grave			$12.65€11.520.43
4 Drowned Catacomb			$2.75€2.230.02
4 Polluted Delta			$32.99€22.8110.14
3 Field of Ruin			$0.25€0.170.03
7 Island			$18.60
2 Swamp			$0.15€0.080.03

Side 15 cards (7 distinct)

2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet			$8.93€8.070.16
3 Damping Sphere			$0.82€0.560.54
2 Surgical Extraction			$3.71€4.054.15
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Aether Gust			$0.39€0.360.03
2 Collective Brutality
2 Damnation			$19.50€15.69

Export

MTG Arena Format MTG Online File download Text List Registration PDF

And here's what the AI had to say about the deck:

Deck Strategy

This Blue-Black Control deck excels at controlling the game, disrupting your opponent's plans, and generating card advantage. Here's how it works:

• Control Elements: Use counterspells like Mana Leak, Cryptic Command, and Logic Knot to counter your opponent's spells. Fatal Push and Liliana of the Veil handle threats on the board. Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek help strip key cards from your opponent's hand.
• Card Advantage: Snapcaster Mage, Torrential Gearhulk, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor provide card advantage and recursion. Snapcaster Mage can flashback essential spells, while Jace allows you to brainstorm, bounce threats, and control the top of your library.
• Win Conditions: Your primary win conditions are milling your opponent out of cards with Jace, the Mind Sculptor's ultimate ability or attacking with Torrential Gearhulk. Vendilion Clique can also disrupt your opponent's hand while applying pressure.

Sideboard

The sideboard provides options for handling various matchups. Damping Sphere is great against combo decks, while Surgical Extraction deals with graveyard strategies. Ceremonious Rejection is for artifact-heavy decks, and Aether Gust helps against green decks. Collective Brutality is excellent for removing creatures and gaining life, and Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is a strong threat that can exile opposing creatures. Damnation is a board wipe for creature-heavy decks.

This deck offers a mix of control, disruption, and win conditions, making it a powerful choice for the Modern format. Good luck in your matchup against the deck generated by bard.google!

Mono-Green Tron By Bard AI

• Visual
• CMC
• Compact
• Export

Main 60 cards (14 distinct)

Lands - 20

Side 15 cards (6 distinct)

Main 60 cards (14 distinct)

Lands - 20

Side 15 cards (6 distinct)

$€Tix

Main 60 cards (14 distinct)

Planeswalker (4)
4 Karn Liberated			$8.79€8.961.88
Creature (8)
4 Wurmcoil Engine			$14.13€11.701.66
4 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger			$26.09€27.082.70
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (28)
4 Nature's Claim			$1.02€0.790.04
4 Ancient Stirrings			$0.49€0.250.04
4 Chromatic Star			$0.25
4 Chromatic Sphere			$0.86€0.85
4 Expedition Map			$2.90€2.460.05
4 All Is Dust			$4.47€3.581.64
4 Sylvan Scrying
Land (20)
8 Forest			$15.00
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower			0.06
4 Urza's Mine

Side 15 cards (6 distinct)

3 Warping Wail			$0.70€0.610.03
3 Relic of Progenitus			$5.92€5.641.91
3 Oblivion Stone			$0.77€0.66
3 Engineered Explosives			$10.02€10.743.73
1 Natural State			$0.25€0.140.03
2 Pithing Needle			$0.83€0.940.13

Export

MTG Arena Format MTG Online File download Text List Registration PDF

 Here's what Google AI had to say about its choices:

"This deck is a classic Modern deck that has been around for a long time. It is a very powerful deck that can win very quickly if it can assemble its namesake combination of Urza's Mine, Urza's Power Plant, and Urza's Tower.

The deck uses its mana acceleration spells to get to seven mana quickly. Once the deck is at seven mana, it can cast Karn Liberated, Wurmcoil Engine, or Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, all mighty creatures that can win the game quickly.

The deck also includes several removal spells, such as Nature's Claim, Walking Ballista [which isn't in the deck], to deal with the opponent's creatures. The deck also consists of All Is Dust, which can wipe away the opponent's board if they get ahead.

This deck is a very powerful deck that can be difficult to beat. It is a good deck to play if you want a deck that can win quickly and consistently.

This sideboard is designed to help the deck against various matchups.

• Natural State is a versatile removal spell that can destroy artifacts, enchantments, and creatures. It is especially useful against decks that rely on key artifacts or enchantments, such as Amulet Titan and Affinity.
• Warping Wail is a counterspell that can stop opponents from casting essential spells. It is beneficial against decks with many powerful spells, such as Control decks.
• Relic of Progenitus is an artifact that can be used to exile graveyards. It is handy against decks that rely on graveyard strategies, such as Dredge and Reanimator.
• Oblivion Stone is a sweeper that can destroy all artifacts, enchantments, and creatures. It is beneficial against decks with many permanents on the battlefield, such as Token decks.
• Engineered Explosives is another sweeper that can destroy all creatures with a specific power or toughness. It is especially useful against decks with many small creatures, such as Humans and Spirits.
• Pithing Needle is a sideboard staple that can be used to shut down specific cards or abilities, such as Tron lands or planeswalkers

I hope you enjoy playing this deck!"

The Results

Overall, both decks are pretty solid but a bit outdated and fairly standard choices for the archetypes. That said, ChatGPT was a much smoother experience. It generated the deck above and the entire description, as it appears here, in one attempt.

Google Bard, on the other hand, had a bit of a problem getting the number of cards right, added a Collective Brutality with no black mana in the deck, and originally had four copies of Nature's Claim in the main board as well as three in the SB. I told it to remove either the SB or mainboard cards, and it opted to keep a playset in the main, which I thought was funny. Artifact and enchantment decks, beware!

The Games

Which deck do you think is better? Regarding the games, I played them against one another, the best two out of three, and the Dimir control deck made by ChatGPT took both games. Game one could have been close, but Tron took just a bit too long to get online and never got a chance to resolve enough threats, eventually losing to Snapcaster beatdowns.

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Game two was similar but compounded by the fact that Tron drew too many lands and not enough threats. Combine that with a resolved Jace, the Mind Sculptor bottoming Ulamog and Wurmcoil; nothing of value ever hit the board. And the Dimir deck could hold up several counterspells that were never needed.

I will give it to Bard though, the playset of Nature's Claim did a great job of removing Torrential Gearhulk, which was unexpected.

Conclusion

ChatGPT and similar AI are fascinating, useful tools, and while deck building may not be their strong point, right now, they did ok. I want to experiment with having them build unique lists or make decks around certain weird cards. Until then, it seems ChatGPT has Bard beat in MTG brewing.

Here's what Chat had to say about its victory:

"I'm glad the Blue-Black Control deck performed well and secured a 2-0 victory against Bard's Mono-Green Tron deck! Control decks can excel in certain matchups, disrupting opponents' strategies and seizing game control. Feel free to ask if you have any more deck-building or MTG-related questions or want to explore different matchups. Happy Planeswalking!"

What are your thoughts on the decks and the idea of using AI in MTG and in general? Comment and let me know.