my turn....
I think we all know where I stand on this issue....
I, (BY CHOICE AND STRONG CRITISIZM) play only rogue decks. Those people that know me understand that I can play just about anything and do extremely well with it. I COULD play archetypes, and on occasion do so with my son. The trick to running something rogue is understanding your metagame. I am fortunate to have some of the greatest players in the game relativly close to me. This allows me to get a GREAT understanding of all the "TOP" decks in the metagame. It seems to me that....As E4 goes, so goes the metagame. If I build a deck I take what they are prone to run into account. Generally, if I can build a deck that can go at least 50/50 with all of theirs, the rogue factor usually pushes the win % into my favor.
Now with that being said....It takes a great deal of skill to play some of these archetypes. Whether or not it is an EXACT copy from the net. I for one could never play MEDICHAM...It just wasnt my kind of deck. However, I did understand the concept and how I needed to approach the matchup in order to win it. I was one of the people who said.... Archetypes are for people who are too lazy to build something original... While I still believe thats true to an extent, I also believe, that if you put the time into making the deck fit your style and your metagame, it can truely be called your deck. example would be...bigchucks dragtrode or rocklock. Niether were invented by him, but were PERFECTED by him. What people need to understand is....Without ARCHETYPES to beat, Rogue would not exist.
I just have a personal appreciation for building stuff that people swear shouldnt work. Then I proceed to hand them their butt in a match. That is the most gratifying feeling for me.
Bottom line.... PLAY WHAT YOU LIKE.... Get comfortable with a deck that well suits your metagame. And IF you decide to build a red face paint deck...do a lot of testing against the top 4 decks before you decide to play it in a tourney. TRUST ME!!!
jimmy