Ludwig Ahgren Denounced The Twitch Streamer NFT Project 'MetaDeckz,' Forcing Its Creator To Withdraw

This week on Twitter, an artist tried to promote his new NFT collection depicting notable Twitch streamers like Ludwig Ahgren and Pokimane as trading cards, effectively naming the project "MetDeckz." However, the project was short-lived when Ahgren found the account and decided to denounce it.

It all started on Valentine's Day this week when a Twitter account called MetaDeckz posted its first, promotional tweet. More tweets were sent out that had short videos attached, ones of playing cards with streamer faces rotating in an empty void.

Among the streamers depicted in the collection were Ludwig Ahgren, known for being the most subscribed Twitch streamer at the beginning of last year. Ahgren was made aware of the MetaDeckz project through a quote tweet from his friend Slime Machine, who clowned on the NFT creator as well as on Ahgren by attaching a photo of a document reading, "United States Patent and Trademark Office." Multiple Twitter users joined in on the clowning, attacking the NFT creator within the replies of Slime Machine's quote tweet.

This led to a response from the NFT creator himself, who revealed his identity in a video addressing the people who levied criticism at him and his intentions. He introduced himself as Derek Z and insisted that he started the project because he wanted to do something good for the community (one that he's an avid fan of) within the NFT-sphere. He said that he knew he was being risky, having had emailed the streamers but receiving no responses. He decided to go through with the project despite this.

slime_machine</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LudwigAhgren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">LudwigAhgren pic.twitter.com/zPbGpjr7yA

— MetaDeckz (@MetaDeckz) February 17, 2022

Ludwig saw his video shortly after, having been tagged in its caption. Ludwig decided to tweet a reply at him, reading as a notes app screenshot. He first stated, "I am not making a fucking NFT and I’ll let my lawyers take it from here," and went on from there to address the specifics of the creator's explanation video. For instance, Ludwig revealed that the creator had not emailed him and had only DM'd him on Twitter post Slime Machine's retweet. Ludwig was also upset by the creator's insistence that the project was "for the community," a community that he claimed, "roasts NFT projects for their shady practices."

TLDR: I am not making a fucking NFT and I’ll let my lawyers take it from here pic.twitter.com/helUAcsjJW

— ludwig (@LudwigAhgren) February 17, 2022

The creator, Derek Z, was obviously hurt by the backlash, replying with his own notes app apology later that day. He ended up agreeing with a lot of Ludwig's statements regarding the shadiness of NFT projects. He emphasized further that he's been a longtime fan of Ludwig and the other streamers he depicted. In the end, Derek Z announced that he was permanently disbanding the MetaDeckz project.

@LudwigAhgren pic.twitter.com/BHdeajDl12

— MetaDeckz (@MetaDeckz) February 17, 2022

He also tweeted a separate apology video, tagging Ludwig in the caption. However, Twitter users still felt that his decision to start the project, as well as his overall execution of it, was ill-advised and lacked the right intentions. The short lifespan of the MetaDeckz collection is a signifier going forward of the mass distrust regarding NFT projects. Crypto art has a long way to go before winning the hearts of Twitch fanatics or any fanbase that fears their own exploitation.

bro just admit you wanted to make some cash off the NFT craze

— jaxon (@JxnAlx) February 17, 2022