when I first got into this game I would say the same thing. gotta use test as a base! EQ is for horses not humans! don't combine deca with nolva! don't combine a nandrolone with tren! don't use oral steroids! and don't use oral only steroid cycles! one day a guy i respected the hell out of told me that each and every one of those were BS myths so i tried each of those things above and realized how effective forum parroting can be. cause i ended up just fine in each situation. there is such thing as PREFERENCES but in the end that doesn't apply to everyone. i'm not a fan of deca for example cause it makes my appetite stupidly high, but that doesn't mean it isn't effective for others.
there are certain situations where oral only cycles are advantageous
i have done them plenty so has
@Mobster. I know one of the top crossfit athletes in the USA has not done injectable steroids once in his life. only oral cycles.
i can tell you a perfect example of why oral only can be advantegous. you recover way faster since they are in/out quicker. to bulk up doing a quick 4-5 week dbol or anadrol cycle. or cutting or more strength doing a quick superdrol, var, tbol cycle works just fine. i've done them many times over the years. currently doing tbol only for the summer.
another situation is some people simply do not react well to testosterone. i've had clients run even a tiny amount and get gyno issues. even on an AI they still get itchy nipples and these are guys who are lean too.
e.. in the 70's they never ran test cycles and it was the golden age of bodybuilding. you didn't see guys start using test in cycles until the very late 80's and 90's when they figured out they could use nolvadex on cycle as an anti estrogen. also you know that today pros will stop testosterone ahead of their contests in a lot of cases to help them cut and dry out. if you take a look at the pros who have had autopsy's done on them after death right before a contest you will see tons of EQ, 2-3grams, tren, oral steroids, and no test found at all. so they are doing 4-5g cycles without test.
people use sarms or pro hormones without testosterone plenty. the same guys who argue you need test are the same guys advocate sarms (who are repping sarms) online. that is the irony. so sarms which are also suppressive and cause liver strain are okay without test, but using anavar for 4 weeks without test will neuter you and is stupid? makes no sense.
if you are a juicehead, TRT person (andriol and creams do exist but aren't as effective of course) or a long term competitor then yes you should do injectables of course, but there are plenty of examples of orals and cycles without test being effective
keep in mind the whole "you need to run test" in your cycles started in the late 2000's/2010's on forums by guys who were repping for sources or actual trying to make bigger commissions/margins since at that time testosterone was so cheap to produce and sold for a huge margin. from there it started to get parroted as gospel by the younger guys. ask anyone who is 50+ who is a juicehead and they will tell you they've done plenty of cycles without test and lived to tell the tale