Extended deck
When I went to Gencon during autumn 2005 it was in the middle of an extended PTQ season. As I prefer playing MTG to VS I built a couple of decks to play over the 4 days. One was a slightly unusual Madness build (Thought Courier over Aquameba, Rushing River for bounce, and a couple of unusual tech cards), the other was a Domain deck.
Not owning any Fetchlands or Dual lands my Domain deck had a budget feel [aside: this was exagerated when I got a warning for marked sleeves during the PTQ. So anybody watching the top table would have seen that on turn three all I had in play was three different unsleeved basic lands - what a Noob!]
I owned the Deeds and Restraints and all that kind of stuff, but had to scrape around, borrowing several of my win conditions, and decided on both using Living Wish, and running an Erratic Explosion / Draco kill. (The following deck was untested and based on my underpowered collection: both the maindeck numbers and the sideboard cards could be improved)
9 Forests
5 Island
2 Swamps
1 Mountain
1 Plains (18 land)
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
3 Etched Oracle
1 Bringer of the Black Dawn
1 Draco (9 creatures)
4 Collective Restraint
3 Pernicious Deed
1 Holistic Wisdom (8 enchantments)
4 Lay of the Land
3 Rampant Growth
3 Living Wish
1 Erratic Explosion
1 Tribal Flames
1 Cranial Extraction
1 Allied Strategies
1 Wandering Stream (15 sorceries)
3 Evasive Action
3 Wordly Counsel
2 Insidious Dreams
2 Putrefy (8 instants)
SB: 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Blinkmoth Well
1 Silklash Spider
1 Meloku, The Clouded Mirror
1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress
1 Loxodon Heirarch
1 Meddling Mage
2 Destructive Flow
2 Lobotomy
1 Putrefy
1 Wandering Stream
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Ground Seal
This deck won me an eight man GPT, and got me a top 8 of a PTQ. And it was a lot of fun running one of those rogue decks that you hear players talking about between rounds. My third round PTQ opponent, as we chatted whilst shuffling for game one, mentioned that somebody was chucking was chucking Draco at people. I didn't tell him it was me. :)
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
G/R Anti-Affinity
Mirrodin/Kamigawa standard deck
In the last few years the only local tournaments I've attended have been pre-releases for the release of a new block and county championships. As I'm not exactly keeping up with recent releases building standard decks for the county champs hasn't always been easy.
This deck, mainly comprised of commons and uncommons was able to take me to a Top 8. The plan was to beat Affinity decks, and I defeated three in the swiss rounds. If only I'd kept playing the Affinity decks (there were four in the top 8, and the final was an Affinity mirror match) I could have been County Champ!
4 Hearth Kami
4 Tel-Jilad Chosen
4 Viridian Shaman
4 Orcish Artillery
4 Vulshok Sorceror
1 Glissa Sunseeker
1 Arc-Slogger
1 Molder Slug
1 Kumano
4 Shock
4 Electrostatic Bolt
4 Volcanic Hammer
1 Pulse of the Forge
11 Mountains
7 Forests
2 Shivan Oasis
3 City of Brass
In the last few years the only local tournaments I've attended have been pre-releases for the release of a new block and county championships. As I'm not exactly keeping up with recent releases building standard decks for the county champs hasn't always been easy.
This deck, mainly comprised of commons and uncommons was able to take me to a Top 8. The plan was to beat Affinity decks, and I defeated three in the swiss rounds. If only I'd kept playing the Affinity decks (there were four in the top 8, and the final was an Affinity mirror match) I could have been County Champ!
4 Hearth Kami
4 Tel-Jilad Chosen
4 Viridian Shaman
4 Orcish Artillery
4 Vulshok Sorceror
1 Glissa Sunseeker
1 Arc-Slogger
1 Molder Slug
1 Kumano
4 Shock
4 Electrostatic Bolt
4 Volcanic Hammer
1 Pulse of the Forge
11 Mountains
7 Forests
2 Shivan Oasis
3 City of Brass
Sunday, November 19, 2006
U/G/R Threshold
Invasion/Odyssey standard
This was a deck that I played in a tournament for fun. It's not the worlds best deck, but it does have Millikin in it :)
4 Werebear
4 Millikin
3 Call of the Herd
4 Flametongue Kavu
4 Centaur Chieftain
4 Beast Attack
4 Lay of The Land
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Fire / Ice
4 Aether Burst
4 Fact or Fiction
10 Forest
2 Islands
2 Mountains
3 City of Brass
This was a deck that I played in a tournament for fun. It's not the worlds best deck, but it does have Millikin in it :)
4 Werebear
4 Millikin
3 Call of the Herd
4 Flametongue Kavu
4 Centaur Chieftain
4 Beast Attack
4 Lay of The Land
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Fire / Ice
4 Aether Burst
4 Fact or Fiction
10 Forest
2 Islands
2 Mountains
3 City of Brass
U/B Upheval / Zombie Infestation
Invasion/Odyssey standard deck
The release of Odyssey was an odd time for Type 2 (standard). The American States championships would normally showcase all of the top new decks, but that year there was a Standard Masters event at the next Pro Tour, so all of the top pro teams were keeping back their best decks.
One of the decks that did break out from States was the combination of Zombie Infestation and Upheval. This is the version I played to a couple of tournaments. It was stupid good against control decks - by running Counterspell, Memory Lapse and Disrupt, you always won counter wars, and I managed to find room for main deck Mana Shorts!
4 Opt
3 Sleight of Hand
2 Disrupt
4 Counterspell
4 Memory Lapse
4 Fire / Ice
4 Repulse
2 Exclude
2 Mana Short
4 Fact or Fiction
3 Upheval
3 Zombie Infestation
3 Underground River
4 Shivan Reef
2 Shadowblood Ridge
10 Islands
2 Ancient Spring
At the San Diego Masters all the pros showed us we should have been playing Psychatog in our U/B decks, not Zombie Infestation, oops!
It was during the Odyssey block that my Magic playing really slowed down. By the time I decided to play Infestation / Upheval at a Odyssey Block constructed Pro Tour qualifier at Gencon I hadn't played for six months. Despite no playtesting I was in contention for the Top 8 until the penultimate round, when I dropped at 4-2-1, my final loss comming from a game loss rules infraction in game 3 against Bob Maher in a dead drawn position (we'd almost gone to time). I don't know if I'd have been in with a shot of making the top 8 at 4-1-2.
The release of Odyssey was an odd time for Type 2 (standard). The American States championships would normally showcase all of the top new decks, but that year there was a Standard Masters event at the next Pro Tour, so all of the top pro teams were keeping back their best decks.
One of the decks that did break out from States was the combination of Zombie Infestation and Upheval. This is the version I played to a couple of tournaments. It was stupid good against control decks - by running Counterspell, Memory Lapse and Disrupt, you always won counter wars, and I managed to find room for main deck Mana Shorts!
4 Opt
3 Sleight of Hand
2 Disrupt
4 Counterspell
4 Memory Lapse
4 Fire / Ice
4 Repulse
2 Exclude
2 Mana Short
4 Fact or Fiction
3 Upheval
3 Zombie Infestation
3 Underground River
4 Shivan Reef
2 Shadowblood Ridge
10 Islands
2 Ancient Spring
At the San Diego Masters all the pros showed us we should have been playing Psychatog in our U/B decks, not Zombie Infestation, oops!
It was during the Odyssey block that my Magic playing really slowed down. By the time I decided to play Infestation / Upheval at a Odyssey Block constructed Pro Tour qualifier at Gencon I hadn't played for six months. Despite no playtesting I was in contention for the Top 8 until the penultimate round, when I dropped at 4-2-1, my final loss comming from a game loss rules infraction in game 3 against Bob Maher in a dead drawn position (we'd almost gone to time). I don't know if I'd have been in with a shot of making the top 8 at 4-1-2.
U/G Control
Invasion/Odyssey standard
The months just after a block rotation have always been my most succesful periods. I wasn't the best player locally (that was Tony Adams), but I wasn't far off, and I was probably the best deck-builder, so before all the 'best decks' were found and readily available on the web I could win with my own decks.
U/G control was born of a realisation that Beast Attack was incredibly strong in a draw-go control build. This deck has loads of card advantadge (Fact of Fiction, Mystic Snake, Beast Attack), ways to fight against Call of the Herd (Repulse, Syncopate, Disrupt), and a very strong late game from Holistic Wisdom and Bearscape. It won a couple of tournaments.
4 Mystic Snake
4 Opt
3 Disrupt
4 Counterspell
4 Fire / Ice
2 Syncopate
4 Repulse
3 Exclude
4 Fact or Fiction
3 Beast Attack
1 Holistic Wisdom
1 Bearscape
1 Tsabo's Web
4 Yavamaya Coast
10 Islands
4 Forests
2 Mossfire Valley
3 Karplusian Forest
The months just after a block rotation have always been my most succesful periods. I wasn't the best player locally (that was Tony Adams), but I wasn't far off, and I was probably the best deck-builder, so before all the 'best decks' were found and readily available on the web I could win with my own decks.
U/G control was born of a realisation that Beast Attack was incredibly strong in a draw-go control build. This deck has loads of card advantadge (Fact of Fiction, Mystic Snake, Beast Attack), ways to fight against Call of the Herd (Repulse, Syncopate, Disrupt), and a very strong late game from Holistic Wisdom and Bearscape. It won a couple of tournaments.
4 Mystic Snake
4 Opt
3 Disrupt
4 Counterspell
4 Fire / Ice
2 Syncopate
4 Repulse
3 Exclude
4 Fact or Fiction
3 Beast Attack
1 Holistic Wisdom
1 Bearscape
1 Tsabo's Web
4 Yavamaya Coast
10 Islands
4 Forests
2 Mossfire Valley
3 Karplusian Forest
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Mono-B Suicide Black
Masques/Invasion deck
This deck evolved from the Big Black deck, over many months. It took a lot of tinkering to make a mono-black deck that worked in the environment at the time - able to fight againt both Fires and Rebels, but this deck had it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend Nationals Qualifiers with this deck (I was Best Man at a wedding that weekend), I would have fancied my chances.
4 Foul Imp
2 Nakaya Shade
4 Plague Spitter
4 Chimeric Idol
4 Phyrexian Scuta
4 Engineered Plague
4 Snuff Out
4 Tangle Wire
3 Despoil
4 Dark Ritual
4 Peat Bog
4 Rishadan Port
1 Dust Bowl
14 Swamps
This deck evolved from the Big Black deck, over many months. It took a lot of tinkering to make a mono-black deck that worked in the environment at the time - able to fight againt both Fires and Rebels, but this deck had it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend Nationals Qualifiers with this deck (I was Best Man at a wedding that weekend), I would have fancied my chances.
4 Foul Imp
2 Nakaya Shade
4 Plague Spitter
4 Chimeric Idol
4 Phyrexian Scuta
4 Engineered Plague
4 Snuff Out
4 Tangle Wire
3 Despoil
4 Dark Ritual
4 Peat Bog
4 Rishadan Port
1 Dust Bowl
14 Swamps
Mono-B "Big Black"
Urza's/Masques standard deck
Another more casual deck that went 4-0 (8-0 games) in a small tournament I ran. This was inspired by a Dave Price Masques block deck.
4 Chimeric Idol
4 Complex Automaton
4 Thrashing Wumpus
2 Masticore
2 Cateran Enforcer
4 Rain of Tears
4 Befoul
4 Snuff Out
4 Vendetta
4 Dark Ritual
12 Swamps
4 Peat Bog
4 Crystal Vein
4 Rishadan Port
Another more casual deck that went 4-0 (8-0 games) in a small tournament I ran. This was inspired by a Dave Price Masques block deck.
4 Chimeric Idol
4 Complex Automaton
4 Thrashing Wumpus
2 Masticore
2 Cateran Enforcer
4 Rain of Tears
4 Befoul
4 Snuff Out
4 Vendetta
4 Dark Ritual
12 Swamps
4 Peat Bog
4 Crystal Vein
4 Rishadan Port
Mono-R 20/21/20 RDW
Masques/Invasion standard deck
This isn't such a serious deck - I threw it together inspired by various Dave Price / Dan Paskins red decks. When I needed a deck to play in a small tournament (unsanctioned or three judge, I can't remember) that I was running I decided to play this. My best deck at the time was Counter-Rebels, but there's no way I'm playing that in a tournament I'm running - it's one of the slowest decks ever.
This deck went 4-0, not losing a game. The transformational LD sideboard (4 Stone Rain, 4 Pillage, 4 Tangle Wire) was pretty effective.
4 Kris Mage
4 Raging Goblin
4 Goblin Raider
2 Firebrand Ranger
2 Rage Weaver
4 Orcish Artillery
4 Shock
4 Seal of Fire
4 Volcanic Hammer
4 Scorching Lava
4 Rhystic Lightning
1 Urza's Rage
16 Mountain
3 Rishadan Port
1 Kelden Necropolis
This isn't such a serious deck - I threw it together inspired by various Dave Price / Dan Paskins red decks. When I needed a deck to play in a small tournament (unsanctioned or three judge, I can't remember) that I was running I decided to play this. My best deck at the time was Counter-Rebels, but there's no way I'm playing that in a tournament I'm running - it's one of the slowest decks ever.
This deck went 4-0, not losing a game. The transformational LD sideboard (4 Stone Rain, 4 Pillage, 4 Tangle Wire) was pretty effective.
4 Kris Mage
4 Raging Goblin
4 Goblin Raider
2 Firebrand Ranger
2 Rage Weaver
4 Orcish Artillery
4 Shock
4 Seal of Fire
4 Volcanic Hammer
4 Scorching Lava
4 Rhystic Lightning
1 Urza's Rage
16 Mountain
3 Rishadan Port
1 Kelden Necropolis
Mono-W "Grizzly" Rebels
Urza's/Masques standard deck
I didn't come up for the idea for this deck - it broke out from one of the early european nationals that summer, but it quickly became one of my favourite decks - it's ideal for my preferred aggro/utility style of play.
4 Mother of Runes
4 Ramosian Sergeant
3 Steadfast Guards
2 Fresh Volunteers
4 Longbow Archers
1 Ramosian Lieutenant
1 Defiant Falcon
2 Lin Sivvi
1 Thermal Glider
4 Crusade
2 Seal of Cleansing
4 Parralax Wave
3 Reverent Mantra
2 Arrmageddon
19 Plains
4 Rishadan Port
The high rare count reflects the fact that this was the most serious period of my magic career (I also had a set of Tangle Wires), but Rebels makes a pretty good budget deck. Replace Lin Sivvi with Defiant Vanguard or Nightwind Glider, and replace Crusade and Reverent Mantra with some mix of Ramosian Rally, Cho-Manno's Blessing and Brilliant Halo. Defender en-Vec replaces Parallax Wave (funniest use of Defender en-Vec: preventing damage to your opponents Academy Rector). There's obviously no direct replacement for Armageddon though, and you have to do without Ports, but it's still an okay deck.
I didn't come up for the idea for this deck - it broke out from one of the early european nationals that summer, but it quickly became one of my favourite decks - it's ideal for my preferred aggro/utility style of play.
4 Mother of Runes
4 Ramosian Sergeant
3 Steadfast Guards
2 Fresh Volunteers
4 Longbow Archers
1 Ramosian Lieutenant
1 Defiant Falcon
2 Lin Sivvi
1 Thermal Glider
4 Crusade
2 Seal of Cleansing
4 Parralax Wave
3 Reverent Mantra
2 Arrmageddon
19 Plains
4 Rishadan Port
The high rare count reflects the fact that this was the most serious period of my magic career (I also had a set of Tangle Wires), but Rebels makes a pretty good budget deck. Replace Lin Sivvi with Defiant Vanguard or Nightwind Glider, and replace Crusade and Reverent Mantra with some mix of Ramosian Rally, Cho-Manno's Blessing and Brilliant Halo. Defender en-Vec replaces Parallax Wave (funniest use of Defender en-Vec: preventing damage to your opponents Academy Rector). There's obviously no direct replacement for Armageddon though, and you have to do without Ports, but it's still an okay deck.
Mono-G Aggro Enchantress
Urza/Masques standard deck
The release of Mercadian Masques saw the printing of Ancestral Mask, a creature enchantment that gave the enchanted creature +2/+2 for each other enchantment you controlled. With Yavamaya Enchantress and Rancor, this was the basis of a pretty good budget aggro deck that I played for a while.
I've always called this 'aggro enchantress' to seperate it from traditional enchantress decks, which were based around drawing loads of cards and 'going off'. This deck was always about attacking the opponent until they were dead. During the first couple of tournaments I didn't even play Argothian Enchantress!
But by the time of the Nationals Qualifier in Poole I had traded for them. This is the deck that went 4-1-1 beating Squirrel-Opposition, Ponza, Replenish and Accelerated Blue to qualify me for Nationals.
4 Llanowar Elves
3 Elvish Lyrist
4 Argothian Enchantress
4 River Boa
4 Yavamaya Enchantress
2 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Masticore
4 Wild Growth
4 Rancor
4 Treetop Bracer4
4 Ancestral Mask
1 Wordly Tutor
2 Creeping Mold
15 Forest
3 Treetop Village
The release of Mercadian Masques saw the printing of Ancestral Mask, a creature enchantment that gave the enchanted creature +2/+2 for each other enchantment you controlled. With Yavamaya Enchantress and Rancor, this was the basis of a pretty good budget aggro deck that I played for a while.
I've always called this 'aggro enchantress' to seperate it from traditional enchantress decks, which were based around drawing loads of cards and 'going off'. This deck was always about attacking the opponent until they were dead. During the first couple of tournaments I didn't even play Argothian Enchantress!
But by the time of the Nationals Qualifier in Poole I had traded for them. This is the deck that went 4-1-1 beating Squirrel-Opposition, Ponza, Replenish and Accelerated Blue to qualify me for Nationals.
4 Llanowar Elves
3 Elvish Lyrist
4 Argothian Enchantress
4 River Boa
4 Yavamaya Enchantress
2 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Masticore
4 Wild Growth
4 Rancor
4 Treetop Bracer4
4 Ancestral Mask
1 Wordly Tutor
2 Creeping Mold
15 Forest
3 Treetop Village
G/R Sliver Beatdown
Tempest/Urza standard deck
This was the first deck I designed myself and played in tournaments after I left university. It's an agrro deck with plenty of utility (for example playing Mogg Fanatic and Elvish Lyrist over Jackal Pup) - basically the kind of deck that I've always preferred.
4 Mogg Fanatic
3 Elvish Lyrist
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Spined Sliver
4 River Boa
3 Mogg Flunkies
3 Uktabi Orangutan
4 Shock
3 Giant Growth
3 Rancor
4 Incinerate
2 Sonic Burst
4 Karplusian Forest
8 Mountains
9 Forests
This was the first deck I designed myself and played in tournaments after I left university. It's an agrro deck with plenty of utility (for example playing Mogg Fanatic and Elvish Lyrist over Jackal Pup) - basically the kind of deck that I've always preferred.
4 Mogg Fanatic
3 Elvish Lyrist
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Spined Sliver
4 River Boa
3 Mogg Flunkies
3 Uktabi Orangutan
4 Shock
3 Giant Growth
3 Rancor
4 Incinerate
2 Sonic Burst
4 Karplusian Forest
8 Mountains
9 Forests
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