I didn’t test Extended as extensively as I should’ve at Worlds and was properly punished with a 3-3 record. The fire just never started for me to get
working on it because sans Grand Prix Atlanta, most pro players won’t be playing a game until the Pro Tour late this year.
This renders me without a clue on how to guide StarCityGames.com readers on their PTQ deck choices. These videos offer a unique method of encouraging
me to play a format I have no real stake in, as I need the Magic Online Championship Series points anyway, so it might as well be Extended instead of
Scars of Mirrodin Block Constructed.
Sadly, my collection basically begins when my ringer status was first bestowed upon me, Zendikar. Before that, I basically have no collection. A quick
perusal of the wares bots have shown that most Extended rares hover in the absurd price range of about $20 each. This meant that for my enthusiasm to
continue, I’d need a deck the mostly included mostly Standard rares.
I’d heard about a Tempered Steel deck and knew instantly that would be my choice for my first foray into the Darkslick Shores of Extended.
Todd Anderson article
was a starting point, and after some personal touches, I arrived at this prototype:
Creatures (25)
- 2 Trinket Mage
- 1 Ornithopter
- 2 Ranger of Eos
- 4 Master of Etherium
- 4 Tidehollow Sculler
- 4 Court Homunculus
- 4 Steel Overseer
- 4 Memnite
Lands (19)
Spells (16)
I played the first two rounds with this deck and eventually went more towards Pascal Maynard’s Worlds build (be aware the Inquisition of Kozilek is due
to card availability; should be a Thoughtseize):
Creatures (27)
- 3 Ornithopter
- 4 Ranger of Eos
- 4 Master of Etherium
- 4 Tidehollow Sculler
- 4 Court Homunculus
- 4 Steel Overseer
- 4 Memnite
Lands (17)
Spells (16)
SPOILER ALERT!
After ten matches with the deck in various forms and builds, I’ve come to the conclusion that this deck is… Completely Unplayable.
I went 7-19 with the deck for a match-win of 1-9. My opponents were of all types, Faeries, 4CC, Scapeshift, Jund, Mono-Red, and against every single
one, I felt at a disadvantage. From the videos, you can tell I knew what my opponent had at nearly every opportunity and even got lucky and ripped the
perfect card in several occasions, yet in the end, it never ended in a match win.
This deck has a ton of problems, which I’ll only begin to list here
– No reach. An opponent at one
life can tap out willy-nilly; you can’t punish him
– Vulnerable to sideboard
cards. Ratchet Bomb and Nature’s Claim are zzz…
– Easily removed threats (Think
Steel Overseer. In 26 games, I activated him exactly zero times.)
– An aggro deck with a nut draw
that folds to Volcanic Fallout, Terminate, Esper Charm, or Mana Leak.
– Very little skill involved.
Despite having near-perfect information, there was nothing I could do as a player to affect the outcome of the match, just play my cards and hope it’s
good enough
– No free wins. Cards like
Jace, the Mind Sculptor or Bloodbraid Elf or Cryptic Command give free game wins just on their absurd power level. There are zero cards in this list
that fit the bill. You have to work so hard to get anything done.
– Very inconsistent.
But I’m ranting now. Just let this be known:
This deck does not have the Mike Jacob seal of approval.