Okay, so when I submitted the last article to Knut right before SCG P9 VII Richmond and included the prediction that Fish was just going to be a flash-in-the-pan comeback, I was definitely asking to fall on my own sword. But, um, “uncle”? Seriously, guys, you can stop now. Point proven.
8 events totaled (51,56,70,81,87,110,174,391 players)
11 Fish (3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,7,8)
5 TPS (1,2,4,4,8)
5 Stax (1,6,6,7,8)
4 Gifts Ungiven (1,2,3,6)
4 Control Slaver (1,2,4,8)
4 Sensei, Sensei (2,4,5,5)
3 Ravager (Workshop)(3,3,4)
3 MUD (2,4,8)
3 Psychatog (1,6,8)
2 Food Chain Goblins (1,3)
2 Dragon (1,5)
2 Workshop Slaver (2,5)
2 Oath of Druids (5,6)
2 Cerebral Assassin (5,7)
2 Bazaar Madness (6,8)
1 U/G/w Threshold (1)
1 5/3 (5C)(2)
1 Zombie Infestation (2)
1 Rector Sensei (3)
1 Tinker (3)
1 Workshop Mask (3)
1 3C Control (7)
1 7/10 Split (7)
1 U/R Phid (7)
1 ? (8)
That is a lot of Fish, despite the almost total upheaval of the archetype’s plan from last year’s famous Marc “Robert E. Lee” Perez. Chalice of the Void, finally turned from its traditionally sinister employment in prison decks, is now fulfilling its promise of protecting the little guy even better than the too-slow Null Rod. A completely new slate of creatures has been chosen. What I can add to this sweeping victory of little 1/1 and 2/2 creatures is a counter-strategy. What decks have dodged the bullet?
Metagame Occurrence (by percentage of all T8 decks)
(Decks appearing once or twice in the course of the year are sometimes excluded.)
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, O-N, D-J, Feb, Mar, Apr, M-J.
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.8, _0.0 U/B Control
_1.8, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.3, _2.5, _0.0, _1.8, _0.0, _1.6 3C Control
19.6, _9.7, _7.5, 10.9, _1.3, _1.3, _5.7, _8.9, _3.6, _0.0 4C Control
_1.8, _1.4, _7.5, _7.8, 10.0, _7.5, _8.0, 10.7, _3.6, _6.3 Control Slaver
_5.4, _2.8, _2.5, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 GAT
10.7, _8.3, _2.5, _9.4, _5.0, 12.5, _4.6, _8.9, _1.8, _4.7 Psychatog
_0.0, _2.8, _0.0, _6.3, _1.3, _2.5, _8.0, _5.4, _3.6, _0.0 Landstill
_0.0, _0.0, _5.0, _6.3, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _3.6, _1.8, _0.0 Mono-Blue
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, 12.5, 12.5, _8.0, _3.6, _7.1, _3.1 Oath of Druids
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _3.6, _0.0 Oath Salvagers (Drain)
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.3, _2.5, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 Salvagers
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.6 U/rPhid
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.8, _1.8, _6.3 Sensei, Sensei
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.8, 10.7, _6.3 Gifts Ungiven (Drain)
39.3, 25.0, 25.0, 40.7, 32.4, 38.8, 34.3, 46.5, 39.4, 30.3 TOTAL Drain archetypes*
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, O-N, D-J, Feb, Mar, Apr, M-J.
_8.9, 11.1, 15.0, 12.5, _5.0, 13.8, 11.4, 12.5, 10.7, _7.8 TPS
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.3, _1.3, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 Doomsday
_0.0, _0.0, _2.5, _1.6, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 DeathLong
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.3, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 Meandeck Tendrils
_5.4, _1.4, _2.5, _0.0, _2.6, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _3.6, _0.0 Belcher
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _2.5, _0.0, _1.8, _0.0, _0.0 Rector
14.3, 12.5, 20.0, 14.1, _8.9, 17.7, 11.4, 14.3, 17.9, _7.8 TOTAL Ritual Archetypes
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, O-N, D-J, Feb, Mar, Apr, M-J.
_7.2, _2.8, 12.5, _6.3, 10.0, _1.3, _2.2, _3.6, _0.0, _1.6 5/3
_1.8, _0.0, _2.5, _0.0, _1.3, _2.5, _0.0, _0.0, _3.6, _1.6 7/10 Split
_0.0, 13.9, _2.5, _6.3, _7.5, _6.3, _8.0, _1.8, _5.4, _4.7 MUD / wMUD
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.8, _4.7 Ravager (Workshop)
_3.6, _6.9, 10.0, _4.7, 10.0, 10.0, 11.4, 12.5, _5.4, _7.8 Stax
_1.8, _0.0, _2.5, _0.0, _1.3, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 TnT
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.3, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.6 Workshop Mask
_3.6, _4.2, _2.5, _1.6, _0.0, _1.3, _4.6, _0.0, _1.8, _3.1 Workshop Slaver
18.0, 27.8, 32.5, 18.9, 30.2, 22.7, 26.2, 17.9, 19.8, 25.1 TOTAL Workshop Archetypes
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, O-N, D-J, Feb, Mar, Apr, M-J.
_5.4, _6.9, _0.0, _4.7, _3.8, _0.0, _0.0, _1.8, _1.8, _3.1 Bazaar Madness
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _3.6, _0.0 Bazaar Replenish
_8.9, _5.6, _2.5, _6.3, _6.3, _6.3, _5.7, _0.0, _5.4, _3.1 Dragon
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.6, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 Oshawa Stompy
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _8.9, _1.8, _3.1 Cerebral Assassin
14.3, 12.5, _2.5, 12.6, 10.1, _6.3, _5.7, 10.7, 14.4, _9.3 TOTAL Bazaar Archetypes
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, O-N, D-J, Feb, Mar, Apr, M-J.
_0.0, _6.9, 10.0, _4.7, _3.8, _1.3, _5.7, _3.6, _5.4, 17.2 Fish
_0.0, _2.8, _0.0, _0.0, _1.3, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 Kiodo CounterBurn
_0.0, _0.0, _2.5, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.8, _0.0 U/G Madness
_0.0, _9.7, 12.5, _4.7, _5.1, _1.3, _5.7, _3.6, _7.2, 17.2 TOTAL Null Rod Archetypes
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, O-N, D-J, Feb, Mar, Apr, M-J.
_7.2, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _3.8, _2.5, _1.1, _1.8, _0.0, _3.1 FCG / Gobvantage
_1.8, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.3, _0.0, _1.1, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 Vengeur Masque
_0.0, _1.4, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 Goblin Sligh
_5.4, _4.2, _0.0, _0.0, _1.3, _0.0, _1.1, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 Affinity
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.1, _1.8, _0.0, _0.0 Sligh
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _3.1, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 Modular
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.3, _1.3, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0 R/G Beats
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.8, _0.0 Oath Salvagers (no Drain)
_0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _0.0, _1.8, _1.6 Rector Sensei (no Drain, no Ritual)
14.4, _5.6, _0.0, _3.1, _7.7, _3.8, _4.4, _3.6, _3.6, _4.7 TOTAL Other Archetypes
Conventional wisdom has long described for us the merits of Workshop decks against Fish, and now we have a direct empirical backup for that, metagame-wide. Fish decks (still in the Null Rod category because the world isn’t quite ready for a “miscellaneous confusing Fish strategies” category) occupied 10% more of the metagame, almost precisely the amount that Mana Drain decks suffered. Workshop decks made a similar, smaller swap with Dark Ritual decks. The American metagame is now, as near as I can tell, composed of the following important elements: (1) Fish, (2) Tinker decks, (3) Goblin Welder decks (or formerly Welder-based Stax decks). There are obviously lots of smaller archetypes to consider, but I think that these are the most important.
Oath is a diminishing consideration because most of the Fish decks are playing White, and that means Swords to Plowshares. Some skilled Oath players can win through a card that is far from a hoser, especially with the smaller Angels in the sideboard, but most people will be deterred from playing the archetype under these conditions. Darksteel Colossus was in a quarter of all the decks in these eight Top 8s, and it’s going up over time. Zvi even thinks Fish should play it. Few creatures are more prevalent besides a couple of the Fish choices and Welder. In other words: less enchantment removal, more Swords to Plowshares is an appropriate metagame choice.
Among the popular-but-not-always-attention-getting creatures that appear more often than Colossus in the last two months are Sundering Titan (17 decks) and Triskelion (21 decks; Trike appeared in the highest numbers of any non-Fish creature, see below). The former mostly encourages you yet again to wait as long as possible to break fetchlands, and avoid the temptation to play the rainbow, while the latter is primarily of concern if you are playing Fish or leaning really hard on your Welders. Despite their attention deficit in the presence of Colossus the cover girl, it’s important to watch for both of them unless your deck walks all over Workshops.
One news item missed by most was the temporary blast of Sensei combo before the Fish backlash punished post-Trinisphere Mana Drain designers for relying on plans that are optimized for beating hard counters rather than artifact obstacles. Make a note in the back of your mind for yet another unsung, international victory of the Hadley deck designers, and dig up the decklists from these T8s when Fish’s success subsides.
Everyone knows that Type One decks have a lot of things in common, especially when you look at a family of different but substantially overlapping decks like TPS, Gifts, and Control Slaver. Now that I have discovered the power of spreadsheets to reveal to me things in an Oracle of Delphi sort of way (yes, Knut, I finally took your advice and stopped using just Notepad), I will probably spend more time in each of these metagame analyses rooting through them for some kind of meaning.
Chalice of the Void was one of the clear shifts this month. It’s not historically unique for it to be the most popular artifact, but it is a new thing for it to exceed Brainstorm and tie with Island for fourth most-played card. It was in thirty decks, almost half of the global Top 8 decks. (Sadly, this means that Mono-Red Burninator will not be my deck of choice any time soon, with almost thirty one-mana spells.) This is obviously connected to the Fish epidemic, but it is also part of the refocus of Workshop decks now that Trinisphere isn’t the central lock component. Between both of those, you have to expect your 0-2 mana spells to be a significant liability often enough that you should have a plan B.
Another number that struck me was Boseiju, which is not appearing very widely at all. Even in April it was only at 0.72 copies per Top 8, now down to 0.25 with the diminished presence of Gifts decks. With two copies even though four Gifts and four Control Slaver decks appeared, that’s a pretty decisive verdict on the card’s efficacy for the moment. Players would do well to note, though, that Peter Olszewski came in second at SCG P9 VIII Rochester with Boseiju in the sideboard as a mirror-breaker, so don’t count it out entirely. (The Canadians are always right!)
Meanwhile, 66% (42 out of 64 decks) used basic Islands, and you all know what that means. (Hint: Pirate Ship is the new Morphling.) Wasteland, distant second only to The Force in this article’s card counts, should be less potent in the face of that, but it’s hanging on strong at 15.9 copies per Top 8. In April, Wasteland was at a twelve-month low of 10.9 copies per Top 8, leading to my glorious prediction of Fish’s disappearance. What was missing from that puzzle is that Fish plays different cards against different decks. Even if it’s not possible to destroy all the lands of a Tinker deck, Fish emphasizes cutting off parts of the deck’s strategy with Chalice/Null Rod, Meddling Mage, and possibly trying to cut off Black with the available Strip Mine/Wastelands. Against Workshop decks that aren’t as affected by Chalice (and even Null Rod, except for a mana problem on land-light draws), Wasteland is still hot stuff for keeping the high-production lands off the table. Still, the Rainbowy Fish decks (discussed next) can get away with cutting back from four Wastelands if they need to, as long as they have some other plan for Workshop opponents.
Fish decks have not only transitioned from Null Rod to Chalice and Aether Vial, they’ve flipped a lot of creature slots, too. Grim Lavamancer, once the jewel of the crown, was only in four out of eleven Fish decks. Meddling Mage (8/11) was almost as pervasive as Mishra’s Factory (10/11). Notably absent: Rootwater Thief (0/11) and Waterfront Bouncer (1/11). These were probably less successful because they are much less thrilling against Workshop aggro decks – eliciting a “thank you for wasting two mana” and “thank you for bouncing my Triskelion”, respectively – than against Mana Drain decks, where Fish is already strong. Gorilla Shaman (3/11) was unpopular, partly due to Red losing out to White in this archetype, partly due to the preference for two-power creatures to accelerate kills.
Speaking of killing implements, Umezawa’s Jitte (2/11), should probably have appeared more than it did. FYI, it is the hotness. Despite being legendary, the two decks that did play it accumulated seven copies between maindeck and sideboard; it rewards commitment to its power. The other noncreature choice of note: ALL 11 Fish decks packed Standstill. I mean, wow. That’s decisive. So decisive that JP Meyer would be crying right now, if he hadn’t had his tear ducts removed during the eye-widening required to produce the first live-action anime-drawing-style movie. He is a hero to us all, despite his stance on this particular Odyssey uncommon.
With all these 1/1s making Top 8s, the Watch List is kinda unnecessary this month, but I just loooove playing Chicken Little. (MaRo suggested in an interview for another site that Type One players should freak out less often, and he is of course right. But wouldn’t you probably get an ulcer if a 70% turn 1 win deck was considered acceptable? It’s a frustrating format to test for and think about, in that sense, because there’s so many times you will Just Lose no matter what. Still, Rosewater is right, we are panic-prone.)
The Type One Watch List (number of copies per Top 8 by month)
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, O-N, D-J, Feb, Mar, Apr, M-J.
_2.9, _3.2, _2.4, _3.3, _3.4, _1.2, _3.9, _3.3, _2.0, _3.8 Ancient Tomb
_4.6, _4.9, _0.8, _3.9, _3.5, _2.4, _2.2, _3.4, _5.1, _4.3 Bazaar of Baghdad
_0.0, _0.0, _0.4, _0.0, _0.2, _0.5, _0.0, _0.0, _1.0, _0.1 Cabal Ritual
_0.4, _4.6, _8.2, _7.3, _7.3, _5.6, _8.0, _7.9, _5.0, _6.5 Crucible of Worlds
_4.6, _4.8, _6.4, _4.6, _3.9, _7.1, _5.5, _4.6, _5.7, _2.5 Dark Ritual
_1.9, _0.4, _1.8, _2.0, _2.2, _0.6, _1.0, _0.0, _1.7, _0.0 Elvish Spirit Guide
_7.7, _6.9, 12.0, _7.0, 12.3, _7.4, _9.8, 10.3, _7.4, _8.9 Goblin Welder
____, ____, ____, ____, _0.3, _1.4, _1.8, _1.4, _3.3, _3.3 Gifts Ungiven
_2.9, _3.2, _0.8, _4.5, _6.5, _8.3, _4.8, _5.9, _6.0, _5.5 Intuition*
_1.7, _0.4, _0.8, _0.0, _0.8, _0.4, _0.0, _0.0, _1.1, _0.0 Land Grant
_9.1, _8.0, _8.6, 13.3, _9.5, 11.7, 11.9, 15.0, 13.0, _9.0 Mana Drain*
_6.6, _9.8, 11.4, _7.5, _9.8, _7.1, _9.1, _5.7, _5.7, _8.0 Mishra’s Workshop
_5.1, _3.8, _7.6, _4.8, _7.9, _5.3, _6.4, 10.0, _9.9, _9.2 Thirst for Knowledge
_1.7, _0.4, _0.8, _0.0, _0.8, _0.0, _0.0, _0.4, _0.6, _0.0 Tinder Wall
11.7, 17.4, 16.2, 19.1, 16.5, 12.6, 16.0, 14.0, 10.9, 15.9 Wasteland
_2.3, _2.1, _4.0, _2.9, _3.3, _3.1, _3.6, _5.0, _4.6, _3.9 Tinker
_3.7, _3.1, _3.6, _3.4, _2.0, _3.6, _3.1, _4.3, _4.3, _2.9 Yawgmoth’s Will*
* : This month we are missing an Italian Psychatog list and some mystery New Englander decklist, so these numbers might be a slight underestimate.
It actually makes sense for Type One players to be so fixated on the Restricted List and potential changes to it, even if we know the likelihood of our preferred policy being implemented is slim. Set releases are only a few percentage points of change for us, but restrictions, as we’ve seen, create epic swings, and can potentially create change even more often than set releases. It’s also much like politics in that “if I don’t say something, they’re going to do what someone else wants”. We will probably continue panicking frenetically for years to come, but always recall that even Zvi wishes Tinker was gone!
Philip Stanton
prstanto at gmail.com
(Tables in this article only go back one year; email me if you’re interested in older information.)
Appendix I: Card Counts
55 Black Lotus
55 Mox Sapphire
49 Ancestral Recall
49 Mox Ruby
47 Mox Emerald
47 Mox Jet
47 Mox Pearl
45 Time Walk
44 Sol Ring
40 Mana Crypt
40 Strip Mine
35 Tolarian Academy
31 Tinker
29 Demonic Tutor
26 Mana Vault
23 Vampiric Tutor
23 Yawgmoth’s Will
22 Mystical Tutor
18 Memory Jar
17 Fact or Fiction
14 Library of Alexandria
10 Lotus Petal
10 Timetwister
9 Trinisphere
8 Balance
8 Wheel of Fortune
6 Gush
6 Yawgmoth’s Bargain
5 Mind’s Desire
5 Necropotence
4 Crop Rotation
4 Mind Twist
3 Burning Wish
3 Entomb
3 Frantic Search
3 Windfall
2 Chrome Mox
2 Enlightened Tutor
2 Regrowth
1 Black Vise
1 Mox Diamond
180 Force of Will
127 Wasteland
113 Polluted Delta
107 Chalice of the Void
107 Island
93 Brainstorm
87 Volcanic Island
85 Flooded Strand
74 Thirst for Knowledge
72 Mana Drain
72 Tormod’s Crypt
71 Goblin Welder
71 Underground Sea
64 Mishra’s Workshop
57 Rack and Ruin
56 Red Elemental Blast
55 Duress
52 Crucible of Worlds
45 Swords to Plowshares
44 Intuition
44 Tundra
40 Blue Elemental Blast
40 Mishra’s Factory
39 Standstill
39 Tangle Wire
37 Accumulated Knowledge
37 Meddling Mage
35 Triskelion
34 Bazaar of Baghdad
33 Smokestack
31 Sphere of Resistance
30 Ancient Tomb
30 Energy Flux
30 Null Rod
28 Squee, Goblin Nabob
27 Cunning Wish
27 Metalworker
27 Tropical Island
26 Deep Analysis
26 Pyroblast
25 Arcane Laboratory
25 Daze
24 Cloud of Faeries
24 Gemstone Mine
24 Phyrexian Furnace
23 AEther Vial
23 Gifts Ungiven
23 Stifle
22 Jester’s Cap
22 Mana Leak
22 Misdirection
22 Sundering Titan
21 Pyrostatic Pillar
21 Seal of Cleansing
20 City of Brass
20 Dark Ritual
20 Ray of Revelation
19 Duplicant
19 Hydroblast
19 Mountain
18 Echoing Truth
18 Ninja of the Deep Hours
16 Basking Rootwalla
16 Curiosity
16 Darksteel Colossus
16 Helm of Awakening
16 Juggernaut
16 Sensei’s Divining Top
16 Wild Mongrel
15 Annul
15 Engineered Explosives
15 Grim Lavamancer
15 Old Man of the Sea
14 Ground Seal
14 Hurkyl’s Recall
14 Tendrils of Agony
13 Chain of Vapor
13 Fire/Ice
13 Swamp
13 Wooded Foothills
12 Animate Dead
12 Arcbound Ravager
12 Mindslaver
12 Myr Retriever
12 Oath of Druids
12 Razormane Masticore
12 Rushing River
12 Skullclamp
12 Spiketail Hatchling
11 Karn, Silver Golem
10 Future Sight
10 Gorilla Shaman
10 Naturalize
10 Rebuild
9 Blood Moon
9 City of Traitors
9 Eon Hub
9 Plains
9 Platinum Angel
9 Worldgorger Dragon
8 Circular Logic
8 Defense Grid
8 Food Chain
8 Forbidden Orchard
8 Goblin Lackey
8 Goblin Piledriver
8 Goblin Recruiter
8 Oxidize
8 Taiga
7 Brain Freeze
7 Goblin Matron
7 Goblin Ringleader
7 Goblin Warchief
7 Lava Dart
7 Pyroclasm
7 Seat of the Synod
7 Shivan Reef
7 Uba Mask
7 Umezawa’s Jitte
6 Bloodstained Mire
6 Coffin Purge
6 Damping Matrix
6 Gilded Lotus
6 Hidden Gibbons
6 Necromancy
6 Skeletal Scrying
5 Burnout
5 Cabal Therapy
5 Eternal Witness
5 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
5 Lightning Greaves
5 Psychatog
5 Recoup
5 Sword of Fire and Ice
5 Time Vault
4 Academy Rector
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Choke
4 Claws of Gix
4 Control Magic
4 Culling Scales
4 Disenchant
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Fiery Temper
4 Forest
4 Gaea’s Skyfolk
4 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Gilded Drake
4 Grafted Skullcap
4 Illusionary Mask
4 Karplusan Forest
4 Lodestone Myr
4 Myr Servitor
4 Nevinyrral’s Disk
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Ophidian
4 Overload
4 Pentavus
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Read the Runes
4 Shattering Pulse
4 Staff of Domination
4 Troll Ascetic
4 Voidmage Prodigy
3 AEther Spellbomb
3 Arrogant Wurm
3 Back to Basics
3 Engineered Plague
3 Exalted Angel
3 Extract
3 Flametongue Kavu
3 Goblin Sharpshooter
3 Goblin Vandal
3 Impulse
3 Man-O’-War
3 Masticore
3 Mental Note
3 Mesmeric Fiend
3 Mogg Fanatic
3 Pristine Angel
3 Rule of Law
3 Shadowmage Infiltrator
3 Siege-Gang Commander
3 Skirk Prospector
3 Sug’Ata Firewalker
3 Survival of the Fittest
3 Vindicate
3 Viridian Shaman
3 Waterfront Bouncer
3 Zombie Infestation
2 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
2 Ambassador Laquatus
2 Ancient Hydra
2 Anger
2 Artifact Mutation
2 Auriok Salvagers
2 Badlands
2 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
2 Caller of the Claw
2 Chill
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Compulsion
2 Dance of the Dead
2 Darksteel Citadel
2 Diabolic Edict
2 Dismantling Blow
2 Faerie Conclave
2 Fireslinger
2 Firestorm
2 Fling
2 Gaea’s Blessing
2 Hanna’s Custody
2 Hypnotic Specter
2 Isochron Scepter
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
2 Magma Mine
2 Mana Maze
2 Memnarch
2 Mogg Salvage
2 Night of Souls’ Betrayal
2 Pit Trap
2 Plagiarize
2 Possessed Portal
2 Reanimate
2 Roar of the Wurm
2 Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author]
2 Seedtime
2 Serenity
2 Sigil of Sleep
2 Starstorm
2 Underground River
2 Werebear
2 Withered Wretch
1 Cabal Ritual
1 Careful Study
1 Contagion
1 Copy Artifact
1 Cranial Extraction
1 Death Spark
1 Decree of Justice
1 Divert
1 Flash Counter
1 Gamble
1 Goblin Charbelcher
1 Iridescent Angel
1 Jushi Apprentice
1 Kumano, Master Yamabushi
1 Lum-Dul’s Vault
1 Mana Severance
1 Massacre
1 Maze of Ith
1 Meditate
1 Panoptic Mirror
1 Primitive Justice
1 Pulse of the Grid
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Savannah
1 Sirocco – WTF of the Month
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Snuff Out
1 Terravore
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Viashino Heretic
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wonder
Appendix II: Tournament Results
2005-05-01 Turin (http://www.theabyss.biz/2005/infotornei/infotorino05.htm)(81 players)
1. Psychatog (Desklist missing!)
2. Control Slaver
3. Ravager (Workshop)
4. TPS
5. U/R Fish
6. R/G Bazaar Madness
7. Rainbow Fish (M&Ms)
8. TPS
1. Lorenzo Fedeli (T1T)
2. Andrea Garella (Control Slavery)
3. Albert Natta (Nat-Stacker)
4. Alessandro Mennella (TPS UBR)
5. Rocco Palumbo (Fish UR)
6. Alessandro Filippini (Madness RG)
7. Giacomo Mallamaci (M&M’S)
8. Jonathan Genovese (TPS UB)
2005-05-14 Paris (http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/index.php?topic=23079.0)(391 players)
1. Dragon
2. Zombie Infestation
3. Gifts Ungiven (Colossus)
4. AK Control Slaver
5. Sensei, Sensei
6. Psychatog
7. U/R Phid
8. Psychatog
1. Stephane Tichadou (France)
2. Alejandro Escribano (Spain)
3. Jose Antonio Alascio Lopez (Spain)
4. Andrea Garella (Italy)
5. Daniel Eufinger (Germany)
6. Paul I (France)
7. Tim Bergman (Germany)
8. Marco Ardoino (Italy)
2005-05-15 Manchester (http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/index.php?topic=23093.0)(51 players)
1. Gifts Ungiven (Salvagers)
2. MUD (Monobrown)
3. Rector Sensei
4. Sensei, Sensei
5. Sensei, Sensei
6. Gifts Ungiven (Belcher)
7. Cerebral Assassin (sideboard missing)
8. ?
1. Oliver Beaumont
2. Garry Wedge
3. Jeff Greene
4. Chris Kitzmiller
5. Crossman Wilkins
6. Andy Probasco
7. Jared Carter
8. Ethan Wilfong
2005-05-21 Barcelona (http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/index.php?topic=23168.0)(56 players)
1. U/R Stax
2. Sensei, Sensei
3. U/W Fish
4. Ravager (Workshop)
5. Cerebral Assassin
6. U/R Stax
7. 3C Control
8. MUD (Mono-Brown)
1. David Pla
2. Oliver Satizabal
3. Jorge Luque
4. Francisco Javier Pina
5. Marc Parellada
6. Javier David
7. Abraham Urena
8. Xavier Subirana
2005-05-22 SCG P9 VII Richmond (http://tinyurl.com/d8zwh)(110 players)
1. Food Chain Goblins
2. 5/3 (5C)
3. Workshop Mask (“The Riddler”)
4. U/W Fish
5. Oath of Druids
6. Stax
7. U/G Fish
8. Stax
1. Mike Zaun
2. Travis LaPlante
3. Eric Miller
4. Jesse Pinchot
5. Jeff Folinus
6. David Allen
7. Jacob Orlove
8. Doug Goddard
2005-05-29 Iserlohn (http://www.morphling.de/top8decks.php?id=260)(87 players)
1. TPS
2. TPS
3. Food Chain Goblins
4. Bazaar Welder MUD
5. Dragon
6. Oath of Druids
7. U/R Stax
8. AK Control Slaver
1. Christopher Wilhelm
2. Dennis Rosinski
3. Marco Sheunemann
4. Tim Bergmann
5. Kolja Kukuk
6. Ulrich Ansorge
7. Wolf Syperek
8. Jan Gockeln
2005-06-05 Turin (http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/index.php?topic=23398.0)(70 players)
1. U/G/w Threshold
2. Workshop Slaver
3. Ravager (Workshop)
4. TPS
5. Workshop Slaver
6. U/w/r Fish
7. U/R/w Fish
8. R/U/G Bazaar Madness
1. David Besso
2. Davide Alfonsi
3. Albert Natta
4. Humbert Milazzo
5. Marco Marotta
6. Daniele Zubbiani
7. Marco Amateis
8. Marcello Morelli
2005-06- SCG P9 VIII Rochester (http://tinyurl.com/cmtj2)(174 players)
1. Control Slaver
2. Gifts Ungiven (Colossus)
3. Tinker
4. U/W Fish
5. U/W Fish
6. U/G Fish
7. 7/10 Split
8. U/R/W Fish
1. Ugo Rivard
2. Peter Olszewski
3. Richard Mattiuzzo
4. Nick Rosu
5. Bryan Finch
6. Adam Chambers
7. Brad Granberry
8. Joe Weber