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You CAN Play Type I #19: The Control Player’s Bible, Part III

With Mirage came tutors, and The Deck was more broken than ever. And then Urza’s came along, and it was broken in half.

***begin side rant***


<edt> U – caveman merfolk 1/1, any time a card asks for the library to be shuffled, counter the shuffle effect.

<KaiB> edt: wotc would not print that 🙁

<edt> WHY

<edt> is it broken?

<KaiB> cause all the Frenchies would stop playing

<edt> WHAT

<KaiB> they would not sell a single card in France any more .(

<edt> are you insinuating the French CHEAT?

<KaiB> who? me?

<KaiB> well how do you expect someone to paris without shuffling his library a few times?

<KaiB> 🙂

<Rakso> Ah…

<edt> lol

<Rakso> Sneaky

<kipik> every frenchie is not like you seem to think kai 😉

<edt> Kaib said paris


(Oops… wrong quote. Well, I forwarded this to Alex Shvartsman, but though we had a good laugh, it was out of flavor for”Week in Review: GP Biarritz.” So share it with me here.)


<Rakso> If you’re bored

<Rakso> There’s this guy on my forum who claims your Sydney Invitational Type I Trix deck sucks and he can play Trix better than you 😉

<Rakso> http://www.bdominia.com/discus/messages/9/21282.shtml

<Rakso> Here… I’VE learned my lesson 🙂

<Rakso> Never say Kai’s decks suck on a Sunday

<KaiB> lol Rakso

<KaiB> type 1 trix with ak?

<KaiB> where do those ppl live?

<KaiB> it must be a lot farther away from the real world than antarctica 🙁


So yes, it’s true. They have restricted Fact or Fiction (finally) and Intuition (not really).


But no, Accumulated Knowledge/Intuition isn’t about to hit it big in Type I.


And no, Beta is not rotating out…


***end side rant***


The next evolution

In Part I, I outlined how to play Magic’s most complex deck ever. In Part II, I showed the basics of the deck by breaking it down piece by piece, beginning with the bare bones put together in 1994-1996.


Now the flesh and muscle come in.


1996:”The Deck” v. Weenies

By Mirage, Type I was a lot faster. Dropping a Moat and calling it game wasn’t as simple as it used to be, and”The Deck” could less and less afford to draw a Disenchant when it was desperate for Swords to Plowshares, Balance, or Moat.


Eric“Danger” Taylor e-mailed,”It used to be that in Type 1,

anti-creature spells were boss: Moat, Abyss, Swords to Plowshares. Well,

the post-Tempest creatures were really powerful. From Jackal Pup to

Morphling, creatures are good because they have been powered up while the

anti-creature spells have not been.”


Juzam Djinn just gets more and more overpriced each year, and Phyrexian Negator is stronger in many decks. Jackal Pup and friends dethroned classic weenies such as Savannah Lions and Kird Ape because of their more uncomfortable color requirements. More two-power creatures for one mana and other cheap creatures sped up Type I.


We pick up our story from Fall 1996 and the entry of the Mirage block:


“The Deck” November 1996, Brian Weissman, 39th Place, Pro Tour Dallas, as posted on The Dojo


Blue (17)

Ancestral Recall

Time Walk

Timetwister

1 Amnesia


1 Braingeyser

1 Recall 

4 Mana Drain

Counterspell

1 Force of Will

4 Mystical Tutor


White (7)

1 Balance

Disenchant

Swords to Plowshares


Black (2)

The Abyss

Demonic Tutor


Green (1)

1 Regrowth


Red (2)

Fireball


Artifact (3)

2 Jayemdae Tome

1 Mirror Universe


Mana (28)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Pearl

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Ruby

1 Mox Emerald

1 Sol Ring

4 Strip Mine

Library of Alexandria

City of Brass

Volcanic Island

Tundra

Plains

Island


Sideboard (15):

2 Gorilla Shaman

Pyroblast

1 Moat

3 Sand Golem

1 Zuran Orb1 Ivory Tower

Disenchant

2 COP:Red

Mana Short


First of the new recruits:


Mystical Tutor

U

Instant

Mirage uncommon

Search your library for an instant or sorcery card and reveal that card. Shuffle your library, then put the card on top of it. (Restricted in October 1999)


Force of Will

3UU

Instant

Alliances uncommon

You may pay 1 life and remove a blue card in your hand from the game rather than pay Force of Will’s mana cost. Counter target spell.


Gorilla Shaman a.k.a. Mox Monkey

R

Creature-Ape

1/1

Alliances uncommon

XX1: Destroy target noncreature artifact with converted mana cost X.


Fireball

XYR

Sorcery

Beta common

Fireball deals X damage divided evenly, rounded down, among Y plus one target creatures and/or players.


Zuran Orb

0

Artifact

Ice Age uncommon

Sacrifice a land: You gain 2 life. (Restricted in November 1995, but unrestricted in October 1997)


Mana Short

2U

Instant

Beta rare

Tap all lands target player controls and empty his or her mana pool.


Sand Golem

5

Artifact Creature-Golem

3/3

Mirage uncommon

Whenever a spell or ability controlled by an opponent causes you to discard Sand Golem from your hand, return Sand Golem from your graveyard to play at end of turn with a +1/+1 counter on it.


By Pro Tour Dallas ’96, the last Type I Pro Tour,”Black Summer” was showing its influence even in Type I.”The Deck” and the Necrodeck had a long and colorful rivalry as two of the top decks of Type I – until Necropotence was restricted in October 2000.


Hymn/Juzam suddenly became nastier and”The Deck” ran anti-discard in its sideboard. It also swapped out the Angels for Fireballs for early creature control and late game direct damage against the Necro player. Brian Weissman finished a respectable 39th due to mana screw, but”The Deck” fell to weenie-filled Zoo decks instead of Necro-and Brian himself played Zoo after Dallas until Black Vise was finally restricted in July 1997.


Mirage block brought two cards into”The Deck” – Mystical and Vampiric Tutor – but they brought the deck’s manipulation to a whole new level. With Demonic Tutor and a little card disadvantage, having four Mystical Tutors was like having six copies of each restricted card.


Against a weenie horde: Mystical Tutor for Balance.


Against discard: Mystical Tutor for Timetwister.


In general: Mystical Tutor for Ancestral Recall. It could even fetch Demonic Tutor to bring out other cards like The Abyss.


This, more than anything, highlighted the”silver bullets” so prominent in the deck today.


Reminds you of…

Maher Oath, Bob Maher, Jr., Champion, Pro Tour Chicago, December 1999 (Extended)


Blue (19)

4 Force of Will

4 Counterspell

1 Forbid

1 Disrupt

3 Impulse

4 Brainstorm

1 Trade Routes

1 Morphling


White (8)

4 Enlightened Tutor

2 Swords to Plowshares

1 Aura of Silence

1 Ivory Mask


Green (7)

2 Oath of Druids

1 Sylvan Library

1 Abundance

2 Gaea’s Blessing

1 Spike Feeder


Red (1)

1 Shard Phoenix


Artifact (2)

1 Null Rod

1 Powder Keg


Mana (23)

4 Wasteland

1 Faerie Conclave

3 Treetop Village

3 Flood Plain

1 Reflecting Pool

1 Savannah

4 Tropical Island

4 Tundra

2 Volcanic Island


Sideboard (15)

1 Aura of Silence

1 Sacred Ground

1 Crater Hellion

1 Phyrexian Furnace

1 Powder Keg

1 Circle of Protection: Red

2 Oath of Druids

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Gaea’s Blessing

1 Compost

1 Light of Day

2 Mana Short

1 Peacekeeper


Other existing cards slowly made their way into the deck – by today’s standards, one Force of Will is curious. The fourth Strip Mine, along with Mox Monkey, developed the mana denial subtheme so important to the deck today. Disrupting Scepter also disappeared due to the faster and less control-dominated metagame. If needed,”The Deck” just tutored up or Regrew Amnesia and forced it through.


Another subtle but key development was the further streamlining of the mana base, with the reduction in white allowed by Mystical Tutor and the consistency needed for the faster game. Blood Moon was finally and permanently replaced in Brian’s sideboard with the classic anti-counter card, Mana Short. Brian had used it much earlier in his home turf, the Bay area, where people were wise to Blood Moon tricks.


“The Deck” didn’t change very much until the Urza block, and just became more focused, with white becoming less and less important as a main color. It also focused on Mirror Universe as its kill card until the rules changed. This was the last decklist posted on The Dojo by Brian (and anywhere, since he has since given up Magic for other pursuits like Diablo II):


“The Deck” April 1998, Brian Weissman, as posted on The Dojo


Blue (17)

Ancestral Recall

Time Walk

Timetwister

1 Amnesia

1 Braingeyser

1 Recall 

4 Mana Drain

Counterspell

2 Force of Will

3 Mystical Tutor


White (5)

1 Balance

Disenchant

Swords to Plowshares


Black (2)

1 The Abyss

Demonic Tutor


Green (1)

1 Regrowth


Red (4)

2 Gorilla Shaman

Fireball

1 Pyroblast


Artifact (3)

1 Jayemdae Tome

1 Mirror Universe

1 Zuran Orb


Mana (28)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Pearl

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Ruby

1 Mox Emerald

1 Sol Ring

1 Strip Mine

3 Wasteland

Library of Alexandria

City of Brass

Volcanic Island

Tundra

Island


Sideboard (15):

2 Gorilla Shaman

Pyroblast

3 Hydroblast

1 Zuran Orb

1 Ivory Tower

1 Disenchant

2 Circle of Protection: Red

1 Mana Short


A Stand-in:


Wasteland

Land

Tempest uncommon

Tap: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool. Tap, Sacrifice Wasteland: Destroy target nonbasic land. (Strip Mine was restricted in January 1998 with the printing of this card)


Reminds you of…

Domain, Kai Budde, Champion, Grand Prix London, September 2001


Blue (16)

4 Evasive Action

4 Allied Strategies

4 Worldly Counsel

4 Collective Restraint


Black (1)

1 Yawgmoth’s Agenda


Gold (9)

2 Pernicious Deed

2 Void

2 Destructive Flow

1 Overgrown Estate

1 Ordered Migration

1 Goblin Trenches


Artifact (1)

1 Legacy Weapon


Mana (33)

4 Harrow

4 Lay of the Land

4 Chromatic Sphere

2 Llanowar Wastes

1 Yavimaya Coast

7 Forest

5 Island

3 Swamp

2 Mountain

1 Plains


Sideboard (15):

3 Addle

1 Destructive Flow

1 Legacy Weapon

1 Overgrown Estate

3 Penumbra Bobcat

2 Pernicious Deed

3 Spiritmonger

1 Void


Variants of”The Deck”

By this time,”The Deck” had long since been established as an archetype (Brian’s more aggressive Roc anti-“The Deck” deck was funny proof), and many other players put forward their own versions. With Brian and Type I both out of the public eye, Michael Long brought the style of”The Deck” back at the first Duelist Invitational in 1997. He played the deck to the finals, where he lost to Olle Rade in a special Type I format that required five cards from each expansion:


The Keeper, Michael Long, Finalist of 1997 Hong Kong Duelist Invitational (special format)


Blue (12)

1 Ancestral Recall

1 Time Walk

1 Amnesia

1 Recall

2 Merchant Scroll

4 Mana Drain

2 Hydroblast


Black (4)

1 Demonic Tutor

2 The Abyss

1 Coercion


White (5)

2 Swords to Plowshares

2 Disenchant

1 Circle of Protection: Red


Red (6)

1 Gorilla Shaman

1 Incinerate

2 Fireball

2 Pyroblast


Artifact (3)

2 Lodestone Bauble

1 Mirror Universe


Mana (27)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Pearl

1 Mox Ruby

1 Sol Ring

2 Fellwar Stone

1 Barbed Sextant

1 Library of Alexandria

4 Strip Mine

3 City of Brass

4 Volcanic Island

3 Tundra

3 Underground Sea


Sideboard (15):

1 Force of Will

2 Memory Lapse

1 Amnesia

1 Disenchant

1 Moat

1 Gorilla Shaman

2 Dwarven Catapult

1 Zuran Orb

2 Anvil of Bogardan

1 Wand of Denial

1 Aeolipile

1 Svyelunite Temple


Alternate Choices:


Merchant Scroll

1U

Sorcery

Homelands common

Search your library for a blue instant card, reveal that card, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library


Elemental Augury (The Keeper)

UBR

Enchantment

Ice Age rare

3: Look at the top three cards of target player’s library and put them back on the top of that player’s library in any order.


Fellwar Stone

2

Artifact

The Dark uncommon

Tap: Add to your mana pool one mana of any color and type that a land an opponent controls could produce.


Also around this time, a Virginia college student was tweaking a control deck with four Serendib Efreets into what would eventually be Beyond Dominia’s most popular control variant. It emphasized green for recursion and steady control over trying to win immediately, much like the early”The Deck.”


The Franchise 1999 (immediately before Sixth Edition rules changes), Darren di Battista a.k.a. Azhrei, as posted on Beyond Dominia


Blue (14)

1 Ancestral Recall

1 Timetwister

1 Mystical Tutor

1 Braingeyser

1 Stroke of Genius

1 Amnesia

4 Mana Drain

2 Counterspell

2 Force of Will


White (6)


1 Balance

1 Moat

2 Swords to Plowshares

2 Disenchant


Black (3)

1 Demonic Tutor

1 Vampiric Tutor

1 The Abyss


Green (4)

1 Regrowth

1 Sylvan Library

2 Gaea’s Blessing


Red (1)

1 Kaervek’s Torch


Artifact (4)

1 Mirror Universe

1 Zuran Orb

1 Jayemdae Tome

1 Jester’s Cap


Mana (27)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Pearl

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Emerald

1 Mox Ruby

1 Sol Ring

1 Library of Alexandria

1 Strip Mine

2 Wasteland

1 Tolarian Academy

4 City of Brass

4 Tundra

3 Underground Sea

2 Tropical Island

2 Island


Alternate choices plus Urza’s new generation of brokenness:


Stroke of Genius

Instant

X2U

Urza’s Saga rare

Target player draws X cards. (Restricted in January 1999)


Vampiric Tutor

Instant

B

Visions rare

Search your library for a card, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it. You lose 2 life. (Restricted in October 1999)


Tolarian Academy

Legendary Land

Urza’s Saga rare

Tap: Add U to your mana pool for each artifact you control. (Restricted in January 1999)


Kaervek’s Torch

XR

Sorcery

Mirage common

While Kaervek’s Torch is on the stack, spells that target it cost 2 more to play.

Kaervek’s Torch deals X damage to target creature or player.


Sylvan Library

1G

Enchantment

Legends uncommon

At the beginning of your draw step, you may draw two cards. If you do, choose two cards in your hand drawn this turn. For each of those cards, pay 4 life or put the card on top of your library.


Jester’s Cap

4

Artifact

Ice Age rare

2, Tap, Sacrifice Jester’s Cap: Search target player’s library for three cards and remove them from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library.


Gaea’s Blessing

1G

Sorcery

Weatherlight uncommon

Target player shuffles up to three target cards from his or her graveyard into his or her library. Draw a card. When Gaea’s Blessing is put into your graveyard from your library, shuffle your graveyard into your library.


Reminds you of…

Donais U5C, Michael Donais, 1998


Blue (19)

4 Counterspell

3 Dissipate

4 Dismiss

4 Impulse

4 Whispers of the Muse


White (8)

4 Wrath of God

1 Disenchant

3 Gerrard’s Wisdom


Green (9)

4 Wall of Blossoms

3 Gaea’s Blessing

2 Uktabi Orangutan


Red (2)

2 Fireball


Mana (22)

1 Wasteland

1 Quicksand

1 Flood Plain

4 Reflecting Pool

1 Undiscovered Paradise

1 City of Brass

3 Gemstone Mine

2 Thalakos Lowlands

1 Adarkar Wastes

1 Vec Township

1 Plains

1 Svyelunite Temple

3 Island

1 Forest


Sideboard (15):

1 Phyrexian Furnace

2 Warmth

2 Circle of Protection: Red

1 Null Rod

2 Hydroblast

2 Teferi’s Realm

1 Mangara’s Blessing

2 Pyroblast

2 Lobotomy


“The Type II Deck” (Donais U5C), Brian Weissman, 1998 US Nationals


Blue (18)

4 Counterspell

3 Dissipate

3 Power Sink

4 Impulse

4 Whispers of the Muse


White (10)

4 Wrath of God

2 Disenchant

4 Gerrard’s Wisdom


Green (2)

2 Gaea’s Blessing


Red (2)

2 Fireball


Artifact (3)

3 Nevinyrral’s Disk


Mana (25)

1 Undiscovered Paradise

4 City of Brass

2 Thalakos Lowlands

2 Adarkar Wastes

9 Island

7 Plains


Sideboard (15):

4 Legacy’s Allure

4 Warmth

1 Dissipate

1 Power Sink

1 Rainbow Efreet

1 Disenchant

1 Nevinyrral’s Disk

2 Lobotomy


Combo mania and the near-death of Type I

The Urza Block ruined just about every format in Magic – including Urza Block Constructed – with overpowered combos. Type I was no exception, and despite initial restrictions to compensate, insane combo kills based on Tolarian Academy, Memory Jar, or Yawgmoth’s Bargain made Type I degenerate.


This resulted in the largest expansion of the Type I restricted list in history in October 1999, but the problem was still not solved as Trix (or Illusions/Donate with Necropotence) easily made the transition to Type I and dominated that portion of the following year’s Invitational in Kuala Lumpur.


I posted to the Dojo and lamented the lack of imagination of the pro players, and was in turn publicly admonished by Kai Budde, who shared that they independently concluded that combo was the way to go in Type I. The following months proved him right as Type I Trix spread around the world, the combo mania stopped only by the restriction of Necropotence in October 2000. (#mtgwacky op Michael Bower a.k.a. Mikephoen documented the insanity in http://www.bdominia.com/discus/articles/trixFAQ.html)


(Two years later, I talked to Kai on #mtgwacky, and introduced myself as the person he lambasted, and we had a nice laugh over the incident. Months later, he won the 2001 Magic Invitational, and I teased that he should work for his money while he recounted the event. In response, he asked me why he should bother. Weeks later, he won his fourth Pro Tour, earned the”juggernaut” nickname, and I shut up. This explains the”Kai, I learned my lesson” comment in the quote.)


“The Deck,” unfortunately, could not out-counter and outdraw the broken engines from Tolarian Academy to Necropotence + Illusions of Grandeur-despite indignant protests to the contrary from control fanatics, myself included.


Eric“Danger” Taylor reflected the predominant mood in an email dated May 2000:”If you read Zvi’s report, you’ll notice he went into the Invitational trying to run a standard multicolored control deck, but it lost to everything. Chapin helped him build a mono-blue deck in Kuala Lampur, which Zvi then went undefeated with.


“I remember reading some posts criticizing the Type I Invitational decks. You take one of the fossils still playing ‘The Deck’ against a field like the decks in the Duelist Invitational – and unless your name is Brian Weissman, you’ll probably lose every game. Those invitational decks are tight. If you add in a few weenie decks then you’ll have a good gauntlet to test your current Type 1 deck against.”


Kuala Lumpur was won by Chris Pikula (Mr. Meddling Mage himself) playing a Trix deck, defeating Jon Finkel (Mr. Shadowmage Infiltrator himself), also playing Trix. And with combo erasing weenie and other aggro decks from the metagame, Necropotence geared solely to disrupt control and combo also ran amuck, following Michael Long’s (Mr. Rootwater Thief himself) deck from the same Invitational.


(Trivia: For those who asked me on Beyond Dominia over a year ago, Mike e-mailed me that”Glory Hound” in the Longpotence sideboard was none other than Juzam Djinn.)


The stunted transition to modern control

Things were grim for”The Deck” at the time. Players like Brian Weissman tried to compensate, but these in turn led to surprising defeats at the hands younger players’ Type II weenie decks in between rounds during tournaments. It was a tough battle, with”The Deck” seeming to lack brokenness for the first time in history.


“The Deck” May 2000, Brian Weissman, from e-mail

Blue (19)

Ancestral Recall

Time Walk

Timetwister

1 Amnesia

1 Braingeyser

1 Stroke of Genius

1 Recall 

1 Mystical Tutor

4 Mana Drain

4 Force of Will

Counterspell

1 Morphling


White (6)

1 Balance

Disenchant

Swords to Plowshares


Black (3)

1 The Abyss

Demonic Tutor

1 Vampiric Tutor


Green (1)

1 Regrowth


Red (3)

2 Gorilla Shaman

Fireball


Artifact (1)

1 Jayemdae Tome


Mana (28)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Pearl

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Ruby

1 Mox Emerald

1 Sol Ring

1 Strip Mine

4 Wasteland

Library of Alexandria

City of Brass

Volcanic Island

Tundra

2 Underground Sea


Sideboard (15):

2 Gorilla Shaman

2 Disenchant

1 Mana Short

2 Circle of Protection: Red

Pyroblast

1 Fireball

1 Compost

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Zuran Orb

1 Mirror Universe


Brian e-mailed:”‘The Deck’ is so heavily metagamed against Type I Combo decks that unsideboarded, it doesn’t have near the defense to deal with most weenie decks. After sideboarding life gets easier, but beating Sligh is by no means a given.”


Nevertheless, this grim period marked the last stage of evolution of”The Deck.” With Stroke of Genius and Yawgmoth’s Will (a conspicuously late addition much like Balance and Force of Will – despite its being the most broken”The Deck” card after Ancestral Recall),”The Deck” moved into the last stage of its evolution – into a more aggressive deck – and this peaked with Invasion’s unrestricted Fact or Fiction. Incidentally, Urza’s Saga replaced Mirror Universe with Morphling, and the new kill was another signpost of the”modern” deck.


On Beyond Dominia, Darren di Battista, a.k.a. Azhrei, evolved The Franchise against the same metagame, but stayed closer to the original deck’s theme of recursion:


The Franchise 2000, Darren di Battista, a.k.a. Azhrei, as posted on Beyond Dominia


Blue (19)

Ancestral Recall

Time Walk

Timetwister

1 Amnesia

1 Braingeyser

1 Stroke of Genius

1 Recall 

1 Mystical Tutor

1 Soothsaying

4 Mana Drain

4 Force of Will

1 Morphling


White (6)

1 Balance

1 Moat

Disenchant

Swords to Plowshares


Black (3)

1 The Abyss

Demonic Tutor

1 Vampiric Tutor


Green (1)

1 Regrowth

2 Gaea’s Blessing


Red (1)

Fireball


Artifact (2)

1 Jayemdae Tome

1 Zuran Orb


Mana (28)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Pearl

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Ruby

1 Mox Emerald

1 Sol Ring

1 Strip Mine

3 Wasteland

Library of Alexandria

1 Tolarian Academy

City of Brass

Tundra

3 Underground Sea

Volcanic Island

2 Tropical Island


Sideboard (15):

4 Annul

1 Mirror Universe

1 Compost

1 Disenchant

2 Swords to Plowshares

1 Ivory Mask

2 Gorilla Shaman

2 Red Elemental Blast

1 Tormod’s Crypt


Urza’s new generation of brokenness


Morphling a.k.a. Superman

Creature-Shapeshifter

3/3

Urza’s Saga rare

U: Untap Morphling.

U: Morphling gains flying until end of turn.

U: Morphling can’t be the target of spells or abilities until end of turn.

1: Morphling gets +1/-1 until end of turn.

1: Morphling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.


Compost

G

Enchantment

Urza’s Destiny uncommon

Whenever a black card is put into an opponent’s graveyard, you may draw a card.


Annul

U

Instant

Urza’s Saga common

Counter target artifact or enchantment spell.


Ivory Mask

2WW

Enchantment

Mercadian Masques rare

You can’t be the target of spells or abilities.


Soothsaying

U

Enchantment

Mercadian Masques uncommon

3UU: Shuffle your library. X: Look at the top X cards of your library and put them back in any order.


Reminds you of…

The Herd, Tomi Walamies, Finalist, Pro Tour New Orleans, November 2001 (Extended)


Blue (22)

4 Force of Will

4 Counterspell

1 Forbid

4 Fact or Fiction

4 Impulse

3 Brainstorm

1 Intuition

1 Morphling


White (9)

3 Swords to Plowshares

3 Wrath of God

3 Seal of Cleansing


Green (5)

3 Call of the Herd

2 Gaea’s Blessing


Mana (24)

3 Tithe

3 Flood Plain

3 Adarkar Wastes

4 Savannah

4 Tropical Island

4 Tundra

1 Plains

2 Wasteland


At this point, stop and compare the decklist as of 2000 to the 1995 and 1996 versions. You should see how the deck became less redundant thanks to increased tutors, and more aggressive thanks to card drawing power. As the deck was filled out, black replaced white as the secondary color, and Yawgmoth’s Will was soon added to the above list after it was initially overlooked.


You’ve seen the bare bones version of”The Deck” and you’ve seen it enhanced by tutors and card drawing. Next week, we’ll go through variations of today’s fully powered versions.


Keep in mind, though, that it’s all still the same strategy we began with – and that’s true for every deck listed.


Oscar Tan

[email protected]

rakso on #BDChat on Newnet

Manila, Philippines

Type I, Extended and Casual Maintainer, Beyond Dominia (http://www.bdominia.com/discus/messages/9/9.shtml)

Featured writer, Star City Games (http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/archive.php?Article=Oscar Tan)

Proud member of the Casual Player’s Alliance (http://www.casualplayers.org)


P.S. – Thanks to Brian Weissman, Darren di Battista a.k.a. Azhrei, JP”The Polluted” Meyer, Matt D’Avanzo, Adam Duke a.k.a. Meridian and John Ormerod for being tough critics of the drafts of this series.


Thanks to Giles Reid from the Star City list and Nate Heiss of The Magic Word (www.mtgword.com) for sending me the original Dojo files, and to Amy English for being my”guinea pig” reader.


And, thanks to Alex Shvartsman, Kai Budde, Zvi Mowshowitz, Gary Wise, Chris Pikula, Noah Boeken and Ben Rubin for invaluable insights into the Magic Invitational and Invitational playtesting.