If a player still needs Back to Basics after packing a deck full of the most efficient counters ever printed, the strongest card draw and manipulation selection in a single color, a smooth mana base, plus Morphling-wall and Powder Kegs… Well, he should go play Pokemon.
When a single card can get topdecked to win against practically all but half a dozen archetypes – never mind if it’s in a good or a bad mono blue build – something has to be wrong.
I e-mailed MaRo half an hour after his column was posted, and I thanked him for a sober, realistic survey of Type I issues. It wasn’t what some players wanted to read – did you really expect him to announce the venue of the next Type I Pro Tour? – but I don’t think he could have done better.
Brace yourself – don’t faint – but Oscar may have actually found a card made since 1997 that could be used in a Type One deck! And even more fascinatingly, it’s NOT Seedtime! What could this annoying card be? Read on!
On July 15, 2002, Mark Rosewater is expected to post an article about Type I. Yes, a full article – not just another off-the-cuff, foot-in-mouth answer to a letter. Fortunately, a Wizards mole spilled the beans.
June 25th: Beyond Dominia finally dies – not with a bang, but with a whimper.
July 8th: Oscar Tan goes bang.
The usual slew of analyzing cards for the most ancient format – and some intriguing ideas that may change the slant of some classic T1 decks!
Mark Rosewater said that”an Extended deck (Miracle Gro) from the latest Extended season has gone on to have a huge influence on Type 1…” Why is he wrong and why does this deck (and Illusionary Mask) fail in the Format Of The Eldest Cards?
Anyway, after exams, work, and family tour guide time, I didn’t even notice that I’ve been writing an article a week, nonstop, for one year now. I hereby declare the one-year anniversary mark – and my triumph in the Writer War – my day off!
Going into Judgment, again, since creatures are there mainly to tap and deal damage, we’re going to be looking mainly at Rule #1. Since new creatures have to compete against everything printed since 1994, you understand it’s an uphill fight – something like 85 degrees up.
Outside of mono green, a green creature has to be significantly better than the best another color has, simply because green can’t contribute much to a multicolored deck aside from creatures. In other words, even if I rate Call of the Herd higher than Serendib Efreet, I may still go with the blue guy to avoid adding green.
Don’t believe the hype! Everyone and his mom are telling you how Judgment’s Wishes will break Type One in – but if you look closely, you’ll see that what you have to give up might not be worth the wish…
Is it a dead archetype now? Oscar braves the wilds of the Zoo to find out, and throws a little misin’ love in Mikey P’s way.
Four games against Stompy are highlighted, and Oscar stomps the heck out of ’em with Pure Control. Hey, one game is even close!
Turn 1: Mountain, Mox Pearl, Mox Sapphire, Grim Monolith, Su-Chi. How does the Deck come back from a blazing start like that… Or can it?
