There’s something different for us today… Patrick “The Innovator†Chapin interviews Gerry Thompson on the intricacies of the current Extended format. GerryT shares two lists – his build of Doman Zoo, and his personal take on Next Level Blue – before sharing sideboarding plans against the Tier 1 decks. If you’re looking for an edge at your next PTQ, let Patrick and Gerry guide the way!
Extended is a lively and interesting format, by all appearances… though some would add the caveat “if you like playing The Rock mirror match†to that, after the first two weeks of PTQs. The truly broken stuff you can do is held in check by the ease with which it can be attacked and by its overall inconsistency in the face of the excessive mulligans, and for the most part everyone is “playing fair†and interacting with their opponent in the first few turns.
In preparation for his first Extended PTQ of the season, Kyle Sanchez believes he’s broken the pre-Morningtide metagame. His decklist, packed with strong cards and a sideboard that’s either genius or lunacy, is presented here without prejudice. He also waxes lyrical about ultra-competitive PTQ players, and closes with a frankly bizarre rap segment that has to be read to be believed. Love him or hate him… you can’t ignore him!
Zac is having a week off this week. In his place, we have the inestimable Cedric Phillips! In his own words…
Disclaimer: Before I start talking about this here deck, let me get this out of the way. I don’t say “y’allâ€, my card choices are not “tight,†and I don’t collaborate (and listen) with “The Feldmeister.” If you were looking for those things, turn back before it gets too emo in here.
Going into an Extended PTQ with a true plan in mind is one of the more daunting tasks I’ve seen in recent memory, thanks to the wide range of strategies and brokenness being employed. On some level this is ironic, since I remember a number of writers (including myself) whining about how difficult it was to metagame, as there were approximately more viable decks than Lasagna Cat videos last year. That said, there are some basic tenets you can follow, and certain assumptions you can make.
At first glance, it’s easy to spot the chase cards in Morningtide. There’s Mutavault, for example. And Murmuring Bosk. Another card that is warranting a lot of attention is the three mana beatstick Countryside Crusher. Today’s Sullivan Library sees Adrian examine some of the uses that this particular monster may have. Could he actually be… better than Tarmogoyf?!
I had my doubts about the venerable Red Deck Wins in this current Extended environment. It didn’t have a good showing in Valencia. Too much hate in the environment. From Counterbalance to Vedalken Shackles to Engineered Explosives to Doran to…
Well, you get the point.
Most Extended decks are built with one goal in mind, and that makes them very good at doing what they do and strategically simple to play. When you play Red deck or Domain Zoo in Extended, every game you win will involve small creatures attacking and some burn. When you play Doran, every game you win will end when your large creatures finally get through for twenty…
Luis Scott-Vargas, America’s Level 7 Mage, isn’t a particular fan of beating down. That said, when offered the chance to drop a virtual 5/5 monster on turn 2, one that meddles with the opposition in incremental but significant ways, he found he was unable to refuse. Today he runs through his successful Doran Extended build, and shares wise words on the matchups that matter in the current metagame.
Due to a gap in the schedule, we have a PTQ winner’s tournament report from Ty Dobbertin. Piloting the old favorite Aggro Loam, Ty carved his way through a field of 170 players and took home the blue envelope. The deck’s best matchup? Anything that runs Doran…
Lorwyn Sealed Deck and Lorwyn Booster Draft were seen by some as ‘too repetitive,’ ‘inbred,’ and ‘boring’ because they felt you always had to focus on one of the same eight archetypes with nary a thought slipped in edgewise to distract us from that hyper-attenuated focus of “Tribe Matters.†Sure, you could have your preferences… after all, who doesn’t like Faeries or Merfolk if they are plentiful?
With Extended PTQs continuing apace, it seems that Doran and pals are forcing the metagame to fight in the mid-game. How can we win this fight? Mike presents three ways in which to battle the latest incarnation of the ever-popular Rock decks. If you’re looking for an edge for your next PTQ, especially in the mirror match, this is the article for you!
Constructed Magic is the soup du jour, and it seems that all kids currently love Extended. The PTQs for Pro Tour: Showbiz are well attended, with many a mage searching for that elusive spark to catapult them towards a Blue Envelope. Today’s Down and Dirty sees Kyle bring three decks to the table. Two of them incorporate Morningtide cards, and one was made in collaboration with Luis Scott-Vargas. In fact, it’s a deck template that has a rather proud legacy…
Playtesting in the current Extended metagame is a nightmare task. You sleeve your seventy-five select, and then face ten, twenty, thirty possible gauntlet decks with pedigree and power. It’s so difficult to cover all the bases that the sane player concentrates on those decks he feels likely to make up the upper tier of the field. Today’s Deep Analysis posits the idea that, in order to pick up valuable percentages, it may be wise to run with once-popular fringe strategies. After all, not many folk will have tested the matchup…
Extended, it seems, is a format in which innovation is possible. Mike Flores, for example, ran a deck that killed with Rith’s Charm and Biorhythm. With so much mana-fixing available, and powerful cards across all colors, the sky is the limit. Beware, however… because that sky could be filled with the harsh glare of a Blood Moon… Can your PTQ weapon of choice weather a plethora of nonbasic land hatred?
