He made the final of Worlds 2007… so what’s next? In today’s Innovations, Patrick Chapin takes his potent Next Level Blue Extended deck into the PTQ field, preparing to crush the dreams of all he faced. Patrick has a proven track record of delivering the top notch tech and then performing well with it… does this Blue deck deliver the goods?
With the first week of open Extended gaming upon us, I wanted to step back a little from the churning of deck concepts to have a look at the “why” of doing things in this format. Conceptually, it’s a busy format with a wide metagame, but there are certainly trends that deserve attention when we try to pick a deck (or design a new one) to run through a PTQ. In a format where you can arguably play anything, with five colors of mana at your disposal, big mana available with just a bit of work to get it, there are two competing factors: the fact that any deck can be potent, and the fact that any new strategy has to compete heavily for “room” at the Extended table.
It’s nearly the weekend, folks, and that means one thing… Extended PTQs! Mike weighs in with advice, featuring The Most Important Question You Will Have to Answer Tomorrow, Why Linear Sucks, Four-and-Two-Halves Rounds with the Prodigy, Two Ways to Get Free Wins, and More! Happy New Year!
Extended decks come in all shapes and sizes – that’s what makes the current metagame so great. There’s aggro for you beatdown fans, control in the all-powerful Counterbalance / Top, and a myriad of combo decks that pile out a win in the first few turns. Today’s Down And Dirty sees Kyle take us through a combo deck with a difference: It needs two spells, and you only need to cast one! Intrigued? Then read on…
At your next Extended PTQ, you’re sure to be taking a powerful deck. You may have broken plans up your sleeve, ready to smash face and win on turns three through five. However, what can you do if your Plan A fails? In fact, does your deck even have a Plan B? Richard investigates the importance of honing your deck to take advantage of the times when good ideas go bad…
The reasons I love playing original Rogue decks so much are twofold: first, if you create a deck yourself, you’re automatically familiar with the reasons certain cards are in the deck. Second, if you build something off the radar, your opponent won’t know what’s coming; he might not know what you’ve got planned, and might not even have any clue how to counteract it.
I’ve become a fan of linear strategies this season. Extended has traditionally gone very well for me, but most of the time I succeed it’s because I’ve pursued one particular type of strategy. Across the history of the format, there has been one thing per season that is so objectively powerful that it warps the metagame around it. This thing isn’t necessarily a particular deck; usually, it’s the exploitation of one particular type of resource.
From the world champion, we move to the other finalist from New York: Patrick “The Innovator†Chapin. Today he looks at U/G Opposition Elves in Extended, building them from the ground up with an eye on the current metagame. In a sea of powerful and polarizing strategies, does the four-mana enchantment hold the key to success for the coming PTQ season?
I’ve been goofing around a lot lately, building and designing decks for the Extended format, largely because I have no other way to occupy my mind. In brainstorming last week we came up with a varied set of decks to look at, with a peculiar Counterbalance-Tron deck and an approach at “Dragon Stompy” for the Extended metagame. Let’s see where we go today…
Today’s Flores Friday sees Mike dissect the pertinent problems in the modern Extended environment, and offer some proactive thinking in order to combat them. It’s safe to say that, at the beginning of this fresh and exciting metagame, the more successful players will be those that’ve identified a hole in the format and attempted to drive a Buick through it. Let Mike show you how!
The results from the Kentucky Blue Grass Open are in and you can see all the lists here. So what does all this mean for you and the Extended metagame? We now have some idea of what decks have and haven’t replicated results in some fashion. In addition, we can also take note of alterations from previous iterations (if there are any) and get an idea of what Lorwyn has brought to the table.
It seems that the world has gone Extended crazy, and Kyle Sanchez is no exception. Today’s Down And Dirty brings Kyle’s take on the metagame after three weeks of intensive testing with a variety of partners. For aggro fans there’s a fresh look at Gruul, and for more long-term strategists there’s a Tooth, Nail, and Mindslaver deck. Wrapping up, we have Kyle’s latest version of King in the Castle. Fun for everyone!
Yup, you read the title right – it’s a Two-Headed article on Extended. However, this is not a foray into Two-Headed Giant Constructed… it’s an article on Extended delivered in a unique fashion by the legendary Two-Headed Giant of Foriys. Of course, this doesn’t mean that it’s here for humor alone. There’s a rundown of the Domain Zoo archetype too!
Extended is coming, and we all must be prepared. I for one have settled on my deck of choice… have you? If you’re still floundering in the mire of powerful options, today’s Peebles Primers may help. BPM is also PTQing this season, and he’s sharing his processes at every step. In this article he sets out the truths he knows about the exciting format as the season begins…
Fresh from his sterling performance at Worlds 2007, Patrick “The Innovator†Chapin has decided to give us our Christmas gift a little early this year! Today’s Innovations sees the Constructed master turn his eye towards Extended, bringing us the “Next Level in Blue Deck Technology.†Intrigued? Then read on!
