The metagame clock seemed to lay out the course of OBC fairly well, I think, only notably missing a few decks like”Pirates” and the Wake combo deck. Since Wonder Dog is a UG aggro-control deck, it should have beatdown enemies; that doesn’t seem to be the case with this deck, however, thanks to the cut-rate fatties. So what are the problems again when addressing the problems posed by format’s noted”best deck”?
I’ve monkeyed around with adding different colors to OBC Deep Dog in order to strengthen the mirror and maybe help against Sligh, but I discovered that Dog’s mana base is like a Porsche’s fuel injection: It’s very, very fine-tuned and it doesn’t like different kinds of gas. Black is right out. But what other color might work?
Here’s the first piece of data that I find interesting: Despite the pitifully small sample, decks that featured Opposition in them finished 8-1 against the field. That’s right, 8-1 from three different builds of Opposition. But which deck has been faring the best in Ted’s testing?
During OBC Season, I got stuck testing R/G Beats extensively – and discovered that it was the Little Deck That Couldn’t. For States, I’ve been testing six different builds of U/W Mobilization – and once again, I have discovered that none of them work. Let me warn you why this is one deck you should not even CONSIDER taking to States – and wonder why I am so clearly drawn to sucktacular decks….
“Hi, my name is Dave, and I’m a Wits-aholic….”
“Hi, Dave.”
“But back when Battle of Wits occasionally won tournaments, Toby and Brock ran the same number of counterspells: Thirty-six. Are there even nine counters in Standard today that are worth playing? And does that mean that Wits is dead?”
Neither of these decks are groundbreaking. I mean, where are all of the Onslaught cards? But you gotta remember that sometimes, new cards just don’t help certain decks. Look at PTQ Chicago in 2000: Fires decks were all the rage. But what won the thing? A good, solid Rebel deck. Invasion didn’t give Rebels anything… But it also didn’t take anything away.
Here is a depressing little fact: Almost no rogue decks win major tournaments. Jamie Wakefield’s PTQ win with Secret Force is legendary partly because of Jamie’s writing skill and partly because he was like the Little Engine That Could – failing repeatedly with the same deck before finally qualifying. I’m the king of rogue decks, and if I really wanted to win, I wouldn’t go rogue… But if I did, here’s the basic steps I’d take towards making a competitive deck.
Three decks from Dave’s testing gauntlet – including one further refined, with playtesting results and feedback from readers. Wanna see the Meddish U/B Wizards deck? No? How about a Burning Bridge deck that’s all the Rage… Or maybe not, now that it can’t PLAY Rage? All right, will another Mono Black deck satiate you?
The question everybody wants to know right now, though, is what are you packin’ this time? You’ve got a tough job ahead of you, I’ll tell you – because you’re losing a lot of power from the Invasion Block and not getting much back from Onslaught. That leaves many thinking the top decks might just be Standardized Odyssey Block decks.
Jay Schneider starts every new Constructed season with a mono-red Sligh or beatdown deck; Zvi starts with a new version of Turboland. I start with some overpriced fatties build – mainly to get it out of my system. And this time, I wanted to work with Contested Cliffs.
Okay, it’s a little early for Halloween – but let me tell you, I’m all excited about the graveyard recursion that Onslaught opens up. I’m diggin’ Onslaught’s graveyard cards… And is that a deck I smell a’brewing? By the pricking of my thumbs…
After creating last week’s baked tourney experiment, what can Ted do when he’s straight? The usual bouillabaise of strange observations, plus a look at Hot Tog and how it will (or won’t) survive the rotation…
Here is the list of Magic slang terms for beginners, folks – got any suggestions? Send ’em in!
Lo and behold! States, the favorite tournament of scrubby Pro Tour wannabes such as yours truly, is coming up shortly. And it’s never too late (or too early) to start thinking about what deck I’m going to play this year. May I present two decks for your pleasure?
