Making The Most of Your Magic Money – Preparing For The New Extended Part 2
28 Jun 2010 | David Li Wang
Last week I started discussing the impacts of the change on Extended while exploring some of the old Extended archetypes, while this article will focus on the vast variety of old Standard archetypes that have a chance at being viable. For the last article, go to http://community.goodgames.com.au/articles/magic/2010/06/21/making-the-most-of-your-magic-money-preparing-for-the-new-extended-part-1/
The Archetypes Continued – Old Standard Archetypes
Now, I will be addressing some of the old Standard archetypes, ranging from the Time Spiral/ Lorwyn Block decks to the Lorwyn Block/ Alara Block decks.
Dragonstorm
At first I didn’t know what deck was best to start off with as there were so many to choose from, but then I remembered one of the best moments of Magic I had seen in coverage, the 2007 World Championships Semi-final: Gabriel Nassif vs. Patrick Chapin. It was a Dragonstorm mirror and the fourth game of that match was perhaps one of the greatest comebacks in Magic history. To read about the entire match go to http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Events.aspx?x=mtgevent/worlds07/sf1. Anyway, I’m here to express my view on the deck, not repeat coverage so here I go. I believe that Dragonstorm is quite a decent deck in surprising your opponent while the format is relatively open and the metagame uncertain. It plays out relatively well, can potentially go off really quickly
Gabriel Nassif’s 2007 World Championships Semi-Final List
Lands (24)
4 Fungal Reaches
4 Molten Slagheap
12 Snow-Covered Mountain
4 Spinerock Knoll
Creatures (4)
4 Bogardan Hellkite
Non-Creature Spells (32)
4 Dragonstorm
4 Grapeshot
4 Incinerate
4 Lotus Bloom
4 Pyromancer’s Swath
4 Rift Bolt
4 Rite of Flame
4 Shock
Sideboard
1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
4 Dodecapod
2 Ignite Memories
2 Ingot Chewer
2 Martyr of Ashes
1 Pithing Needle
2 Wheel of Fate
1 Wild Ricochet
Note this version does not play Tarfires.
What will be missing for this deck is Rite of Flame but the deck can still kill on Turn 3 because of Lightning Bolt. Ideally, it will be playing out something along the lines of this:
Turn 1 – Spinerock Knoll, placing a Dragonstorm underneath.
Turn 2 – Drop a land and suspend a Rift Bolt (or two).
Turn 3 – Cast the Rift Bolt that was suspended, and then use any combination of Lightning Bolt, Shock or Tarfire for the 7 damage for the turn, before activating the Spinerock Knoll to cast Dragonstorm for 3 to fetch out the Bogardan Hellkites for the win.
Impressed yet? If not, then you’ve probably seen this happen before but the explosiveness of this deck is enough to warrant it to see play as a surprise factor. Ignite Memories out of the sideboard is pretty awesome too. The Storm mechanic is also difficult to deal with by using counter spells so it gives it a slight edge but there are some major weaknesses with this deck. It can play out just as a Mono-Red burn deck, supported by Pyromancer’s Swath, which may prove to be quite difficult for some decks, but cards like Burrenton Forge-Tender and Kor Firewalker will be annoying for this deck to deal with.
Cards to pick up now: Pick up the entire deck if you can afford it as it will remain an iconic deck in the eyes of many and is always fun to play when you need a break. It may not remain viable for long but most of the cards are relatively cheap, with only Bogardan Hellkite costing more than $5. If you plan to play in a tournament before rotation, I think this deck should do quite well. Just make sure you’re familiar with the sideboarding against Control match ups.
Black Green Mid-Range Aggro
Roel van Heeswijk’s 2007 World Championships Top 8 List
Lands (23)
7 Forest
3 Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 Llanowar Wastes
1 Pendelhaven
3 Swamp
4 Treetop Village
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Creatures (23)
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
1 Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
4 Ohran Viper
2 Shriekmaw
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Tombstalker
3 Troll Ascetic
Non-Creature Spells (14)
3 Eyeblight’s Ending
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
2 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Nameless Inversion
4 Thoughtseize
While I’m on the World Championships of 2007, this list was a pretty generic deck back in 2007 and 2008 and relatively easy to play and shouldn’t require too much explanation. It has 1 mana creatures (Birds of Paradise and Llanowar Elves) to accelerate into some of the better creatures of its time (I’m looking at you Troll Ascetic, Tarmogoyf and Ohran Viper which won’t be played) or into Garruk. Thoughtseize is there to act as disruption as usual. Personally, I don’t see too much reason in playing this over Jund but it might offer more consistency and has less mana issues.
Cards to pick up: I personally wouldn’t really recommend this deck, but if you’re intent on playing it, buy the Thoughtseizes and Tarmogoyfs (they’ve tanked in price recently, hitting 2 year lows and it might be a good time to pick them up) now.
Blue-White Pickles
Back in the day, there were plenty of variants of Pickles, but I’m predicting that the most successful version will be the one played by Paul Cheon at GP Krakow and won the tournament.
Paul Cheon’s GP Krakow Winning List
Lands (27)
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Calciform Pools
3 Nimbus Maze
10 Snow-Covered Island
4 Snow-Covered Plains
2 Urza’s Factory
Creatures (15)
3 Brine Elemental
4 Phyrexian Ironfoot
2 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
4 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
Non-Creature Spells (18)
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Cryptic Command
3 Oblivion Ring
4 Rune Snag
3 Wrath of God
Sideboard
2 Aeon Chronicler
3 Aven Riftwatcher
3 Faerie Trickery
2 Jace Beleren
2 Magus of the Tabernacle
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Wrath of God
This deck can be played out in 2 ways, with the usual permission control strategy, with sweepers and removal to deal with opposing threats to grind out a victory or it can use Brine Elemental and Vesuvan Shapeshifter, to combo out and lock the game, by preventing you opponent from untapping ever again (That sounds really fun! Oh wait! It is… Only for you though). Instead of Rune Snag, the deck will now be playing Mana Leak, which isn’t too bad either, possibly better in some scenarios. It’s quite hard to judge how U/W Pickles will play out
Cards to pick up now: Obviously with the combo being in Time Spiral block, it won’t be in too long, but buy those Ancestral Visions (played in Faeries too), Cryptic Commands (Will be played in a variety of decks) and Vesuvan Shapeshifters, while they’re cheap.
The Mannequin Deck
There are so many variants but the following list will be referring to one of the original lists which might not be as powerful. The deck takes advantage of Makeshift Mannequin to gain significant card advantage with the creatures that can be evoked such as Mulldrifter and Shriekmaw, with both having quite useful abilities. Riftwing Cloudskate can also bounce back your Mulldrifters and Shriekmaws, so you can cast them again to draw another two cards or remove a creature that’s in the way of your creatures. Shadowmage Inflitrator also draws you cards, beating down your opponent with the other creatures. Cryptic Command and Damnation do their usual jobs here.
Kotaro Otsuka’s 2007 World Championships Top 8 List
Lands (24)
4 Faerie Conclave
2 Mouth of Ronom
4 River of Tears
5 Snow-Covered Island
4 Snow-Covered Swamp
4 Underground River
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Creatures (23)
4 Epochrasite
4 Mulldrifter
3 Phyrexian Ironfoot
4 Riftwing Cloudskate
4 Shadowmage Infiltrator
4 Shriekmaw
Non-Creature Spells (13)
3 Cryptic Command
2 Damnation
1 Loxodon Warhammer
4 Makeshift Mannequin
2 Profane Command
Cards to pick up: There aren’t that many expensive cards present, apart from Damnation. Cryptic Commands are also an important purchase to make under $15 (if I haven’t repeated that enough yet). Profane Commands might be great to pick up and a possible addition to the deck, if they’re costing you less than $5 and if you have some of the same cards for the deck and have a low budget, you should play this version with some tweaks to suit the metagame, otherwise I believe the more updated Esper variants of the deck may be significantly better and you should avoid intentionally buying the cards that are exclusive in this deck, in order to build it.
Reveillark Combo
Reveillark has given birth to several combo decks and will continue to do so in this new Extended format. With so many cards that have synergy with it, there are various powerful concoctions that can be made and played in this new Extended format. One of my personal favourites was this:
David Sharfman’s 2008 US Nationals Top 8 List
Lands (26)
3 Calciform Pools
3 Cascade Bluffs
3 Mystic Gate
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Shivan Reef
2 Vivid Crag
4 Vivid Creek
3 Vivid Meadow
Creatures (22)
2 Body Double
3 Greater Gargadon
3 Kitchen Finks
4 Mulldrifter
1 Murderous Redcap
4 Reveillark
4 Sower of Temptation
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
Non-Creature Spells (12)
4 Cryptic Command
4 Firespout
4 Rune Snag
Mike Flores explains the combo eloquently: ,i>“The simplest Reveillark combo for this build is Greater Gargadon, Body Double, Reveillark, and Murderous Redcap. With Greater Gargadon suspended, and Body Double and Murderous Redcap in the graveyard, play Reveillark. Sacrifice Reveillark to Greater Gargadon… but don’t quite take that suspend counter off! There is a Reveillark trigger first. Return Body Double (copying Reveillark, now in the graveyard) and Murderous Redcap. Send 2 points to the opponent’s forehead. Still with that Suspend counter on the stack, sacrifice Murderous Redcap sufficient times to get him into the graveyard; respond by sacrificing Body Double… which will trigger and return itself (as Reveillark) and Murderous Redcap, ready for the next of potentially infinite iterations. Rinse, repeat, kill.”
Not so simple ay? What makes this deck a strong deck, is its strong core that will still be present in this new Extended format, as Rune Snag can easily be replaced by Mana Leak. Firespouts act as an efficient sweeper, dealing with several archetypes with ease. The deck’s potent synergies and having several of them, allows it to adapt to deal with the different problems it faces. Kitchen Finks allows it to claw out of holes against Red Decks to give it the extra time it needs to combo. Mulldrifters gives the player an opportunity to refill on cards when brought back by Lark. With more Murderous Redcaps in the sideboard, the deck can combo easier or have the additional removal it needs for the match up. Sowers of Temptation are obviously great in stealing an important creature off your opponent.
Cards to pick up: Reveillark is the obvious choice here, with bargains available for under $7 each and even $20 a playset if you’re lucky.
Merfolk
The good old blue tribe will be making a cameo for sure! You’ve got up to 4 Lords available! There’s Lord of Atlantis, Merrow Reejerey, Merfolk Sovereign and the new Coralhelm Commander, though the Commander might not be going to war… Did I mention the deck also plays Reveillark? That’s right! The deck is pretty much built for you and ready at your disposal (after you buy it, just like other decks). What makes Merfolk a competitive and likely force is its speed and efficiency, along with being able to play some fairly powerful spells such as Cryptic Command and Path to Exile. Reejerey is definitely a force to be reckoned with and is going to be quite underrated, able to crush your opponents if they don’t deal with it. The deck can also be played in a more controllish fashion too.
Lands (24)
4 Glacial Fortress
8 Island
4 Mutavault
2 Mystic Gate
2 Plains
4 Wanderwine Hub
Creatures (26)
2 Merfolk Sovereign
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 Reveillark
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Stonybrook Banneret
4 Sygg, River Guide
4 Wake Thrasher
Non-Creature Spells (10)
4 Cryptic Command
4 Path to Exile
2 Sage’s Dousing
Cards to pick up: I’m sick of mentioning Cryptic Command (Oops I just did it again! Wait that was a song reference too! OMG!) and Reveillark is a no brainer. Pick up Lord of Atlantis for under $5 for a great deal. Get Mutavaults too! I’ve previously mentioned the reason behind buying them (I think).
Seismic Swans – Aussie Assault
Here’s another awesome combo deck! The deck that our very own Aaron Nicastri piloted to win the memorable 2008 Nationals. For those unfamiliar with the deck, it utilises the combo of Swans of Bryn Argoll and Seismic Assault, discarding lands to deal damage to the Swans to draw more cards. In this original version, you discarded cards until you drew into a Dakmor Salvage, which you would use to discard and dredge one of the cards and draw the other normally. Once you had two Dakmor Salvages, you could finish off your opponent relatively easily. Gaea’s Blessing was there to prevent you from decking out. This
Lands (27)
4 Dakmor Salvage
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Graven Cairns
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Shivan Reef
4 Vivid Creek
3 Vivid Marsh
Creatures (7)
4 Swans of Bryn Argoll
3 Vendilion Clique
Non-Creature Spells (26)
4 Beseech the Queen
2 Gaea’s Blessing
4 Lotus Bloom
4 Ponder
4 Seismic Assault
4 Telling Time
4 Thoughtseize
Cards to pick up: Swans of Bryn Argoll and Seismic Assault are the obvious picks. Grab them cheap now (only if you’re playing the deck of course!) I’ve already explained Thoughtseizes too many times for me to remember, so I’ll stop now (hopefully I will).
Black/Red Tokens
Here’s another 2008 Nationals deck by the finalist and friend of mine, Brandon Lau (though I didn’t know him at the time)! The deck is fairly similar to most token decks, though Magus of the Moon in this deck is quite annoying if undealt with, screwing up most decks.
Lands (23)
2 Auntie’s Hovel
3 Graven Cairns
1 Kher Keep
6 Mountain
1 Pendelhaven
4 Sulfurous Springs
6 Swamp
Creatures (29)
3 Furystoke Giant
4 Greater Gargadon
4 Magus of the Moon
3 Marsh Flitter
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Mogg War Marshal
3 Nantuko Husk
4 Shadow Guildmage
Non-Creature Spells (8)
4 Bitterblossom
4 Thoughtseize
Cards to pick up: Bitterblossom, Thoughtseize are here again (Faeries always has the best cards. Wait didn’t I promise not to mention Thoughtseizes again?). Magus of the Moon might be quite a good card to buy under $8, though it won’t be in for long.
Sorry about not being able to squeeze in all the decks, but next week I’ll finish off with all the old Standard Archetypes with Boat Brew, Kithkin, Black White Tokens, 5 Colour Control, Blightning, Elves and Cascade Swans!
General Tip (Before I Go)
Buy your Shadowmoor Filter lands while they’re cheap! I’ll explain more on this in the next article!
To be continued again (just like how all epic articles are meant to be)…
I hope my advice was useful and the article enjoyable! That’s all for this week! Good Games! Good Times! GG!
By David Li Wang aka RedBluePlayer on Good Games Forums and MTG Salvation
For discussion.