Hello guys, this is my first article for Pojo.com,
and I would like to do a quick introduction. I have
been a member of the forums for about 2 and a half
years.. Most if it for YGO needs, but I switched to
MTG with my area around the release of Betrayers. I
quickly read a lot of articles online, and surpassed
most of the people in my area in terms of knowledge.
My tournament experience isn’t much, just a PTQ
Honolulu, which I got forty ninth out of 128. Of
course, I was playing a sub-par version of No-stick,
and didn’t test as much as I should have, something
I regret. Well, sit back, and grab a Mountain Dew,
we are off to the Hunting Grounds.
Before getting the meat of the article, it’s a good
idea to know what the legal sets are.
Here is the current Banned/Restricted
list, and list of legal sets.
Notice how there are few banned cards. This, coupled
with the larger number of legal sets makes this my
favorite format. Its not very constraining, and you
don’t have to buy a new deck every two years. This
is due to the three year rotation on Type 1.x. now
then, the format is very healthy. It is diverse, and
filled with numerous decks to play. This may be a
problem for metagamers, who want to have the
anti-deck, or a hate-board, but playing 6 different
decks in a seven round PTQ is better than playing
all affinity on a Type 2 one a year or so ago. The
format has playable agro, control, and Combo decks,
which is another good sign. The cost of getting
into the format isn’t that much either, depending on
the deck. For instance, No-Stick, is expensive,
while Affinity and Heartbeat Desire can be made
under a lower budget. You may not know what most of
these decks are, so lets go into detail.
Aggro:
Affinity:
This deck is based around the affinity for artifacts
ability, making it a fast agro deck. This deck gets
hosed easily, by Kataki, War’s Wage. But, the deck
can pack removal, such as Darkblast, or Shrapnel
Blast. The deck has card draw, in Thoughtcast, and a
great combat trick in the form of Cranial Plating.
If it wasn’t for Kataki, the deck would be a lot
better. But, as it stands, its definitely a
contender, having many GP Top Eights.
Boros Deck Wins(BDW):
This deck is what Red Deck Wins became once extended
rotated. The loss of Jackal Pup, and Mogg Fanatic
made it lose its main early game. Add in the release
of Ravnica, which gave it Sacred Foundry, and
Lightning Helix. The deck is a powerhouse, earning
many Top Eights this PTQ season, it’s a good option.
It has access to Morning Tide, Kataki, and
Suppression Field. Those all have there uses, such
as Tog, Friggorid, and Affinity. 7-8 Main decked
land destruction also make this a good choice. The
Molten Rains work good against most of the formats
mana base.
Friggorid:
This deck is based around using Dredge aggressively,
and Ichorid. It wants to flip the deck into the deck
into the graveyard as soon as possible. This happens
with Chrome Mox, and Tolarian Winds. This deck can
go down to five mulliganing, and still win. It its
fast, can be hard to stop, and has one of the best,
if not the best creature in the game one its side.
Though usually not hard cast, but if you need, it,
it can take advantage of the large graveyard. Used
mainly as Ichorid food,, if you can cast it, it can
wins games.
Aggro Rock:
A B/G deck, it can use Putrefy, which is a great
kill spell. It also has the ability to bring out a
second turn Hippie, or Troll Ascetic. It has
control elements, such as Therapy/Duress, and the
Specter, but has some very aggro cards such as
Jitte, and Sword of Fire and Ice. Call of The Herd
and its flashback provide nice beats, as does an
equipped Birds. It sometimes splashes white for
Loxodon Hierarch, and some of the aforementioned
hate.
Control:
Pyschatog:
This deck comes in so may varieties. Classic U/B
Tog, or Dredge-a-tog, or Gro-a-tog. But, the one
thing the same is that they are controlling decks,
and that they have at the center what is hailed as
the best creature ever. Circular Logic is a great
card in this deck, due to the massive graveyard.
Also, topping into a Tog can win you the game. My
favorite variety is by far Loam-a-Tog though. With
Gifts Ungiven to set the engine up, it can easily
fill up the ‘yard. Cunning Wish helps by giving it a
tool box. This is one of the greatest deck in the
format, its got removal, card draw, big flying
Hulks.
No-Stick:
I will try not to be very biased here, but this is
my pet deck. This deck is based around Isochron
Scepter, and imprinting two casting cost instants.
Orim’s Chant for Example, will lock the opponent out
of their turn for the rest of the game. Imprinting
removal such as Lightning Helix, or Fire//Ice helps
against aggro decks. This deck has been shown
favoritism by the Japanese, and which we after
Worlds shows something. The deck has good match up
across the board, and only really loses to
Friggorid, or a BDW. Win conditions vary greatly
from list to list though.
U/W Solution:
Not to be confused with No-Stick, this deck is based
on using Blue and White to Control the opponent.
While it hasn’t had any significant showing this
season, it is good. As good as No-Stick? No. It is
just more stable and consistent, not relying on
drawing a stick or something. This deck has a few
things going for it, and I think is a contender. The
deck can use Stifle, Suppression Field, Morning
Tide, and just so mo many answers to common decks in
the format.
Combo:
Heartbeat Desire:
Based around using untapping spells such as Early
Harvest, lots of card draw, into a massive storm
count, ending the game with a lethal Brain Freeze.
Mind’s Desire helps build up this massive storm
count. Then, it finishes with a lethal Brain Freeze,
or possibly Tendrils of Agony. Moment’s Peace,
coupled with Cunning Wish give it a strong early
game. This deck is my choice for best deck in the
format personally. Its not to expected, there not
side boarded again as much as it should be, can go
off unexpectedly, and just can stall for a long
time. Sakura Tribe Elders chump block when needed,
which seeing as they will have massive due to the
Heartbeat of the Spring, you need it. The deck can
usually be built under $150. Gifts Ungiven, and
Cunning Wish are the most Expensive card in it. Its
all basic land mana base helps keep things low. The
only bad match up this deck has is the inevitable
Control match up, but with proper timing, and a good
hand, it can win.
CAL:
Debuting at GP Kitakyuushuu, it was soon picked up
by Oliver Ruel. The deck is a W/G/R/B deck that use
Life form the Loam, Cycling lands, Seismic Assault,
and Solitary Confinement for a lock, and a win. It
can beat agro decks with ease usually, but control
decks are harder on it. But, with the addition of
black, they became easier to deal with. Cabal
Therapy is just crazy here. It takes out controls
answers, and then just leaves there to rot when you
flashback. This deck is pretty good, but is starting
to get side against, and has lost its rogue status.
Tooth and Nail:
Tooth and Nail started as a Post-Affinity type 2
deck, being right up there with MUC in tier one.
Having since rotated out, its been ported to
extended. The deck uses the Urza lands to get out
the nine mana needed to Tooth and Nail with Entwine.
The deck isn’t so great I personally think, but it
has results. A Darksteel Colossus is a pain, if not
impossible for most decks to deal with. Kiki-Jiki
makes it swing a turn earlier, or destroys mass land
with Sundering Titan. Again, I don’t like this deck
much, and don’t know much about it.
Defining cards:
Life From the Loam:
A reusable source of card advantage/deck thinning?
Sign me up. Used in a few decks, it serves many
uses.
Pyschatog:
This creature is one of, if not the best in the
game. In the beginning of this season, it was the
defining card.
Not too many defining cards, because the format is
so diverse. The extended format is easily the most
healthy one out there. The field is diverse, the
card pool is large, and it’s a really balanced
format. Rock-Paper-Scissors relationships exist, but
the field is so diverse that they don’t matter much.
If you are just now looking into the older formats,
this is great place to start. Also, since it is only
a few months into the format, most decks can still
be deemed “rogue”. Or have fallen out of favor, and
don’t carry the SB hate the used to. A good example
is Goblins. Last format, they where all the rage,
and now the Plagues have dropped form the SB. Now,
the main decks to expect at any given tournament are
either Friggorid, BDW, Affinity, and some form of
‘Tog. Of course, the other decks still see lots of
play as well. Its quite possible to face 6 different
decks at a seven round PTQ.
In conclusion, the format is quite healthy. If you
can break it, go ahead and try. I would like to
thank you guys for giving me a chance, and reading
this. Topics ideas, hate mail, tips, comments, and
feedback in general are always welcome. Just send
them to the email below:
