The Decks of Jay Schneider, Neutral Ground Atlanta - July '98

-J

  4 Mogg Fanatics
  4 Jackal Pup

  3 Cursed Scrolls
  2 Shocks

  4 Mogg Flunkies
  4 Ironclaw Orcs

  4 Incinerates
  2 Sonic Burst

  3 Suq' Ata Lancers
  4 Ball Lightnings

  2 Furnace of Rath

  4 Fireblasts

 Sideboard:
  4 Pyroblasts
  1 Orgg
  3 Hammer of Bogardan

 17 Mountains
  4 Wastelands





 Sideboard(Cont):
  4 Phrexian Furnace
  2 Shattering Pulse
  1 Price of Progress

Comments from Jay:  The current tournament environment is very challenging for a Sligh player. The first game of a match, which used to be an auto kill, is now a hard if not disadvantaged fight for the red deck. This change is courtesy of the Oath of Druids deck/engine, the resurgence of white weenie/armor and to make matters worse the survival of the fittest/living death decks.

The new version of the Sligh deck reflects the extra pressure placed on it by the current environment. Mountain #18, always a luxury in a Sligh deck, had to be pulled. Any semblance of subtlety is gone. Sligh Burst's idea of a "trick" is a Sonic Burst.

Aside from this gloomy outlook for the Sligh player all is not lost. It's no longer a no-brainer which deck to play in the weekly Type II. This deck will kill most decks very quickly and very consistently. If they stumble they are dead (as usual.) The tools to win any match or tournament are at the Sligh players' disposal, but they must be able to read the tournament metagame in order to win and they have no room for error.

The current default configuration is a prime example. It assumes no red and only light suicide black decks. The Furnace of Rath is amazing in that environment. If the opponent allows it to enter play and be used the game is over. Sonic Burst is a lousy card but devastatingly effective. It is the 5th and 6th Fireblast red has always wanted.

A note about Flunkies vs. Ironclaws. There have been two schools of thought about which card to play. Once again it is partly a metagame decision. In the current case I choose both as the red player must attack quickly and can not falter. You must play solid creature on turn 2, follow it up on turn 3, then kill them on turn 4. I've noticed Flunkies are a creature easily misplaced in a deck (when Ironclaws are more suited.) Flunkies love celerity creatures and want a strong support group of creatures. They don't need as much removal to get through but they do need powerful friends.

The sideboard must be customized to the local metagame but a few of the cards are definite "keepers" (unless they go main deck.) The cards I wouldn't change are: Pyroblasts (the best sideboard card in the metagame still,) Hammer of Bogardain and Phrexian Furnace.

Against another Red deck the Pups + Furnace of Rath go out, Hammer and Orgg go in along with either Shattering Pulse or Phrexian Furnace. Against Oath of Druids decks pull the two slot creatures and the Suq' Atas. Put in the Hammer, Furnace and anything that looks appropriate. People will often board Null Rod against you so don't forget the pulse. With this sideboard and not allowing them to run the oath engine you should be able to comfortably beat them.

  4 Bird of Paradise

  2 Firestorm

  4 Wall of Blossoms

  2 Dauthi Horror
  2 Hermit Druid

  4 Survival of the Fittest

  4 Spike Feeders
  2 Uktabi Orangutan

  3 Recurring Nightmare

  2 Nekrataal
  1 Cloudchaser Eagle
  1 Lhurgoyf
  1 Mindless Automaton

  1 Fallen Angel
  1 Revenant
  1 Sliver Queen

  3 Living Death

  1 Verdant Force

  1 Spirit of the Night

 Sideboard:
  4 Pyroblast
  3 Emerald Charm
  2 Tranquil Grove

  9 Forest
  5 Swamp

  1 Undiscovered Paradise
  3 City of Brass
  3 Gemstone Mine




 Sideboard(Cont):
2 Oath of Ghouls
2 Ukatabi Orangutan
2 Firestorm

Comments from Jay: This deck is the strongest post-Exodus deck to come out of Neutral Ground Atlanta. It can't lose to red decks and has a very strong position against other decks. The main deck does have a problem against "Enchantment Test" decks, hence the heavy sideboard leanings toward enchantment destruction.

The most important card in this deck is the Survival of the Fittest. It has a plethora of uses. The most obvious use is as a Demonic Tutor every turn for a creature. This gives an incredible creature defense in the short game: On turn 3 you are almost guaranteed a Wall of Blossoms, followed by 2 more Wall of Blossoms on turn 4. Of course you can always tutor for the utility creature of choice as well (Nekrataal, Ukatabi, Cloudchaser.)

Other uses include deck thinning. When playing this deck never let green mana go to waste. Always use G to filter out the creatures you don't want to draw (Spirit, Verdant etc.) By doing this the Lhurgoyf and Revenant are huge by their turn 4/5 casting (and larger if they hit.)

Living Death is an obvious combo with Survival of the Fittest and a major threat in this deck. The Recurring Nightmares are just as bad. Remember those walls that were tutored for and cast on turn 2/3? They sacrifice to bring out Mr. V. Force. Then you sacrifice the veggies to the Recurring Nightmare. Don't forget that Recurring Nightmare is not disenchantable when played properly. Cast it and after it resolves immediately use its ability. As part of the activation cost it returns to your hand, hence no disenchant target. There are many wonderful creatures to cast then sacrifice, as almost every creature in the deck is a combo with Recurring Nightmare.

The other spell in the deck is Firestorm. Firestorm is there entirely as shadow defense. Firestorm is a necessary evil in order to beat the suicide black shadow. Don't worry about missing the shadow priest. You can always Nekrataal him and in the long run you'll win the life fight with recurring Spike Feeders.

The creature selection in this deck has undergone considerable thought. For fatties the rule of 1 applies. You put in 1 of each good fatty and cast/recur/death the best one based on circumstance. The utility creatures use the rule of 2 in order to allow the sac/recur to occur. There are 4 Wall of Blossoms because they are broken in general and are better than usual in this deck. There are 4 Spike Feeders due to the severe need to gain life in large quantities vs. red (sometimes a 12 life shift isn't enough.)

The Fallen Angel is there to get things into the graveyard. The Hermit Druids are to fill the graveyard and smooth the land draws; space permitting there would be more. The Dauthi Horrors are for shadow defense as well as for early pressure against control decks; once again if there were more space there would be more. The Mindless Automaton is just amazing. It combos with everything and is a cantrip. Don't forget its second ability to act as a Jalum Tome and to go large.

The primary method of loss by this deck is drawing insufficient/no creatures. It almost doesn't matter which creatures are in your hand as long as some are in the hand. If you modify the design remember to keep the creature level as high as possible. Be careful when you sideboard to watch the creature percentage.

The sideboard is fairly traditional with the exception of the Oath of Ghouls. It should read B1 bury target control player. This deck can't help but get lots of creatures in the graveyard (way more than the opponent.) With the Oath of Ghouls when a creature is countered they have just cast a reverse cantrip Memory Lapse.

  4 Blood Pets
  4 Phrexian Furnace

  4 Orcish Settlers
  2 Goblin Tinkers
  2 Thrull Surgeon

  3 Oath of Ghouls

  4 Bottle Gnomes
  3 Corpse Dance

  3 Mindless Automaton

  4 Living Deaths

  4 Earthquakes


 Sideboard:
  4 Pyroblasts
  3 Bottomless Pit
  3 Mindstab Thrulls

  5 Mountains
  6 Swamps
  4 Sulfurous Springs
  4 Rocky Tar Pits
  1 Volrath's Strongholds
  4 Wastelands

 Sideboard(Cont):
  3 Nekrataal
  2 Shattering Pulse

Comments from Jay: This deck is dedicated to Rudy Edwards. The Settlers Buyback name comes from the final lock in this deck. It is an 8 mana lock needing a Orchish Settler in the graveyard and a corpse dance in the hand. It chump blocks (if needed) and Stone Rains the opponent.

This lock is not required to win but does happen on a regular basis. There are many other "lesser" locks which are also very effective. Every creature in the deck Corpse Dances well and Living Deaths well.

The furnaces are a must in this deck not because of what the opponent can do with their graveyard but what you do with it (as a side effect.) The reason this deck can actually get to an 8 mana lock (or at least abuse to no end one of the 5 mana ones) is the superb land destruction of a cast settler, Bottle Gnomes in the main and the large quantity of global creature destruction.

At first I thought this deck gained nothing from Exodus. Then I realized the might of the Oath of Ghouls and Mindless Automaton. I found this deck showcases the strength of several new Exodus cards.. In a deck that has nothing but suicide creature the Oath of Ghouls shines. The Settlers Buyback can start almost immediately as well as a new soft lock - Thrull Surgeon buyback.

The Mindless Automaton is an incredible card with Corpse Dance. It's an even better chump blocker than the Bottle Gnomes. With Living Death it allows you to dump all the creatures out of you hand and gain card advantage! In the late game the Mindless Automaton is the fatty. The huge amount of card advantage gained by the automaton and oath supports the huge card disadvantage pumping of the Mindless Automaton. And if an Oath of Ghouls is out when you're pumping it...

All cards in decks are guaranteed to be tournament legal. All prices quoted are in U.S. Dollars.

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