"The Decks to Beat", July '97


The top decks in the Australian and Canadian Nationals, and other strong tourneys in Finland and France, are listed below. These decks are the decks to either play, or be prepared for... because you will be playing against them. To be competitive it is extremely important to have the answer to massive board control, massive counterspells, or both. With the reintroduction of Ice Age and Homelands, Swords to Plowshares, Serrated Arrows, Icy Manipulator and Stormbind are all cards to look out for, as well as the traditional Wrath of God. Also expect Ihsan's Shade and Ashen Ghouls to make cameo appearances. Board control is the name of the game, so expect Man 'O Wars every which way you turn, along with his less friendly chum, Nekrataal. Abeyance is the super card (so far) to emerge from the Weatherlight set, along with the versatile Gemstone Mine.  CounterPost, "Buried Alive" and "Abeyance" decks should be all the rage. I'm still looking for strong deck archetypes, so if you have a deck listing you're willing to share of a strong tourney winning deck, please send it in.
1st Canada, Mike Donais' Counter Post Deck
4 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
2 Dissipate
3 Impulse
1 Steal Artifact
4 Wrath of God
3 Disenchant
1 Greater Realms of Preservation
4 Icy Manipulator
1 Serrated Arrows
1 Winter Orb
1 Mana Web
1 Soldevi Digger
1 Phyrexian Furnace
3 Sky Diamond
1 Marble Diamond
3 Thawing Glaciers
4 Quicksand
2 Kjeldoran Outpost
2 Adarkar Wastes
2 Flood Plains
6 Island
6 Plains
Sideboard: *UNKNOWN*
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Exile
2? Karma
Sideboard (cont):
2 Mana Web
1 Disenchant


1st/2nd Australia, Lenny Collin's/Rod Ho's Phelddagrif Deck
2 Phelddagrif

4 Air Elemental
1 Waterspout Djinn

4 Counterspell
3 Force of Will
2 Dissipate
1 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Wrath of God
3 Disenchant

1 Fireball
3 Incinerate

2 Sylvan Library

4 Thawing Glaciers
2 Quicksand
2 Undiscovered Paradise
2 Adarkar Wastes
2 Kjeldoran Outpost
1 Forest
2 Mountain
5 Plains
8 Island
Sideboard:
1 Wrath of God
3 COP: Red
2 COP: Black
2 Pyroblast
Sideboard (cont):
3 Political Trickery
1 Disenchant
1 Serentiy
2 Pyroclasm


3rd Australia, Zhong Ou's Squandered Haups Deck
3 Rainbow Efreet
2 Suq'Ata Firewalker

4 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
4 Arcane Denial
4 Impulse

3 Squandered Resources
1 Hazerider Drake
2 Swords to Plowshares
2 Wrath of God
2 Disenchant

3 Jokulhaups
1 Wildfire Emissary

4 Elvish Spirit Guide
1 Ukatabi Orangutan

1 Phyrexian Furnace
1 Thawing Glaciers
4 Undiscovered Paradise
4 City of Brass
3 Adarkar Wastes
1 Sheltered Valley
8 Island
Sideboard:
3 Gerrard's Wisdom
3 Pyroblast
1 COP: Blue
1 Wand of Denial
1 Spatial Binding
Sideboard (cont):
1 Stormbind
1 Disenchant
2 Political Trickery
1 Barbed Foliage
1 Abeyance


4th Australia, Matt Goodall's U/W/r Deck
1 Rainbow Efreet
2 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
2 Power Sink
1 Dissipate
3 Binding Grasp
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Wrath of God
2 Disenchant
2 Gossamer Chains

3 Incinerate
2 Fireball
2 Icy Manipulator
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
3 Thawing Glaciers
3 Kjeldoran Outpost
3 Undiscovered Paradise
2 City of Brass
2 Flood Plains
2 Mountain
6 Plains
5 Island
Sideboard:
1 Pyroblast
1 Flood
1 Sleight of Mind
1 Stone Rain
2 Disenchant
1 Political Trickery
Sideboard (cont):
2 Teferi's Honor Guard
1 Rainbow Efreet
1 Stormbind
1 Disrupting Scepter
2 COP: Red
1 Phyrexian Furnace


5th Australia, Ray Harber's WW Deck
2 Repentant Blacksmith
3 Duskrider Falcon
4 Freewind Falcon
4 White Knight
4 Order of the White shield

2 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
3 Empyrial Armor
3 Armageddon
3 Sea Sprite
2 Arcane Denial
3 Sleight of Mind
1 Mind Bend
3 Winter Orb

2 Thawing Glaciers
3 Kjeldoran Outpost
3 Undiscovered Paradise
4 Adarkar Wastes
2 Quicksand
2 Island
8 Plains
Sideboard: *UNKNOWN*
Sideboard (cont):


6th Australia, Ben Seck's /Howard Mak's Forgotten Orb Deck
2 Shadow Guildmage
4 Fallen Askari
3 Knight of Stromgald
4 Black Knight
3 Nekrataal
3 Barrow Ghoul

3 Contagion
4 Arcane Denial
3 Memory Lapse

3 Man 'o War

4 Winter Orb
3 Serrated Biskelion
2 Quicksand
3 Undiscovered Paradise
3 City of Brass
4 Underground River
2 Island
8 Swamp
Sideboard:
3 Dystopia
2 Gloom
2 Disenchant

Sideboard (cont):
4 Hydroblast
3 Choking Sand
1 Bad Moon


7th Australia, Andrew MacDonald's Green Machine
3 Llanowar Elves
3 Quiron Ranger
3 Ghazban Ogre
3 Rogue Elephant
4 River Boa
1 Whirling Dervish
1 Spectral Bear
3 Fallow Wurm
4 Harvest Wurm
2 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Elvish Spirit Guide
2 Nettletooth Djinn
1 Kaysa
3 Giant Growth
1 Armor of Thorns
1 Bounty of the Hunt
2 Emerald Charm
2 Hurricane

1 Thawing Glaciers
1 Undiscovered Paradise
2 Heart of Yavimaya
16 Forest
Sideboard:
2 City of Solitude
1 Ankh of Mishra
1 Winterblast
1 Whirling Dervish
3 Armageddon
Sideboard (cont):
1 Uktabi Orangutan
3 Plains
1 Thawing Glacier
1 Brushland
1 Gemstone Mine


8th Australia, Sheppard's "Comerish" Turbo-Xerox Deck
3 Waterspout Djinn
3 Suq'Ata Firewalker
3 Man'o War

4 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
3 Dissipate
4 Memory Lapse
3 Power Sink
4 Portent
4 Brainstorm
4 Foreshadow
4 Impulse
1 Foresight

2 Quicksand
14 Island
Sideboard:
2 Knights of the Mist
1 Suq'Ata Firewalker
1 Man'o War
2 Disrupt
2 Dream Tides
Sideboard (cont):
1 Island
2 Phyrexian Furnace
2 Remove Soul
2 Political Trickery


Hovi's "Sumu" Deck
4 Sandstalkers

4 Incinerate
4 Thunderbolt
4 Fireblast
2 Hammer of Bogardan

4 Fog Elemental

4 Memory Lapse
4 Impulse
1 Ancestral Knowledge

4 Frenetic Efreet

2 Quicksand
9 Island
14 Mountain
No Sideboard.


Sam Ward's Flying Counter Post
3 Wall of Air
2 Air Elemental

4 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
3 Dissipate
2 Political Trickery
2 Browse
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Wrath of God
3 Disenchant
4 Abeyance

3 Thawing Glaciers
3 Kjeldoran Outpost
3 Adarkar Wastes
9 Plains
8 Island
Sideboard:
4 Hydroblast
2 Serrated Arrows
1 Greater Realm of Preservation
3 Glaciers
Sideboard (cont):
1 Political Trickery
1 Feldon's Cane
1 Disenchant
2 Mana Web


Eric Tam's "Buried Alive" Deck
2 Nether Shadow
4 Fallen Askari
4 Black Knight
4 Knight of Stromgald
2 Erg Raiders
4 Ashen Ghouls

2 Dark Ritual
3 Contagion
1 Drain Life
2 Choking Sands
4 Buried Alive
2 Necropotence
4 Bad Moon
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
3 Quicksand
18 Swamp
Sideboard: *UNKNOWN*
4 Dystopia
1 Contagion
Sideboard (cont):
3 Nevinyrral's Disk


Szwedowski's 4Color Black Deck
2 Shadow Guildmage
4 Fallen Askari
4 Skulking Ghost
4 Nekrataal

2 Contagion
1 Vampiric Tutor
4 Suq'Ata Lancer
4 Incinerate
1 Pyrokinesis

4 Man 'o War
4 Arcane Denial

2 Uktabi Orangutan
3 Winter Orb
3 Quicksand
4 Undiscovered Paradise
3 City of Brass
3 Mountain
2 Island
7 Swamp
Sideboard:
4 Dystopia
1 Contagion
1 Winter Orb
3 Pyroblast
Sideboard (cont):
3 Hydroblast
1 Uktabi Oragutan
1 Dwarven Miner
1 Knights of the Mist


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