"The Decks to Beat", June '97


The top decks in the U.S. (and some German) Regionals are listed below. These thirteen 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 (either main deck or sideboard) to the 5 Color Green Deck, MonoBlue, and possibly Sligh or Stasis decks. Blue, Red and Green are the winning colors, in that order. Also, have some defense against Winter Orbs. They have become extremely popular, with the 5CG deck and Forgotten Orb deck being based around them. Other than these considerations, the field is very diverse, with no deck dominating the way the NecroDeck did a year ago, and a deck for every play-style.
Nicoloff's 5 Color Green Deck
4 Quirion Ranger
4 Granger Guildmage
4 River Boa
4 Whirling Dervish
1 Karoo Meerkat
2 Jolrael's Centaur
3 Maro
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Armor of Thorns

4 Incinerate

4 Arcane Denial

2 Disenchant
1 Armageddon

2 Terror
3 Winter Orb
4 Undiscovered Paradise
3 City of Brass
9 Forest

Sideboard:
4 Hydroblast
4 Pyroblast
2 Gloom
Sideboard (cont):
2 Terror
1 Disenchant
2 Simoon


John's Meta-Weenie PCL Deck
4 Llanowar Elf
4 Ghazban Ogre
3 Granger Guildmage
4 River Boa
2 Karoo Meerkat
3 Whirling Dervish
3 Jolrael's Centaur
2 Uktabi Orangutan
4 Yavimaya Ant
2 Lhurgoyf
4 Giant Growth

4 Incinerate
2 Kaervak's Torch



2 Undiscovered Paradise
3 Karplusan Forest
2 Mountain Valley
2 Mountain
11 Forest

Sideboard:
Unknown but probably includes Pyroblasts, Dwarven Miners, Emerald Charms, Shatter, Simoon, Hall of Gemstone.
Sideboard (cont):


Newman's Powerhouse R/G Deck
2 Llanowar Elf
2 Quirion Ranger
3 River Boa
4 Jolrael's Centaur
4 Yavimaya Ant
2 Lhurgoyf

2 Sylvan Library
4 Suq'Ata Lancer
1 Orcish Artillery
1 Orgg

4 Incinerate
2 Kaervek's Torch
1 Hammer of Bogarden
2 Pyrokinesis
2 Jokulhaups

1 Havenwood Battleground
1 Dwarven Ruin
4 Karplusan Forest
2 Thawing Glacier
8 Mountain
8 Forest
Sideboard:
3 Emerald Charm
4 Pyroblast
2 Creeping Mold
2 Shatter
Sideboard (cont):
1 Simoon
2 Windreaper Falcon
1 Serene Heart


Szlagor's (The Crew) Sligh Deck
4 Orcish Captain
2 Dwarven Miner
3 Dwarven Soldier
4 Ironclaw Orc
4 Suq'Ata Lancer
4 Orcish Artillery
3 Viashino Sandstalker
4 Incinerate
2 Death Spark
2 Hammer of Bogarden
4 Fireblast
2 Disintegrate

2 Thawing Glacier
2 Quicksand
18 Mountain
Sideboard:
4 Winter Orb
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
2 Pyrokinesis
Sideboard (cont):
4 Pyroblast
3 Meekstone


Frayman's Frenetic-Hammer Deck
3 Frenetic Efreet

4 Incinerate
2 Hammer of Bogarden
2 Earthquake
1 Fireball
1 Kaervek's Torch
2 Pillage
2 Suq'Ata Firewalker
1 Rainbow Efreet

4 Counterspell
3 Force of Will
3 Impulse
3 Binding Grasp
1 Desertion
4 Nevinyrral's Disk
4 Thawing Glacier
1 Soldevi Excavations
9 Mountain
10 Island
Sideboard:
1 Disrupting Scepter
2 Dissipate
1 Hydroblast
3 Mind Harness
Sideboard (cont):
2 Pillage
4 Pyroblast
2 Pyrokinesis


Zila's U/R Browse-Shivan Deck
1 Shivan Dragon

4 Incinerate
2 Earthquake
2 Pyrokinesis

3 Air Elemental
2 Suq'Ata Firewalker
4 Counterspell
3 Dissipate
4 Force of Will
3 Impulse
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Browse

3 Frenetic Efreet ?

2 Thawing Glacier
1 Soldevi Excavations
4 Quicksand
2 City of Brass
6 Mountain
11 Island
Sideboard:
2 Binding Grasp
2 Hydroblast
4 Nevinyrral's Disk
Sideboard (cont):
3 Pillage
4 Pyroblast


Fertik's MonoBlue Ranger Deck
4 Wall of Air
4 Suq'Ata Firewalker
2 Air Elemental
2 Waterspout Djinn
1 Time Elemental

4 Counterspell
2 Dissipate
4 Force of Will
2 Arcane Denial
2 Impulse
3 Browse
2 Desertion
2 Boomerang
2 Fellwar Stone
4 Thawing Glacier
1 Soldevi Excavations
4 Quicksand
15 Island
Sideboard:
4 Knights of the Mist
2 Pydroblast
2 Dissipate
Sideboard (cont):
2 Arcane Denial
2 Dream Tides
3 Political Trickery


Shickli's BigBlue Deck
2 Man O' War
3 Azimaet Drake
4 Cloud Elemental
3 Waterspout Djinn
4 Rainbow Efreet
1 Air Elemental
4 Counterspell
4 Dissipate
4 Force of Will
1 Flood
1 Flooded Shoreline
3 Browse
2 Desertion
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Snake Basket
3 Thawing Glacier
3 Quicksand
20 Island
Sideboard:
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Flood
1 Desertion
2 Disrupting Scepter
Sideboard (cont):
3 Knights of the Mist
4 Hydroblasts
1 Snake Basket
1 Energy Flux


Team Clean's Forgotten Orb Deck
1 Shadow Guildmage
4 Black Knight
4 Fallen Askari
3 Knight of Stromgald
3 Skulking Ghost
3 Erg Raider
3 Nekrataal
2 Contagion
1 Vampiric Tutor

3 Man 'O War

4 Memory Lapse
2 Arcane Denial
2 Phyrexian Warbeast
3 Winter Orb
2 Quicksand
1 City of Brass
2 Undiscovered Paradise
4 Underground River
3 Island
10 Swamp
Sideboard:
2 Arcane Denial
2 Dream Tides
2 Dystopia
2 Terror
Sideboard (cont):
2 Contagion
4 Hydroblast
1 Island


Lauer's CounterPost Deck
4 Counterspell
4 Dissipate
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Impulse
1 Political Trickery
4 Wrath of God
1 Disenchant
1 COP: Red
4 Nevinyrral's Disk
3 Loadstone Bauble
4 Thawing Glacier
4 Kjeldoran Outpost
6 Plains
12 Island
Sideboard:
3 COP: Black
2 COP: Red
1 COP: Green
2 Wall of Air
Sideboard (cont):
1 Cursed Totem
1 Disrupting Scepter
2 Political Trickery
3 Disenchant


Will's Black Ice Deck
4 Black Knight
4 Knight of Stromgald
3 Skulking Ghost
2 Crypt Rat
4 Nekrataal
2 Evil Eye of Orms by Gore
3 Drain Life
3 Choking Sands
2 Contagion
1 Kaervek's Spite

2 Phyrexian Warbeast
2 Dancing Scimitar
3 Winter Orb
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
4 Quicksand
2 Sheltered Valley
3 Lake of the Dead
14 Swamp
Sideboard:
3 Dystopia
3 Bad Moon
2 Gloom
1 Winter Orb
2 Contagion
Sideboard (cont):
1 Choking Sands
1 Drain Life
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Funeral Charm


Simpkin's WW Deck
4 Death Speakers
4 Mtenda Herder
3 Infantry Verteran
1 Tundra Wolves
3 Repentant Blacksmith
2 Freewind Falcon
4 White Knight
3 Longbow Archer
4 Crusade
2 Armageddon
3 Remedy
3 Pacifism
1 Exile
2 Honorable Passage
1 Tithe

1 Quicksand
2 Kjeldoran Outpost
17 Plains

Sideboard:
4 Battering Ram
1 COP: Black
2 COP: Blue
2 COP: Green
Sideboard (cont):
2 COP: Red
2 Disenchant
1 Pacifism
1 Remedy


Baberowski's Squandered- Stasis Deck
4 Stasis
4 Force of Will
4 Arcane Denial
4 Counterspell
3 Impulse
3 Equipoise

4 Squandered Resources
4 Lim-Dul's Vault

4 Howling Mine
1 Feldon's Cane
4 City of Brass
4 Undiscovered Paradise
4 Underground River
2 Sheltered Valley
10 Island
Sideboard:
1 Anvil of Bogardan
2 Contagion
1 Island Sanctuary
2 Elephant Grass
1 Kismet
Sideboard (cont):
3 COP: Red
2 Misers Cage
1 Hydroblast
2 Sleight of Mind


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