From: "Sean McKeown" Subject: Chicago PTQ’s are in MiViLite Constructed Format...Analysis as Follows Date: 1 Jul 1997 23:01:51 GMT OK, I just found out from the DCI that the Pro Tour-Chicago qualifier tournaments are going to be Constructed Deck in the Mirage/Visions/Weatherlight bracket. This is a new tournament type, and it is my intentions to pick apart the tournament scene in order to outline the major threats, the popular deck types and colors, and the prevalent strategies of the tournament. As anyone who has ever played both Alice (IA/Alliances) and MiViLite or MiVi sealed deck can tell you, there is a huge difference in playing style between the two. Alice was more heavily strategy-oriented and based in control, due to the readily-available controlling spells like Counterspell, StP, Icy Manipulator as well as several cards that could turn the tides of the game before it even really shaped... such as Stormbind, Jokulhaups, or Jester's Cap. It was in many ways similar to the current TII Constructed Deck scene. MiViLite is going to be totally different. There are no totally overpowerful strategy cards that are capable of shifting the game so efficiently as the Haups, or Armageddon, Wrath of God, Nevinyrral's Disk, or even the recently-overpopular Winter Orbs. There is really no mass-destruct spell in Mirages, Visions, or Weatherlight... I make an exception now by stating there are several of this type of card that target only creatures, but not other permanents, plus Serenity... which will alter the way people play and build their decks considerably. MiViLite Sealed games are often hour-long creature brawls, as one weenie horde faces off against the next weenie horde. I expect that a great deal of MiViLite decks will follow suit, in true Weenie fashion. Because there are no mass-destruct spells in MiViLite of major notice, there are going to be more swarm-based decks than one might at first believe. This will skewer the tournament scene away from versatility in dealing with all permanents and make it a necessity for players to focus strictly on creature control. Because there is no truly efficient life-gaining spell in MiViLite…your main choices are Elixir of Vitality and JuJu Bubble... and a plethora of Direct Damage spells in Red, from Firestorm to the Hammer, Red will probably be a VERY popular color in decks. Green and Black will also be popular colors, for their speed capabilities (although Green's is much weaker, without a 1cc mana producer) as well as an excellent selection of creatures both large and small. Everyone will be looking for the speed kill, so some very vicious decks are sure to arrive. BloomDrain is dead in MiViLite, because without the Squandered Resources/Natural Balance combo to give the deck speed a hell of a boost it has no chance of overcoming the fast burn or critter decks that will be there in full force. There is no major land to require land-destruction capabilities in MiViLite, such as Kjeldoran Outpost, so land destruction will be moderately rare in decks, almost a side thing for nailing a Quicksands or two. Likewise, there is no City of Brass or IA Pain Lands to make multicolor decks easier to play... the choices are limited to Gemstone Mine and Undiscovered Paradise for non-mono-color decks. Mono decks will probably be popular choices, as the multicolor lands are not such clear-cut choices. The most important changes to note, however, is what decks will do now that there are no threats of Armageddon, Jokulhaups, Winter Orb or their ilk (although some brave souls may make Desolation decks... heck, I am considering it...) to threaten mana supplies, decks will become more expensive. Higher casting-cost spells and spells with upkeep costs will seem more reasonable as their chances of being cast are greatly increased. Likewise, the control properties of the environment will be greatly skewered towards strictly creature control, as there are no very efficient Counterspells in quantity...the best choices are Dissipate and Power Sink... and there are fewer threatening Artifacts and Enchantments of note. Control decks will be few and far between, and will most likely be entirely different from anything you might recognize as a control deck. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- With this in mind, I am posting a listing of what I feel will be the most popular (or successful) MiViLite decks. Suggestions are encouraged, and any opinion will hold weight and consideration. Re-Animator (such as my B/R "Army of Darkness") Key cards: Necromancy, Shallow Grave, Hidden Horror, Wave of Terror/Torrent of Lava, Gallowbraid, Morinfen, Viashino Sandstalker, Volcanic Dragon, Dark Ritual, Stupor/Coercion. Black Weenie Key cards: Wave of Terror, Infernal Tribute, Dark Banishing, Coercion, Fallen Askari, TarPit Warrior/Skulking Ghost, Gallowbraid, Morinfen, Hidden Horror, Strands of Night, Necrotog. Green Weenie Key cards: Rogue Elephant, Harvest Wurm, Fallow Wurm, Call of the Wild, River Boa, Jolrael's Centaur, Nettletooth Djinn, Maro, Fungus Elemental/Jungle Wurm. White Weenie Key cards: Abeyance, Longbow Archers, Alabaster Dragon, Inner Sanctum, Honorable Passage, Zhalfrin Crusader, Empyrial Armor, Duskrider Falcon, Freewind Falcon, Mistmoon Griffin. Red Burn/Weenie Key cards: Hammer of Bogardan, Incinerate, Thunderbolt, Heart of Bogardan, Suq'Ata Lancer, Volcanic Dragon, Viashino Sandstalker, Kaervek's Torch. Red/Green Weenie/Burn Key cards: Hammer of Bogardan, Savage Twister, Incinerate, Thunderbolt, River Boa, Nettletooth Djinn, Fallow Wurm, Viashino Sandstalker, Suq'Ata Lancer Red/Black Weenie/Burn Key cards: Gallowbraid, Morinfen, Infernal Tribute, Viashino Sandstalker, Fallen Askari, Drain Life, Incinerate, Thunderbolt, Hammer of Bogardan, Hidden Horror. Big (Mostly) Blue Key cards: Teferi's Veil, Breezekeeper, Fog Elemental, Phantom Warrior, Dissipate, Power Sink, Thirst/Apathy, Dark Banishing, Empyrial Armor (?), Abduction, Waterspout Djinn. "Turbo Blitz" Key Cards: Dark Ritual, Quirion Elf, Wall of Roots, Fallow Wurm, Hidden Horror, Gallowbraid, Morinfen, Nettletooth Djinn, Infernal Tribute, Briar Shield, Necrotog. I am expecting 99% of these decks to be running with a full compliment of Quicksands and Serrated Biskellions, to eliminate the weenie creatures sure to be found. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- I am planning on modifying and playing my old Sands of Time deck for the tournaments... for the simple reason of its unexpectedness and, just possibly, the vulnerability of the skewered tournament scene to the Sands of Time/Equipoise/Taniwha lock. For both those who remember the deck and those who don't, the updated version I am playtesting with right now looks like: 4x Sands of Time 4x Equipoise 3x Taniwha 4x Sky Diamond 2x Marble Diamond 3x Sandbar Crocodile 2x Breezekeeper 2x Chimeric Sphere (my mana sponge in this iteration) 4x Power Sink 2x Dissipate 2x Memory Lapse 3x Pacifism 3x Disenchant 3x Gemstone Mine 3x Undiscovered Paradise 4x Quicksands 8x Islands 4x Plains For a refresher course in how to use this deck and its overall strategy, skim through the stacks of Beyond Dominia. My old article, Deck Genesis #2 from April, is still in there somewhere, complete with an overview of how the deck functions. The adress for that site is www.bdominia.com/magic/beyond.html. For this, definitely, any opinions will be welcome...Email is preferred, as I don't check the newsgroups too often.. Gandalf@BDominia.com