Necro's Return: What it Means for Type II
I'm sure we can all remember the Black-Summer
last year. Necropotence dominated the tournament scene unlike any
deck in Type II history. The DCI decided to restrict Hymn to
Tourach and Strip Mine partly, perhaps even mainly, to weaken
Necro decks. For a while it worked. However, when Mirage became
tourney legal, the Necro decks were reborn in 3 different forms:
1. Canadian Necro: Lake of the Dead, Drain Life, Nevinyrral's
Disk and heavy hand-destruction were the keys of this deck. Mark
McCabe used this Mono-Black deck to win Dallas.
2. Suicide Necro: Order's of the Ebon Hand, Knights of Stromgold,
Incinerates, and Lightning Bolts were the key to this deck. Chris
Pikula used this Red-Black deck to get to Semi's in Dallas.
3. Weenie Necro: Erg Raiders, Bad Moons, and Choking Sands were
the surprising key cards of this deck. Brian Hacker used this
deck to dominate the Dallas prelims and get to Semi's in Dallas.
When Ice Age and Fallen Empires rotated out, most people thought
Necro was gone for good from Type II. When people saw Anvil of
Bogardan from Visions, people started to wonder. Now their fears
(and perhaps hopes) have been realized. When 5th edition becomes
tourney legal, Necro will return.
The loss of Order of the Ebon Hand, Hymn to Tourach, Zuran Orb,
Ivory Tower, Hyppnotic Specter, Sengir Vampire, and Ishan's Shade
will change the nature of Necro. These losses are not unique, as
other decktypes lost key cards as well. Necro was more than
compensated by the addition of Fallen Askari, Tar Pit Warrior,
Coercion, Tombstone Stairwell, Nekrataal, Aku Djinn, and
Ovinomancer. Here is how the 3 main Necro decks were affected.
Canadian Necro was hurt with the losses of Sengir Vampire and Ihsan's Shade. However, more painful were the losses of Zuran Orb and Ivory Tower. This deck depended on these two powerful artifacts, and while the creatures might have viable replacements, the artifacts do not. While Coercion was a boon, this type of Necro deck is probably dead, at least in the competitive tourney scene.
Suicide Necro might have been suicidal, but it
wasn't stupid. It used the life gaining artifacts well, and their
loss wounds this deck deeply. The loss of Lightning Bolts
probably reduces this deck from any consideration it would
otherwise have received.
Weenie Necro is partying. Sure it lost Hypnotic Specter, but what
does it care? It gained powerful replacements. The Orders of the
Ebon Hand? Fallen Askari's now. Hypnotic Specters? Tar Pit
Warriors. Zuran Orb and Ivory Tower? They weren't used then, so
why mourn the loss now? Weenie Tombstone had presently been
thriving, and now the changes in 5th edition will lead to
Necrostone. Anvil of Bogardan isn't a threat since Necro is
usually needed only once, if at all. The loss of the Icy's means
that Prison isn't a fear. Turbo-Stasis is probably its biggest
fear. The one key loss I didn't mention was Infernal Darkness.
Infernal Darkness was Necro's best sideboard card, with the
possible exception of Dystopia. Without it, Necro will need to
find an answer for Turbo-Stasis and the problems it presents.
Most solutions include the use of light land-destruction in the
form of four Choking Sands. This is a good strategy since it
offers the hope of slowing down Turbo-Stasis in the early game.
It can be used in conjunction with a Coercion based attack.
Coercion would be used to attack the Howling Mines. Another
tactic would be use Choking Sands to slow down the Turbo-Stasis
while launching an all-out attack. The point here is to try to
force the Turbo-Stasis player into playing the first Stasis too
early such that it can't be supported into the late game. The
loss of Despotic Scepter is what makes this strategy viable.
Another strategy would be to use Desolation in an attempt to
cripple the Stasis player. Sands of Time is another option as it
denies the effects of the Stasis. Turbo-Stasis has not proven
itself in the post January 1st environment, but many players fear
its return in 5th edition. I'm not so sure, but I'm preparing for
it anyway.
There are many different variations of the Necrostone. Here is
mine:
4 Bad Moons
4 Erg Raiders
4 Black Knights
4 Fallen Askari's
4 Knights of Stromgald
4 Tar Pit Warriors
2 Nekrataals
4 Choking Sands
2 Necropotence
1 Tombstone Stairwell
3 Contagions
20 Swamps
4 Dark Rituals
4 Dystopia's
1 Contagion
1 Necropotence
3 Glooms
2 Nekrataals
4 Coersions
Some people have argued against the inclusion of four Choking
Sands in the main deck, and/or the inclusion of four Dark
Rituals. My argument is simple: Thawing Glaciers. If that alone
isn't enough to satisfy you, then try this: Dark Ritual is what
makes Coercion the powerful sideboard card that it is, while
Choking Sands gives me enough of a speed advantage to have an
edge over Maro-Geddon, Counterpost, or "Critters" (a
R/G speed deck with a lot of fast creatures). 'Nuff said.
Obviously this deck can be changed. Some people run more
Tombstones, Necropotence, or Coercions standard. I like this
version for its speed and limited dependence on any one card. It
attempts to deal with Turbo-Stasis with an early blitz. Coercion
and Choking Sands are the key cards in this strategy.
Necrostone isn't nearly the dominating deck that old Necro was.
The four Hymn to Touch's and four Strip Mines made it absurdly
overpowered. Weenie Necro showed its power at Dallas in winning
the prelims. Now with the changes that have occurred in Type II,
it should be ready to win again.
Seth Burn