Subject: [DECK] U/G/b "The Awakening Headache" Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 15:21:30 +0800 From: "Selwyn Clyde M. Alojipan" ugb-awak.txt: [DECK] U/G/b "Awakening Headache" by Selwyn Clyde Alojipan 28 February 1998 (Magic the Gathering rogue deck design) Introduction: With the entry of Stronghold into the Magic scene comes one of the most powerful environment-changing cards ever made: Awakening. It is a green enchantment that makes all creatures and lands untap at the beginning of each player's upkeep. This enchantment now allows every Blue mage the ability cast sorceries and other main-phase spells with the assurance that he or she will have mana available to counter the opponent's main-phase spells. It also doubles the power of all creatures that can tap to produce a special effect because they can now attack and still use their special ability on the opponent's turn. Here is a deck built around the power of Awakening. It combines the strengths of Green with Blue, the most under-utilized color combination in Magic since the game's inception. Awakening now brings to the fore-front the inherent ability of Green to speedily deploy your spells and to remove non-creature permanents. The creature untapping ability of Awakening benefits Blue the most because it doubles the abilities of the most useful tapping creatures of all, the Green mana creatures, Tims (pingers) and the flying bouncers (Tradewind Riders). Moreover, Green empowers a Blue mage with untapped mana sources during your opponents' turn to enhance Blue's traditional strength: permission (interrupts). Do you get the picture now? If you haven't figured it all out yet, I've enumerated some of my favorite concepts below and built a deck that uses them to debilitating effect. This is still a test deck and I don't have the cards to build it yet so I don't know how well the combos will work together. However, I know that they worked before in different decks I've already made, and there shouldn't be many problems as long as you can put Awakening into play. Strategic Concepts: 1. Surplus mana for blue permission spells with Awakening and Birds of Paradise 2. Time advantage with Blue's delay/permission cards and bounce effects, and Green's speed setup 3. Mana deprivation effects, upkeep mana payment, and land tapping 4. Creature-theft effects using Tolarian Entrancer + Tempting Licid 5. Damage-prevention and creature-protection effects with Bubble Matrix 6. Discard/removal effects with Lobotomy 7. Life advantage over opponent with mana-payment effects and pingers 8. Multiple use from either tapping or untapping creatures and lands 9. Use evasion tactics/abilities during combat to maximum effect 10. Increase opponent's decision stress with painful choices and options 11. Use card combos with high synergy and flexibility 12. Find a use for neglected cards in today's tournament scene -------------------------------------------------------------------- U/G/b Pain/Mana/Manipulation/Removal Deck: "The Awakening Headache!" 62 cards = 21 L + 5 ART + 17 SC + 5 EN + 4 EL + 2 SOR + 8 INT Lands (21): 2 Quicksand (1) You just shouldn't block some creatures! 2 Reflecting Pool (0) Any color mana with another land in play 3 Skyshroud Forest (1/U/G) 3 Pine Barrens (1/G/B) 3 Rootwater Depths (1/U/B) 4 Forest (G) 4 Island (U) Artifacts (5): 3 Mana Web 3 Deprives opponent's mana 2 Bubble Matrix 4 Keeps creatures alive (for easier stealing) Green (10): 4 Birds of Paradise G 0/1; Provides me with extra mana; blocker 2 Tempting Licid 2G 2/2; Combine with Tolarian Entrancer and others 1 Quirion Druid 2G 2/2; Turns lands into 2/2 creatures (steal them!) 3 Awakening 2GG Untaps all creatures and lands (even opponent's) Blue (21): 4 Psychic Venom 1U Damages opponent when land is tapped 2 Energy Vortex 3UU Opponent pays mana or takes 3 damage per upkeep 4 Counterspells UU Standard permission (better than Mana Leak?) 4 Powersinks XU Painful permission with Powersinks 2 Tolarian Entrancer 1U 1/1; Steals opposing blockers (Lure them!) 3 Suq'ata Firewalker 1UU 0/1; Deals 2 damage per turn with Awakening 2 Tradewind Rider 3U 1/4; Bounces everything away Gold (5): 3 Mundungu 1UB 1/1; Painful permission with mana deprivation! 2 Lobotomy 2UB Massive dissection of opponent's cards Sideboard (15): 2 Propaganda 2U Against creature hordes 1 Shimmer 2UU Superior delay versus mono/bi-color decks 3 Hydroblast U Against red spells, avoid a fast kill 2 Mana Leak 1U More fast permission if needed 1 Volrath's Gardens 1G Life-gainer 3 Gaia's Blessing 1G Graveyard recursion 3 Creeping Mold 2GG Kills lands, artifacts, and enchantments ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some Sort of Ideal Play: Turn1: Forest; Bird of Paradise Turn2: Multiland; Psychic Venom on opponent's land; Bird of Paradise Turn3: Multiland; Awakening; untap during opponent's phase; counter anything Turn4: Lobotomy; untap during opponent's phase; counter anything Turn5: Land; Bubble Matrix; Tolarian Entrancer; untap during opponent's phase; counter anything; block anything Turn6: Mana Web; Mundungu; untap during opponent's phase; block anything counter anything; Turn7: Land; Energy Vortex; attack; untap during opponent's phase; block anything; counter anything Turn8: Tradewind Rider; Suq'ata Firewalker; untap during opponent's phase; block anything; counter anything Turn9: Lock situation; just deprive opponent of mana; deal damage to opponent on your turn and his turn; bounce anything; counter anything You may feel that I'm trying to do too many things with this deck. However, this deck is supposed to be test-bed of ideas which worked well in separate decks but it hasn't been play-tested together in one deck yet. You should be able to tune it to your style of play once you've assimilated the concepts I discussed above. I'll leave it to you to discover how fun it is to have this type of flexibility in a tournament-capable deck. So awaken now, and give your opponents a splitting headache! -------------------------------------------------- Every generalization is false, including this one. ================================================== /) /) Selwyn Clyde M. Alojipan TIP#2704 /______/ E-mail: selwyn@mozcom.com DCI#207605 \_/^\_/ Quezon City, Philippines UIN 2324719 Founder, Team Rogue (Philippines; International) "In a world of standards, beware the rogue!"