Subject: [DECKS] Top Decks of the new T2 Enviroment Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 18:23:27 EDT From: MRJ1483414@aol.com To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com The following are some of what will prove to be both the most popular and most successful decks of the post-Exodus Type Two enviroment. Mono-Blue 4 Ophidian 4 Man O' War 3 Tradewind Rider 1 Silver Wyvern 4 Counterspell 3 Forbid 2 Mana Leak 4 Impulse 4 Whispers of the Muse 2 Capsize 4 Legacy's Allure 4 Sapphire Medallion 4 Quicksand 17 Island The previous decklist is courtesy of Jon Finkel. Personally, I don't believe the deck to be particularly strong in the current enviroment, although it seems to be doing rather well in various enviroments, including US Nationals. A pre-Exodus version of the deck played by Pete Radonjic also did well at the Canadian Nationals. Mono-Red 4 Ball Lightning 4 Mogg Fanatic 4 Fireslinger 4 Jackal Pup 4 Ironclaw Orc 4 Incinerate 4 Shock 2 Hammer of Bogardan 4 Fireblast 1 Sonic Burst 4 Cursed Scroll 4 Wasteland 17 Mountain The deck previously listed is an archetypal Mono-Red deck, which was played by David Price at the US Nationals. Price made a good showing with the deck, breaking into the top eight of the field. The post-Exodus Sligh deck changes little from the pre-Exodus version, and other decks gain little to change the dominance of Mono-Red in the Type Two enviroment. 5cWW 4 White Knight 4 Warrior En-Kor 4 Soltari Priest 4 Soltari Monk 2 Paladin En-Vec 1 Soltari Visionary 3 Disenchant 1 Earthquake 3 Firestorm 4 Cursed Scroll 4 Mox Diamond 4 Tithe 4 Wasteland 2 City of Brass 2 Undiscovered Paradise 3 Gemstone Mine 11 Plains 5cWW was a deck which experienced quite a bit of local success in the pre-Exodus enviroment. I expect the same to continue in the new enviroment on a local level, if not on a national one. The deck's rainbow colors aren't evident until the sideboard, which contains such cards as Terror and Slight of Mind, is revealed. Turbo Kitty 4 Howling Mine 4 Propaganda 3 Gerrard's Wisdom 3 Wrath of God 2 Humility 2 Scroll Rack 2 Gaea's Blessing 4 Counterspell 2 Disenchant 1 Aura of Silence 3 Static Orb 2 Enlightened Tutor 2 Forbid 4 Tithe 4 Mox Diamond 8 Island 7 Plains 3 Undiscovered Paradise Turbo Kitty is a modern day prison deck for the new enviroment, designed by Eric Taylor. The deck relies on Howling Mines to deck the opponent, while restricting his ability to use the cards drawn from the Mine with Static Orbs and other cards with control elements. Gaea's Blessing and Scroll Rack make sure Turbo Kitty's opponent decks themselves before Turbo Kitty decks itself. Suicide Black 4 Carnophage 4 Sarcomancy 4 Black Knight 4 Dauthi Slayer 4 Dauthi Horror 4 Erg Raiders 2 Sewer Rats 2 Hidden Horror 2 Unholy Strength 4 Bad Moon 4 Cursed Scroll 4 Dark Ritual 1 Volrath's Stronghold 17 Swamp Suicide Black gained another powerful black weenie in Exodus with Carnophage, which can only strengthen what was previously one of the strongest decks in the pre-Exodus enviroment. Although Suicide Black took a beating at the US Opens, I wouldn't be surprised to see it make a glorius comeback. ProsBloom 4 Cadaverous Bloom 3 Prosperity 3 Vampiric Tutor 4 Infernal Contract 4 Meditate 4 Natural Balance 4 Squandered Resources 2 Power Sink 2 Memory Lapse 2 Abeyance 4 Impulse 1 Drain Life 4 City of Brass 4 Forest 4 Gemstone Mine 5 Island 1 Plains 5 Swamp The previously listed Bloom deck did extremely well at the US Nationals, played by the best Bloom player around, Mike Long (well, why wouldn't he be the best? He can Balance/Tutor for a Cadaverous Bloom and get away with it! That's talent!) I'm not exactly sure if cheating is the only way to win with the deck, but Mike Long proved it doesn't hurt to do so. CounterPhoenix 4 Counterspell 4 Dismiss 2 Forbid 4 Shock 4 Incinerate 2 Shard Phoenix 4 Nevinryal's Disk 1 Earthquake 1 Fireball 4 Impulse 4 Whispers of the Muse 2 Legacy's Allure 1 Wasteland 2 Quicksand 4 Reflecting Pool 11 Island 6 Mountain CounterPhoenix is said by some to be the best control deck in the current Type Two field. I'm persuaded to think in a similiar manner myself when I hear such names attatched to the deck as Pat Chapin and Erik Lauer. CounterPhoenix gained little from Exodus besides another effective sideboard card to deal with Cursed Scroll, Shattering Pulse. I havn't personally seen the deck do well, and I heard little about it being played in the US Opens. Mono Green 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Spike Feeder 4 Spike Weaver 4 Stampeding Wildebeast 2 Uktabi Orangutan 4 Wall of Blossoms 4 Wall of Roots 4 Cursed Scroll 4 Creeping Mold 2 Desert Twister 4 Eladamri's Vineyard 1 Survival of the Fittest 15 Forest 4 Wasteland Surprisingly, a Mono Green Vineyard deck, played by both Bryce Currence and Ryan Kelly, did extraordinarily well at US Nationals. Survival of the Fittest and Spike Weaver were the contributions made by Exodus to the deck. G/R Oath of Druids 4 Incinerate 4 Shock 3 Firestorm 1 Hammer of Bogardan 2 Shard Phoenix 2 Jokalhaups 2 Sylvan Library 4 Oath of Druids 3 Creeping Mold 4 Spike Feeder 4 Bottle Gnomes 3 Gaea's Blessing 4 Karplusan Forest 4 Reflecting Pool 4 Wasteland 6 Forest 6 Mountain The G/R Oath of Druids deck plays well, but I think the Oath is more of a control card and would have more synergy in a control deck. At 1G, the Oath functions similiarly to a Moat. I'll have to do some testing to determine the quality of the deck. Cataclysm White Weenie 3 Nomads en-Kor 3 Paladin en-Vec 4 Soltari Monk 4 Soltari Priest 1 Soltari Visionary 4 Soul Warden 4 Warrior en-Kor 4 White Knight 1 Aura of Silence 4 Cataclysm 3 Disenchant 4 Empyrial Armor 4 Tithe 17 Plains Played by Matt Linde, the Cataclysm White Weenie deck won this year's US Nationals. Rather than using an off color, Mox Diamonds, and Cursed Scrolls like the previous enviroment's White Weenie, Matt's deck uses Empyrial Armors and Cataclysms. Most people favor this to be the best deck archetype in the new enviroment, and I'm beginning to feel the same way. G/U Oath of Druids 2 Gaea's Blessing 4 Oath of Druids 1 Archangel 1 Spirit of the Night 1 Spike Hatcher 4 Spike Feeder 4 Impulse 4 Counterspell 3 Brainstorm 3 Propaganda 3 Mana Leak 2 Force Spike 2 Forbid 2 Creeping Mold 2 Sylvan Library 2 Undiscovered Paradise 1 Gemstone 1 Reflecting Pool 7 Forest 11 Island The previous decklist was played by Alan Comer in the US Opens. I think in a deck such as this one, the Oath functions more as it should than when compared to the G/R Oath deck. As far as I've seen, Comer's version is the strongest Oath deck. Thats it for my summary of the most played decks in Type Two. Stay creative and on top of the metagame! -J. Tackett #1 Mother Sex-er of all time! E-Mail me with questions or comments at MRJ1483414@aol.com