Subject: Decks (Rath Cycle - "Altar Trap") Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1998 12:01:54 +0100 From: David Sutcliffe To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com "Smithers - Release The Hounds" Combo decks are proving very hard to get together in Rathi because of the lack of deck searchers, but I`ve gone looking for them anyway. Of all the decks I found, this has proven the most resilient and reliable, as each card in the combo stands on it`s own, unlike in Pros-Bloom, where a Squandered does you no good at all without the rest. I`m a skilled player and a good deck innnovator, I don`t just throw decks together overnight, and this works well. It won`t stand up to mass knowledge of what it does, but like Trap it will kill people before they even realise there is a threat. I`ve killed several times in response to their Living Death because it puts the Keeper into play, and then I drop the lock on my turn to win. The deck has several modes to it - it plays as an early Infinite Millstone deck (turn 4/5 is possible, I`ve had turn 3 when they played a Vineyard), a slow control deck if necessary, it can move into a poor Prison lock, or even Weenie rush against Blue. THE COMBO 4 Keeper Of The Beasts The Keeper is useful as a way of producing blockers if needed - rather like an Icy - and can also be good for providing an early threat. The hardest part of winning with this deck is keeping the Keeper in play until her jetlag clears. But there is very little targetted removal outside red in Rathi, so you are quite safe on that count. In fact at several stages in the deck I have made key choices that make the main deck weak against Red. The reason is that I can sideboard very effectively against Red with Chill, far better than I can against Suicide or Wweenie. 4 Altar Of Dementia A strong card on it`s own, this is used in combination with the Keeper to mill away 2 cards per turn. The deck also carries Reins Of Power for the obvious Wrath trick if you need it. 4 Intruder Alarm Aah, now we are getting somewhere. The Intruder Alarm is almost useless as defense against Weenies, although with Propagandas it can slow things up a bit. It`s up to you if you use Propagandas or not, I don`t. In Rathi the creature come thick, fast, and cheap, and you can`t counter them all. But once the Alarm is down then tapping your Keeper to produce a Beast will untap the Keeper, this adds up to an instant swarm of Beasts, or with the Altar around, 2 cards milled for every green mana you can produce. This very quickly eats away their library. But we aren`t finished yet, there is one more card to really turbo the deck. 3 Verdant Touch Of course - the combo is dependent on them having creatures, which is where the Touch comes in. The second use for the touch is to turn as many of your opponent`s land into creatures as possible, and thus lock them under an Intruder Alarm. This is a weak prison lock, and is only really viable when they have crappy land distribution and you have plenty to spare, but Blue decks can get quite upset by this if you catch them right. Against blue this card is most often used without Buyback as a Grizzly Bear, to put you on the offensive. The REAL use is to turn your own Forest into a creature, then mill infinitely by: 1: Tap Forest for Green mana. 2: Tap Keeper to produce Beast. 3: Resolve the Keeper`s ability, untap the Forest and Keeper. 4: Sacrifice Beast to Altar. Repeat from 1. 1 Nature`s Revolt An option to the Touch - this will be devastating if they are playing Humilty decks. With an Intruder Alarm you might lock down the game quite worryingly for some time if they aren`t playing heavy creatures. Also, with the Altar down simply saccing your lands might win the game. Throw in the potential for a little Reins Of Power/Altar action, and the game is over. SCRYING 4 Intuition The only scrye card worth spit in Rathi. Four are essential to keep the deck together. 1 Reclaim Allows you to Intuition for cards you only have two copies of. DEFENSE The choice of defense is up to you, and depends on what you expect to have to face. You can run heavy Green with Weavers, Walls, and Feeders, or heavy Blue for Counters. Facing the rise of Awakened Rider and Counter-Phoenix, I go for the counters. There is another version that I have been testing where 4 Intruder Alarms and 4 Intuition are the only Blue spells, the rest is Green, and this will whupp the Weenie hordes every time. 2 Mana Leak 4 Counterspell 2 Forbid 4 Watchdog MUCH BETTER THAN PROPAGANDA, THIS IS ONE HOT `DOG! The Watchdog is far stronger than the propaganda against anything but Red. Two `dogs will shut down almost any creature deck, and against Blue they are one less wasted card because they can (just about) attack. I could wax lyrical about the `dog for hours, but just try it against Suicide, and see the difference. Against red it gets burnt - but you can`t have everything. 2 Reins Of Power Hmm... A living Death? No, I`ll not respond with any Interrupts... BUT I WILL STEAL ALL YOUR CREATURES ON MY TURN THEN THUMP YOU FOR 27 DAMAGE AND MILL YOU OUT AT THE SAME TIME!!! Alone this is an expensive Fog. Hey - at least it`s not a dead card. With an Altar this acts as a Wrath. With an Alarm it acts as a mass Twiddle. When they cast Living Death (or Coat Of Arms is another good one), you get to laugh like a maniac as you kill them. 2 Interdict These are essential. Although nobody sees the deck coming, there are plenty of cards that are commonly played that mean this deck simply cannot win - Scroll Rack, Goblin Bombardment, Jinxed Idol, Mogg Raider, Volrath`s Stronghold - either they lose creatures so you cannot use the Keeper, or keep putting cards on their library so you can`t mill them out. Fortunately each of those effects can only be used effectively to disrupt the deck on the turn you would kill them, so the Interdict is a key card for forcing through the kill. 1 Capsize Like Interdict this is good for solving those little niggles that your opponent is creating. It really is too useful to leave out. LAND 1 Wasteland 2 Skyshroud Forest 3 Reflecting Pool 7 Forest 10 Island SIDEBOARD 4 Chill (I`ll lose the first game Vs red, but side in and win the next 2 if I see the Chill/Gandas) 2 Forbid (slot in for the Mana Leaks versus slow decks) 2 Propaganda 2 Verdigris 2 Tranqulity 3 Grindstone (essential reading Vs Counter decks) David Sutcliffe, M.O.B. Team Member and Deck Wizzard.