PT3 Marked the first time IA/AL stand-alone
sets were used in a closed environment. Alliances was still fairly new
to the environment, and major deck archetypes were yet to be discovered.
The deck innovators and architects quickly solved this problem. The key to
the environment was identifying game breaking cards and designing decks
around them. Jokulhaups, Stormbind, Blinking Spirit, Swords to Plowshares,
Incinerate, Thawing Glaciers, Zuran Orb, Kjeldoran Outpost
and Mind Warp (to a lesser extent Browse, Deadly Insects and Pyroclasm)
were identified as the key cards, and corresponding decks were built
around them. In fact, Sean Fleischman managed to build a deck that included
all of the major power cards in this environment ( a four color deck?)!
Listed below are the top four decks, along with two of the top four
jr. decks. Following the decks is a breakdown of some of the major cards
in all decks.
| "BugBind" as played by Olle Rade,
PT3-ALICE Winner Jul '97 |
4 Fyndhorn Elves
4 Deadly Insect
4 Wooly Spider
2 Giant Growth
4 Giant Trapdoor Spider
3 Stormbind
|
1
Gorilla Shaman
2 Orcish Cannoneers
2 Storm Shaman
1 Jokulhaups
3 Pillage
1 Pyroclasm
4 Incinerate
2 Lava Burst
|
4
Urza's Bauble
2 Loadstone Bauble
|
4
Karplusan Forest
7 Forest
7 Mountain
|
Sideboard:
1 Anarchy
2 Essence Filter
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Jester's Cap
1 Jokulhaups
1 Monsoon
|
Sideboard (cont):
1 Primitive Justice
2 Pyroblast
2 Pyroclasm
2 Vexing Arcanix
1 Zuran Orb
|
The low amount of land in Rade's deck has been commented on before.
Eighteen land in a sixty-one card deck seems exceedingly low, even with
6 cantrips. Calculating a deck size of 55 cards, Olle would still
have a 22% chance of having 2 or less land on turn 4. Mana screw that is
predicted in 1 out of 5 games doesn't seem to be a game winning
deck... perhaps Olle is right when he says he is always extremely lucky on
the PT. Another statistical note, playing 18 land in a 55 card deck is
equivalent (within a half percent) of playing 20 land in a 60 card
deck.
| Sean Fleischman's "ALICE Good-Stuff", PT3-ALICE
2nd Place Jul '97 |
2 Ivory Gargoyle
2 Blinking Spirit
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Disenchant
2 Mind Warp
1 Lim-Dul's Vault
|
3
Incinerate
2 Pyroclasm
2 Jokulhaups
2 Stone Rain
3 Counterspell
3 Powersink
2 Force of Will
|
1
Zuran Orb
|
2 Kjeldoran Outpost
3 Thawing Glaciers
2 Underground River
3 Sulfurous Springs
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Island
6 Mountain
6 Plains
|
Sideboard:
1 COP: Black
1 COP: Green
1 COP: White
1 Disenchant
3 Hydroblast
1 Jester's Cap
|
Sideboard (cont):
2 Pyroblast
2 Pyroclasm
1 Shatter
1 Stone Rain
1 Swords to Plowshares
|
Fleischman's deck relies on the Thawing Glaciers to support a W/R/U/b base.
The ALICE environment is slow enough to support this type of deck, in
most cases, bar a speed deck like Rade's. With the banning of the Glaciers
in the ALICE environment, a two color deck like Rade's in much more viable
(or a mono-black or red deck).
| "Blinkie-Haups" by Alvaro Marques, PT3-ALICE
3rd Place Jul '97 |
2 Wild Aesthir
4 Blinking Spirit
3 Swords to Plowshares
1 Exile
2 Disenchant
|
1
Balduvian Horde
1 Rogue Skycaptain
4 Incinerate
2 Lava Burst
4 Pillage
2 Pyroclasm
3 Jokulhaups
|
3
Icy Manipulator
3 Loadstone Bauble
1 Jeweled Amulet
1 Zuran Orb
|
1
Kjeldoran Outpost
3 Thawing Glaciers
10 Mountain
10 Plains
|
Sideboard:
1 Anarchy
1 Burnout
1 Disenchant
1 Exile
1 Helm of Obedience
2 Jester's Cap
|
Sideboard (cont):
3 Pyroblast
2 Pyroclasm
1 Pyrokinesis
1 Reprisal
1 Swords to Plowshares
|
A strong R/W utility deck. The Skycaptain is an unusual choice, but with
flyers generally being weak in the environment, it worked out nicely.
| "More Good Stuff" by Peter Radonjic, PT3-ALICE
4th Place Jul '97 |
1 Blinking Spirit
3 Ivory Gargoyle
4 Disenchant
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Stormbind
|
3
Incinerate
2 Lava Burst
1 Pyroclasm
4 Pillage
4 Stone Rain
1 Jokulhaups
|
3
Icy Manipulator
1 Zuran Orb
|
2
Kjeldoran Outpost
4 Karplusan Forest
1 Thawing Glaciers
9 Mountain
11 Plains
|
Sideboard:
1 COP: Green
1 COP: White
1 Exile
2 Jester's Cap
1 Reprisal
|
Sideboard (cont):
1 Kjeldoran Outpost
2 Lodestone Bauble
1 Pyroblast
1 Pyroclasm
|
Another strong R/W base deck. More of a try towards a standard TII
R/W Armageddon deck, with 8 land-kill standard in the deck.
The Stormbind as an alternate route to victory, or as use for creature
removal, is a nice touch.
| "Canadian Bug-Bind" by Terry Borer and
Paul McCabe, PT3-ALICE 1st/2nd Place Jr.'s Jul '97 |
2 Blinking Spirit
3 Disenchant
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Fyndhorn Elves
3 Deadly Insect
1 Stunted Growth
|
2
Incinerate
1 Lava Burst
2 Pyroclasm
3 Pillage
2 Jokulhaups
2 Stormbind
|
2
Icy Manipulator
1 Ashnod's Cylix
1 Jester's Cap
1 Loadstone Bauble
1 Zuran Orb
|
2
Kjeldoran Outpost
4 Karplusan Forest
4 Brushland
1 Thawing Glaciers
2 Forest
7 Plains
8 Mountain
|
Sideboard:
1 Blinking Spirit
1 Disenchant
1 Exile
2 Fiery Justice
1 Incinerate
1 Lava Burst
|
Sideboard (cont):
1 Primitive Justice
3 Pyroblast
1 Pyroclasm
1 Stunted Growth
2 Loadstone Bauble
|
Terry and Paul played virtually identical decks (they were roommates at the
time), and faced each other in the finals, Terry being the winner. The strange
thing about this deck is the number of cards, 62. It also has a very
high land count (28), similar to classic control decks.
| U/W/r Control Deck by John Finkel, PT3-ALICE
3rd Place Jr.'s Jul '97 |
4 Blinking Spirit
4 Disenchant
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Pyroclasm
1 Lava Burst
4 Stone Rain
|
4
Counterspell
2 Powersink
2 Force of Will
1 Binding Grasp
1 Hydroblast
|
3
Icy Manipulator
2 Jester's Cap
1 Zuran Orb
|
2
Kjeldoran Outpost
4 Adarkar Wastes
3 Thawing Glaciers
5 Mountain
6 Plains
7 Islands
|
Sideboard:
1 Binding Grasp
1 Burnout
1 COP: Black
1 COP: Green
1 COP: Red
|
Sideboard (cont):
1 COP: White
1 Hydroblast
2 Loadstone Bauble
1 Pyroblast
1 Pyroclasm
|
A nice U/W control deck, with a touch of red as a concession to the
environment (Pyroclasm substituting for the missing Wrath's, and Stone Rain
for the ever present Outpost).
As can be seen from the following list, Red and White were the basis for
the majority of the decks. Green and Blue were used as support colors. Only
Fleischman managed to make room in his deck for Black cards (3).
Card Totals in winning 6 decks (Main Deck):
20 - Incinerate
17 - Swords to Plowshares
16 - Disenchant
14 - Pillage
13 - Blinking Spirit
11 - Icy Manipulator
11 - Thawing Glaciers
10 - Pyroclasm
9 - Jokuhaups
9 - Kjeldoran Outpost
8 - Stone Rain
8 - Lava Burst
7 - Fyndhorn Elves
7 - Stormbind
7 - Deadly Insects
7 - Counterspell
6 - Loadstone Baubles
5 - Zuran Orb (Rade had one in the sideboard)
The Magic Dojo© 1997-1998 Frank Kusumoto. Please
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webmaster@classicdojo.org.
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