Most players begin with a fascination for the big heavy-hitters. Think back to the first time you saw a Lord of the Pit or a Force of Nature and you might dimly recall that feeling of awe and excitement that ran through you. Beginners often stuff every useful card into a 150 card deck and play two hour games ending with a massive creature rush. This newbie phase ends quickly as they keep playing and realize the power of a tightly-focused 60 card constructed deck.
Sometime during the first tournament experience -- or playing against others' tournament-quality decks -- most beginners graduate into the intermediate level as they begin to run into others who have a deeper understanding of the complicated rules which guide timing issues and other arcane subjects. These intermediate players begin to explore the various strategies in Magic, trying mono-colors, trying the various hand-destruction, land-destruction, fast-resource, weenie, etc. etc. To graduate past this stage is an extremely difficult process which involves understanding the nuances of the various rules, experience with many different types of decks, and the ability to see the synergy between certain cards. At this level, a certain amount of theoretical knowledge is helpful to the intermediate player, and the exploration of the concepts contained in this document might be useful to those who wish to go beyond a specific deck or a specific strategy and see the strategies and the philosophies of Magic at a higher level.
One phenomenon I observed was that the best decks do not rely on a single theme or strategy. Discard is a very strong strategy, but a mono-black discard deck using every card that could make the opponent discard a card (Mindstab Thrulls, etc.) is not as strong as some mix of discard and other elements. Those decks which have successfully integrated different archetype strategies into a complementary scheme are the ones which seem to dominate play and win consistently against a wide variety of opponents. Many of these decks operate on a coherent philosophy about the game -- a philosophy which guides every phase of game-play.
I present here some of those decks and their philosophies as a "School of Magic". The analogy to martial arts, I think, is not unwarranted as each school uses the same tools, but focuses on different approaches to the game. And like martial arts, some are easier to learn than others and some may be more effective than others as well.
One caveat is necessary here. A deck or a particular insight about the game is not a "school". Having an effective strategy alone does not elevate a deck to the heights of being a "school of magic". Furthermore, I do not judge a "school" by the percentage performance of its decks or by the record of its founder -- though clearly, both are factors to evaluate. Rather, a "school" is one in which a set of coherent principles about the game which guides every phase of play, from deck construction, to general play, to situational play, and combination plays. In exploring the concepts embodied in these various schools, I think it is possible for the beginner to gain practical deck designs, for the intermediate player to further refine his own strategy, and for the advanced player to gain further insight into the game which may ultimately allow her to create her own school. Again, the analogy to martial arts is very appropriate.
As for the names of the Schools, I've chosen to play more into the Martial Arts analogy and name them appropriately. I am happy to accept suggested names as well.
In this series, I describe my understanding of these schools and their philosophies of deck design and play. It should be noted that a number of very competitive decks exist, but their secrets and theories have not been expounded by anyone. I welcome all suggestions and descriptions of strategies, decks, and concepts -- but particularly if they are guided by a set of effective principles.
From this point on, the discussion will revolve around Type II play. I have been playing Type II exclusively for several months because it is the more popular tournament type. My view is that Type I today is becoming extinct because WotC neglects it. Furthermore, those players who play Type I seriously are long-time players, experts in their own right, who could easily extrapolate principles from the Type II discussion to their own Type I decks. The reverse is not necessarily true.
I would like to thank those people who have replied to me and carried on lengthy discussions about the merits of various strategies, exploring the endless combination of factors, weighing flexibility, speed, and other more advanced topics in Magic with me. There are so many players who have helped to comment that it is now impossible to adequately mention them all: I'll just say, "You know who you are!".
I would also like to thank and applaud those players who have been unselfish with their secrets. You are the true teachers who have helped many players climb to the next level of play. Again, you know who you are. Schools of Magic is dedicated to the teachers and the preachers and those who act like human beings rather than a secret weapons laboratories.