Subject: States (that's "Regionals" for you US-types....)
Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 10:31:30 +1000 (EST)
From: David Low <djl@phadfa.ph.adfa.oz.au>
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com (Frank Kusumoto)

Dear Readers,

    Rather than flog poor old Bones again with regards to finding out about
    ratings and ratings qualifications, here's the traditional "pre-States
    Metagame Poisoning" article.  Timed carefully, as always, to give people
    just enough opportunity to see the good points but not the bad, and
    leave them in a sweaty panic of second-thoughts one or two evenings
    before Judgement Day.... :-)

    From the twisted minds of Low (both), Coltman (either), Bamford, Leach
    and Pugh, here's the decks doing the metagame rounds.  You may think
    they won't win....but can *you* beat them?  Just imagine, if everyone
    thinks the same way....!! :-)

    Names witheld to defend the guilty, but some should be obvious :-)

Mono-G LD
=========
Not that soft version that Simon didn't even try with, but took to the top-8
of the Invitational anyway (the event that a number of writers referred to
as "exclusive, top-players only, ..." which is sort of a slap in the face
for the Australian ratings system given the 1632 "cutoff", but...); rather a
lean, mean, well-tuned <cough> control machine.

Featuring Vineyards (early LD or just sit there while they kill themselves
on the burn later), Fallow Earth (particularly amusing with the Vineyard
as they burn again, and again, and again....), Desert Twister (who says
mono-Green can't kill critters?), Wild Growth (the first turn
"Forest-WildGrowth" play is bound to put your opponent into "Bye" mode),
and Force of Nature (heck, you've got all this mana, might as well do
something with it....), this deck puts the clamps on those silly U-control
decks that everyone will be playing.  Besides the joy of being able to play
four Wastelands and *know* they're going to be handy, you get the added
pleasure of killing an 1850+ rated player with Wild Growth and FoN....
Be careful, though, some players are known the give up Magic and/or walk
long distances when they lose to *good* decks - this could have even more
serious consequences :-)

The Vineyard-LD deck is beaten only by....

Rg LD
=====
Taking the ideas above even further, and up-teching, you can use spectacular
combinations like Solfatara, Burgeoning, standard LD, and the Usual Suspect
(Orgg), together with funny, funny stuff like Ruination and the ever-popular
GhostTown-Undiscovered-Quirion-ScorchedEarth engine to *really* give your
ReflectingPool-happy opponent nightmares.  And let's face it: burn too!
Just remember, don't forget the Earthquake....

If you want to *really* mess with your highly-rated opponent's mind, and you
are a rich git, you could always try this beauty:

5cU-Bloom
=========
Starts off looking like Donais-5cU, then drops a Bloom and Drains you to
death.  Startled (mid-high rated) opponents have been known to still be
confused while the pairings for the next round are being put up....  Word
of warning, though, do *not* play this deck against anyone with a rating
less than 1650.  They won't get it, and will rip you a new one with their
mono-G LD....

And heck, where would we be without those funny, funny slivers:

"I'm a scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub, you're dead"
===============================================
The engine is simple: Winged, Crystalline, Hibernation, Muscle, you're dead.
Doens't require much more comment, really....elegant in its simplicity,
backed up by the counter/disenchant suite.  This one almost looks like a
Real Deck, until you find the surprising lack of Big Control stuff (thrown
away in favour of more Slivers, naturlich).

      While we're on that subject, Crystalline Sliver is *the* card to be
      prepared for in this current cycle.  Look at the cards in the set
      which can deal with it: Wrath (that's what counters are for), Edict
      (that's what other Slivers are for), and a couple of other silly things
      that no one in their right mind would play.  Of course, the engine
      that kills you depends on the Winged Ones to fly over your Walls,
      which opens them up to Hurricane, Tropical Storm and Needle Storm, but
      who's going to be splashing *those*, hmmm? :-)

      So, in the words of Parappa, "that's all for today!".  Remember, it's
      not whether you can beat the field that matters...it's whether you can
      beat the half dozen crazy representatives that TOURN throws at you
      that counts.  Are you going to rely on *them* playing Dojo decks?![1]

            Regards,

               Diabolo.

[1] OK, OK, silly question.

--
{ David J. Low                          |                  d-low@adfa.oz.au }
{ School of Physics, University College |    www.kurasc.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~dlow }
{ Australian Defence Force Academy      |                                   }
{ Canberra, ACT 2600, AUSTRALIA         |   "Advice is a kind of nostalgia" }