 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
 |
|
9.23.02 Hey, everyone.
This week I'm not going to be doing a deck
mechanic article. Instead,
I'm going to give you an overview of Extended.
Why? you ask?
Well, I've gotten a few e-mails from readers that
want me to fix their decks.
When I ask them if they want it for Extended,
Type 2, etc., they often ask me what Extended is.
So, I'll show everyone and their brother what it
is exactly, a few of its decks, and what I think of
them. Also,
I'll try to predict how they will do once Extended
rotates. Disclaimer: Remember that these are my personal thoughts on
the deck and not how good they actually are.
Please don't load the hate mail on me for this. What
It Is
Extended is a format that currently uses Ice Age through
Judgement along with 5th, 6th, and
7th editions.
Along with these sets you also get to use the
Dual Lands from Revised (3rd Edition). This large of a pool of cards gives builders a lot of
flexibility when they sit down to build a deck.
You have tons of cards that help you fix your
mana base, great creature removal, along with excellent
critters. The
metagame of Extended usually has a good mix of decks. The problems come when something slips through R&D (such
as Tolarian Academy or Memory Jar) and completely
dominates the format.
This hasn't happened lately, so Extended has been
a pretty healthy environment.
In November when Onslaught rotates in, Ice Age
and Mirage blocks (all sets up to Weatherlight), 5th
Edition, and the Dual Lands will rotate out.
Many of you may have seen all of the articles
online from people griping about losing things like
Swords to Plowshares, Force of Will, and the Dual Lands.
This is for good reasons since many of the best
cards in the format are leaving, which is going to
change the nature of Extended permanently.
The
Decks
This is where the fun begins. When I sat down to write this article, I brainstormed what
decks I could think of and came up with the following: Miracle Gro These are what I came up with off the top of my head. I've
seen most of these played or used them myself and heard
of the rest being used.
That's a lot of decks for a format.
This also doesn't include the rogue decks in the
format that are even less played. Miracle Gro: This deck created by Alen Comer made its debut
at Grand Pix: Las Vegas.
It uses a lot of small critters such as Wild
Mongrel and Werebear or a set of Merfolk along with
Quirion Dryads and a bunch of small blue cantrips plus
Curiosity. It
uses the cantrips to build the Dryads up to
big status and then smash your opponent.
It destroys Donate a large percent of the time
since it has such great counter-magic and can make its
Dryads monstrous in a very short amount of time.
It also has a decent shot against most of the
other decks in the format that aren't geared to beat it.
I like the deck a lot since it has a decent win
percentage and you get to use some of the best blue and
green cards together. Super Gro: This deck is based off of Miracle Gro but adds
white for Mystic Enforcer and Swords to Plowshares. I've also seen Meddling Mage and Disenchant in the deck.
It loses a bit of its power against Donate and
other control decks, but makes the match against normal
Gro a bit easier. Both
of the versions of Gro will probably die in November
since they lose Winter Orb, Force of Will, and the Dual
Lands. Something
like OBC's Quiet Roar may take its place, though. Donate: If you don't know what Donate is, you probably haven't
been playing for too long.
It uses Intuition, Accumulated Knowledge, and
Merchant Scroll to draw a bunch of cards, Sapphire
Medallion to speed the process up, and Illusions of
Grandeur is then Donated to your opponent to kill them.
Many people added red to the deck for Fire/Ice,
Pyroclasm, and Pyroblast which made the match-ups
against weenie decks easier and Pyroblast helped the
mirror. I
really like the deck since it has a decent shot against
most decks. The
problem with it is that Gro became just too popular for
the deck to overcome and it couldn't perform anymore.
Well, it loses Illusions, Force of Will, and
Merchant Scroll. The
lights will finally fade on this giant. Hatred: This deck uses a lot of small black creatures like
Carnophage, Sarcomancy, and Dauthi critters to punch
through a bunch of damage really quick.
It then uses Hatred to end the game in a hurry.
If that doesn't work, it moves on to Phyrexian
Negator and hopefully gets the last few points of damage
in. I enjoy
playing this deck because its so simple and, right now,
nobody really expects it.
Sligh does give it too many problems since it has
so much removal that you'll probably never be able to
cast your Hatred. The
good side is that Sligh isn't very popular right now, so
it's not too bad. I
almost guarantee this deck will be good in New Extended
since Force of Will is gone.
The only thing it has to worry about now, I
think, is Sligh. Sligh: Sligh is a mono-red deck that uses small creatures
like Jackal Pup and Mogg Fanatic along wit great burn
spells like Shock, Incinerate, and Fireblast, and
heavy-hitters like Ball Lightning to kill your opponent
around turn 4. It's
been around since Tempest came in and still gets played
today. It's
fun to play and is quite quick, so you can go get
something to eat in-between rounds.
It will be around in November, but it loses
Fireblast and Ball Lighting, which will cripple it.
It does get Blazing Firecat from Onslaught, so
all it really needs to replace to be extremely effective
is Fireblast. It'll
be tough to do, but I'm sure it will happen. Ponza: Ponza, like Sligh, is a mono-red deck, although it has
a completely different victory path.
It wants to destroy most of your opponent's land
in an effort to stunt their growth and let you get big
things like Masticore or, maybe, Lightning Dragon out
and smash their face in.
It was made during Urza's Saga block since
Avalanche Riders came out and gave Ponza a creature and
LD (Land Destruction) in one card. Mercadian
Masques gave it, and every other deck on the planet, the
hated Rishadan Port.
I like using the deck, especially if it works and
you can keep their lands under control.
It might work in Extended, but it will have to
try and take out Tinker, which is easier said than done. Benzo: This deck debuted at PT: New Orleans.
It uses Buried Alive and Entomb to put big guys
into the graveyard and then use Reanimate to bring them
into play. It
can also use Squee and Zombie Infestation to put a bunch
of Zombies into play.
If that fails, you can use Nether Spirit and
Contamination to make sure your opponent doesn't do
another thing. I
like the concept of the deck and it looks good on paper,
I just didn't ever take the time to figure the deck out.
It died out after the shock factor of PT: New
Orleans wore off. I
think that it could work in the New Extended since it
doesn't really lose too much and is still quite quick at
finding a win condition. Stompy: Stompy is a mono-green deck that uses a lot of small
green creatures to overrun your opponent quickly. The deck is good since it can run off of one mana.
Many versions only run about nine or ten land in
them. This
is because guys like Rogue Elephant only cost one mana
and, along with Rancor, can end the game in a hurry.
I like playing the deck, just not competitively.
If your opponent can hold it off for a few turns,
they can usually find an answer to your creatures and
take you out. It
loses a few of its good creatures in November, but it
might change into what it looked like during the Saga
block. Secret Force: Another straight green deck, this one wants to
use Natural Order to put out a fatty really quick and
kill the other guy.
It uses a lot of elves to get a bunch of mana to
hard-cast your guys if you can't find an Order to pull
one out. The
deck was huge at Worlds 2k1, but died down a bit after
that. I
liked playing it since it was so potent, and, who doesn't
like turning a 1/1 elf into a 7/7 Verdant Force?
It won't work in November since it loses Natural
Order. It
could still work by just casting your guys, but I don't
think that's going to prove all that popular. Welder Red: This deck is kind of like Tinker in the fact that
it uses tons of artifacts to have a lot of mana to play
tricks with. Goblin
Welder lets you get a bunch of mana with Grim Monolith
or keep your foe tied up with Tangle Wires that never go
away. They
try to Disenchant your stuff?
Sacrifice it for a different one in your
graveyard. This
is another deck that I didn't learn to play so I can't
really say how good it is.
It does look very good, though.
It doesn't really lose anything after rotation,
so I'm sure it will be around. Tinker: Welder Red's brother, Tinker uses its namesake to
pull out big guys like Phyrexian Processor really quick
and kill the other guy.
It has a lot of power throughout the game and has
a decent shot against a lot of the decks that will be
around in November.
It also gained Upheaval, which makes it a very
potent threat. I
like playing it since it is so fast and brutal. The downside is that it is very, very expensive to put
together piece by piece.
It'll be around, though, and you can count on
that. Raisin Bran: This deck has confused me since I first saw it.
It uses Aluren and Cavern Harpy along with Raven
Familiar to go through your entire deck and play out
every creature at instant speed.
On paper the deck looks pretty random.
I have no idea how good it is since I've never
used it, but if the pros do it, I'm sure it could be
worse. It
loses its special lands after rotation, but it could
still work with some work.
It's just not gonna be me who puts the effort
into fixing it. 3-Deuce: This is a red/green/white deck that uses the best
spells from every color in an attempt to have answers to
everything. You
get River Boa, Swords to Plowshares, and Incinerate
along with Rancor and Cursed Scroll. Not a bad list at all. It's
a great choice if you don't know what to expect in a
certain field. This
is also an example for you newer players of what a
utility deck is.
I like using it since you have answers to almost
everything. It loses its Dual Lands after rotation (seeing a theme here?)
so it may have some trouble recouping from the loss, but
it still has pain-lands.
The other problem is that it loses both Swords to
Plowshares and Incinerate. So, needless to say, I doubt it will be that big of a force
in November, although I do hope that someone can prove
me wrong. Operation Dumbo Drop: Another deck that debuted at New
Orleans, it's a white/blue/green control deck.
It uses Fact or Fiction for card-drawing, Powder
Keg and Wrath of God for control, and Morphling and Call
of the Herd for a win condition.
Of course, it uses StP (Swords to Plowshares) for
spot removal and Force of Will for countering.
Where does it get its name?
It uses Intuition to drop Calls into the
graveyard. It's
a great deck, but, once again, loses Force and Dual's
which will disrupt it a lot.
Oath: This deck uses a lot of utility spells to hold off your
foe until you can drop an Oath of Druids to use their
creatures against them.
You usually use a Morphling, a Spike Weaver, and
a Spike Feeder as your only creatures.
Why? Because
you have Gaea's Blessing at your disposal.
If they kill your creature or you use up a Spike,
the Blessing will put them back for being re-used.
A great deck, although I never figured out its
nuances and got good with it.
It loses Dual's and Blessings along with Forces
in November, though I have seen some people planning on
still using it, just a suicide variant with no
Blessings. Fish: This deck uses small creatures in the form of Merfolk
and their Lord to make a small weenie force backed up by
the best counters in the format.
This is a set of threats that you don't usually
see together. I
love playing this deck since you get the best of both
worlds (creatures and counters) and card drawing with
Curiosity. It's
fairly quick, yet has some trouble before sideboarding
against other creature decks.
It only loses Winter Orb (in some variants) and
Force of Will, so it will probably still be around,
though probably in an Opposition form than beatdown. Threshold Geddon: It uses Armageddon to gain threshold
and make creatures like Mystic Enforcer and Werebear big
and mean. It's
not the best deck since it is very open to non-basic
land hate, but is still pretty potent if it has a decent
draw. It's
fun to play since you get to blow up the world and swing
with fatties. It's
going to lose Dual's, but this one can get away with
pain lands I'm sure.
White Weenie: It uses a lot of good, small white critters
backed up by good utility spells and Empyrial Armor to
make them fatties instead of weenies. Cataclysm
clears out just about any defense they might have.
You also have Tithe to pump the Armors, thin your
deck, and help your mana base.
I love this deck since it is so quick and
resilient. It
loses Armor and Tithe, but I'm sure it will still be
around, especially after Onslaught gives us the goods. ElfBall: This deck uses a bunch of elves along with Gaea's
Cradle to fuel a big X spell to throw at your opponent.
It's quick, but loses horribly to control. It
might have a fighting chance in November since we're
getting Biorythm from Onslaught and Force of Will is
going away. It's
fun and fairly cheap to build (except for Cradles) so
many newer players may find this deck the way to go.
BUG:
Named after the colors it uses
(Black/Blue/Green), it uses the best spells from each color
in an attempt to overpower your foe.
It has things like Force of Will, Duress,
Pernicious Deed, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Deranged
Hermit, and Tradewind Rider.
Very good cards, indeed.
The deck is great to play since you have answers
to almost everything main deck and everything else in
the board. I
played a version of it to a win with only ten lands
(Birds and Land Grants helped).
It loses the Dual's and Forces but nothing else,
so it will probably stick around, hopefully. Draw-Go: The most annoying deck every made.
It uses upwards of twenty counters to keep you
from doing anything, Powder Kegs to sweep up what does
get through, and Morphling and Masticore to kill you. It's
got tons of resilience.
The downside is that anything that is pure
creature aggression will probably have a decent shot at
taking it out. After
board, it gets a little easier, though it's still a
nail-biter if they have counters of their own.
I used to swear by this deck until it got boring
just sitting there until turn twenty and winning.
I'm sure some form of it or another will be
around in November although it won't be as good since
Force goes away. Life: This is a red/white deck that uses the en-Kor creatures
to boost a Task Force's stats to enormous heights and
then sacrifice it to a Worthy Cause to gain a ton of
life. It
can also cast About Face on it and swing for infinity.
Tireless tribe also appears and can give you a
turn two win with About Face.
The deck is fun, but too fragile for serious
play. If
your opponent has a Shock or StP, they can ruin your
game before you start.
It doesn't lose anything after rotation, so it
may make an appearance here and there, but nothing to
major. Finkula: This black/blue/white deck uses Shadowmage
Infiltrator and Meddling Mage to give you a bit of power
against your foe. You
get Diabolic Edict, StP, and counter-magic at your
disposal, which is quite a diverse set of spells.
After you get control, you can use Morphling to
win the game. Some
versions also use Fairy Conclave as an alternate win
condition. The
deck is okay right now, but it doesn't quite have the
stomping power some other decks.
It loses Dual's and Forces so it probably won't
be around much longer. Tog: If you don't know what Tog is or does by now, there's
no saving you. It
doesn't really gain too much in its transition into
Extended so it's kind of a waste of time to do it.
It may be good in November, but I wouldn't bank
on it. Wow. That was a
bunch of typing. Anyway,
we can now see that Extended is going to change quite a
bit in a month and a half.
A lot of decks will become obsolete, while many
others will gain power since their problematic match ups
are gone. Tinker
will probably be running rampant along with a new
version of Sligh. Fires
will most likely make another run along with Rebels or
CounterRebels. I
just hope that this season doesn't become stagnate.
This past season was great.
There was a constant shift in the metagame that
had people jumping all over the place to get a heads-up
on the competition.
Here's hopin'.
Well, that's it for this time. As usual, if you have any questions or comments, e-mail me
and I'll try to answer you soon.
Also, if you want decklists for these decks or
want to point out some obvious ones I missed (which I'm
sure I did), holler at me.
Until
next time, keep 'em legal
Robby
P.S. If you send
me a deck to fix, I'll be more of a help if it is for
Extended rather than Block or Type 2.
|
|||||||
