<DIV>First is first, I dedicate this article to Danny, who inspired me to 
write</DIV>
<DIV>this.&nbsp; He has all credit to the decklist, and is above all, a great 
guy to</DIV>
<DIV>be around.&nbsp; The list, though is a butchered version of his deck, 
simply</DIV>
<DIV>because I never really did get to look at it (It still has the general 
idea,</DIV>
<DIV>though).&nbsp; I'm going by memory here.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Well, I guess onward with the article!</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Yes, we all cringed at what we get.&nbsp; Heck, we sometimes even do things 
we</DIV>
<DIV>normally wouldn't do.&nbsp; Yes, it's opening a stupid rare.&nbsp; You 
can't use it on</DIV>
<DIV>a regular basis, and you can't trade it ŠŠ or at least not very 
well.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Some of us give these cards away.&nbsp; Others throw them away.&nbsp; Heck, 
a few of</DIV>
<DIV>us even burn them on the barbeque like me!&nbsp; Still, they are there, and 
you</DIV>
<DIV>can't ignore them.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>They pollute drafts, and they are invisible in constructed ŠŠŠ Or at 
least</DIV>
<DIV>that's what every one thinks.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Truthfully, these cards aren't as useless in constructed as many 
people</DIV>
<DIV>think.&nbsp; A deck centered around these cards can be rather successful, 
and even</DIV>
<DIV>downright good, but still, the card is stupid.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>I'll show you how to break some of these "crap" cards over the course of 
the</DIV>
<DIV>next few weeks, as the remaining days of my freedom before I return 
to</DIV>
<DIV>school dwindle away.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>The first one is the dung of Apocalypse - Ice Cave.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Yes, Ice Cave!&nbsp; The impossible enchantment that costs an astounding 
3UU, and</DIV>
<DIV>when a spell is played, any player may pay that cards casting cost to</DIV>
<DIV>counter the spell.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>CRAP in most peoples mind, but still useable.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>First of all, your deck doesn't need to be all colors.&nbsp; Yes a 
radical</DIV>
<DIV>statement for something like Ice Cave.&nbsp; This deck is best blue and 
green,</DIV>
<DIV>with things such as Blastoderm and Gaea's Skyfolk.&nbsp; But instead of 
running</DIV>
<DIV>things like Pain lands to cover both colors, Run things like Dust 
Bowl,</DIV>
<DIV>Forsaken City, and City of Brass as to cover all colors and to stop 
Kor</DIV>
<DIV>Haven, Rishadan Port, or even Keldon Necropolis.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>This increases the potency of the deck by allowing you all colors and a 
way</DIV>
<DIV>of eliminating hazardous pain lands that help your opponent speed 
themselves</DIV>
<DIV>up.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Another key factor of this utterly odd deck is to have the ability to be 
at</DIV>
<DIV>least 3 to 4 turns ahead of your opponent mana wise.&nbsp; This is why the 
deck</DIV>
<DIV>is type II, because Type II gives you the amazing HOODWINK!</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>For 1U, set them back a turn landwise, because for those of you who 
don't</DIV>
<DIV>know, Hoodwink is an instant that, as my friend Danny calls it, "Time 
Walks"</DIV>
<DIV>your opponent (Card text is return target enchantment, artifact or land 
to</DIV>
<DIV>it's owners hand.)</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Another "Time Walk" card in Type II is Temporal Spring, which I'm 
sure</DIV>
<DIV>everyone knows about.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>"Time Walk'ing" your opponent is only 0ne side of the triangle.&nbsp; You 
need</DIV>
<DIV>accelerated mana, thus Birds and Llanowar Elves go in to the deck.&nbsp; 
Then,</DIV>
<DIV>card drawing like Accumulated Knowledge, Fact or Fiction, or even 
Thieving</DIV>
<DIV>Magpie are a must.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Basically, choose two of these to put into your deck.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>The way the deck is played it basically a combination of lockdown and</DIV>
<DIV>beatdown.&nbsp; The mana advantage coupled with the card advantage is what 
you</DIV>
<DIV>want, and a lot of land is a must.&nbsp; Mulligan's are in order for 
hands</DIV>
<DIV>without Hoodwink, Temporal Spring, or Card drawing.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>So, to put that last sentence into a nut shell, if you have no bounce, 
and</DIV>
<DIV>no way of getting it, get rid of it.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>It is also best to have another counter as back up, as to protect 
your</DIV>
<DIV>things, like Blastoderm, Skyfolk, and even Ice Cave.&nbsp; Counterspell is 
really</DIV>
<DIV>good for this deck, but Prohibit is better for here because here's 
the</DIV>
<DIV>general thing that you'll be using the counter for is other counters, 
plus</DIV>
<DIV>with the number of non basics that have drawbacks, you shouldn't be 
wasting</DIV>
<DIV>your islands on counterspell, but on things like Fact or Fiction,</DIV>
<DIV>Accumulated Knowledge, and Hoodwink.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Also, just because this is an Ice Cave deck, doesn't mean Ice Cave is 
your</DIV>
<DIV>center piece.&nbsp; Ice Cave is your Trump card after you set your 
position</DIV>
<DIV>up, and putting you in absolute control of the board.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Thus, I present you with the decklist:</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Creatures (12)</DIV>
<DIV>4 Birds or Paradise</DIV>
<DIV>4 Llanowar Elves</DIV>
<DIV>4 Gaea's Skyfolk</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Spells (24)</DIV>
<DIV>4 Hoodwink</DIV>
<DIV>4 Temporal Spring</DIV>
<DIV>4 Accumulated Knowledge</DIV>
<DIV>3 Fact or Fiction</DIV>
<DIV>2 Ice Cave!!!</DIV>
<DIV>3 Counterspell OR Prohibit (Which ever goes here, 4 goes of the 
other!)</DIV>
<DIV>4 Counterspell OR Prohibit</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Land (24)</DIV>
<DIV>4 City of Brass</DIV>
<DIV>3 Forsaken City</DIV>
<DIV>3 Dust Bowl</DIV>
<DIV>1 Rath's Edge</DIV>
<DIV>1 Yavamaya Coast</DIV>
<DIV>6 Island</DIV>
<DIV>6 Forest
  <p>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>Now, the weakness's to this deck are quite clear, and unfortunately 
quite</DIV>
<DIV>common in type II - mono blue control decks.&nbsp; Blue will have the mana 
to</DIV>
<DIV>break Ice Cave on it's own, and virtually deny you of your spells like 
Fact</DIV>
<DIV>or Fiction, and all of your cheap mono blue spells.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Fires might wind up too fast for this decks unfortunate cumbersome 
pace.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Another problem with this deck is that type II is that this deck can't win 
a</DIV>
<DIV>counter war without Ice Cave.&nbsp; Which is unfortunate, but still this 
just</DIV>
<DIV>goes to show you that you can break Ice Cave in a generally 2 color 
deck,</DIV>
<DIV>let alone be broken at all!</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Thanks for reading, and above all have fun with your playing and keep 
your</DIV>
<DIV>mind open, because one man's trash, as this article could show you, could 
be</DIV>
<DIV>one man's treasure.</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Signing Out, </DIV>
<DIV>John Hornberg, the original "Happy Heretic" and Champion of the Stupid 
Rare!</DIV>&nbsp;
<DIV>Remember my E-Mail, promiseland85@hotmail.com, and I've changed my 
ways:&nbsp; I</DIV>
<DIV>won't respond to everything, because sometimes, especially with the 
fact</DIV>
<DIV>that I have tennis lessons a lot of the time, I just have more 
pressing</DIV>
<DIV>concerns.&nbsp; So, no offense meant if I don't give you a reply.</DIV>