Survival

by Scott Arko

 

Hey all you at Pojo, I recently played at an extended tournament and was surprised once again at the variety of decks out there. Double Trouble and Denier were there, along with a single Fires(Who could of saw that coming), a couple of Green-White Replenish decks, and one that really caught my attention- a Survival of the Fittest deck. After the match(I lost in the finals), I asked to see his deck. I was amazed at his skill and stratgey put into this astoundingly deadly deck. My Plaque deck(3/6/01) could barely stand up to it, and my deck had amassed a legendary status throughout the tournaments. We were both 7/0, and it all came down to this match. I lost after he went on the offensive with Morphling, Thicket Elemental, and Air Elemental. Well, I would like to explain the deck and what makes it tick.

 

Creatures

(17)

4 Birds of Paradise

1 Spike Weaver

1 Deranged Hermit

1 Uktabi Orangutan

1 Spike Colony

1 Morphling

1 Air Elemental

1 Zanam Djinn

4 Tradewind Rider

1 Squee, Goblin Nabob

1 Masticore

 

Lands

(21)

4 Tropical Island

1 Savannah

7 Island

9 Forest

 

Spells

(22)

4 Brainstorm

4 Counterspell

3 Mana Leak

3 Force of Will

4 Survival of the Fittest

4 Land Grant

 

 

This deck has acheived at defeating my Plaque deck easily, crushing the competition so fast it is amazing. The idea of the deck is to get out Survival of the Fittest pronto, then search for the single Squee so that you can easily get a new, more deadly creature out every turn. Your opponent won't have much time to react as she is staring at an army of powerful creatures that could rip them to shreds. Counternagic and Card drawing allow the deck to get in Survival faster, and Land Grant get rid of bad cards when Brainstorm leaves you in dismay.

 

But what makes this deck so successfull? Let's take a look at the key ingredients.

 

Squee, Goblin Nabob- This little guy will never come into play, but is vital to the deck. Do to his forever recuperating ability, you can search for a new creature every turn.

 

Survival of the Fittest- An extremely deadly card that has acheived honor from sll of the world's best players. It can search for powerful cards to slam into your hand then the board, allowing players to only include one of a particular creature in a deck.

 

Card drawing- This can come in a variety of forms, from Brainstorm to Accumulated Knowledge to Impulse. The reason that card drawing is needed is to get Squee and more importantly Survival of the Fittest.

 

Countermagic- This is important to the deck so that it can protect its creatures, prevent Survival from being destroyed, and stop cards that could remove Squee from the game.

 

Tradewind Rider- This is another vital card to the deck. It can slow an opponent down monstrously, and allow for your strongest attackers to get through. 

 

Now that that is settled, we must look at the creatures in the deck. We will look at each one seperately, and find out just what is so strong about them.

 

Birds of Paradise- Just about the same as other decks, but are also useful in the late game. In the early goings they produce mana, but late they can be tapped for the Tradewind Riders.

 

Spike Weaver- Used to stop creature swarms with its 'fog' ability. Spike Weaver is a staple in all Survival decks.

 

Deranged Hermit- This can be used on offense or defense. Defensively, it can be used to recruit five blockers,and on Offense, it can be used to deliver final blows to the oppoenent.

 

Uktabi Orangutan- This deck has some trouble with artifacts. This neat little ape can be used to destroy threatening artifacts.

 

Spike Colony- This creature is used mainly as a win condition, to deal vicious points of damage quickly. Is also used to transfer counters to the Spike Weaver.

 

Morphling- This is the last line, bringing your offense into the game. It can deal the final points of damage.

 

Air Elemental/Zanam Djinn- This are your big flying attackers that can wipe out the skies deck and deal vicious damage.

 

Masticore- Can be used to go on offense and to wipe out creature swarms. It has an advantage in the late game because you can continously discard Squee.

 

Well, did that help? I hope it did. This is a fun deck you should try. Oh, I keep forgeting to do this. My E-mail address is

dragonair1031@hotmail.com

I don't mind bad mail. Just mail away.

Good Luck!

 

Scott Arko