Famous Decks of the Past

-Compiled by Peter Yang

Control Decks

RESOURCE DEPRIVATION

B/G Land Destruction - At its peak following the release of Legends, the Black / Green Land Destruction contained a plethora of land destruction including Ice Storm, Sinkhole, and Strip Mine, as well as disruption such as Nether Void and Hypnotic Specter. An efficient creature such as Erhnam Djinn, Juzam Djinn, or Juggernaut would usually finish off the opponent.

R/G Land Destruction - A new version of LD revealed itself as the ice receded and Alliances began - Red / Green Land Destruction. Thermokarst replaced Ice Storm, and Stone Rain and Pillage substituted for Sinkhole and Demonic Hordes. Karplusan Forest took the place of Bayou, and Juzam was removed in favor of Balduvian Horde. The basic idea, though, was still the same.

Erhnamgeddon - From Inquest, a gaming magazine: "...get out a really big creature, blow up all your opponent's lands so he can't do anything about the creature, and then run him over like a stray groundhog on the interstate. Not very elegant, but terribly effective". Erhnamgeddon and its descendants, Willowgeddon and Marogeddon, all use alternate mana sources (creature or artifact mana) to let a large creature such as Erhnam Djinn, Autumn Willow, or Maro to come into play quickly while allowing a rapid recovery from Armageddon.

U/W Prison - Blue / White Prison decks use Icy Manipulator, Winter Orb, and Armageddon to lock down the opponent, and use counterspells to protect the lock. Many non-green decks could not tolerate the lack of mana this deck created, so it did quite well until Necro (see below), which often defeats Prison, became popular.

Turbo-Stasis - Turbo-Stasis, a variant of Stasis, is perhaps the most famous deck from Finland. Unlike the older version, Turbo-Stasis used Howling Mine and did not contain creatures. Whereas Stasis won with Yotian Soldier or Serra Angel, Turbo-Stasis won by running an opponent out of cards.

PERMISSION

Draw-Go - Designed by Andrew Cuneo, Draw-Go uses concepts from its predecessor, Big Blue (not listed). Consisting of a large number of permission spells (e.g. Counterspell), card drawing engines (e.g. Whispers of the Muse), and some board clearers (e.g. Nevinyrral's Disk), Draw-Go differs from Big Blue in that while the latter uses more "old-school" cards (i.e. Mana Drain / Mahamoti Djinn / Braingeyser...), Draw-Go contains cards from more recent (Rainbow Efreet / Dismiss / Morphling...) sets.

C' Post - Counter-Post, unlike many denial decks, is heavy on another color. In this case, white plays a major part, providing Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Exile, and most importantly, Kjeldoran Outpost. Thawing Glaciers and Wrath of God are used often. Since many decks at the time had few means, if any, to deal with land, this deck dominated for quite some time.

Forbidian - Existing in the span four-month span between the legalization of Exodus and the removal of Ophidian from Type II, Forbidian was designed with the Forbid-Ophidian combo in mind. Other creatures such as Tradewind Rider and Man-o'-War provided additional ways to deal with beatdown decks, while clearing the way for the Ophidian. Whispers of the Muse suppiles more card-drawing power and has some versatility.

C' Hammer - The idea that a deck could be created around permission and direct damage was not a new one, but one based on permission and a perpetual non-creature damage source? That deck became possible after the release of Mirage, which contains Hammer of Bogarden. This red / blue deck, like most other heavy permission decks, takes a long time to win. With assorted counterspells as a first line of defense and burn spells as backup, many creature based decks could not win against this menace. Even Dissipate was not an answer, unless protected by other denial spells.

C' Phoenix - Like Big Blue and Draw-Go, Counter-Phoenix and Counter-Hammer decks are related in theory. In the early game C' Phoenix uses Shard Phoenix rather than the Hammer as perpetual creature control or Forbid fodder. Towards the end of the game, the Phoenix is used as an undestroyable attacker and creature removal, serving the purpose Hammer of Bogarden once served.

C' Sliver - Counter-Sliver evolved from the need to have effective creatures in a permission deck. With the release of Stronghold, the deck found what it was looking for - Crystalline Sliver, which made Slivers untargetable. Without the need to protect its creatures from selected destruction spells, C' Sliver could save the permission spells for other uses, like stopping opposing creatures or thwarting mass destruction. Most versions also contain Muscle Sliver to strengthen the creatures.

RECURSION

Recurring Nightmare / Survival - Often called RecSur, this deck has a wide variety of different "utility" creatures, using one or two copies of most of them. Survival of the Fittest allows the player to find the needed creature, while dumping others into the graveyard for future recursion. A Recurring Nightmare would then be used to exchange a creature in play for a creature in the graveyard, abusing the come-into-play abilities of the "187" creatures and doing so without paying the casting costs. In this way, a game-ending Spirit of the Night, Archangel, or Verdant Force could also be brought into play cheaply. RecSur existed until Recurring Nightmare was banned following the widespread abuse of the combo.

Living Death - The Living Death deck employs the same theory as its forefather, RecSur. One of the most influential Death decks is Kastle, named after the great Darwin Kastle (same person who created Avalanche Riders). This variant uses a Hermit Druid to dump a large portion of the deck into the graveyard, which would then be followed by a huge Living Death, bringing a fast and brutal victory. Most Death decks, however, rely more on the Survival of the Fittest / Oath of Ghouls combo, which can wreak havoc with the carefully laid out plans of most decks. Any attempt to destroy a creature only provides a temporary respite, as it will be back.

OTHER

The Deck - One of the first decks to emphasize the importance of card advantage. Some of the telltale features of this deck include Moat to nullify most creatures, Disrupting Scepter to create a soft-lock, and Jayemdae Tome to draw cards. The Deck, as it was called by Brian Weissman, its creator, won the game with a Counterspell or Mana Drain-protected Serra Angel, although a Braingeyser or a Fireball was not uncommon.

Necropotence - Despite being considered by many to be the most powerful deck ever created, Necro had its humble beginnings. In the past, after Ice Age was first released, it was common for players to feel ripped off after recieving a Necropotence as the rare in a booster. It took a while for them to discover that when combined with Nevinyrral's Disk and Drain Life, Necro made a killer deck. The idea behind the deck is: Drain your opponent, and gain some life in the process. Force your opponent to empty his or her hand with discard spells, and drop a Necropotence when you're low on cards. Fill your hand, then clear the board with the Disk. Repeat ad nauseam. At its peak, it was said that players were either playing Necro or playing against it. The popularity of this deck helped contribute to the bannings of Ivory Tower and Zuran Orb from Standard (Type II), resulting in the removal of two of the most crucial life-gain cards. That helped bring an end to the Black Summer and end the reign of Necro. When Fifth Edition was released, the reprinting of Necropotence led to the comeback of the deck. Once Urza's Saga was released, Corrupt, Skittering Skirge, Yawgmoth's Will, and Duress allowed the Necro deck to win tournaments again and again. It faded away from Type II once again after Sixth Edition replaced Fifth, but is still alive in other formats. As long as Necropotence is legal in other formats, the existence of the Necro deck is certain.

Beatdown Decks

Kird Ape Channelball - Kird Ape's efficiency caused it to be exploited by many decks, including this one. Elvish Archers and Apes provide quick beatdown, powered by Giant Growth and Berserk. Lightning Bolts clear the way, while Fireballs and Disintegrates, often fueled by Channel, finish the game. It is not uncommon for blue to be splashed in for Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, and Timetwister.

Vise Age - Like many others, Vise Age was one of those decks that players had to carefully consider before entering a tourney. They would often ask themselves if they could handle a first-turn Black Vise followed by a second-turn Howling Mine. If they couldn't, they were headed for serious trouble. Even decks that could neutralize an early Black Vise would still have to face Erhnam Djinn or Orgg, which could both be summoned quickly via Tinder Wall. The restriction of Black Vise, caused by the over-dominance of this deck, ended its rule and allowed other decks such as Necro to take hold.

Reanimator - Although there are several versions, all Reanimator decks use the same principle. Typically, a large (6/6 or greater) creature is dumped into the graveyard, and brought back with Shallow Grave or Animate Dead. Creatures used when the deck was at its peak include: Nicol Bolas, Crimson Hellkite, and Deep Spawn. Smaller creatures that come back to play such as Krovikan Horror and Ashen Ghouls are also seen in Reanimator.

Stompy - Of the five colors in Magic, Green has the best creatures. Thus, it comes as no surprise that one of the best beatdown decks is Stompy, a green deck. Cheap, efficient creatures such as Rogue Elephant, Bull Elephant, and Harvest Wurm do most of the work, with an occasional Overrun to get through defenses. Even though many of the creature have rotated out of Type II, Stompy still exists today in a form called Stampy, using Albino Troll, River Boa, and Pouncing Jaguar instead.

Sligh - While many decks remain unchanged throughout the years, Sligh evolved and mutated with each expansion. Starting out as Deadguy Red, the deck used Orcish Artillery, Goblins of the Flarg, and Ironclaw Orcs as creatures. Soon after the release of Tempest, Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic, and Cursed Scroll replaced some of the less powerful cards. With Urza's Saga came Goblin Lackey, which changed the way the deck worked dramatically. Type II Sligh decks prior to Sixth Edition consisted of Goblin Lackeys, Mogg Flunkies, Cursed Scroll, Jackal Pup, Ball Lightning, and Incinerate. The power of Sligh was at an apex then, and would be for several months, until the loss of Ball Lightning and Incinerate weakened the deck significantly.

Suicide Black - This deck, aptly named, either wins quickly or loses just as quickly. A first-turn Carnophage or Sarcomancy, combined with a second turn City of Traitors, a Dark Ritual, and an 18-point Hatred, can win the game before the opponent has a chance to prepare a defense. Evasive creatures with shadow provide other targets to channel the Hatred. Against a Sligh deck or a permission deck, however, the same spell that ensures a fast win can also bring about this deck's downfall.

White Weenie - From Savannah Lions and Swords to Plowshares, WW evolved into Longbow Archer and Empyrial Armor. The Rath Cycle brought Soltari Priest and Warrior en-Kor, while the Artifacts Cycle gave WW Mother of Runes and Waylay. During all this time, White Weenie has remained a contender, even as other decks find themselves eliminated from tournament use.

Fish - Generally, blue doesn't have any beatdown decks. A notable exception to this rule is Fish. Although the deck has permission, its goal is to win as soon as possible. Assorted Merfolk and Lord of Atlantis make up this deck, with counterspells to defend the creatures.

Combo Decks
Prosbloom - Prosbloom used the Prosperity / Cadaverous Bloom engine, powered by an early Natural Balance, to generate enough black mana to fuel a game-ending Drain Life. This deck worked best in the Mirage / Visions format, until Squandered Resources was banned.

Fruity-Pebbles - This deck works by combining Shield Sphere, Enduring Renewal, and Goblin Bombardment and wins by repeatedly sacrificing the Shield Sphere to the Bombardment, dealing 1 point of damage each time. A later version of the deck, using Necropotence, was named Cocoa-Pebbles.

Tolarian Blue - Perhaps one of the most fearsome combo decks, Tolarian Blue could consistently kill on the 1st or 2nd turn with a several-thousand-point Stroke of Genius. The success of this deck and its descendent, Spiral Blue, caused (off the top of my head) Tolarian Academy, Windfall, Time Spiral, Lotus Petal, Mind Over Matter to be banned from Type 2 and Extended.

Enchantress - Enchantress used Argothian Enchantress, Verduran Enchantress, Serra's Sanctum, and many, many enchantments to Blaze out an opponent.

Replenish - Frantic Search and Attunement fill the graveyard with enchantments, which Replenish brings back. Some versions use Yawgmoth's Bargain / Seismic Assult / Abundance, some use Pandemonium / Opalessence, and some use Opalessence / Levitation / Fervor.

Bargain - ZviBargain uses cheap mana-producing artifacts and Yawgmoth's Bargain as a searcher, then uses Turnabout to generate enough mana to win with a Blaze, while newer versions of Bargain use Skirge Familiar / Soul Feast / Yawgmoth's Will to win.

Sneak Attack - Sneak Attack tries to get out Sneak Attack as soon as possible, then sneaks out huge creatures like Phyrexian Colossus and Thorn Elemental to deal 20 points of damage pretty quickly.

Trix - Illusion of Grandeur / Donate fueled by Necropotence. THIS deck caused Mana Vault and DARK RITUAL to be banned from Extended starting April 1st, 2000. Currently the dominant deck in Extended (It's March 3 at the time I wrote this).