T
TheCasualOblivion
Guest
Yes, this is about a casual version of "The Deck". I've given it some thought, and that is exactly what this deck is. Some history on me first, since it kind of pertains to what this deck was.
I started playing back in the days of 4th Edition/Ice Age. I've always been a control player at heart, ever since I started having a clue on how to play the game. Certain cards I really liked, Balance, Counterspell, Swords to Plowshares, Wrath of God. Also, I developed an antagonistic attitude to Wizards rotating cards out of the game. Ticked me off. I wanted to be able to build any deck I wanted to. Finances(the $300 Lotus), and the cards available in boosters denied me this, so in the name of playing with cards rotated out and building any deck I wanted to, I started buying dual lands. I eventually had a set of 38 of them (minus 1 scrubland and 1 badlands). I also built up a set of all the power cards from Revised and 4th, Demonic Tutor, Regrowth, Mind Twist, Wheel of Fortune, Balance, Sol Ring, and what was to become my favorite creature ever, Serendib Efreet. It was this that gave me the resources to put this deck together. The other thing was my environment. I refused from the start to be a tournament player. I just never found playing that way fun. I have always prefered pick up games with casual players. In those days, up to the current time, most casual games consist of me bashing you with my creatures, while you bash me with yours, with some removal to taste. The other decks consisted of oddball combo decks that didn't really work. It was this environment that my deck was built for, a vast majority of creature based decks, weenie or slow, with a few slow combo decks sprinkled to taste.
An interesting point is that this deck always played really fun games, despite almost always winning. Unlike my Necrodeck, or my counter/burn deck, nobody ever stated any dislike with playing this deck. The deck was known, and feared, but it never prevented itself from being played. That is because, like "The Deck" It basically sat back, played from behind, then turned the tables with the broken cards and won. Most of the games were played with my opponent playing his deck just fine, and being in the game. That and in a casual environment, this deck was always a sight to see, with all the dual lands and power cards it packed.
My casual version of "The Deck" which I played from between Mirage Block up until Urza's Saga(may be slightly inaccurate, I think it had more creatures, and think it usually went around at about 64 cards or so, this is the best memory will provide, also I was constantly tweaking this and bringing cards in and out of it)
Creatures
4 Kird Ape
4 Serendib Efreet
3 Ernham Djinn
3 Serra Angel
Spells
4 Counterspell
3 Dissipate
1 Desertion
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
2 Control Magic(I just loved this card too much to take it out, and it's such a "fun card")
3 Wrath of God
1 Earthquake
1 Balance
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Regrowth
1 Zuran Orb
Land/mana
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Tundra
4 Taiga(for the Kird Ape drop)
3 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
2 Savanna
1 Adarkar Wastes
2 City of Brass
1 Sol Ring
Totals: Mana 24----Spells 37-----Total 61
Basically, the deck was about using 4 colors to put out the most broken and efficient spells in the game. My game was usally put out a few fat creatures, that were larger than my opponents and use these to dominate the board, especially if they had more creatures. I would sit behind my wall of high toughness creatures, keeping some in hand, until the wrath of god came. Then I'd drop the creatures I held back, and send them and the factories to town. Only 8 counterspells in this deck, so they had to count, and not enough to prevent everything from coming through. On a bad draw for my opponent, my bigs would just win. From everything about "The Deck" that I've read, this deck mostly played the same way.
I sold my colection shortly after Urza's Saga, and as I've reentered the game once during Invasion, then selling again, and now again, I've never really had the resources to put this deck back together. I don't think it would play at the same level today, as there is two much card drawing and "Engine" decks even in the casual game that the old deck just never saw. Still, it might be interesting to see what I could do with it with the new card drawing available, and Lightning Angels, Scutas, and other fun stuff from Invasion Block.
I started playing back in the days of 4th Edition/Ice Age. I've always been a control player at heart, ever since I started having a clue on how to play the game. Certain cards I really liked, Balance, Counterspell, Swords to Plowshares, Wrath of God. Also, I developed an antagonistic attitude to Wizards rotating cards out of the game. Ticked me off. I wanted to be able to build any deck I wanted to. Finances(the $300 Lotus), and the cards available in boosters denied me this, so in the name of playing with cards rotated out and building any deck I wanted to, I started buying dual lands. I eventually had a set of 38 of them (minus 1 scrubland and 1 badlands). I also built up a set of all the power cards from Revised and 4th, Demonic Tutor, Regrowth, Mind Twist, Wheel of Fortune, Balance, Sol Ring, and what was to become my favorite creature ever, Serendib Efreet. It was this that gave me the resources to put this deck together. The other thing was my environment. I refused from the start to be a tournament player. I just never found playing that way fun. I have always prefered pick up games with casual players. In those days, up to the current time, most casual games consist of me bashing you with my creatures, while you bash me with yours, with some removal to taste. The other decks consisted of oddball combo decks that didn't really work. It was this environment that my deck was built for, a vast majority of creature based decks, weenie or slow, with a few slow combo decks sprinkled to taste.
An interesting point is that this deck always played really fun games, despite almost always winning. Unlike my Necrodeck, or my counter/burn deck, nobody ever stated any dislike with playing this deck. The deck was known, and feared, but it never prevented itself from being played. That is because, like "The Deck" It basically sat back, played from behind, then turned the tables with the broken cards and won. Most of the games were played with my opponent playing his deck just fine, and being in the game. That and in a casual environment, this deck was always a sight to see, with all the dual lands and power cards it packed.
My casual version of "The Deck" which I played from between Mirage Block up until Urza's Saga(may be slightly inaccurate, I think it had more creatures, and think it usually went around at about 64 cards or so, this is the best memory will provide, also I was constantly tweaking this and bringing cards in and out of it)
Creatures
4 Kird Ape
4 Serendib Efreet
3 Ernham Djinn
3 Serra Angel
Spells
4 Counterspell
3 Dissipate
1 Desertion
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
2 Control Magic(I just loved this card too much to take it out, and it's such a "fun card")
3 Wrath of God
1 Earthquake
1 Balance
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Regrowth
1 Zuran Orb
Land/mana
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Tundra
4 Taiga(for the Kird Ape drop)
3 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
2 Savanna
1 Adarkar Wastes
2 City of Brass
1 Sol Ring
Totals: Mana 24----Spells 37-----Total 61
Basically, the deck was about using 4 colors to put out the most broken and efficient spells in the game. My game was usally put out a few fat creatures, that were larger than my opponents and use these to dominate the board, especially if they had more creatures. I would sit behind my wall of high toughness creatures, keeping some in hand, until the wrath of god came. Then I'd drop the creatures I held back, and send them and the factories to town. Only 8 counterspells in this deck, so they had to count, and not enough to prevent everything from coming through. On a bad draw for my opponent, my bigs would just win. From everything about "The Deck" that I've read, this deck mostly played the same way.
I sold my colection shortly after Urza's Saga, and as I've reentered the game once during Invasion, then selling again, and now again, I've never really had the resources to put this deck back together. I don't think it would play at the same level today, as there is two much card drawing and "Engine" decks even in the casual game that the old deck just never saw. Still, it might be interesting to see what I could do with it with the new card drawing available, and Lightning Angels, Scutas, and other fun stuff from Invasion Block.
