Subject: Response to " THE BEAST " Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 22:49:26 -0700 From: robert l pittman To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Frank, This letter is in response to Mike Musatow's article " THE BEAST " In his letter he ask why would anybody build an Oath of Druids deck using four Archangel, four Tithe, four Bottle Gnome and include Perish in there sideboard? Sense most of what he is asking about seems to focus on my Oath of Angels deck, I would like explain why I made the choice's that I did. I would also like to take this opportunity to present my NEW Oath of Angels deck, " __ENA " ya, copy right. From the very beginning of the oath craze, I thought, this is such a great idea: oath a big bad flying, non-tapping, 5/5, XENA with wings into play, control the board for a few rounds and beatdown to victory. With that as motivation I set out to build an oath deck that would be somewhat different, phat to play, yet competitive. Although the choice's I made may have seemed counter productive or even stupid, I made each one for a specific reason, and they are as follows. Four Archangel: Jester's Cap is one reason, and the other is Phyrexian Furnace. Having 1 or 2 creatures removed from the game, before I can deal with it hurts a little but won't cripple it. Yes, I realize most other oath decks are permision based. But if you ever let one furnace through and there is a fatty in your graveyard, it's GONE. Four Bottle Gnome: Looking back I realize it was a bad choice. When I built the deck I figured Sligh, Suicide Black, and White Weenie would create a few problems because of the speed. Even if they didn't have a good opening hand a 4th turn wisdom may not save me.I therefore came to the conclusion I needed a 3rd turn castable blocker that would: partially delay the beatdown, survive most 1cc & 2cc slots, provide a little breathing room, interfere very little with the oath engine, and ofcourse, perplex my opponent.what the ...... Four Tithe: Impulse or even Brainstorm may be better?? The logic here was library manipluation (via; SHUFFLING the deck, followed by a rack), it also aides in Cataclysm recovery, and lastly it helps wisdom for a few more. oh ya, earily on I play tested with Firestorm instead of gnomes and pitched the land but pro-red creature kept comming up. Two Perish: sideboard, chosing those 15 cards depends on so many different things. When I finally decieded to go with perish the meta-game seemed heavy SGD, so I figured wipe'em out, let'em oath an elf or wall, and hope the don't blessing themselves. Was my oath deck weak, ya probably. Was my oath deck different, ya probably, Could my oath deck have been played in a multi-player game, oh ya. Below is a new version of my Oath of Angels type 2 deck. The core is still there, but I thing the Bottle Gnomes have moved to Mike's house, or did I put them back in that Corpse Dance deck. __ENA 4X TITHE (clysm recovery,library manipulation,wisdom booster) 4X ARCHANGEL (XENA in the afterlife) 4X CATACLYSM (control element) 3X DISENCHANT 2X AURA OF SILENCE (so many Dojo decks using propa,scroll,ect) 2X GERRARDS WISDOM (possible;sligh,suicide black,and WW recovery) 4X OATH OF DRIUDS (non-counterable creature generator,sorta) 3X GAEA'S BLESSING 1X VERDANT TOUCH (as to be there just in case) 4X PROPAGANDA (clysm lock,weenei delay,headache) 4X LOTUS PETAL (1st turn oath,X sideboard & main deck) 3X SCROLL RACK (library manipulation aided by tithe[opponent done,tithe,rack,top deck,untap,oath?,draw....) 2X MOX DIAMOND (helps X sideboard & main deck) SIDEBOARD 4X PYROBLAST (LOBOTOMY,5C tradewind,draw-go,ect) 3X PHYREXIAN FURNACE (any gaea's deck,meta-zilla,ect) 3X TRANQUIL DOMAIN (gloom,propa,aura,LEGACY,panda,ect) 3X FIREBLAST (spirit of the night,weaver-fog lock,finisher) 2X ABEYANCE ??????? (prosbloom, fill in the blank) any comments are welcome. THANKS, BOB PITTMAN