Subject: [deck] Deceit Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 12:13:04 -0400 From: Michael Siciliano To: Magic Dojo I recently put together this deck on a whim. I tested it against several common deck types and it did surprisingly well. First the decklist and then the explanation. The name is derived from the card Mind Games. Deck Name: Deceit Main Deck: 61 cards Sideboard: None created as of yet Creator: Michael Siciliano 4 x Winter Orb 3 x Mind Games 3 x Kismet 3 x Propaganda 2 x Erratic Portal 2 x Memory Crystal 3 x Sky Diamond 3 x Tradewind Rider 4 x Man-o-War 3 x Wall of Tears 3 x Tempest Drake 2 x Ophidian 1 x Ertai, Wizard Adept 1 x Cloudchaser Eagle 1 x Treasure Hunter 4 x Thalakos Lowlands 2 x Adakar Wastes 2 Quicksand 15 x Island This is a Blue/white Prison deck. When it gets its opponent in the prison there is almost no way out. The trick is to get your opponent in the lockdown before they can kill you as with all lockdown decks. I am keenly aware of the lack of any artifact destruction in this deck-so if you want to send me some ideas on how to improve the deck keep that in mind. The Winter Orbs slow everything down, which is just the way you want it. Kismet helps with the land lockdown and removes the threat from "celerity" creatures (those unaffected by summoning sickness). Propaganda is the old stand-by with Winter Orb by squeezing your opponents mana supply. Often opponents will be forced to choose between casting more spells or simply attacking with what they have because they don't have the mana for both. Mind Games plays a very important function in this deck. You can tap your Winter Orb at the end of your opponents turn so you aren't affected by it (I remember the glory days when Icy was Type II fondly) and/or, with Winter Orb in play, tap your opponents land during their upkeep. If you can get this setup so that your opponent has all their lands tapped and you tap the only one they can untap (because of the Winter Orb) during their upkeep they are toast. Winter Orb, Kismet, Propaganda, and Mind Games with buyback is optimal and simply shuts your opponent down for good. The Memory Crystal makes the Mind Games easier to cast so you can tap more permanents. The Erratic Portal has turned out to be a great addition to the deck. Originally I thought they might be too expensive (and they are a bit on the high casting cost side, but their activation cost is very reasonable) but 4 colorless is manageable. The Erratic Portal does so many things so well that it is difficult to know where to start. You can force your opponent to pay mana they can't afford to keep their creatures in play. Also your opponent will have to take this into account whenever they cast a summon spell unless they don't mind it being bounced back into their hand. Best of all you can use it on your own creatures to save them from mass destruction (Wrath of God/Cataclysm) or direct damage. You can use the Erratic Portal on your own creatures to get the benefit from their "Comes into play" effects such as those possessed by the Man-o-War, Cloudchaser Eagle and Treasure Hunter. The Treasure Hunter can get back any of the important artifacts in this deck. The Tempest Drake was an iffy addition but it works well with the Tradewind Rider and can fly over all the nasty walls out there (Blossoms, Roots, Diffusion, Stone, Souls, Essence and Tears). With the Rider, the Tempest Drake can perform double-duty attacking for two and then being tapped to return a permanent. The Ophidian is used for card advantage. Ertai, once in play and covered by his own countering ability or by an Erratic Portal, will be a dangerous annoyance. He is mana intensive and that's why there's only one in the deck-I wish there was a way to recurse him from the graveyard but I can't think of a decent way to do it beyond Recall or Miraculous Recovery neither of which is a good fit in this deck. Ideas on how to improve this deck or an examination of the deck are welcome and needed. E-mails claiming that I should give the sender credit for thinking of this deck first are NOT welcome. Michael Siciliano MSicilian@worldnet.att.net