Subject: som #2 Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 21:25:59 -0600 From: "Bob Bailey" To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Frank, I have been studying Rath Cycle recently because Standard has become so predictable and boring. Rath Cycle opens up some interesting deck ideas and most of them will translate well into Standard anyways. I present four decks which perform well in the format. Although they do lose to certain decks, they win their fair share. The following are the Rath Cycle decks that I find to be popular: 1.) Sligh 2.) Hatred Black 3.) Awakening 4.) Humility 5.) Recurring Nightmare 6.) Counter Phoenix (I consider this to be the strongest deck in the format.) There are two broken things in Rath Cycle: 1.) Rampant Growth 2.) Recurring Nightmare I exploit them. · Strange Control Deck 4 Whispers of the Muse 3 Capsize 3 Dismiss 4 Counterspell 3 Intuition 1 Awakening 1 Tranquility 3 Reclaim 4 Rampant Growth 4 Wall of Blossoms 4 Spike Feeder 3 Shock 1 Shattering Pulse 1 Shard Phoenix 1 Volrath's Laboratory (Smurf-tech kill :) 4 Mogg Hollows 8 Island 1 Mountain 7 Forest Sideboard 4 Chill 2 Tranquility 2 Shattering Pulse 1 Capsize 4 Forbid 1 Plains 1 Circle of Protection: Black Note: The reason for running only one Tranquility, Shattering Pulse, and Awakening is because you can Intuition/Reclaim them. Running any more than one dilutes the rest of the deck and it doesn't work as well. This is also why there is one Circle of Protection: Black in the sideboard. Shard Phoenix can also be Intuitioned for, but does not require a Reclaim to work properly. Wins against: Sligh, Hatred Black, Nightmare Machine, Humility, Awakening Loses to: Counter Phoenix · Strange Burn Deck 4 Jackal Pup 4 Mogg Fanatic 4 Raging Goblin 4 Lightning Elemental 4 Maniacal Rage 4 Giant Strength 4 Shock 4 Kindle 4 Sonic Burst 4 Lightning Blast 1 Volrath's Stronghold 4 Cinder Marsh 3 Wasteland 12 Mountain Sideboard 4 Boil 4 Lotus Petal 4 Bottle Gnomes 1 Shattering Pulse 2 Price of Progress Note: Although this deck loses to a lot of decks, it is the best aggressive deck that I have been able to construct. Wins against: Sligh, Hatred Black, Humility Loses to: Nightmare Machine, Awakening, Counter Phoenix · Strange Annoying Life Gain Deck 4 Spike Feeder 4 Spike Weaver 3 Spike Drone 1 Spike Breeder 4 Survival of the Fittest 4 Rampant Growth 4 Wall of Blossoms 4 Eladamri's Vineyard 1 Verdant Force 4 Recurring Nightmare 3 Corpse Dance 4 Bottle Gnomes 4 Pine Barrens 1 Volrath's Stronghold 4 Swamp 11 Forest Sideboard 4 Tranquility 3 Torture Chamber 3 Shattering Pulse 3 Boil 2 Mountain Wins against: Sligh, Hatred Black, Awakening (post-sideboarding), Humility (post-sideboarding) 50/50 against: Nightmare Machine Loses to: Counter Phoenix · Strange Land Kill Deck 1 Cartographer 4 Spike Feeder 4 Wall of Blossoms 4 Survival of the Fittest 4 Winter's Grasp 4 Rampant Growth 1 Verdant Force 3 Stone Rain 3 Starke of Rath 3 Anarchist 4 Recurring Nightmare 4 Erratic Portal 4 Wasteland 4 Mogg Hollows 2 Swamp 7 Forest 4 Mountain Sideboard 4 Boil 4 Bottle Gnomes 3 Tranquility 3 Torture Chamber 1 Shattering Pulse Beats: Sligh, Awakening, Humility, Counter Phoenix, Nightmare Machine Loses to: Hatred Black Conclusion: If you plan on using one of these decks, I recommend the Strange Control Deck if Hatred Black is more popular than Counter Phoenix or the Strange Land Destruction Deck if Phoenix is bigger than Hatred. I do not recommend the Strange Burn Deck unless you are pressed for time and cannot playtest/tweak the other decks to your style of play, as most of these decks are fairly difficult to play properly. Robert Bailey Team Goats, Captain DCI 759311 Advocate for Rampant Growth. "Watashi-wa yagi desu." "I am a goat." * Japanese translation