From: griffith@crl.com (Dave Griffith) Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy Subject: Re: Inexpensive Type II decks? Date: 20 Aug 1997 15:17:15 GMT What If I Were Romeo In Black Jeans? (bleutears@earthlink.net) wrote: : I've been playing Magic since February, and am going to my first : tournament (a small one) this coming Friday. It's a Type II tournament, : and I'm trying to put something together that can at least be : competitive. Here's the catch--I don't have many "power" cards and I : don't have the money to go out and buy much at the moment. In type II, this doesn't matter so much. Broadly speaking, there are two ways to go with a competitive type II deck. First, you can come up with a solid simple theme which can be implemented with any of a large variety of cards. White Weenie, Black Weenie, Green Stomper, Red/Green speed, Blue/White control, Red/White Control, CounterBurn, Sligh. These are all solid themes that can be done on a budget. Sure, some rares will help, but you can run the deck without them. If you've got Outposts, tossing them into your Blue/White control deck improves it dramatically. If you don't, toss in some 25 cent Chimeric Spheres instead. A Red/Green speed deck will be helped by Hammers and Stormbinds, but plays almost the same without them. Playing without the rares will lose you an edge, but you'll still be playing the deck and learning. (Important exception: Blue/White control _requires_ Wrath of God. If you don't have three, don't try it.) The second way to go is with a 'gimmick' deck, with a complex theme requiring a lot of specific cards to support it. Turbo-Stasis, Squandered Stasis, Buried Alive, Prison, Turbo-Abeyance. These eat rares like candy, and should probably be avoided. :Overall, I : have a decent selection of Mirage/Visions/Weatherlight cards (at least 1 : of each rare, but rarely more than 1) and a decent amount of 5th Edition : commons/uncommons (not many rares.) Any suggestions on what sort of : deck I can build that will at least stand a chance against players who : are going to be much more experienced than me, and probably have more : time and money to invest than I do? Having dispensed with money as a consideration, the next question is experience. My strong recommendation is to play a simple deck. Off the top of my head, and using the card set you've got: 3 Llanowar Elves 3 Wall of Roots/Tinder Wall 4 River Boa 4 Jolrael's Centaur 2 Stampeeding Wildebeast 3 Giant Growth/Armor of Thorns 3 Gaea's Blessing (Recurse the good stuff). 2 Wildfire Emissary 4 Incinerate 2 Fireblast 2 Pillage (Hurm. That's Alliances. Don't know what to replace it with, though.) 3 Fireball 3 Disintegrate 11 Mountain 11 Forest Sideboard --------- 3 Straw Golem (very strong vs. creatureless 'gimmick' decks and Counterpost) 3 Q. Ranger (utility, anti-Stasis, anti-LD, anti-Armageddon, anti-Winter Orb) 3 Tranquil Domain/Tranquility/Emerald Charm (anti-enchantment, E.Charm would be the best if it could take out Control Magic/Binding Grasp, but it can't) 3 Shatter or other instant speed anti-artifact 3 Pillage/Stone Rain (Outposts blow.) Not bad for nine in the morning, If I do say so. Just about plays itself, hits hard and fast but has staying power, doesn't have any gaping holes, and probably has a street price of about 5 bucks. If you've got any Whirling Dervishes, Earthquakes, Hammers, Llurgoyfs, or Stormbinds, toss 'em in, but don't sweat it if you don't. If you've got any fancy lands that'll produce both red and green, swap out maintains for two or three of 'em. Talk to people, watch other peoples games, analyze your mistakes, and most of all Have Fun. -- --Dave Griffith, griffith@crl.com