"The Decks to Beat - MVW PTQ Chicago '97"


The top decks in the MVW constructed format are listed below. These are the decks to be prepared for, or the decks to play, and if you're not prepared for them, you'll find yourself in the losers bracket quite quickly. The format seems to be dominated by a Rock/Paper/Scissors effect that involves the B/U Ertai's, the Mono-Red Burn, and the U/w control. These are the three main competitive archetypes, others are derivatives, variations or outright attempts at hosing or ignoring these archetypes. The deck 'tech for this format has been the most intense of any other PTQ yet run, and it will be interesting to see if any other strong decks emerge in the coming months.
Seth Burn's Mono-Red Deck
4 Goblin Elite Infantry
2 Orcish Settlers
1 Dwarven Miner
4 Suq'Ata Lancer
3 Viashino Sandstalker
4 Talruum Minotaur
4 Incinerate
4 Thunderbolt
4 Hammer of Bogardan
4 Fireblast
2 Kaervek's Torch


4 Quicksand
20 Mountain

Sideboard:
3 Builder's Bane
2 Sirocco
1 Bubble Matrix
1 Snake Basket
Sideboard (cont):
1 Dwarven Miner
3 Wildfire Emissary
3 Aether Flash
1 Final Fortune


Francis Key's (Crew Member) "Aggro Blue" Deck
4 Man'O War
3 Knight of the Mist
2 Cloud Elemental
4 Azimaet Drake
4 Waterspout Djinn
2 Rainbow Efreet
2 Mist Dragon
4 Memory Lapse
4 Dissipate
2 Desertion
4 Impulse
2 Boomerang

4 Quicksand
19 Island
Sideboard:
2 Boomerang
3 Mind Harness
2 Power Sink
Sideboard (cont):
1 Knight of the Mist
4 Floodgate
3 Abduction


Colin Mayfield's U/w Beatdown Deck
4 Man 'O War
4 Ophidian
2 Rainbow Efreet

4 Memory Lapse
4 Dissipate
3 Power Sink
4 Foreshadow
4 Impulse
3 Inspiration

4 Mangara's Blessing
1 Snake Basket

4 Quicksand
4 Flood Plain
4 Plains
12 Island
Sideboard:
1 Abeyance
3 Bazaar of Wonders
3 Disenchant
Sideboard (cont):
4 Hazerider Drake
4 Honorable Passage


Jason Zila's B/u Rat Deck
4 Man-'O-War
4 Cloud Elemental

2 Dissipate
4 Powersink
3 Impulse
4 Crypt Rats
4 Nekrataal

4 Drain Life
2 Necromancy
4 Stupor
1 Snake Basket

2 Quicksand
4 Bad River
6 Island
12 Swamp
Sideboard:
2 Abduction
4 Boomerang
3 Coercion
Sideboard (cont):
2 Dark Banishing
2 Phyrexian Furnace
2 Tidal Wave


Gary Wises' 'Tog Deck (By M. Donais)
4 Skulking Ghost
2 Fledgeling Djinn
4 Circling Vulture
4 Fallen Askari
4 Shadow Guildmage
3 Nekrataal
2 Necratog
4 Barrow Ghouls
4 Man-'O-War
4 Ertai's Familiar

4 Song of Blood


1 Rocky Tarpit
1 Bad River
3 Gemstone Mine
3 Undiscovered Paradise
1 Mountain
2 Island
10 Swamp
Sideboard:
1 Bone Dancer
3 Knight of the Mist
2 Mind Harness
2 Bubble Matrix

Sideboard (cont):
2 Serrated Biskellion
1 Urborg Justice
1 Island
3 Tombstone Stairwell


Keith Oullette's Turbo-'Poise Deck
4 Impulse
2 Disrupt

2 Sage Owl

4 Dark Ritual
4 Vampiric Tutor
2 Desolation
4 Equipoise
2 Mangara's Blessing
1 Gerrard's Wisdom
4 Enlightened Tutor
4 Sands of Time
2 Miser's Cage
2 Wands of Denial
3 Lotus Vale
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Undiscovered Paradise
4 Crystal Vein
3 Swamp
3 Plains
2 Island
Sideboard:
2 Gerrards Wisdom
4 Disenchant
1 Wand of Denial
1 Argivian Restoration
Sideboard (cont):
1 Argivian Find
4 Tidal Wave
2 Honorable Passage


Ron Serio's (Crew Member) "Winding Canyon" Deck
4 Man'O War
4 Azimaet Drake
4 Ophidian
4 Waterspout Djinn
4 Memory Lapse
4 Dissipate
4 Power Sink
4 Impulse
2 Boomerang
2 Desertion

4 Quicksand
2 Winding Canyons
2 Flood Plain
16 Island
Sideboard: *UNKNOWN*
2 Boomerang
3 Mind Harness
2 Honorable Passage
Sideboard (cont):
1 Knight of the Mist
4 Floodgate
3 Abduction

Ron had these comments about the "Canyons":

"They allow you to play creatures during your opponents discard phase so you don't have to tap mana on your turn. Plus you can bust creatures out after your opponent attacks to block and kill them, like you would a benalish knight. If you bust out an ohpidian at the end of their turn and they don't have instant kill it's really awesome."


Back to Dojo!
 The Magic Dojo© 1997 Frank Kusumoto. Please report bugs or problems to webmaster@classicdojo.org.