I'll admit it, I enjoy playing Magic again. Between some more affordable formats and their play environments, I daresay that I may need to purchase a two-row shoebox to hold all the cards. That's a far cry from the decade of chaos (1993-2003), where my collection swelled and shrank like star quivering before going supernova.
My biggest problem with Standard (Type II) and Modern (the last decades worth of cards) are that they rely on either convoluted card combinations or the few overpowered cards left in each set. It's nowhere near as bad as what the Power Nine can do for game advantage, but it begs the question as to the drug history of the current designers. This is not a new concept, I had the same problem back in the day.
I always preferred Type I. Sure, some dude could drop a Black Lotus and wreck havoc on the board with his hand, but more times than not, he started with an extra mana or two for a significant edge, but not a blatant false-start level head start.
To counter the complex decks that evolved from Type I, I relied on Red Burn bolstered by Green Speed. I present for young and old to review, a pretty consistent version of my Kird Ape Deck.
Red Green
4x Kird Ape 4x Scryb Sprite
4x Lightning Bolt 4x Giant Growth
4x Chain Lightning 4x Naf's Asp
4x Bloodlust 1x Regrowth
1x Wheel of Fortune 1x Berserk
1x Fork
1x Disintegrate
Artifacts Land
1x Feldon's Cane 8x Forests
2x Juggernaut 8x Mountain
4x Taiga
Sideboard
2 Shatter 2 Tranquility
2 Hurricane 2 Juggernaut
2 Stone Rain 4 Ghazban Ogres
1 Fireball
The Kird Ape concept is pretty basic and starts with the Kird Ape and the Taiga
Yay, a turn one Taiga/Kird Ape play and you have a 2/3 in play and still have 5 cards in hand. Brilliant! Between overpowered creatures and burn, opponents should be overwhelmed by turn 4 or 5. Not the fastest deck, but one that can drain an opponent of cards and opportunities.
Now, some of you, might be wondering, "ViscountEric, I only see 56 cards in that main deck. What about the other four?"
That my friend, are my third cousins twice removed of the Moxes, Tinder Walls.
I don't believe I have ever used it's blocking ability in a real game. I rely solely on it's ability to be sacrificed to create two red mana. My first turn goes from Taiga--> Kird Ape to Taiga -> Tinder Wall -> Sac it for two red -> Kird Ape and Lightning Bolt. Or possibly better Kird Ape/Kird Ape. It's that extra little oomph to but the other player on the defensive. And what's even better is later turn Tinder Wall are either defensive or the extra mana or two for that fireball/disintegrate/hurricane
Sure it has flaws, and I'll admit that great opening hands stalled out for me to be swept by a 9-year old boy and a 9-year old boy Goblin deck.
With only the Berserk and the Dual Lands being prohibitively expensive, I may try to rebuild this for "Vintage" play, using the Fetch-lands from Khans of Tarkir. While traditional duals are nice for most decks, the each played Fetch effectively removes another land from your deck. Playing the percentages is a good thing, especially after a Feldon's Cane or Wheel of Fortune.
My biggest problem with Standard (Type II) and Modern (the last decades worth of cards) are that they rely on either convoluted card combinations or the few overpowered cards left in each set. It's nowhere near as bad as what the Power Nine can do for game advantage, but it begs the question as to the drug history of the current designers. This is not a new concept, I had the same problem back in the day.
I always preferred Type I. Sure, some dude could drop a Black Lotus and wreck havoc on the board with his hand, but more times than not, he started with an extra mana or two for a significant edge, but not a blatant false-start level head start.
To counter the complex decks that evolved from Type I, I relied on Red Burn bolstered by Green Speed. I present for young and old to review, a pretty consistent version of my Kird Ape Deck.
Red Green
4x Kird Ape 4x Scryb Sprite
4x Lightning Bolt 4x Giant Growth
4x Chain Lightning 4x Naf's Asp
4x Bloodlust 1x Regrowth
1x Wheel of Fortune 1x Berserk
1x Fork
1x Disintegrate
Artifacts Land
1x Feldon's Cane 8x Forests
2x Juggernaut 8x Mountain
4x Taiga
Sideboard
2 Shatter 2 Tranquility
2 Hurricane 2 Juggernaut
2 Stone Rain 4 Ghazban Ogres
1 Fireball
The Kird Ape concept is pretty basic and starts with the Kird Ape and the Taiga
Yay, a turn one Taiga/Kird Ape play and you have a 2/3 in play and still have 5 cards in hand. Brilliant! Between overpowered creatures and burn, opponents should be overwhelmed by turn 4 or 5. Not the fastest deck, but one that can drain an opponent of cards and opportunities.
Now, some of you, might be wondering, "ViscountEric, I only see 56 cards in that main deck. What about the other four?"
That my friend, are my third cousins twice removed of the Moxes, Tinder Walls.
I don't believe I have ever used it's blocking ability in a real game. I rely solely on it's ability to be sacrificed to create two red mana. My first turn goes from Taiga--> Kird Ape to Taiga -> Tinder Wall -> Sac it for two red -> Kird Ape and Lightning Bolt. Or possibly better Kird Ape/Kird Ape. It's that extra little oomph to but the other player on the defensive. And what's even better is later turn Tinder Wall are either defensive or the extra mana or two for that fireball/disintegrate/hurricane
Sure it has flaws, and I'll admit that great opening hands stalled out for me to be swept by a 9-year old boy and a 9-year old boy Goblin deck.
With only the Berserk and the Dual Lands being prohibitively expensive, I may try to rebuild this for "Vintage" play, using the Fetch-lands from Khans of Tarkir. While traditional duals are nice for most decks, the each played Fetch effectively removes another land from your deck. Playing the percentages is a good thing, especially after a Feldon's Cane or Wheel of Fortune.
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