The Extended PTQs are fast approaching. Extended has always been a favorite format of mine. I have written a lot (extensively?) about Extended, more than anything else, and enjoyed Extended events more than practically any other format. Extended season has a certain history and rhythm — and that rhythm will remain, despite the impact of the card pool, the combo decks and Magic Online.

I wrote a history of Extended, year by year, a while ago. The articles are here:

The Past as Prologue: Extended 1999-2000
The Past as Prologue: Extended 2000-2001
The Past as Prologue: Extended 2001-2002
The Past as Prologue: Extended 2002-2003
The Past as Prologue: Extended 2003-2004

Each article — like each Extended season — starts with a recap of the decks played at the Extended PT or Masters, then a discussion of the decks that evolved over the PTQ & GP season. There have always been some of the later: even the format-defining decks (e.g. Trix, Pandeplenish, Miracle Gro) generally appeared mid season, and not at the preseason premier events.

I have done a lot of speculating over why the best decks often weren't discovered before the marquee events, and I have a few theories. Some of these theories were once true, but are no longer valid.

First, a lot of pro players didn't play cutting edge decks back in the day. At events like the Masters, for example, a lot of the pros brought the previous season's mainstream decks, and they relied on play skill to win through. This also seemed to be true at the Pro Tours — solid, respectable decks were preferred over innovative but unproven creations. It was even more the case at events like Worlds, where innovation was usually limited to a handful of known deck designers.

That has changed. Worlds, this year, saw more innovation — and showed the results of a lot more playtesting — than in years past. I think that two factors have driven this.

First of all, I think the general caliber of play is simply better today than in years past. I won my first couple PTQ Top 8 pins last century, and — without question — it was easier to do that back then. More people are playing now, and playing more often, and that makes them better players. As a result, you are likely to face more really good players at any given event than in the past. Because the average player at an event like Worlds is better, nowadays, the serious players can't slack off on deckbuilding. When you can't rely solely on outplaying your opponents, solid but unspectacular decks are not enough.

The other reason for the change is the new invitation policy, with various levels of support based on pro player points. Now, getting a couple extra pro points — and qualifying for the next level — pushes pros to take events like Worlds a lot more seriously. That means that they spend more time testing, and more time on deckbuilding. The results show.

Even so, I don't expect the Worlds decks to have explored the entire gamut of good decks. New Tier 1 decks will evolve later in the season.

Magic Online has also had an impact: I'll talk about that, too. However, people read articles like this looking for decklists. I can't disappoint them. Here are some of the main archetypes from Worlds. I'll throw is a few comments after each deck.

I'll start with some history - the format-smashing deck StarCityGames.com's own Friggin Rizzo unleashed on the world a year ago. Rizzo's Ichorid deck was probably the main reason that Tormod's Crypt was reprinted in Time Spiral. Thanks to Crypt and so forth, Ichorid faces a lot of hate. Despite that, it went 6-0 at Worlds.

Ichorid Featured by Ryo Ogura on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Chrome Mox Creatures 4 Golgari Grave-Troll 1 Golgari Thug 4 Ichorid 4 Psychatog 4 Putrid Imp 4 Stinkweed Imp 2 Wild Mongrel 2 Wonder Enchantments 4 Zombie Infestation	Instants 1 Tolarian Winds Sorceries 4 Cabal Therapy 1 Careful Study 3 Deep Analysis Basic Lands 1 Island 1 Swamp Lands 1 Bloodstained Mire 1 Breeding Pool 3 Cephalid Coliseum 2 Flooded Strand 1 Overgrown Tomb 4 Polluted Delta 1 Riftstone Portal 3 Watery Grave	Sideboard: 4 Pithing Needle 1 Filth 3 Firemane Angel 1 Ancient Grudge 2 Coffin Purge 1 Darkblast 2 Moment's Peace 1 Ray of Revelation
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Prognosis: I suspect that Ichorid's run may be coming to a close. Tormod's Crypt is a real threat, but, more importantly, Ichorid does not have all that many answers to the best combo decks in the format. Equally important, aggro decks like Boros are becoming as fast or faster than Ichorid, but are not as vulnerable to a zero-mana artifact that every deck can splash. I don't see Ichorid being played very often online anymore, but don't be surprised to see someone playing it at a PTQ. It is still powerful, and if a player is highly skilled with the deck, they can win with it — especially once the level of graveyard hate dies down, and if the pilots can dodge decks like the following (which has a really good chance of playing Tormod's Crypt on turn 3.)

Trinket Angel Featured by Gabriel Nassif on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Pithing Needle 1 Pyrite Spellbomb 3 Sensei's Divining Top 1 Tormod's Crypt Creatures 3 Exalted Angel 4 Meddling Mage 4 Silver Knight 3 Trinket Mage Enchantments 3 Counterbalance Instants 4 Fire / Ice 4 Lightning Helix 3 Stifle Legendary Artifacts 2 Umezawa's Jitte	Artifact Lands 1 Ancient Den 1 Great Furnace Basic Lands 2 Plains Basic Snow Lands 2 Snow-Covered Island Lands 4 Flooded Strand 3 Hallowed Fountain 2 Polluted Delta 2 Sacred Foundry 2 Steam Vents 3 Windswept Heath Legendary Lands 1 Flagstones of Trokair	Sideboard: 1 Pithing Needle 2 Pyrite Spellbomb 3 Dwarven Blastminer 1 Flametongue Kavu 1 Disenchant 1 Disrupt 1 Divert 4 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Deep Analysis
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This is a U/W aggro deck which relies on Trinket Mage to tutor for any of a host of silver bullets — or to just establish the Counterbalance / Sensei's Divining Top combo that can shut down a lot of decks. Note that the deck is U/W/r, but it is definitely not a control deck. Other than Counterbalance, it runs zero counterspells, but it does run Umezawa's Jitte and some very aggressive creatures.

For comparison, here's a UW control deck. Shaheen finished ninth at Worlds on tiebreakers, and a lot of people have second-guessed his intentional draw in the final round. Without the draw, the deck would probably have gone 6-0.

U/W Tron Featured by Shaheen Sorani on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Azorius Signet 1 Talisman of Progress Artifact Creatures 2 Solemn Simulacrum Creatures 2 Eternal Dragon 2 Exalted Angel Instants 4 Condescend 4 Fact or Fiction 4 Remand 2 Renewed Faith 3 Repeal	Legendary Artifacts 3 Mindslaver Sorceries 3 Decree of Justice 3 Wrath of God Basic Lands 3 Island 2 Plains Lands 1 Adarkar Wastes 4 Hallowed Fountain 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza's Power Plant 4 Urza's Tower Legendary Lands 1 Academy Ruins	Sideboard: 3 Sun Droplet 3 Tormod's Crypt 4 Meddling Mage 3 Sphere of Law 2 Trickbind
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I like the power of UW Control. I like counterspells — and the ability to abuse some of the most powerful cards in the game. This deck can win with undercosted fliers, with a hoard of soldier tokens or a Mindslaver lock. I'm not sold on Solemn Sim and even Fact or Fiction seems slow in this meta, but the concept is powerful. Decks like this have a decent game against combo — more so than Ichorid and the like — and Wrath plus Sun Droplet can deal with most aggro decks. Since Combo is doing quite well, this seems like the sort of weapon that can combat it.

Speaking of combo, here are two of the most potent combo decks from Worlds. The first was cute — and quite good when it was unexpected. The second is just plain all-around good.

Sunny Side Up Featured by Bastien Perez on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Chromatic Sphere 4 Chromatic Star 4 Conjurer's Bauble 3 Darkwater Egg 4 Lotus Bloom 1 Pyrite Spellbomb 4 Skycloud Egg 3 Sungrass Egg Instants 2 Cunning Wish 2 Mystical Teachings 1 Orim's Chant 4 Second Sunrise Sorceries 4 Reshape	Artifact Lands 2 Seat of the Synod Basic Lands 5 Island 2 Plains Lands 4 Archaeological Dig 3 Cephalid Coliseum 4 Ghost Quarter	Sideboard: 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Pithing Needle 1 Trinket Mage 2 Ancient Grudge 1 Angel's Grace 1 Brain Freeze 1 Echoing Truth 2 Orim's Chant 1 Reclaim 1 Seedtime 1 Spoils of the Vault 1 Stifle 1 Wipe Away
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I talked about this deck in my article on Worlds. See that if you want more info. Let's move on to the number one combo deck in the format (at least, so far.) This one has been nicknamed TEPS, short for “The Extended Perfect Storm.”

TEPS Featured by Jelger Wiegersma on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Chromatic Star 4 Sensei's Divining Top Instants 4 Cabal Ritual 1 Chain of Vapor 4 Seething Song	Sorceries 4 Burning Wish 4 Careful Study 3 Duress 3 Mind's Desire 4 Rite of Flame 3 Sins of the Past 1 Tendrils of Agony Basic Lands 1 Swamp Lands 4 Ancient Spring 1 Blood Crypt 2 Bloodstained Mire 4 Geothermal Crevice 3 Polluted Delta 1 Steam Vents 4 Sulfur Vent 1 Watery Grave	Sideboard: 4 Defense Grid 2 Chain of Vapor 1 Channel The Suns 1 Duress 1 Empty the Warrens 1 Hull Breach 1 Mind's Desire 1 Pyroclasm 1 Shattering Spree 1 Sins of the Past 1 Tendrils of Agony
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Right now, Burning Wish / Desire decks like TEPS seem to be the combo decks to beat. I expect a number of articles on the archetype to appear. I won't be writing one soon: I need a lot more practice, especially sideboarded, before I could do it justice. I do know that the archetype is Tier One, so pay attention to the articles that do appear.

The Tier One aggro deck is Boros. Boros is the logical outgrowth of the old Red Deck Wins idea — combine fast and efficient creatures with enough disruption to keep opponents off balance, and throw in the Grim Lavamancer / fetchland combo. RDW has been an Extended staple, in various incarnations, since 1998. Post Ravnica, the Red Deck Wins decks have always looked to white for the aggressive creatures (and Lightning Helix), and that has not changed.

There were a lot of Boros decks in the 5-1 and 4-1-1 brackets at Worlds. There are also a ton of them online. Boros is clearly the gold standard in aggro. Expect to see a lot of it wherever you play.

RDW2006 Featured by Cormac Smith on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 4 Goblin Legionnaire 4 Grim Lavamancer 4 Savannah Lions 4 Silver Knight Instants 3 Lava Dart 4 Lightning Helix 1 Pulse of the Forge 4 Sudden Shock Legendary Creatures 4 Isamaru, Hound of Konda Sorceries 4 Molten Rain 4 Pillage	Basic Lands 3 Mountain 2 Plains Lands 1 Barbarian Ring 2 Flooded Strand 4 Sacred Foundry 2 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills Legendary Lands 1 Eiganjo Castle 1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep	Sideboard: 3 Tormod's Crypt 1 Paladin en-Vec 3 Ronom Unicorn 2 Char 3 Umezawa's Jitte 2 Eight-and-a-Half-Tails 1 Tivadar of Thorn
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If you plan on playing this season, either online or at a PTQ, Boros is the deck you have to beat. It is the most common deck, and the fastest and most consistent in the format. It is also the deck that online players are most likely to have cards for.

Before I add any more decklists, I want to talk a bit about Magic Online and its effect on Extended. Magic Online has become a major testbed for constructed play, and become at least as important as Apprentice ever was. However, online Extended does present some problems — the biggest of which is the price of Invasion block cards.

When MODO was introduced, Invasion was in print, but Odyssey block draft was the current format for competitive play IRL, so everyone drafted Odyssey. Invasion cards weren't drafted much; as a result, they have always been scarce online. Their prices reflect that fact.

Here's a comparison of some online and real life prices.

Wooded Foothills
Online: $12.50
Real-Life: $13.50

Hallowed Fountain
Online: $21.50
Real-Life: $22.50

Pernicious Deed
Online: $75.00
Real-Life: $12.50

Orim's Chant
Online: $76.00
Real-Life: $18.50

Living Wish
Online: $10.75
Real-Life: $7.00

Lightning Helix
Online: $0.50
Real-Life: $2.00

Terminate
Online: $3.50
Real-Life: $1.50

In short, Invasion cards cost an arm and a leg online. A set of Pernicious Deeds or Orim's Chants, for example, costs more than a Tier One Standard deck — and almost as much as a decent Boros extended deck. More importantly, most dedicated online players have the Onslaught fetchlands, so building Boros from that base is relatively cheap. Scepter Chant or Gifts Rock, on the other hand, are anything but.

Similarly, Pernicious Deed destroys Affinity (okay, unless Affinity gets Pithing Needle down), but Pernicious Deeds are so expensive and scarce online that Affinity decks can survive. In the paper world, where no one has trouble getting Deeds, Affinity is less viable.

Personally, I'm a perfect example of the distortion to the metagame that online card prices have. When I play Extended, I play a GB pseudo-Rock deck based around Duress, Cabal Therapy and Dark Confidant. I don't play the deck because it is the best deck for the format — I play it because that is what I own. I'm still acquiring Standard cards, and don't expect to ever own Orim's Chants. However, I went 3-2 in the last Extended PE I played in, and that might influence others into thinking my deck was somehow playable.

I'm distorting the metagame. Yeah — in my dreams. But the Invasion scarcity is a real influence, and it will make the online meta and paper metas significantly different.

Another problem with the online meta: MODO also has problems with infinite loops. The life decks are perfect examples. I watched a GWB deck with the Soul Warden / Crypt Champions / Saffi loop in a PE recently. He fired off the combo with 18 minutes on his clock. He kept the loop going for eight minutes, raising his life total to 75 — then still lost to a GWR deck that beat with Call of the Herd tokens. In real life, his life total would have gone to several million in five seconds, and he never would have lost. That's something else to consider when looking at the online metagame — some viable paper decks may not work online. Extended life decks are still around and viable, just not online.

In short, MTGO is great practice for the upcoming PTQs — but don't be too surprised to see some strange decks appear on tables: decks that have never appeared on a monitor.

Let's add a few more decklists. Here are some decks that were widely played online, before Worlds. They did post some decent showings at Worlds, but they have since faded somewhat. Still, since everyone loves decklists...

Aggro Loam Featured by Emilio Lopez Campos on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Terravore 4 Vinelasher Kudzu 4 Wall of Roots Enchantments 4 Seismic Assault Instants 2 Putrefy	Sorceries 4 Burning Wish 4 Cabal Therapy 3 Devastating Dreams 3 Life from the Loam Basic Lands 3 Forest Lands 1 Blood Crypt 2 Bloodstained Mire 4 Forgotten Cave 2 Hallowed Fountain 1 Overgrown Tomb 3 Stomping Ground 4 Tranquil Thicket 4 Wooded Foothills	Sideboard: 3 Pithing Needle 4 Ravenous Baloth 1 Chainer's Edict 1 Devastating Dreams 2 Duress 1 Hull Breach 1 Life from the Loam 1 Nostalgic Dreams 1 Shattering Spree
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The aggro-loam decks, which use dredge and Seismic Assault to power huge Terravores, were a very potent online deck before Time Spiral. Now, however, a single Trinket Mage fetching Tomrod's Crypt can shut down the dredge and shrink Terravore down to size. The deck is not dead, but it is not hugely successful, either.

Devastating Dreams is pretty good against Boros, however.

Gifts Rock Featured by Gerardo Godinez Estrada on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 4 Birds of Paradise 3 Eternal Witness 1 Genesis 3 Loxodon Hierarch 1 Ravenous Baloth 3 Sakura-Tribe Elder 3 Wall of Roots 1 Withered Wretch Enchantments 2 Pernicious Deed Instants 3 Gifts Ungiven 2 Putrefy 3 Smother	Sorceries 3 Cabal Therapy 3 Duress 3 Living Wish 2 Vindicate Basic Lands 2 Forest 1 Island 1 Plains 2 Swamp Lands 1 Breeding Pool 1 Godless Shrine 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Llanowar Wastes 3 Overgrown Tomb 2 Polluted Delta 1 Temple Garden 1 Watery Grave 4 Windswept Heath	Sideboard: 1 Eternal Witness 1 Kami of Ancient Law 1 Loxodon Hierarch 1 Ravenous Baloth 1 Withered Wretch 2 Darkblast 2 Krosan Grip 1 Smother 1 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror 1 Cabal Therapy 1 Cranial Extraction 1 Global Ruin
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As a longtime adherent to G/B Rock, and G/B Survival before that, this is the deck I would like to play. However, it is a bit slow for today's metagame, and the online price — with a pair of Vindicates at $60 or so, and Deeds at $75, it is not in my budget.

(Note: I wrote this two days ago, and am doing final edits now. Since then, I watched some replays of Extended Premier event finals. Gifts Rock beat Boros, then Affinity. Affinity had squeaked out a win over something UW that got mana screwed both games, then lost to Deed. Hmmm. I was sort of hoping Affinity was dead, but so many people have the cards online, I suspect it will never vanish completely. I'm also thinking Gifts Rock may not be too slow for today's metagame. I wonder whether paper versions could squeeze in the Saffi / Crypt Champion / Soul Warden infinite life combo. I'll have to try it out.)

Moving on, here's a potent Extended deck that has done well online (for the few players that actually own Orim's Chants) and also did reasonably well for a few Worlds competitors. Krosan Grip provides a sure-fire method of killing the Scepter, but that is only important if a lot of players have a lot of Grips in their sideboard. So far, that is not the case.

Scepter Chant Featured by Roel Van Heeswijk on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 3 Chrome Mox 4 Isochron Scepter Creatures 1 Exalted Angel Instants 4 Counterspell 3 Cunning Wish 2 Fact or Fiction 4 Fire / Ice 2 Force Spike 3 Orim's Chant 4 Spell Snare 4 Thirst For Knowledge Legendary Creatures 3 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir	Artifact Lands 1 Ancient Den 3 Seat of the Synod Basic Lands 2 Island 2 Plains Lands 3 Adarkar Wastes 4 Flooded Strand 2 Hallowed Fountain 1 Sacred Foundry 1 Shivan Reef 2 Steam Vents Legendary Lands 1 Academy Ruins 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge	Sideboard: 1 Condemn 1 Disenchant 1 Echoing Truth 1 Fact or Fiction 3 Gigadrowse 1 Lightning Helix 1 Muddle the Mixture 1 Orim's Chant 1 Pulse of the Fields 1 Stifle 1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir 2 Wrath of God
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I haven't seen this deck in action lately — but I haven't watched that many Extended PE top eights lately, either. I started this article a week ago, but the last few days have been hectic, and my limited MODO time has been spent drafting. That makes me feel dated — because things change quickly on MODO.

I expect that to continue. A lot of people will continue working on decks, and the format is nowhere close to fully mined out. Extended, right now, has more options than ever. The card pool is bigger than almost any time in the past. Seriously.

I tried to add up the total number of cards that were legal in each Extended season. My count isn't perfect — I had to estimate, and subtract out, the number of reprints in current expert sets (e.g. Akroma is legal twice.) I also had to estimate the number of unique cards in the base sets (for example, Seventh, Eight and Ninth Editions each have 350 cards, but many of those — Serra Angel for example — are in each set) and I don't want to count basic lands at all. With that accomplished, a decent estimate of the total number of cards in the Extended card pool, by season, is shown in this table.

Pre 1999 rotation — 4100
Ext. 1999-2000 — 3400
Ext. 2000-2001 — 4150
Ext. 2001-2002 — 4900
Ext. 2002-2003 — 3900
Ext. 2003-2004 — 4550
Ext. 2004-2005 — 5100
Ext. 2005-2006 — 3950
Ext. 2006 (current) — 4850

The drops totals in cards reflect set rotations. The first rotation removed everything before Mirage, the second everything before Tempest, and the third everything before Invasion. The next rotation, set for November 2008, will remove Invasion, Odyssey and Onslaught blocks.

Onslaught block! Fetchlands! NO!!!

I may be overestimating some of the numbers — again, I haven't excluded all the reprints. No matter how you slice it, however, the card pool for the current Extended is almost as big as it was just before the last rotation — and that card pool had a lot of Mercadian Masques chaff and a lot of banned cards. In terms of playable cards, the current pool looks larger — and it will become a lot bigger before it rotates in 2008.

Wizards has also stopped pushing mechanics so hard — meaning that a lot more cards are potentially tournament worthy. (That's a good thing. A very good thing.)

I expect to see a lot more innovation in Extended — which is why not having watched or played all that much Extended in almost a week makes me feel so out of date.

I'm going to fire up MTGO over the Holidays. I need my fix.

One final decklist before I go:

Zoo Featured by Jeroen Remie on 2006-12-31 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13431.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 2 Goblin Legionnaire 4 Grim Lavamancer 4 Kird Ape 2 Savannah Lions 4 Silver Knight 4 Soltari Priest Instants 4 Lightning Helix 4 Sudden Shock Legendary Creatures 3 Isamaru, Hound of Konda	Sorceries 4 Firebolt 4 Molten Rain Basic Lands 1 Mountain 1 Plains Lands 1 Barbarian Ring 1 Battlefield Forge 1 Bloodstained Mire 2 Flooded Strand 4 Sacred Foundry 1 Stomping Ground 1 Temple Garden 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills	Sideboard: 3 Armadillo Cloak 4 Pyrostatic Pillar 1 Worship 4 Ancient Grudge 3 Umezawa's Jitte
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Jeroem Remie played Rock — my favorite deck — and did so with considerable success. At Worlds, he played this. I am seriously consider playing it. I just need — let's see — five fetchlands, four Lavamancers, five other rare creatures and four Pyrostatic Pillars. Compared to some other decks, that's nothing.

Beat on you with a Gorilla in an Armadillo Cloak, baby. Or maybe Armadillo Cloak will replace the unaffordable Deeds in Gifts Rock.

Or maybe Santa will put a little something in my MTGO account.

Heh.

PRJ

pete {dot} jahn {at} Verizon {dot} net