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I am totally stoked about the changes to extended. That's right, you heard me - stoked. Man, I can't express how happy I was when I saw the upcoming changes. This is the first time I've ever looked forward so much to a new set (Onslaught), because it heralds a new Extended.
For those of you wondering, no, I don't own any dual lands (not that I couldn't afford them, it's just that to purchase dual lands for a format I don't play all that often, and with no guarantee that they wouldn't get rotated out, it seemed kind of foolish. In fact, I have only played in a handful of Extended tournaments - well, okay, maybe two handfuls. However, I am looking forward to playing in them now. I still remember in the last rotation how disappointed I was that the dual lands didn't get rotated along with the rest of fourth.
For everyone who's whining though, I'll give you this thought: we all purchase things everyday that don't last forever, so whatever made you think that your Magic cards would? Really, people, come on. We buy food, clothes, movie tickets, and whatnot everyday, and yet, no one whines when those things are no longer useful (heck, most people I know stop using clothing long before it is no longer functional based simply on the whims of fashion).
Of course, we are still left wondering why they are rotating, since they did not explain their decision to us, nor do they have to - so I'll give an answer. To increase sales of new product, and to allow countries and players new to the game, the ability to compete on the same level as more established countries/players. Basically, old cards are a roadblock to competition. Me? I can afford old cards. However, I have a full-time job, and I live in a country that has been playing Magic since the beginning. I therefore have the money and the opportunity to purchase all the old cards. But Magic has spread to foreign countries where old cards are not quite as available as they are here, and the Extended format is one where they cannot compete (for an example of new Magic markets and the effect it has on deck construction, check out the Luxembourg Nationals decklists).
I want Magic to remain a popular game, and I want it to expand its player base. The best way to do so is to make the game as accessible as possible to new players. Rotating the blocks in Extended and removing the dual lands makes the game more accessible. In the end, more people play the game, more people have fun, and Wizards makes more money. It's all good, baby.
Now for the fun stuff, a quick look at what has changed with the rotation. We'll start with the decks from the last Masters tournament:
Burn: Burn lost Ball Lightning and Fireblast. The deck will obviously have to change, since two of its strongest spells have just left the environment.
Miracle Gro: Miracle Gro lost Force of Will, Winter Orb, and the dual lands. This deck is dead. It plays two colours off of ten lands, and relies on the fact that it can play ten Islands to power Gush and Daze. Well, no more. It lost a key counterspell in Force, and it lost the ability to Land Grant for Islands. Essentially, you'd have to add land to get this to work, and in all likelihood that'll just dilute the concept so that it is no longer playable.
Super Gro: Super Gro loses the same things as Miracle Gro, plus Swords to Plowshares. Seeing as how it will now be very difficult to support three colours off of twelve lands, I just don't see this working out.
Oath: Oath lost Gaea's Blessing, Sylvan Library, Thawing Glaciers, dual lands, Impulse, and Force of Will. Basically, the Oath deck can't work the same way without Gaea's Blessing. Without the Gaea's Blessing, the only type of decks that can work are either the suicide-type like the one played by Kowal in Houston, or perhaps a Suicide Oath with Cognivore for the kill similar to the deck played by Itaru Ishida in the Masters.
Junk: Junk loses Swords to Plowshares, Tithe, and the dual lands. Junk has enjoyed some success in type 2, which leads me to believe that this non-dual land Extended will be able to support three colour decks. Without Tithe, it will be more difficult, and in all likelihood the land count will jump, but the deck can still work.
Trix: Trix loses Illusions. Game over.
Wild Zombies: Wild Zombies loses Ashen Ghoul, Elvish Spirit Guide, Krovikan Horror, Firestorm, Winter Orb, and the dual lands. Without the Ashen Ghoul and Krovikan Horror, there is no deck.
PT Jumble: This deck loses Swords to Plowshares, Tithe, and the dual lands. I think that four-colour decks without dual lands and the searching power provided by Tithe are dead.
BUG: This deck only loses the duals, Impulse, and Force of Will - which isn't that bad. If this deck can exist in Standard, then I'm pretty sure it'll fly in Extended.
Raisin Bran: The Aluren deck loses Wall of Roots, dual lands, and in some versions, Force of Will, Sylvan Library, and Impulse. Are those enough to kill it? My guess would be yes, if only because the mana base should become a pain in the ass (it doesn't help that the deck doesn't run on much mana). However, I'll be the first to admit that I am not very familiar with the deck, and that it may indeed still work
Three-Deuce: Three deuce loses Dwarven Miner and the duals. This could be the death knell for the deck, as an aggressive three-colour deck without duals will probably be tough to swing.
Green Land Destruction: This deck loses Fyndhorn Elves, Wall of Roots, and Thermokarst. It hurts to lose the mana, but it really hurts to lose the land destruction spell; I'd be surprised if this deck ever gets played again.
Turboland: It loses Force of Will, Gaea's Blessing, and the dual lands. I'm pretty sure (although once again, I've never tried the deck) that this deck requires the Gaea's Blessing in order to work. There is likely a way around it, especially since Green is now supposed to be the colour of recycling the graveyard, but I don't expect anyone to try really hard - other than maybe Zvi.
Stasis: This deck loses Stasis. Game over.
Reanimator: This deck loses Krovikan Horror and Animate Dead. It can survive without these two cards.
Zila.dec: This deck loses Impulse, Gaea's Blessing, Force of Will, Tithe, Swords to Plowshares, and the dual lands. I think this control deck is in trouble. It lost a lot of its cards, and it just goes to show that perhaps control decks will be in a bit of trouble, as they seem to be losing quite a few cards - the most noteworthy and the most painful being Force of Will.
Welder Red: Welder Red loses Mind Stone and Phyrexian Furnace. I expect this deck to evolve and find replacements for its now-vacant slots. They weren't the key cards to victory, and I expect the deck'll continue.
Cradle Elf: This deck lost Fyndhorn Elves, Llanowar Sentinel, Quirion Ranger - and in some versions, Winter Orb and Well of Knowledge. I think with the loss of those three elves, there aren't enough good elves left to make this deck work, especially with the loss of Quirion Ranger.
Secret Force: It lost Natural Order. Game over.
Some other notable Extended decks are:
9 land Stompy: This deck lost Elvish Spirit Guide, Trashcan Ogre, Quirion Ranger, Rogue Elephant, Bounty of the Hunt, Briar Shield, and Winter Orb. This deck might have survived had it not lost Bounty of the Hunt - but without this instant-speed alternate casting cost pump spell, Stompy is just plain dead. (Just testing you, Ferrett.) Really, this deck is just dead because it lost all of its cards, and it is unlikely to get them back in future expansions, because according to Buehler, green is too dominant a colour to have good weenies. Plus, nine lands are tough to swing without the Quirion Ranger and the Elvish Spirit Guide.
CounterSliver: This deck lost Tithe, Swords to Plowshares, and the duals. Without the duals, this deck would be facing a real uphill battle. As it stands right now, this deck is five colours. Five colours, no duals, equals a dead deck.
Sol Malka's Deck: This deck lost Wall of Roots, Null Rod, Phyrexian Furnace, and the dual lands. In other words... <the-rock-voice>THIS DECK DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THE ROTATION!</the-rock-voice> Well, maybe a bit, but I'm pretty sure the deck will get by just fine without the cards it lost.
Enchantress: This deck lost Sylvan Library and the dual lands. I think this deck, last seen in the hands of our saviour who died for our sins, Rizzo, will continue to be just as strong as it used to be - and will likely be taken up and worshipped by all of Rizzo's faithful fans, who so desperately want to be rogue like Rizzo was.
Forbiddian, Finkula, Finkula-go: All of these decks lost Force of Will. According to Finkel himself, back when he was good, decks with Ophidian that don't sport Force of Will can't work. Good enough for me. However, the Finkula decks that sported only Force of Will as their counterspell of choice, will likely continue to survive (however, Forbiddian lost Ophidian - and for him, there ain't no coming back).
It looks like control and combo decks took the hardest hit, with speed decks also taking a hit, but mid-range decks coming out of the whole thing relatively intact (which rocks for me, as I long for the days when the three types of decks were aggro, control, and mid-range - not aggro, control, and combo like they have been for a while now). The loss of Force of Will and the dual lands probably has a lot to do with this. However, I think it's about time. As many people have said, the older a format gets, the stronger the control decks get, and I'm pretty much sick of the control decks, er, controlling the Extended environment. This is just sweetness for me
The rotation also leaves a lot of room for innovation - and for those who don't want to build decks, there are decks that survive the transition. Sort of.
The key thing to remember is that even though a deck survives the rotation, it doesn't mean that it isn't an obsolete deck. You see, decks only survive based on the metagame. For example, Dwarven Miner, a cornerstone of the Three-Deuce deck, got rotated out, which seems to hurt Three-Deuce... Except that with the dual lands rotating out, people are going to be relying on fewer colours when building their decks, and thus Dwarven Miner won't be as good any more. The same goes for Aura of Silence. It was a great card when Trix was running around, but now that Trix is gone, the loss of Aura of Silence won't hurt the decks that used to sport it. Or better yet, one can just look at Malka's deck. After it won a Grand Prix, it just dropped off the face of the earth. With the existence of Miracle Gro, there was no room for a deck like Malka's. If I were you, I'd be looking for the decks that beat the decks that survived the rotation, because at first everyone will try to use those decks, and you'll be able to wrack up some victories simply by taking lessons form the past.
So basically, I'm saying don't get trapped in the past. The rotation will have a huge impact on Extended (and a good one, as it opens the game up to new players) as it removes a lot of the problem cards that the DCI won't acknowledge (the most notable being Force of Will), and opens up the possibility that certain cards may be returned to the game, since they will be harder to abuse without Necropotence or Force of Will lying around (I'm specifically thinking of Dark Ritual or Survival of the Fittest). If you think the metagame will just be the decks that survived the rotation, you'll be in for a huge shock when you get the snot beaten out of you at the first Extended tournament.
This is the beginning of something wonderful, take this opportunity to be there when it all starts and explore the new world given to us by the DCI.
Good-bye and hello, as always.
christopher hearns
dio ti ama
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