It's been a while since I've written for StarCity, but the current situation in Extended needs to be addressed. Worldgorger Dragon/Animate Dead is the combo to beat. As I see it, it's a consistent turn 2 kill. I present a sample decklist simply for discussion; no claims are being made that this decklist is either optimal or viable. However, I do feel that this will most likely look extremely similar to actual decklists used - at least until October.

(By the way, if for whatever reason you would like to use either of the decklists in this article, please email me at Ami_Duck@yahoo.com. I just like to know how widespread my ideas become, how well they do, and how my readers feel that they can be improved.)

4 Badlands
4 Underground Sea
4 Volcanic Island
4 Underground River
4 Sulfurous Springs

4 Worldgorger Dragon
4 Animate Dead
4 Dance of the Dead

4 Entomb
4 Careful Study

4 Foil
4 Force of Will
4 Misdirection

4 Stroke of Genius
4 Kaervek's Torch

Using this as a jumping off point, most of my choices seem intuitive. Worldgorger and Entomb to effectively put eight in the deck. Animate Dead and Dance of the Dead together create another eight. Eight kill cards. So the probability of a second-turn kill is about 60% against the goldfish. To me, this deck will define Extended's immediate future in no uncertain terms.

I gave this decklist to point out one thing: Its weaknesses.

We can find weaknesses in any deck if we look hard enough. I see a few ways of disrupting this, actually. There are actually several targets just for white.

Target #1: Worldgorger Dragon. Take this bad boy out of the game with something nasty - like Swords to Plowshares or Honor the Fallen?

Target #2: Animate/Dance of the Dead. Erase, Seal of Cleansing, and Disenchant (among others) can put this into the graveyard, which will prevent it from ever being removed from the game by the dragon.

Target #3: They only have one chance with either their Kaervek's Torch or Stroke of Genius. Why not Orim's Chant or Abeyance in response to Animate Dead? Of course, these solutions are all white. For the blue mage, a well-placed Force of Will, Foil, Syncopate, or Annul can be just as effective. Meddling Mage could also be fun. Black has Rapid Decay, Ebony Charm, Cremate, Coffin Purge, Zombie Cannibal, and Decompose. Green does have turn two enchantment removal in the form of Elvish Lyrist, Druid Lyrist, and Serene Heart. (Serene Heart reads 1G, Instant, Destroy all local enchantments.)

Red mages, unfortunately, have the word"Target" written on their foreheads.

So it really isn't that bad. The old five-color Oath decks should have no problem dealing with it, so they're still in. Donate-Illusions and other blue decks have a slightly larger challenge, but they'll survive. Stompy and Secret Force will survive, with few changes. Mono-Black has never had much of a presence, but many decks will now be splashing black for turn 1 graveyard removal. Red (Sligh, Burn, and Wildfire) is the only thing that I truly expect will disappear from the environment. I consider this to be a good thing. It was always something so thoroughly playtested against that it could never win. When it comes back after the rotation, it'll have a chance.

So to wrap up this section: The current Extended will be even less fun to play in than it was during black summer... Build the deck or build against it, moving on. We have a new Extended! I've always been an Oath of Druids kinda girl...So, I present to you AmiOath.

4 Nantuko Shrine
4 Brushland
4 Treetop Village
3 Forest
7 Plains
2 Orim's Chant
4 Enlightened Tutor

2 Peace of Mind
4 Seal of Cleansing
4 Oath of Druids
4 Armadillo Cloak
4 Sterling Grove

3 Altar of Dementia
3 Scroll Rack
4 Powder Keg

4 Serra Avatar

Sideboard:

I wish I knew... Until Onslaught comes out, nobody but members of the Future Future League really know much about it.

Postulated:
Iridescent Angel
Circle of Protection: Red
Sacred Ground
(Masticore)
(Ensnaring Bridge)

Card choices weren't exactly intuitive and this deck looks like something my little brother would build... So, I guess I owe you all a few explanations. My favorite format is Extended Emperor, and this comes out of that. The idea is that you have your generals both play mono-blue control decks - Donate-Illusions (+4 Cognivore) is one of my favorites. Then, you Oath up Serra Avatars, sacrifice them to Worthy Cause (replaced here by Armadillo Cloak) and then just start decking away eighty cards at a time using the Altar. If this doesn't kill them, nothing will. Peace of Mind exists as two things: First, having a Serra Avatar in your hand is a bad thing. Since discarding it puts it right back into your library to be Oathed up, it's in your best interest to discard it. Second, if Sligh or a similar deck manages to decrease your life total, your Avatars get pretty small. This helps to make them bigger.

Orim's Chant exists as a main deck defense against blue and a way (if you go first) to stall Secret Force for that one critical turn so that your Oath is on the table before their Lyrist. I chose Armadillo Cloak as the most efficient way of getting an Avatar through and gaining life from it. Twenty-two points of damage is usually a kill. The Altar of Dementia serves two purposes: First, it's an alternate kill if something pro-white hits the table. Second, it actually protects the Avatars from being removed from the game by cards like Order(/Chaos), Vengeful Dreams, Swords, and so on.

I'm guessing we'll see other versions of this deck that look like the old blue-green suicide oath decks; they'll probably run Cognivores (hence the Topples) and Thorn Elementals. Hmm... Sideboard Iridescent Angel, anyone? Donate-Illusions (of Mediocrity) should all but disappear. Without Force of Will and Stasis, blue just won't be what it used to be. No real match up there, but we have the"manlands" just in case along with four Seal of Cleansing. Stompy and Secret Force might not outright roll over and die. I anticipate those being more than mere nuisances, too. There are just too many powerful enchantments in the environment and green has its share of ways to deal with them. If the Oath goes off, that's game. If not... Well, you really on your Powder Keg to let you stall until you find the Oath. With Peacekeeper (2W, 1/1 Creature-Peacekeeper, Upkeep 1W, Creatures can't attack) out of the environment, Ensnaring Bridge is the only other option left. You could theoretically sit behind the Bridge sacrificing Avatars to the Altar; this isn't recommended, but it's certainly possible. A good ol' fashioned Masticore in the sideboard might be better, though.

The next challenge we face is Wildfire. Sacred Ground is a perennial favorite. The Powder Kegs'll help out, too.

Why Oath? Oath of Druids allows flexibility because it's a tutor-based deck. The idea is that once a"field" of established decks is established for the new environment, maindeck sideboarding and tuning can occur in such a way as to guarantee that you can have a"silver bullet" against your opponent's deck by turn three. Since a significantly less control-based environment is probable, Oath of Druids seems like the natural choice for dealing with a creature swarm.

Until the next time R&D sets me off, peace out.