Leading up to PT Houston, I had several decks (most incomplete) floating around in the"New Ext" folder on Apprentice. My favorite had been a monogreen Stompy build with all the efficient guys (except Pouncing Jaguar), plus Rancor and Giant Growth. I was so looking forward to playing this thing... it could win turn 4, and it was damned fun.

Then a few pros spent the weekend in Houston, and everything changed.

Suddenly Reanimator, Rock, Oath, and Tog were everywhere. One look at the top 32 shows an almost complete lack of aggro (outside of one or two Suicide Black and Sligh decks). Now only is this a bad omen for my green deck, but the above four matchups have never been really good for Stompy (maybe except for Tog). I had to find something better.

Looking at the metagame, I realized that the ability to play with disruption (either Force Spike/bounce or Duress/Cabal Therapy) was important. Starting from that point, I looked at the decks in the Top 8 capable of playing them. Six out of eight. That really narrows it down.

Next, I decided that I didn't want to play the hated deck - Reanimator. Although it did put up a good showing, I'd rather not play against people with maindeck Coffin Purge or Planar Void, not to mention all the Gilded Drakes that will be flying around at PTQs everywhere. This narrowed my choice to two: The Rock or Psychatog.

Honestly, I still haven't decided completely between the two decks. However, the cards I have access to, combined with my preferred style of play, make Tog my number one deck right now. I've always been a blue control player at heart, and I tend to favor it in any environment that it's viable in (this obviously excludes the current Standard).

If you don't know by now, I played Tempting Wurm in T2. That speaks volumes about the environment.

Anyway, I started to work on my Tog deck immediately after Houston. Obviously, I figured I'd start with Peter Myrvig's, since it did the best. The first thing I saw was that he had only two Cunning Wishes - with a board that decimated his opponents because of it, I can advocate running no less than three. It was tough to cut something, but I figured three Brainstorms was enough... For the time being. Going along with this change, I added Shadow Rift and Corpse Dance to the sideboard, instead of Teferi's Response and Turnabout. (Bad idea - with so many Rishadan Ports going around, you need the response - The Ferrett) This was version 1.1; it lasted a few days, but there was not enough countermagic.

Upon getting home that day, the first thing I looked at were the Memory Lapses. How good could these things possibly be? In the"combo" version of the tog deck, with Gush, Foil, and Thwart, they could be useful. But in this deck getting rid of something for one turn didn't really do much. I replaced them with two Mana Leak and 2 Thwart to make version 1.2.

A week later, I made two more minor changes. First, I noticed that I was too often holding a Thwart at the beginning of a game, when I wanted a Mana Leak. I changed one of the Thwarts to another Leak. I also realized that with all the Reanimator around, combined with this deck's lack of creature control, that I needed an Unsummon to wish for. For now, it has taken the place of one of the Annuls. This brings us to the version below.

Psychatog V. 1.3
1 Thwart
3 Mana Leak
4 Force Spike
4 Counterspell
3 Brainstorm
1 Upheaval
3 Fact or Fiction
4 Accumulated Knowledge
3 Intuition
3 Cunning Wish
3 Boomerang
1 Wonder
4 Psychatog
13 Island
2 Swamp
4 Underground River
4 Polluted Delta

SB: 1 Shadow Rift
SB: 1 Diabolic Edict
SB: 1 Coffin Purge
SB: 1 Corpse Dance
SB: 1 Hibernation
SB: 1 Fact or Fiction
SB: 1 Unsummon
SB: 1 Misdirection
SB: 2 Gainsay
SB: 2 Annul
SB: 3 Engineered Plague

I have already explained many of the card choices above, but some might still need clarification. First, let me clarify that this deck can and will lose to aggro very often. There are many builds that beat aggro regularly, but this is not one of them. Why? The expected metagame holds only one true aggro deck - Suicide Black - which is a bad matchup for any build of this deck. The other decks in the metagame, however, are pretty good matchups for this version of Tog. I'll go into the matchups later.

The Boomerangs are to deal with Reanimated guys and Oath, and help you in the aggro matchup. They are dead in the Aluren matchup, but they just get sided out for Plagues game 2.

The Upheaval is basically the catch-all win condition. Any stagnated game other than Oath can be won simply by casting this as you would in a Standard game. This is also the best way to win against aggro - if you can survive long enough with your Wishes and Boomerangs, Upheaval finishes the job.

The one Thwart is for the surprise value and the presence of a fifth hard counter. If I get this in my opening hand I try to save it for the late game, where it has stolen many wins for me. It also gives the Tog +5 if played by the ACC. That's a good deal.

The decision to stay with three Intuitions was tough; at first, I thought the environment was too fast for it, but then I started playing with them. I was never unhappy to draw them, as there was usually something I could pull out of my library in the late game to win (often it was Wonder). Of course, in the early game I'd go for Accumulated Knowledges (or, against Oath, lands).

The sideboard is still in a state of flux, although I'm getting closer every day. I know Shadow Rift will stay, because unblockability out of the board is a necessity. On the same token, Corpse Dance has won me a few games, more because of the haste than anything else. The Edict and Fact or Fiction are both staples and must remain. Coffin Purge is also totally necessary, even with all the hate I have already. The Misdirection is so far my number-one candidate for removal. There is no specific card or deck that it helps with, although it is great utility. Finally, the Unsummon was just added and not yet proven.

As for the actual board, it is pretty standard, with Annuls, Gainsays and Engineered Plagues. The Annuls don't seem to be that useful, but I'm going to keep them in until I'm absolutely sure. Gainsays are for the Oath matchup more than anything else. The Plagues will name Beasts and Druids.

Time for a little digression. Since I'm not very good at dedicated rants, I'll stick my two cents in here. Ban nothing in Extended. The Extended environment is extremely healthy - just look at all the decks that did well in Houston! A freakin' Draco-Explosion deck cracked top 32, for crying out loud. If someone can do well with that deck, than there are loads of deck ideas than can be used. Vampiric Tutor is not a problem as it is just as much a combo stopper as a combo enabler. As for the cards themselves like Aluren or Hermit Druid, keep in mind that none of these decks won more than 60% of their games. Which deck did? Oath, using the uber-powerful Cognivore. Why don't we ban that, then?!

All right - enough of that banning stupidity. I've got matchups to analyze! Please note that I am combining data from Fischer's excellent tables with my own, since I cannot possibly test enough to challenge several hundred matches of data.

Reanimator
This deck should beat the corpse out of Reanimator with ease. Between the Boomerangs, Force Spikes and Mana Leaks, not to mention the wishes, you have many weapons here. If you survive the first three turns, you will probably be able to set up a win condition and easily ride to victory.

The Rock
This is about a 50/50 matchup with Tog, although with good play it gets better. The problem cards here will be Spiritmongers that come out with over three mana open, making the Mana Leaks useless. Thus, when you play this matchup it is very important to conserve hard counters. The version with Phyrexian Plaguelords and Deranged Hermits can be even tougher, especially the further it gets into the game. Your late-game weapon is Upheaval - however, you must be sure to have counter mana when you cast it in order to prevent an untimely Edict.

Aluren
This is not a hard matchup. Aluren runs no counters, and all you have to do is counter Aluren to win. Let them draw cards - only one of them can win the game.

Suicide Black
Sign the match slip 2-0 in favor of your opponent, then go grab some lunch. This matchup is REALLY tough on you. If anything keeps you in the game it will be either an early Tog or a hand full of bounce and Force Spikes. If you do manage to gain control of the game, you will win with Corpse Dance. Keep this in mind and don't be afraid to let the Togs hit the yard. Remember that Corpse Dance has buyback.

Hermit Druid
A legitimate 70/30 in your favor. You have tons of ways to stop this from ever going off, including my favorite - countering the Krosan Reclamation after a fully-milled library. After board they might go to the suicide plan, so keep that in mind when deciding whether to side Plagues or not.

Oath
The wild card. They have lots of counters and Villages, but Oath will not be a problem. In my testing, I have beaten it both with Corpse Dance and without, so try to win the way you see fit. If this deck gets bigger, I will add either a Mana Short or a Turnabout to the sideboard and at least one Dust Bowl to the maindeck. As for right now, you have resources against it in Boomerang, and in the wish targets (Coffin Purge, Corpse Dance, Edict, and Unsummon). This matchup is still up in the air as to who it favors.

Others
Any sort of Ghoul-Burst deck will wreck you when you don't have a Boomerang, and roll over to you when you do. It's not a very good matchup in general. Sligh will eat you in under ten minutes, barring supreme ripping skills. White Weenie is slightly unfavorable, but still winnable. Tinker and Enchantress will be destroyed, barring first-turn Smokestack craziness.

I am convinced that Psychatog is the deck to play in a high-level extended tournament this year. The pros predisposition toward non-aggro decks makes for a favorable metagame. However, if you are playing extended at a local store or a rural PTQ, avoid this deck at all costs. Amateur players tend to play Sligh and Stompy, not Oath and Reanimator. In an environment like that, break out those Entombs and put them to good use. Once you win that PTQ, then switch to Psychatog. Luckily for me, I play in New York so I'll be with Psychatog the whole season. After last year's boring Standard season, I never thought I'd say that. Long live the Grinning Demon!

John Healy
johnhoops2@aol.com
AIM: ispeakasian

Use the above if you want to send advice, comment or just talk. Please keep all flames to my e-mail, though - I don't want them to take up valuable IM windows.