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Don't Waste Your Time: Onslaught Block WW/U
During the time between Grand Prix: Detroit and the first Onslaught PTQ that I participated in, I let the rest of my team concentrate on the decks at hand while I tried to pull something out of my hat. The format seemed so stale by the end of the Grand Prix, with nothing being tapped but Plains and Mountains. I knew there had to be another deck out there to play, but it wasn't apparent.
The problem that the format seemed to have was that multiple times in every game, every creature on the board would get swept away into the graveyard. At first, I started working on a green/black deck that abused and to keep from getting swept off the table. The idea didn't look different enough from what people had already tried, and it didn't have any clear advantage against Goblins.
At that time, I picked up an old idea that I had used in Type 2: . That little white guy can clear the whole board and keep them all saved aside for a turn, effectively countering any mass removal spell. I knew that the problem wasn't only that, but also that would stop any sort of creature rush. There spawned the idea to stop Wing Shards with , which would keep my opponent from being able to target me. From there, the deck just built up into the list below.
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
2
2
2
4
4 Island
1
13 Plains
Sideboard
1
4
4
2
4
The Weathered Wayfarer lets you have some fun with sac-lands and cycling lands, and lets you use Temple of the False God out of the board to act like a Mono White control deck. Stifle gives you an effect that very few people expect, and even fewer people can recognize all of the targets for it. I found it was better than Complicate because it was cast more often and still applied pressure; Complicate was better when the board was set up and you were already at an advantage.
Pacifism is the removal card that the decks in the format don't really expect when they are thinking about what to play on their turn. Pacifism lets you get the one creature that Mono-White drops against you out of the way so you can keep on swinging. There is also this funny thing about legends that says if one is still in play, they can't play another; I held off a second multiple times in testing because the first one was still on the board.
Reasons to play this deck:
- The number one reason to even think of playing this deck is because you are already sick of this format. It's just different from the short list of what people consider is playable in this format. That being said there, are valid points to be made for the deck.
- The pressure this deck can apply early is something that most decks are expecting from goblins, but their answers aren't quite as good against WW. They are either color-specific, like Silver Knight, or get met by the unusual stock of answers or counterspells. Complicating is such a good feeling.
Reasons not to play this deck:
- Someone out there might not have received the memo yet that the Beasts deck died after Scourge was released. This deck works on the premise of the specific answers to beat down decks that people are currently playing - but if they drop a on turn 3 or 4, you are scrambling for answers. The sideboard has some answers for this, but I don't know if it's enough.
- Even though the deck has been streamlined down to twenty-two lands, sometimes you still run out of gas. The key to be able to do a lot in the early game. If it doesn't happen, and your opponent gets the advantage, there is no mass destruction spell in the main deck to turn the tide back into your favor.
- As cool as the deck looks it still has problems with and . Although Rift is the one that is getting most of the play nowadays, it's still getting enough play that this deck is probably not worth playing.
If you are seriously considering switching to this deck, it's not quite good enough. It has the tricks, but lacks the firepower. However, if you are looking for something different to play this season in the sea of conformity look no further! This is something a little different for you.
Andrew Stokinger
Team Academy.com
Andystok at aol.com
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By Type Cross
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By Sheldon Menery
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By Ryan Terry
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By Christopher Adams
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By Remus Shepherd
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When I saw a fifty - fifty! - page article cross my desk, I knew that once again Geordie Tait had come through in spades. And if you... Read more
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By Sheldon Menery
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