Greetings to all you StarCityGames readers out there! My name is Michael LaLonde, and I hope to bring forth some fresh deck ideas to Type 2 players. These will usually contain rogue decklists or new philosophies to old ideas. Using cards like Test of Endurance, Epic Struggle, or other intriguing, yet unplayed cards, I'll bring you my best and most creative ideas.

Wormfang Drake, a fresh uncommon from Judgment, will probably see very little play in the Constructed format - or any other format, for that matter. (I wouldn't be so sure of that - The Ferrett) For 2U, you get a 3/4 flyer that forces you to remove a creature you control from the game when it comes into play. This creature later returns to play when the Drake leaves play. In order to use his ability to our advantage, we can find a creature that has a useful "comes into play" ability, such as Flametongue Kavu or Mystic Snake. By giving one of these creatures a brief cessation, it gives you a solid 3/4 flier on the table and a chance to pounce upon any move your opponent may make. With the ability to bounce or remove your Drake at any time, this can wreak havoc when your opponent chooses to play spells.

As if the ability to play a snake or Kavu anytime you wish isn't good enough, think about being able to do it time and time again. Blue's repertoire includes impressive bounce spells such as Aether Burst, Boomerang, Recoil, and Unsummon. Casting one of these spells targeting your Wormfang Drake can not only activate his ability and get a Kavu or Snake into play with the snap of your fingers, but it also allows for a next turn play of The Drake again.

Now; let's talk about deck construction.

As good as Flametongue Kavu is, he will not fit in my build of Drake the Snake. Therefore, we must rely on the bouncing of Mystic Snake to do the annoying. With since the Snake is blue and green, so these colors will have to be included in the deck. Unfortunately, Blue and Green provide very little efficient mass removal by themselves. (*Ahem* Upheaval? - The Ferrett) White brings Wrath of God and Rout, red could bring cards such as Earthquake and Obliterate, and black can contribute Pernicious Deed and Mutilate. After much thought and collaboration with other players, black seemed to be the way to go. Pernicious Deed is one of the most game-breaking cards in Type 2, and several copies of these would improve the deck immensely. Not only does black have deed, but it can also add Finkel's card-drawing mage to the deck, as well as a single copy of Spiritmonger. Although it is just a small splash for black, it makes the deck much more effective.

The right deck must have several components - including card advantage, control, and method of winning. This deck has a relatively good balance of each. Shadowmage Infiltrator offers an opportunity to whittle away at your opponent's life total while providing you with impressive card advantage. Sylvan Safekeeper can protect your creatures from the spells or your nemesis, and providing good board control. Mystic Snake and Wormfang Drake combine to create your spell-countering combination and both provide considerable beatdown if unheeded as attackers. Spiritmonger is a beefy, undercosted, hard-to-kill creature that can often finish tight games. Call of the Herd has gained in popularity since is release. If you see a deck playing green, you can bet all the pennies in the bag that four copies of Call of the Herd are included. And as mentioned before, Pernicious Deed can be the reset button on your controller, and reset the game it does, and it surely does it well. As for other control cards, Temporal Spring and Memory Lapse buy you some time, and kill one of your opponent's draws. Recoil is also very powerful bounce, combining the resources of Black and Blue, while Aether Burst just gets better and better as the game perpetuates. Since this deck includes islands, Fact or Fiction should be right at the top of your list of "must-haves."

Without further ado, here is Drake-the-Snake:

Maindeck:
4 Shadowmage Infiltrator
2 Sylvan Safekeeper
3 Mystic Snake
3 Wormfang Drake
1 Spiritmonger
4 Call of the Herd
3 Temporal Spring
2 Recoil
4 Aether Burst
4 Memory Lapse
3 Fact or Fiction
3 Pernicious Deed
3 Underground River
2 Salt Marsh
2 Llanowar Wastes
4 Yavimaya Coast
8 Forest
5 Island

Sideboard:
3 Seedtime
4 Gainsay
3 Compost
2 Extract
1 Ambassador Laquatus
2 Wash Out

Now that you have seen the decklist, you may notice that it works very much like a tempo deck. An early start with board control is your first objective. Trying not to go under ten life in the first few turns is important, as later in the game you don't want to be too tight with your moves; play some small creatures or Deed away the board to buy yourself space. An aggressive opponent can quickly be devastated by a Pernicious Deed, and a control player can be annoyed at the pesky nature of small creatures, such as your Safekeeper and Shadowmages. Ideally, the Aether Bursts should be saved to bounce the Drake when the Snake is removed from play - but you gotta do what you gotta do. Memory Lapse and Temporal Spring buy time, especially in the late game, for you to take control. One of these during a standoff might as well be a Time Walk.

The sideboard was built to face most of the popular decks at the moment. Blue is being played in the majority of decks right now, so Seedtime seems to be the perfect choice for a deck such as this. An extra turn to set up your base and get ready for a lockdown never hurts. Gainsay is also against blue, and mirror matches. This can go in against tempo or the popular Psychatog decks.

Since the release of Torment, black has obviously gotten more popular: Copies of Nantuko Shade and Chainer's Edict litter the new tourney scenes. Cards like Compost make playing against these decks fun. Since they rarely include enchantment removal, black decks now give you an extra card every time something penetrates their graveyard, providing you with a large advantage. Extract is included for decks that just seem to be drawing that card that you hate; whether it is a Wrath of God, an opposing Seedtime, Upheaval, or something else, Extract can get rid of it before you have to worry. Ambassador Laquatus contributes an extra win condition when sideboarded in on rare occasions. Wash Out hurts token decks quite badly. Seeing as Call of the Herd is included in this deck, Wash Out doesn't get a place maindeck, but it is helpful in the sideboard nonetheless. Although it doesn't help getting rid of your tokens, knowing when you are going to cast it he spell is much to your advantage, waiting to flashback that call. Furthermore, four Call of the Herd pales in comparison to many decks circling the tournaments. Basking Rootwallas and Arrogant Wurms are popular, and they will get returned with the rest of the crowd.

This deck can be a solid tournament competitor with some tweaking around the edges. With the combination of effective control cards and efficient creatures, this deck is viable. As always, suggestions, comments, and are appreciated, and can be mailed to Londes28@aol.com. I hope to write many a article in the near future.

Michael LaLonde
http://www.londes.com