Over the past years, I've seen the face of Standard tournaments and power decks shift every which way, from solid red burn to Fires of Yavimaya and the new mono-black control. Almost all of these decks base their existence and power on one or two key cards, slaughtering their opponents if they get the chance to play them. Mutilate and Nantuko Shades, Mirari's Wake and Crush of Wurms, Wild Mongrel and virtually any madness cards - and, last but not least, Upheaval and Zombie Infestation, or UZI decks.

Upheaval itself without floating the extra mana for Psychatogs, Infestations, or whatever you feel like beating your opponent down with is, and I agree, too powerful. For an even six mana, it's saying,"I don't like the way the game is going. Let's try this again," and hitting the giant reset button. With floating mana after it, it's like starting the game over with an overwhelming advantage. What's to hate about it? The Upheaval/Psychatog deck built by Carlos Romao won Magic Worlds last year, so it's no doubt that it's quite possibly the single most powerful card left in Standard today.

Yet Upheaval by itself doesn't win a game. Romao's deck was successful because nothing was allowed to hit the table. No creatures, no spells, no nothing. With Fact of Fiction, when you need a card, you can get it no problem. Now that Fact or Fiction has left the Standard format along with the Nightscape Familiar, Upheaval decks have been slowed down - and worse yet, they're still expected, and you can expect that any good sideboard will be prepared for you. Besides these facts, there is still room for that six mana sorcery in Standard today.

Psychatog, Or Zombie Infestation? Decisions....
In creating the new Upheaval, I feel using Zombie Infestation over Psychatog is a stronger win card. Why? Since mana acceleration and abundance is lower due to the lack of Familiars, I would need all nine mana to cast the 'Heval and the 'Tog, providing that my opponent doesn't float 2 mana as well and counter the 'Tog. Needing only eight mana total, the swarm of five or six 2/2 zombies come out one turn earlier, and lets you save up for a Memory Lapse. One Psychatog is also pretty vulnerable if an Innocent Blood hits the table.

Okay; Upheaval, Infestation, And What Else?
Besides the Infestation, no other creatures are needed. Shadowmage Infiltrators and Cephalid Constables help out, but are too easily disposed of. These creatures would be used for their effects, not their damage. Instead of spending three mana on one creature that can be easily blocked with a Call of the Herd or Nantuko Shade, spend it on getting rid of that creature permanently with Chainer's Edict, Innocent Blood, and even Ghastly Demise. If they have lots of creatures out, Aether Burst the small ones, then Edict away the bruisers. Or lay down an Evacuation against swarm decks.

Where's The Upheaval?!?!?!?!
Now that creatures and defense are taken care of, the Upheaval and Infestation need to get in your hand with the mana out to play them. Keeping creatures constantly at bay will allow sufficient time for searching and card drawing. Blue would have the ever popular Careful Study and the four-mana-for-three cards Concentrate. Black would splash in a couple Skeletal Scryings and either Tainted Pact or Diabolic Tutor. I chose the Pact over the Tutor because the Pact is half of the Tutor's casting cost, and it's an instant, so mana can be saved for Counterspells and the like.

Why Is THAT In The Deck?
For mana and lands, you need enough to play the UZI, but without taking up too much space for the other spells. The low casting cost Edicts will hold out if short on lands, and the flashback for seven will come in handy while you're waiting for the ever-important land #8. Creatures are more of a threat than spells, so only four Counterspells will be part of the main deck, whereas twelve creature-kill spells and bounce will be maindecked. Extract will shut or slow down aforementioned combo decks that rely on a few cards, as well as giving you a first-turn look at your opponent's entire deck, and make sideboarding for game 2 easier.

Here's what I have playtested, tried and true:

Standard UZI Deck
Lands - 22

9 Swamp
9 Island
4 Tainted Isle

Spells - 38
4 Chainer's Edict
4 Innocent Blood
4 Aether Burst
4 Careful Study
3 Concentrate
3 Tainted Pact
2 Skeletal Scrying
4 Counterspell
3 Extract
4 Upheaval
3 Zombie Infestation

Sideboard:
4 Memory Lapse
4 Duress
3 Evacuation
3 Ghastly Demise
1 Extract

(Just for the record, this deck seems extremely land-light for a deck that wants to cast a six-mana sorcery - and as with a couple of other decks seen here recently, it appears to be begging for manascrew. I'd throw in an Underground River to help the mana, and probably ditch the Extracts... Though that would change the nature of the deck slightly - The Ferrett)

To Sideboard Or Not To Sideboard? That Is The Question.....
The sideboard allows two things to shift: If your anti-creature spells were too few or not targeting, then Evacuation and Ghastly Demise will assist. If playing a mirror-matched Upheaval game, or just a deck with more spells than creatures, then Memory Lapse and Duress will slow down their pursuit to victory. If sideboarding, do one of two things:

• Against a big creature / Overrun deck, take out a Skeletal Scrying or two along with a Careful Study for Evacuations. Take out the same for Ghastly Demises. If you need all of them against massive swarm decks, then the Counterspells can be thinned out as well.
• Against lower creature count and/or spell decks, thin out the Edicts, Bloods and Bursts for Memory Lapse and Duress. Duress is like a pre-Counterspell of sorts, plus you get to look at their hand and know what to expect. The extra Extract is to round off against combo decks.

A new Standard Upheaval is born.

The Matchups
UZI has to be the most versatile deck I've played. I've taken this deck to several local tournaments (though I missed State Champs), and have been undefeated for days. The decks that I've played are mostly the ones typically seen in the Standard Format today. Here's what I do in each case:

W-G or 3 Color Wake
The UZI deck pretty much stays the same. Since the Wake is mostly used for big green fatties such as Crush Of Wurms, I usually sideboard in the three Evacuations and take out the Extracts.

Your one problem Card is Nantuko Monastery. If going up against these bad boys, I take out one Innocent Blood and one Edict, adding in the Ghastly Demises.

U-G Madness/Speculation
Once again, nothing is changed around drastically. I usually sideboard the three Extracts and add in Memory Lapse, stalling that Wild Mongrel for one more turn until I can find a way to get rid of it. This also helps out when warding off pesky Circular Logics. The deck's speed can sometimes knock down your life early, but the threat is neutralized soon enough.

Braids and Shades
Since the deck's primary offense is based around leveling the field with Mutilate and popping down a Nantuko Shade, the Innocent Bloods and Edicts will take care of that. A good sideboard would be to take out the four Aether Bursts and adding in the extra Extract and three Memory Lapses. Mono black never had a chance.

Braids, Cabal Minion is a problem. Before you can get rid of it with an Edict, etc, you will have to sacrifice a permanent. A small drawback - but that's what the Extracts are for!

UZI Mirror
Well, you know what you're up against! Their deck is probably like yours, with the possibility of Shadowmage Infiltrators. Sideboard out the Aether Bursts and Innocent Bloods if they don't have creatures, and add in the extra Extract, four Memory Lapses and three Duresses. Watch their mana and save your Counterspells!

Psychatog
Yes, I have playtested against Carlos Romao's World Championship deck... And I won, 2-1, so the matchup after the Fact or Fictions and Familiars are gone should be easy. The key is all in the sideboarding. Take out the four Aether Bursts, two Skeletal Scryings, and an Edict and add in four Memory Lapses, two Duresses, and the last Extract. Keep most of the 'Tog-be-Gon in the deck because of all of the Counterspells! Save up mana and have at least two Memory Lapses ready when casting the UZI. This deck and all other virtually pure Counterspell decks gave me the hardest time when playtesting, but with a good sideboard and a stone strategy, I should have had that trophy! Just go with the flow, trust your deck, and victory is yours.

Psychatog's your big target - duh! Extract 'em out, and the game is much easier.

Overall, if a deck is real good, any other deck should be no problem. A walk in the park. Except the park is full of 2/2 zombies. I've even playtested against Extended and Type 1 decks, with the success often coming to my side. When you can beat anything, you know you're ready.

The Flow Of UZI
There's no real trick to playing this deck - just straight up demolishing. After the UZI has resolved and you're discarding for Zombies, you might want to keep a land or two for a Counterspell if they try something tricky. Here's how it should play:

Turn 1: Either Island, Careful Study, or Extract - or lay down a Swamp and cast a Innocent Blood if they brought out a pesky 1/1 creature.

Turns 2-4: Keep doing what you did in Turn 1, killing creatures when and if they come out, and cast a Concentrate on turn 4 if you have it. Start thinking about getting the UZI and mana in your hand with Tainted Pacts.
Turns 5-7: Start flashbacking Chainer's Edicts and Evacuate during their combat if it gets thick. If you know that you can cast the UZI on turn 8 with no problems (i.e. no threatening Counterspells, etc.), do a Skeletal Scrying for as much as you can take within reason at the end of their turn. This way, you don't have to discard that hand of twelve-plus cards - and that's more zombies for you .
Turns 8+: You should lay the bomb if you have it, or save up more mana for Counterspells and Memory Lapses to be safe. The game is in the bag.

Weaknesses? Nah.....
There are only a few cards that can pose a threat, but they can be disposed of. The Anurid Brushhopper's ability can make him skip the UZI, and start killing Zombies one by one. Lay down two or three Ghastly Demises on the stack, and either the Hopper is gone, or your opponent has no hand. Nantuko Monastery can avoid the Bloods and Edicts due to its"end of turn" ability... But that's what Ghastly Demise is for.

The Future Of UZI
Will this deck change? Most likely. The Onslaught block looks promising as I test Polluted Delta. The deck will change with the competition. Yet, only time and playtesting will tell what other decks will arise out of the Onslaught block.

No matter what deck you are playing, the key to success is knowing what decks you are up against. Games against common winning decks from local tournaments, Pro Tours or even Worlds are a good way of seeing weaknesses in construction, and breaking down decklists helps gain a better sense of spell types and mana distribution. When making a serious new deck for the first time, following the basic steps I took in this article will help you evaluate all aspects, strengths and weaknesses.

Make Your Own - Whatever It May Be!
Any deck should fit into the major guidelines I created. There are 5 basic questions to answer. Playtesting makes perfect.

• What is the theme or major win cards of the deck?
• What other cards will be included for defense leading up to the win?
• How do I go about getting set up for winning? How do I get and play the cards?
• How many of which cards should be in the deck to round it off in all aspects?
• What are my major threats, and how do I stop and overcome them?

With time and patience, any basic idea can become a killer deck. The game of Magic is always changing. You can make it change.

Never forget why you started playing Magic and why you still play - to have fun. Float that mana!

Marshall Terry
guitardr@iwon.com