I was reading an article last week and I stumbled across an interesting comment to the effect of,"Why anyone would want to run White Weenie when they could run Goblins is beyond me."

I pondered the truth of this statement. Well, let's see, I thought. The first things that came to my mind are better, faster creatures. Abilities like protection and flying. Way better sideboard options. Maindeck, all-purpose removal. Good mana curve. Doesn't need Chrome Mox for speed.

Yep, I sure can't think of why anyone would want to take White Weenie to States.

Without further ado:

Land (21):
17 Plains
4 Windswept Heath

Creatures (26):
4 Savannah Lions
4 Tundra Wolves
2 Weathered Wayfarer
4 Leonin Skyhunter
3 White Knight
3 Silver Knight
3 Whipcorder
3 Exalted Angel

Support (13):
3 Bonesplitter
2 Empyrial Plate
2 Wrath of God
3 Glorious Anthem
2 Wing Shards
1 Oblation

Sideboard:
3 Karma
1 White Knight
1 Silver Knight
3 Tempest of Light
2 Oblation
3 Second Sunrise
1 Wing Shards

A few explanations are in order, but this is really a pretty standard white weenie. You may ask, 'Why not just run four of a few cards and cut some stuff?" The two-drops are all so good, it is important to have some of each in your deck. Whipcorder was essential for the oddball beatdown decks and some control builds, but room for four couldn't be found. The Knights are both present in equal numbers - but upping the count of each to four would have screwed up the mana curve, which is already whacked out thanks to the equipment.

The deck originally ran four equipment and four Glorious Anthem, but this is a format that punishes overextension heavily so the Anthem count was dropped. You usually will not commit more than two creatures to the board since about half the decks in the format run some kind of board sweeper. There were three slots left over for a combination of Shards or Oblation, so hence the two-and-one configuration.

Speaking of card choices, the creatures are all self-explanatory. I chose to run Wolves over Suntail Hawks because White Weenie is not fast enough to race Goblins without some blocking - and Wolves, equipped or not, are better in combat than Hawks. Exalted Angel is a big loss of tempo if it gets killed, so there are only three. Also, it is painfully easy to kill one when it is morphed; against Slide, Goblins, or MBC the odds are you will never get this baby up and running. Two Weathered Wayfarers help you filter lands from your deck, and when they are equipped even they start looking threatening.

Two Wrath of Gods are excellent. Against Goblins, they allow you to gain a lot of card advantage. Sometimes things get out of hand versus affinity-based decks, and this card can help a lot here. In the mid game it is fine to kill one of your creatures to remove an opponent's blocker using wrath because you are guaranteed to draw more, where your opponent is not.

Oblation can single-handedly save the game. White has no artifact removal and this efficiently costed gem can save you from oblivion stone, lightning rift, or clear the way for an alpha strike. Or you can use it on a dying creature to draw two cards for yourself.

The Wing Shards count has been dropped over time from four to two, but the remaining two Shards are key in the Goblins matchup. You will usually get two creatures or more because Goblin decks like to play creatures before they attack.

In the board we have a major MVP: Karma. There is no stopping this card. Black decks will take eight to nine from this bad boy if you drop it turn 4 even if they have an Oblivion Stone out, and later in the game it can kill the opponent all by itself.

And now, the matchups. (Note: Against current builds of the top four decks, twenty or more matches were played and these were the results.)

Against Goblins: 75%
You will win this matchup. White Weenie is tailored to beat Goblins, at it does with consistency. Silver Knight equals game over. If they play Chrome Mox, you just laugh because they have lost much-needed card advantage; his turn 1 Goblin Piledriver will be blocked and killed by your turn 1 Savannah Lions, and all of their other one-drops are inferior to yours. In game two you bring in a Silver Knight and the other two wing shards, and you win again. I was surprised by the ease of this matchup. You can usually trade one for one with them for every card, and then Wing Shards gets you two for one. Chrome Mox accelerates their deck, but costs them card advantage. You can halt their early drive and surge back for the win.

Sideboarding in a Silver Knight and Wing Shards is all that is needed. They have few sideboard cards against you as well. If you are on the attack, either be playing creatures every turn (to block hasted Goblins) or leaving your mana untapped for a Wing Shards. Their Sulfuric Vortex will take them down as fast as it does you, and you should be able to outrace by either killing their attackers or downright dropping more creatures than them.

Against MBC: 60%
Game One against this deck is basically an auto-loss. Every creature you play dies to either Infest, Barter in Blood, and Terror, then they draw a bunch of cards and play a win condition. Oblation has great surprise value against their Oblivion Stone, but most of the time you won't see your lone Oblation and you will lose.

However, your odds of winning go up ridiculously after you bring in a fourth White Knight, Oblation (for their Stones), and Karma. As I said before, this card is just obscene against Black. It is the sole reason I decided against playing MBC in States this year. Karma can snatch a game from the jaws of certain defeat, but most of the time it won't even be close. Get in some early beats, then play Karma and the game is usually yours.

One note about this matchup: do not hold back cards unless it's for a turn 2 Empyrial Plate, because their hand destruction will ruin you (This is why siding in Second Sunrise is a bad idea).

Against Slide: 45%
Game One is winnable, but it's an uphill battle. They play a lot of mass removal and you play a lot of creatures; you can walk right into it if you're not careful. If you can play one threat at a time, then you will be less susceptible to a timely Wrath or Starstorm. Equipment is a useful tool in this matchup, as it makes each one of your creatures a threat the opponent can't ignore.

After sideboarding, your Tempest of Lights annihilate their enchantments and give you the time you need to smash through with your assault, while Second Sunrise lets you commit your full forces without fear of mass removal. If you can't overwhelm their Exalted Angel, lock it down with tappers or Oblate it. This matchup goes against you, barely, but there are still ways to win.

Against U/W Control: 50%, maybe
Remember those days of CounterPost, when Blue/White decks ruled the world? Those days are long gone, and it doesn't look like they're returning any time soon. Your speed will overwhelm their bad counters. Often they will get off a quick reset, though, so I would advise against having more than two creatures on the board at a time. The late game can degenerate into a long struggle where every life point counts. But I guarantee you have more creatures (twenty-six of them, in fact) than they have answers (elevenish) and creatures (nine). With your creatures equipped so they do more than their fair share of damage, the late game is actually winnable.

Unfortunately, your creatures are not likely to be equipped if they play Akroma's Vengeance. After boarding, their Story Circles can be troublesome, as can their Icy Manipulators. You have no answer for Icy, so you just have to play around it. I would bring in your Tempest of Light again for the Circle, as it can really ruin your day as well as Second Sunrise for obvious reasons. This deck is another tough battle, but because they have no recurring removal for your creatures (like, say, Slide's Lightning Rift), you can win it a little over 50% of the time.

Oddball decks like G/R Beatdown and Affinity are not usually a problem for this deck. They have fewer quick threats than you do, their creatures aren't of the same quality, and there is little evasion. While I did not test as extensively against these decks, they were generally as fast as WW but without the answers and high-quality beats.

In conclusion, I have found that White Weenie is not a deck to be written off. It is great fun to play and can stop Goblins without using card disadvantageous cards like Chrome Mox. Although it has a tough matchup against Slide, the ease with which it beats Goblins and its ability to handle MBC have made it my choice to take the States this year.