Magic, like anything you like a lot, can be quite addictive. Before Pro Tour: London, I did five drafts a week and played Block Constructed trying to qualify for LA. Now, there's suddenly nothing to practice for the coming two to three months.... And when I can't play Magic, I start writing about Magic.
I didn't get the top 32 finish I was hoping for to qualify for LA (and, with the two points I'd get there, to qualify for Worlds and every Pro Tour next year); alas, I had to be content with finishing 40th place. But there's always a Pro Tour Qualifier on Sunday, and I brought my White Weenie deck along just in case. It had served me decently already the weekend before by getting me into the semis of the first two-slot PTQ in the Netherlands.
I switched the Samurai of the Pale Curtains with Hands of Honor, and cruised without losses through both the Swiss and the top 8, defeating a lot of mirrors on my way because they didn't have both Celestial Kirin and Manriki-Gusari. So I got qualified... but I still had a lot of ideas about the deck, and no way to use them except for writing this article.
When Saviors was released, I took the version I had built for Pro Tour: Philadelphia (the "Highlander" version with Tallowisp, Patron of the Kitsune, and Hikari), and took a look at what had changed.
Celestial Kirin is plain better than Hokori, as it survives Hideous Laughter just as easily, flies over Snakes and white creatures for almost as much damage, and (when carrying an Umezawa's Jitte), it can make Split-tail Miko look just as stupid. The one mana you save is very important, since that one mana often means two turns in a deck that's as low on land as WW is.
And besides all that, it has an interesting ability. Because of that (and because of the Charge Across the Araba), the control game you could play with Mikos in the mirror wouldn't work anymore. Patron, who really shone in such a game, would have to go as well because of that.
When we first tested the WW mirror, it looked like the one with the Jitte active would always win. (Actually, Eight-And-A-Half-Tails turned out more important, at least until we added the Kannushis.) Miko had solved that problem - and with Miko gone, I needed another card that would dominate that equipment, and Manriki-Gusari did just that.
Against mono-black, the other beatdown deck in the format, you need this card to win. That deck consists of three-power creatures with equipment, and when you have this little thing, your 2/2 guys turn into the 3/4 guys you need. And they don't have their beloved equipment.
Against control, you need something to save all your 2/2s from Hideous Laughter. Tallowisp with his Indomitable Wills did a good job protecting them against the -2/-2 - but the +1/+2 that the Gusari gives is good enough, so the Wisp can retire. Besides, the equipment not only deals some damage before the Final Judgment comes, but it survives it. So you can get by with fewer creatures before they wreck your board position, and the creature you play afterwards is bigger.
The space that is generated in the two-slot by the departure of Tallowisp is happily filled with Kami of Ancient Law, a card you really want against Heartbeat of Spring and, more important, Ghostly Prison. The two-mana spirit for Celestial Kirin is needed as well, for you want to be able to blow up your opponent's Hand Of Cruelty, Raving Oni-Slave, Umezawa's Jitte, Eight-And-A-Half Tails, or other two-drops.
Hokori, which was like a sideboard card that was pre-boarded because it was good against two of the three decks we expected (Snakes and Gifts Ungiven), can finally go to its proper place, mainly because of the horrible interaction with the Kirin. If you play the Kirin first and then your Hokori, you destroy the Kirin - and if you play the Hokori first, you don't have the mana to play your Kirin. Besides, it doesn't do anything against mono-black, for he is the aggressive player, and Snakes are almost gone as far as I know. (Not quite, but they're not dominant either - The Ferrett)
The final card that I think is needed to give the deck enough power to beat control decks (and to finish a beatdown matchup that isn't decided by Jitte or Kirin) is Charge across the Araba. If you reach five mana before your opponent casts his Final Judgment or Kagemaro, you'll most likely win because most Gifts decks aren't playing Ethereal Haze anymore. And there is little most creature decks can do against your suddenly huge creatures, who are mostly unblockable.
Hand of Honor replaces the Samurai of the Pale Curtain, for it is very good against mono-black, while the Curtain was only decent against Hana Kamis and Dragon triggers.
Shining Shoal gets better because of its interaction with Kirin; you can now kill Ghostly Prisons if you really want to. It's also pretty good against mono-black, and if your WW opponent plays Charge as well, you can win some games on this card.
The one thing I completely missed at first was that Blessed Breath has seen better days, and shouldn't be in the deck anymore. During the PTQ, I boarded out my Breaths for Otherwordly Journeys in every matchup.
The purpose of the card was:
a) To protect creature against spot removal (since mass removal is played in larger numbers now)
b) To get an enchantment for almost no mana with your Tallowisp
c) To remove your Hokori from the game, or
d) To protect Hokori (because spot removal can kill him, while mass removal usually is too expensive).
(Or e: to phase out someone's Raving Oni-Slave. Boy, that's fun! - The Ferrett)
Besides, Journey triggers the Kirin for two, which is far more important than for one, and the Journey can sometimes save you from a lethal Charged attack.
This is what I came up with after playing two PTQs. I discussed it with Frank Karsten, who designed the original White Weenie deck with me, and we agreed upon the following list:
The Final Judgment can win games against creature decks that no other card can win - but you don't want to draw it early on, and certainly not twice. It's good because it's a surprise. If you drew one in the second game, you don't really need it in the third. The perfect one-off.
The Empty-Shrines, only usable in the mirror, can carry a Jitte or a +5/+5 bonus from your Charge, and they still can block creatures with Jitte effectively.
The extra Kirin is needed only in the mirror as well, for it's a legend, and like Jitte and Eight-And-A-Half-Tails, the one who draws most of this card is the most likely to win the game.
The Opal-Eyes are good against Kirins in the mirror, for they prevent the three damage to you, and are hard to destroy because of the low number of three-mana triggers. It can save you from Charge if needed, and stalls long enough to cast a Judgment if you have it. It's one of two creatures that can survive the big, fast black creatures, and the only one that can "block" those with evasion.
The Hokoris are necessary against all kinds of control decks, and the extra Plains is boarded in along with them most of the time, for you'll need the mana. Especially against a deck with ghostly prison.
A pair of Pithing Needles finishes the list. They are an out against things like Meloku, Kagemaro, and a first-turn Sensei's Divining Top. Don't use it until you know you have a target (or that you can only lose to that particular card), for a zero-for-one trade is never good.
The sideboard plans, which I think are just as important as a decklist:
White Weenie:
-3 Isamaru, Hound of Konda; -4 Hand of Honor; -1 Shining Shoal
+4 Empty-Shrine Kannushi; +1 Celestial Kirin; + 2 Opal-Eye, Konda’s Yojimbo; +1 Final Judgment
If your opponent plays Charge, don't take out the Shoal. If he doesn't play the Kirin, take out the last Isamaru instead of one Hand of Honor (Hand is better, but two-drops die all the time to Kirin).
Ogre/Demon:
-4 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
+2 Opal-Eye, Konda’s Joyimbo; +1 Final Judgment; +1 Plains
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails is too expensive to use most of the time, and you don't want to draw it twice because it's legendary. Basically, you want to take out all the 2/2s, for his creatures are bigger.
This deck is the reason you want Otherwordly Journey, for it can make you opponent lose six life with Raving Oni-Slave (Told you! - The Ferrett), you can destroy all non-Ogre creatures by targeting Yukora, and you can return Ink-Eyed creatures to your side of the board. This is in addition to "kill all two-drop" tricks you can do with it when you have your Kirin, and you can use it as a Fog effect, or use it to save your own creature.
Six-way split cards are good.
Gifts:
-2 Shining Shoal; -1 Umezawa’s Jitte; -4 ?
+ 4 Hokori, Dust Drinker; +1 Plains; +2 Pithing Needle
If they run Final Judgment, take all Manriki-Gusaris out - but if they run Laughter and Kagemaro, take out a Journey, a Gusari, and one more Ancient Law.
If they run neither Kagemaro nor Haze (or if they don't run the Hana Kami at all), don't bother using the Needle.
Heartbeat of Spring:
The same idea as normal Gifts, but you should obviously take the Hand of Honors out instead of the Ancient Laws.
G/W control:
-2 Shining Shoal; -2 Manriki Gusari; -2 Hand of Honor, -1 Celestial Kirin
+4 Hokori, Dust Drinker; +1 Plains, +2 Pithing Needle
If they have Godo, leave two Gusaris in and cut more Hand of Honors. If they don't have Empty-Shrine Kannushis (for Jitte) or Godos, take out all Gusaris. If they splash Meloku, add Needles.
Snakes:
-3 Otherwordly Journey -1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
+1 Plains, +1 Final Judgment; +1 Celestial Kirin; +1 Hokori, Dust Drinker
I didn't encounter a single Snake deck in the tournament - but it might see a rebirth, and I'm not sure which version will emerge. Depending on the version, you can take some shoals out and maybe add some Hokoris if his deck seems to suffer worse from them then you do yourself.
Well, that's all I know. You can take out the one Pale Curtain and either a Shoal or a Journey (but move it to your sideboard and cut one Opal-eye there)
I must admit that I'm not sure about the Pithing Needles. If you do take them out, add one tricky Blessed Breath to the board to protect your Hokori. It's pretty good against mono-black as well.
If you have any questions you can mail me at r_van_heeswijk@hotmail.com.
Good luck with the coming qualifiers or the GP, and I hope to see you in Los Angeles.
Roel van Heeswijk
| 
