I'm sure that everyone who plays at tournaments has played with a rogue deck (or at least a very underrated deck) at least once. Why? Because people are hopeful and think that their build of a strange deck can surprise everyone and blitz past all the Tier One decks out there that everyone else will be playing with. The chances of getting into the Top 8 of a major tournament with one of these underdogs are low; the chances of winning first place are lower still. But people will never give up on these underdog decks, even after getting consistently beaten at tournaments.
For all of you who do play underdog decks, I salute you!
Think about it for a second: What would the game of Magic be like if everyone played the top three or four decks in the metagame? It'd be pretty boring. It's because of these crazy people who play with crazy decks that tournaments are fun and diverse... And some people make it into the top 8 because of their insanity. So without further ado, I present the top underdog decks...
White Weenie (5th place at Hawaii Champs):
3 Whipcorder
4 Exalted Angel
4 Leonin Skyhunter
4 Glorious Anthem
4 White Knight
4 Raise the Alarm
3 Chrome Mox
4 Bonesplitter
4 Silver Knight
4 Savannah Lion
3 Wing Shards
19 Plains
Sideboard
3 Altar's Light
3 Second Sunrise
3 Karma
3 Circle of Protection: Red
3 Circle of Protection: Black
I start off with what was one of the most highly anticipated decks coming into Champs and came out with some of the worst results. White Weenie was full of hype after Mirrodin was release: The potency of incredibly fast creatures combined with some nice equipment and control equaled a disaster for control and combo decks. In the end, White Weenie didn't get a placing higher than 5th place and only ended up with four Top 8 placings. So what went wrong?
It's not that it wasn't heavily played. I took a survey at the Minnesota Champs and came out with thirty-five players who were playing White Weenie. That's quite a lot compared to all the other decks that were being played. What simply happened was that White Weenie decks were not prepared for what they would face at Champs.
Against Affinity, they were pitted against Shrapnel Blast, Flung Atogs, and 8/8 Broodstars as early as turn 3. Without much to handle such an offense in the sideboard and nothing in the sideboard to counteract such attacks (except for the slow and clunky Altar's Light), the match-up against Affinity looks about at a 25% - 30% win percentage.
Goblins gives White Weenie a much better chance, seeing how each of the decks can match each other's moves; also, White Weenie has creature boosters like Glorious Anthem and Bonesplitter. The win percentage looks at about 60% or so before the sideboard and 65% afterwards... But as many people have stated before, Goblins just wins sometimes and there's nothing you can do about that.
Goblin Bidding seems to be another story, however, dropping the win percentage to an even 55%. Does Patriarch's Bidding have the ability to drop the percentage by a whole 10%? Not really... But add Bidding's extra removal to the power of Patriarch's Bidding and you get a decrease.
White-Based Control shows no mercy towards the relentless White Weenie. Constantly destroying any threat that is tossed down and beating the crap out of the other deck is White-Based Control's job in a game. Win percentage is a pathetic 30% before sideboarding and 35% (and that only thanks to Second Sunrise and Tempest of Light) after the boards are initiated.
Next up, we have the infamous combo deck known as Proteus Belcher:
Proteus Belcher (1st place at Michigan Champs):
Spells:
4 Wrath of God
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Fabricate
4 Decree of Justice
4 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Talisman of Progress
4 Mana Leak
3 Proteus Staff
3 Aether Spellbomb
2 Goblin Charbelcher
1 Nuisance Engine
Lands:
2 Stalking Stones
3 Coastal Tower
6 Island
6 Plains
3 Ancient Den
2 Seat of Synod
1 Mountain
Sideboard:
3 Circle of Protection - Red
2 Circle of Protection - Black
3 Annul
3 Stifle
2 Altar of Light
2 Tempest of Light
I can't say there was too much talk about Proteus Belcher until after Champs. Sure people knew about it but figured that it wouldn't be all that good of an idea to run with such an insecure combo as Proteus Staff + Goblin Charbelcher. But for the record, so long as the combo deck has some form of disruption to protect its combo and life, it's worth a try.
So why don't you see too many decklists of posted under top 8 decks at Champs? Because it wasn't played as heavily as many other decks.
When your opponent is Affinity, expect a very close game. Proteus Belcher will basically be on a clock as the Affinity deck masses its army, gets pissed off at your 0/1 pest counters chump-blocking their Myr Enforcer, and deals five damage each time it sacrifices an artifact to Shrapnel Blast. If Affinity pulls a Broodstar and Proteus Belcher can't find a way to get red of it, Affinity will most likely win. A lot of the time, though, Affinity will run out of time and the combo will be locked and resolved. The win ratio turns out to be around 55% before sideboarding and 60% afterwards; yay for Annul!
Goblins will find themselves on a clock as well, trying to push as much damage through as they can before time runs out. Only problem is that unlike Affinity, Goblins lack card advantage to restock their army and evasion to get past 0/1 pests and 1/1 soldiers. Wrath of God can (and usually will) mean certain death for Goblins. 60% before sideboarding and a harsh 65% afterwards.
Goblin Bidding gets to be in the same boat if their Patriarch's Bidding doesn't resolve. The addition of Patriarch's Bidding only drops the percentage by 5% both before and after sideboarding.
Unlike the previous mentioned match-ups, White-Based Control decks don't have to meet up with the clock. All good W/* decks will have some way, shape, or form to destroy this combo with methods like Akroma's Vengeance, countermagic of their very own, Shatter, and Naturalize. This makes the Proteus Belcher deck have to work much harder than what it should to actually acquire a win. A 40% win rate is about what you can expect.
This next deck I'm sure will boggle quite a few minds so please bear with it.
Mono Black Clerics (1st place at Florida Champs):
Lands:
4 Barren Moor
2 Stalking Stones
12 Swamp
2 Unholy Grotto
4 Vault of Whispers
Creatures:
4 Cabal Archon
4 Dark Supplicant
2 Doomed Necromancer
4 Rotlung Reanimator
1 Scion of Darkness
4 Withered Wretch
Spells:
3 Lightning Coils
3 Oversold Cemetery
3 Persecute
4 Smother
4 Terror
Sideboard:
1 Blackmail
1 Grim Reminder
3 Infest
3 Unburden
2 Wrench Mind
Mono Black Clerics (1st place at Montana Champs):
4 Cabal Archon
4 Dark Supplicant
4 Headhunter
4 Rotlung Reanimator
2 Scion of Darkness
2 Visara the Dreadful
4 Withered Wretch
3 Grave Pact
2 Promise of Power
4 Smother
4 Vicious Hunger
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Starlit Sanctum
17 Swamp
Sideboard:
3 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Patriarch's Bidding
3 Persecute
3 Stabilizer
4 Terror
Here we have two very different versions of Mono Black Clerics.
"But isn't Mono Black Clerics supposed to be dead?"
I've heard lots of people ask me that when I told them about what decks I was going to put on this article - and my answer will remain the same: Play with them and find out. You've got two versions to choose from, and both play very differently from each other. While the Florida version bases itself off of reanimation and Lightning Coils (Which is a newer Mirrodin version), version two is the basic way of playing Mono Black Clerics, using Cabal Archon, Rotlung Reanimator, Scion, and a load full of zombie tokens to get you the win. And since we have two different versions of the deck, we have two different results for match-ups as well.
Affinity vs. Florida Version: The Florida Version probably won't be too happy with their opening draw, since they'll have one dead (or at least very weak) card in their hand in the form of Terror, Smother, or Persecute. Affinity is easily the favorite in this match-up, seeing how the Florida Version lacks the ability to take care of harsh threats like Lodestone Myr and such. After sideboarding, things take a bit of a turn with Unburden and Infest but not all that much. Lightning Coils would put up a great fight - if only Affinity needed to block creatures in order to survive! Instead, Broodstar and Lodestone Myr get their point across the board and to the player. Wins will go around 40% before sideboarding and 45% afterwards.
Affinity vs. Montana Version: Unlike the Florida Version, the Montana Version has many threats that really are hard to deal with - things like four Cabal Archons, Grave Pact, and Visara. Affinity will have its work cut out for it, seeing how it'll have quite a few problems with keeping its life total above zero. The win percentage tends to stick around 55% before sideboarding and 60% afterwards, due to Patriarch's Bidding and Ensnaring Bridge
Goblins and Goblin Bidding vs. Florida Version: Wow. Maindecking Persecute and Smother seems to have really paid off! Goblins and Goblin Bidding will have many problems against the Florida Version as they get assaulted by 3/1 Elementals, end up with no graveyard thanks to Withered Wretch, and rarely have any useful creatures out that can actually turn the game over to them. Before and after sideboarding, you should see an impressive 60% - 65% win percentage.
Goblins and Goblin Bidding vs. Montana Version: Instead of having Goblins meet an untimely end from Smother and Terror; they get to die at the hands of Grave Pact and Visara. The fact that Montana Version can find itself going at a less productive pace compared to Florida Version, Goblins and Goblin Bidding is give a chance to live. This chance quickly diminishes after sideboarding, though - at least until Sulfuric Vortex is played. Basically, they're at an even 50% win ratio with and without sideboarding.
White-Based Control vs. Florida Version: Recurring creatures really do make a difference after having them constantly wiped from the board by Wrath of God, Akroma's Vengeance, and Starstorm. This doesn't exactly mean that you're going to win, of course; it just gives you support in defending against an assault by White-Based Controls decks. Lightning Coils truly shines in these games, as your opponent suffers fifteen damage or so from 3/1 assaults.
After sideboarding however, Mono Black Clerics reach a higher disadvantage, since they now have to take Altar's Light, Akroma's Vengeance if they didn't see it before, Naturalize, and Scrabbling Claws right in the shorts. Before sideboards come into play, 55% win ratio. After, 45% - 50% win percentage.
White-Based Control vs. Montana Version: You get to act like a Goblin deck on steroids! An untouched Scion on turn 2 is brutal... But don't rely on such a ploy to actually give you the game. Although you've got Cabal Archon and nice combat phases, your opponent has board-clearers and countermagic or disruption. Things just don't really seem to be in your favor seeing how all your utility is in your sideboard. After sideboarding, things will normally get easier with help from Stabilizer, Persecute, and Patriarch's Bidding. Without the sideboard intact, you're standing at a 40% - 45% win ratio. With the sideboard cards brought in, you get moved up to 45% - 50%.
I hope that this article teaches all of you Tier deck players that underdog decks are not to be looked down upon. At least not all of them anyway...
Thanks go out to:
- All of the Minnesota Champs players
- Starcitygames.com for their list of Champs decks
- Ben Stepka, Jon Miller, and several other friends for helping me come up with win percentages and playtesting results
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