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Decks of the Week: Jan. 21

by Bill Stark | posted at 2010-01-21 01:19:00
tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, Decks of the Week, DOTW, Rogue Decks, Decks

For the full episode of Decks of the Week from DailyMTG.com, try clicking here. Here's what was interesting this week.

Don Spinelli

4th Place - Massachusetts - Boston - 1/16

1 Forest

1 Marsh Flats

4 Mutavault

1 Overgrown Tomb

5 Swamp

4 Treetop Village

3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

4 Verdant Catacombs

4 Augur of Skulls

4 Dark Confidant

3 Gatekeeper of Malakir

3 Nyxathid

4 Tarmogoyf

1 Tombstalker

3 Maelstrom Pulse

4 Smallpox

4 Stupor

4 Thoughtseize

3 Umezawa's Jitte

Sideboard:

2 Cranial Extraction

3 Damnation

3 Deathmark

4 Extirpate

3 Krosan Grip

Smallpox looks like its back. Don Spinelli managed a Top 8 on the East Coast with this take on the deck. He's got the Dark Confidant/Tombstalker nonbo, but Tombstalker is a one-of. Nyxathid makes an appearance, as does Gatekeeper of Malakir. Considering how popular Zoo has become (aggro green decks made up 5/8s of the Top 8 at Don's PTQ), the heavy anti-creature build might be the real deal. Can it deal with the hot decks of the moment, Living End and Elves.

Jacob Van Lunen

1st Place - Connecticut - Hartford - 1/16

4 Misty Rainforest

1 Pendelhaven

9 Snow-Covered Forest

1 Stomping Ground

4 Verdant Catacombs

4 Boreal Druid

2 Elves of Deep Shadow

4 Elvish Visionary

1 Essence Warden

2 Eternal Witness

4 Heritage Druid

4 Llanowar Elves

4 Nettle Sentinel

4 Cloudstone Curio

4 Glimpse of Nature

1 Grapeshot

2 Manamorphose

4 Summoner's Pact

1 Weird Harvest

Sideboard:

3 Ancient Grudge

4 Blood Moon

2 Magus of the Moon

2 Nissa Revane

2 Umezawa's Jitte

2 Viridian Shaman

We've brought you reports on Jake Van Lunen's Connecticut PTQ earlier this week here and Gavin Verhey's take on the deck with a MOL Top 8 here. It already has an Extended Pro Tour title last season in Berlin at the hands of Luis Scott-Vargas. In addition to Jake's Top 8, his 2HG teammate Chris Lachmann also put up a single-elimination finish, though he fell in the Quarterfinals. This is definitely a flavor-of-the-week to keep an eye on.

Arnold Duarte

6th Place - California - Los Angeles - 1/16

3 Blinkmoth Nexus

1 Darksteel Citadel

4 Great Furnace

9 Snow-Covered Mountain

4 Teetering Peaks

4 Goblin Guide

4 Hellspark Elemental

4 Keldon Marauders

4 Spark Elemental

3 Flames of the Blood Hand

4 Lava Spike

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Molten Rain

4 Rift Bolt

4 Shrapnel Blast

Sideboard:

1 Blood Moon

3 Cryoclasm

3 Pithing Needle

4 Relic of Progenitus

4 Shattering Spree

Burn is back. It never left to be sure, but Arnold Duarte's Top 8 in Los Angeles keeps it at the forefront of the Extended metagame. It's a steady bet, but can a turn 4-5 clock be enough to survive in this format with so many decks faster? That's not even taking into account the reality of the Thopter/Sword combo, which can lifegain its way out of any holes your burn spells put it in. Worthy of mentioning: yet another version of Elves made the Top 8 in California.

Travis Turning

1st Place - Florida - Orlando - 1/16

4 Dark Depths

1 Overgrown Tomb

2 Snow-Covered Forest

7 Snow-Covered Swamp

4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

4 Verdant Catacombs

4 Dark Confidant

4 Tarmogoyf

4 Vampire Hexmage

2 Beseech the Queen

4 Chrome Mox

1 Grim Discovery

3 Into the North

1 Naturalize

3 Plunge into Darkness

3 Rite of Consumption

4 Shred Memory

1 Slaughter Pact

4 Thoughtseize

Sideboard:

4 Chalice of the Void

2 Deathmark

1 Doom Blade

2 Duress

1 Ghost Quarter

2 Grim Discovery

1 Krosan Grip

1 Tormod's Crypt

1 Yixlid Jailer

Travis Turning managed to take black-green Rock to the top slot in Orlando. The deck is...interesting to say the least. The Shred Memory tutor package seems fine (tutor for Dark Confidant OR Tarmogoyf?), but it's a tad surprising to see there's 0 Maelstrom Pulse between the maindeck and sideboard. Some of the other choices are outside-the-box to be certain, but Turning has the chips, so everyone else take note.

Ryan Benito

2nd Place - Texas - San Antonio - 1/16

3 Arid Mesa

1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin

1 Ghost Quarter

4 Hallowed Fountain

2 Marsh Flats

1 Miren, the Moaning Well

8 Plains

2 Tolaria West

1 Body Double

1 Figure of Destiny

3 Martyr of Sands

4 Meddling Mage

4 Mulldrifter

2 Ranger of Eos

3 Reveillark

1 Venser, Shaper Savant

4 Aethermage's Touch

3 Azorius Signet

2 Chrome Mox

2 Momentary Blink

4 Path to Exile

4 Wrath of God

Sideboard:

2 Chalice of the Void

1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero

1 Engineered Explosives

2 Ghost Quarter

2 Glen Elendra Archmage

1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror

2 Pithing Needle

3 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir

1 Tormod's Crypt

Reveillark, of all things, made the Finals in Texas in the hands of Ryan Benito. Considering all the graveyard hate in the format, it seems like a risky proposition but he made it all the way to the final round before bowing out. Worthy of mention: his Finals opponent was Andres Suarez, the Quarterfinals opponent who was game lossed out of the Top 8 at the StarCityGames.com Dallas Legacy Open. That allowed his opponent, James Palaima, to make the Finals, where he was game lossed out against Tom Ross. In any case, Andres has bounced back quite nicely.

There you have it! Those are the surprises for the PTQs from this week's installment of Decks of the Week. Make sure to share your thoughts on the decks using the forum link below.

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Decks of the Week: Jan. 21

by Bill Stark | posted at 2010-01-21 01:19:00 tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, Decks of the Week, DOTW, Rogue Decks, Decks

by Bill Stark | posted at 2010-01-21 01:19:00
tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, Decks of the Week, DOTW, Rogue Decks, Decks