PT Top 8er: Play Battle of Wits

by Bill Stark | posted at 2010-02-12 01:36:00
tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, ChannelFireball, Deck, Conley Woods, Battle of Wits, Magic Deck

Conley Woods had a breakout 2009 season with his first Pro Tour Top 8 in Honolulu. A regular columnist for both ChannelFireball.com and TCGPlayer, Conley made a bold claim in an article earlier this week: Battle of Wits is legitimate in Extended.

 

He wasn't kidding:

 

 

4 Battle of Wits

4 Thopter Foundry

2 Sword of the Meek

1 Mindslaver

1 Open the Vaults

4 Baneslayer Angel

4 Sakura Tribe Elder

4 Solemn Simulacrum

4 Eternal Witness

4 Vendilion Clique

4 Tezzeret, the Seeker

4 Jace the Mind Sculptor

4 Gifts Ungiven

4 Idyllic Tutor

4 Brainspoil

4 Trinket Mage

4 Etched Oracle

4 Harmonize

4 Thirst for Knowledge

4 Phyrexian Arena

1 Life from the Loam

1 All Suns Dawn

4 Cryptic Command

4 Condescend

4 Muddle the Mixture

4 Voidslime

1 Chalice of the Void

4 Day of Judgment

4 Wrath of God

4 Damnation

4 Engineered Explosives

4 Crime Punishment

4 Bant Charm

4 Maelstrom Pulse

1 Faiths Fetters

1 Executioners Capsule

4 Putrefy

1 Oblivion Ring

4 Path To Exile

2 Shriekmaw

1 Smother

1 Slaughter Pact

4 Relic of Progenitus

1 Tormods Crypt

4 Cranial Extraction

4 Shadow of Doubt

4 Coalition Relic

4 Azorius Signet

4 Dimir Signet

4 Simic Signet

4 Tolaria West

4 Horizon Canopy

1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea

1 Academy Ruins

4 Ghost Quarter

2 Tectonic Edge

2 Bojuka Bog

4 Misty Rainforest

4 Marsh Flats

4 Verdant Catacombs

4 Watery Grave

4 Godless Shrine

4 Hallowed Fountain

4 Temple Garden

4 Overgrown Tomb

4 Breeding Pool

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Seat of The Synod

1 Vault of Whispers

1 Ancient Den

1 Tree of Tales

2 Mystic Gate

2 Flooded Grove

2 Sunken Ruins

6 Island

4 Plains

4 Swamp

4 Forest

4 Terramorphic Expanse

 

Sideboard:

2 Bojuka Bog

4 Extirpate

3 Tormods Crypt

1 Yixlid Jailor

1 Leyline of the Void

4 Aven Mindcensor

 

Conley suggested the list for Magic Online play owing to the fact the deck is simply impractical to shuffle in a timely fashion during a tournament, like the upcoming Grand Prix-Oakland. His final conclusion?

 

"For those of you with the time to sleeve (for real or digitally) this up, I highly recommend messing with it, as you may be surprised, but as for me, I would rather avoid the hassle during a Grand Prix and have therefore recently scratched this off the list of options."

 

Still, Battle of Wits is not unprecedented at the highest levels of competitive play. William "Baby Huey" Jensen used the deck to Top 8 Grand Prix-Milwaukee in 2002. You can find coverage of that event here. Back then, the card was newly printed and it was Jensen's aim to prove to tournament officials that such cards shouldn't be printed for the challenges they pose in regards to shuffling and time management. His success made an impression, but ultimately the card has been reprinted and now, thanks to Woods, may see play again.

 

Read the original article on ChannelFireball.com here.

 

You can follow Conley on Twitter at Twitter.com/Conley81.

 

What do you think? Is Battle of Wits a mistake? Sound off in the forum link below!

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