Deadshot Minotaur in Extended?

by Bill Stark | posted at 2010-01-01 22:05:00
tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, Extended, Pro Tour Qualifier, PTQ, San Juan, Deadshot Minotaur, Living End

Deadshot Minotaur, a common that has seen very little (if any) play in Standard, recently put on quite a show at a Seattle PTQ in the hands of Dwayne St. Arnauld, James Dykes, and Travis Woo. Dykes managed a Top 8 finish at the Grand Prix Trial held the same day, while Woo finished in 9th place, just barely missing the Top 8 of the event. Here's the list they were playing:

4 Fulminator Mage
4 Avalanche Riders
4 Igneous Pouncer
4 Deadshot Minotaur
4 Valley Rannet
4 Monstrous Carabid
4 Street Wraith
2 Shriekmaw
1 Ingot Chewer

4 Violent Outburst
3 Living End
3 Demonic Dread

9 Mountain
3 Stomping Ground
3 Blood Crypt
2 Forest
2 Swamp

Sideboard:
4 Ravenous Trap
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Ingot Chewer
3 Faerie Macabre
1 Maelstrom Pulse

What you have is actually a cascade deck a la Hypergenesis, but with a far less fragile combo. Instead of trying to aggressively cascade into Hypergenesis with a handful of powerful fatties, the Living End deck can actually take the time to set up a favorable game state. It does it by cycling its creatures early, either to draw cards or in the case of Fulminator Mage and Avalanche Riders to disrupt the opponent. Naturally it can still go off very quickly in a pinch.

Living End the card has benefits over Hypergenesis as a win condition: it Wraths your opponent's team. That's no small thing as you get to then unload with a graveyard full of fatties. Whether Living End is the next big thing or simply a flash in the pan remains to be seen, but it's definitely a bright spot in the world of Extended.

(This decklist was recorded from NorthWestMagic.com)

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