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'''The Deck''' is a [[control deck]] created by [[Brian Weissman]]. <ref>{{NewRef|making-magic/deck-2014-02-17|The Deck|[[Mike Flores]]|February 17, 2014}}</ref> Fundamentally, it functions the same as modern control decks: gradually gaining card advantage while answering opposing threats, then playing a single large threat that is sufficient to win the game. However, historically it has been constructed using many single-copy card drawing, deck searching and answer cards from every color. The result is a highly complex and variable deck, regularly said to be one of the skill intensive decks in the history of magic. Some players have even gone on to say that the deck contains no bad matchups, but only good matchups depending solely on skill of the player navigating it.
'''The Deck''' is a [[control deck]] created by [[Brian Weissman]].<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/deck-2014-02-17|The Deck|[[Mike Flores]]|February 17, 2014}}</ref> Fundamentally, it functions the same as modern control decks: gradually gaining card advantage while answering opposing threats, then playing a single large threat that is sufficient to win the game. However, historically it has been constructed using many single-copy card drawing, deck searching and answer cards from every color. The result is a highly complex and variable deck, regularly said to be one of the most skill intensive decks in the history of Magic. Some players have even gone on to say that the deck contains no bad matchups, but only good matchups depending solely on skill of the player navigating it.


The Deck used <c>Counterspells</c>, <c>Mana Drains</c>, <c>Red Elemental Blasts</c>, <c>Disenchants</c>, <c>Strip Mines</c> and <c>Swords to Plowshares</c> to trade on a one-for-one basis with the opponent's threats. Then, when the Weissman Deck had somewhat stabilized, he could use <c>Ancestral Recall</c>, <c>Braingeyser</c>, <c>Amnesia</c>, <c>Jayemdae Tome</c> or <c>Library of Alexandria</c> to gain card advantage. In the environment of the day, <c>Moat</c> usually spelled the end, as could a <c>Disrupting Scepter</c>. <c>Demonic Tutor</c>'s use is fairly self explanatory, but it is important to note how it streamlines the deck since it justifies having fewer copies of [[silver bullet]] cards. (That is, specific solution cards.) <c>Regrowth</c>, <c>Timetwister</c> and <c>Recall</c> gives the deck some resilience if unexpected things happened. A final strength of The Deck of course, is its sheer volume of "broken" cards (generally considered to be quite overpowered). Sometimes it could "just win" by getting a <c>Serra Angel</c>, <c>Black Lotus</c>, <c>Tundra</c>, <c>Mox Emerald</c> draw, or something of the like.
==Description==
The Deck used <c>Counterspell</c>, <c>Mana Drain</c>, <c>Red Elemental Blast
</c>, <c>Disenchant</c>, <c>Strip Mine</c> and <c>Swords to Plowshares</c> to trade on a one-for-one basis with the opponent's threats. Then, when the Weissman Deck had somewhat stabilized, he could use <c>Ancestral Recall</c>, <c>Braingeyser</c>, <c>Amnesia</c>, <c>Jayemdae Tome</c> or <c>Library of Alexandria</c> to gain card advantage. In the environment of the day, <c>Moat</c> usually spelled the end, as could a <c>Disrupting Scepter</c>. <c>Demonic Tutor</c>'s use is fairly self explanatory, but it is important to note how it streamlines the deck since it justifies having fewer copies of [[silver bullet]] cards. (That is, specific solution cards.) <c>Regrowth</c>, <c>Timetwister</c> and <c>Recall</c> gives the deck some resilience if unexpected things happened. A final strength of The Deck of course, is its sheer volume of "broken" cards (generally considered to be quite overpowered). Sometimes it could "just win" by getting a <c>Serra Angel</c>, <c>Black Lotus</c>, <c>Tundra</c>, <c>Mox Emerald</c> draw, or something of the like.


The Deck later evolved to use <c>Fireball</c> as a win condition instead of Serra Angel, when Weissman was having serious troubles dealing with <c>Necropotence</c> decks of the time.  While previously objecting to the use of Fireball to render the opponent's creature removal useless, it was inevitable change to keep up with a changing game.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/19990224013740/thedojo.net/history/thedeck3.html "The Deck", Chapter II: Jan '96 - Aug '96]</ref>
The Deck later evolved to use <c>Fireball</c> as a win condition instead of Serra Angel, when Weissman was having serious troubles dealing with <c>Necropotence</c> decks of the time.  While previously objecting to the use of Fireball to render the opponent's creature removal useless, it was an inevitable change to keep up with a changing game.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/19990224013740/thedojo.net/history/thedeck3.html "The Deck", Chapter II: Jan '96 - Aug '96]</ref>


===Original version===
The following is Brian Weissman's original 1996 version.<ref>[http://www.wizards.com/sideboard/article.asp?x=sb20010607a Mike Flores "Finding the Tinker Deck", Sideboard]</ref> (Note that this version of the deck is not legal in any tournament format. For example, <c>Strip Mine</c> was later [[restricted]] in [[Vintage]].)
The following is Brian Weissman's original 1996 version.<ref>[http://www.wizards.com/sideboard/article.asp?x=sb20010607a Mike Flores "Finding the Tinker Deck", Sideboard]</ref> (Note that this version of the deck is not legal in any tournament format. For example, <c>Strip Mine</c> was later [[restricted]] in [[Vintage]].)


<d title="The Deck by Brian Weissman, 1996">
<d title="The Deck by Brian Weissman, 1996">
Line 66: Line 68:
</d>
</d>


 
===Donais U5C===
Although The Deck was designed for Vintage (i.e. [[Type I]] or Classic), its ideas and unique style of play complexity soon influenced decks in [[Standard]] (i.e. [[Type II]]). From December 1997-July 1998 many variants emerged. One of the earliest and most popular was [[Mike Donais]] 5-color Control deck, or "Donais U5C" for short. It arrived following the release of [[Tempest]] and was popularized on [[The Dojo]] and during the United States Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship.<ref>Flores, M. J. (2006). ''Deckade: 10 years of decks, thoughts, and theory!'', 136. New York City, NY: To Be Continued LLC.</ref> The core is a U/W Control deck supported by life-gaining/mitigating cards, targeted removal, card drawing and graveyard recursion (<c>Gaea's Blessing</c>). <c>Whispers of the Muse</c> replaced <c>Jayemdae Tome</c> as the card-drawing engine, <c>Wall of Blossoms</c> replaced <c>Swords to Plowshares</c> as a card advantage solution to single creatures and <c>Fireball</c> duel-functioned as a removal and game-winning condition.
Although The Deck was designed for [[Vintage]] (i.e. [[Type 1]] or [[Classic]]), its ideas and unique style of play complexity soon influenced decks in [[Standard]] (i.e. [[Type 2]]). For example, from December 1997-July 1998 many variants emerged. One of the earliest and most popular was [[Mike Donais]] 5-color Control deck, or "Donais U5C" for short. It arrived following the release of [[Tempest]] and was popularized on [[The Dojo]] and during the United States Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship.<ref>Flores, M. J. (2006). ''Deckade: 10 years of decks, thoughts, and theory!'', 136. New York City, NY: To Be Continued LLC.</ref> The core is a U/W Control deck supported by life-gaining/mitigating cards, targeted removal, card drawing and graveyard recursion (<c>Gaea's Blessing</c>). <c>Whispers of the Muse</c> replaced <c>Jayemdae Tome</c> as the card-drawing engine, <c>Wall of Blossoms</c> replaced <c>Swords to Plowshares</c> as a card advantage solution to single creatures and <c>Fireball</c> dual-functioned as a removal and game-winning condition.
 


<d title="Donais U5C by Mike Donais, 1998">
<d title="Donais U5C by Mike Donais, 1998">
Line 117: Line 118:
</d>
</d>


 
===T2===
The popularity of Donais U5C quickly led players to target its unstable manabase, using <c>Wasteland</c>s, <c>Dwarven Miner</c>s and other cards that punished non-basic lands (e.g. <c>Price of Progress</c>). Responding to this, [[Cathy Nicoloff]] and Brian Weissman developed a version for the 1998 United States National Championships, called ''The 'T2' Deck''.<ref>Flores, M. J. (2006). ''Deckade: 10 years of decks, thoughts, and theory!'', 137. New York City, NY: To Be Continued LLC.</ref> It reduced the manabase weakness by limiting the amount of non-U/W spells, increasing colorless spells, and nearly-halving the number of [[nonbasic land|non-basic lands]].
The popularity of Donais U5C quickly led players to target its unstable manabase, using <c>Wasteland</c>s, <c>Dwarven Miner</c>s and other cards that punished non-basic lands (e.g. <c>Price of Progress</c>). Responding to this, [[Cathy Nicoloff]] and Brian Weissman developed a version for the 1998 United States National Championships, called ''The 'T2' Deck''.<ref>Flores, M. J. (2006). ''Deckade: 10 years of decks, thoughts, and theory!'', 137. New York City, NY: To Be Continued LLC.</ref> It reduced the manabase weakness by limiting the amount of non-U/W spells, increasing colorless spells, and nearly-halving the number of [[nonbasic land|non-basic lands]].


 
<d title="The 'T2' Deck by Cathy Nicoloff & Brian Weissman, 1998">
<d title="The 'T2' Deck by Cathy Nicoloff & Mike Donais, 1998">
Lands
Lands
2 Adarkar Wastes
2 Adarkar Wastes
Line 158: Line 158:
</d>
</d>


 
===2006 version===
Though ''Magic'' has changed tremendously in the 20+ years since The Deck's creation, the ideas behind it still apply: a skillful pilot is required to navigate consistently against every possible matchup. Its matchups depend more on skill than nearly any other deck. In fact, when played correctly it could be said to have no unfavorable matchups, but rather only those that are favorable.
Though ''Magic'' has changed tremendously in the 20+ years since The Deck's creation, the ideas behind it still apply: a skillful pilot is required to navigate consistently against every possible matchup. Its matchups depend more on skill than nearly any other deck. In fact, when played correctly it could be said to have no unfavorable matchups, but rather only those that are favorable.


In 2006, Weissman posted an updated version of The Deck.
In 2006, Weissman posted an updated version of The Deck.


<d title="The Deck by Brian Weissman, 2006">
<d title="The Deck by Brian Weissman, 2006">
Line 227: Line 226:
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Zuran Orb
1 Zuran Orb
</d>
===Old School===
In 2018, Weissman posted an updated version of The Deck following his experiences of competing in '[[Old School]]' (aka 93/94 Magic) format tournaments that year.<ref>Weissman, B., & Edwin the Magic Engineer. (June 19, 2018). ''Brian Weissman and ETME discuss their GP Vegas 2018 Old School decks''. Retrieved on August 5, 2018 from [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AijNR1pmLHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AijNR1pmLHQ].</ref><ref>Levine, E. (April 28, 2016). ''New Format: Old School''. Retrieved on August 5, 2018 from [https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/new-format-old-school/ https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/new-format-old-school/].</ref>
<d title="The Deck by Brian Weissman, 2018">
Lands
4 City of Brass
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Strip Mine
4 Tundra
4 Underground Sea
Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Chaos Orb
3 Fellwar Stone
3 Jayemdae Tome
1 Ivory Tower
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
Enchantments
1 Copy Artifact
2 The Abyss
Instants
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Counterspell
3 Disenchant
1 Divine Offering
1 Mana Drain
4 Swords to Plowshares
Sorceries
1 Balance
1 Braingeyser
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mind Twist
1 Time Walk
1 Recall
1 Regrowth
Sideboard
3 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Control Magic
1 Disenchant
1 Divine Offering
1 Dust to Dust
3 Hymn to Tourach
1 Ivory Tower
1 The Abyss
2 Wrath of God
</d>
</d>
==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 16:26, 15 June 2022

The Deck is a control deck created by Brian Weissman.[1] Fundamentally, it functions the same as modern control decks: gradually gaining card advantage while answering opposing threats, then playing a single large threat that is sufficient to win the game. However, historically it has been constructed using many single-copy card drawing, deck searching and answer cards from every color. The result is a highly complex and variable deck, regularly said to be one of the most skill intensive decks in the history of Magic. Some players have even gone on to say that the deck contains no bad matchups, but only good matchups depending solely on skill of the player navigating it.

Description

The Deck used Counterspell, Mana Drain, Red Elemental Blast , Disenchant, Strip Mine and Swords to Plowshares to trade on a one-for-one basis with the opponent's threats. Then, when the Weissman Deck had somewhat stabilized, he could use Ancestral Recall, Braingeyser, Amnesia, Jayemdae Tome or Library of Alexandria to gain card advantage. In the environment of the day, Moat usually spelled the end, as could a Disrupting Scepter. Demonic Tutor's use is fairly self explanatory, but it is important to note how it streamlines the deck since it justifies having fewer copies of silver bullet cards. (That is, specific solution cards.) Regrowth, Timetwister and Recall gives the deck some resilience if unexpected things happened. A final strength of The Deck of course, is its sheer volume of "broken" cards (generally considered to be quite overpowered). Sometimes it could "just win" by getting a Serra Angel, Black Lotus, Tundra, Mox Emerald draw, or something of the like.

The Deck later evolved to use Fireball as a win condition instead of Serra Angel, when Weissman was having serious troubles dealing with Necropotence decks of the time. While previously objecting to the use of Fireball to render the opponent's creature removal useless, it was an inevitable change to keep up with a changing game.[2]

Original version

The following is Brian Weissman's original 1996 version.[3] (Note that this version of the deck is not legal in any tournament format. For example, Strip Mine was later restricted in Vintage.)

Donais U5C

Although The Deck was designed for Vintage (i.e. Type 1 or Classic), its ideas and unique style of play complexity soon influenced decks in Standard (i.e. Type 2). For example, from December 1997-July 1998 many variants emerged. One of the earliest and most popular was Mike Donais 5-color Control deck, or "Donais U5C" for short. It arrived following the release of Tempest and was popularized on The Dojo and during the United States Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship.[4] The core is a U/W Control deck supported by life-gaining/mitigating cards, targeted removal, card drawing and graveyard recursion (Gaea's Blessing). Whispers of the Muse replaced Jayemdae Tome as the card-drawing engine, Wall of Blossoms replaced Swords to Plowshares as a card advantage solution to single creatures and Fireball dual-functioned as a removal and game-winning condition.

T2

The popularity of Donais U5C quickly led players to target its unstable manabase, using Wastelands, Dwarven Miners and other cards that punished non-basic lands (e.g. Price of Progress). Responding to this, Cathy Nicoloff and Brian Weissman developed a version for the 1998 United States National Championships, called The 'T2' Deck.[5] It reduced the manabase weakness by limiting the amount of non-U/W spells, increasing colorless spells, and nearly-halving the number of non-basic lands.

The 'T2' Deck by Cathy Nicoloff & Brian Weissman, 1998

2006 version

Though Magic has changed tremendously in the 20+ years since The Deck's creation, the ideas behind it still apply: a skillful pilot is required to navigate consistently against every possible matchup. Its matchups depend more on skill than nearly any other deck. In fact, when played correctly it could be said to have no unfavorable matchups, but rather only those that are favorable.

In 2006, Weissman posted an updated version of The Deck.

Old School

In 2018, Weissman posted an updated version of The Deck following his experiences of competing in 'Old School' (aka 93/94 Magic) format tournaments that year.[6][7]

References

  1. Mike Flores (February 17, 2014). "The Deck". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. "The Deck", Chapter II: Jan '96 - Aug '96
  3. Mike Flores "Finding the Tinker Deck", Sideboard
  4. Flores, M. J. (2006). Deckade: 10 years of decks, thoughts, and theory!, 136. New York City, NY: To Be Continued LLC.
  5. Flores, M. J. (2006). Deckade: 10 years of decks, thoughts, and theory!, 137. New York City, NY: To Be Continued LLC.
  6. Weissman, B., & Edwin the Magic Engineer. (June 19, 2018). Brian Weissman and ETME discuss their GP Vegas 2018 Old School decks. Retrieved on August 5, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AijNR1pmLHQ.
  7. Levine, E. (April 28, 2016). New Format: Old School. Retrieved on August 5, 2018 from https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/new-format-old-school/.