World Championship Decks/2004
2004 World Championship Deck, San Francisco
The 2004 World Championship took place on September 1–5, 2004 in San Francisco, California in the United States of America. Four decks were released as part of the World Championship Decks series with gold-bordered cards. Note: All cards in these decks were printed using the modern card frame, despite many cards included in these decks never having been printed using the modern frame before.
Decklists
Julien Nuijten, World Champion
"The youngest ever Magic World Champion, Dutch wunderkind Julien Nujiten came out of nowhere to stun the field. Just fifteen years old, Nujiten proved that he can play with the best. Playing a green-white Astral Slide deck designed to destroy 'Affinity', he posted a respectable 4-2 record on the Standard day at Worlds and then calmly swept the field on the final day. He says the inspiration for his deck came from an Internet article by Pro Tour veteran Brian Kibler."
Aeo Paquette, Finalist
"Professional Magic player Aeo Paquette played the deck that defined the metagame at the 2004 World Championships: 'Affinity.' Against a field full of decks designed to beat Affinity, this nineteen-year-old Canadian piloted his deck to a 5-1 record during the Standard portion of the tournament. Paquette credits his friend Jeff Cunningham for helping him design an Affinity deck that could compete so well against the field."
Manuel Bevand, Semifinalist
"Pro Tour veteran Manuel Bevand played an artifact-based combo deck to a perfect 6-0 record on the Standard day at Worlds. His deck uses Krark-Clan Ironworks to quickly get a Myr Incubator into play, which then creates thirty or more 1/1 creatures -- sometimes as early as the third turn! A twenty-seven-year-old freelance game designer from Paris, France, Bevand has been a Magic regular since 1994, playing in over a dozen Pro Tour events. He credits Magic Online for getting him back into championship form."
Artifacts (23)
Lands (19)
Gabriel Nassif, Quarterfinalist
"Twenty-year-old Gabriel Nassif is considered to be the best player never to have won a Pro Tour event. Designed to beat the ubiquitous 'Affinity' decks, his blue-white control deck also plays well against anti-Affinity decks. Worlds marked the third time in the season that the Parisian had made it to the final day of a Pro Tour event, and his performance earned Nassif the coveted 2004 Player of the Year award -- a title he will defend vigorously next year."