1994 World Championships/Top 4 Decks
These are the Top 4 decks from the 1994 World Championship[1].
Zak Dolan
World Champion Zak Dolan played a 
control/Prison deck[2].
| “ | I am focused almost exclusively on defense -- quite a contrast from Bertrand's deck. I am trying to completely control the play environment, so that even if I am at one life, my opponent can do nothing. I am playing a high number of spells and a low number of land cards, with the idea that late in the game, I'm going to draw a spell when I need it instead of drawing a land. I use fairly low casting-cost defensive spells so that I have a chance to hold off the opponent until I can draw enough land to cast my bigger spells.
I tried to use a balance of land, artifact, and creature mana so that it would be more difficult for my opponent to destroy all of my mana. That way, if I played against a land destruction deck, I would still have a decent chance. |
” |
At the 2000 Magic Invitational in Sydney, Hall of Fame player Jon Finkel played Zak Dolan's deck in the "Auction of the Champions" event.
| “ | The deck had the reputation of being a weird deck with odd one-ofs like Siren's Call and Ley Druid, but Finkel realized something that few others caught onto. Yes, it was a quirkily built deck, but 1) it was a Vintage deck with access to very powerful cards, and 2) as Finkel said, "all the janky cards work well together." The decklist is easy to laugh at, but Zak Dolan's deck worked much better than people gave it credit for. | ” |
Finkel went undefeated with the deck, beating 1998 World Championships runner-up Ben Rubin playing David Price's Tempest Block Constructed Sligh deck in the finals[4].
Bertrand Lestrée
Runner-up Bertrand Lestrée played a predominately 
aggro/burn deck which splashed 
for Power 9 and other restricted cards[2][5].
| “ | One of the things that Bertrand did better than anyone else at the time was the "meta-game." He fine-tuned his deck to easily stop the main decks that were in style at the time. One of the strongest decks in Europe at the time was the Juzam Djinn (and/or Juggernaut) deck. This deck hadn't even been seen at the time in America, but sure enough, Dominic made it to the semifinals with a deck like this.
Bertrand included ways to stop this deck for very low mana, so that even if he didn't get enough mana to start the game, he would still easily have a way to deal with the threat. The Argothian Pixies could block Juggernauts, and the Whirling Dervishes could block Juzam Djinns. This gave him enough time to find the Control Magic or the Channel/Fireball combination or the Icy Manipulator, or the Chaos Orb. Most people who look at his deck are surprised that he chose Argothian Pixies over Elvish Archers, but given the number of Juggernauts in play at the time, this makes a lot of sense. |
” |
Note: the decklists from many sources online give Bertrand's deck as 60 cards, instead of 61, leaving out the singleton copy of Sylvan Library. However that card is mentioned in the Convocation News column in the Duelist Companion[6]:
| “ | Bertrand's Deck
Primary Color: Red (direct damage spells and Kird Apes) Secondary Color: Green (for small creatures, mana, and the Sylvan Library) Other Colors: a splash of Black and Blue (for a couple spell staples like Demonic Tutor)[6] |
” |
Dominic Symens
Dominic Symens played a similar deck to Bertrand Lestrée, with the notable differences of a playset of Jade Statue in his main deck, and Juggernaut in his sideboard[7].
Cyrille de Foucaud
Cyrille de Foucaud played a deck, splashing . His deck included more lands than the rest of the Top 4, which he used to help cast Serendib Efreet, Erhnam Djinn and Shivan Dragon[8].
Mark Rosewater
Future Magic Head Designer Mark Rosewater also played in the tournament, being knocked out in the second round of his qualifier. He provided a reconstructed version of the deck he played, minus the sideboard, in a 2005 Making Magic column[2].
| “ | This deck might seem a little silly, but it was much more dangerous than people realized. I did well in a surprising number of tournaments with it. Some of the cards might seem odd, but they had a lot to do with the time. Concordant Crossroads, besides letting me chain out my mana producers and attack the turn I played my creatures, served the vital role of being an Enchant World. Yes, there was a sliver of time where Enchant Worlds mattered (you can thank The Abyss and Nether Void for that). The Argothian Pixies were there to break through the Mishra's Factories that just about every deck played (I had the other two in my sideboard). Could it be built better today? Of course, but in its day it was a surprisingly effective deck.[2] | ” |
Creatures (20)
References
- ↑ Monty Ashley (August 23, 2004). "Magic’s First World Championships (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 16, 2004. Retrieved on May 22, 2025.
- ↑ a b c d Mark Rosewater (November 28, 2005). "A Different Worlds (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved on May 23, 2025.
- ↑ a b Zak Dolan (August 26, 2004). "Zak Dolan's Worlds Diary (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 19, 2004. Retrieved on May 23, 2025.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 26, 2015). "Six Continents, Six Stories (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on May 23, 2025.
- ↑ MTG Top 8 (2025). "Worlds 1994 (Milwaukee) #2 RG Aggro - Bertrand Lestrée (website)". MTG Top 8. Retrieved on May 23, 2025.
- ↑ a b Monty Ashley (August 23, 2004). "Convocation News: World Championships (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 11, 2004. Retrieved on May 23, 2025.
- ↑ MTG Top 8 (2025). "Worlds 1994 (Milwaukee) #3-4 Zoo - Dominic Symens (website)". MTG Top 8. Retrieved on May 23, 2025.
- ↑ MTG Top 8 (2025). "Worlds 1994 (Milwaukee) #3-4 Zoo - Cyrille de Foucaud (website)". MTG Top 8. Retrieved on May 23, 2025.