1995 United States National Championship/Top 8 decks
| 1995 US Nationals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | July 13-16, 1995 | |||
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
| Attendance |
"Meat grinders": 8 qualifying tournaments of 256 players "Semi-finals": 64 players | |||
| Format |
Type II (Standard) Sealed Deck | |||
| Winner |
Mark Justice Henry Stern (finalist) Mike Long (semi-finalist) Peter Leiher (semi-finalist) | |||
| ||||
The Top 4 players from the 1995 US Nationals became the US team for the 1995 World Championships.[1][2]
Mark Justice
There has been a significant amount of confusion to what deck Mark Justice played to win the 1995 Nationals. The deck most commonly credited to him has been a version of the "Vise Age" deck, as played by runner-up Henry Stern, but with a black splash for Demonic Consultation. Stern debunked this in a reply to a Usenet post[3], and Scott Burke named Derek Rank as the real pilot of the "Demonic Vise Age" deck[4].
Justice published his decklist in the Advanced Strategy Guide that he co-authored in 1998.[5]
Henry Stern
Runner-up Henry Stern played an aggressive 
deck featuring a playset of its namesake Black Vise and plenty of direct damage.[6][7]
Mike Long
Mike Long finished in third place, playing a 
land destruction deck.[8]
Enchantments (1)
1 Paralyze
Peter Leiher
Peter Leiher finished in Fourth place. He played a monoblack discard deck.[9]
5th to 8th place
Brad Minell
Brad Minell played a Monoblack Discard deck.[2]
Derek Rank
Derek Rank had the best Type II record in the Swiss rounds, and finished in joint 5th-6th after being mana screwed in the deciding game of his third match.[4] His deck is often credited to Champion Mark Justice, potentially due to confusion with Rank "winning" the Day 1 event.[10][11]
Bruce Swiney
Bruce Swiney played a 
aggro-discard deck. He was the only player in the Top 8 to not play Zuran Orb, with this potentially costing him a win in his first match.[2]
Dana Rossi
Danna Rossi played a Monoblack Discard deck with a splash of white in his sideboard.[2]
Enchantments (1)
1 Bad Moon
References
- ↑ Scott Burke (July 18, 1995). "Justice at Origins (Usenet post)". The Dojo. Retrieved on July 4, 2025.
- ↑ a b c d Scott Burke (November 1995). "Justice At Origins: The Quest For The National Title: Part Two (Twitter post)". Scrye Magazine #10, pp. 96-97. Scrye Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 Apr 2024. Retrieved on July 2024.
- ↑ Henry Stern (July 31, 1995). "Mark Justice Deck? (type2) (Usenet post)". Newsgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on July 4, 2025.
- ↑ a b Scott Burke (July 31, 1995). "Mark Justice Deck? (type2) (Usenet post)". Newsgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on July 4, 2025.
- ↑ Mark Justice and Tim Dedopulos (September 18, 1998). ""Magic: The Gathering, Advanced Strategy Guide (1998)" (pdf), pp. 14". Thunder's Mouth Press. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved on July 4, 2025.
- ↑ JasonVorthos (May 6, 2024). "Henry Stern Vise-Age - Top 4 US National Championship 1995 (website)". MTG Goldfish. Retrieved on July 4, 2025.
- ↑ Henry Stern (August 15, 1995). "OK, Fine, Here's My World Championship Deck (Usenet post)". The Dojo. Retrieved on July 4, 2025.
- ↑ Henry Stern (July 25, 1995). "What would you do with this sealed deck? (Usenet psot)". Newsgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy. Usenet. Retrieved on July 8, 2025.
- ↑ JasonVorthos (May 6, 2024). "Peter Leiher Monoblack Discard Rack Deck - Top 4 US National Championship 1995 (website)". MTG Goldfish. Retrieved on July 4, 2025.
- ↑ JasonVorthos (June 7, 2022). "[Fake] Mark Justice Vise-Age - Winner US Nationals 1995 (website)". MTG Goldfish. Retrieved on July 4, 2025.
- ↑ Patrick Chapin (July 6, 2018). "The Top 25 Green Cards Of All Time: #5-1 (website)". Star City Games. Retrieved on July 4, 2025.