1996 Pro Tour Columbus/Top 4 decks
| Pro Tour Columbus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Date | July 6 and 7, 1996 | |||
| Location |
 Columbus, Ohio | |||
| Attendance |
Seniors: 167 | |||
| Format | Ice Age and Alliances constructed. (aka ALICE) | |||
| Prize pool |
Senior: $125,000 Junior: $30,000 (Scholarships) | |||
| Winner |
Senior:  Olle RådeJunior:  Terry Borer | |||
| ||||
The three major deck archetypes at Pro Tour Columbus were represented in both the Senior and Junior Top 4: the aggressive but resilient "Bugbind" deck piloted by Senior Champion Olle Råde, various control shells built around the synergy of Jokulhaups and Ivory Gargoyle, and the perennial White/Blue Control archetype. These strategies, blending aggression, resilience, and disruption, set the tone for competitive Ice Age–Alliances constructed play and defined the outcome of the tournament.[1]
Seniors
Olle Råde
The PT Columbus Champion Olle Råde played a 
deck built around high toughness creatures and the enchantment Stormbind.
| “ | Strategy: Hit fast and keep hitting with three-mana creatures big enough to survive Pyroclasm. If that's not enough, bring on the Deadly Insects and zap anything that gets in their way.[2] | ” |
Sean Fleischman
A 
deck played by Sean Fleischman.
| “ | Strategy: Counter anything opponent casts, or destroy it once it's in play. Destroy his land and pull the cards out of his hand with Mind Warp before he manages to cast them. After totally demoralizing him, finish him off with Blinking Spirits and Ivory Gargoyles.[2] | ” |
Alvaro Marques
A deck played by semi-finalist Alvaro Marques, who topped the Swiss rounds of both days.[3]
| “ | Strategy: Creatures, especially flying creatures, creature removal and direct damage. Thawing Glaciers to provide lots of land.[2] | ” |
Peter Radonjic
A deck played by semi-finalist Peter Radonjic.
| “ | Strategy: Destroy opponent's stuff with Stone Rain, Pillage, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant and Incinerate, or tap it with Icy Manipulator. Kill him with Ivory Gargoyles, Blinking Spirit and direct damage.[2] | ” |
Juniors
Terry Borer and Paul McCabe
Junior finalists Terry Borer and Paul McCabe were college roommates and played near identical decks. The only difference between them was that Borer played a third copy of Stormbind, taking him up to a 62 card deck.[4]
| “ | Strategy: Put out a creature that's immune to almost everything (Deadly Insect or Blinking Spirit) and remove all potential blockers with direct damage, Swords to Plowshares or Icy Manipulator.[2] | ” |
Jon Finkel
A control deck played by Junior semi-finalist Jon Finkel.[5]
| “ | Strategy: Counter or destroy anything the opponent casts, destroy Kjeldoran Outposts with Stone Rain or remove them with Jester's Cap. Then beat him to death with unkillable Blinking Spirits.[2] | ” |
David Parker
Junior semi-finalist David Parker's deck list has not been archived, however known descriptions indicate it was similar to the other decks in the finals.
| “ | Strategy: Get out a Deadly Insect and take out anything that gets in its way with direct damage or tap it with Icy Manipulator. Or get out an Ivory Gargoyle and then Jokulhaups.[2] | ” |
References
- ↑ Frank Kusumoto (1996). "PT 3 Ohio - ALICE, July '96 (website)". Retrieved on June 20, 1996.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Beth Moursund (September 1996). "Pro Tour 3 (Magazine)". Inquest Issue 17, pp. 76, 77. Inquest. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved on June 20, 2025.
- ↑ Daniel Brickwell (October 10, 1996). "Strategy: IA/AL-Constructed Part 2: Saturnia (.txt)". The Dojo. Retrieved on June 21, 2025.
- ↑ Sam Stoddard (July 8, 1996). "PT3 Junior Update (Usenet post)". Newsgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 25, 2025.
- ↑ Mike Flores (July 13, 2006). "Icepick (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on March 15, 2007. Retrieved on June 21, 2025.