Mercadian Masques/Player's Guide decks
The Mercadian Masques Player's Guide was a special, and final, issue of The Duelist which was released alongside Mercadian Masques. It included a sample deck list for each color to demonstrate how new Mercadian Masques cards could be utilized in Standard.
Plain ol’ Smokestacks
A white prison deck which takes advantage of powerful enchantments.
| “ | This deck is a cleverly disguised Bargain deck, where you’ll be gaining life with Scent of Jasmine, then spending life to get massive card advantage from Yawgmoth’s Bargain. There’s only one Bargain in your deck, but you’ve got four ways to bring it out of your library (Academy Rector), two ways to bring it out of your graveyard (Replenish), and if all else fails, Phyrexian Tower will let you play it from your hand. The Smokestacks ensure you don’t have to rely on your opponent to wax an Academy Rector – you can sacrifice it yourself.
Every creature you have will survive Wave of Reckoning, except Academy Rector (hmm, I wonder why that is). Also in your arsenal are defensive all-stars: Wall of Glare and Mother of Runes. The Pariah/Cho-Manno combo is your ticket to the late game, where the “big cat” (Jhovall Queen), Cho-Arrim Bruiser, and the Rappelling Scouts can win it for you. |
” |
—Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 29.[1] | ||
Creatures (16)
Artifacts (2)
Monoblue Mask
A blue control deck designed by Scott Larabee.
| “ | Buckle in for a long trip with this deck from Scott Larabee, tournament organizer coordinator here at Wizards of the Coast. The deck has the arsenal of counters you’d expect from a permission deck, plus a key new toy: Misdirection. Sometimes this card works even better than good old reliable Counterspell because you’re not just countering the spell, you’re sending it someplace that might help you. Imagine the look on your opponent’s face when their creatures get destroyed, or you wind up with the damage prevention meant for your opposition.
The deck’s also full of solid defensive creatures like Wall of Air and Stinging Barrier, and Thieving Magpie is a card-advantage machine. Also key to your permission plans are cards that slow everything down, like Embargo and War Tax. If you like battles of wits that go on turn after turn, this is the deck for you. |
” |
—Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 31.[2] | ||
Mercenaries
A black deck featuring the Mercenary creature type designed by Teeuwynn Woodruff.
| “ | D&D’s Teeuwynn Woodruff designed this deck for Wizards’ “Future League,” in which we playtest prototype cards from upcoming sets. The original design also had 10 Nemesis cards, which we took out for the time being, anyway. “I created the deck because I wanted to see if Mercenaries were viable-and they were! Also, I wanted to be evil.” (Those of us who know Teeuwynn were surprised neither by her devotion to testing an important game mechanic nor by her penchant for the dark side.)
The deck disrupts the opponent early with discard and creature destruction, then builds a large army of Mercenaries. The key recruiting Mercenary is Cateran Brute, but there are some larger recruiters too. If you don’t have the right Mercenary for the mana on the table, Cateran Summons will find what you need. Contamination can get you close to a lock in many games, especially if your opponent is getting all of his or her mana from lands and isn’t playing black. You can keep recruiting more Mercenaries, so you’ll be able to sacrifice creatures to Contamination long after other decks peter out. |
” |
—Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 33.[3] | ||
Target 13
A red Ponza deck.
| “ | This deck is an updated version of “Ponza” decks that combine efficient, small creatures with a healthy dollop of land destruction. Your Kris Mages, Flailing Soldiers, and Kyren Gliders can all apply early beatdown, while land destruction from both spells (Pillage, Stone Rain) and creatures (Avalanche Riders, Seismic Mage) will keep your opponent off balance. And don’t forget, Squee is the perfect card to power your Kris Mages and Seismic Mages.
You have 13 sources for targeted land destruction and 13 sources of versatile targeted damage. The number 13 should be quite unlucky for your opposition. |
” |
—Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 35.[4] | ||
Mana Madness
A green weenie deck.
| “ | The deck plays much like the standard green weenie deck with Rancor, but it has a little more finishing power if things go bad for you early. The plan is to play out your hand, then use Collective Unconscious to fill it up again. The deck generates a lot of mana, which you can use for Squallmonger damage or to play big creatures. It’s important to be aggressive early because this deck will peter out in the late game. For a sideboard, add enchantment destruction (additional Creeping Molds might be helpful) and some color hosers. As with any mono-green deck, Mana Madness has a big problem with Perish, but Nature’s Resurgence can occasionally help you recover from the devastation. | ” |
—Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 37.[5] | ||
References
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (1999-11-01). "Focus: White (PDF)". Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 29. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (1999-11-01). "Focus: Blue (PDF)". Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 31. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (1999-11-01). "Focus: Black (PDF)". Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 33. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (1999-11-01). "Focus: Red (PDF)". Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 35. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (1999-11-01). "Focus: Green (PDF)". Mercadian Masques Player's Guide, p. 37. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16.