Stronghold/Theme decks
There were four 60 card preconstructed theme decks released which included cards from the Tempest and Stronghold expansions. Included with each deck were two booklets: one summarised the storyline, while the other contained deck lists and strategy guides for all four decks. An advanced version of each deck was also suggested to upgrade it for a competitive Standard environment. (The cards for the advanced deck lists were not supplied.)
Call of the Kor
Call of the Kor is a white and black theme deck from Stronghold.
| “ | The Call of the Kor deck introduces the Kor race and exploits its damage-redirection abilities. This unique white and black deck allows players to keep white Kor creatures in play by redirecting damage to other creatures.[1] | ” |
Creatures (21)
The 3 rares in this deck are Shaman en-Kor, Skeleton Scavengers and Soltari Champion.
| “ | A tournament level horde deck must be fast - really fast. To accomplish this, the advanced version of “Call of the Kor” replaces all black cards with white cards and lowers the land count from twenty-four to eighteen.[2] | ” |
Migraine
Migraine is a black theme deck from Stronghold.
| “ | The Migraine deck features an array of fast creatures coupled with discard combinations to gain card advantage. This mono-black deck is geared toward the more experienced player, using a subtle design and potent theme.[3] | ” |
The 3 rares in this deck are Ensnaring Bridge, Mindwarper and Portcullis.
| “ | The advanced version of “Migraine” considerably plays up the discard theme, replacing many creatures with the more efficient Abyssal Specters, while substituting Disrupting Scepter for Mind Peel and adding Stupor and Mind Warp. Pox provides early creature removal while supporting the discard theme, and Vampiric Tutor gets you the card you need.[4] | ” |
The Sparkler
The Sparkler is a blue and red theme deck from Stronghold.
| “ | "The Sparkler" deck combines buyback direct damage with counterspells, bringing a lethal edge to the standard control deck. This red and blue deck will be a "sure-fire" hit with both veteran and new players alike.[5] | ” |
The 3 rares in this deck are Evacuation, Intruder Alarm and Reins of Power.
| “ | "In a tournament environment, speed and efficiency are especially important. Thus, the advanced deck reduces casting costs as much as possible: Incinerates and Counterspells replace Lightning Blasts and Spell Blasts. The advanced deck also has four copies of Quicksand, which is doubly useful as a mana source and a way to kill creatures. Earthquake adds mass creature suppression.[6] | ” |
The Spikes
The Spikes is a red and green theme deck from Stronghold.
| “ | "The Spikes" deck introduces new creatures that sling +1/+1 counters from card to card, giving a player more control over the battlefield. As a starting point for more sophisticated decks using Spike creatures, this green and red deck is sure to be popular around gaming tables.[7] | ” |
Creatures (25)
Artifacts (2)
The 3 rares in this deck are Hermit Druid, Spike Breeder and Verdant Touch.
| “ | The advanced version of “The Spikes” plays much like the basic version, but increases the number and quality of the creatures. For example, while Skyshroud Elves are useful for their flexible mana production (and the deck still has two of them), Llanowar Elves are simply faster-this one-turn increase in speed can make all the difference. [8] | ” |