Extended
Features
Deco_y
20 December 2010
1815 views
20 December 2010
1815 views
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Rules of Extended
Building a deck that doesn't completely suck
Lands
Artifacts
Enchantments, Instants, and Sorceries
Creatures
The Deck
Results
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION-
Hello kiddies! Time to scoot up to Grandpa Ian with your blankets and hot chocolate for another exciting endeavor into the world of Magic: The Gathering. Now, two weeks ago we took a stroll down the long curvaceous road through that dark, creepy forest known as Vintage, but have no fear new players! The night is always darkest before the dawn. We go from the hardest format for new beginners to the easiest format for n00bs past Standard. Yes children, if you can get past those pesky Gatekeeper of Malakir, that glimmer of light shining at the end of the tunnel is Extended, the format formally known as Standard. No more 4 hour sorts of land cards. No more spending 5 hours a night for 3 nights straight comparing blue creatures, debating which one to cut for Storm Crow. This is about as easy as it can get for new players looking to explore new formats, and probably the one I'd recommend n00bs to start playing, before moving on to bigger and better(?) formats.
RULES OF EXTENDED-
Alright, you know those standard rules you all know and love? Same thing happens here. 60 card(minimum) deck, 20 life, and the first to reduce your opponent's life to zero(or deal your opponent 10 poison counters) wins. The only thing that changes is the card pool. Instead of only getting to use what is legal in standard (Magic 2011, Zendikar, Worldwake, Rise of the Eldrazi, Scars of Mirrodin), the previous core set(Magic 2010) and previous expansion block(Shards of Alara, Conflux, Alara Reborn). This gives you a little below double the card pool for you to draw from. It isn't enough to over-whelm you, but it's enough for you to dream up new and exciting ideas, or retread old ones. I'm looking at you Jund. New players, you already know a lot of the cards used in extended by playing standard, so by expanding deeper into the history of magic by a set helps expand your card knowledge, and gets you better prepared for tackling something like Legacy for example.
BUILDING A DECK THAT DOESN'T COMPLETELY SUCK-
This may disappoint some people, but I already know what kind of deck I am going to make. When I first started, I fell in love with Vampires, so I do try to play them as much as possible. Anyone who played during M10 instantly knows what card will be the star of my show, and anyone who doesn't will learn his name very quickly. Here is a hint: He doesn't like you, and he doesn't even like me. He just likes his fellow vampires so much he pumps them up like Arnold and he likes to give them wings like Red Bull never could. I, of course, am talking about Vampire Nocturnus. Now I know how some, or a lot of you probably, will complain that all vampire decks look the same. My reply is... yes and no. Yes, the core of any Vampire deck will be there, because Vampire Nighthawk just might be the best 3 drop in black's history, and no at the same time because there are enough Vamps where you can make a few separate variations. All good Goblin, Jund, Jace, Elf, and RDW decks all have the same card base because they work so damn well together, and Vamps are no exception. Argument = moot. The best way to build a deck that doesn't suck when you enter a new format, especially one so similar to standard, is try to stick with what you know(In my case vampires) and look at what is popular and what works in that format. After you do that, determine if you think you can do well by building on some of your favorite standard ideas with a larger card base to draw from, or look at what has been successful, like Jund, and try to build a deck related to one you found. In future articles I might make a deck with a color I'm not comfortable with, maybe white or green, but for now, Vampires it is. To utilize Nocturnus' ability, my deck will be mono black as well.
LANDS-
My lands are 12xSwamp, 4xMarsh Flats, and 4xVerdant Catacombs. Now, an important ingredient for this deck are fetch lands. When you have a Noctournus or 3 out, you want to make damn sure that top card is black. By having a fetch land on the field, you instantly gain the ability to shuffle your library. Normally this wouldn't matter, but what if that top card of your library is a land? Nocturnus doesn't grant his bonus. By using the fetch land, you shuffle the library, doing two things. 1.) By shuffling your deck and revealing a new top card, odds are it will be a creature or spell. 2.) You take a land out of your deck, increasing the odds, however slightly, that the card you reveal is a non-land card. If you had 2 fetch lands out, that is two cracks at getting that black card on top you need to finish your opponent. This is a simple and effective strategy, all for the measly cost of 1 life a piece. I am also only running 20 lands because most of the cards in my deck are not mana intensive and also to lower the possibility to top deck a land.
ARTIFACTS-
Just as I had already written out this section, I decided to take one last look through Gatherer to see if I wanted to include any artifacts because I had 2 slots open. Low and behold, I ALMOST gave 2 slots to Coat of Arms. It is a pretty sweet artifact and if anything, it would always 100% help me and only help my opponent as much as me if they ran tribal as well. If anything it would just make games more fun and try to get my opponent to maybe change his strategy a bit to take advantage of the arms. In the end, however, I gave the two slots away to 2xCrystal Ball because it can help me pull a removal, nighthawk or simply get rid of a land off the top of my deck. Crystal Ball is one of the more under-rated artifacts I find, so I will give it some exposure in my deck. I almost used the tailor made vampire equipment Blade of the Bloodchief but in my past experiences, it only really works well with having Bloodthrone Vampire, Vampire Aristocrat, and Bloodghast.
ENCHANTMENTS, INSTANTS, AND SORCERIES-
In my standard playing experience, Vampires go hand in hand with creature removal. I decided not to go with Feast of Blood due to in past games I would only have one vampire out mid game and it would be a dead draw. Instead I'm going with the line up of 4xDisfigure, 4xUrge to Feed, 2xTendrils of Corruption, 2x Consuming Vapors and finally for my only non removal spells, 4xSign in Blood. I do not have doom blades in here because A.) They can't target black and B.) -X/-X effects I find are more versatile, as they can get past indestructable. Disfigure can handle the weenies and urge to feed can pump my vamps and get them ready for a big wave attack the turn after to go along with Nocturnus(hopefully). I really wanted to include Bloodchief Ascension, but with the 2 slots I had open it was down between BA and Crystal Ball, and I found scry would serve me better in the playtesting I did.
CREATURES-
Well, well, well. I know before I even announce my creatures that this is where most people will disagree with my selections. I am using staples, but those 8 or so slots that are up for grabs can often be the difference between a .350 deck and a .450 deck. Also, I must come out and say it. I am a cold, cold man. I cried myself to sleep last night while singing Simple Plan. Food doesn't taste the same... Coca Cola doesn't taste as sweet. You want to know why? Anowon, the Ruin Sage is not in my deck. To those who know me, this is BLASPHEMY. I have used Anowon in every single Vampire deck I have ever created, and today marks a dark day in my magic playing career. I will need to buy flowers and chocolate and read him a story every night for the rest of my life because of this... Anyways, rambling aside, I have the staples 4xVampire Nocturnus, 4xVampire Nighthawk, 4xVampire Hexmage, 4xVampire Lacerator, and 4xGatekeeper of Malakir. I finish off my Vampire deck with 2xMalakir Bloodwitch and 2xChild of Night. With Sign in Blood, Vampire Lacerators and fetch lands running around in my deck, the lifelink is a valuable effort to replenish my life resource. Lacerator is a 2/2 for 1 mana which is awesome, gatekeeper to add more creature removal if needed, hexmage for her first strike and her planeswalker killing abilities, Bloodwitch for more lifegain and possible game win and finally Nighthawk and Nocturnus which need no explanation.
THE DECK-
Dec15
Modern
1 COMMENT | 501 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
VS
Brad Nelson, Pro Tour
Modern
2235 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
RESULTS-
This week, due to the fact most great extended decks just cycled due to Scars, I am only going to go against a top 8 deck from the Pro Tour at random. From this past September. I asked a friend with no magic experience to pick one, and he picked the one used by Brad Nelson in Amsterdam used September 3rd, 2010.
First game was fairly uneventful with both decks not getting creatures. I got hit with a Duress and 2 Thoughtseize, losing both my Tendrils of Corruption and a Vampire Nighthawk, but luckily I managed to draw a few Sign in Blood to offset the card loss. I manage to play a Malakir Bloodwitch, and Brad's deck manages to lay down his only Elspeth along with a Loam Lion. Elspeth flips out a token and it becomes my turn. The magic gods are with me however as I draw a hexmage, throw it down, and sac it to kick Elspeth out of the game. Next thing I do is announce attackers; both my Witch and my Child of Night from earlier in the game. My witch has flying so she sails through dealing 4. The token blocks the child to kill it, but i instead use my remaining mana to cast a disfigure onto the token and urge to feed the loam lion, leaving only a Treefolk Harbinger on my opponent's field. Brad's deck draws a knight of reliquary but it's too little, too late, as my next turn I play another With dropping his life to 3 and I swing for 4 with my first, winning me the first game. The second game went very fast. I was hit with a few discard spells again and I had to constantly deal with at least 2 Putrid Leeches. Unfortunately for him, after I got a Nighthawk, and 3 Vampire Lacarators onto the field, he didn't have much chance, especially when he only drew 2 mana. Going 2-0 against this top 8 deck gives n00bs everywhere hope that they too can jump into extended and have some, even if it is limited, success.
CONCLUSION-
In the end I knew this deck was good with Nocturnus and that I would probably win a game, but going 2-0 was a cool surprise. It won't ever be this easy every time, but extended isn't that much harder then standard, and like I said earlier, this is the format for n00bs to enter into if they wanna do something new without feeling totally lost. If anyone would like me to use their deck in any future articles or if you want me to cover your favorite format, leave a hint down in the comments.
crossclimber says... #2
I just noticed that you left out Lorwyn and Shadowmoor blocks from your list of current extended. There are some pretty fun cards from those sets too.
December 20, 2010 1:19 a.m.
One game can't be considered nearly accurate results, especially when he was hard core land screwed game two. It is meaningless. Interesting article however.
December 20, 2010 1:44 a.m.
I don't go into these articles trying to make a deck that will compete in these formats, I just make a deck as an example and go against a pro deck for a 1 game takes all kinda thing. I also want to give n00bs like me a path to take into the format. That's why I didn't bother with playing more then 1 game and why I don't include a sideboard.
December 20, 2010 2:29 a.m.
tapanmeister says... #5
I still think a little more consideration to the possibilities of having 4 blocks worth of cards at your disposal would have behooved the depth of the article, since your deck would have been legal in standard all the way up to Oct. 15th.
For the sake of innovation, it would have been much more interesting to have attempted a multicolor deck, or at least one which doesn't retain all but 4 cards in an otherwise standard list.With all of the fixing extended has access to, you have access to great creature removal (which we can see that you value quite highly), like Terminate , pound for pound one of the best ever printed. You have all the Vivid land cycle, as well as the Alara tri-lands.
And then you have the salivatingly juicy card cycles like the Ultimatums. When I first took a look back into the card pool that didn't fall into net-decklists like faeries or Jund, ridiculous powerhouse cards like Cruel Ultimatum were what stuck out most for me. You did a passable job creating an extended list from cards you knew and enjoyed, but what was missing from this that was incorporated into your last article was the card research. For vintage, there were an overwhelming amount of permutations for a n00b to contemplate. Here, the pool is much smaller - giving yourself a chance to branch out into a different archetype without relying on a tribal mindset. I'd say take another whack at extended, and try to challenge yourself a bit further in your deckbuilding.
December 20, 2010 6:11 a.m.
I think the consensus is that there should of been more effort put into the process, instead of taking an old standard deck that was not very competitive to begin with and calling it extended.
December 20, 2010 10:11 a.m.
jacelightning says... #9
I understand what all is being said, and I would like to add something. The deck you constructed is what most people do when they approach Extended for the first time is to port something over from Standard. The thing about Extended isn't that you get two extra blocks to play with so that Fairies and Jund are in play as well as U/B control and Valakut, but instead that you get 4 times the interactions. So instead of getting the standard amount of interactions, you get not just double the interactions (i.e. the Double Standard nickname) you get exponentially more interactions and the best decks in these formats are usually the ones that best capture the interactions between the blocks instead of just porting an old deck over.
Great idea using the Vampires interactions that spread through M10, M11, and Zendikar block and maximize the effectiveness of the tribe.
December 20, 2010 2:41 p.m.
Thanks for all the feedback.
Again, people are missing the point. The thing for new players that are interested in extended when you're getting started is start off with what you know, in my case vampires, and build on that. That is an introduction into extended, which is what this is. Now, if I actually wanted to make a competative deck in extended, yes I would have done most of what you guys have suggested, but in MY PERSONAL CASE I love vampires, and most good vampires are in standard along with Nocturnus. I made it mono black to take advantage of Nocturnus, who IMO is the best Vamp ever made.
Yes I could have used Sengir Vampire and others but this is just the cards that I like and I would use as a beginner in extended. Obviously with more time in the format you warm up to using other archtypes and other deck ideas but getting started you just want to make it at easy as possible.
Again, thanks for the feedback, but this is to give players an entryway into the format, NOT a how to guide on how to be a pro at it.
December 20, 2010 3:18 p.m.
No offense but I don't see too much point of an article unless it does something original. Even a noob is capable of porting a standard deck and googling extended rules.
December 20, 2010 10:49 p.m.
crossclimber says... #13
Leafs try not to take this too hard. I think what people are trying to say is, we know you are a noob and this is written for them but a well done article in this genre often shows growth of the player. You did not demonstrate that in this article. You even mentioned how "easy" this format was for you. I think you could have spent more time exploring it before going to your pet vamps. Essentially, you stayed with what you knew in deck building, your research was lacking in missing 2 blocks and your testing of the deck was ... suspect. So my advice for your next article is to play a LOT of games in best way you know how in the format you are trying to understand and then tell us what you learned from that. That is really how you get better at Magic and come to understand the formats.
December 21, 2010 1:58 a.m.
Savage1988 says... #14
although crossclimber might be right, i still think it at least is an entertaining article for me (someone who never ventured away from standard). i realise it doesnt realy say much about extended (only 6 non-standard cards are used), but it was a good read. so +1 for leafs :)
December 21, 2010 10:34 a.m.
CharonSquared says... #15
Sheesh you guys are being harsh. Not like you're paying this guy to write these articles. Constructive criticism is all well and good but establishing arbitrary criteria for a "good article" then bashing him for not meeting those criteria seems unnecessary.
Taking an existing standard archetype and then incorporating the additional cards from the Extended cardpool is a valid strategy for those new to the format. I think demonstrating this idea is a perfectly fine basis for an article.
So, as someone who's never really taken an interest in Extended before, thanks Leaf for making the format less intimidating for me =D
December 21, 2010 2:14 p.m.
crossclimber says... #16
Most relevant comment so far:
"So, as someone who's never really taken an interest in Extended before, thanks Leaf for making the format less intimidating for me =D" - Charon
As for porting a standard deck into extended... umm... look at the extended results from world's and you'll see 50% or more of the pros did that exact thing! So this is not a bad way for new players to approach the format as well and I'm a huge proponent of playing a deck you know well and enjoy playing regardless of the format. So for these things I applaud Leafs.
I only take issue with the depth of his research when exploring a new format. Standard (while better than its been in a while) is not nearly as wide open for different strategies and approaches as the formats with a larger card pool. If you're exploring a format even for the first time I suggest dipping into several different archetypes and seeing how they work. And you don't have to be a millionaire to do this with tools like Apprentice and Workstation that let you build and test with every card available or you can proxy and play that way. And netdecks are a dime a dozen, this very site is a great place for ideas. You may find a new favorite and if nothing else you'll be a better player for having tried.
December 21, 2010 3:12 p.m.
CharonSquared says... #17
Just one question though; is the Lorwyn Block legal in extended? Because according to here it is: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=judge/resources/sfrextended
December 21, 2010 4:05 p.m.
I searched Gathering under "extended" setting but only alara came up. I don't know maybe it glitched?
December 21, 2010 4:16 p.m.
KrazyCaley says... #19
Currently legal in extended:
Lorwyn, Alara, Zendikar, Mirrodin. Core sets for 2010 and 2011.
December 21, 2010 6:18 p.m.
KrazyCaley says... #20
I agree with crossclimber. The concept here is good, and the article is well-written. Of course it's not going to be detailed analysis and tech, that's the point; it's a "here's what it's like from the perspective of a newbie to the format."
That said, it DOES need more depth; a bit of effort will turn this series into a real winner. Check out top 8 lists, see what people are playing, see what's popular, run your weapon of choice against lots of different decks, especially the popular ones of the format. The format IS made more accessible by these articles, but it be made far MORE accessible by showing us what the lay of the land is, metagame-wise.
December 21, 2010 6:24 p.m.
tapanmeister says... #21
I would just like to point out that you also went up against a deck that was from an older version extended. While an inaccurate pairing, evem for a noob, big ups again for fighting through nasty cards like Tarmogoyf . I agree with Kaley though, play it against faerieees...
December 21, 2010 7:10 p.m.
YamishiTheWickedOne says... #22
i have a question... can vampire decks function with only 2 Nocturnus? i only own 3, and i'm the sort of wierdo who can't stand having uneven numbers of cards that aren't legendary.
crossclimber says... #1
Maybe a look at EDH or "Commander" as its now called would be timely or some of the other fun formats like pauper and pack wars. Mental Magic (altho really not good for beginners) is one of my favorite formats. Thanks for taking these exploratory journeys. Its fun to see players looking at this for the first time and to get their take on it.
Your deck is decent for sure but one thing I caution against is testing without sideboarding. Since 60%+ games are played post board, any match-up needs to be tested as such. Not saying the results here would be any different just a note about testing. There are many times a bad match-up becomes quite winnable after sideboarding and vise versa.
December 20, 2010 1:17 a.m.