Ye Olde Deckbuilding Challenge #8- The Dark
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Posted on June 14, 2013, 3:29 p.m. by doinitwrong
This challenge is for the Old Fogey that soothly misses the good olde days of Magic, before the mischievous age of Miracles, Infect, and Annihilator.
First, let me congratulate sewellius for winning Ye Olde Deckbuilding Challenge #7- Antiquities with his deck Land Sink.
As the Summer Solstice is next week, what could be a better set for this week's challenge than The Dark?
What to do:
- Build a 60-card deck (Thou shalt not count to 61, nor to 59).
- At least 20 cards in your deck must be from The Dark.
- The rest may be from either The Dark or Revised Edition.
- No Sideboard will be used.
Post your deck here by Friday, June 21, at which time I shall take all submissions and have a tournament to determine the superlative one.
Banned List- Fie upon the miscreant to post hither a deck whereinsoever contains a card mentioned forthwith:
- Balance
- Channel
- Contract from Below
- Darkpact
- Demonic Attorney
- Demonic Tutor
- Fastbond
- Ivory Tower
- Regrowth
- Sol Ring
- Wheel of Fortune
Good luck and may the best antiquarian win.
P.S. If anyone wants me to ping them when I post a new challenge so you don't miss out, let me know.
doinitwrong says... #3
Oh, thanks for reminding me. I knew it used to be restricted, but I was going to keep it legal anyway. After the last challenge, however, I decided that creature-based strategies could use a bit of a boost.
Retroactive changes to the banned list:
Maze of Ith is banned.
June 14, 2013 3:45 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #5
Mind Twist was flat-out banned until 2000. It hasn't proved too powerful in these challenges, though, so I'm keeping it legal.
June 14, 2013 4:20 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #8
Owing to scheduling issues, I am changing the deadline to Saturday the 22nd.
June 15, 2013 11:38 p.m.
I'm working on an entry, but this week is pretty busy so it'll probably be late in the week.
I just noticed this challenge only allows one deck per person. That means I have to be able to make up my mind... dang.
June 17, 2013 4:23 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #10
@sewellius Oops, I guess I was using an old template for this challenge. I didn't mean to limit people to 1 deck apiece.
NOTE: You may submit up to 2 decks for the challenge.
June 17, 2013 7 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #12
sigh I really need to proofread these more thoroughly, though it's hard to concentrate on one challenge when you're already thinking about what the next 2-3 challenges will be after it.
June 17, 2013 7:26 p.m.
TheLameSauce says... #14
June 18, 2013 11:01 a.m.
doinitwrong says... #15
The deadline is in 3 days. How many more submissions will there be?
June 19, 2013 3:37 p.m.
Okay, I've got my submissions ready, here they are:
Submission #1: Twilight Knights
Submission #2: Burning Merfolk
June 19, 2013 5:21 p.m.
Not really happy with this one yet, but what the heck: I shall reap what you would sew
June 19, 2013 11:56 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #20
Apoptosis don't worry, you have until Saturday to finalize/optimize.
With that latest submission, we are now just 1 shy of tying the record for most submissions for a Ye Olde Challenge. Will the record be met? Will it be passed? I suppose only time will tell!
June 20, 2013 12:14 a.m.
Thanks doinitwrong. I tweaked it a little, but it's more that 20 cards from The Dark that forces me to shoehorn some cards that I'd rather not use. But after playtesting, that tweaking made me take the deck in a way I hadn't considered initially and now I sorta like it. I guess why it's called a "challenge". We'll see how it makes out. Let's beat that record!!!
Thanks again.
June 20, 2013 12:26 a.m.
doinitwrong says... #22
Deadline is tomorrow! Will anyone else dare to accept the challenge?
June 21, 2013 12:58 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #23
The time has come. The games shall begin. The Lord of Darkness shall be crowned.
June 22, 2013 6:18 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #25
Round 1 Results
The following decks get a bye:
- Goblins advance!!! YODBC8
- I shall reap what you would sew
- Down in the Bayou
- Slow and Howling Death
- Revised Darkness
- Twilight Knights
- No, I'm More Afraid of That Fireball
TheLameSauces Are you afraid of the Dark? vs. sewelliuss Burning Merfolk
G1: An early Serendib Efreet is met by Ghost Ship , negating its usefulness. Other early creatures get burned away. Eventually Burning gets Merfolk Assassin and War Barge and kills the Efreet (after it deals 8 damage to Afraid) , allowing the Ghost Ships to attack. Afraid cant keep blockers on the field, and the ships sail on to victory.
G2: Afraid gets off to a very fast start, and Burning has trouble keeping up. This time Serendib Efreet works perfectly, massacring Burning despite a Fork ed Mind Twist slowing the offensive somewhat.
G3: Afraid again gets a lightning start, countering any blockers Burning tries to play. Hypnotic Specter ends it before Burning can get a big enough burn spell.
Are you afraid of the Dark? wins 2-1
June 22, 2013 7:29 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #27
Round 2 Results
Apoptosis's Goblins advance!!! YODBC8 vs. TheLameSauce's Are You Afraid of The Dark?
G1: Goblins gets a fast start until Ghost Ship stalls him. After a 3rd Goblin Shrine appears, they try attacking again, but regenerating creatures prove hindering. Eventually, though, enough goblins can get around the blockers and pick up the win.
G2: A pair of Dark Ritual s give Afraid a T1 The Fallen , and Goblins loses a lot of life fast. Eventually Goblins gets enough creatures out to go on the offensive, and the life totals even out. Afraid cant get blockers, and multiple Goblin King s march on to victory.
Goblins advance!!! YODBC8 wins 2-0
atreyujames's Down in the Bayou vs. Cobthecobbler's Revised Darkness
G1: Revised is plagued with manascrew, allowing Bayou to get an early advantage. He manages to Dark Ritual out a Royal Assassin , however, to stall the onslaught. Word of Binding helps Revised assassinate creatures even after they stop attacking. Once all of Bayous creatures are dead, Revised plays an Eater of the Dead of his own and starts attacking. Bayou cant draw a blocker and succumbs.
G2: Revised gets a T1 Royal Assassin , and the games starts at a standstill. After a lengthy stalemate, Revised plays Lord of the Pit and starts obliterates Bayou before diminishing board presence can prove harmful.
Revised Darkness wins 2-0
TheLameSauce's No, I'm More Afraid of That Fireball vs. atreyujames's Slow and Howling Death
G1: The early game is dominated by removal (Terror , Fissure , and Ashes to Ashes ). After the dust settles, Drowned starts pinging away, followed by Bog Imp after Drowned gets Disintegrate d. Howling tries using Howling Mine , Black Vise , and Winter Orb to choke the last of Fireballs life out, but Fireball, thanks to Gaea's Touch , has a ton of lands and sacrifices the tapped ones to Dark Heart of the Wood . Eventually Fireball plays Mana Flare and is able to play his namesake card for lethal.
G2: Howling tries Black Vise + Howling Mine early, but more draws just prove to be more lands to play for Fireball. He manages to get Mana Flare and burn for lethal before the Vises can prove painful, proving you should indeed be more afraid of Fireball .
No, I'm More Afraid of That Fireball wins 2-0
Apoptosis's I shall reap what you would sew vs. sewellius's Twilight Knights
G1: A pair of Mind Bomb s hurt both players early. Knights gets 3 Royal Assassin s, but loses 1 to a Dance of Many clone. Knights controls the game until Reap gets The Rack + Wand of Ith , forcing Knights to slow his spell casting. After suffering Amnesia , Knights is stuck between a rock and a hard place: either recharge his hand and die from Mahamoti Djinn , or kill the Djinn and die from The Rack . On to game 2.
G2: Reap quickly discards and reanimates Mahamoti Djinn , holding Knights at bay. Some trading assassins and Ashes to Ashes results in Knights having no Royal Assassin s and Reap having a Dance of Many copy. Skull of Orm recurs Animate Dead , which takes Knight's discarded Serra Angel and swings away. Knights manages to stop Serra and Hypnotic Specter with Word of Binding + Barl's Cage , but Reap reanimates 2x Mahamoti Djinn and swings for game.
Psst Apoptosis, Mind Twist didn't prove relevant.
I shall reap what you would sew wins 2-0
June 22, 2013 10:53 p.m.
Wow! First time I've had both decks advance. I thought the goblins would do well, but am pleasantly surprised to see the other deck do well too. Surprised to read that Dance of Many played such a good role in the matchup. Always interesting to see how different "in practice" is versus "in theory". Great games.
They looked like great match-ups all around. Round two should be fun to see too. Love to see how they play out (even when I get stomped).
BTW doinitwrong, too funny with the Mind Twist comment. This challenge isn't where Mind Twist would shine, forcing 20 cards from The Dark won't let the right build be put in place. If you ran a Revised/FE YODBC and didn't specify how many FE cards to use, a 4x Mind Twist , 4xHymn to Tourach , 4x Hypnotic Specter , 4x The Rack , plus the option of counter magic/reanimation/Control Magic ... it could be very very ugly. That was my favorite build 15 years ago and Mind Twist was restricted. Anyway, great job, keep it up! Can't wait to see round 2.
June 22, 2013 11:48 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #29
Round 3 Results
Apoptosis's Goblins advance!!! YODBC8 vs. Cobthecobbler's Revised Darkness
G1: Goblins gets a lightning-fast start. Revised tries to stall with Royal Assassin , but Lightning Bolt kills it. Goblin King means Revised cant block, and the game is over turn 5.
G2: Revised gets 2 fast Royal Assassin s, stalling Goblins. Shivan Dragon + Howl from Beyond forces game 3.
G3: 3x Goblin Shrine , 2x Goblin King , and a lot of little guys swarm the field, overwhelming Revised.
Goblins advance!!! YODBC8 wins 2-1
TheLameSauce's No, I'm More Afraid of That Fireball vs. Apoptosis's I shall reap what you would sew
G1: Reap quickly discards and reanimates Mahamoti Djinn . Fireball gets a few mana dorks and Wormwood Treefolk . After Fireball and Ashes to Ashes mostly clears both boards, Hypnotic Specter and The Rack give Reap the advantage, and Fireball is forced to pitch lands to Dark Heart of the Wood to survive. It isnt enough, though, and he succumbs.
G2: What few creatures Fireball can find get Control Magic 'd. Dance of Many makes a second Hypnotic Specter , and Fireball again has to sacrifice lands to stay alive. He eventually runs out, though, and Apoptosis reaps his way to victory.
I shall reap what you would sew wins 2-0
June 23, 2013 12:51 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #30
Finals Result
Apoptosis's Goblins advance!!! YODBC8 vs. I shall reap what you would sew
G1: Goblins builds a bit of board presence, but Hypnotic Specter and Dance of Many hold him at bay. Reap eventually gets Mahamoti Djinn and a Dance copy, and they overrun Goblins.
G2: Goblins swarm the field and Lightning Bolt s Reaps creatures. Multiple Goblin King s force a third game.
G3: RELEVANCE ALERT! An early Mind Twist for 3 hits Goblin King and 2 Goblin Shrine s, preventing a massacre. Unfortunately, Reap gets colorscrewed and cant get any creatures out, making him vulnerable to the goblins that do get played. Goblins gets a Shrine out and completes the slaughter.
Goblins advance!!! YODBC8 wins 2-1
Congratulations Apoptosis, you are the winner of Ye Olde Deckbuilding Challenge #8 and the Lord of the Darkness!
June 23, 2013 2:01 p.m.
Thanks doinitwrong, it's nice to win one. I feel my newfound powers as the Lord of Darkness enfolding me, now if I can use those powers to get my kids to clean up their toys I shall rule the multi-verse!!
Goblins back in the day got a real boost from The Dark and if I remember correctly, it was the first time that people started viewing goblin decks as a serious threat.
Thanks again for running this forum. I'm looking forward to the next challenge (with or without Mind Twist )
;-)
June 23, 2013 3:24 p.m.
Cobthecobbler says... #32
Awesome, I moved on to the third round, but I ended up losing in the end.
I had no idea Lightning Bolt was in revised. That instantly would have gone in. Oh well, next time!
June 23, 2013 8:19 p.m.
doinitwrong says... #33
Thank you everyone who participated. I hope you will all be back for Ye Olde Deckbuilding Challenge #9- Portal Block.
Cobthecobbler I liked how your deck worked, I didn't even realize Lightning Bolt until you pointed it out. I the loss doesn't dissuade you.
Apoptosis I can imagine how crazy standard goblins were back then: Goblin King from Revised, Goblin Shrine from The Dark, and Goblin Grenade from Fallen Empires... wow.
June 23, 2013 8:36 p.m.
Cobthecobbler says... #34
Thank you, I thought it worked pretty good, and it's alright.
If you wouldn't mind pinging me for more challenges, that would be awesome. I'm developing my entry for the Portal block challenge now.
Apoptosis says... #2
Pretty sure Maze of Ith was restricted back in the day... (just FYI)
June 14, 2013 3:40 p.m.