by Justin Richardson
In his latest offering to Mana Deprived, Justin Richardson tells us to play the best deck, something many players turn away from when selecting their deck for a tournament. This article was actually delayed because it includes a bonus decklist that Team Canada was very much interested in playing at the World Championships currently taking place. Enjoy!
Affinity.
Faeries.
Jund.
These are just a few in a long list of decks that have given PTQ players fits over the years. Decks that a lot of players have just refused to play and have lost countless matches to. Some good players just refuse to play the best deck for what ever reason, wether it is a dislike of having a target on your back, the thought of playing mirror matches all day or the need to show your peers that you are better than the average player and that you don't need to play the number one deck to win. Whatever the reason behind this madness, you need a reality check. You may be the best player in the room by why are you knowlingly putting yourself at a huge disadvantage before the tournament even starts by playing a strictly inferior deck than about half the room. I have heard all the excuses before including such hits as:
"I always mana flood with aggro"
"I always get outdrawn in the mirror"
"I only play blue decks"
"This deck won X tournament"
I myself have even fallen back into the trap of not playing the best deck, as recently as the previous PTQ season. I had played Jund in Standard since Zendikar was released until the extended PTQs came along. I played Thopter Combo pretty much through the entire season to decent success but then T2 PTQs came back around suddenly and instead of playing the obvious best deck which was Jund I got distracted by the new decks that had appeared like UW Control. I kept getting thrashed by Jund and had no clue what I was doing wrong as other UW players kept winning even though I was the better player and it frustrated me to no end. Eventually I realised that UW was not the best deck and that I had to give up on it no matter how much I like playing Blue control decks. No I did not do what most of you are probably thinking and pick up Jund, I still arrogantly thought I was better than that and that my friends would only think I won because I was playing Jund. A Power 9 tournament was coming up and still I stubbornly refused to play Jund so this is what I played.
4 Akoum Battlesinger
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Harabaz Druid
4 Kabira Evangel
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Oran-rief Survivalist
4 Talus Paladin
2 Ranger of Eos
2 Naya Charm
4 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Forest
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Arid Mesa
4 Jungle Shrine
4 Sunpetal Grove
1 Raging Ravine
Sideboard:
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Ondu Cleric
1 Ranger Of Eos
3 Tuktuk Scrapper
3 Dauntless Escort
2 Manabarbs
1 Raging Ravine
Obviously you can all tell that this was not even close to ever being the best deck at any point during the format. I went into the tournament with this pile of cards hoping to mise out ppl with some fast creatures before they knew what was going on. Round 1 I got crushed by a UW allies deck that seemed a lot worse then mine and felt dejected and really regreted not choosing to succumb to the Savage Lands. If I couldn't even beat a worse version of my deck how could I possibly beat Jund? Next thing I know it is Game 3 and I just need to draw my 3rd land so I could play my Kabira Evangel and attack for lethal. I draw the land play the ally and attack for lethal.
Everyone starts clapping.
Wait, did you just say clapping?
Oh, did I not mention that was the finals?
Yes I had won the tournament with this monstrousity of a deck and was on top of the world. I thought I had to be one of the best players to win with such a rogue deck. I was so confident with the deck that I had decided to play it for the upcoming PTQ and had even managed to convince one of my friends, who always refuses to play good decks, to also play the same deck. I thought for sure I was going to win, I was undefeated against Jund with the deck at the previous tournament, who cares if they kept 2 land hands or that they refused to use their Master of the Wild Hunt on my creatures. Who cares that UW the decks worst matchup just got the best cards from Rise of the Eldrazi in the the form of Wall of Omens and Gideon Jura, both of which were the stone nuts agaisnt my deck. Obviously I got crushed even losing to my "best" matchups Jund and Mythic and dropped at 1-4 only beating a guy who decided to use his Naya Charm to tap my one creature when he was at double digits instead of regrowthing his Lightning Bolt and killing me.
I knew I needed to get off my high horse and just give in to the Jund menace so I did. The next PTQ I played Jund and finished 3rd and after that knew I would always vow to play the best deck no matter what. You always get mana screwed playing aggro? How would that have changed your 0-2 drop finish. People always outdraw you in the mirror match? Maybe if you practiced the mirror a lot instead of complaining you would learn what was important in the matchup.
One thing to be on the lookout for when playing the best deck is when the metagame shifts and becomes too hostile for you to play the deck. This has happened accross almost every constructed format ever. Dating back almost 10 years when Gro came out of nowhere with their cheap counterspells and low land count to beat the dominant Trix deck, to the current Standard format were we can see a rise in Vampire decks due to their invulnerability towards the 4 Doom Blades that Ub Control was playing.
These metagame shifts happen very quickly in more current formats due to Magic Online and being able to play all the time and information spreading so quickly to everyone. Sure you might be able to get away with last weeks tech due to the real world not being as fast as Magic Online but when the time comes you don't want to be the one caught with your pants around your ankles, and you need to be able to put down and pick up the next 'best' deck.
I feel there are only 2 reasons why you should not be playing the deck with a target on its back.
1. You don't have access to the cards.
2. You have played another Tier 1 deck so much that you know all the matchups inside and out.
Remember that playing the best deck isn't enough, you still need to practice with it just like any other deck, especially the mirror match, but once you've mastered it you will be surprised at how many free wins you get over the course of any given tournament. You cannot guess how many games are over before they even begin because the other player will go on tilt once they see what you are playing and that they have to play against "another Jund" or "another Faerie" deck. Get over your fear of playing the best deck and start taking the free wins people give you.
Good player + Best deck = Winning formula
Bonus Decklist
This is my updated UW Control decklist
1 Arid Mesa
1 Scalding Tarn
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Seachrome Coast
4 Tectonic Edge
5 Island
4 Plains
4 Celestial Colonade
2 Baneslayer Angel
3 Wall of Omens
1 Sun Titan
1 Gideon Jura
3 Elspeth Tirel
3 Jace Beleren
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Mana Leak
3 Spell Pierce
1 Stoic Rebuttal
4 Preordain
2 Journey to Nowhere
3 Condemn
2 Day of Judgement
Sideboard
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Day of Judgement
1 Mindbreak Trap
3 Flashfreeze
3 Luminarch Ascension
3 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Negate
Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites. He is also the lead host of the First Strike podcast.
