So have you seen the blue inside the constructed room?  As of Oct. 14th, it was an advertisement for core set two and eight mans.  This format is limited to decks made of 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and M10 sets.  Now ask, 'What's the most dominating thing I can do with those sets?'

Let's begin by showing off the best few decks, each of which is an archetype from days of yore. 

Magnivore

23 land version with man-lands

Creatures 4 Magnivore 4 cards Other Spells 4 Ponder 2 Sleight of Hand 2 Boomerang 2 Volcanic Hammer 2 Pyroclasm 2 Divination 4 Pillage 4 Stone Rain 2 Annex 2 Concentrate 2 Tidings 1 Chandra Nalaar 3 Wildfire 32 cards

Lands 1 Faerie Conclave 3 Ghitu Encampment 4 Shivan Reef 6 Mountain 9 Island 23 cards Sideboard 4 Dragon's Claw 3 Pithing Needle 2 Pyroclasm 4 Counterspell 1 Chandra Nalaar 14 cards

Originally dominating in Ravnica block, I had to remember Annex was in 9th, and that Pillage from 7th is clearly better than Demolish.  Some versions will run 4 Cryoclasm in there, either main or sideboard, so be prepared for that.  The 23 land is perhaps high with all the cantrips, but remember the deck's game plan is casting Wildfire... meaning it needs to be able to recover with more lands.  If you prefer, you could cut a couple lands for Sky Diamond or Fire Diamond from 7th, but I wouldn't advise it.  As a tweak, running 2 Shard Phoenix and 3 Magnivore for the creature package is also fine.  This is the deck I chose to run in the Challenge.  Likely, there is a better build out there; I maximized sorceries for 'vore synergy.

Token Opposition

No Static Orbs here

Creatures 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Llanowar Elves 3 Elvish Visionary 3 Merfolk Looter 4 Ant Queen 18 cards Other Spells 4 Counterspell 4 Mana Leak 3 Jace Beleren 3 Garruk Wildspeaker 4 Opposition 18 cards

Lands 4 Faerie Conclave 3 Treetop Village 4 Yavimaya Coast 6 Forest 7 Island 24 cards Sideboard 4 Pithing Needle 4 Naturalize 3 Great Sable Stag 2 Confiscate 2 Force Spike 15 cards

The Opposition archetype was big around 2002, when the card was first released in Urza's Destiny.  It typically used squirrel token generation from cards like Deranged Hermit and Squirrel Nest combined with the enchantment to lock the other person out.  Thanks to M10, we have plenty of cards to generate tokens with.  Ant Queen and Garruk are golden.  Verdant Force, Howl of the Night Pack, and Master of the Wild Hunt were also considered, but can't survive Wildfire or were too slow.  For random tech, some ancient sideboards ran Equilibrium, which is in 7th.

The weaker Opposition deck, for the curious, is white/blue.  It doesn't have the token generation, but makes use of a hard lock instead, that of Windborn Muse + Static Orb to keep the opponent on a permanent lockdown with Opposition.  It has less guys, wraths, more counterspells, including Memory Lapse, and generally isn't as competitive.  Note the number on non-basic blue sources above... it's helpful against both Choke and Boil.

 

Urzatron

 

Creatures 3 Sphinx Ambassador 2 Bogardan Hellkite 1 Platinum Angel 6 cards Other Spells 2 Sky Diamond 2 Fire Diamond 2 Pyroclasm 4 Counterspell 4 Mana Leak 4 Telling Time 3 Divination 2 Fireball 2 Tidings 2 Confiscate 2 Opportunity 29 cards

Lands 4 Urza's Tower 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza's Power Plant 4 Shivan Reef 5 Island 2 Mountain 2 Gargoyle Castle 25 cards Sideboard 4 Pithing Needle 2 Pyroclasm 1 Confiscate 2 Mind Control 3 Cryoclasm 3 Dragon's Claw 15 cards

Honestly, this decks wants another counterspell at 2cc, but Memory Lapse is no Remand.  Divination is no Compulsive Research either.  I guess you could try Sift.  Also note the two-two split between Tidings and Opportunity... you are are welcome to go 4 on one of them if you prefer.  The Platinum Angel is techy and can easily be cut if desired; it just happens to win random games sometimes.  You could also run an 8th edition Planar Portal in that spot.  While not ideal like the Urzatron decks of worlds around 2006, I've found Sphinx Ambassador to be superior to both Keiga, the Tide Star and Meloku the Clouded Mirror once you start searching their library.   Sometimes this deck runs Wildfire as well, depending on the metagame.  Be sure to adjust the Diamond mixture if you want to focus on that sub-strategy.  Final note -- considering more Sky Diamonds or more Islands to make casting Counterspell easier; the blue count is low for double blue.  There is a more controlling u/w version that runs x4 Wrath of God and Baneslayer Angel, but I like being able to Fireball them out.  It's more consistent because of Coastal Tower in addition to the other white/blue duals.  Also be aware if this deck rises to high in popularity, Bribery was in 8th edition.

 

The Milling Deck

better than you think

Creatures 0 cards Other Spells 4 Ponder 4 Holy Day 3 Memory Lapse 4 Counterspell 4 Mana Leak 4 Howling Mine 1 Millstone 4 Telling Time 4 Jace Beleren 4 Time Warp 2 Opportunity 38 cards

Lands 4 Adarkar Wastes 4 Glacial Fortress 5 Island 3 Faerie Conclave 3 Forbidding Watchtower 3 Plains 22 cards Sideboard 3 Pithing Needle 4 Sacred Ground 2 Confiscate 3 Disenchant 3 Circle of Protection: Red 15 cards

If you enjoyed Sanity Grinding while it was in type II, this may be what you want in Core Set Constructed.  There's nothing good to Twincast unless you work in Traumatize in the list somehow.  I haven't actually played this list myself, but I've beaten it everytime I've faced it.  I don't have a high opinion of it, but you may see it in events.  You may see Story Circle and Wrath of God in the main deck in place of Memory Lapse and the Millstone.  Exhaustion is also in the card mix, but I personally have never liked that card.

 

R/G Burning Bridges

tier two

Creatures 4 Kird Ape 4 Mogg Fanatic 2 Master of the Wild Hunt 2 Siege-Gang Commander 12 cards Other Spells 4 Shock 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Incinerate 4 Volcanic Hammer 2 Hammer of Bogardan 4 Ensnaring Bridge 3 Grafted Skullcap 25 cards

Lands 4 Karplusan Forest 4 Rootbound Crag 5 Forest 3 Ghitu Encampment 4 Mountain 3 Treetop Village 23 cards Sideboard 3 Pithing Needle 3 Boil 3 Blood Moon 3 Great Sable Stag 3 Earthquake 15 cards

And here's the typical r/g aggro deck that the above lists are siding in their Dragon's Claw package for.  The 0.12 Grafted Skullcaps basically say 'you can't attack me' with an Ensnaring Bridge in play, while refilling your burn in hand.  This list can get lucky, but tends to die against the first three decks above.  It is also the most easily budgetized list -- you can out the Villages and Master of the Wild Hunt for more basic lands and Siege Gangs.  You could also go mono-red, but make sure to run 4 Pithing Needle to trump COP:Red with at least one main deck, if you do.  The budget build should also consider running at least one Flamewave Invoker.

You'll notice the lack of a good black deck and general absence of Wrath of God from the ranks of the better decks.  Sure black has Phyrexian Arena, Persecute, Corrupt, Duress, Distress, and Nightmare for the finisher.  What is missing is a good early and mid-game, and the control decks above are better than mono-black control.  The top tier doesn't rely on creatures for the win, and each of them enjoys a soft or hard lock, another element missing in straight black.  (That means they have a way of creating a game state you can't come back from easily.)  Also, if there is a decent black deck, Compost from 7th will hate it out. 

I don't think Enchantress is viable given the popularity of both Pyroclasm and Wildfire, despite both Mesa Enchantress and (Verduran Enchantess) being in the card pool.  The cards below may be at the core of possible good decks, so feel free to explore on your own.

  Great things?

With that in mind, let's see how I do in the 5pm October 17th Core Set Constructed Challenge.

r1 vs Niablock

He's mono-black with Howling Mine/Underworld Dreams... and he draws over 15 swamps against my LD.  He kills me with a Sign in Blood (doing 6 with double dreams) after a Cruel Edict on my Magnivore and a Tendrils of Corruption on a man-land to stay alive.  He says "Kind of funny, normally I'd consider that a terrible draw with all those lands but it ended up working out."

Game two I kill five lands, and he terrors my first Magnivore.  I keep two Shivan Reef after a Wildfire, but take too much damage Counterspelling and casting Boomerang on Underworld Dreams.  This is a clear mistake -- should have kept 2 island.  On turn 11 he casts a lethal Corrupt and kills me.  I took eight points of painland damage during the game, and had a Magnivore with power greater than his life total in hand.  (But I tapped out to Concentrate since I had no counters, and he didn't miss his 11th land drop.)

This was a pretty disappointing experience, as his deck didn't run Duress or Persecute, and he made all 26 of his land drops, never missing a single one in two games.  Perhaps Magnivore isn't as good as I think it is.  I almost played the Urzatron deck instead, and in hindsight, I wish I'd made the call the other way.

From replays I see ceoboy01's Opposition deck with (Troll Asetic) beaten by u/w Steel Golem control with Gargoyle Castles and Quicksands, running Disenchants and Hibernation in the side.  I see u/w Baneslayer Control played by Gosu that sided in Flashfreeze, take apart w/g Baneslayer mid-range aggro.  Cards of note in those games were Rewind and Loxodon Warhammer.  SICKx7 runs a Jace-mill deck with Exhaustion that beats u/g on the back of Pithing Needle and good play.  Lots of Negate flying about in that match-up.  Despite replay problems, I see most of Wasted beating Lotus_Cobra... white weenie with Paladin En-Vec, Celestial Purge, and Karma defeats mono-black.  Prolespis9 with Magnivore containing sift loses against burning bridges, mono-red, played by CharToYourFace.  Triple bridge in one game is hard to beat backed up by burn.  GI-Darius with green-black tempo good stuff Plow Under, Persecute, Master of the Wild Hunt, Hypnotic Specter defeats mono-black.  Another Magnivore deck loses, this to time u/w with double Paladin and Condemn.  Apparently the 'vore only looks good on paper.  Time for round two.

r2 vs zer0h playing mono-red burn

I kill or Annex all his lands and beat him down leisurely with Magnivores.  I was at three, and if he had a Mountain to go with the bolt I was sure lurked in his hand, I would have died.  I take out Tidings, Boomerangs, and Divination for 2 Pyroclams and 4 Dragon's Claw.  My second turn Dragon's Claw gains me 14 life over the course of the game, which is ended on turn 15 when he scoops to my position of triple Dragon Claw and Wildfire (which killed all his land).  I didn't actually draw a Magnivore in game two.

My round one opponent loses against u/w Baneslayer.  CharToYourFace's burn deck is defeated by u/w Steel Golem piloted by JohnnyHotSauce.   All I'm able to watch is a Seismic Assault get force spiked.  SICKx7 mill deck beats mono-white with Savannah Lions piloted by Beckman.  Opposition beats mono-red in the loser's bracket (where I am now).  Please note all the replays I'm watching in this round aren't getting past turn six no matter how long the games went.  Some aren't even making it past turn one.  Hopefully you have an idea of the metagame by now, since data mining the replays is an exercise in futility, I'm stopping it.

It should be noted this environment isn't fast paced.  Both rounds so far have played until the limits of time -- one hour and five minutes each.


r3 vs Beckman playing white weenie

I kill his first two land.  He plays three 2/1 for one mana, lions, lions, vanguard.  They kill me on turn five when he has no land on the table.  Game two I mull into Pyroclasm, Earthquake, 4 lands.  I take out his early army, then Wildfire.  He draws more lands, and plays Honor the Pure, Glorious Anthem, Honor the Pure, Loxodon Warhammer.  He holds back on guys.   Finally he plays a Stormfront Pegasus.  It's 8/4.  I take one hit, he doesn't play another guy.  I waste my hand of Pyroclasm/Volcanic Hammer to take it out.  Next turn he plays two MORE stormfront pegasi.  I have nothing, and lose.

8/4 flying lifelink kills me

r4 vs el_fake (lucky him, paired down against me)

He's playing r/g slow beats with Plow Under and Siege Gang.  I discard a card after keeping 2 mountain with LD on six.  He plows me and then kills me fast.  I sided in Pyroclams, Earthquake, a couple Counterspells, and another Pithing Needle.   He mulls to four, I play Chandra.  He bolts her twice, can't kill her, and scoops on turn six.  Game three I draw ONLY islands.  On turn four I Concentrate into red sources and he casts Boil, destroying all my land.  After that, he seals the deal with a Plow Under, though I do counterspell a Borgarden Hellkite, the 2nd Ascetic does the last points.  I dealt with the first one via Pyroclasm and Pithing Needle.

So at this point, I'm telling you... Magnivore isn't the deck you want to play.

vs. means I lose.

Well since I'm doing so bad (and really wishing I played my Urzatron list since no one else did), what do I think of the environment now?  Apparently white weenie is tier two, and enough hate cards exist to make Magnivore also tier two.  The one deck I thought was tier two, piloted by SICKx7, is likely making top 8.  See above where I name names?  Most of them are also in the top of the event.   R/G is better than I thought, and so is u/w Baneslayer control.  Well now you know what to expect, thanks in part to the matches taking so long and leaving me time to write this article.

r5 -- I get the Bye.  Up to 6 match points.  If I win the final round I have a small chance of making top 16. 

r6 -- vs TaZi playing  Static Opposition with Awakener Druid

I mull one land into no land into a five card hand of 3 land concentrate annex.  He plays opposition on turn three off birds of paradise.  On turn four he plays Garruk and makes a beast.  He can now tap all my lands.  I Ponder into my main deck Pithing Needle, and he chooses not to tap his static orb in response.  I can't untap enough lands to Wildfire, and his guys kill me.  Side in more needles, Earthquake, counters...   He Mana Leaks my Pyroclasm and Concentrate, and the Naturalizes my Pithing Needle.  I draw eight lands, but he always keeps me two under Wildfire mana, since I've got that in hand... yeah he had the Opposition after the naturalize.  I play a 7/7 Magnivore... it gets tapped.  He plays Static Orb, taps all my permanents, tap the Orb to break the symmetry, and then kills me.   End event.

Yep, that's it... no chance of prize for me.  I finish 22nd place.  Opposition is a tier one deck, and also very popular.  Expect to see it in some form at your next core set constructed event.

As for me, maybe I'll play with this idea --

Core Set Constructed Top 8 out of 35 players:
Gosu. -- u/w control with Baneslayer
SICKx7 -- u/w mill
CharToYourFace -- mono-red Bridges
ceobry01 -- ???
Beckman -- white weenie, lost to him in r3
cpage01 -- u/w Baneslayer with Jace, sb Disenchants
Player005 -- Magnivore with Mana Leak, Lightning Bolt, Obliterate -- maybe this is the best build?  Certainly use those cards if you build 'vore.
el_fake -- r/g beats, lost to him in r4

Top 4 -- cpage01, Beckman, Gosu., Player005

Finals -- Gosu. defeats Player005

Thanks for reading, and remember to start your sideboard with 2 Dragon Claws and 4 Pithing Needles.