Building Decks the easy way....

One of the difficulties with making a 100 classic singleton deck is the time it takes to build a deck.  When I first started building decks, I would build them from scratch, adding one card at a time to my deck.  Even when I had a good idea of what kind of deck I was building, this was a slow and tedious process.  I have spent hours just searching through cards in my collection, trying to add the ones I need or want for my deck.  Then I would end up with a deck of about 90 - 120 cards before I even started adding lands.  So then I would go through the painstaking process of cutting 50-60 cards from my deck before adding lands.  Of course I would inevitably cut cards that I didn't really want to cut, such as Eternal Witness.  Finally I would start adding lands 1 at a time.  I would do this by setting my search fields to casting cost = 0 and then pick through all the lands I own in order to build my deck.  This is also a long process as I would have to filter through lots and lots of really terrible lands along with 0 casting cost artifacts and avatars. 

So, after about 2 hours of fighting with the horrible deck building interface,  I would finally have a rough cut at a deck, that I probably wouldn't want to do much with until I shake the bugs out of it by playing a reasonable number of practice matches and solitaire games.  After building 7-8 decks this way, I thought to myself, there has to be a better way.  It was then that I started looking at shortcuts for the deckbuilding process.  I discovered the (text format) .txt format, and learned how this can really save me some time.

     So, what is the difference between the .txt format and the .dek format.  Here are the important details...

So, why in the world am I spending so much time talking about this?  Because the mothership, www.magicthegathering.com, publishes decklists that can easily be converted to a format you can load on Magic online.  If you've known this for years, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS EARLIER?  Seriously, I've spent way too much time trying to search for cards on the deck editor, and downloading decklists and modifying them is just so much quicker.  Am I talking about the dreaded net-decking,  well, kind of.  I'm the kind of person that can't leave a good deck well enough alone.  So, I'm not really happy until I personalize any 100CS deck I upload from a top 8 decklist.  Having said that, if you are just starting out with 100 singleton, you can take one of the weekend challenge decklists and pilot it if you want a decent jumping board into the format.

So, where are these wonderful decklists.  I could give you the direct link, however I think it's more useful if you know how to get there from the main site www.magicthegathering.com. Afterall, you probably aren't going to memorize the direct address to that link, and Wizards could tweak the link address at some point in time, making the direct link useless.

1. Go to www.magicthegathering.com

2. Click on the Daily MTG tab

3. Expand the Event Coverage Menu, and select Decklists.

4. Select the "Decks of the Week feature" link, and then select the link to the week of Top 8 decklists of your choice.

Converting Wizard's Top 8 decklist to a .txt format for Magic Online.

1) Open Notepad (yes I do mean notepad, it's on just about every Windows computer I've ever used, and it's usually under accessories)

2) Cut and paste the cards from the decklist into wordpad.  I do it in sections so I can skip all the useless totals.  Leave one blank line between the main deck and sideboard.  If you have any questions about how the format is supposed to look, save any decklist as a "Local Text Deck" i.e. ".txt" and open it with Notepad.  When you save a file as a local text deck and open it up it will look something like this.

Notice, that there is an empty line and a line filled with "Sideboard" to separate the maindeck from the sideboard.  Wizards does this when saving a .txt file, but when you are loading a file the "Sideboard" text part is ignored completely.  All you need is one space to separate the maindeck from the sideboard. 

3)  So, after you're finished cutting and pasting the file into Notepad, you can save it as whatever you want.  I prefer to give credit to the deck's originator or pilot.

4) Then log on to Magic Online, go to the deck editor.

5) Click on the "LOAD DECK" button, switch the type to "Local Text Deck" and find the .txt deck that you just saved with Notepad.  Then click Load.

6)  The deck will show up with your versions of the cards.  So you don't have to worry about having a foil version of a card and not having the original.  Any cards you are missing will show up in RED.  Now, you have the choice of replacing those cards with suitable alternatives or buying those cards.  

This technique is especially useful if you just want to pilot a championship deck, but it also has several other uses....  

1) You can save the mana base for decks and load it in a fraction of the time it takes to build it from scratch.

2)  You can load a top 8 deck, then take out the nonlands cards and build another deck using the same color combinations.

3)  You can modify a top 8 deck by replacing any number of cards to change a splash color, change a tutor engine, tweak a sideboard, or just include that favorite "pet" card of yours.  

Now, let's look at some Top 8 Decklists

Here are 5 decks from 4 separate archtypes that have made appearances in the Top 8 of the weekend challenges on Magic Online.  Using the techniques described above I taken them from the decks of the week and uploaded them on www.mtgotraders.com.  The main point of doing that is to get an estimated price of some of the major decks in the format.  If you go to the deck section of www.mtgotraders.com and search for my user name (Shuyin Knight of Zanarkand) you can find these decks for yourself.  Just to be clear, I'm not claiming to have made these decks, and I give full credit to the people who used them in the weekend challenges. 

Mono Red Goblin Burn

100 2nd Place Mono Red Goblins

Snuffleupogus 9 20 09

Creatures 1 Arc-Slogger 1 Avalanche Riders 1 Boartusk Liege 1 Boggart Ram-Gang 1 Dwarven Blastminer 1 Dwarven Miner 1 Figure of Destiny 1 Flametongue Kavu 1 Frenzied Goblin 1 Fulminator Mage 1 Gempalm Incinerator 1 Giant Solifuge 1 Goblin Chieftain 1 Goblin King 1 Goblin Matron 1 Goblin Piledriver 1 Goblin Recruiter 1 Goblin Ringleader 1 Goblin Warchief 1 Grim Lavamancer 1 Hell's Thunder 1 Hellspark Elemental 1 Imperial Recruiter 1 Intimidator Initiate 1 Jackal Pup 1 Keldon Marauders 1 Magus of the Moon 1 Magus of the Scroll 1 Mogg Fanatic 1 Mudbrawler Cohort 1 Murderous Redcap 1 Orcish Librarian 1 Siege-Gang Commander 1 Slith Firewalker 1 Sparksmith 1 Stigma Lasher 1 Sulfur Elemental 1 Tattermunge Maniac 1 Vexing Shusher 1 Zo-Zu the Punisher 40 cards Other Spells 1 Goblin Lackey 1 Æther Vial 1 Black Vise 1 Blood Moon 1 Chain Lightning 1 Char 1 Chrome Mox 1 Fire Ambush 1 Fire/Ice 1 Fireblast 1 Firebolt 1 Flame Jab 1 Flame Javelin 1 Incinerate 1 Lash Out 1 Lightning Bolt 1 Magma Jet 1 Molten Rain 1 Pillage 1 Reckless Charge 1 Ruination 1 Shock 1 Sulfuric Vortex 1 Tarfire 19 cards

Lands 1 Barbarian Ring 1 Mishra's Factory 1 Mouth of Ronom 1 Mutavault 1 Scrying Sheets 30 Snow-Covered Mountain 1 Wasteland 36 cards Sideboard 1 Boil 1 Cryoclasm 1 Detritivore 1 Flames of the Blood Hand 1 Gathan Raiders 1 Guttural Response 1 Havoc 1 Lava Dart 1 Pyroblast 1 Pyroclasm 1 Pyrokinesis 1 Smash to Smithereens 1 Volcanic Fallout 13 cards

Download the deck here  www.mtgotraders.com/deck/viewdeck.php

Cost: $102

100 Singleton nearly Mono-Red

E Hustle 3rd place 09 20 09

Creatures 1 Akki Raider 1 Arc-Slogger 1 Blistering Firecat 1 Boartusk Liege 1 Boggart Ram-Gang 1 Clickslither 1 Duergar Hedge-Mage 1 Flametongue Kavu 1 Frenzied Goblin 1 Gathan Raiders 1 Gempalm Incinerator 1 Goblin Chieftain 1 Goblin Cohort 1 Goblin King 1 Goblin Matron 1 Goblin Piledriver 1 Goblin Recruiter 1 Goblin Ringleader 1 Goblin Sharpshooter 1 Goblin Sledder 1 Goblin Vandal 1 Goblin Warchief 1 Greater Gargadon 1 Grim Lavamancer 1 Hell's Thunder 1 Imperial Recruiter 1 Intimidator Initiate 1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 1 Magus of the Scroll 1 Mogg Fanatic 1 Mogg War Marshal 1 Mudbrawler Cohort 1 Murderous Redcap 1 Siege-Gang Commander 1 Skirk Prospector 1 Slith Firewalker 1 Sparksmith 1 Sulfur Elemental 1 Tarmogoyf 1 Tattermunge Maniac 1 Tattermunge Witch 1 Tin Street Hooligan 1 Vexing Shusher 1 Zo-Zu the Punisher 44 cards Other Spells 1 Plateau 1 Goblin Lackey 1 Æther Vial 1 Chain Lightning 1 Char 1 Chrome Mox 1 Fire/Ice 1 Fireblast 1 Firebolt 1 Flame Javelin 1 Incinerate 1 Lash Out 1 Lightning Bolt 1 Magma Jet 1 Rift Bolt 1 Seal of Fire 1 Shock 1 Sword of Fire and Ice 1 Tarfire 1 Violent Eruption 1 Volcanic Hammer 17 cards

Lands 1 Barbarian Ring 1 Bloodstained Mire 1 Fire-Lit Thicket 1 Ghitu Encampment 1 Goblin Burrows 1 Gruul Turf 1 Horizon Canopy 1 Karplusan Forest 1 Keldon Megaliths 1 Mishra's Factory 1 Mutavault 1 Pendelhaven 1 Rootbound Crag 1 Sacred Foundry 1 Savannah 15 Snow-Covered Mountain 1 Stomping Ground 1 Taiga 1 Wasteland 1 Windswept Heath 1 Wooded Foothills 35 cards Sideboard 1 Blood Moon 1 Dwarven Blastminer 1 Dwarven Miner 1 Fulminator Mage 1 Giant Solifuge 1 Guttural Response 1 Krosan Grip 1 Magus of the Moon 1 Manriki-Gusari 1 Pulse of the Forge 1 Pyroblast 1 Pyrokinesis 1 Razormane Masticore 1 Stigma Lasher 1 Sulfuric Vortex 15 cards

Download this Deck: http://www.mtgotraders.com/deck/viewdeck.php?ID=3272

Cost: $214

These two Top 8 finishers have a lot in common.  They both utilize burn, efficient mono-red creatures, and a goblin search engine in order to win the game quickly.  The first deck has a much larger land destruction theme while the second deck uses a green splash to add Tarmogoyf and a sideboard Krosan Grip as well as to expand the goblin options with Tin Street Hooligan and Tattermunge Witch.  Those additions more than double the price of the deck when you factor in the lands.  It's an interesting change.

You really need to breakdown the deck into groups of cards to understand it.  So let's break these decks down into their essential pieces to see how they work.

Burn Group - Here are the burn spells that both decks use, and these are the ones you should consider when playing red.  They are the most efficient direct damage spells available.

Chain Lightning Char Fire/Ice Fireblast Firebolt Flame Javelin Flametongue Kavu Lash Out Lightning Bolt Magma Jet Magus of the Scroll Shock

Goblin Group - When you have a decent list of goblins in your deck Goblin Recruiter is practically a one-card combo.  If you get one out on turn 2, you can do all kinds of nasty things.  Imperial Recruiter is in this list because you're often going to use it to find a goblin such as Goblin Recruiter Siege-Gang Commander.

Boartusk Liege Boggart Ram-Gang Frenzied Goblin Gempalm Incinerator Goblin Chieftain Goblin King Goblin Lackey Goblin Matron Goblin Piledriver Goblin Recruiter Goblin Ringleader Goblin Warchief Imperial Recruiter Intimidator Initiate Mogg Fanatic Mudbrawler Cohort Murderous Redcap Siege-Gang Commander Vexing Shusher Sparksmith Tarfire Tattermunge Maniac Vexing Shusher Zo-Zu the Punisher

Red Efficient Non-Goblins - AEther Vial and Vexing Shusher are paramount to killing blue.  The slogger is a game winner if you get to untap with it in play.  Grim Lavamancer is just super efficient, and the other creatures on this list are just really efficient for what they do.   

AEther Vial Arc-Slogger Chrome Mox Grim Lavamancer Hell's Thunder Slith Firewalker Sulfur Elemental

Land Destruction - I believe Avalanche Riders Fulminator Mage and Wasteland are must-haves in most red decks.  The other ones can be all-stars or losers depending on the match-up.  I prefer the rest in the sideboard, but considering how many greedy mana bases are out there, I can see why some play them in the main deck as a decent metagame decision.

Avalanche Riders Black Vise Blood Moon Dwarven Blastminer Dwarven Miner Fulminator Mage Molten Rain Pillage Wasteland Ruination

Strengths -

1) This type of deck is fast.  This deck can really capitalize on an opponent's slow start.  Land destruction and Blood Moon can quickly seal a game away and this deck can usually put an opponent in the danger zone by turn 4 or 5.   

2) It is consistrnt.  This deck can operate quite well on 2-3 lands, and it doesn't have to worry about drawing the "right" lands to operate.  All you need is a few lands, and your deck will start doing what it is supposed to be doing. 

Weaknesses -

1) This deck is susceptible to hosers.  A simple circle of protection can kill this deck. So can a Baneslayer Angel, Loxodon Hierarch or other decent life-gain cards. Sphere of Law and Worship are pretty decent too.

2)  This deck can run out of gas.  If you don't get a Goblin Recruiter, Goblin Matron, or Imperial Recruiter, there is always the risk that you will simply run out of threats.  This is easily true if you fire a couple burn spells at an opponent's head and your opponent ignores them.  Sometimes you will draw into that Fireblast to finish them off and sometimes you will just draw too many lands and lose. 

White/Green Armageddon Elves

100 White Green Elves

Bry the Fry Guy 7th place 09 20 09

Creatures 1 Birchlore Rangers 1 Birds of Paradise 1 Bloodline Shaman 1 Boreal Druid 1 Bramblewood Paragon 1 Caller of the Claw 1 Chameleon Colossus 1 Civic Wayfinder 1 Eladamri, Lord of Leaves 1 Elvish Archdruid 1 Elvish Champion 1 Elvish Harbinger 1 Elvish Visionary 1 Eternal Witness 1 Fyndhorn Elves 1 Heritage Druid 1 Imperious Perfect 1 Jagged-Scar Archers 1 Llanowar Elves 1 Llanowar Mentor 1 Nettle Sentinel 1 Noble Hierarch 1 Progenitus 1 Quirion Ranger 1 Ranger of Eos 1 Rhys the Redeemed 1 Seedcradle Witch 1 Seeker of Skybreak 1 Selesnya Guildmage 1 Silhana Ledgewalker 1 Skyshroud Elf 1 Tarmogoyf 1 Thornweald Archer 1 Twinblade Slasher 1 Viridian Shaman 1 Viridian Zealot 1 Wellwisher 1 Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers 1 Wilt-Leaf Liege 1 Wirewood Hivemaster 1 Wirewood Symbiote 1 Wolf-Skull Shaman 1 Wren's Run Packmaster 1 Wren's Run Vanquisher 44 cards Other Spells 1 Armageddon 1 Bathe in Light 1 Bounty of the Hunt 1 Chord of Calling 1 Chrome Mox 1 Earthcraft 1 Eladamri's Call 1 Enlightened Tutor 1 Garruk Wildspeaker 1 Hunting Triad 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Natural Order 1 Oblivion Ring 1 Overrun 1 Path to Exile 1 Ravages of War 1 Sensei's Divining Top 1 Squirrel Nest 1 Sword of Fire and Ice 1 Sword of Light and Shadow 1 Swords to Plowshares 1 Sylvan Library 1 Winter Orb 23 cards

Lands 1 Brushland 1 Flagstones of Trokair 1 Flooded Strand 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Grasslands 1 Horizon Canopy 1 Mishra's Factory 1 Mutavault 1 Pendelhaven 1 Plains 1 Savannah 1 Selesnya Sanctuary 13 Snow-Covered Forest 1 Sunpetal Grove 1 Temple Garden 1 Treetop Village 1 Vesuva 1 Wasteland 1 Windswept Heath 1 Wooded Bastion 1 Wooded Foothills 33 cards Sideboard 1 Aura Shards 1 Behemoth Sledge 1 Chain of Acid 1 Constant Mists 1 Dauntless Escort 1 Dense Foliage 1 Gaddock Teeg 1 Gaea's Anthem 1 Gaea's Blessing 1 Glare of Subdual 1 Krosan Grip 1 Lapse of Certainty 1 Primal Command 1 Steely Resolve 1 Sylvan Safekeeper 15 cards

Download this Deck: http://www.mtgotraders.com/deck/viewdeck.php?ID=3273

Ravages of War and Armageddon are some of the most powerful cards in the game.  Against the 3+ color decks, a singleton Armageddon or a well placed Winter Orb can be enough to claim victory.  Against red decks, White/Green has better creatures and therefore can more easily creature favorable Armageddon situations.  This deck is designed to hit fast and then take the mana away.  If that doesn't work, you can always give your elves forestwalk and walk through any blockers on the table.

Elf Group - There has been a lot of debate whether WG should go tribal with elves or go for efficient weenies with nontribal creatures such as River Boa, Watchwolf, Wild Mongrel, etc.  The problem is that in order for cards like Wolf-Skull Shaman, Wirewood Hivemaster, Wirewood Symbiote, and Eladamri, Lord of Leaves to be bombs you need to include a LOT of elves in your deck including some less than awesome choices such as Seeker of Skybreak and Wellwisher.  I've played both versions, and they are both powerful.  The non-tribal weenie version is more consistent but the elf version can pull some impressive wins out of no-where with forestwalking elves.  It's really a toss-up between which is better.  The WG weenie deck is better against red burn decks where forestwalking is relatively useless while the elf deck is obviously very good against other green-based decks.

Imperious Perfect Jagged-Scar Archers Llanowar Elves Llanowar Mentor Nettle Sentinel Quirion Ranger Ranger of Eos Rhys the Redeemed Seedcradle Witch Seeker of Skybreak Selesnya Guildmage Silhana Ledgewalker Skyshroud Elf Thornweald Archer Twinblade Slasher Viridian Shaman Viridian Zealot Wellwisher Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers Wilt-Leaf Liege Wirewood Hivemaster Wirewood Symbiote Wolf-Skull Shaman Wren's Run Packmaster Wren's Run Vanquisher Birchlore Rangers Bloodline Shaman Boreal Druid Bramblewood Paragon Caller of the Claw Civic Wayfinder Eladamri, Lord of Leaves Elvish Archdruid Elvish Champion Elvish Harbinger Elvish Visionary Fyndhorn Elves Heritage Druid

Armageddon Group - Competitive Armageddon decks have been around since the beginning of tournament magic.  It is just such an abusable effect.  Especially with Flagstones.  Thus, one of the main strategies of this deck is to put out a decent threat, then play out an Armageddon to lock up the board. 

Flagstones of Trokair Armageddon Chrome Mox Ravages of War Winter Orb Hokori, Dust Drinker

Removal Group -  There isn't much creature removal in this deck, but the removal that is there is the best spot removal in the game.

Oblivion Ring Path to Exile Sword of Fire and Ice Swords to Plowshares

WG Other Good Stuff - Earthcraft and Squirrel Nest can randomly win games.  I've done it a reasonable amount of times.  Natural Order can also randomly win games.  Overrun is an obvious all-star in any green weenie deck.  Garruk and Eternal Witness are green staples of the format.  Bathe in Light is an interesting addition as it can either be a creature removal counterspell, or act as alpha-strike enabler for a lot cheaper cost than Overrun.

Eternal Witness Bathe in Light Tarmogoyf Noble Hierarch Eladamri's Call Garruk Wildspeaker Hunting Triad Natural Order Overrun Squirrel Nest Earthcraft

Another stroke of genius in this deck is Dense Foliage.  This is a great sideboard card against decks that rely too much on targeted removal, equipment, Vedalken Shackles, Opposition, etc.  

Strengths -

1) Consistant - You don't lose much in terms of consistency when going from 1 color to 2 colors.  The only factor you lose is slightly increased susceptibility to nonbasic land hate.  However that is usually not a huge issue for WG because of the presence of Armageddon effects and mana elves.

2) Quick - WG decks can hit an opponent just as fast as a Mono-red deck.  Unfortunately, WG has a harder time dealing those last 3-4 damage.  They make up for this reach deficit by being able to reset the board with Armageddon and the ability to knock out artifacts and enchantments easily.

3) Armageddon Tactics - Control decks need to be very careful not to tap out versus WG decks because of the potential for an explosive Armageddon or Winter Orb

Weaknesses

1) Vulnerable to Sweepers - Elf decks really need to swarm to be effective.  However to create a swarm of creatures, you generally need to overcommit your creatures to the board, which means that you risk losing the game outright to a Wrath of God, Firespout, or Pernicious Deed.

2) Weak Late Game - Against a control deck, your only effective option in the late game is to reset the board with an Armageddon effect.  If that plan fails to a counterspell, then Control Decks should have a huge advantage in the late game, as they have sweepers and bigger, badder creatures.

Cost:$247

Blue/Black/Green Control

100 Blue Black Green

Lundstrom 1st place 09 26 09

Creatures 1 Acidic Slime 1 Eternal Witness 1 Glen Elendra Archmage 1 Kitchen Finks 1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror 1 Mulldrifter 1 Phantom Centaur 1 Psychatog 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder 1 Shadowmage Infiltrator 1 Shriekmaw 1 Tarmogoyf 1 Trinket Mage 1 Venser, Shaper Savant 1 Wall of Roots 1 Wickerbough Elder 16 cards Other Spells 1 Bayou 1 Tropical Island 1 Beast Attack 1 Brainstorm 1 Bribery 1 Compulsive Research 1 Counterspell 1 Crime/Punishment 1 Cryptic Command 1 Damnation 1 Daze 1 Deep Analysis 1 Dimir Signet 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Fact or Fiction 1 Force of Will 1 Future Sight 1 Garruk Wildspeaker 1 Golgari Signet 1 Grim Harvest 1 Grizzly Fate 1 Kodama's Reach 1 Krosan Grip 1 Liliana Vess 1 Maelstrom Pulse 1 Mana Drain 1 Mana Leak 1 Mind Stone 1 Mind Twist 1 Mystical Teachings 1 Mystical Tutor 1 Nature's Lore 1 Negate 1 Pact of Negation 1 Pernicious Deed 1 Phyrexian Furnace 1 Primal Command 1 Putrefy 1 Recoil 1 Remand 1 Ribbons of Night 1 Sensei's Divining Top 1 Simic Signet 1 Slaughter Pact 1 Thirst for Knowledge 1 Three Visits 1 Tidings 1 Tsabo's Decree 1 Upheaval 1 Vedalken Shackles 1 Worldly Tutor 45 cards

Lands 1 Bloodstained Mire 1 Breeding Pool 1 Flooded Grove 1 Flooded Strand 1 Gargoyle Castle 1 Mishra's Factory 1 Mutavault 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Polluted Delta 1 Simic Growth Chamber 6 Snow-Covered Forest 4 Snow-Covered Island 1 Snow-Covered Swamp 1 Stalking Stones 1 Tolaria West 1 Tree of Tales 1 Treetop Village 1 Underground Sea 1 Urza's Factory 1 Vault of Whispers 1 Wasteland 1 Watery Grave 1 Windswept Heath 1 Wooded Foothills 1 Yavimaya Coast 33 cards Sideboard 1 Cabal Interrogator 1 Carven Caryatid 1 Darkblast 1 Dissipate 1 Engineered Plague 1 Gainsay 1 Guttural Response 1 Hydroblast 1 Naturalize 1 Nezumi Shortfang 1 Relic of Progenitus 1 Selkie Hedge-Mage 1 Voidslime 1 Wall of Blossoms 14 cards

Download this Deck: http://www.mtgotraders.com/deck/viewdeck.php?ID=3271

This deck is focused on card advantage and control.  Draw spells, neutralize or counter threats and eventually play out a win condition when you can protect it. This deck has all the tenants of a typical control deck.

Mystical Tutor Group - Of all the mirage tutors Mystical Tutor is the most versatile.  This deck shows you just how many things you can get with a Mystical Tutor.  Of course knowing when to use it and what to get with it is an article all by itself. Here is a short rule of thumb for Mystical Tutor.

Early Game Targets

Nature's Lore - When you're stuck on 2 land. 

Kodama's Reach - When you have 3 mana but need more based on what's in your hand

Brainstorm - When you have dead cards and a decent shuffle effect

Mid Game Targets 

Mind Twist - When there are no threats on the field, and can force your opponent to discard his hand. 

Bribery - Opponent is playing reanimator and probably has something big to exploit. 

Damnation - Fairly obvious, when you're severely outnumbered.

Ribbons of Night - #1 Removal Spell against burn

Late Game Targets

Upheaval - Very nice with potentially 8 mana and a Tarmogoyf

Tsabo's Decree - Versus Elves or Goblins

Primal Command - Against Burn, use it to gain 7 life and search for Eternal Witness

Beast Attack Brainstorm Bribery Compulsive Research Crime/Punishment Damnation Deep Analysis Fact or Fiction Grim Harvest Grizzly Fate Kodama's Reach Krosan Grip Maelstrom Pulse Mind Twist Mystical Tutor Mystical Teachings Nature's Lore Pernicious Deed Primal Command Putrefy Recoil Ribbons of Night Thirst for Knowledge Slaughter Pact Three Visits Tidings Tsabo's Decree Upheaval Worldly Tutor

Worldly Tutor Group - Worldly Tutor can be used aggressively for targets like Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Glen Elendra Archmage, or Phantom Centaur, but it is usually used defensively for Shriekmaw Acidic Slime Venser, Shaper Savant.  Of course in the early game it can also be used to fetch a Wall of Roots, (Sakura Tribe Elder), or an Eternal Witness.

Worldly Tutor Acidic Slime Eternal Witness Glen Elendra Archmage Kitchen Finks Meloku the Clouded Mirror Mulldrifter Phantom Centaur Psychatog Sakura-Tribe Elder Shadowmage Infiltrator Shriekmaw Tarmogoyf Trinket Mage Venser, Shaper Savant Wall of Roots Wickerbough Elder

Counterspells - This is a pretty standard list of the broken counterspells in 100CS, and it is the list of cards I'd add first if I was going to build a control deck and had the money for Force of Will.

Counterspell Cryptic Command Daze Mana Drain Mana Leak Mystical Teachings Negate Pact of Negation Force of Will Remand

Tolaria West / Trinket Group - Most Blue/Black decks have some combination of these spells in order to give you some options for tutoring.  If you're going for a Counter/Weenie approach I would also include Sigil of Distinction in this list.

Tolaria West Pact of Negation Slaughter Pact Engineered Explosives Phyrexian Furnace Sensei's Divining Top Trinket Mage

Strengths -

1) Very Powerful Late Game - If this deck can get more than 6 mana, it can quickly start doing some highly broken things with its search engine and card drawing engine.  If the game lasts a long time, then you definitely have the advantage.

2) Can handle anything - The tutors in this deck are designed to handle pretty close to any situation.  This is a very reactionary deck, but it also has a very strong counter-punch.

Weaknesses -

1) Vulnerable to Land Hate - With more than 3 colors and none of them red, this deck is slightly vulnerable to a couple of good red land-hosers.

2) Vulnerable to a slow start - This deck doesn't really have many fast plays, so it can't really punish an opponent for having a slow start.   

Cost: $360

4 Color Zur

100 4 Color Zur

Gainsay 2nd Place 09 26 09

Creatures 1 Birds of Paradise 1 Civic Wayfinder 1 Dark Confidant 1 Doran, the Siege Tower 1 Eternal Dragon 1 Eternal Witness 1 Fyndhorn Elves 1 Gemhide Sliver 1 Genesis 1 Glen Elendra Archmage 1 Heartwood Storyteller 1 Kitchen Finks 1 Krosan Tusker 1 Krovikan Horror 1 Llanowar Elves 1 Loxodon Hierarch 1 Masked Admirers 1 Mulldrifter 1 Necrotic Sliver 1 Noble Hierarch 1 Ohran Viper 1 Qasali Pridemage 1 Ravenous Baloth 1 Reveillark 1 Saffi Eriksdotter 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder 1 Shadowmage Infiltrator 1 Shriekmaw 1 Solemn Simulacrum 1 Sower of Temptation 1 Tarmogoyf 1 Tidehollow Sculler 1 Tradewind Rider 1 Trinket Mage 1 Wall of Blossoms 1 Wall of Roots 1 Weathered Wayfarer 1 Yavimaya Dryad 1 Zur the Enchanter 39 cards Other Spells 1 Karakas 1 Scrubland 1 Tropical Island 1 Hunting Cheetah 1 Aura Shards 1 Bant Charm 1 Buried Alive 1 Diabolic Intent 1 Fact or Fiction 1 Grim Harvest 1 Liliana Vess 1 Living Death 1 Mind Twist 1 Necrogenesis 1 Necromancy 1 Oblivion Ring 1 Oversold Cemetery 1 Path to Exile 1 Pernicious Deed 1 Phyrexian Furnace 1 Primal Command 1 Sensei's Divining Top 1 Swords to Plowshares 1 Sylvan Library 1 Tainted Pact 1 Tithe 1 Vindicate 22 cards

Lands 1 Bad River 1 Exotic Orchard 1 Flagstones of Trokair 1 Flooded Strand 1 Forest 1 Golgari Rot Farm 1 Grasslands 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Island 1 Krosan Verge 1 Llanowar Wastes 1 Murmuring Bosk 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Plains 1 Polluted Delta 1 Savannah 1 Selesnya Sanctuary 1 Simic Growth Chamber 1 Snow-Covered Forest 1 Snow-Covered Swamp 1 Sunpetal Grove 1 Swamp 1 Temple Garden 1 Tendo Ice Bridge 1 Treetop Village 1 Tundra 1 Twilight Mire 1 Underground Sea 1 Vivid Grove 1 Vivid Marsh 1 Volrath's Stronghold 1 Wasteland 1 Windswept Heath 1 Wooded Foothills 34 cards Sideboard 1 Armageddon 1 Baneslayer Angel 1 Celestial Purge 1 City of Solitude 1 Duress 1 Engineered Plague 1 Ghost-Lit Stalker 1 Hydroblast 1 Krosan Grip 1 Seal of Primordium 1 Thoughtseize 1 Warmth 1 Wrath of God 1 Zuran Orb 14 cards

Download this Deck: http://www.mtgotraders.com/deck/viewdeck.php?ID=3274

This deck focuses on reusing creatures over and over again until it eventually wins.  Zur can provide answers to just about any threat, while Buried Alive, Genesis, Grim Harvest, and Oversold Cemetery provide you with an endless stream of useful creatures.  Just watch out for graveyard hate.

Zur Group -  Aura Shards and Necrogenesis is an especially juicy combination against some decks. 

So, here's a funny story.  I played against Gainsay while he was playing this deck in 4-5 matches via the 2-man queues.  In that time I beat him 3 times by stealing his Zur the Enchanter with a Sower of Temptation and then I used Zur to fetch my Earthcraft Squirrel Nest combo. Two of those times I used Bribery to find his Sower of Temptation and one time I used my own Sower. 

Zur the Enchanter Necrogenesis Necromancy Oblivion Ring Oversold Cemetery Pernicious Deed Sylvan Library Aura Shards

Buried Alive Group - Buried Alive will usually summon Genesis to the graveyard.  The question is what do you take for the other two creatures.  I personally like some combination of Eternal Witness, Tidehollow Sculler, Qasali Pridemage, Loxodon Hierarch and Shriekmaw.  Of course if you've already got a Necromancy in hand or Zur on the field, you can go for some juicier targets like maybe an Angel of Despair 

Buried Alive Oversold Cemetery Necromancy Genesis Krovikan Horror Qasali Pridemage Shriekmaw Loxodon Hierarch Living Death Eternal Witness Wall of Blossoms Tidehollow Sculler Grim Harvest Volrath's Stronghold

Removal -  Pretty much all of the best pin-point removal and sweepers available.  Remember that Living Death can sometimes function like a one-sided Wrath of God.

Vindicate Pernicious Deed Oblivion Ring Shriekmaw Living Death Path to Exile Swords to Plowshares

Utility Good Stuff -  Pretty much a collection of undeniably good spells that are included in most decks that can support the colors.  (Lilliana Vess) is kind of on the expensive side, but an unlimited tutor is especially good in singleton formats because you have so many more choices.

Primal Command Tainted Pact Dark Confidant Sensei's Divining Top Weathered Wayfarer Mind Twist Liliana Vess Fact or Fiction Doran, the Siege Tower Tithe

Strengths -

1) Very Powerful Late Game -

2) Can handle lots of removal -  Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile are the common ways to exile creatures, other than those two cards, other removal will not stop the creatures in this deck for long.

3) Many Paths to Victory -

Weaknesses

1) Very Vulnerable to Land Destruction - Lots of colors means lots of ways to disrupt the flow of this deck.

2) Vulnerable to Graveyard Hate - The graveyard is the easiest place to destroy.  For proof compare the cost of Wrath of God with Relic of Progenitus.

Cost: $370

Conclusions:  These decks show the variety of decks that can show up in the Top 8.  100CS has one of the most diverse metagames of any constructed format.  Sure, you can break the categories down into aggro, control, and combo, but there are dozens of different aggro decks, control decks, and combo decks.  The decks I've investigated here are a small sample of the decks out there.  I've encountered dozens of strong decks that use different decks and different strategies, so take a deck for a spin.  See how it performs, then tweak it or try something else. Almost every week that I've looked at the Top 8 of the weekend challenges, I've seen a new deck.  So, give it a try.  The cheapest decks in the format are less than most other formats other the pauper and decks never rotate out, so once you have built a deck, you can keep playing it until you get tired of it and want to try something new.  So, why don't you try out 100 singleton today?

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So, if you're interested in 100 Classic Singleton here are a couple of tips to get started.

1) If you don't have a lot of cards, buy the Jace vs. Chandra box set.  With a couple of decent lands and some utility cards, you can make a decent U/R counter-burn shell of a deck out of it.  From there you can go in the goblin/burn direction or go to the control direction.

2) If you have a larger collection, try to modify one of the Top 8 weekend challenge decks to start out with.  After you get a feel for the format, it's easier to build your own decks.

3) Don't be afraid to try new ideas.  Half of the fun of this format is trying out a couple new cards and seeing how they play out.  I'm still trying to get my Esper Knights deck to work.  So far, it's fairly bad, but I'm not giving up on it yet.  And when it finally starts winning some games, I'll tell you guys all about it.

4) As always, don't let trash talk get to you.  Some Magic Online players are immature, and they will tell you that you suck.  They will tell Pros that they suck.  They will tell anybody who listens who great they are and how everyone else sucks.  Don't let it get you down.  Use it as a motivation to prove them wrong. (I'm not saying that 100CS has more jerks than other formats.  In fact I think the opposite is true.  I'm just saying that EVERY constructed format attracts a couple of jerks to it.)

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 Well, thanks for reading.  Hope to see you playing 100 Classic Singleton

-Marcus R.  "Shuyin Knight of Zanarkand" on Magic Online