Hello, and welcome to the Unoffical Deckopedia of Extended Play.  My intentions with this article are simple.  I intend to provide you with the most up to date and comprehensive guide to the Extended format available on the internet today.  What I am going to do is show you at least one example of every deck that has made the top eight since I started the Extended Play series.  Of course some decks are not going to be featured, I mean really, there was one time that a Standard version of Elves! made the top eight of an event, and since then, it has not top eighted any where in the Extended format.  Okay, the introduction has lasted long enough, let's get to the decklists! 

Combo

First off we are going to take a look at the most dominant deck on MTGO.  Yes, this means we are going to look at Dredge! 

Dredge

 

Creatures 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath 1 Cephalid Sage 1 Flame-Kin Zealot 4 Golgari Grave-Troll 1 Golgari Thug 3 Ichorid 4 Narcomoeba 4 Putrid Imp 4 Stinkweed Imp Other Spells 4 Breakthrough 3 Cabal Therapy 4 Careful Study 3 Dread Return 4 Bridge from Below 2 Darkblast 2 Tolarian Winds

Lands 4 Cephalid Coliseum 4 Flooded Strand 1 Island 2 Polluted Delta 4 Watery Grave Sideboard 4 Chain of Vapor 1 Darkblast 2 Crippling Fatigue 4 Leyline of the Void 4 Pithing Needle

The previous version is the typical Dredge build. It has fifteen lands, and looks to combo off quickly with a Dread Return targeting Flame-Kin Zealot. This is not the only version of Dredge to see play. We also have a slightly less stable build of the deck that uses, get this, TEN lands. Let's look at that build now.

Dredge

Ten Land Dredge.

Creatures 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath 2 Cephalid Sage 1 Flame-Kin Zealot 4 Golgari Grave-Troll 1 Golgari Thug 4 Ichorid 4 Narcomoeba 4 Putrid Imp 4 Stinkweed Imp 2 Street Wraith 4 Tireless Tribe Other Spells 4 Breakthrough 3 Cabal Therapy 4 Careful Study 4 Dread Return 4 Bridge from Below

Lands 4 City of Brass 4 Gemstone Mine 2 Tarnished Citadel Sideboard 4 Chain of Vapor 3 Darkblast 4 Leyline of the Void 4 Pithing Needle

That pretty much finishes up the look at Dredge. I'll exclude going a little more in depth about the deck, because well, if you do not know that it gets a combo kill with Bridge from Below, then maybe Extended is not the right format for you. However, if you want to check out an awesome article, check this one out, as it explains the deck in a very good manner.

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/14365.html

Moving on, we're going to take a look at one of the breakthrough decks from Grand Prix Vancouver. If you read any of the top eight coverage than you will see that two team mates played The Extended Perfect Storm (TEPS for short.) to a top eight finish. This deck sets up a lot like the Enduring Ideal deck. They both pretty much share the same Invasion land base, but where as Ideal looks to combo out over a longer game (Unless the opponent is already at five life, Form of the Dragon does take longer to kill than the mechanic that TEPS uses.) where as TEPS looks to take a really dumb turn that involves casting a ton of Ritual effects to generate a large storm count, than casts Mind's Desire. Mind's Desire gives you more spells for free, and than you can fire off a lethal Tendrils of Agony.

The Extended Perfect Storm

 

Creatures Other Spells 4 Burning Wish 4 Cabal Ritual 3 Channel the Suns 3 Chromatic Sphere 4 Chromatic Star 2 Chrome Mox 1 Darkwater Egg 3 Infernal Tutor 4 Lotus Bloom 3 Mind's Desire 2 Plunge into Darkness 4 Rite of Flame 4 Seething Song 2 Sins of the Past 1 Tendrils of Agony

Lands 3 Gemstone Mine 3 Geothermal Crevice 4 Irrigation Ditch 4 Sulfur Vent 2 Tinder Farm Sideboard 1 Channel the Suns 4 Deathmark 1 Empty the Warrens 1 Hull Breach 4 Leyline of the Void 1 Mind's Desire 1 Pyroclasm 1 Sins of the Past 1 Tendrils of Agony

Again, I am going to let someone better than me explain the deck to you. Frank Karsten wrote an excellent walkthrough on the deck when he was writing for the mothership, so here are links to that article series.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/fk25

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/fk26

I just touched on the similarities between TEPS and Enduring Ideal. Turns out, that outside of a very similar mana base and some Burning Wishs but outside of that the game plans really are quite different. Ideal as an enchantment based combo deck that resolves around the Epic spell and some game winning enchantments. Form of the Dragon more often than not wins you the game, but you can also lock your opponent out of casting any answers to the enchantments with Dovescape (Well, Ronom Unicorn will still destroy things.) Here is a sample list of Ideal.

Enduring Ideal

 

Creatures Other Spells 3 Fire / Ice 4 Seething Song 4 Burning Wish 3 Enduring Ideal 2 Dovescape 3 Form of the Dragon 1 Honden of Seeing Winds 1 Pernicious Deed 2 Solitary Confinement 4 Lotus Bloom 4 Pentad Prism 4 Sensei's Divining Top

Lands 4 Ancient Spring 2 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 3 Flooded Strand 1 Godless Shrine 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea 1 Plains 2 Sacred Foundry 3 Sulfur Vent 4 Tinder Farm 3 Windswept Heath Sideboard 1 Fire / Ice 1 Cranial Extraction 1 Duress 1 Enduring Ideal 1 Morningtide 1 Pyroclasm 3 Thoughtseize 1 Vindicate 4 Leyline of the Void 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All

Again, here is a link to a more indepth breakdown of the deck, this time in video form from Wizards of the Coast coverage of Pro Tour Valencia. Keep ahold of this link, you'll see it again.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgevent/ptval07/day2decktech

Ideal also has an alternate version.  Some versions of the deck include Draco and Erratic Explosion as a back up plan to any main deck hate.  This does only deal sixteen damage, but against most decks in the format (I mean there are a ton of fetch and shock lands.) dealing sixteen to the face hole is more often than not a game winner!  Here is the alternate list.  

Enduring Ideal

Alternate Build with Draco Explosion Combo

Creatures 1 Draco Other Spells 4 Fire / Ice 4 Insidious Dreams 4 Seething Song 4 Burning Wish 3 Enduring Ideal 1 Erratic Explosion 2 Dovescape 2 Form of the Dragon 1 Pernicious Deed 1 Phyrexian Arena 2 Solitary Confinement 4 Chrome Mox 4 Pentad Prism

Lands 4 Ancient Spring 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 1 City of Brass 4 Gemstone Mine 4 Geothermal Crevice 1 Plains 4 Sulfur Vent 4 Tinder Farm Sideboard 3 Remand 1 Deathmark 1 Enduring Ideal 1 Pyroclasm 1 Thoughtseize 1 Decree of Silence 4 Leyline of the Void 3 Boseiju, Who Shelters All

We've already covered Dredge, TEPS, and Ideal. We are moving at a snail's pace through the combo decks but fear not, we've only got a few more to go. Let's look at another Mind's Desire based combo deck in the form of Heartbeat of Spring combo.

Heartbeat is a Mind's Desire based combo, but unlike TEPS resolves around Brain Freeze for the win.  What happens is you cast copies of Heartbeat of Spring and use Early Harvest to generate large amounts of mana.  With all the untapped lands, you continue to play spells, and fire off a huge Mind's Desire which hopefully finds you either the winning Brain Freeze or a copy of Cunning Wish to get the instant kill.  A thing to note about Heartbeat is that this deck can win on the opponent's end step without the help of Desire.  Hunting Pack and four other end of turn spells will get you five 4/4 beasts to beat down with.  

Here is a sample Heartbeat list.  

Heartbeat Combo

 

Creatures 4 Sakura-Tribe Elder Other Spells 1 Brain Freeze 4 Cunning Wish 3 Early Harvest 3 Fact or Fiction 3 Gifts Ungiven 3 Moment's Peace 4 Remand 1 Deep Analysis 4 Mind's Desire 1 Nostalgic Dreams 1 Recollect 2 Search for Tomorrow 4 Heartbeat of Spring

Lands 10 Forest 3 Island 2 Snow-Covered Forest 7 Snow-Covered Island Sideboard 1 Brain Freeze 1 Counterspell 1 Early Harvest 1 Echoing Truth 1 Fact or Fiction 1 Gifts Ungiven 1 Hunting Pack 1 Mana Short 1 Moment's Peace 4 Leyline of the Void 2 Tormod's Crypt

I have another link for you here, and though this may be a little dated, the general card choices in this deck have not changed since Pro Tour Los Angeles, when this deck was piloted to the top eight by one Chris McDaniel. He wrote a report from the event here.

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/10756.html

Moving right along, we are going to look at a recent combo deck from.  Olivier Ruel played this version of Cephalid Breakfast to a day two finish at Grand Prix Vancouver.  Breakfast is an appealing deck to some.  While it suffers from the same hate as Dredge, the deck has the potential to be quicker than the current graveyard based menance.  So why is it not seen on MTGO often?  

As you can see, the win mechanic that Ruel used is the Tarmogoyf, Sutured Ghoul, Dread Return combo.  That sadly does not work on MTGO.  For some reason the programmer's have known about this not working, and just have not fixed it yet.  Fear not though, if you are interested in playing the deck you still can.  You must replace the Tarmogoyf with Krosan Colossus, this way you will still have enough beef to make the Ghoul lethal when it comes into play. 

So why would anyone play this over Dredge?  The only thing I can guess is this.  You can win on turn one with the deck.  It involves a perfect hand, but it not that hard to assemble.  All you need is a Cephalid Illusionist, Shuko (this involves needing three mana on turn one.) a blue source of mana, and either two Simian Spirit Guides or one guide and a Chrome Mox.  You win be targeting the Cephalid with the Shuko enough times to empty your library into the graveyard.  While doing this you will put (Narcomeoba)s into play so you can flash back Dread Return.  I just gave the perfect walkthrough for the turn one kill, but that does not happen often.  Regardless the promise of it being there is enough for some players!

Here is Ruel's list from the Grand Prix.

Cephalid Breakfast

 

Creatures 3 Cephalid Illusionist 3 Daru Spiritualist 3 Narcomoeba 1 Outrider en-Kor 3 Simian Spirit Guide 1 Sutured Ghoul 3 Tarmogoyf Other Spells 4 Eladamri's Call 2 Cabal Therapy 1 Dread Return 4 Living Wish 3 Steelshaper's Gift 1 Bridge from Below 1 Dragon Breath 4 Chrome Mox 4 Shuko

Lands 1 Breeding Pool 4 City of Brass 2 Flooded Strand 2 Gemstone Mine 2 Hallowed Fountain 3 Starlit Sanctum 2 Temple Garden 3 Windswept Heath Sideboard 1 Cephalid Illusionist 1 Daru Spiritualist 2 Gaddock Teeg 1 Ingot Chewer 1 Kataki, War's Wage 2 Offalsnout 1 Outrider en-Kor 1 Purity 1 Shriekmaw 2 Wispmare 1 Flaring Pain 1 Starlit Sanctum

Again, we have another dated walkthrough for you to read. No one has really talked about this deck since the time this article was written, and even though cards like Gilded Drake and Bone Shredder are not in the format, the goal of this deck is the same goal as the previous build. Check out this walkthrough here.

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/9110.html

The next combo deck that I want to talk about is Elf Alarm.  It's a cute combo deck, that uses a ton of Elves as a secondary game plan to winning.  I mean the combat step is not so bad for this deck, where as for other combo decks, you're just going to move right though it.  

With Intruder Alarm and Sprout Swarm or Imperious Perfect you can make a ton of men on your opponent's end step and just win on your next combat.  It works but is mighty weak against a Pernicious Deed!  Let's look at a recent list.  

Elf Alarm!!!

 

Creatures 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Coiling Oracle 4 Essence Warden 4 Imperious Perfect 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Wren's Run Vanquisher Other Spells 4 Remand 4 Sprout Swarm 4 Intruder Alarm 1 Opposition 2 Umezawa's Jitte

Lands 12 Forest 4 Island 1 Pendelhaven 4 Yavimaya Coast Sideboard 4 Trygon Predator 3 Krosan Grip 4 Spell Snare 4 Tormod's Crypt

There are no real articles about the deck online, but here is how it has played out for me.

Turn one: Birds of Paradise or Llanowar Elves

Turn two: With access to three mana, casting a Perfect here is ideal, as with a land drop and an Intruder Alarm on turn three, you can win on your combat step in turn four.

Turn three: Cast Intruder Alarm with a mana creature left untapped. You want to do this, because the trigger on Intruder Alarm will untap all of your creatures, which will allow you to make as many guys as you want. During your opponent's end of turn, make a bunch of dorks.

Turn four: Untap, Upkeep, Draw, Main phase, CHARGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm almost done talking about combo decks, we've got a few more to discuss, and then we will move on to the next archtype.  

Kuan-Kuan Tian is one of the most exciting deck builders that has come into the scene this past year.  While he may not command the same type of respect that Wafo Tapa gets from the community, he still makes some fantastic decks.  His newest creature,  Bubble Hulk has been warmly received by the PTQ players, and I think it will be received in kind by the MTGO players when Morningtide comes to the program. 

Here is the list for Bubble Hulk: 

Bubble Hulk

 

Creatures 2 Body Double 2 Carrion Feeder 1 Mogg Fanatic 3 Protean Hulk 1 Rakdos the Defiler 2 Reveillark Other Spells 4 Careful Study 4 Chrome Mox 4 Footsteps of the Goryo 4 Living Wish 4 Seething Song 3 Summoner's Pact 4 Thoughtseize 4 Through the Breach

Lands 3 Ancient Spring 4 City of Brass 4 Gemstone Mine 3 Sulfur Vent 2 Tarnished Citadel 2 Tinder Farm Sideboard 4 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 1 Harmonic Sliver 1 Ingot Chewer 1 Kataki, War's Wage 4 Krosan Grip 1 Protean Hulk 1 Shifty Doppelganger 1 Wispmare 1 Yixlid Jailer

Thankfully, this deck is much too complicated for me to explain here. I have yet to play it, and honestly I would feel like the wrong person to explain the deck here. Kuan-Kuan is a very good writer (and in fact, is my favorite writer right now.) and goes through into the creation and evolution of the deck. Here is a link to that article!

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/Article.asp?ID=7962&AP=1

I am going to wrap up talking about decklists with this final list.  Tooth and Nail has been a tournament staple since Nassif unleashed it at the Mirrodin Block Constructed Pro Tour.  It dominated Standard (Well dominated as much as it could while fighting Affinity) and has put up decent finishes in the PTQ scene since it rotated out.  This is also going to be one of the few decks that gets a list here, and in the control section, because some versions of Tooth and Nail do not rely on the combo kill that is Sky Hussar and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.  Basically what the deck does is ramp up to nine mana, with tron lands and casts the name sake sorcery.  This can be done as soon as turn four.  With Sky Hussar and Kiki-Jiki, we have an Intruder Alarm type combo kill. 

Here is a list:

Tooth and Nail

 

Creatures 1 Eternal Witness 1 Indrik Stomphowler 1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 4 Sakura-Tribe Elder 1 Sky Hussar 1 Sundering Titan 2 Vine Trellis Other Spells 4 Moment's Peace 2 Fireball 4 Reap and Sow 4 Sylvan Scrying 4 Tooth and Nail 2 Gruul Signet 3 Oblivion Stone 3 Sensei's Divining Top

Lands 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 8 Forest 1 Mountain 1 Tranquil Thicket 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza's Power Plant 4 Urza's Tower Sideboard 1 Mephidross Vampire 1 Nullmage Shepherd 1 Triskelion 4 Oxidize 3 Kodama's Reach 3 Savage Twister 2 Tormod's Crypt

Okay, really, we are almost done. The following decks are ones that have made a very, very small impact on the MTGO scene, but are ones that you may want to watch out for regardless. I will not be covering them, but I will be showing off the decklists, just so you can have the knowledge of them in case you get to battle one of these!

Sunny Side Up

 

Creatures Other Spells 3 Cunning Wish 2 Second Sunrise 3 Thirst for Knowledge 4 Fabricate 4 Roar of Reclamation 4 Chromatic Sphere 4 Chrome Mox 4 Conjurer's Bauble 4 Krark-Clan Ironworks 4 Pentad Prism 1 Pyrite Spellbomb 3 Sensei's Divining Top 4 Skycloud Egg

Lands 4 Ancient Den 4 Great Furnace 4 Seat of the Synod 4 Tree of Tales Sideboard 1 Brain Freeze 1 Echoing Truth 1 Orim's Chant 1 Read the Runes 1 Second Sunrise 1 Seedtime 2 Crucible of Worlds 3 Defense Grid 4 Scrabbling Claws

Krark-Clan Ironworks

 

Creatures Other Spells 3 Thirst for Knowledge 4 Fabricate 2 Ghitu Fire 4 Serum Visions 4 Thoughtcast 4 Chromatic Sphere 3 Chrome Mox 1 Goblin Cannon 4 Krark-Clan Ironworks 4 Myr Incubator 4 Pentad Prism 4 Talisman of Dominance 1 Talisman of Progress

Lands 1 Ancient Den 4 Darksteel Citadel 4 Great Furnace 1 Tree of Tales 4 Vault of Whispers Sideboard 1 Broodstar 1 Qumulox 3 Condescend 2 Echoing Truth 4 Duress 4 Pyroclasm

Scepter Boom

 

Creatures 3 Greater Gargadon 3 Wall of Roots Other Spells 1 Eladamri's Call 4 Lightning Helix 4 Orim's Chant 3 Balancing Act 4 Boom / Bust 4 Burning Wish 4 Living Wish 2 Engineered Explosives 3 Isochron Scepter 4 Sensei's Divining Top

Lands 4 Flagstones of Trokair 1 Godless Shrine 2 Mountain 3 Plains 2 Sacred Foundry 1 Stomping Ground 1 Temple Garden 4 Windswept Heath 3 Wooded Foothills Sideboard 1 Gaddock Teeg 1 Greater Gargadon 1 Harmonic Sliver 1 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Shriekmaw 1 Yixlid Jailer 1 Balancing Act 1 Hull Breach 1 Morningtide 1 Pyroclasm 4 Tormod's Crypt 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All

Scepter Chant

 

Creatures 3 Exalted Angel 3 Meddling Mage Other Spells 4 Counterspell 2 Cunning Wish 4 Fire / Ice 4 Force Spike 3 Lightning Helix 3 Orim's Chant 3 Ponder 3 Wrath of God 3 Chrome Mox 4 Isochron Scepter

Lands 2 Academy Ruins 3 Flooded Strand 2 Hallowed Fountain 6 Island 3 Nimbus Maze 2 Plains 2 Sacred Foundry 1 Steam Vents Sideboard 1 Exalted Angel 1 Meddling Mage 1 Disenchant 1 Dismantling Blow 1 Echoing Truth 1 Fact or Fiction 1 Orim's Chant 2 Story Circle 3 Pithing Needle 3 Tormod's Crypt

Balancing Tings

 

Creatures 1 Draco 3 Simian Spirit Guide 3 Terravore Other Spells 4 Fire / Ice 4 Insidious Dreams 2 Orim's Chant 1 Quicken 1 Reclaim 3 Balancing Act 3 Burning Wish 1 Erratic Explosion 2 Chromatic Star 4 Lotus Bloom 4 Terrarion

Lands 4 Ancient Spring 4 Archaeological Dig 4 Geothermal Crevice 4 Irrigation Ditch 3 Sulfur Vent 4 Tinder Farm 1 Vesuva Sideboard 1 Krosan Grip 2 Moment's Peace 2 Remand 1 Balancing Act 2 Duress 1 Morningtide 1 Obliterate 1 Pyroclasm 4 Tormod's Crypt

This will finish it up for the combo edition of the Extended Play Deckopedia. I will update this as more combo decks come up through the season, and will revamp this when the Extended rotation happens later on this year. Join me as I will bring you the aggro and control decks of the format in the next two installments.  Enjoy playing around with these 15 lists.  In the words of the founder of the Dojo (This site was magic's premier site when the internet was a new thing.) Study and grow strong!