Deck evolution

My U/W deck has existed with me in some form since I started playing; it was my first deck. I bought it from Eric Zorn for $4? $8? in 2000.

2x Accumulated Knowledge (yes, 2!)
2x Gush
1x Brainstorm
3x Opt

2x Rethink
2x Exclude
2x Snap
2x Prohibit

4x Dream Thrush
2x Vodalian Serpent
1x Sea Monster
1x Air Elemental

1x Heightened Awareness
1x Mental Discipline

14x Island

Holy crap! Pretty good memory! Well, I had 6 white cards at the time, including Guard Dogs, so naturally I should make it U/W and expand my list to be a legal 60 cards.

I kept trying to compete with green for creatures, except at the time it was when blue had terrible creatures (not like them kids these days and their 3/2 fliers for 1CC).

Cards that I remember putting in and taking out over the years include Planar Portal, Lotus Petal, Sibilant Spirit, Copper-Leaf Angel and Serra Angel.

Wish I still have a Copper-Leaf actually...just for nostalgia. I first saw someone older than me use it in a game when I was 9, therefore it must've been good! And it's a rare from Prophecy! Wow! Prophecy was also the best set because its creatures were so big!

Too bad I traded all my angels to Don for all of his blue cards. (This might also explain why I have no angels left to put into the EDH deck)

I did get a playset of Vizzerdrixes though, that makes a better story.

The only vestiges of that deck left are the Accumulated Knowledges and the Excludes. The blue has stayed with me though, islands 4 lyfe yo.


Affinity started as a precon; I got it as a gift. At first I thought it was dumb, because there's nothing in it that could go in my U/W deck. But then I discovered that affinity was fast. And everyone's decks were terrible then, so this shit was like lightning!

I never did give it the same loving attention as my other decks because it was aggro and aggro is dumb. That could be why it went through one refit that year and then its composition has barely changed since 2003. I just sort of trusted that the setup worked because it was performing solidly ever since, but as I discovered yesterday, apparently my deckbuilding skills were not at their sharpest then. I think Maks noticed though...the "slowest affinity in the world" I believe he said. <_<

Non-basic cards left from the precon: Broodstar, Lodestone Myr, Somber Hoverguard(2), Frogmite(3), Myr Enforcer(3), Thoughtcast, Assert Authority(2), Talisman of Dominance(4), Tooth of Chiss-Gloria, Seat of the Synod(4), Vault of Whispers(4) Total(26)


I bought the Izzet deck on impulse because the flavour seemed wonderful. I honestly thought it was hopeless when I started playing with it though. I think I would've taken it apart totally if it weren't for the flavour, but I stuck with it and now it is the most fun of my decks.

Non-basic cards left from the precon: Izzet Boilerworks(2), Nivix, Aerie of the Firemind, Gelectrode, Tibor and Lumia, Wee Dragonauts (1), Izzet Chronarch(1), Izzet Guildmage, Repeal (2), Electrolyze, Total(11)

If it weren't for flavour, I'd have cut the Chronarch, Dragonauts, Tibor and Lumia, and Nivix. Nivix is terrible because I literally never activate it for fear of tossing a force multiplier like Guildmage, Gelectrode, Swans or Niv-Mizzet himself.

But Tibor and Lumia is actually the worst card. I rarely want to play it and I only end up doing it if I'm feeling ballsy. Then, I am silently relieved when my opponent kills it because it means I don't have to deal with them myself later.