| Deck
Name |
Notes |
Description,
origins of deck |
Deck Link |
| "The
Deck" |
|
See
Keeper. |
|
| A
Beautiful Mind |
|
A
major parfait variation with blue and some other splash colors. See
Parfait |
|
| Academy |
|
See
Neo-Academy |
Academy |
| Aggro |
GENERAL
TERM |
Fast
damage decks without built-in combo or control elements. |
|
| Aggro-Combo |
GENERAL
TERM |
Fast
damage decks that have a combo as a main component of their speed, but the
combo by itself does not ensure an immediate win. |
|
| Aggro-Control |
GENERAL
TERM |
Fast
damage decks with disruption. |
|
| ALT-WIN |
MDV
TERM |
 Any
deck that uses an alternate win condition to win them the game. This
is a deck category I use on MDV to sift the decks into one place. An example of a card or two that are alternate wins are Battle of
Wits and Test of Endurance. |
| Aluren: |
Extended
Combo |
 Aluren
decks abuse the card Aluren for either infinite life using Soul Warden,
infinite cards using Cavern Harpy and Wirewood Savage, infinite mana with
Cavern Harpy and Cloud of Faeries, and card selection with Raven Familiar.
Typically wins by decking with Stroke of Genius. |
|
| Angry
Hermit: |
Extended
Combo |
The
deck is no longer viable, since Hermit Druid was banned on Jan. 1, 2004.
The deck uses Hermit Druid to dump your library into the graveyard, then
reanimate a Sutured Ghoul with a Dragon's Breath attached for the win.
Also includes other reanimator elements. |
|
| Ankh
Sligh |
|
See
Sligh |
|
| Army
of Squirrels, AoS: |
Type
1
Combo |
This
deck is no longer very competitive due to the restriction of Earthcraft,
but can still be fun and useful in a more casual metagame. This deck used
the combo of Earthcraft and Squirrel Nest to generate unlimited squirrels. |
Squirrelcraft |
| AstroGlide |
GENERAL
TERM |
A
deck using Astral Slide and Lightning Rift with cycling cards and cards
that work well with the Astral Slide like Exalted Angel or Cartographer. |
|
| ATS: |
Type
1.5
Combo |
Deck
uses Survival of the Fittest with Squee, Goblin Nabob to fetch out utility
creatures, and Tradewind Rider for a lock. ATS stands for "Angry
Tradewind Survival" and is strictly a 1.5 deck devised by Team
Evolution, the self-styled Paragons of 1.5. In 1.5 it is a force to be
reckoned with; given an appropriate sideboard, ATS could beat anything in
an average 1.5 field. |
|
| Balancing
Tings |
GENERAL
TERM |
A
deck that uses Balancing Act & sac lands like Tinder Farm, or
Obliterate to clear the board and put lands in the graveyard for
Terravore. |
Balancing
Tings |
| Battle
of Wits: |
Type
1
Extended
Combo-control |
200+
card deck built around winning with Battle of Wits. Typically blue, black,
and white, and using Psychatog as an alternate win condition. |
Battle
of Wits |
| Bazaar: |
Type
1, aggro |
Deck
based around playing a Bazaar of Baghdad in conjunction with a creature
like Squee, Goblin Nabob or Krovikan Horror to gain card advantage. Also
frequently includes the combo of Songs of the Damned and Living Death, and
good, fast creatures like Nantuko Shade. Recent madness versions features
madness creatures from Odyssey Block like Wild Mongrel, Arrogant Wurm, and
Roar of the Wurm. |
|
| BBS |
|
see
Mono-blue control |
|
| BEATDOWN |
MDV
TERM |
 Beatdown, also known as Stompy, is all about overrunning your
opponent with either big or quick fatty's. Beatdown can be done
several ways but is mainly accomplished using red and green big
creatures. Some beatdown decks could also be classified as S.C.S.
or COMBO decks.. but if I notice big creatures are the biggest win
factor.. I put the deck in this category. |
| Benzo |
|
see
Reanimator |
|
| Blue/Green
Madness, Quiet Roar, U/G Madness: |
Extended,
aggro |
Deck
abuses the madness mechanic to make huge creatures quickly. Uses Wild
Mongrel, Aquamoeba, Careful Study and/or Frantic Search as madness outlets
and puts Wonder and Roar of the Wurm into the graveyard. |
|
| BURN |
MDV
TERM |
 Any
deck that uses almost or all non-land cards to deal direct damage are
considered BURN decks. This can be considered a broad category since
there are many different ways to go about dealing sufficient burn damage.
Cards like Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic, Lightning Bolt, Shock, Grafted
Skullcap, and Fiery Temper are all good examples of what there is to find
in a burn deck. Typically, burn decks are quick based. But,
cards like Mana Flare and Mana Cache speed up the mana curve and allow
other big cards like Fireball, Volley of Boulders, or Searing Flesh. |
| Burning
Academy, Burning Desire, Long.dec: |
Type
1, combo |
This
deck, once very popular, was killed by the simultaneous restriction of
Chrome Mox, Lions Eye Diamond, and Burning Wish. The deck rapidly played
Moxen and other mana sources including Lions Eye Diamond, then used
Burning Wish to either recur the graveyard with Yawgmoth's Will or simply
go for the win with Tendrils of Agony. |
|
| Chalice
Black |
|
see
Suicide Black |
|
| CHEAP
DECK |
MDV
TERM |
see
Lite |
|
| Chrono
Stasis |
|
see
Stasis |
|
| Cocoa
Pebbles |
|
see
Pebbles |
|
| Combo |
GENERAL
TERM |
Decks
designed to pull out the combo as fast as possible and - if necessary -
protect it. |
|
| COMBO
DECK |
MDV
TERM |
 This
is a very broad category I use to classify many different decks. As
you know, there are quite a number of card combinations out there.
Some are as simple as Benthic Behemoth and Phantasmal Terrain.
Others are quite complex and don't fit into any other categories.
Any deck that featured a specific combo or combos would go into the COMBO
category unless there is another force in the deck like WEENIE, RECURSION
or CONTROL. |
| Combo
Keeper |
|
See
Keeper. |
|
| Combo-Control |
GENERAL
TERM |
Control
decks with built-in combo that ensure the win or the lock. |
|
| Control |
GENERAL
TERM |
Control
decks without combo elements that ensure the win or the lock. |
|
| CONTROL
DECK |
MDV
TERM |
 Draw-Go
would fit into this category as would some of the prison decks. Land
Destruction would also fit in this category. Any deck that keeps
your opponent from playing spells (whether it be counterspells or land
destruction or both) would be considered a control deck. MBC uses
creature destruction spells and quick, baloonable creatures to win.
This is a broad category. In
time, the CONTROL decks on Magic Deck Vortex will be more refined and
specific to their sort. For
now, this will have to do. |
| Counter
Post |
GENERAL
TERM |
A
Blue/White permission deck with Kjeldoran Outpost. |
Counter
Post 2K2 |
| Countersliver |
GENERAL
TERM |
A
deck using permission and slivers (like Crystalline Sliver). |
Counter
Sliver |
| Cunning
Freeze |
Type
1, combo |
This
deck uses a large portion of the restricted list to power a massive Brain
Freeze fetched by a Cunning Wish. Tendrils of Agony provides an alternate
win condition. |
|
| Domain: |
Extended,
control |
An
extension of the Invasion Block deck featuring all 5 basic land types.
Typically 5 color, although predominantly green and blue, the deck uses
'domain' spells, which require all 5 land types for optimal effect, to
control the board. Key cards are Harrow and Collective Restraint. |
|
| Draco
Explosion: |
Extended,
combo |
Deck
deals 16 damage quickly by using Scroll Rack to put Draco on top of
library and Erratic Explosion in hand. |
Draco
Explosion |
| Dragon |
|
see
Worldgorger Dragon |
|
| Draw-go |
|
see
Mono-blue control |
|
| Draw-Seven |
Type
1, combo |
The
latest incarnation of a storm deck that plays the maximum amount of cards
per turn, this deck relies in the numerous restricted cards that allow a
player to refill their hand. The deck drops a lot of fast mana and plays
as many draw-7's as possible to power up the win with a huge Tendrils of
Agony. |
|
| Elf-Ball: |
Type
1, aggro-combo |
Deck
uses mana-producing elves like standard mana elves and Priest of Titania
to produce copious amounts of mana to power a large Fireball or other X
spell like Kaervek's Torch. |
Elfball |
| Enchantress: |
Type
1 & Extended, aggro-control |
Deck
uses Argothian Enchantress and other enchantress effects (Enchantress's
Presence, Verduran Enchantress) along with cheap enchantments for massive
card drawing. Sometimes features Auratog/Rancor/Enchantress as a win
conditions, or Words of Wind/Wild Growth/Enchantress to lock down
opponent. Different versions can be either more aggro or more control
oriented. |
|
| Extended |
FORMAT |
Extended
is a constructed format with a more limited card pool than the Vintage
formats but a larger card pool than Type 2. The available card pool for
Extended tournaments rotates every 3 years. Currently allowed in Extended
are all sets released from Tempest Block to present and 6th edition to
present, with the exception of the banned and restricted list. Pro Tour
Qualifier tournaments frequently are Extended format. Extended is also
known as Type 1.x. |
|
| Fiends |
Extended,
aggro-control |
A
blue/white/black deck that features quick utility creatures like Meddling
Mage and Spectral Lynx, hand disruption, and control elements such as
Vindicate. |
|
| Final
Fantasy, Platinum Fortune, PlatFort |
Extended,
combo |
A
primarily artifact deck that wins by imprinting Final Fortune on an
Isochron Scepter with a Platinum Angel in play and never allowing your
opponent another turn. The combo is facilitated by blue draw and search
spells. |
|
| Finkula |
GENERAL
TERM |
A
deck that uses Shadowmage Infiltrator & Meddling Mage; cards that were
created by Jon Finkel and Chris Pikula. |
|
| Fish,
Gay Fish: |
Type
1, aggro-control |
Typically
a mono-blue deck using counters, card drawing, and cheap blue creatures.
Typically features the merfolk Manta Riders, Lord of Atlantis and
Rootwater Thief. Gay fish also runs Cloud of Faeries. Recent versions use
Voidmage Prodigy and Spiketail Hatchling, and/or splash red for Grim
Lavamancer. |
Fish
U/R |
| Fluctuator: |
Type
1, Extended, combo |
Deck
uses Fluctuator and cycling creatures to rapidly fill the graveyard with
creature, then Living Death to bring all the creatures back into play. |
Fluctuator |
| Food
Chain Goblins, Gobvantage |
Type
1, 1.5, aggro-combo |
This
deck works by combining the combo of Goblin Recruiter and Goblin
Ringleader with Food Chain to explosively bring a large number of hasted
Goblins into play. This deck is currently highly successful deck since it
can perform with as a combo deck, outpacing other aggro decks, or as a
strict beatdown deck versus control. |
Food
Chain Goblins |
| Forbidian |
|
see
Urphidian |
|
| Frog
(in a blender) |
GENERAL
TERM |
A
Red-Green deck that lightly uses madness with Wild Mongrel. |
|
| Fruity
Pebbles |
|
see
Pebbles |
Fruity
Pebbles |
| Full
English Breakfast, FeB: |
Type
1, combo |
Deck
relies on the combo with Volrath's Shapeshifter, Survival of the Fittest,
and Squee, Goblin Nabob. Survival of the Fittest and Squee are use to get
key cards into your hand. Traditionally, the deck wins by having Volrath’s
Shapeshifter in play, discarding Flowstone Hellion, attacking, pumping the
Shapeshifter for +11/-11, discarding Phyrexian Dreadnought in response and
swinging with a giant 23/1 trampler. Newer versions focus on using Volrath’s
Shapeshifter with Phage the Untouchable. |
Full
English Breakfast |
| Fully
Powered |
GENERAL
TERM |
“Fully
powered” decks contain all of the power 9. |
|
| Funker: |
Type
1, aggro |
An
artifact based deck. Uses artifact mana acceleration and large creatures,
with Covetous Dragon for its win conditions. |
|
| Garv.dec |
Type
1.5, aggro-control |
This
deck evolved out of the extended deck Three Deuce. It uses efficient
creatures like Savannah Lions, Kird Ape, and Troll Ascetic, backed up by
pinpoint removal from Lightning Bolt and STP and pump from Rancor. Due to
it's very demanding mana base, it is very difficult to play correctly. |
|
| Gay
Fish |
|
see
Fish |
|
| GRAVEYARD
TRIX |
MDV
TERM |
See
Recursion |
|
| Gro,
Gro-A-Tog, MiracleGro, SuperGro: |
Type
1, aggro-control |
Originally
designed to use card drawing and counters to grow a huge Quirion Dryad for
the win. With the printing of Psychatog, the deck evolved into Gro-A-Tog,
which has 3 and 4 color versions. Gush was restricted in part because of
it's use in these decks. SuperGro is a version that splashes white mainly
for Swords to Plowshares and Meddling Mage. |
Gro-a-Tog |
| GROUP
DECK |
MDV
TERM |
Almost all 'group' decks could fit into another category but it's main
focus is group play. If you see cards like Congregate, Syphon Soul
or Flame Jet.. you must know it is geared and designed for more than one
opponent to play against. Usually.. a deck found in GROUP will
shine whereas in a one-on-one match... it might not. More
recently, Wizards of the Coast has began to print cards that are
specifically geared towards group play with Mana Geyser from Onslaught
or Confusion in the Ranks from Mirrodin. This is good. |
| High
Tide: |
Type
1, control |
Mono-blue
deck. Uses High Tide and Palinchron to generate mana, Stroke of Genius or
Braingeyser for the win condition. |
High
Tide |
| Holy
Tommy Gun |
|
see
White Weenie |
Holy
Tommy Gun |
| Hulk
Smash: |
Type
1, control |
This
primarily blue deck that has overshadowed OSE as the premier aggro-control
deck in T1. It packs such goodies as Pernicious Deed, Intuition, and
Accumulated Knowledge and the traditional counter-magic staples of Mana
Drain, Force of Will, and Misdirection. It wins via a Berserk'd Psychatog. |
No? |
| Impulse
Keeper |
|
see
Keeper |
|
| INFINITY |
MDV
TERM |
 www.magicthegathering.com
featured many decks that use certain card combinations to make infinity
mana earlier in 2003. With this I decided to make a section on MDV
for deck that do this. An example or such a card combination is
Ashnod's Alter / Nantuko Tracer / Verdant Succession. This is mainly
a term I use on Magic Deck Vortex and the decks themselves have a very
broad spectrum of deck types (many different win conditions be is Mill,
Burn, Alt-Win or other). |
| Keeper,
“The Deck”, Combo Keeper, Impulse Keeper, Trinity Keeper, Paragon
Keeper: |
Type
1, 1.5, control |
The
original 5-color control deck, always fully powered. Keeper is arguably
the most difficult deck to beat in Type I when run by a good player, but
is also arguably the most difficult deck to play. Relies on card advantage
and having an answer to every situation, typically uses Morphling as the
win condition. Recent versions of keeper are only 4 colors, usually
without green. “Impulse Keeper” uses Impulse, "Paragon
Keeper" is a version of keeper that runs Cunning Wish, "Trinity
Keeper" uses green instead of red. Type 1.5 versions of keeper are
viable but risky, and are almost completely dependant on Isochron |
No? |
| LAND
DESTRUCTION (LD) |
MDV
TERM |
 Any
deck that uses cards like Stone Rain, Winter's Grasp or Sinkhole to
destroy lands and maintain control of the board with card advantage fall
into this category. Know that in the beginning of Magic the
Gathering this was a solid theme. However, over the course of time,
this deck has begun to bleed into many other decks to give it a better
edge. This term is really only found on MDV as a
classification. |
| Landstill: |
Type
1, aggro-control |
Deck
abuses the card drawing potential of Standstill by using only
"man-lands" (Mishra's Factory, Faerie Conclave) as creatures.
Typically blue/red, with lots of counters and some basic burn. |
Landstill |
| LITE |
MDV
TERM |
 This
is just a term I use on Magic Deck Vortex to give you a few decks that
don't cost 100+ dollars to put together. You'll notice that most of
the Magic the Gathering magazines such as SCRYE and INQUEST include a
'cheap' deck article or two in each issue nowadays. Not everyone can
be a Brainburst editor or a tourney winner and make a zillion dollars to
buy more Magic cards. |
| LOCKDOWN |
MDV
TERM |
 See
Prison |
| Long.dec |
|
see
Burning Academy |
|
| Machinehead |
GENERAL
TERM |
A
black/red deck that relies heavily on discard. Usually the inclusion of
Blazing Specter is a dead giveaway. Used by Tom van de Logt to win Worlds
in 2001. |
Machinehead |
| Madness |
|
for
Type 1 Madness see Bazaar, for Extended see Blue/Green Madness |
|
| Manabelcher,
Mana Severance/Charbelcher |
Extended,
combo |
The
deck revolves around using Mana Severance to remove lands from the deck
and win with Goblin Charbelcher. Chrome Mox and the Mirrodin Talisman are
used for colored mana acceleration, and many versions use black for
Vampiric Tutor. Before the Jan. 1, 2004 restrictions also featured Tinker
and Tinker-deck strategies. |
YES |
| Mask,
MaskNaught, Venguer Masque, Tainted Mask, Spoils Mask, Ninja Mask: |
Type
1, combo |
Deck
uses Illusionary Mask to put a Phyrexian Dreadnought into play bypassing
the comes into play drawback. Most variants are either mono black or U/B
and are heavy on disruption. Tainted mask uses Tainted Pact as its primary
tutor, Spoils Mask uses Spoils of the Vault. Both Vengeur Masque and Ninja
Mask use Survival of the Fittest as a key component, but Vengeur Masque
contains more Full English Breakfast elements like Volrath's Shapeshifter,
and Ninja Mask runs more control elements than Vengeur Mask. |
|
| MILL
DECK |
MDV
TERM |
Also know as 'decking' decks, mill seems the more appropriate term to
use. Mill comes from the original 'mill' card known as
Millstone. Any deck that can keep you from drawing a card because
you have no cards left in it is known as a 'mill' deck. There are
many new cards that let you accomplish this including Raven Guild
Master, Brain Freeze and Mesmeric Orb. Old veterans of the mill
deck type include Millstone, Grindstone, Altar of Dementia, Helm of Obedience, Sealed Fate, Traumatize and Whetstone. |
| Miracle
Gro |
|
See
Gro |
Miracle
Gro |
| Mono-black
control, MBC |
GENERAL
TERM |
A
mono-black deck that uses Cabal Coffers for large quantities of mana
and/or things like Phyrexian Arena for card drawing and cards like Corrupt
for large amounts of damage and life gain. Including in the mix are
large amounts of discard spells and cards like "Barter in Blood"
and "Chainer's Edict". |
YES |
| Mono-blue
control, BBS, Draw-go: |
Type
1, control |
A
blue, counter heavy, control deck that uses Ophidians for card drawing and
Morphling for the kill. Mono blue versions have Powder Keg for creature
kill and Back to Basics in the sideboard. Urphidian is with a red splash
for Fire/Ice maindeck and Blood Moon in the sideboard. |
YES |
| Necro |
GENERAL
TERM |
A
deck with the now banned/restricted Necropotence. |
Necro
Deck |
| Neo-Academy: |
Type
1, combo |
Neo-Academy
decks developed after the super-powerful Academy decks caused massive
additions to the banned list. This deck relies on Tolarian Academy and
numerous artifacts to create ridiculous amounts of mana. Typically
contains Candelabra of Tawnos, Capsize, and Mind Over Matter, and is fully
powered. Usually wins by decking with Braingeyser or Stroke of Genius. |
Neo
Academy |
| Nether
Void, Void: |
Type
1, aggro-control |
Superficially
similar to Suicide Black, but more control oriented. Uses Nether Void to
stall opponent while beating down with creatures such as Hypnotic Specter
and Nantuko Shade. |
|
| Ninja
Mask – see Mask |
|
|
|
| Oath: |
Type
1, combo-control |
Oath
of Druids uses card drawing and counters until Oath of Druids is played
and a game-winning creature is brought into play rapidly. Previously
popular in extended until Oath of Druids was banned in that format. |
Oath |
| OSE |
|
see
rOSE |
Yes? |
| Oshawa
Stompy |
Type
1, 1.5, aggro |
A
green based Survival of the Fittest deck. It uses the synergy of Squee,
Goblin Nabob and madness creatures like Basking Rootwalla with Survival of
the Fittest and Bazaar of Baghdad to find whatever utility creature is
needed at that point in time. Despite being mono-green in type 1, a white
splash is necessary for survival in 1.5 |
|
| Pandeburst,
21.dec, Replenish: |
Type
1, combo |
Deck
based on using Pandemonium and Saproling Burst to deal 21 points of damage
in one shot. The deck is primarily blue, and the combo is brought into
play quickly using Intuition and Replenish. |
Replenish |
| Paragon
Keeper |
|
See
Keeper. |
|
| Parfait: |
Type
1, control |
Mono-white
control deck. Uses Land Tax and Scroll Rack combo for draw power and
various defensive cards to lock out opponent’s strategies. Sacred Mesa
was formerly used as the win condition, now Goblin Charbelcher is used.
Some versions splash red for Blood Moon, or occasionally black for The
Abyss. |
|
| Pebbles,
Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles: |
Type
1, combo: |
The
Pebbles deck revolved around abusing Enduring Renewal and 0 cost artifact
creatures like Ornithopter and Shield Sphere. Decks either used Ashnod's
Altar and X damage or decking spells for the win condition, or Goblin
Bombardment. |
Fruity
Pebbles |
| Perfect
Storm, The: |
Type
1, combo |
This
deck uses an assortment of restricted cards with some added card drawing,
disruption, and counters to power a kill with Tendrils of Agony. The deck
was developed by the Dutch T1 team Insane Scrub Posse (ISP). |
|
| Pirates |
Extended,
control |
Currently
a rouge archetype, Pirates uses blue mana-denial to control the opponent.
Features the pirates Rishadan Cutpurse and Rishadan Footpad in conjunction
with cards like Rishadan Port, Ankh of Mishra, bounce spells, and
non-basic land destruction. |
|
| Ponza: |
Type
1, aggro-control |
This
mono-red deck features land destruction and burn, with occasional large
creatures. Cards associated with Ponza are Gorilla Shaman, Pillage, and
Lightning Bolt. |
Ponza
2K |
| Powered |
GENERAL
TERM |
“Powered”
decks refer to decks that contain any of the Power 9 cards. The power 9
consist: Ancestral Recall, Black Lotus, Mox Emerald, Mox Jet, Mox Pearl,
Mox Sapphire, Mox Ruby, Time Twister, and Time Walk. |
|
| Pox: |
Type
1, control |
A
typically mono-black control deck built around Pox. Uses hand disruption
and Cursed Scroll and/or The Rack. Some versions splash white mostly for
Vindicate and Balance. |
YES |
| Prison
, Lockdown |
MDV
TERM |
A
deck that taps and locks up all of an opponent's permanents. The first
prison decks used Winter Orb with Icy Manipulator or Relic Barrier.
Current prison decks use cards such as Opposition. |
| Psychatog,
Tog: |
Extended,
control |
Black/Blue
control deck uses hand disruption, counters, and creature destruction to
keep the board clear early, then Psychatog for the win. |
|
| PT
Funk, PT Junk |
Type
1, aggro-control: |
Mostly
a Suicide Black deck that splashes green for River Boas, Pernicious Deeds,
sometimes a couple of Spirit Mongers, and of course hate in sideboard. |
PT
Junk |
| Quiet
Roar |
|
see
Blue-Green Madness |
|
| RDW2K2,
Red Deck Wins 2002: |
Extended,
aggro |
An
extended version of sligh that features Blistering Firecat and Cursed
Scroll. |
|
| Reanimator,
Benzo: |
Extended,
combo |
Uses
Entomb, Buried Alive and others to put a fatty in the graveyard and then
uses Exhume, Animate Dead, and Reanimate to bring them back. Some versions
splash blue for Show and Tell. |
|
| ReapLace: |
Type
1, combo: |
A
deck that uses Deathlace to turn opponents permanents black and then
creates infinite mana with 2 Reap and a Black Lotus. Usually kills using 2
Reap plus Ancestral Recall or Fire/Ice. |
YES |
| Recsur: |
Type
1, combo |
Survival
of the Fittest, Squee, Goblin Nabob and Recurring Nightmare are used to
fetch out a variety of utility creatures. |
|
| Rector
Tendrils, ****** Agony |
|
