Home  Decks  Combos  Articles  Visual Spoilers  Features  Art  Links  Search  BLOG  Forum

MDV RSS Feed  
 

     

MDV Deck Definitions
NAV BAR HERE

 

Popular Deck Types with Descriptions 

A word about MDV's deck definitions...
9/1/05.  I have not been able to update this page like I would like to so I have opened it back up to you all.  However, the majority of the primers listed to the right are now outdated and many of the deck descriptions below can either be expanded upon, deleted or revised.  If you are an expert of the deck types, please let me know and help me update this page and the primers. Once the forums are back up, you can discuss this subject in this thread. Thanks for visiting MDV.  ~Streetz~

6/20/04. As your casual deck resource, Magic Deck Vortex tries to bring you the best casual decks as well as a good source of reference for all decks.  Below is a listing of popular deck types sorted by name including terms, tournament information and more.  Much of this information was taken from the www.magicthegathering.com message boards, linked here.  All of the primers not linked to are all quoted from various people on the boards1.wizards.com message boards.  A many thanks to those who have spent many an hour compiling the information for any specific deck.  Also, a big thanks and much credit to Squee's Main Squeeze who is the author of the thread referenced and who also spends many hours updating and refining the information there.

One thing I would like to point out is that most of these deck types are for extended, T1 or T1.5.  Casual decks and type two decks change too rapidly for many common terms to develop.  There are a few mentioned but not all.  

Also note that I have also found a whole bunch of decks that will fill the 'deck link' column for each deck type.  These will be added to the database soon and also to this page.  Thank you, as always, for visiting Magic Deck Vortex.  If you see any errors of if you have any additions, please email the webmaster (listed below) with the name and description along with your comments.  

If you have any additions, comments, deleltions or whatever, please email me.  Also, if you wrote one of the primers and do not want it quoted on this site, please let me know.  I will fix it immediately upon request.  Also, if you would like to write a primer for a deck not already 'primed' ... email that too.  Just email me anything! *GRIN*

Available for the decks mentioned below: 

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