Magician's Jury

~Ooc: Magic
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Just the other night, a Jun (My guy bestfriend) asked me about the competitiveness of his deck. I'll get to that later - I'd just have to post a few decklists here: One is the list of Yuuichi Miyazaki, 2006 Aichi Standard Champs, 3rd place, and the other one's the list of Kazuya Saitou, 2006 Yamagata Standard Champs, 1st place.

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Yuuichi Miyazaki
2006 Aichi Standard Champs, 3rd place

Main Deck
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1 Pendelhaven
20 Forest
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21 land

4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Silhana Ledgewalker
4 Scryb Ranger
4 Yavimaya Dryad
4 Spectral Force
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24 creatures

4 Call of the Herd
4 Blanchwood Armor
4 Moldervine Cloak
3 Stonewood Invocation
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15 other spells

4 Spike Feeder
3 Giant Solifuge
3 Serrated Arrows
3 Krosan Grip
2 Greater Good
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15 sideboard cards
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Kazuya Saitou
2006 Yamagata Standard Champs Winner

Main Deck
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2 Island
8 Forest
4 Breeding Pool
4 Yavimaya Coast
1 Pendelhaven
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19 land

4 Llanowar Elves
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Scryb Ranger
4 Plaxmanta
4 Ohran Viper
4 Spectral Force
3 Mystic Snake
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27 creatures

4 Call of the Herd
4 Remand
4 Mana Leak
2 Stonewood Invocation
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14 other spells

1 Mystic Snake
1 Loxodon Warhammer
3 Serrated Arrows
3 Giant Solifuge
3 Krosan Grip
4 Repeal
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15 sideboard cards
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What's the difference? Well, Kazuya's obviously the 1st placer, and Yuuichi only placed third - although it seems unfair of us to judge them this way since they're not from the same district. But still, the point remains. Single colored decks need very good pilots in order to make it to the top lists, while dual colored decks, even simple ones, can be found on the top easily. Proof? On the whole japan, how many mono colored decks have placed in Japan champs? Only one per district in the average: and only Mono-White is populous, and there's only one Mono-Green (Correct me if I'm mistaken here).

Let's take a look closer at the two lists - Both of them utilized the same primary win con - a turn 3 Spectral Force through Scryb Ranger acceleration, finishing with elephant beatdown + stonewood invocation. But Kazuya's list can be found many times through the Japan Champs - most of them placing at the top 3. How come Yuuichi's the only Mono-Green player at the top 3? Because Yuuchi's list is a dedicated aggro-beatdown deck. Meaning, it does nothing but beat you down. Kazuya, on the other hand, used some control elements such as Remand and Plaxmanta. Why? Because a dedicated aggro-beatdown dies to control. Lets take a quick run down, ok?

White:
Wrath of God
Faith's Fetters
Condemn

Blue:
Remand
Cancel
Repeal

Red:
Lightning Axe + Fiery Temper
Pyroclasm
Char

Black:
Sudden Death
Stupor
Persecute

There. The four Control Colors. It very hard to control the game using Green - because it's mainly a beatdown color. We dip to green for creature support - and to every other color for control. Now, enough background, and answer Juner's Question: Is my Mono-Green Beatdown deck competitive?

Short answer: Yes.

Long Answer: It depends. No matter the build of a green deck it will never have the capability to control the game. And herein lies its weakness - it boasts very little removal, so it relies on sheer speed. And so, luck becomes a factor.

ProPlayers very seldom rely on luck.

Thus, most players dip on other colors for control support - musch like how other decks splash green for creature support. Anyhow, I'm starting to feel sleepy, so I'll post this now. I'll probably expand on it later, but for now... Ciao. ^o^;