Extended Stay *#1*

Event - FPDC 1.05
Date - May 16th
Participents - 12

Deck Breakdown:
2 RG LD
2 Affinity
2 RDW (1 burn, 1 beats)
1 Black Aggro
1 Elves
1 UBW Blink
1 UWr Blink
1 UW Reality Acid
1 Gb Husk Tokens

Top 4:
- RDW (beats) - plainstrider
- Gb Husk Feeder - ChronicHeaves
- UWr Blink - Belette
- UW Reality Acid - Tybalt

The first of our two FutExt tournies this week had a less then steller turn out, but was filled with strong competitors and solid decks. It makes a good example for our first look at the current FutExt metagame, with most of the tier 1 and 2 strategies in attendance. As you can see, FutExt is home to a very aggresive metagame, with all but one deck in this tourney on the aggro side of the coin (unless you count the blink decks with a small counter suite and next to no removal as control decks). The true control deck of the format (MUTC, or, mostly blue teachings control) has been on a extreme downturn over the past few months, to the point now where it barely shows up at all.

Reasons for controls struggle in the format can be debated, but there are some aspects which contribute strongly. The problems don't stem from the card pool I don't think. Blue certainly has its fair share of solid permission, and it's usual support colors have quality removal as well. More likely is the crop of decks that make up the core of our current metagame. RDW has always been a difficult matchup for true control decks, with it's fast curve of aggresive creatures, and it's heavy suite of burn giving it serious reach, and RDW has been showing up in record numbers. Also, UW and UWB Blink decks have been very popular, and they challenge control decks in a completely different way. Effective creatures with built in card advantage, a smattering of permission for themselves, and the dominant Momentary Blink tying it together, both saving men from removal, and allowing for abuse of comes into play effects. With two of the most popular decks attacking control in such different fashions, it's really not too much of a surprise that MUTC has fallen from grace. In all formats, aggro decks are usually the first thing to pop up. Control decks by nature have to come second, because of their reactive nature. They have to know what they're controlling, or their answers won't be the right ones. In a format with so many decks and strategies, and with two of the most popular decks giving control fits from different angles, the inevitable conclusion has been reached.

Event - UPDC 3.10
Date - May 18th
Participents - 34(!)

Deck Breakdown:
4 Affinity
3 Orzhov Blink
3 UR Aggro
3 RDW (1 Baku Spirits)
2 RG Big LD
2 UWR Cogs
2 UG Aggro
1 UR Goblin Storm
1 Mono Red Storm
1 Orzhov Beats
1 UW Good Entrance
1 UW Guardian Solution
1 UW Reality Acid
1 GWU Sliver Changeling Aggro
1 RG Aggro
1 UB Aggro Control
1 Mono U Illusions
1 Mono G Elves
1 5c Goodstuff
1 GB Tokens
1 GB Beats
1 UB Rogues

Top 8:
- Goblin Ritual - Bates8977
- UWR Cogs - R3b3lw4rr10r
- Blue/Red Aggro - andymc1
- Orzhov Blink - JPLiberato
- Orzhov Aggro - rfeltrin
- RGw Big LD - scarecrow007
- UWR Cogs - Spills
- Mono G Elves - yogev_ezra

UPDC pulled in a record breaking 34 players on Sunday. After 4 rounds, and a tough fought Top 8, we ended up with a newcomer with his first win, and a deck of his own creation in its first tourney run taking the title. Following up, we have big guns UWR cogs, Orzhov Blink, and some of the newer school, including a white splash version of the RG Big Guys and Land Demo deck that has been having success recently. Let's take a look at our big winner's innovative look at UR Storm.

Goblin Ritual by Bates8977:
5 Mountain
6 Island
4 Lonely Sandbar
3 Izzet Boilerworks
2 Terramorphic Expanse

4 Goblin War Strike
4 Brightstone Ritual
4 Ponder
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Skirk Prospector
4 Rite of Flame
4 Distant Melody
4 Peer Through Depths
4 Seething Song
4 Empty the Warrens

Sideboard
4 Hurly-Burly
4 Smash
3 Goblin Sledder
4 Early Frost

I was able to get a look at the deck in action, losing to it in an elimination match Round 4. The deck plays differently then any other storm deck we've seen before, with a large number of cards for use specifically AFTER you cast the first Empty the Warrens. The set up is ultimately the same as most storm decks, with library manipulation (Ponder, Peer Through Depths), and mana acceleration (Rite of Flame, Seething Song). Then we get to the post-Warrens package of Distant Melody, Brightstone Ritual, Skirk Prospector, and Goblin War Strike. These actually allow you to use the Empty the Warrens tokens as an engine to continue comboing off, ending with one or two of the aforementioned Goblin War Strikes, killing your opponent right away. This solves some of the problems with previous storm decks, chiefly the turn the opponent gets with your goblin army sitting targets for echoing spells, hurly-burly, martyr of ashes, and a host of other sweepers. Although you can't argue with success, I'm hesitant to crown the deck as The Next Big Thing. Personally, the number of cards that are completely dead until you cast an Empty the Warrens worries me. With combo decks already being prone to mulligans, I'm not sure the ability to kill the same turn it goes off is important enough to outweigh it's increased odds of unkeepable starting hands, and bad topdecks. Time and testing will surely prove one way or another.

That wraps it up for week one of Extended Stay. If you have any comments, ideas, or complaints, PLEASE make yourself heard in the comments section below. I'll be expanding the article in whatever ways the viewing public sees fit. See you all next week!