Type: Deck Idea
Format (legal 👍) vinVintage
Approx. Value:
$636.19

0 Likes 0 Comments
Avg. CMC 1.29
Card Color Breakdown
Card Type Breakdown

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Main Deck - 61 cards, 27 distinct
Columns
Name  Edition $ Type Cost
Rarity Color
Creature (13)
2 Juggernaut
$0.02 Artifact Creature - Juggernaut
2 Kird Ape
$0.18 Creature - Ape
2 Llanowar Elves
$0.40 Creature - Elf Druid
2 Orcish Lumberjack
$0.66 Creature - Orc
2 Tinder Wall
$0.58 Creature - Plant Wall
3 Yavimaya Ants
$0.23 Creature - Insect
Instant (11)
3 Avoid Fate
$5.66 Instant
2 Berserk
$92.07 Instant
2 Blood Lust
$0.18 Instant
2 Giant Growth
$0.12 Instant
2 Lightning Bolt
$1.21 Instant
Sorcery (6)
1 Channel
$0.62 Sorcery
2 Disintegrate
$0.35 Sorcery
2 Fireball
$0.16 Sorcery
1 Wheel of Fortune
$274.39 Sorcery
Artifact (8)
1 Black Lotus
N/A Artifact
3 Black Vise
$1.63 Artifact
1 Lotus Petal
$19.29 Artifact
1 Mana Vault
$73.60 Artifact
1 Mox Emerald
N/A Artifact
1 Mox Ruby
N/A Artifact
Land (23)
8 Forest
$0.08 Basic Land - Forest
1 Karakas
$42.05 Legendary Land
1 Maze of Ith
$5.90 Land
3 Mishra's Factory
$0.13 Land
9 Mountain
$0.09 Basic Land - Mountain
1 Pendelhaven
$4.08 Legendary Land
Sideboard - 0 cards, 0 distinct
No cards here. :(

Notes
 
This is my tournament aggro deck from circa 1994-1996. Until Force of Will was printed (Alliances in 1996), this deck archtype ("Ernham and Burn'em") could beat most blue lock decks within the first 4 turns or so...a slow game would be turn 5 or 6. This deck reigned back in a time when first turn "muligans" did not exist and both players drew a card on turn 1. Force of Will effectively stopped the Channel + Fireball combo and also the Giant Growth/Blood Lust + Berserk combo. First turn kill combos in the deck are (in the starting hand + first card draw = 8 cards to start with): 1) Lotus, Mountain, Channel, Fireball/Disintegrate; 2) Lotus, Forest, Tinderwall, Channel, Fireball/Disintegrate; 3) Lotus, Mox Ruby, Channel, Fireball/Disintegrate; 4) Lotus, Mox Emerald, Tinderwall, Channel, Fireball/Disintegrate. First turn kill draw was about 1 in 15 starting hands (and yes I executed it many a time in a tourney--my favorite comment was "Don't bother setting up your life total [with your dice], because this game is O-V-E-R). There are several variants of draws for second turn kills (much higher likelihood 7 card starting hand + first card draw + second card draw = 9 cards) using Channel + Fireball/Disintegrate (the Orcish Lumberjack if played on turn 1 effectively operates like a Black Lotus on turn 2 if you have a Forest in play, but it is better than Lotus as you can create any combination of 3 red and green mana by sacrificing the Forest and tap the Forest before sacrificing for 1 additional green = 4 total mana, not counting the second land you can play on turn 2--you just need to pull the Channel + Fireball/Disintegrate by turn 2, within the first 9 cards). If you manage to not draw the Channel on turn 1 or 2, but get a Juggernaut out instead on turn 1, Blood Lust + Berserk can do 18 damage on turn 2 and Blood Lust + Giant Growth + Berserk is turn 2 or turn 3 kill with a Jack or Tinderwall or a Mox in play. A first turn Kird Ape (which is a 1 mana drop) can go with a Mox, Tinderwall, Lotus, or Jack and by turn 2 attack with Blood Lust + Giant Growth + Berserk for 18. For any of the 18 damage attacks you are looking to play a Bolt or other DD card (or the Ants with haste) or attack with the Mishra's Factory in the followup turn 3. A turn 2 Juggs also can be used for a turn 3 kill with pump and Berserk, although this is getting into bad/unfortunate draw territory...The Ants by themselves are really the worst scenario--a Hail Mary Pass--and with haste you are looking at a turn 3 or 4 kill with pump and Berserk...to be honest this is really too late for most Legacy deck matchups and you would either be countered or the Ants killed unless your opponent also had a bad draw. If you find yourself able to cast the Ants on turn 1, DO NOT! (the upkeep is too much and you will lose the Ants or slow yourself down paying the upkeep). Wait until to turn 2 to pump them up and then pay the upkeep cost to hit again during turn 3. The Ants are really there to pop in for 5 additional damage to seal the win after a Kird Ape or Juggernaut assault.

This is a retired deck (with many tournament wins) and I would consider it to no longer be competitive against modern Type I/Legacy decks (all control Storm turn 1 or 2 kill combos with counters using Flusterstorm or Force). At the time that this deck dominated, there was a single 1 mana counterspell that was rarely used (Force Spike, Legends 1994) and really, until your opponent got two blue mana sources out, you did not need to worry about much on the control side--this was plenty of time to deliver most damage...really one of the scariest cards was Unsummon (1 blue) for the Berserked-creature. This "Old School" MTG aggro strategy, as cool as it sounds, has many weaknesses now...even if your opponent has not yet played a land. RIP Channel-Fireball... 

Another note, I have played first turn Tinderwall and Sol Ring and then 3 Black Vises for 9 damage and (despite how dumb this sounds) literally "vised" opponents to death...this is also a valid win con as control decks hold onto their cards--even dropping cards as fast as possible the vices do enough damage to bring their life total easily in range of the other aspects of the deck and they tap out trying to drop cards, so counterspells are no worries. 

Another sneaky note: Pendelhaven gives any 1/1 creature +1/+2 and Kird Ape is a 1/1 creature that also gets +1/+2 when you have a Forest in play...so you can make Kird Ape a 3/5 if you have a Forest in play and tap Pendelhaven...a good blocker or a 3 power start to a Berserk cascade.

The version of the deck as presented is 1995-1996 contemporary; the 1994 version is:
Replace Tinder Wall x2 (1995) with Blood Lust x1 and Kird Ape x1.
Replace Orcish Lumberjack x2 (1995) with Llanowar Elves x2.
Replace Yavimaya Ants x3 (1996) with Ernham Djinn x3; you can try Ball Lightning (The Dark, 1994), but the 3 Red casting cost is tough--you will find it hanging out in your hand more often than you can cast it. If you want to use Ball Lightening, you might remove Giant Growth x2 and shift two of the lands from Forest to Mountain and add in Chain Lightening x2...this weakens the Channel combo and Lumberjacks, however. 
Replace Lotus Petal x1 with nothing (omit to 60 cards) or with Sol Ring x1; at this time Lotus Petal was restricted to one copy per deck (better to have mana color fexibility than the "extra" colorless mana with Sol Ring). The deck already has a Vault.
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