IDK why Tapped Out says this deck is not legal in the format of 93/94. I built it to the specs I found on Eternal Central. I originally wanted to call this deck "Clan Tech", as both a nod to my other passion, Battletech - and as an insult against the OTHER "clanners" (you know, the little white guys who are only scary when they are in a huge group and beefed up by a buncha bulls**it), but I didn't wanna get yelled at by people who didn't get the joke - so I felt the need to explain it here.
I recently was introduced to the format of 93/94 Old School, and the whole idea appealed to me in a major way, both thematically and aesthetically. I mean the whole idea of having only the ORIGINAL M:TG Card Face along with the ORIGINAL art, as well as the limited format of only including cards from Alpha to Fallen Empires (ala "Atlantic" rules) seemed quite pleasing to me, and the fact that ALL white bordered reprints are allowed (again, for "Atlantic" rules) means players can build a few classic Magic decks on a legit budget. Unlike "Vintage", which used to be called "Type 1", where the lawless masses run fully powered decks using recent cards the original designers could never envision (such as using Mishra's WorkshopGC to cast Trinisphere Turn 1), 93/94 seemed to be a decent balance where even a deck like the classic "White Weenie" could be fun AND viable. Including MANA BURN still being used, NO DRAWS - intentional or otherwise! You play it to the bone all the way 'til the end. On top of that, the old memories of cards like Serra Angel being a legitimate power play paired with Moat go hard, and those games way before the creation of the cramped cards of today that feel like each text box is a chapter exerpt from War And Peace were some of my favorite times playing Magic. I recall vividly the days when an old friend of mine who has since passed on would play his multi-colored deck, attacking me with his Factories, dropping a Serra Angel ... or even come across with a Sengir Vampire/Nightmare in his all deck and using a good old fashioned Drain Life for the win, and these memories all carry with them a heavy level of wistful nostalgia for the days when these cards were considered both powerful AND evocative of the game's fantasy flavor. As such, I decided to throw my hat into the ring and build a simple White Weenie deck on a budget, with mostly white bordered cards. See what I did there? The Black Lotus and Mox Pearl are in this deck list as place holders, the choices I'd employ "in a perfect world" when I had the cash. However, the world not being perfect and all, I'd probably rock an extra Plains and a Sol Ring, or maybe even a spare Strip Mine/Mishra's Factory as opposed to a basic Land and call it a day.
So this initial White Weenie will be my first go, and I wanna take it and add my own flair to it, as everyone who knows me knows I don't always default to the "usual" cards everyone puts in a deck like this. So let's go through it!
I know everyone seems to like Benalish Hero in the 1-drop spot beside Savannah Lions, but personally, I want to try Clergy of the Holy Nimbus, just because it comes back if the opponent doesn't pay to keep it dead (plus, calling "clanners" a "Nimbus" kinda makes me giggle). Banding is nice and all, but I don't have any other Banding creatures in the deck, so I see using the Hero solely for that mechanic as superfluous. Another "perfect world" choice, Thunder Spirit would be nice if I owned some, but I feel like Keepers of the Faith is a fine substitute for the same CMC until I can acquire a playset of Spirits - far cheaper, too lol. In the end, all I want is a pliable substitute for the time being, but the decklist will appear here with the Spirits, because that's a card I feel like I can eventually put my hands on and is within the realm of actual ownership for most with a little saving.
I am also of the opinion that I like the element of surprise more than I like giving anyone an easy target to cast Disenchant on, so instead of the standard Crusade that seems to be the popular choice (which would also be more in line for a traditional "clanner"), I went ahead and did things a little risky by running 3 copies of Army of Allah instead, for three reasons:
1.) Because I like that card more.
2.) Having the power of "Allah" would annoy the s**t out of a "clanner".
3.) It's always been a fun one to cast for me.
4.) It's not friggin $50-60 per copy!
Plus, this makes any copies of Disenchant the opponent may be carrying a dead card ... unless you want to use it on the Mox Pearl, lol. I wanted to run 4, but I honestly think 3 is enough for now, we will just have to see. Outside of that, a lot of the stuff you see in here is pretty standard fare for WW in this format. Funny enough, I see that cards like Order of Leitbur are popular in this format, along with their counterpart, Order of the Ebon Hand for monoblack decks. I remember being laughed at back in the day for using the latter - though I was using them in the unlimited "Type 1" format of the time, so perhaps the limited format of 93/94 is what makes either of these a more viable inclusion in White or Black decks looking to get a good, cheap creature on the table that doesn't also obliterate the wallet. Armageddon is limited to only 2 in this deck, & I was convinced to remove one of the original 4 copies of Disenchant in the maindeck, in favor of adding in a Witch Hunter to go alongside the Preacher - the logic being that most folks might expect one or the other, but not both. I was against the idea of removing a Disenchant to do it, but it was suggested to me that I stick that 4th copy in the sideboard and sub out either the Witch Hunter or Preacher to bring it back to the main if I really needed it, depending on what I was facing and which of the two worked better. I also might consider letting ONE more Plains go for a 2nd Strip Mine, but I will need more playtesting to know whether or not that causes more of an issue than it solves. Not sure how many copies of Strip Mine I should run - I think I'm allowed to run four copies in the Atlantic rule set, but with 16 Plains and 2 copies of Mishra's Factory, I worry whether or not I will be able to cast the various spells I'm packing with in their casting cost, and I don't want to be that guy caught unable to cast an Army of Allah in my hand when I've got a few good bodies to swing across. Same reason why I decided not to go with Maze of Ith.
Let me know what kind of stuff you run.
My sideboard is also kind of a playground for me, where running four copies of Psychic Purge feels hilarious when encountering a black discard deck, and the ever-popular Turn 1 Hypnotic Specter, Turn 2 Hymn to Tourach combo. Imagine someone taking two cards right next to one another from my hand, and getting two Psychic Purge for a life loss of 10. Ow. Alongside the extra Disenchant, I also like the idea of Equinox being able to stop opponents from dropping an important land with Ice Storm, Stone Rain, or even their own copies of 'geddon. 3 copies of Greater Realm of Preservation is the alternative I want to use over any Circle of Protection, and I figure those colors will be the two I want to hose the most, hence the pick. I also notice a lot of folks run Icatian Javelineers maindeck, but those feel like a one-trick pony to me, their usefulness gone after throwing their stick at opposing weenies like Llanowar Elves or Birds of Paradise - and I honestly feel like the Benalish Hero is a better maindeck run than those, if I were gonna use one or the other. The Javelineers are good for those creatures, though, so a nice sideboard item if other weenies are coming at you/facilitating an opposing strategy.
