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Theory Behind Magic: So you're going to the Nationals

There were only about 2 weeks until the Australian nationals when I wrote this article, and as you might have noted in Adam and Dan's tournament reports I've managed to grab an invite to play in the nationals this year. Right now I'm making some last minute preparations, such as completing all my university assignments, study for my exams, find accommodation and, of course, build a solid deck. So tell me, what deck do you think will win in the nationals this year?

What? You'd prefer to keep that secret tech to yourself? Damn, that is exactly what I would do. But I wouldn't mind sharing some ideas I have about what a winning deck should look like with you guys, being the nice charming person I am (if you know me in real life, feel free to throw up in your nearest toilet).

First and foremost, the deck that will win in the Australian nationals has to be able to beat Fires. If your deck cannot beat Fires on a frequent basis, you might as well save your money for the trip to Canberra and send it to me. From all the reports and deck lists that I have read about in the last 2 weeks, about 40% of the decks that won at the regionals are Fires. It is only logical to presume that you would be up against a lot of Fires deck in the Nationals.

It is because of this reason (people building decks to beat Fires) that I believe that the deck that will win the Australian nationals will not be Fires. Yes, Fires is undoubtedly a very strong deck, especially when they get that first turn Bird, second turn Fires, third turn Blastoderm and forth turn Burst hand. However, most control decks like U/W and U/B should have no problem in dealing with these threats with their counter spells.

So it will be a control deck that would win the nationals? Maybe, but remember the greatest flaw in control decks is that they have a very slow mirror match up that usually ends up as a draw. Plus, if they get a mana screwed hand the first game, they might not have time to get 2 wins from their opponent because of the deck's slow nature. You won't see me crying too hard if the control decks suffer a major fall in the nationals as they did in the N.S.W regional. Around 30 U/W control decks and only one made it to the top 8, I think that made my day more then qulifying for the nationals.

To me, a deck that will win the nationals should be a deck that is a refined version of a tier 2 deck. Decks that not every Tom, Dick and Harry would play or expect to see a lot, thus getting around being side boarded against too much. It should be a deck that features cards and combos that seemed so obvious and good once it has been played, like Tinker and Suicide Black last year. Decks that could possibly fulfill these criteria include Rebels, Blue Skies, Machine Head, Thunder Cats and anything with Nether Spirit. You might be complaining right now that I haven't really told you anything in this article you didn't already know, correct? But I've already told you I would be holding back any secret tech that I have for the nationals.:P

On a side note, did any of you notice the difference in the sum of prize money between the Australian and British nationals? [Ed the expat Scot: actually it was the English; the Scottish and the Welsh - not sure what happens with Northern Ireland - fared worse than Australia. It's important to note that while some people will grudgingly agree they are British, they will get really annoyed if you equate that with being English.] You would think that we should be the ones getting more money being the larger country [Ed: of course, this is in size only, with Australia having probably just over half of the population of England, but size does matter], having more players and brewing the better tasting beer.

Hopefully, I would see you all in the nationals and you can feel free to buy me a beer if you see me there.

Adios
Minga Wong
t_memo@yahoo.com