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Foreword: I apologise for the delay of this article. Ian Seet assisted me through this competition, and I expected him to add his own comments to this article. I have since learned that Ian is away; I am sure he would be happy to add his comments in the forums.

The time has come to announce the Pre-Constructed Ice Age deck winners. Our final four as listed last time were:

Norritt's Talisman - Michael Burke
Woolly Stampede - Allen Lee
Frost-Bite - Danny Smith
Karplusan Fury - Joe Tobin

Let's quickly go over the criteria we were assessing the decks on. From the previous article, here is the criteria you should be looking at:

• Would I give this deck to a new player if I wanted to teach them the game?
• Does this deck have an intuitive path to victory?
• Do the cards all fit an easily identified central theme? Do any of the cards stray from this theme to the detriment of the deck?
• Does the deck have subtle ways of teaching players about the game? My definition of a 'subtle' card is one that does not share all its information straight away; it usually requires several games to decipher how good (or bad) it is or how much it helps you. These are excellent teaching tools. Orcish Lumberjack is an excellent Ice Age example of a subtle card.
• Are there enough mana sources? There should be a minimum of 23 lands in a 60 card deck. Decks must have very good reason to go under this number and must still function well.

Unfortunately I can not give entirely accurate poll results; this was due to the upgrade of the forums, which affected all active polls at the time. However, it was clear that one of the decks had a strong lead on the others. Here are some of my thoughts on the decks.

Finalist: Norritt's Talisman - Michael Burke
$5 Purchase credit from Scott Hunstad

I had a soft spot for this deck because I have a fondness for Norritt's. The Norritt has great synergy with the majority of the deck. There are many blue tappers that you can re-use, but the best has to be Skeleton Ship, one of the decks rares. Musician is not a great card on it's own, but does introduce players to cumulative upkeep, and as a bonus also plays nice with Norritt. Norritt can also force creatures to attack, which is useful with Krovikan Vampire, and with any creature enchanted with Soul Kiss. A couple of Dark Rituals can help the deck off to a great start (including turn two Abyssal Specter). The only downside, as mentioned in the previous article, is the likely oversight that the two talismans have triggered abilities, not activated abilities, leaving only the Sunstone for the Soldevi Machinists to work their magic on. Otherwise, this is a solid deck that can slowly clear the board and then swing in with mid-range beaters.

Finalist: Woolly Stampede - Alan Lee
$5 Purchase credit from Scott Hunstad

The only mono-coloured deck to make the final four, Woolly Stampede seeks to do just that; swing in with a bunch of green beaters. The early drops in the deck follow a nice curve. While there are only 22 lands, there are 3 Fyndhorn Elves to help out in the mana production, and there are five other creatures that cost 2 or less. The deck has a few tricks, from the simple Giant Growth up to the Venemous Breath/Lure combo. Each of these cards are good for combat in general, but are great together. The creatures can beat down while your regenerators hold the fort. Thermokarst does seem a little random to me, and I'd prefer to swap that for another Fanatical Fever to reinforce that aspect of the deck, given that Woolly Mammoths is the only creature in the deck that naturally has trample. Lhurgoyf is a great choice for a rare creature, which can charge into the fray when it gets to a decent size, or hold the fort until you get a trampling card. Stampede can also be a big turn around, getting in extra damage in an attack that may have otherwise been fruitless. While I think the deck does lack a tight focus, it does what a pre-constructed deck should do; it shows off the aspects of the colour, which the player can then modify based on which cards they have the most success with or like to play with. This deck could be transformed by adding bigger tramplers, play the long game with more regenerating creatures, or focusing on getting Lure and Venomous Breath together on a more frequent basis.

Finalist: Frost-Bite - Danny Smith
$5 Purchase credit from Scott Hunstad

I felt that Red/Green would be strongly represented, and I wasn't disappointed. This deck generally plays beat down, using its burn and Orcish Cannoneers to clear out enemy threats to let your creatures through. Skull Catapult is a fantastic choice, making combat hard for your opponent, and is able to finish off with the last few points of damage if that is all you need. It runs a very strong acceleration suite, with Fyndhorn Elves, Orcish Lumberjack and Tinder Wall. The two rares are some of the stronger ones in the set, and furthermore, they work very well with each other. Stormbind survives Jokulhaups, so if you held back a couple of land, you can drop them down, and then turn every draw into burn, which will end the game quickly unless your opponent is well prepared for it.

The deck also sports snow covering on all its Mountains, to help boost the Karplusan Giant, and you can use your Fyndhorn Bow to give him first strike on top.

Winner: Karplusan Fury - Joe Tobin
Choice of $20 credit or Preconstructed deck courtesy of Scott Hunstad

Editor's Note: That's 61 cards by my count!

I didn't want to voice my opinion before everyone else had voted, but Joe's deck was probably my favourite since the first round of selections. The deck sports two rares which are not high on the list of powerful rares in the set - Forgotten Lore and Karplusan Yeti. It doesn't have the Tinder Wall/Orcish Lumberjack engine to potentially pump out a second turn Scaled Wurm or what-have-you.

What the deck does have going for it is a huge tapestry of interwoven synergy. Many of the cards work strongly together. Karplusan Yeti is the highlight, able to take out larger creatures with help from other cards in the deck - Forbidden Lore, Stonehands, or simply the burn spells. Juniper Order Druids are highly outclassed by Fyndhorn Elves and Fyndhorn Elder when it comes to mana acceleration. In this deck however, they more than make up for that by getting additional uses out of Forbidden Lore, Earthlore and Wild Growth. I've always been a fan of Sabretooth Tigers, and the stat-pumpers are also great here. Incinerate also let's you take you down X/5 creatures if you cast it after blocking.

The talismans are generally not very efficient, but they can get you extra uses out of your boosting lands, or Karplusan Yeti if you need to. The deck is rounded out with a little utility. Centaur Archer can take care of the skies while Giant Trap Door Spider can get rid of anything non-flying your other creatures can't deal with. Touch of Vitae works nicely with either Karplusan Yeti or the Juniper Order Druids, or even just to create a surprise blocker from one of your tapped creatures, while showing the cantrip mechanic.

I think this deck deserved to win, because it passes all of the criteria with flying colours. Some of the finer synergies may not be picked up by newer players straight away, but I think that is a bonus. Experienced players will probably pick up on them straight away, but I think the learning curve is perfect for the relatively new player. The cards all stick to a theme and work together well.

One thing I was surprised with but happy about was that no-one submitted a deck with Necropotence. I don't think Necropotence is a very intuitive card (many people thought it was bad to begin with). While it is definitely important that players learn about the value of drawing cards, I don't think Necropotence is the first stop.

Thanks to all those that sent in their entries! I certainly enjoy deck challenges that are outside of the normal formats, and this one was quite different given that the focus was not on designing the best deck, but having the best designed deck.

Michael Howell
bacchus on the forums