It's time for part two of my high School MTG series! If you haven't done so already, please check out part one for context. The past two weeks of school have been awash with decks, duels, and... downright tragedy in at least one case.

This wasn't the first time this sort of tragedy has happened, and it won't be the last. There was no malicious culprit here, just a precarious placement of a box on a closet shelf. It was nothing a bit of time and determination couldn't fix. Before long, we were all back to slinging cardboard, and I've got a few choice decks from the action to showcase!

Paul's Mono Red Dragon Deck Deck | Casual | James Heslip

• Creatures (19)
• 2 Rapacious Dragon
• 2 Shockmaw Dragon
• 3 Sparktongue Dragon
• 4 Scorch Spitter
• 4 Dragonlord's Servant
• 4 Furnace Whelp

• Instants (8)
• 4 Draconic Roar
• 4 Thrill of Possibility

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Bathe in Dragonfire

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Vessel of Volatility

• Lands (24)
• 24 Mountain

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Cost: $9 at the time of publication

After watching Octavian play with me during lunch, Paul decided he wanted in on the action, too. He requested a dragon deck, and I had previously found four copies of Dragonlord's Servant, so this was a simple request to fulfill.

Dragons are not known for their low casting cost, so I had to find something besides the cost-reducing goblin for Paul to play in the first few turns of the game. Scorch Spitter felt like it fit the theme well enough, being a fire-breathing lizard and all.

Furnace Whelp is the smallest of the actual dragons. It comes down as early as turn three, and acts as a mana dump for us should we be running out of actual spells to play. Sparktongue Dragon, Rapacious Dragon, and Shockmaw Dragon are the actual threats. I tried to keep a decent curve while also giving a variety of scaly monstrosities to cast. Sparktongue and Shockmaw keep smaller threats off the field while Rapacious fuels additional dragons or their fiery breath.

Draconic Roar and Bathe in Dragonfire burn out early threats, while Vessel of Volatility ramps into the bigger dragons earlier. As Paul learned early on, it can also be used to fuel Furnace Whelp's firebreathing effect. Thrill of Possibility is a rough fit, but I wanted some amount of card draw in the list, and this was what I was able to find.

Trevor's Golgari Saproling Deck Deck | Casual | James Heslip

• Creatures (26)
• 2 Siege Wurm
• 2 Slimefoot, the Stowaway
• 3 Deathbloom Thallid
• 3 Thallid Omnivore
• 4 Tukatongue Thallid
• 4 Sporecrown Thallid
• 4 Yavimaya Shepherd
• 4 Thallid Soothsayer

• Instants (6)
• 2 Spore Swarm
• 4 Fungal Infection

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Saproling Migration

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Fists of Ironwood

• Lands (22)
• 8 Swamp
• 10 Forest
• 4 Jungle Hollow

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Cost: $10 at the time of publication

I threw this deck together once I realized the bulk came with a full playset of almost everything it needed. If possible, it would have been nice to play one or two more Slimefoots, but it functions fine without them. Trevor is not a regular in our club, but he stopped by and asked for a deck, and we talked for a bit about what he might want. In the end, this is what we decided on. I haven't seen him play it yet, but I'm hoping he liked it!

The strategy is straightforward, and it seemed that Trevor had a better grasp of how tokens work than some of the other kids. So, all in all, I felt like this was a fine fit. Fungal Infection, Yavimaya Shepherd, Slimefoot, the Stowaway, Fists of Ironwood, Saproling Migration, and Spore Swarm each produce tokens to swarm the field with. Sporecrown Thallid makes them all a bit more intimidating, and Infection gives a little interaction with the opponent, too. It can kill small blockers, or be used during combat for battle damage shenanigans.

Tukatongue Thallid and Deathbloom Thallid also produce tokens, but their primary purpose is to act as fuel for Thallid Omnivore and Thallid Soothsayer. This gives Trevor both a bigger monster to threaten the opponent with, as well as a decent draw engine. This is all while not losing out on card advantage, which is a concept I'll get around to teaching him next time I see him.

Heslip's Izzet Control Deck | Casual | James Heslip

• Creatures (8)
• 4 Sea Gate Oracle
• 4 Errant Ephemeron

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Goblinslide

• Instants (24)
• 4 Opt
• 4 Shock
• 4 Fire Prophecy
• 4 Frantic Inventory
• 4 Rune Snag
• 4 Cancel

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Experimental Overload

• Lands (22)
• 2 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Swiftwater Cliffs
• 6 Mountain
• 10 Island

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Cost: $8 at the time of publication

About a week ago, Octavian (pilot and owner of last article's Act of Treason deck) discovered his first infinite combo when he found my Presence of Gond + Midnight Guard combo deck. He bugged me about it for a while, until I let him buy it from me at cost. I taught him how everything worked, and he played it for a while, destroying any unprepared peer that would play with him. He had a blast, but I don't think I can say the same for his opponents. Because of this, I feel some personal guilt for the part I played in introducing combo to such a casual meta.

Convinced the deck was broken, Octavian asked if I would be able to build something (using only the bulk) that could hold its own against infinite 1/1 creatures. So, I decided to teach him about the control archetype.

I chose Izzet control due to the availability of burn spells, and the two copies of Experimental Overload I had previously pulled out to try and fit somewhere. Shock and Fire Prophecy clear away smaller threats in the early stages of the game, with Prophecy also binning extra lands or other unwanted cards. Rune Snag and Cancel round out the rest of the control shell, allowing me to counter anything my burn can't deal with.

Sea Gate Oracle, Opt, and Frantic Inventory give the deck some card draw and filter. Oracle also helps to block smaller creatures. Goblinslide was a last-second inclusion that ended up working out better than expected. Every time I burn a threat, counter a spell, or cast a draw spell, I also get a goblin! These little guys were great for keeping my life total high in the same vein as Oracle, but if the game went on long enough, I could also use them to poke my opponent to death.

Goblins are okay for attacks, but Errant Ephemeron is the deck's main win condition. The plan is to just suspend it early on, and then control the board until they arrive. From there, I could protect them with any remaining counter magic until I won.

The actual match went about as expected. While Octavian played early ramp and searched out his combo I suspended an Ephemeron and then kept up mana for counter and burn spells. Any part of the combo I couldn't burn to death was immediately countered, and by the time Ephemeron hit play the game was basically over.

As expected, I was immediately asked if I would be willing to sell this new "broken" deck.