"Beige is the new black." At least that’s what they say when they’re trying to sell you a beige outfit. The idea is that everyone looks good in black and if you can make them think your beige idea is just as cool then you're in. This type of phrase has become so cliché.

Some others like it are:

• "40 is the new 30." Meaning everyone who is now 40 acts like 30 year olds used to act. I'm almost there. I can’t wait to act like I'm 30. Whatever that means.
• "16 is the new 6." This is one we teachers throw around the staff room. No offense if you're 16 but sometimes maturity doesn't come with age. For the record I've had 16 year olds act 26 so go figure.
• "14 is the new 20." Finally a Magic related one for today's class. Pre-Elfball during the last PTQ Extended season I heard this phrase batted around a lot. It stemmed from Zoo decks being so popular and their consistent use of Fetch Land into a Shock Land untapped. Turn 1 going to 17 life and turn 2 hitting 14 life before the game really even got started. Basically making their total life 14 to start the game.

If you’re new to the game or you missed the last year, Zoo decks are very simple. You fill a major portion of your deck with cheap efficient beaters, add in some burn cards and maybe throw in some removal and/or pump spells and you have yourself the basic garden variety Zoo deck. The idea is to get the early damage going fast and finish them off with the direct burn to the dome. Or you can choose to burn and remove the blockers to allow your guys to continue the red zone win.

For the old school players Zoo plays a lot like Sligh decks of old, only the above mentioned Fetch/Shock lands allow you to play the best critters of all colors and not be limited to just red. Also many Zoo decks actually curve out cheaper than classic Sligh could of.

Many people thought that Onslaught block rotating out of Extended would be the downfall of Zoo. Mostly because of the loss of the Fetchlands. But with Zendikar came the rebirth with the Enemy fetch lands. Meaning now the fetchlands are made to get two one of two enemy colored lands (red and white or green and blue for example) instead of allied colors (red and black or green and white). Of course this means little to nothing for Zoo decks. It may take a good Zoo player all of 15 minutes to configure his new land base.

The real debate for the Zoo player is what cards to run. Zoo always had some debatable slots but the additions to the potential Zoo deck have been tremendous. For today’s lesson I am hoping to give you a plan for handling dilemma's like these.

If you’ve been a regular reader of mine you know of my love for the Rule of Nine. It's how I first think of a deck and the very first build I use when trying out a new idea. For those unfamiliar with the Rule it basically runs a playset of 9 cards and 24 lands to make the deck.

But what happens if you're a Zoo player and your list is longer than just the nine cards? First of all we need to understand that Zoo can actually be hampered by too many lands so your list of the non-land cards will be longer. So for right now the list is a lot longer than 9 or even 10. I'm not going to show you the perfect 10 for your Zoo but I have a suggestion for how the figure it out for yourself.

Whenever I’m presented with the too many choices problem I run what I call the "12 step program." I named it that as joke since many of my students can't force themselves to focus their decks down to just nine cards. I mean no offense to anyone who is actually participating in a 12 step program, I think it is a wonderfully effective and fulfilling process. "Hi my name is Timmy and I put to many cards in my decks."

What I do with the '12 step' is similar to the Rule of Nine only instead of 9 cards I use 12. But 12 playsets with proper mana would be way too thick of deck so we will use 3 of each card instead of 4. That gives us the same 36 card slots and 24 lands for the deck. Then I will play the deck out keeping note of the MVCs (Most Valuable Cards) of each game. It is important to have a large as possible sample from testing so you can make better decisions.

After some early testing it will usually become apparent which cards stand out and which should be cut. I actually focus more on the weakest links. If I can decide on a card to cut it allows me to bump 3 MVCs up to their full playset potential. Then with this new configuration of 3 full sets and 8 triple sets I’ll repeat the process. Sometimes a card that went up to 4 will slide back but not always.

At each stage in development I’ll look to do the same. Find a card that isn’t doing its job and trim it out. Which then allows for 3 more full sets. If I can do this cleanly I’ll have a Rule of Nine list in 3 iterations.

Zoo's mana curve actually allows it to go beyond the Rule of Nine and put more cards in place of lands. So I'm actually going to do a 13 step program. WARNING: The 13 cards that I’m and using are not the only cards that Zoo should consider. They are honestly just the first 13 that came to my mind.

I'll cover my burn choices first. The first mistake I see a lot of players do with Zoo is to forget the burn component of the deck. Even with the best beaters you will eventually stall out and lose the card-attrition war if you can’t keep the constant pressure on.

• Lightning Bolt – Our most efficient burn available.
• Rift Bolt – Through the suspend mechanic it is the same as Lightning Bolt and in late game we’ll have the 3 mana available to hard cast.
• Lightning Helix – Same damage as above plus life gain to offset our Fetch/Shock lands.
• Tribal Flames – The Domain element is easy to achieve in Zoo and 5 damage for 2 mana is pretty solid.

For the Critter choices I will list.

• Wild Nacatl - 3/3 attacking on turn 2. Survives Fallout as well
• Kird Ape – A classic Zoo card. Though I fear he may be replaced come Austin. I mean he “only hits for 2”.
• Tarmogoyf – Mana efficient and a beat stick. The only real bummer is when both sides of the table have one. Boring.
• Wooly Thoctar – Classic beasty beater. While most times he is a lightning rod for your opponent’s removal he can win games if left unchecked. Remember you have some good burn for chump blockers.
• Matca Raiders - While we’re looking for 5 power for 3 mana we might as well load up on the Domain ability.
• Steppe Lynx – When using a Fetch this guy turn into a 4/5 which could be swing on turn 2. Can’t keep it going though so I’m unsure but I figure it’s just for testing right.

The rest of the list is Miscellaneous stuff that just helps.

• Might of Alara – if we achieve domain this is as good a 5 bonus damage.
• Path to Exile – Removal of pesky blockers.
• Umezawa’s Jitte – If this is active we are assured of staying in the Beatdown role.

Well that's my 13 cards for you to dissect. What I want you to do for your homework is to cut 2 cards completely and give the 6 that you would make into full playsets. I realize that there are cards out there that can make a Zoo better but I want you to focus on these ones for now.

Please note I didn’t use any of the "techy" choices like Ranger of Eos, Bloodbraid Elf, or Qasali Pridemage.

Wow, Bell rang fast today. Good luck with your list!