I must confess that when I started writing this article series, I was slightly skeptical. I hadn't quite realized how much fun it can be to try to develop what is essentially a wide-open format. It's also more of a challenge than I expected. One would think that it's easy to simply borrow from existing metagames, or look at past efficient lists; however, that's not quite the case. It seems like each Extended deck I look at just feels like it will be outclassed by the weakened Legacy decks. In short, it feels like Extended is playing fair, and Legacy is having none of that!

I also had a preconceived notion about Extended going into this article in particular. I had a rather glib assumption that Extended was essentially devoid of combo. While combo is a little weak in Extended (at least compared to other formats), there is a solid representation. Legacy is certainly not a good bar to measure against because it's where combo thrives, but three arguably viable Extended combo decks are really nothing to sneeze at.

Let's kick things off with the most proven Extended combo deck: Scapeshift. Scapeshift really just hopes to resolve the namesake card, typically with Prismatic Omen on the battlefield. With the Omen on the battlefield, every Valakut is also a Mountain and allows for massive amounts of damage with significantly fewer lands being necessary. Let's look at a typical list:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

3 Oracle of Mul Daya

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Cryptic Command

1 Cultivate

4 Explore

2 Firespout

2 Mana Leak

3 Ponder

2 Preordain

4 Prismatic Omen

3 Rampant Growth

3 Scapeshift

2 See Beyond

[/Spells]

[Lands]

4 Flooded Grove

4 Forest

3 Halimar Depths

5 Island

4 Misty Rainforest

1 Mountain

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Tectonic Edge

4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

2 Firespout

2 Guttural Response

2 Into the Roil

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

1 Mana Leak

2 Tectonic Edge

2 Vendilion Clique

2 Wurmcoil Engine

[/Sideboard]

[/cardlist]

This is definitely one of those sort of scary lists to play. Notice for one that there are no Mountains. If something happens to Prismatic Omen, we are in a world of hurt. Now, we are fortunate in the fact that I wouldn't expect too much enchantment hate in Throwback, but we can't assume that to be the case forever. Former versions of this deck ran Sakura-Tribe Elder and Wood Elves along with the Scapeshift to put legitimate Mountains on the battlefield, something we might look into if we want the deck to be less vulnerable to hate. Another change I would look to make is tightening up the Ponder/Preordain numbers and just generally trying to fix things. I wouldn't discount a card like Primeval Titan making an appearance in a truly tuned version of the deck. Valakut has shown to be a contender in the past, and I wouldn't discount this type of list from being a powerhouse in Throwback.

The next deck that can technically be called a combo deck—though it's more a combo/control hybrid—is Conley Woods's popular Ooze combo deck. A control deck that has the potential for a big combo finish, the Ooze deck uses Necrotic Ooze to generate infinite mana, create an infinitely big creature, or cycle through the deck with a super-large Fauna Shaman to find whatever piece happens to be missing at the time. The deck also functions quite well as a mana-disabler with the Ooze and Fulminator Mage doing a number on all the nonbasics currently in the format. Let's take a look at a common list:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

4 Birds of Paradise

4 Devoted Druid

4 Fauna Shaman

4 Fulminator Mage

1 Grim Poppet

1 Molten-Tail Masticore

4 Necrotic Ooze

3 Quillspike

1 Shriekmaw

1 Thornling

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

2 Green Sun's Zenith

1 Primal Command

2 Rite of Consumption

4 Thoughtseize

[/Spells]

[Lands]

5 Forest

4 Gilt-Leaf Palace

2 Reflecting Pool

5 Swamp

4 Twilight Mire

4 Verdant Catacombs

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

1 Cloudthresher

3 Duress

3 Go for the Throat

4 Kitchen Finks

4 Nature's Claim

[/Sideboard]

[/cardlist]

Chord of Calling seems like an excellent addition to this deck, as the ability to combo out at instant speed is really pretty saucy. Another card we might want to take a look at is Saffi Eriksdotter, as reusable sac outlets are amazing. While we're at it, the old Project X infinite life combo seems like a good fit, and adds yet another way for us to go to absurd lengths to make sure our opponent can't win. Finally, a great discard outlet and just general group of utility cards are the Spellshapers from Masques block, particularly things like Balloon Peddler.

Unfortunately, the last deck I had to preview, upon further inspection, had already been discussed at some length in the Legacy combo portion: Elves. Elves is also significantly less effective without Glimpse of Nature, and as such should really be considered in its Legacy version only. That being said, I do have a third deck for this week, one that was glaringly omitted last week: Dredge.

In case you haven't played any format ever, I'll give a brief explanation of Dredge. The goal is really to live out of your graveyard in the most unfair way possible. With Dredge, every single card you draw turns into one of your Dredge pieces, which you hope turns into cards that have Flashback, or come flying out of your graveyard for free (I'm looking at you, Narcomoeba!) This means that every draw is essentially ''live',' and it's fairly difficult to miss completely on a Dredge. That being said, the deck is skill-intensive and does take a fair amount of practice. Let's look at a frequently used Dredge list:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

4 Narcomoeba

4 Putrid Imp

4 Stinkweed Imp

2 Golgari Thug

4 Golgari Grave-Troll

1 Sphinx of Lost Truths

1 Flame-Kin Zealot

4 Tireless Tribe

4 Ichorid

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Bridge from Below

4 Cabal Therapy

3 Careful Study

3 Dread Return

4 Breakthrough

[/Spells]

[Lands]

4 City of Brass

2 Tarnished Citadel

4 Cephalid Coliseum

4 Gemstone Mine

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

1 Duress

4 Leyline of the Void

1 Ancestor's Chosen

2 Chain of Vapor

1 Darkblast

4 Ancient Grudge

2 Nature's Claim

[/Sideboard]

[/cardlist]

What's that, you ask? Does literally every card transfer to Throwback? Why, yes . . . yes, they do. Clearly, this makes Dredge one of the more dominant archetypes, and it will not surprise me to see Dredge having a few very strong showings at the opening of the format. I do not expect to need to ban anything from Dredge, but that doesn't mean I won't be keeping a close eye on those Golgari Grave-Trolls. Nothing fair ever happens when that guy shows up!

I had originally planned on previewing a nice deck that we've been brewing up, but instead, Trick and I decided that a poll is in order. What direction would you like to see the article series go in? I look forward to hearing your thoughts and, I hope, providing the insights you like to see! Until next time, have fun brewing and keep testing those Throwback decks!

[poll id="10"]