Ladies and gents, today marks an exciting time for the DOTS blog...it's the start of a new column! Competitive Approach will be a column I work at in order to break down some competitive constructed Magic in order to show all of you the ways that I approach building a deck, preparing for tournaments, etc. I hope that this could help you in any attempts you make at competitive play, or at the very least give you some fun insight into that aspect of the game.
Anyway, the first step towards playing any constructed format is to choose a deck. I know I ranted and raved about the evils of it in my Casual Magic series, but when playing competitively the first thing that I do is net-deck. For those of you who have forgotten, “net-decking” is when you look up decks other players have played successfully using the vast, omnipotent powers of the Internet.
For casual Magic I would say net-decking ruins the spirit of things, but for competitive Magic (unless you're some big innovative mind) I think it's a lot better to play a deck that has a successful track record. Every player wants to create a new deck that garners attention and influences changes in the meta-game, but most of the time that's not how it works out. Competitive constructed play is about who is the better player (or pilot, as we call them), not who is more creative, and it is easier to get your name out there by winning tournaments rather than creating new decks.
From following my event coverage you probably know that I've tried out a couple of decks this season: white weenie, Jund, Bant, and Knightfall. Knightfall (or Junk) was definitely the most effective deck for me, and I may yet return to it, but a new breakout list has caught my attention, and I must tell you it is fun as hell to play.
“Boss Naya” derives its name from its creator and the colors it uses. Tom “the Boss” Ross was the man who created the deck, and Louis-Scott Vargas piloted a version of it to a 10-0 record at Pro Tour San Diego.
“Naya” is a name that came from the Shards of Alara block for Magic (much the same as Jund or Bant). In Shards of Alara there were five shards, each of which featured three colors. Naya features green, white and red. Now not every card in the deck is from Shards of Alara, but the names of the shards have come to represent any deck that use its three respective colors.
Anyway, after having watched people play this deck at the last 5K in Edison, and reading about it online, I decided to give it a whirl. Tune in next time as I give a breakdown of the deck and why I think it is so good.
Upcoming: a dissection of “Boss Naya”
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