The New Extended: Survival of the Fittest Michelle Bush Welcome to the second installment of Sideboard's weekly Extended metagame analysis. In last week's column, I discussed how the banning of Dark Ritual and Mana Vault have had a big impact on the shape of Extended. Combo is no longer Queen, and a huge variety of decks that were overshadowed during the reign of Trix are discovering that it's safe to come out and play again. This week's column is devoted to the deck that, hands-down, benefits most from the new face of Extended: Survival of the Fittest. Some people are calling that little green enchantment the single most powerful card in Extended, and you can bet it will make a very big splash in the upcoming season. Why do Survival decks benefit so much from the bannings? There are two reasons, rather like two sides of the same coin. Reason #1: Combo decks are weaker, and combo is Survival's worst matchup. Survival has been ill-equipped to fend off powerful combo decks even from it's earliest days, such as U.S. Nationals '98 when Darwin Kastle's SotF deck tore up just about everything in the field except Mike Long's Prosperous Bloom. Survival decks were no match for Academy or High Tide at PT Rome, and at PT Chicago '99 the combo-containing "Wheaties" Survival deck had the edge over traditional non-combo Survival decks, and Cocoa Pebbles, in turn, had the edge over Wheaties. Last season, Survival saw very little play, mainly because the deck was such a poor matchup against Trix. If combo is significantly weaker, Survival's worst enemy is gone. That puts Survival decks in prime position to dominate the field. What does Sligh or Stompy or do about a Recurring Spike Weaver? Reason #2: Combo decks are weaker, which clears the way for creature decks, and creature decks are Survival's favorite matchup. What does Sligh or Stompy or do about a Recurring Spike Weaver? Or a million walls? Or the card advantage gained by chucking a Squee into the graveyard to tutor for the best creature in your deck... every turn? Sure, sometimes beatdown decks can overrun Survival if they get a lightning fast start backed up by some mana denial, like Wasteland or killing Survival's Birds and Elves. For the most part, though, this is a matchup where the beatdown deck curls up in the fetal position and whimpers, like in the finals of the 1998 World Championships where Brian Selden's Rec-Sur deck beat Ben Rubin's Sligh. This kind of creature-heavy environment is exactly the kind of environment where Survival of the Fittest thrives. If you decide to play a Survival of the Fittest deck, though, your decisions are just beginning. The deck is as complex as it is powerful, and it can be built in several fundamentally different ways. There are at least three basic flavors of Survival decks: Traditional Rec-Sur, Combo Survival, and Counter Survival. Traditional Rec-Sur Every turn with a Survival deck offers more options than with any other deck in the format. This is the classic Survival deck. It controls the board with a variety of creatures that can be fetched when their special abilities are needed. Almost always, the creatures have a come into play effect, which can be used over and over again with Recurring Nightmare. It generally kills with some ridiculously huge creature, like Verdant Force, Spirit of the Night, or a Deranged Hermit with an army of squirrels. In this particular version, I'm experimenting with Avatar of Woe both as creature kill and in the role of The Fatty. Birds of Paradise, Wall of Roots, Llanowar Elves, and Quirion Ranger provide the mana ramping, with the Quirion Ranger having a nice anti-Stasis bonus. In this version, Duress helps work around permission or tug other peoples' Survivals out of their hands. Vampiric Tutors increase the odds of finding a Survival, and allow you to run one copy of situational cards like Living Death. The remainder of the deck is one each of all the standard utility creatures. Survival of the Fittest Main Deck Sideboard 4 Survival of the Fittest 2 Recurring Nightmare 3 Vampiric Tutor 1 Living Death 4 Duress 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Wall of Roots 2 Llanowar Elf 2 Quirion Ranger 1 Squee, Goblin Nabob 1 Krovikan Horror 1 Deranged Hermit 1 Spike Feeder 1 Spike Weaver 1 Uktabi Orangutan 1 Avalanche Rider 1 Monk Realist 1 Monk Idealist 1 Bone Shredder 1 Avatar of Woe 4 Bayou 4 Taiga 4 Savannah 3 City of Brass 4 Forest 4 Swamp Combo Survival When Urza's Destiny introduced Academy Rector, Survival of the Fittest decks took on a whole new spin. Being able to Survival for a Rector, and then sacrifice it to go get an enchantment, meant that Survival decks could contain combos of their own. Rectors are also another way to fetch a Survival if you haven't drawn one, and are a great ground defense, since your opponent rarely wants to attack into one. Finally, having a combo element makes the deck faster, and often simplifies the messy business of actually killing your opponent. There are many approaches to exactly which enchantments you use. Some decks have used Opposition to tap down the opponent's resources. Others have used Contamination to achieve a color lock, or the Phyrexian Ghoul, Pattern of Rebirth, Saproling Burst combo for a quick creature kill. One of the most popular decks uses the "Fruity Pebbles" combo of Enduring Renewal, Goblin Bombardment, and Shield Sphere to do an infinite amount of damage one point at a time. The original Wheaties deck was played by team YMG and affiliates at PT Chicago '99, and versions were played by Rob Dougherty, David Humpherys, Darwin Kastle, Justin Gary and Olivier Ruel at the NY Master's tournament. Olivier Ruel, NY Master's "Wheaties a bibi" Main Deck Sideboard 4 Survival of the Fittest 3 Recurring Nightmare 2 Duress 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Wall of Roots 1 Quirion Ranger 4 Academy Rector 1 Uktabi Orangutan 1 Spike Feeder 1 Spike Weaver 1 Verdant Force 1 Monk Realist 1 Monk Idealist 1 Devout Witness 1 Crater Hellion 1 Squee, Goblin Nabob 1 Nekrataal 1 Krovikan Horror 1 Shield Sphere 1 Oath of Ghouls 1 Enduring Renewal 1 Goblin Bombardment 1 Worship 2 Land Grant 1 Forest 4 Taiga 4 Savannah 4 Bayou 2 City of Brass 2 Phyrexian Tower 3 Wasteland 1 Ebony Charm 1 Rapid Decay 1 Emerald Charm 2 Disenchant 4 Pyroblast 1 Aura Fracture 1 Sliver Queen 1 City of Solitude 1 Lobotomy 2 Radiant's Dragoons Counter Survival What makes these Survival decks different is their heavy use of blue spells, especially permission. They are control decks in the truest sense, and plan to dominate the board with Tradewind Riders. If there are enough creatures and a Quirion Ranger in play, they can use to Tradewind to bounce several permanents each turn. Once that happens, they can use just about any creature to kill their opponent, from the lowly Squee to the nearly invulnerable Morphling. All the counter magic makes this deck much more resilient against combo than other Survival variants, and search cards like Brainstorm and Impulse help to smooth out mana draws and find Survival of the Fittest. After Billy Jensen won the NY Master's with his Tradewind-Survival (TS) deck, I expect this to be the most popular Survival deck this season. Billy Jensen, NY Master's "TS" Main Deck Sideboard 4 Survival of the Fittest 4 Wall of Roots 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Land Grant 4 Tradewind Rider 4 Force of Will 4 Counterspell 4 Brainstorm 2 Impulse 2 Mana Leak 1 Spike Weaver 1 Squee, Goblin Nabob 2 Quirion Ranger 1 Uktabi Orangutan 1 Deranged Hermit 1 Morphling 1 Ophidian 6 Forest 4 Tropical Island 5 Island 1 Savannah 1 Daring Apprentice 1 Uktabi Orangutan 1 Masticore 1 Gilded Drake 1 Spike Feeder 1 Bottle Gnomes 1 Monk Realist 4 Emerald Charm 4 Back to Basics Invasion and Survival of the Fittest decks Invasion doesn't have many creatures with come into play effects, which is Survival's signature mechanic. Nevertheless, there are a few cards to watch out for which may be making their way into Survival's main deck and sideboard this season. Fact or Fiction It's been said before, and it will be said again. This card is amazing! It's a natural fit into the control-oriented Counter Survival decks, which also have the mana ramping to use it quickly. Wash Out An excellent sideboard card against mono-color decks, particularly those which do not share a color with Survival decks, like white, red, and black. Washout can accomplish in one fell swoop what it might take a Tradewind Rider several turns to do. Like Fact or Fiction, it only really fits into Counter Survival variants. What would your opponent say if you played Crosis on turn three? Legendary Dragons I don't really think these will make the cut, but they're fun to think about as the heavy hitting Fatty in Rec-Sur decks. My picks for this role would be Dromar or Crosis. Can you imagine Survivaling a Crosis into your graveyard on turn 2, then Recurring it into play on turn 3? How much fun is that? Utopia Tree "The other Birds of Paradise" may see play, particularly in Survival decks packing 4-5 colors. They can't replace the blocking ability of Wall of Roots, but could be a welcome addition. That's it for this time. If you choose to play this deck, practice! Every turn with a Survival deck offers more options than with any other deck in the format. What do I Survival for? Do I cast a creature, or just Survival as many times as I can? What is my long term plan for winning? These are tough questions, and nothing will help you more than a lot of experience with your deck and sideboard. Survival is a deck that rewards careful thought and skillful play. Make the most of it. Be sure to look for next week's column, when I'll talk about they many different ways to say, "Mountain, Jackal Pup, Go!"