



It has been a while since I updated the Decks to Beat page, but I've finally managed to find most of the lists from the last few months. Check 'em out if you want some inspiration.One thing about decks-to-beat though is that they are by definition decks with winning records at tournaments. The X-0 to X-2 decks of the meta. At the last gathering I played, the Jumping Jesus tournament in Oslo, I e.g. got the chance to battle against an awesome Elephant Tribal deck in the swiss. I also got my only loss in the tournament at the hands of a powerless Red/White deck with Granite Gargoyles. There are lots of cool things to build apart from the "high end piles"; just try to find something that you enjoy playing with. Speaking of the Jumping Jesus tournament, here are some pics from the gathering:Black Vise had a decent showing here, with many different decks trying to make it work. From my experience so far it mostly seems like Sligh and other versions of MonoRed Burn have gotten a tangible boost from the card. And Stasis. I met a Stasis player in Karlstad who was super happy that he now was able to play his deck without constantly going to time ;) Maze haven't really made any noise yet, but I felt good about cutting my single red card in Project M (a Fireball) and replace it with a second Maze. Don't know if it actually works better, but it looks nicer.Ok, let's dig into the Decks to Beat.9 players, photos of 4/4 decks. Two years after the Joypad Open, the second player-hosted 93/94 tournament in Oslo took place. Oslo is a good city for finding pick-up 93/94 games at the LGS or conventions, but as tournaments with beer and casual ambiance go, we've been far behind adjacent cities like Moss and Drammen. Ascension Day looked as good a time as any for a gathering. Project M managed to take the glorious Jump in the finals against Nether Void Ponza, getting past Sligh and The Machine in the semis.102 players, photos of 8/8 decks. Players from 13 nationalities and over 30 communities gathered in Gothenburg for the ninth annual n00bcon and World championship of 93/94 Magic. The Beasts of Borgadan of London faced off against The Lords of the Pit from Chicago, the Time Boaks of Yekatrineburg battled fiercely against the Kanel Fireballs from Varberg. In the end, we had the road warrior Icelander slinging against Hashi from the Växjö Team Kaffebryggers in the finals. The Deck had a big showing in the (fairly sober) hands of old pros from the 90s, but in the end Black Disaster stood victorious hoisting the Giant Shark.10 players, photos of 4/4 decks. The weekend before n00bcon, Gordon and Paddan gathered players from the Stockholm area to test out their decks, or just get a chance to play some sweet Magic for those in the area who could not make it to the championship this year. Cermak and his UGW Zoo took the trophy again, cementing him as the new rookie of the year. Two different builds of Power Monolith and a Machine Head Ponza round off the top4.47 players, photos of 8/8 decks (one might be incorrect). The Giant Shark of BSK had swimmed to Arvika, and their 3rd Festival became their grandest yet. Armageddon did a real showing at this gathering, with three of the four players reaching the semifinals playing multiple geddons in their piles. Apart from a couple of Erhnamgeddons and UWG Zoo, we had Power Monolith, The Beast, The Deck, UG Beatdown and Artifact Aggro in the top8.10 players, photos of 4/4 decks. Players from Arvika and surroundings gathered at Kort i Kubik to have a good time and decide one of the community's last slots for n00bcon. As always, the tech was aplenty. The winning deck in the swiss was a true Goblin deck, playing rarely seen cards like Goblin Hero, but in the end KungMarkus's URB counter/discard deck took the trophy after defeating UGW Zoo in the finals. Monoblack rounded off the top4.13 players, photos of 4/4 decks. About a year after the first 93/94 FNM, players gathered in the Leprecaun Pub in Karlstad once again to drink Guinness, eat meat and play oldschool for FNM foils. Deadguy Ale managed to snatch the victory from Troll Disco in the end, leaving two very different builds of Kird Ape decks in the semis.On the "inspirational decks" note, I suggest checking out Eternal Central this month. They do an Old School June promotion where Jaco and the other guys post a new 93/94 deck tech every day. Also, I highly recommend the latest episode of the Tusk Talk podcast , where Danny Friedman joins to talk about Old School.This coming weekend I'm traveling to Stockholm to sling spells at the Ivory Cup. Hope to see a bunch of you there!