World Championship Decks 1997

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1997 World Championships Ad

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Kühn, a fifteen-year-old high-school student from Hanover, Germany, played a red, white, and blue deck with a balanced mix of speed and control. It uses cards like Incinerate and Swords to Plowshares to deal with opponents' fast creatures, while increasing the mana base with Thawing Glaciers. For late in the game, Disintegrate and Hammer of Bogardan are excellent finishing cards.

Janosch Kühn Bio (1997)

Janosch Kühn Decklist 1997

Šlemr, a twenty-year-old computer analyst from Prague in the Czech Republic, said that he wasn't happy with his deck's 3—4 performance in the Standard (Type II) portion of the tournament. However, it came through for him in the elimination rounds. A black weenie deck at heart, it dips into all five colors. It also features a number of creatures that have an effect on entering play, like Man-o'-War, Uktabi Orangutan, and Nekrataal.

Jakub Šlemr Bio

Jakub Šlemr Decklist

McCabe, a nineteen-year-old college student from Toronto, Canada, played a fast red-blue attacking deck. The deck's main strategy is to put the opponent on the defensive, using a large number of inexpensive, efficient creatures such as Suq'Ata Lancer, Cloud Elemental, Ophidian, and Man-o'-War. It also makes good use of several "pitch" spells like Force of Will and Pyrokinesis.

Paul McCabe Bio

Paul McCabe Decklist

Geertsen, a sixteen-year-old high-school student from Copenhagen, Denmark, played a mono-green deck known affectionately as "Señor Stompie." Of the eight finalists, Geertsen had the best record in the Standard (Type II) portion of the tournament, going 6—0—1. This deck is overloaded with fast green creatures, thirty-three in all. The only noncreature cards are Giant Growth, Bounty of the Hunt, and Winter Orb. The deck also exploits the interaction between Rogue Elephant, Harvest Worm, and Heart of Yavimaya.

Svend Geertsen Bio

Svend Geertsen Decklist

Instant

Until end of turn, target player can't cast instant or sorcery spells, and that player can't activate abilities that aren't mana abilities.
Draw a card.

Abeyance

Exile target nonwhite attacking creature. You gain life equal to its toughness.

Exile

The next time a source of your choice would deal damage to any target this turn, prevent that damage. If damage from a red source is prevented this way, Honorable Passage deals that much damage to the source's controller.

Honorable Passage

Enchantment

{1}: The next time a black source of your choice would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that damage.

Circle of Protection: Black

{1}: The next time a red source of your choice would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that damage.

Circle of Protection: Red

Disenchant

You may pay 1 life and exile a blue card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Counter target spell.

Force of Will

Creature — Elemental

Flying
This creature can block only creatures with flying.

Cloud Elemental

Enchantment — Aura

Enchant creature
When this Aura enters, untap enchanted creature.
You control enchanted creature.
When enchanted creature dies, return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control.

Abduction

Look at the top four cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.

Impulse

Creature — Human Knight

Flanking (Whenever a creature without flanking blocks this creature, the blocking creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.)
When this creature enters, you may pay {U}. If you don't, destroy target Knight and it can't be regenerated.

Knight of the Mists

Creature — Jellyfish

When this creature enters, return target creature to its owner's hand.

Man-o'-War

Counter target instant or sorcery spell unless its controller pays {1}.
Draw a card.

Disrupt

You may pay 1 life and exile a black card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Distribute two -2/-1 counters among one or two target creatures.

Contagion

Creature — Snake

Whenever this creature attacks and isn't blocked, you may draw a card. If you do, this creature assigns no combat damage this turn.

Ophidian

Cumulative upkeep—Pay 1 life. (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.)
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player sacrifices a green or white permanent of their choice.

Dystopia

Exile target creature. Its controller gains life equal to its power.

Swords to Plowshares

Flanking (Whenever a creature without flanking blocks this creature, the blocking creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.)
This creature can't block.

Fallen Askari

Counter target spell. If that spell is countered this way, exile it instead of putting it into its owner's graveyard.

Dissipate

Creature — Human Assassin

First strike
When this creature enters, destroy target nonartifact, nonblack creature. That creature can't be regenerated.

Nekrataal

Sorcery

Destroy target artifact or land. It can't be regenerated.

Pillage

Creature — Atog

Exile the top creature card of your graveyard: this creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.

Necratog

Counterspell

You may exile a red card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Pyrokinesis deals 4 damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures.

Pyrokinesis

Exchange control of target land you control and target land an opponent controls. (This effect lasts indefinitely.)

Political Trickery

You may exile a green card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Distribute three +1/+1 counters among one, two, or three target creatures. For each +1/+1 counter you put on a creature this way, remove a +1/+1 counter from that creature at the beginning of the next cleanup step.

Bounty of the Hunt

Choose one —
• Counter target spell if it's red.
• Destroy target permanent if it's red.

Hydroblast

Haste
Flanking (Whenever a creature without flanking blocks this creature, the blocking creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.)

Suq'Ata Lancer

Creature — Bear Spirit

Whenever this creature attacks, if defending player controls no black nontoken permanents, it doesn't untap during your next untap step.

Spectral Bears

Players can cast spells and activate abilities only during their own turns.

City of Solitude

Choose one —
• Untap target permanent.
• Destroy target non-Aura enchantment.
• Target creature loses flying until end of turn.

Emerald Charm

Artifact

This artifact enters with three arrowhead counters on it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if there are no arrowhead counters on this artifact, sacrifice it.
{T}, Remove an arrowhead counter from this artifact: Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature.

Serrated Arrows

Destroy target non-Swamp land. If that land was nonbasic, Choking Sands deals 2 damage to the land's controller.

Choking Sands

Creature — Elf Ranger

Return a Forest you control to its owner's hand: Untap target creature. Activate only once each turn.

Quirion Ranger

Islandwalk (This creature can't be blocked as long as defending player controls an Island.)
{G}: Regenerate this creature.

River Boa

Choose one —
• Target opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
• Exile up to three target cards from a single graveyard.
• Target creature gains fear until end of turn. (It can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)

Ebony Charm

Creature — Ape

When this creature enters, destroy target artifact.

Uktabi Orangutan

World Enchantment

Players can't gain life.
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player loses 1 life.
Whenever this enchantment becomes the target of a spell, that spell's controller loses 5 life.

Forsaken Wastes

Creature — Wurm

When this creature enters, sacrifice it unless you return a basic land card from your graveyard to your hand.

Harvest Wurm

Land

If this land would enter, sacrifice a Forest instead. If you do, put this land onto the battlefield. If you don't, put it into its owner's graveyard.
{T}: Add {G}.
{T}: Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

Heart of Yavimaya

Soldier

If this land would enter, sacrifice a Plains instead. If you do, put this land onto the battlefield. If you don't, put it into its owner's graveyard.
{T}: Add {W}.
{1}{W}, {T}: Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token.

Kjeldoran Outpost

Creature — Elephant

When this creature enters, sacrifice it unless you sacrifice a Forest.

Rogue Elephant

Creature — Human Wizard

{U}, {T}: Put target creature you control on top of its owner's library.
{R}, {T}: This creature deals 1 damage to any target and 1 damage to you.

Shadow Guildmage

First strike (This creature deals combat damage before creatures without first strike.)
Protection from white (This creature can't be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted by anything white.)

Black Knight

This land enters tapped.
{1}, {T}: Search your library for a basic land card, put that card onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. Return this land to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next cleanup step.

Thawing Glaciers

Boisterous Clique

{T}: Add {C}.
{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.

Mind Stone

{T}: Exile the bottom card of target player's graveyard.
{1}, Sacrifice this artifact: Exile target card from a graveyard. Draw a card.

Phyrexian Furnace

This land enters with three mining counters on it.
{T}, Remove a mining counter from this land: Add one mana of any color. If there are no mining counters on this land, sacrifice it.

Gemstone Mine

{T}: Add one mana of any color. During your next untap step, as you untap your permanents, return this land to its owner's hand.

Undiscovered Paradise

Protection from white
{B}: This creature gains first strike until end of turn.
{B}{B}: This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn.

Knight of Stromgald

Hammer of Bogardan deals 3 damage to any target.
{2}{R}{R}{R}: Return this card from your graveyard to your hand. Activate only during your upkeep.

Hammer of Bogardan

Creature — Efreet

Protection from white
{1}{R}: This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn.

Wildfire Emissary

Disintegrate deals X damage to any target. If it's a creature, it can't be regenerated this turn, and if it would die this turn, exile it instead.

Disintegrate

Creature — Centaur Archer

Shroud (This creature can't be the target of spells or abilities.)
Flanking (Whenever a creature without flanking blocks this creature, the blocking creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.)

Jolrael's Centaur

Earthquake deals X damage to each creature without flying and each player.

Earthquake

Incinerate deals 3 damage to any target. A creature dealt damage this way can't be regenerated this turn.

Incinerate

Creature — Elf Druid

Fyndhorn Elves

Choose one —
• Counter target spell if it's blue.
• Destroy target permanent if it's blue.

Pyroblast

Flying
{0}: Flip a coin. If you win the flip, this creature phases out. If you lose the flip, sacrifice this creature. (While it's phased out, it's treated as though it doesn't exist. It phases in before you untap during your next untap step.)

Frenetic Efreet

Destroy target artifact. It can't be regenerated. That artifact's controller gains life equal to its mana value.

Crumble

Creature — Ogre

At the beginning of your upkeep, if a player has more life than each other player, the player with the most life gains control of this creature.

Ghazbán Ogre

Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn.

Giant Growth

Creature — Lhurgoyf

Lhurgoyf's power is equal to the number of creature cards in all graveyards and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1.

Lhurgoyf

Creature — Human Monk

Protection from black
At the beginning of each end step, if this creature dealt damage to an opponent this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on it.

Whirling Dervish

This artifact enters tapped.
{1}, {T}: Destroy all artifacts, creatures, and enchantments.

Nevinyrral's Disk

As long as this artifact is untapped, players can't untap more than one land during their untap steps.

Winter Orb

Whenever this land becomes tapped, it deals 1 damage to you.
{T}: Add one mana of any color.