But it suffered from the fact that it affects both players. Winter Orb was one of the most efficient ways to tie up an opponent’s mana base. Foremost among Old School tactics for imprisoning the opponent were the infamous combinations of Winter Orb with Icy Manipulator and Stasis with Kismet.
Rather, they used clever combinations and more devious tactics to produce the same effect. But what distinguished them from land destruction strategies more broadly was that they did not rely on single-use spells to achieve that end, removing lands one-for-one with Stone Rains and Sinkholes. Prison strategies, sometimes called “asphyxiation” strategies in the early days, were strategies that attacked an opponent’s mana supply, and thereby prevented them from playing spells. More importantly, Zak’s deck contains virtually all of the key components, synergies, tactics and tools that the early card pool provided for, and were associated with, prison strategy, including the infamous combo of Winter Orb and Icy Manipulator. In that regard, it’s an excellent specimen of a authentic Old School Magic deck, which were not only imperfectly tuned but replete with synergies and contrasting ideas. Zak’s deck may lack the refinement of a clearly specified strategy or the features we associate with a modern, well-tuned deck. Even today, many refer to his deck as “Stasis Control,” despite featuring only a pair of that namesake. The very first Magic World Championship deck, in the hands of Zak Dolan, featured foundational prison elements. There is, however, one notable strategy that we have not yet seen: Prison.Īs noted last chapter, prison strategies feature prominently across the Old School landscape. We’ve even found interesting and unique quarry in a variety of tactical approaches, so-called New Strategies for the Old School. We’ve systematically explored the three fundamental questions you must answer in designing your own Old School environment, and done so in a way that has never been covered before. We’ve covered well-trod territory of Aggro and Control strategies, although with unprecedented historical depth, and investigated virgin territory, hacking away at the brush to get there, with Combo last chapter. This series has looked into many corners of the Old School universe, especially 93/94 variants. Chapter 1: Back to the Future – An Introduction to Old School MagicĬhapter 2: Old School Magic – The History of “The Deck”Ĭhapter 3: Old School Magic – A Visit to the ZooĬhapter 4: Build Your Own Old School FormatĬhapter 5: New Strategies for the Old School: The Transmute Control DeckĬhapter 6: Banning and Restriction in Old SchoolĬhapter 7: New Strategies for the Old School: Blue-Red Aggro ControlĬhapter 8: 2nd Place at Eternal Weekend, 2016 with Blue-Red Aggro-ControlĬhapter 11: The Untold History of Combo in Old School Introduction
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