u/SquareKey1652

Today I’m showing you a crazy deck you’ve probably never seen before. It has flaws, but I think you’ll forgive them.
The core goal is to use CANTIVORE. In my view this isn’t possible with Oath of Druids, both for space issues and simply because it’s heavily outclassed by Terravore.
The path to take is the one with the Runes from Urza’s Saga and of course Fluctuator.

The next step is finding other win conditions: this isn’t a control deck, so instead of relying on Lightning Rift, I found STOIC CHAMPION.
Lightning Rift is still there, as a piece to fetch with Enlightened Tutor, four copies.
Extra copies of Fluctuator are dead cards, so: 4 Tutors, 3 Fluctuators.

Main‑deck tutor targets: Seal of Cleansing and — drum roll — Grafted Skullcap. Excellent for kickstarting the cycling chain.
And how could Astral Slide be missing? Only one copy, but it has several jobs: first of all it protects your creatures, it also removes blockers, and of course it basically kills Phyrexian Dreadnought.

Three Swords to Plowshares in the maindeck — I’d say that’s enough when you draw this much. Space is extremely tight!
Twenty Runes, cycling lands, rejoice people!

4 Cantivore
4 Stoic Champion
3 Fluctuator
1 Astral Slide
1 Lightning Rift
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Enlightened Tutor
1 Grafted Skullcap
4 Rune of Protection: Red
4 Rune of Protection: Black
4 Rune of Protection: Artifacts
4 Rune of Protection: Green
4 Rune of Protection: White
1 Seal of Cleansing
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Drifting Meadow
3 Smoldering Crater
7 Plains

Sideboard
2 Lightning Rift
3 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sacred Ground
1 Phyrexian Furnace
1 Seal of Cleansing
2 Aura of Silence
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Cursed Totem
1 Sphere of Resistance
1 Presence of the Master

I’m not sure the land count is correct. Optimizing a deck is collective work. Secluded Steppe, Blasted Landscape, the fourth Smoldering Crater… maybe Secluded Steppe.

The dream start?
Turn 1 even a tapland is fine (or maybe Enlightened Tutor for Fluctuator).
Turn 2 Stoic Champion.
Turn 3 Fluctuator, cycle around ten cards. Swords to Plowshares on the blocker, attack.

The sideboard is easy to figure out, maybe it can be improved. I don’t know how much Defense Grid helps against blue. Maybe Red Elemental Blast or Abeyance.
Truthfully, if the deck doesn’t resolve Fluctuator, it’s in quite a bit of trouble.

These two things are what need improvement. In any case, it’s a bomb to play if you want to have fun!

Here I’m also leaving the link to the video: https://youtu.be/7YvBDEkE1-g
Previously I showcased Wizards with Patron Wizard, and I’m trying to put together decks with Saproling Cluster (and many others). Waiting to get back to showing some games again.

Hi again! If MTG Old School is the land of artifacts, then MTG Premodern is clearly the land of enchantments. Recently we saw a Sneak Attack Goblins deck doing well, and there are many other enchantments waiting for a proper deckbuilding effort.
Intruder Alarm. Maybe Mana Echoes.
And yet, right now Food Chain has stolen the show.

https://youtu.be/P6IdT3PqupE

A round of applause to everyone who worked on this deck and pushed the list close to an optimized version.
I have a bit of visibility in the community, so I decided to give this archetype the spotlight it deserves.
No one better than Elves can take advantage of what this card offers.
Food Chain + Hypnox — wipe the opponent’s hand and clear the way for a massive Verdeloth the Ancient.
Or you can simply keep attacking with the deck’s 36 creatures, Deranged Hermit + Symbiote, and Brass Herald acting as a Glorious Anthem.

I’ll leave you with the list, adding that in my opinion it’s always worth running Seal of Cleansing when you have two Enlightened Tutors: the very least you can do to try to answer Phyrexian Dreadnought. And that there are probably a few other cards worth considering for the sideboard.
But overall, this is a very well‑built deck that earns a ton of style points:

1 Birchlore Rangers

2 Brass Herald

2 Deranged Hermit

4 Fierce Empath

3 Fyndhorn Elves

1 Hypnox

4 Llanowar Elves

4 Multani's Acolyte

1 Phantom Nishoba

4 Priest of Titania

1 Quirion Ranger

4 Sylvan Messenger

1 Verdeloth the Ancient

4 Wirewood Symbiote

2 Enlightened Tutor

4 Food Chain

4 Brushland

7 Forest

3 Gaea's Cradle

1 Gemstone Mine

1 Plains

2 Windswept Heath

Sideboard

2 Absolute Law

3 Caller of the Claw

4 Naturalize

1 Phyrexian Furnace

1 Shared Triumph

1 Sphere of Law

2 Tormod's Crypt

1 Tranquil Domain

https://youtu.be/dUPHgK_oDcQ

Both decks running the full Power Nine, legal under any ruleset. Two of the most powerful MTG Old School decks ever built, clashing in a brutal, technical, swingy match full of broken starts, mana denial, topdecks, and impossible comebacks.

Most decks try to beat the infamous The Deck by racing it and burning it out before it stabilizes, that’s definitely not the case with Ponza. This is a deck bold enough to accept a fair fight on equal footing.

It’s a clash between titans playing a war of attrition over lands and spells — which makes perfect sense in MTG Old School, where spells are far more powerful than creatures, and The Deck has all the tools it needs to defend itself.

🌀 THE DECK 🌀

4 City of Brass
4 Tundra
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Strip Mine
2 Plains
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Timetwister
1 Sol Ring
3 Fellwar Stone
1 Chaos Orb
1 Mirror Universe
1 Balance
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mind Twist
1 The Abyss
1 Braingeyser
1 Fireball
1 Regrowth
1 Recall
1 Mana Drain
3 Jayemdae Tome
4 Counterspell
4 Disenchant
4 Swords to Plowshares

SIDEBOARD:
3 Red Elemental Blast
2 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Maze of Ith
2 Serra Angel
1 Moat
1 The Abyss
1 Wrath of God
2 Divine Offering
1 Dust to Dust

🔥 4C PONZA

1 Chaos Orb
3 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
3 Sedge Troll
2 Nether Void
1 Ancestral Recall
2 Crumble
2 Sylvan Library
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Strip Mine
1 Maze of Ith
3 Mishra's Factory
4 City of Brass
4 Underground Sea
4 Bayou
4 Badlands
4 Sinkhole
4 Ice Storm
4 Stone Rain
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Timetwister
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mind Twist
1 Regrowth

Sideboard

3 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 City in a Bottle
3 Gloom
3 Paralyze
1 Maze of Ith
2 Earthquake

https://youtu.be/GcCd1QkB8mI

Today we’re taking a quick look at a fast‑paced showdown between two of the premier aggro decks in the format: Sligh and RG Zoo. In many ways, Zoo can be seen as a natural evolution of Sligh itself, replacing some of the less impactful burn spells with additional creatures. In Premodern, one mana and one card usually translate into two damage, with only Lightning Bolt and maybe Fireblast standing above that rate. And Zoo even goes as far as playing Call of the Herd instead of Ball Lightning.

Sligh, on the other hand, has access to Fireblast, and these two cards end up being the real stars that shape the match—almost like the key players on two teams who simply can’t be benched.

Mono‑Red Sligh wants to close the game as fast as possible, while RG Zoo finds itself in the unusual position of wanting to slow things down so it can build a herd of elephants.

So let’s take a look at what can happen in this matchup and what interactions matter. It’s not a matchup rich in tactical depth or decision‑making; a lot of what happens tends to fall outside the players’ control. But this is part of the metagame too, and it’s worth documenting.

From a purely theoretical standpoint, I think RG Zoo is slightly favored, mainly because Call of the Herd forces Sligh to spend multiple resources. Still, the burn deck can always try to race and finish the opponent by going straight to the life total.

🐘🐘 RG ZOO 🐘🐘

Deck
4 Grim Lavamancer
2 Jackal Pup
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Quirion Dryad
2 Scavenger Folk
3 Seal of Fire
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Incinerate
1 Cursed Scroll
4 Call of the Herd
2 Fireblast
2 Sylvan Library
2 Naturalize
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Treetop Village
3 Forest
4 Karplusan Forest
5 Mountain

Sideboard
1 Simoon
1 Pyroclasm
3 Red Elemental Blast
3 Tormod's Crypt
1 Hull Breach
1 Naturalize
1 Crumble
2 Anarchy
1 Tranquil Domain
1 Cursed Scroll

🔥🔥🔥 Monored Sligh 🔥🔥🔥

4 Jackal Pup
4 Grim Lavamancer
4 Mogg Fanatic
2 Goblin Patrol
4 Ball Lightning
3 Sulfuric Vortex
2 Cursed Scroll
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Fireblast
4 Incinerate
4 Seal of Fire
1 Reckless Abandon
2 Barbarian Ring
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
10 Mountain

Sideboard
2 Anarchy
1 Rejuvenation Chamber
2 Overload
2 Mogg Salvage
3 Red Elemental Blast
2 Price of Progress
1 Lava Dart
1 Cursed Scroll

What do you think? Got any tricks to swing things in your favour? Especially on Sligh's side, as Zoo can use Ravenous Baloth. Maybe ENSNARING BRIDGE? Not easy to make room for it though. Earthquake?
To us, this matchup felt a bit like a bar fight. And honestly, sometimes that’s just how it goes!

https://youtu.be/bdMw4lj4DWA

I hadn’t shown any MTG Old School matches in a while — not because I was tired of them, but because it’s not always easy to assemble all these decks. It’s a constant cycle of building and dismantling, and in the end we always seem to return to The Deck.
So we’re putting Monoblack Bad Moon to the test.

Coming up, I’m preparing a true clash of titans — a fair, even‑powered battle against another Old School giant running the full Power 9. And I really hope to return to some no‑Power‑9 matches soon as well.
In my opinion, that’s practically a different game. Whether it’s more or less fun depends on personal taste, but you definitely see a wider variety of cards. Both worlds deserve to be showcased.

🌀 THE DECK 🌀

4 City of Brass
4 Tundra
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Strip Mine
2 Plains
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Timetwister
1 Sol Ring
3 Fellwar Stone
1 Chaos Orb
1 Mirror Universe
1 Balance
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mind Twist
1 The Abyss
1 Braingeyser
1 Fireball
1 Regrowth
1 Recall
1 Mana Drain
3 Jayemdae Tome
4 Counterspell
4 Disenchant
4 Swords to Plowshares

SIDEBOARD:
3 Red Elemental Blast
2 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Maze of Ith
2 Serra Angel
1 Moat
1 The Abyss
1 Wrath of God
2 Divine Offering
1 Dust to Dust

🖤 MONOBLACK BAD MOON 🖤

4 Stone-Throwing Devils
4 Vampire Bats
2 Will-o'-the-Wisp
4 Black Knight
3 Hasran Ogress
3 Hypnotic Specter
4 Unholy Strength
4 Bad Moon
3 Sinkhole
4 Dark Ritual
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mind Twist
2 Underworld Dreams
1 Nether Void
1 Chaos Orb
1 Mox Diamond
1 Strip Mine
17 Swamp

Sideboard
1 Sengir Vampire
1 Underworld Dreams
1 Oubliette
2 Imprison
2 Terror
1 Maze of Ith
3 Gloom
1 Nether Void
3 Warp Artifact

https://youtu.be/I1XEU-YM6g4

Today we’re set for another matchup, featuring two decks that have faced each other before — both of which had to adapt and evolve from their original versions.

UW Replenish suffered the ban of Parallax Wave, replacing it with Decree of Silence — a mandatory change.

Moneyball Black, in many ways, is an evolution of Deadguy Ale, having practically taken its place (alongside BW Control) in the current metagame composition.
It runs Ravenous Rats and Cabal Therapy instead of Gerrard’s Verdict, giving up Vindicate, Gerrard’s Verdict, and Exalted Angel in exchange for a more stable manabase.

The matchup?
Moneyball Black needs a miracle in maindeck games: Withered Wretch is crucial, since Replenish draws many cards from the top of the deck at end of turn, dodging hand disruption.
Monoblack gains the upper hand in sideboard games, changing about 15 % of its composition and bringing in vicious cards like Gloom, Dystopia, graveyard hate, and Phyrexian Negator.

UW Replenish adapts with Exalted Angel and grits its teeth, trying to steal at least one sideboard game to close the series.

In a longer set? We’re going to see many happenings.

🌀 UW REPLENISH🌀

2 Meddling Mage
3 Tsabo's Web
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Frantic Search
3 Intuition
4 Replenish
4 Attunement
4 Opalescence
4 Parallax Wave
2 Decree of Silence
2 Seal of Cleansing
5 Island
5 Plains
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Flooded Strand
3 Skycloud Expanse

Sideboard
4 Hydroblast
3 Exalted Angel
2 Abeyance
2 Arcane Denial
2 Defense Grid
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Sphere of Law

🖤 Moneyball Black: 🖤

4 Dark Ritual
4 Duress
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Ravenous Rats
3 Withered Wretch
2 Nantuko Shade
2 Knight of Stromgald
4 Hypnotic Specter
2 Masticore
1 Graveborn Muse
2 Phyrexian Arena
2 Diabolic Edict
2 Smother
1 Snuff Out
16 Swamp
4 Mishra's Factory
3 Wasteland

Sideboard
4 Engineered Plague
3 Dystopia
2 Phyrexian Negator
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Phyrexian Furnace
2 Gloom
2 Powder Keg

https://youtu.be/Q5ZqHGD3luk

Another clash between tier‑1 contenders, but more importantly two trusted lists for these archetypes — proof that a single color is more than enough to cause chaos.

Mono‑Red Sligh enters the matchup as the favorite, while Moneyball Black clings to Masticore as its best hope to turn things around.
Black actually plays very few creatures with real staying power, the kind that can truly strike fear into the opponent.

So in the end, what is it really? A midrange deck or an aggro deck?
For now, rather than answering that question, it will simply try to win.

🖤 Moneyball Black: 🖤

4 Dark Ritual
4 Duress
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Ravenous Rats
3 Withered Wretch
2 Nantuko Shade
2 Knight of Stromgald
4 Hypnotic Specter
2 Masticore
1 Graveborn Muse
2 Phyrexian Arena
2 Diabolic Edict
2 Smother
1 Snuff Out
16 Swamp
4 Mishra's Factory
3 Wasteland

Sideboard
4 Engineered Plague
3 Dystopia
2 Phyrexian Negator
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Phyrexian Furnace
2 Gloom
2 Powder Keg

🔥🔥🔥 Monored Sligh 🔥🔥🔥

4 Jackal Pup
4 Grim Lavamancer
4 Mogg Fanatic
2 Goblin Patrol
4 Ball Lightning
3 Sulfuric Vortex
2 Cursed Scroll
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Fireblast
4 Incinerate
4 Seal of Fire
1 Reckless Abandon
2 Barbarian Ring
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
10 Mountain

Sideboard
2 Anarchy
1 Rejuvenation Chamber
2 Overload
2 Mogg Salvage
3 Red Elemental Blast
2 Price of Progress
1 Lava Dart
1 Cursed Scroll