(“Reality here. Hey man, this is supposed to, like, be about Magic and stuff…”)

What? Oh yeah, of course. Flashbacks to the daydreams I’ve been having lately. I hate it when that happens. Must be the heat setting in or something. Besides, I forgot I’m not in school. I’m probably not going anywhere except to Colorado to housesit for Mom for a few weeks. I don’t live anywhere near a lake or beach (though I do live on creekside property, some canoe chicks are pretty hot…). No beach or island trips for me this summer. Goes with being broke and not being able to live without an Internet connection. OK, maybe I COULD live, but then who would fill the void I would leave by not being able to grace you with my ranting now and again (snicker)? Who would really WANT to???

That’s what I thought.

ANYWAY, let me actually shift to a subject that’s mildly interesting for y’all. 7th rotated into the format a few days ago. Of course, most of us already knew that (though, incredibly, some don’t!). Out with the Tutors, Armageddon, River Boa, and a few other good cards that didn’t make the recall. Personally, I was heartbroken over the loss of Sengir Autocrat. No more Delraich deck for me… sniff. Let us give a moment of silence for the fall of a comrade that’s been a part of my favorite deck since Delraich’s birth…

(…….bows head…….)

Thank you for that, I feel better now. I was frankly surprised that Sengir Vampire did not show his devilish face in 7th. Mahamoti Djinn, Serra Angel, and Shivan Dragon all came back, yet he did not (Green didn’t have a big flyer for those interested, and Force of Nature doesn’t count). I was also surprised that Birds of Paradise stayed in the format. Why did they bother to print Utopia Tree if Birds were not on their way out? For IBC? Umm, I don’t think so Chief. WOTC sure does some strange things sometimes (like every other day).

I don’t see a lot of big changes in the format as far as cards (that matter) are concerned, but just enough cards left and entered the format to keep things interesting. Some Urza’s rares (with a few other stars), Masticore and Morphling NOT being among them (thank goodness for that), show promise in new decks that COULD mean the end of the Fires reign. Worship, Duress, Megrim, Wildfire… these are cards that could give birth to some very nasty decks. I’ve seen the Wildfire deck, I’d say Mono-Red is back to at least consideration status. Duress? Combine that with Unmask, Stupor, Addle, and Megrim. You’ve got a pretty close version of older discard decks. Then there’s Worship. I’ve been thinking about a deck around this card since I heard it was going to reappear in 7th. After all, the Delraich Deck is dead. I need something else to play with that will be just as annoying and unpredictable. Worship wasn’t as strong a card in the Urza’s block, in large part because of the insane strength of cards in that block as a whole (Rancor, Morphling, Masticore, etc.). However, I always kept a Worship deck around, because it is a REALLY annoying deck for opponents to go up against. Now that the power Urza’s rares are gone, can Worship become a Tier1 deck? Hmm….

Now for my deck. It’s far from tournament worthy. I know that. It’s got a lot of room for improvement. Obviously. It took me maybe three minutes today to build this deck, how good can it really be? I tested it against Wildfire and a modified version of Fires and it held together. From my small amount of playtesting, I am positive it can become at least a medicore deck with some work. Here’s the current list of what I’m playing with…

WORSHIP DECK

Maindeck
7 Plains
11 Forest
4 Brushland
4 Sterling Grove
3 Worship
3 Parallax Wave
3 Cho-Manno, Revolutionary
4 Voice of All
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Dismantling Blow
3 Tsabo’s Web
4 Armadillo Cloak
3 Spirit Link

Sideboard (Will explain later)
2 Spiritual Asylum
1 Tsabo’s Web
1 Dismantling Blow
2 Fountain Watch
1 Ivory Mask
2 Millstone
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Circle of Protection: Black
4 Wrath of God

And now, the ever-so-popular-can’t-live-without-it card breakdown…

MAINDECK

7 Plains – Produces white mana. Can’t cast Birds or Elves.

11 Forest – Produces green mana. Can cast Birds and Elves. Hence the 7-11 ratio.

4 Brushland – With 3 Spirit Link and 4 Armadillo Cloak, I think I can afford a few points of damage from this. Actually, I probably can without them. OK, I just refuse to play with Elfhame Palace when I’ve got Birds and Elves to cast. Who WOULD?

4 Sterling Grove – Man oh man is this a good card. An excellent card. This card might as well be the next Enlightened Tutor. It can get Worship, S.Link, Cloak, and P.Wave. It also is another step in the way of a Disenchant card, as it mothers all of your cute little annoying enchantments while it’s on the table. 4 copies? You bet.

3 Worship – Being as this is a Worship deck, it kind of makes sense for this card to be in here. Can’t kill all my dudes means you can’t kill me. Neener neener neeeeeeener!

3 Parallax Wave – Wrath is still out there. Why it didn’t go with its partner Armageddon is beyond me. Ahem. Also allows my Wraths to be Sideboarded in, and I can save my dudes while his go the way of the Dodo. Besides, it’s a great stall card, and I can get it with S.Grove. That makes it very cool in this deck.

3 Cho-Manno, Revolutionary – Having just Voice of All for the kill spell (or a Cloaked Bird) just wasn’t enough for me. These guys are great, especially with a Spirit Link or Cloak on them. Just have to watch out for “Terror-cards.” I am debating using Rappelling Scouts for the shifting pro-color or a fatty (maybe Rith/Rhox) to help with the kill, but I’m not sure where the deck is entirely going yet (more control or beatdown). So far everything costs four mana or less. I might have to go a few more land if I start in with the fatties. Hmm… something to think about. But, Manno works fine for now.

4 Voice of All – Worship+Voice of All. Yeah, a lot of decks use more than one color. This is still the best card for the job though. I’m debating putting in Cho-Manno’s Blessing for Cloaks or Links, to give Voice pro-2-colors (or another creature pro-something). But again, I’m not sure yet.

4 Llanowar Elves – Fast mana. Yeah, that’s good last time I checked.

4 Birds of Paradise – Duh.

3 Dismantling Blow – Went with this over Disenchant for longer games. It’s possible to cast the kicker with a Bird out. Extra cards (almost) never hurt anyone. Worth more than the one mana savings of Disenchant in my ever-so-humble opinion.

3 Tsabo’s Web – I’m still afraid of Port and Dust Bowls. Besides, I like the cantrip and didn’t have enough colored mana when I tried to run my own Ports.

4 Armadillo Cloak – Gives me an alternate kill with Birds, a stall on their big creature, or a fat Voice of All. Yeah, these are good.

3 Spirit Link – I forgot just how annoying this card was until Cloak came out. Might as well be an early Wave if you need it. Best use for this card is on their fatties.

SIDEBOARD

1 Tsabo’s Web – The 4th one.

1 Dismantling Blow – The 4th one.

4 Wrath of God – Another duh.

1 COP Black/ 1 COP Red – Against Red/Black, no enchant removal=death.

(I’m thinking about putting Glorious Anthem or Crusade in SB to deal with Massacre)

2 Spiritual Asylum/ 2 Fountain Watch/ 1 Ivory Mask/ 2 Millstone…

These cards represent the other combo I’d been thinking about, a mono-white (or U/W for counter backup) Millstone deck. In that deck, you get the above four cards out, with Worship. Everything you have is untargetable (including you), and you deck them (counters for Wraths, or Decrees in U/W version). Having these cards in the SB is just to provide more targets against certain colors. Fountain Watch against white, Ivory Mask against red, etc. I don’t think that deck is viable, but having one or two in the SB in this deck helps against almost any color. This will probably change once the metagame is redefined somewhat, but until then, this looks all right.

There are still a lot of questions about this deck. Do I really need the Cloaks and Spirit Links? Should I add more pro stuff? Should I add a fatty or two (Rith/Rhox/Thorn Elemental) to speed up the kill? Or go with a Millstone control style? Should I maindeck Wraths? What are the viable new T2 archetypes that I REALLY should be sideboarding for? I honestly don’t know the answers to these questions right now. I encourage those of you who are working on a Worship deck (I know you’re out there) to post your comments or decklists here. Perhaps together we can overthrow Fires and establish a new king of the hill, if only for a short while. I will continue my work with the deck and post my progress as it comes along. Until then…

__________________
Later,
ShadowDrifter

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