Decks to Beat

These are some of the decks that placed high in 93/94 tournaments (or local variations) during the last decade. For additional decklists and tech, checkout  the deck techs page (which collects a large chunk of blog posts about particular decks). Also note that actually winning should not be the most important part of playing this format.

BSK 2021 Top8
19 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. After a year in pandemic limbo, the Swedish Nationals (and second oldest recurring Oldschool Magic tournament) is back to show how we tech in the Nordic meta. Svante's RUG Aggro/Burn took it down after a perfect run in the swiss, besting decks like Troll Disco, Disaster, TwiddleVault, ErhnamGeddon and Project M in the top8.

Nordic Warriror Cup 2 Top8
29 participants, photos of 7/8 decks. The wizards' school returns to Drammen to summon Trolls and invoke the dark arts. It was long overdue to finally meet up in person again, and this gathering turned out to be largest in Norway yet. The Top8 was heavily populated by the traditional Norwegian monsters, but in the end Sui-Chi showed that 4/4 is greater than 3/3.

n00bcoM 2 Top8
120 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. Another Easter with social distancing, and global wizards cope with the second online n00bcoM. This time we gather for oldschool oldschool; classic Swedish rules with its draconian reprint policy and no expansions outside the four horsemen. Some truly amazing decks showed up to battle, and in the end Time Vault combo stood tallest, having bested things like GR Blitz, Guardian Disco, CounterBurn, and Artifact Aggro in the top8.

n00bcoM 1 Top8
80 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. The pandemic is upon us, and the annual Easter gathering has turned digital. Like during Arvika Festival 6, the Scryings expansion is legal to brew with here, so these are not your grandfather's Easter decks. We have things like Pegasus Control, Reanimator, B/G Nether Void, TwiddleVault, and a full-on tempo deck vying for the trophy.

Arvika Festival 6 Top8
In the last major tournament in Scandinavia before the 2020 pandemic hit, celebrating wizards gathered at Viksgården in Arvika for the annual Festival. This was the first Swedish tournament to use the Scryings expansion to throw a wrench in the meta, and among the eight distinct decks we find things like Snake Disco and MaskNought flanked by familiar yet different versions of e.g. MirrorBall, Disaster, and B/G Nether Void.

Fishliver Oil Cup 3 Top8
133 players from across the continent gathered in Genoa, Italy, for the third (technically fourth) Fishliver Oil Cup. Slightly more relaxed reprint rules than up North, but that doesn't prevent spectacular tech. The Savannah Lions showed up big time, but we also find three different Triskelion decks as well as Arabian Aggro and The Deck in the top8.

n00bcon 11 Top8 (+1)
Around 20 countries and 40 communities brought 170 elite players to Gothenburg to fight for the coveted Shark and the World Championship. Atog had a true breakout performance, mostly powerless merfolk showed some sharp fins, and Triskelions threw around their arms with expert aim in the top8. In the end, the format's boogieman deck with a master pilot claimed the title. 

Urborg Lake Cruise 2019 Top4
A great community and player gathering in Lucerne with 28 Participants. Players from Belgium, Germany, Portugal, USA, Serbia, Italy, Austria and Switzerland fought for the Lake Cup. Dani Imfeld took the win with his UW Su-Chi Express. We also gave out a Brewmaster price which is honorably mentioned here.

Urborg Feast 2019 Top8
In 2019, for the first time there was a parallel-tournament to N00bcon with 52 participants and the winner did grab a direct ticket to Top8 at N00bcon. The other players fought for the first price, a beautiful wooden plate. Martin Skoovgard took the win with his UW Skynet deck and did leave Troll Disco, Living Plane, Atog, UW Aggro-Midrange (2), Land's Edge and UW Robots behind.

Mindstage 93/94 Top8
The players in the Gothenburg local scene pretty much just play, as they've done for over a decade, and rarely make a fuzz about it. JummJumm's MonoRed Atog Burn hoisted the rag when the dust settled, beating out Fantasy Zoo, UR Burn, The Deck, Power Monolith, Disaster and ErhnamGeddon in the Top8.

Oslo Ascension #2 Top4
The local Oslo gathering on Ascension Day is now a solid tradition. The Top4 this year was surprisingly janky; powerless MonoBlack, Preacher Combo with Rukh Egg, and Adventure Island all graced the elimination rounds before being bested by Troll Disco.

n00bcon X Top8
The tenth World Championship saw renowned players from around 40 communities battle out for glory and a Giant Shark in the largest 93/94 tournament to date. Savannah Lions turned out to be the real deal alongside the Efreets of Sri Lanka, though a couple of control decks and some aggressive artifacts also graced the top8. And check out Kalle Nord's 5-color midrange pile, that is perhaps the craziest deck I've seen yet.

Arvika n00bcon X qualifier Top4
The Arvika locals will punch your face and blow up your permanents. With a top4 that is 50% Troll Disco and then taken down by Artifact Aggro, you best not leave your Shatters in the binder. The second place deck is a true testament to the spirit of the format, a monoblue midrange deck that plays Azure Drake over Serendib Efreet.

BSK 2017 Top8
38 participants, photos of 8/8 decks.
BSK is the second oldest annual tournament in the format, and one of the most revered by the "old school old school" players. This was the eight annual Halloween gathering in Borås, bringing foogies from different corners of Sweden to dust off their old cards in chance of winning a The Fallen. Once again, Master of Magic Cards Olle Råde claimed the trophy, using his URb Burn to defeat MirrorBall in the finals. Combo had good showing here, and the top8 also included e.g. TwiddleVault and PowerMonolith.

Fishliver Oil Cup Ed. 1 Top16
86 participants, photos of 16/16 decks.
One of the major European gatherings, the Fishliver Oil Cup has quickly become home to some of the best that the format has to offer. The people, the atmosphere and the brews truly puts a smile on your face. Rather than having a top8, Lorenzo and Megu opted to go for a top16 in the elimination rounds for this one; with 14 different archetypes among the 16 decks.

The Horrible Horse Gathering Top8
27 participants, photos of 8/8 decks.
The Horrible Horse Gathering pitted Norwegian spell slingers in the largest 93/94 gathering in Oslo yet. The final was battled out with Lions and Efreets on both sides, leaving Troll Ponza, Athopher, Titania's Song Control, Juzam Smash and other sweet tech in the elimiation rounds.

Alphaspelen 3 Top4
12 participants, photos of 4/4 decks.
Alphaspelen is one of the more local tournaments in Stockholm. This gathering was home to some creative tech in the top4, including a new take on White Zoo with Personal Incarnations, CandleFactory, and some sort of ErhnamBurn'em midrange with Sedge Trolls.

Scandinavian Championship Top8
48 participants, photos of 6/8 decks.
The first edition of Scandinavian Championship in Arvika was hosted in the familiar area we know from the Arvika Festival. As always when visiting that community, great ambiance and good people were aplenty. Jimmie's mono Red Atog Burn took down the championship, with Parfait, Disaster, Power Monolith, and different variants of Zoo and control also showing up in the top8.

Ivory Cup 2 Top8
35 participants, photos of 7/8 decks.
The second edition of Stockholm's annual Ivory Cup was a smashing gathering. The attendance had risen since last year, as had the powerful cards. Erhnam Djinns faced of each others in the finals, leaving strategys like Atog Burn, The Deck and Dead Guy in their trail.

Oslo Jumping Jesus Tournament Top4
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.

n00bcon 9: World Championships Top8
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.

n00bcon Training Day Top4
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.

Arvika Festival 3 Top8
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.

Kort i Kubik n00bcon qualifier Top4
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.

LepreCon 2 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.

PWP Invitational 2016
8 players, photos of 7/8 decks. Each year, eight of the highest rated 93/94 players in the PWP standings gather to fight for glory. Keeping in tradition with the old Duelist Invitational tournaments, the format at these gatherings are variations of the more familiar mid-90s Magic. This year, the arena of choice was Highlander-96.

BSK 2016
52 players, photos of 8/8 decks. Let the grunts commence! This time we had a dominance of The Deck in the top8; the original boogie man of constructed Magic claimed no less than four spots in the elimination rounds. Variations of UR CounterBurn (with and without Electric Eel) claimed an additional three spots, and it's clear why many see these two decks as the top tier when left unchecked. The last spot was grabbed by Danhor's Ernhnamgeddon, and just outside the top8 we saw Distress, Ponza, Zoo and many other archetypes.

Fishliver Oil Cup Ed. 0
34 players, photos of 8/8 decks. Lorenzo, Megu and the other guys in Camaiore organized a tournament taglined with "Italian rules, Swedish style" and the tech was aplenty. We have eight distinctly different decks in the top8, including stuff like TwiddleVault, Nether Void Ponza and BW Party Crasher. In the end, UR ended up on top after a fierce battle against UWR Skies/Control.

CrowCon 2016 Top4
15 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. Once again players gathered to fight for the glorious Moss Monster in the city of Moss. MonoBlack and Troll Disco faced off in the finals, leaving Lestree Zoo and an awesome Crimson Disco in semis.

From Russia with Love Top8
25 participants, photos of 7/8 decks. This international gathering in Stockholm hosted guests from Russia, USA and Norway. The elimination rounds were settled with 93/94 cube drafting, but we'll still provide the constructed decks that took the players to the top8 here. Yet again we have eight very different archetypes in the final eight; Party Crasher, Tropic Thunder, The Deck, Machine Head Beats, Arabian Aggro, Parfait, Fork Ponza, and ErhnamGeddon.

Drammen #2 93/94 Top8 
22 participants, photos of 7/8 decks. The second gathering in Drammen this year showed some sweet tech. For the first time in a Norwegian tournament, a control deck ended up on top. The winning deck played no less than three Tetravus in its 75, one of the only creatures unaffected by both The Abyss and Moat. Other decks in the the top8 include e.g. Sligh, Troll Disco, Tax Edge, WR Midrange and a Gauntlet/Fork deck.

Wexio State Championships 2016 Top4
16 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. For the third year in a row, it was time to battle for a glorious Prodigal Sorcerer and to determine who was the top 93/94 player in Småland. Again, the control decks are mostly left behind. The top4 is dominated by burn spells and effective creatures, alongside a BW Party Crasher. In the end, a five-color Artifact Aggro deck ended up at the top of the heap.

The Ivory Cup 2016 Top8
29 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. The first Ivory Cup in Stockholm showed off a myriad of different strategies, and showed that the players from the Swedish capital is capable of skillfully piloting a lot more than control decks. Eight different archetypes in the top8, and the final battle stood betwen the Trolls and the Goblins.

Arcon 93/94 Top4
14 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. The large Arcon convention in Norway hosted their first non-proxy 93/94 tournament this year. The Norwegian 93/94 meta is much like their metal; unusually black. Again we see a top4 without a single blue card, instead Sinkholes, Geddons and large creatures reign supreme alongside a TaxEdge deck.

Playoteket 3 93/94 Top4
12 participants. Photos of 4/4 decks.
The third official tournament at Playoteket in Scania showed some solid mages and decks. Mr Sinclair's awe-inspiring The Deck managed to get the best of Erhnamgeddon, UR Burn and 5-color Ydwen Efreet (!) in the top4. Again we see multiple Forks in the top4; a card not to be underestimated.

Drammen 93/94 Top8
17 participants. Photos of 8/8 decks. The first tournament in Drammen gathered mages from across Norway (and a couple from Arvika and Karlstad) to fight for an Adventurers' Guildhouse. The top8 was almost completely dominated by old school beatdown, apart from one Fork deck and one Nether Void Ponza. Su-Chis, Juzams and Erhnams beat hard, and the WW decks beats a lot.

n00bcon 8, World Championships Top8
76 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. Players from Russia, the US, Denmark, Germany and many other places across the lands descended upon the Rotary Pub in Gothenburg to lay claim to the old school World Championship title and the coveted Giant Shark. More players than ever wanted to get in the ring this year, and the tournament was filled to capacity three months before the showdown. The top8 hosted some big names in the format - battling with 3 copies of UR Burn, 3 The Deck, a Lestree Zoo and an Artifact Aggro - before Martin Berlin got to hoist the trophy.

Arvika Festival 2016 Top8
34 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. The third largest, and possibly the sweetest, of the yearly Northern Europe gatherings was once again held in Viksgården in Arvika. The top8 hosted 8 distinct archetypes; from Distress to Toolbox Murderers and Time Elemental Control to Dead Guy Ale. In the end, Lestree Zoo took down Power Monolith in the finals to claim this year's Festival.

L.I.G.G. 93/94 top8 (2016)
20 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. The first tournament at L.I.G.G. in Stockholm gathered a lot of new, and quite a few old, faces in the format. The top8 was home to decks like Deadguy Ale, WWr, BRW Menagerie, and two variants of UW Skies. In the end, Martin Berlin and his Artfact Aggro stayed on top of the standings.

Sehskapsspelen 2015 top4
12 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. Erik "Sehl" Larsson hosted his second year tournament in Åsa during the Christmas holidays. Some savage tech in the top4, with surprisingly few blue cards and instead a slew of Erhnam Djinns, Atogs and Avoid Fates. JummJumm's Time Vault Burn and Elof's Artifact Smash faced off in the finals, after stopping Erhnamgeddon and Erhnam Burn'em cold in the semis.

Gothenburg Invitational 93/94 Top4
8 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. Kenneth Mossberg hosted a tournament inviting Swedish Pro Tour players from the mid nineties and a handful of the top rated 93/94 profiles in the country. Free Imperial Stouts and an abundance of liquor was provided, as well as the first 93/94 twitch stream. The eternal luck-sack Kalle ended up on top with one of the most pimped decks I've ever seen in the format, snubbing The Deck, Troll Disco and Undead Party Crasher Porter from glory in the top4.

Karlstad 93/94 FNM top4
9 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. Yeah, you don't have to sleeve up Type2 and sit in a game store to play FNM anymore. Mikael Mällroth gathered a rag-tag crew of delinquents to battle for foils with the oldest of cards in The Leprechaun Pub in Karlstad. Lestree Zoo, Ponza, Toolbox Murderers and MonoBlue Artifacts battled it out in the top4, eventually leaving Artelas and his artifacts at the top of the heap.

BSK 2015 top8
55 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. The sixth showdown at BSK was the grandest one yet. Top decks include e.g. MirrorBall combo, Power Monolith, UR Burn, The Deck and a solid Deadguy Ale. When the dust settled, UR Burn was seen hoisting the Shark once again.

Moss 93/94 Top8
26 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. The second non-proxy tournament in Norway was a smashing showdown as people came from far and wide to fight for the Moss Monster. The top8 contains diverse decks like Stasis, Erhnam Burn'em, Nether Void Ponza, Troll Disco and two different builds of Power Monolith.

Wexio #3 93/94 Top4
12 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. This time the top of the heap belonged to Project M, BRw Tempo, Enchantress and UGR Tempo. The control decks were yet again left behind in the swiss. Worth noting is that three out of four decks play maindeck land destruction spells to complement the Strip Mine and Orb.

Joypad Open Top4
7 participants, pictures of 4/4 decks. The first non-proxy tournament in Oslo gathered some dark mages. For a change, the top4 didn't contain a single blue card. Instead we saw 16 Dark Rituals, 13 Underworld Dreams and 11 Hypnotic Specters in the four top decks.

n00bcon 7, World Championship Top8
57 participants, photos of 7/8 decks. Players and old fogies gathered from across the lands to determine who would be crowned the Master of Magic Cards and World Champion of 93/94. The Deck made a huge comeback in the hands of veteran mages, though a couple of monocolored decks could also be seen in the top8.

n00bcon Warmup Top4
8 participants, photos of 3/4 decks. Freespace hosted a warmup tournament a few days before n00bcon. Magnus Ulan's White Weenie won against a strong field. His decklist is very similar to Brorsan's Shark-winning WW from BSK 2013, though Magnus's deck was deep into Alpha versions of the cards. Other decks in the top four include UR Eel, The Deck and Stasis. 

Stabcon #1 93/94 Top4
16 participants. Photos of 4/4 decks. Patrik "Tgd" Karlsson organized an eternal convention in Gothenburg, hopefully the first of many to come. A dozen and a third old school players showed up to play the most eternal of eternal formats. Carl "Tibia" Olzon and his UWR Skies finished on top, crushing the dreams of Stasis, The Deck and Mono Red Atog.

Mindstage Premiere 93/94 Top4
12 participants. Photos of 3/4 decks, though one of them might be incorrect ;) Gothenburg's sweetest LGS got a new owner  and changed its name from Vasa Gaming to Mindstage. They celebrated this with a Magic convention in Gothenburg and had the good taste to hold a 93/94 tournament. In the end, Viktor "Oldschool" Peterson took his O'Brien School Nether Void deck to the victory, beating out Monoblack, Stasis and Burning WW in the top4.

Arvika 93/94 top4 (2015)
16 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. The first tournament in Arvika showed a lot of sweet tech and a great ambience. The top4 consisted of two Transmute Artifact decks, a Monoblack, and an UBR Burn.

Sehlskapsspelen Top4 (2014)
8 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. Erik "Sehl" Larsson hosted a smaller tournament in Varberg during the winter holidays. Munchhausen took it down with his new take on Lestree Zoo, with 4-off Ice Storms. Other decks in the top4 were a Machine Head, Troll Disko and MonoBlack.

Frippan Open 93/94 Top8 (2014)
27 participants, photos of 5/8 decks (2 more have written lists). Freespace hosted the largest non-Shark tournament thus far, and the tech was plentiful. Åland and The Deck eventually took it down, beating Elof's Sedge Troll / Nevinyrral's Disk deck in a tight final. Among the other decks in the top8 we had two MonoBlack, UW Control, and The Burn Deck.

1° Torneo OLD SCHOOL 93/94 top4 (2014)
13 participants, photos of 3/4 decks. The first old school tournament in Italy showed a lot of impressive tech, including an Abyss-deck and a very cool UWR Transmute control. In the end Big Red, EhrnamGeddon, and two heavy hitting tempo/control decks faced off in the top4. Local rules allow Revised as an additional legal set.

Vasa Gaming Mysturnering Top4 (2014)
11 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. Again the two Atog decks battle in the top4. Elof took his new creation DurdleGeddon to the semis, but in the end Sehl's Next Level WW claimed the price.

Playoteket 2 Top4 93/94 (2014)
12 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. Atog Smash! For the first time, Atog shows its face at a tournament, and takes its two players to the top2. Olle Råde's The Deck and Munchhausen's Zoo round up the top4.

BSK 2014 Top8 (2014)
40 participants, photos of 7/8 decks (last deck has a written list). UR Burn and Electric Eel Aggro claimed three spots in the top8, and cemented its status as a tier1 deck given the correct pilot. Other decks in the top8 include variants of Monoblack, The Deck, Beast/Transmute and WWu.

Playoteket 93/94 Top2 (2014)
8 participants, photos of 2/2 decks. The first tournament in Scania attracted quite a few exciting decks and strategies. The Armageddons came out on top this time though, backed up by either Crusades or Land's Edge burn.

Warcon 93/94 Top4 (2014)
12 participants, photos of 3/4 deck (last deck has a written list). Elof once again claimed the title in Varberg, this time with a monblue control deck beating monblack in the finals. The Djinns are back in style, with the 2-4th place decks each playing full sets of Juzams or Erhnams.

WSK 93/94 Top4 (2014)
11 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. Jokemon went the distance with his UGR tempo-deck, and he proudly claimed the title as the first old school champion in Småland. Other decks in the top4 are two control decks (one influenced by Zak Dolan, rather than Weismann) and a 4-color deck with a full playset of Erg Raiders.

NorCal Old School Top4 (2014)
10 participants, photos of 4/4 decks. Transmute Artifact showed its power in the top4, as did Triskelion in The Machine. This was the first Old School tournament in California. The NorCal players allowed 3 additional sets for this tournament; the reprints of Revised and Chronicles, as well as Fallen Empires (Hymn restricted).

n00bcon 6 Top8 (2014)
44 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. Three different versions of The Deck in the top8, but Electric Eel Aggro emerged the eventual winner. Other interesting decks in the top8 include a Juzam beatdown and a Stasis deck.

Kingvitational 1 Top4 (2014)
11 participants, photos of 3/4 decks. There were lots of impressive tech this tournament, with the 5th place going to a Kobold deck and 6th place to a Nether Void deck. Quite a lot of variety in the top4 as well, even though all decks play blue.

Pimpvitational 12/13 (2014)
8 participants, photos of 8/8 decks. The 8 top rated players from the 12/13 season battled it out for glory and a custom made 93/94 binder. The 8 distinct decks contains 49 power cards, 5 Giant Sharks, and a playset of Colossus of Sardia.

BSK 2013 Top8 (2013)
Photos of 8/8 decks. The winning WW deck is similar to the winning deck of Kingvitational 0.5. The top 8 contains a whopping 16 copies of Berserk.

Kingvitational 0.5 top4 (2013)
12 participants, photos of 4/4 deck. This was the first tournament after the restriction of Mana Drain, and the top4 reflects that.

n00bcon 5 top8 (2013)
26 participants, photos of 7/8 decks. This was the last tournament before Mana Drain was restricted, and 7 out of 8 decks here play multiple Drains. I did not find Ålands list that he played here, so I posted a later version of that deck (that in particular had cut 3 of the 4 Drains for other counterspells).

2010-2012
These are decks that have been represented in the top4 of national tournaments between early 2010 and summer 2012; with participation size between 10 and 34 players. Decks that are very similar (e.g. variations of The Deck and Zoo) have been omitted. Note that all these lists were played before the restriction of Mana Drain, and most of them before the legalization of Chaos Orb.



For earlier decklists (2007-2009), please send an email to delaval(at)gmail(dot)com and I might be able to dig something up.