The 2010-2011 Preconstructed Deck Championships

For the third time, we are descending into the battle arena with a season’s worth of contenders to battle for supremacy and determine the last deck standing! Having come to the end of the 2010-11 Season with the release of Magic 2012 (and Innistrad right around the corner), it’s time to crown a champion to stand beside 2008-09’s Dead Ahead and 2009-10’s Eldrazi Arisen. This time, though, there are some new faces vying for dominance, and the field is much more competitive.

To be sure, we have no shortage of decks lining up to do battle this season, coming in at the perfect number- 32! This time around, we’ll be looking at them in terms of tiers, to give you an idea of who the frontrunners look to be, and which decks are going to need a little extra luck- and a few upsets- on their path to glory.

Tier One

There are four decks with the strongest chance to contend, and these are the new ‘Event Decks’ introduced with Mirrodin Besieged. Not only do they each boast seven rare cards, but they are designed to hold their own in a competitive environment. That means a tight focus for construction with plenty of 3-of and 4-ofs, and a degree of consistency we don’t ordinarily see in the modern preconstructed world. In the brackets, you’ll see these decks designated with an -e after their set name to denote their Event Deck status.

Tier Two

Tier Two decks are those that have a higher than normal amount of rares at their disposal, and are constructed around a very solid theme. Here we find the ‘premium products,’ such as the decks from Duel Decks: Knights vs Dragons and Elspeth vs Tezzeret, as well as the quartet of decks from the Archenemy release. Look for these decks to put up some solid results as their stronger focus tilts the odds in their favour. Also charting here is Premium Deck Series: Fire & Lightning.

Tier Three

The final tier is for the remainder of the field, all the Intro Pack decks from M11 all the way through New Phyrexia. Alas, in these individual contests of skill and will numbers count for nothing, and each deck is going to have to sink or swim on its own merits without any help from the others. With Tiers One and Two crowded with talent, will one of these decks have what it takes? While both of the previous Championships ended with an Intro Pack deck winning, can the streak continue through the new contenders? We’ll find out!

And next let’s have a look at the matchups (click on the graphic to expand it).

As ever we return to our familiar Conference/Division breakdown, but this time there’s a little twist…

The Contest

In the past the Championships have spawned a number of readers attempting to predict the outcomes of the matches. This has  been a lot of fun and really added to the event, so this time around we’d like to add in a little reward, and put some structure to it.

A few days before each Championship article, we’ll post the upcoming matchups and call for predictions for each match. Each person that participates will get 1 point for each match they correctly predict the winner of. Points will be earned for the duration of the event, and the reader with the most correct picks (most points) at the end of the Championship will win two Intro Packs, one from M12 (the appropriately-named Grab for Power) and one from Innistrad (to be determined)! We’ll keep track of the points, and routinely post them for everyone to see on a ‘leaderboard.’ In the event of a tie (two or more readers with the same amount of points), the winner will be determined at random.

So keep your eyes peeled for Championship updates, and get ready to post your guesses (but don’t post ’em yet!).