Interview (Cameron)

Cameron is a seasoned Magic player here in Dallas. As such, I am asking him a few questions in regards to Magic archetypes.

Dillon: What are a few of the main archetypes of Magic?
Cameron: Aggro, Control, Combo are the three main archetypes. In magic reducing your opponent's life total to zero is the main way to win. Aggro decks play the aggressor and rush to kill the opponent with creatures. Control decks aim for the long game by grinding out there opponent by playing more powerful spells and then when the game is under their control they use a some kind of win condition to end the game. Combo decks utilize some combination of cards to just end the game as quickly as possible. But there are also variations and combinations of these three. Midrange is essentially a slower, more powerful aggro deck, combining the aggressiveness of aggro with the power of a control deck. However, Midrange usually does not use the typical type of control cards.

Dillon: What would you say are the main differences between tempo and midrange?
Cameron: Tempo is an aggro deck that uses non-aggressive cards to slow down the opponent and hope that their early aggressive creatures kill the opponent. Tempo is usually classified as an aggro-control deck, because it is the combination of early creatures and control-type disruption spells. However, tempo decks do not have a good late game. They usually aim to kill their opponent before they run out of power or before their opponent stabilizes. There are also more self-explanatory combinations such as Combo-control.

Dillon: What are the best ways to identify the archetype of the deck you are playing against?
Cameron: Depends on which format you are playing. Generally, control decks are slow, but I have seen control decks kill players before turn 6, which is generally considered quick. I would say the best way to judge would be to ask: Who is the aggressor? And which deck has a better long game? Sometimes a deck may be a control deck but have to act like an aggro deck during a certain match.

Dillon: Are archetypes bound to only certain colors?
Cameron: I wouldn't say they are "bound" but they tend to show up more often in certain colors than others. Control is typically blue, but can show up in any color. Yes, I have seen mono-red control; however, it is about half artifacts (colorless).

Dillon: What archetypes are good against others?
Cameron: It depends on the cards used in the deck:
∙ Generally, Combo is good against aggro, because combo is faster and aggro lacks any disruption to stop them.
∙ Midrange is usually good against traditional aggro decks. But midrange usually is a poor choice against control, because both decks are slow, but in the long game, a dedicated control deck is more powerful.
∙ Tempo is normally good against combo, because they have a quick way to kill them and have enough disruption to stop the combo long enough to kill them.
Other than that, I would say it comes down to how the decks are built, because there are many different ways to build each archetype.


Dillon Baca
mtgcompetitivemeta@gmail.com
Richardson, Texas.

(personal communication) Cameron W. April 26, 2013