Deep Analysis

Pro Tour™ veteran Brian Kibler piloted his green-white-red "Red Zone 2K2" deck to an impressive finish at this year's Worlds. This deck quickly tried to put its many creatures into the "red zone," the attacking zone on the playmats used on the Pro Tour circuit. The twenty-one—year-old Kibler attends Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and is part of the "Mini Colony" playtest group that designed the Red Zone 2K2 deck.

Carlos Romão played the same style of deck that many people at this year's World Championships chose to play: blue-black Psychatog. He simply played his version better than everyone else playing theirs. Romão, known as "Jaba" to his friends, was a perfect 6-0 during the Swiss portion of the tournament, posting a stunning 12-0 game record. This twenty-year-old native of São Paulo, Brazil, has been widely regarded as one of the best players in South America. His deck tried to stay alive long enough to play Upheaval, while floating mana to replay Psychatog on the same turn.

A native of Toulouse, France, Raphael Levy posted an impressive 5-1 record during the Standard portion of this year's Worlds playing a blue-green deck he named "Le Wonder Goose." This deck used lots of small creatures—like Numble Mongoose and Werebear—that get bigger at threshold. The deck used blue not for countermagic, but for cards like Careful Study and Mental Note, which help the deck reach threshold more quickly, and for Wonder in the graveyard, which allows the deck's pumped-up threshold creatures to fly.