Mirrodin is in grave peril.
Created by the sentient, planeswalking golem Karn to be the perfect artificial world, Mirrodin has proved anything but. Mirrodin's caretaker fell into madness, and while the plane itself was spared for a time, it has slowly been crumbling from within due to Karn's old enemy, the Phyrexians. Growing their army from a small oily taint unknowingly left by Karn himself, they have been growing... spreading... corrupting the plane and its creator as Karn slumbers in Mirrodin's core.
As the planeswalker golem began to lose control of his world and his own mind, the planeswalker Tezzeret arrived on Mirrodin, working from within the Phyrexian ranks to get close to Karn as an "advisor" with aspirations of dethroning him and taking the plane as his own.
But before Tezzeret could act, old friends liberated Karn from his captivity, freeing his mind and soul from Phyrexian control for a final stand against Tezzeret and his horde of poisonous monstrosities. Who shall prevail? The fate of the entire plane rests on the answer....
I'm having a lot of fun creating these Duel Decks. I started with another Planeswalker matchup (http://www.mtgvault.com/jre47/decks/duel-deck-elspeth-vs-xenagos) and last did a more generic duel between beaters and weenies (http://www.mtgvault.com/jre47/decks/duel-deck-strength-vs-numbers). Now, just as with Wizards, I'm going to alternate back and forth, which means another Planeswalker duel this time around.
(The opposing deck is here: http://www.mtgvault.com/jre47/decks/duel-decks-karn-vs-tezzeret)
Just like Wizards' Duel Decks, this is centered around one mythic and features primarily Modern-legal cards with some older ones mixed in (which, if printed, would get the new, current border and in some cases updated art as well). It also sticks to just a handful of rares and tends to go with a lot of one-ofs among other cards, with a small handful of key cards that may get multiple copies (and even then, usually only two). Also, unlike Event Decks and other feature decks from Wizards, Duel Decks lack sideboards. I tried very hard to keep with all those restrictions here... believe me, if this were your more typical constructed deck, it would look a lot different!
The mythic here is Tezzeret (second time in a Duel Deck, but first appearance of his blue/black Agent of Bolas version) and the rares are Phyrexian Crusader, Hand of the Praetors, Phyrexian Metamorph, Serpent Generator, March of the Machines, Inkmoth Nexus, and Academy Ruins. There are some decent chase cards in there, but mainly they're here to fit the theme.
And what is that theme? The infection and hostile takeover of Mirrodin as the new Phyrexian home plane. All but two of these creatures have ways to infect creatures (or otherwise add -1/-1 counters to creatures), infect the opposing player, and/or proliferate -1/-1 counters or poison counters, and the majority of non-creature spells do the same. Melira, Sylvok Outcast could be a huge problem, as are many of the first/double-striking creatures you'll be facing, but with smart playing and a little luck, you should be able to rack up poison counters quickly...hopefully before Karn Liberated makes his appearance and resets the plane (and the game!).
As you compare and constrast the two decks, let me know what you think of the balance. I know from experience how powerful infect can be, even a nerfed version like this. Hopefully Karn's deck stands a fighting chance, but if this one just looks TOO powerful, let me know and I'll adjust accordingly. Thanks!
I appreciate ANY feedback you can provide here, good or bad. Anything I can improve? Any gaping holes that you see? Useful comments will get you +1 rep points and a virtual slap on the back. :-P Thanks for reading...hope you like it!