It is that time of year again...bells are ringing on the streets, people are swarming to the malls, and families are getting together. The holiday season never ceases to amaze me. People who are down on their chips can still turn around and give a brief smile of hope for mankind and the coming year. We take time to look back and reflect on the year, making our own little naughty/nice lists. No matter which variation of celebration you may perform, one thing is certain: With the time off of work, you're probably going to play Magic.

Face it, holidays are times of happiness and families, and Magic games can help with at least one (both if you're lucky). If you want to play Magic and still stick with those holiday feelings, this week's deck is for you. This deck is dedicated to the holiday theme, and was made as Christmas-oriented as possible.

Does it surprise? Does it amaze? What better Christmas gift could I offer besides a deck full of Gnomes, Eggs, and the Urzatron? (Merry Christmas Forsythes!) The main goal of this deck is to throw a great holiday Bosh, preferably at your opponent's nugget. This deck is great for just blowing off some steam. It even has a decent shot of winning...but the most amazing thing about it is that every single card in it is holiday themed.

Here's the rundown:

• The Urzatron (Urza's Mine, Urza's Power Plant, Urza's Tower): Santa needs a workshop, right?



• Tree of Tales: Christmas has a lot of great tales. This year's movie Elf was my favorite!



• Great Furnace: Those Gnomes need to be forged in the furnace!



• Stonewood Invoker: Santa's little helpers, they operate well in the workshop.



• Patchwork Gnomes: The Gnomes are always ready to help out, especially if you need threshold or Bosh/Mindslaver in the graveyard to Trash for Treasure up.



• Bottle Gnomes: You have to put the eggnog somewhere!



• Mossfire Egg: Speaking of eggnog.



• Slice and Dice: For the ham (played by your opponent's creatures).



• Shower of Coals: Your opponent was probably naughty, anyhow...coal it is!



• Trash for Treasure: Out with the old, in with the shiny new!



• Sylvan Scrying: Who doesn't look for the presents, or even the Urzatron?



• Pyrite Spellbomb: A few ornaments and lights always make the tree look better.



• Chromatic Sphere: Stocking stuffer and mana fixer extraordinaire.



• Mindslaver: The newest and coolest toy for Christmas this year. Move over Elmo.



• Bosh, Iron Golem: He's the whole party in one tight package.



• Giant Badger: I think we all know who these are. Switch them out for more Elves if you don't like them, but I think this is as much a part of the holidays as anything else.

This deck starts by putting a bunch of mana-filter artifacts into play and drawing cards while trying to stall the ground with Gnomes, sometimes killing some creatures with a Slice and Dice or a Shower of Coals. The next goal is to cast Trash for Treasure, getting back a Mindslaver or Bosh and hoping that it's good enough to win you the game. You can also cast Bosh and Mindslaver a lot when you get the Urzatron into play. The deck is fairly straightforward and is a "Bosh" to play!

Tips On Playing The Deck

• Use your mana filters wisely. Lots of times it's best to sacrifice them to draw more cards, digging for Trash for Treasure or some other way to put Bosh or Mindslaver into play.



• If possible, wait to use your Scrying until you have drawn two out of the three Urza lands. However, it's not worth missing a land-drop to wait.



• Don't be afraid to sacrifice your Pyrite Spellbomb to draw a card.



• Make sure to tap your opponent out when you Mindslaver him, he won't take mana burn, but it's generally a good idea.

Adding More Money To The Deck

It's the holidays so, instead of making this deck better, I recommend giving it to charity. It'll make you feel better and it will make the Bottle Gnomes very happy. Besides, theme decks are supposed to be fun, not dominating!

I wish all Magic players and their families a very happy and safe holiday season and a happy new year.

Nate Heiss
Team CMU
nateheiss@yahoo.com
NateHeiss on Magic Online