I’m thrilled to share that I recently added not one, not two, but three beta copies of the Gauntlet of Might to my collection—my ultimate chase card from 1995.

Now, I’m on a quest to craft the perfect deck around this legendary card. It’s a bit of a challenge, though; balancing nostalgia with playability without falling into the trap of a boring deck. Join me as I navigate this creative process and hopefully come out the other side with a deck that’s as thrilling to play as it is to build!

Living the Dream

Initially, my plan was to recreate the deck exactly as I envisioned it back in 1995. I used to play a black and red deck focused on getting Shivan Dragons out quickly with spells like Dark Ritual. In my teenage mind, the Gauntlet of Might was the perfect card to enhance this strategy, making my dragons faster and stronger by leveraging the Gauntlet’s dual abilities: accelerating my mana and boosting the dragons. If I had the cards back then, I would also have loved to add the blue power cards, along with the Moxen and Black Lotus. My dream deck from those days might have looked something like this, although it’s been a long time, and my recollection isn’t perfect.

After testing this deck for a few weeks, it became clear that it was performing poorly. The Gauntlets didn’t provide any real benefit to the deck. In fact, I felt they could be replaced with better cards that would contribute more to the overall strategy. This experience showed me that my nostalgic vision didn’t hold up in actual gameplay. My perspective on what makes a great deck has certainly evolved since I was 14, leading me to reconsider my deck design.

The Big Red

The goal for this deck was to make Gauntlet of Might the central piece, so I decided to pivot dramatically from my original idea. Instead of tweaking what wasn’t working, I opted to build a mono-red deck. While a Kobold deck seemed like the obvious choice for utilizing Gauntlet of Might, I found Kobold decks quickly become monotonous. There’s little interaction beyond flooding the board with creatures and attacking, which loses its appeal after a couple of weeks. I needed a more engaging mono-red deck, so I turned to another childhood favorite: Ball Lightning. Since Ball Lightning fits perfectly in mono-red, it seemed like a natural fit. I wanted to make the best mono-red deck with Balls of Lightning possible. My mind immediately thought of the infamous Sligh deck. Although the Sligh deck is often considered the pinnacle of mono-red strategies, it doesn’t align well with the 93/94 card pool. After some goldfishing on Sligh in Old School, I came across a blog post from Magnus, who aimed to adapt the core concept of playing efficiently on the curve into an Old School framework using software he wrote based on the Nash equilibrium. Why? I don’t know; he’s just a crazy mf-er with too much time on his hands, I guess. Anyway, he came up with a cool deck and I swapped a few filler cards for my three copies of Gauntlet of Might. The result was the following (all black bordered) deck:

I played the deck I described for another two weeks, but after repeatedly being thwarted by Circle of Protection: Red, I came to a tough conclusion: mono-red probably wasn’t the best option. While adding a second color could offer solutions to these tough situations, it would also reduce the Gauntlet of Might’s effectiveness. It dawned on me that, while Gauntlet of Might is a blast to use, it’s not exactly a top-tier card. With this in mind, I decided it was time to shift my focus from optimization to pure enjoyment.

“Tell me that doesn’t feel like a cock!’

I decided to bring white into the deck to handle challenging situations while sticking with an all-black-bordered list. I even took it a step further by committing to an all-Beta pink deck. If we’re going for fun, why not go all in? This deck reflects the whimsical side of Magic, much like Richard Garfield might have envisioned for casual kitchen table play. Stone Giant’s amusing synergy with Uthden Troll offers a playful twist—flinging a Troll across the battlefield only to see it rebound and come back for more is perhaps one of the most goofy things I can imagine. Orcish Artillery and Circle of Protection: White would further enhance the fun factor.

This deck turned out to be the most fun I’ve had using Gauntlet of Might so far. However, I found that staple cards like Swords to Plowshares and Balance didn’t quite mesh with the deck’s now vibrant and playful nature. I began to think that there might be ways to enhance the fun factor even further. Additionally, I noticed that my opponents really started to enjoy the deck for its unique and entertaining approach. This led me to wonder if we’ve been approaching Old School Magic all wrong. Shouldn’t we all reconnect with our inner Richard Garfield and embrace a more whimsical and less streamlined version of play? But that’s perhaps a question for a different blog. In the latest version of my Gauntlet deck, I removed Swords and Balance and added another flavorful combo.

Veteran Bodyguard and Death Ward create a compelling combination that fits seamlessly into the whimsical and playful nature of this deck. Veteran Bodyguard has a unique ability: as long as it remains untapped, it redirects damage from unblocked creatures that would otherwise be dealt to you. This makes it an excellent defender that can protect you from incoming damage, ensuring you stay safe while your other strategies unfold.

Death Ward complements this defensive strategy by offering crucial (and unexpected) support in moments of need. It can prevent a creature from being destroyed after it has taken damage. By using Death Ward on Veteran Bodyguard, you can ensure that this loyal protector remains in play, continually intercepting damage that would otherwise be dealt to you.

In the context of this deck’s vibrant and playful build, the combination of Veteran Bodyguard and Death Ward adds a layer of strategic depth and amusement. Veteran Bodyguard’s role as a personal shield, paired with Death Ward’s recovery ability, aligns perfectly with the deck’s theme of creative and entertaining play.

To be honest, I like it so much I am currently concidering adding a second Veteran Bodyguard and/or Death Ward. Potential cards to take out are one copy of Uthden Troll, Raging River. What do you guys think? Do you have your own whimsical and less streamlined deck or are you planning to build one? Let us know in the comments!

Update

I will continue to update the latest version of the deck here: