Released December 2001 Keywords none Expansion code DKM | Size 124 cards, 44 unique Mechanics none | |
Deckmasters: Garfield vs. Finkel, usually known as simply Deckmasters, was a Magic: the Gathering set created in 2001 featuring copies of the decks used in a promotional match between Richard Garfield, the creator of the card game, and Jon Finkel, a Magic World Champion. Two decks were included in the set, a red/green deck used by Richard Garfield, and a red/black deck that was played by Finkel. It is the fifth compilation set.
The match
The match from which the decks are taken was held in January 2002. About a year before, Wizards of the Coast challenged Garfield and Finkel to build a deck out of Ice Age and Alliances cards to compete against each other with. They were given very strict criteria to build these decks, such as that each deck could only use four rare cards and no more than two copies of any one card. Some cards were banned for the purpose of this event such as Kjeldoran Outpost.
Finkel won match one because Garfield misplayed the current timing rules at least twice during the course of the game. Garfield joked, "Shouldn't we be playing by the rules as I made them?" In the second match, Garfield was defeated by lack of mana. "This is the first time I am sitting up here and am honestly unhappy that my opponent is manascrewed," Finkel confessed.