FOUR HORSEMEN OLD SCHOOL MAGIC TOURNAMENT 22 - SUMMER LEAGUE

T22 SUMMER LEAGUE GAME PLAY SCHEDULE: JUL 5 - AUG 31, 2025

- Week 1 to Week 6: JUL 5 – AUG 16 | Group Matches

- Week 7: AUG 16 – AUG 23 | Top 8 Quarter Finals Matches

- Week 8: AUG 24 – AUG 31 | Semifinals & Finals

4HM T22 SPECIAL SUMMER LEAGUE OVERVIEW ​

A little about me & why 4HM is so appealing….

Before we get into T22 I thought I would introduce myself & why I find 4HM so appealing…

I’m relatively new to 4HM compared with other players & for those that don't know me, hi my name is Luke, I’m a simple happy go lucky guy from Melbourne Australia. A Red Mage at heart so give me some Mountains a Ball Lightning a Blood Lust & an Eternal Flame for a finisher, Oh I also like to share so you will probably find a Blood Moon in the main board too! Because who doesn't love Mountains!. You pretty much know the rest.. 🤣

One of the main appeals initially to the format was how unique it is, in comparison to every other Old School format out there, you can play via the interwebs & how much it really does lean (intentionally or unintentionally… I will have to ask Chad) toward the Non-creature element of playing magic back in the 90’s… I guess the legal sets dictate that (ARN, ATQ, LEG & the DRK), but I hope you get the point I’m trying to make.  I started playing in 1995 and Revised Edition was where I cut my teeth. Little did I know that the prominent sets during my teenage playing years (3ED, 4ED & CHR) that included many reprints from the 4HM sets would intrigue me enough to play a format with sets & more importantly cards that I never played with back in the day.

The most unique part of 4HM for me is how much Enchantments can take center stage. This unique aspect of 4HM really does make the whole deck building strategy (in an, as-of-yet, unsolved format) all that more unique and challenging. I also feel like I learn about new (old) cards each time I play a 4HM match. Not being familiar with the entire card pool gives you some “Um, what does that card do?” surprises and, more importantly, some, “I never thought to do that with that card” Eureka (pun-intended) moments (for eg. “Oooohh… you can use Maze of Ith on your Colossus of Sardia after combat! To un-tap him).

There are so many fantastic creatures to build your decks around and still so many oddball / obscure cards you haven’t seen or played since concrete playmats were king! Where everything old feels new again! Speaking of concrete playmats, let’s not forget that the format is also Proxy friendly so it really does allow for your creativity to shine when brewing decks, and you can feel free to turn your cardboard sideways on whatever surface you choose!. Whether you're chasing a janky combo for the ultimate win-con or you want to go for a spicy brew, 4HM is the best place to stretch your imagination and think outside the box with cards that only thrive within this type of format. As with every format in Magic, there are many different archetypes like Aggro, midrange, combo or control that you can explore in entirely new ways. The Summer League tournament really shined a light on this aspect of 4HM.

I mean where else are you going to lose a match to a Ghazbán Ogre with 2 Unstable Mutations!..... Yes this did happen during T22!…. Thanks again for the Arabian Aggro strategy lesson Chad!..😁 Or firing off Triskelion arms post combat & then casting a Hurkyl's Recall to recast Triskelion to fire off those arms again to get those last couple of life points dealt for victory!.. I have never played matches of magic on a more consistent basis (across all tourneys I’ve been a part of) that can swing so hard and fast from the caverns of despair (last pun!) of an oncoming defeat to pulling off the victory or vise-versa. It truly is, I believe the essence of game play the creators of this game we love & know, intended it to be.

T22 Summer League Overview 

From a certain point of view…..

So now that you know a little about me & why 4HM is so appealing, what have the last 6 weeks taught me….? As the group match stage of T22 has drawn to a close, I have reflected on my journey over the last 6 weeks. The Summer League tournament offered a much more relaxed approach to tournament Magic by allowing players to play as little or as much as they wanted during the group stage and the ability to modify (or completely change) their deck choices between matches. This unique format really increases the opportunity to glean new information about 4HM Magic, our community as a whole, deck building and play strategy. I'm looking forward to sharing what I've learned!

While we’re on the topic, let's break down some stats from the T22 group match stage.

Total players for T22	23
Total group matches played (this number is huge!)	318
AVG matches played by players during the group stage of T22	14
The top 8 players AVG matches played	28
Most matches played (Jack Clegg)	36 matches at a very impressive 75% win rate
Best win % during group matches (Tim Kincaid)	19 matches played with a standout 84.21% win rate

Ok, now that the numbers are out of the way & can I just say some of these individual & group numbers are just crazy! It just proves that the 4HM format is alive and well & the community is embracing new and different styles of tournament play. I would also just like to take a moment on behalf of the 4HM community to thank Chad & the rest of the 4HM committee for all the hard work they do behind the scenes to keep the 93/94 expansion sets unique and the lights on, so to speak.

The major take away from the last 6 weeks personally is that this reminds me so much of my teenage years, the late nights / early mornings….. The occasional all nighter, just so I could get another game in! Meeting other members of the community who I haven’t had the pleasure of crossing paths with prior to T22. I was so onboard for the whole concept & flexibility this tourney provided, the ability to quickly pivot from one strategy to another and try out new things. I think I had 20 different deck ideas (played 8), openly discuss your deck building ideas with your opponent and have them suggest new cards / combos / strategies to try. Making those changes and playing another match, what other tourney is going to allow this much freedom to find the ultimate combo! Or allow you to fine tune a brew mid tourney, unreal!

My approach to Deck Building for T22 

For the Summer League I really wanted to take the opportunity to play cards that I have never played before. I honestly think this is the longest time I have gone without casting a Mountain ………. Ever………..😁 I really wanted to play with Tron Lands (Urza's Mine, Urza's Power Plant & Urza's Tower) I thought this could be lots of fun, I’ve never built a deck with Tron before so the challenge appealed to me.. I wanted to give white weenie a go also, but after my head to head white weenie battle with Jack I quickly shelved that idea as his deck had so much more interaction than mine. My build was a little too raw & narrow. I blame the inner Red Mage that resides deep inside me... Just wanting to smash face!🤣

So the focus really shifted to Tron after the white weenie battle and what combination of cards to pair with Tron. The obvious choice is Robots, but I also wanted to try Guardian Beast and see what shenanigans I could get away with utilising non-creature artifacts. You also need removal so the other obvious choice was to include the blue package. Including cards like Remove Soul, Mana Drain & I really wanted to try out Transmute Artifact , also another card I have never played with before. There are no tutors in 4HM except for this search and replace effect card. So the basis of Blue, Black Tron or Summer Beast was planned! After some initial success I came unstuck against some Arabian Aggro brews that made me quickly change tact (Maybe too quickly)..

This is where I ditched the Black cards and focussed solely on Blue Tron starting with this version. 4HM_Blue Tron_v1 Oh and I do believe achievement unlocked. For those that may not be aware, Jim Rice, one of our US based 4HM community members has put in the hours (so you didn’t have too) collating all the tournament data of what cards have been played. (Now, this will technically count since it made my deck list… kinda like how Chris Barnes snuck a Leviathan in during T20… but I don’t think it’s a full “Achievement Unlocked,” because I never got to cast it… Judges may have to intervene here. Either way, I’m proud to say that Power Artifact can now come off the 4HM Cards not yet played with data!) Blue Tron produced 3 variations during the group matches leaving the door ajar for the all converted version 4. I will definitely revisit this strategy in future tourney’s.

Oh you know it's Data time again! Please Note: Data valid as of T21 Wild, Wild West Tourney

(and Jim's ability to make out cards from all the old deck pictures!)

Most played (Non Land) Main Deck card across all tourneys	Chain Lightning - Appearing 713 times
Most played (Non Land) Sideboard card across all tourneys	Active Volcano - Appearing 449 times
Top 10 (Non Land) cards across all tourneys	Chain Lightning - Appearing 713 times  Fellwar Stone - Appearing 577 times Triskelion - Appearing 427 times Erhnam Djinn - Appearing 373 times Mana Drain - Appearing 329 times Spirit Link - Appearing 303 times Serendib Efreet - Appearing 300 times Sylvan Library - Appearing 299 times Rukh Egg - Appearing 295 times Pyrotechnics - Appearing 281 times
4HM Cards not yet played in uploaded Tournament data	124 of the total 630 card pool (this excludes the banned cards & includes duel lands & basic lands). This means there are still 19.7% untried cards within the format! Which Argivian Archaeologist’s amongst us will uncover the next hidden gem of 4HM!
The Jim Rice suite of 4HM tourney data links. I highly recommend utilising this data when building your next 4HM deck! Thanks again for all your hard work Jim, you rock!	Card Stats Player Decks Unused Cards

This marked another shift in my strategy for T22 and I opted to include cards from the restricted list in my sideboard, cards like The Abyss, Nether Void, Sylvan Library, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale & City of Brass playset to help cast them. Let me introduce you to 4HM_Blue Black Green Tron_Restricted_v1. I took inspiration from previous builds from past tourney’s & added my spin on things. Again this version of Tron produced 3 variations during the group matches leaving the door ajar for yet another all converted version 4. My colleagues at work will be proud of how close I am to version 4 on two decks..😁With the current version having the restricted cards in the Main Deck. 

Although I still don’t feel as though I have a completely fool proof answer against Aggro (I feel Arabian Aggro is on the rise again!) I have had the most fun playing this variant of Tron. I have felt like I was in more games for longer, sometimes longer than I should have been due to a Desert, Transmute Artifact, Dance of Many or a well timed Hurkyl’s Recall & Dragon Engine has been the surprise packet, an absolute blast to play. "Focusing solely on an artifact based creature strategy has posed its challenges (Like the amount of artifact hate inherent to the format due to an Artifact based set making up 14% of the card pool ((Did you know that every card, except for Strip Mine, in ATQ has the word “artifact on it”)) The high number of main-decked artifact removal spells? The fact that the only instant-speed creature removal spell (that doesn’t cost 5 mana) only works on artifact creatures), especially against faster Aggro decks”. “This has led me to become more disciplined with my mulligans and ensuring I’m not too slow out of the gate”. I have learnt this the hard way more times than I’d like to admit. I really do feel there is an art to the mulligan, one I am yet to perfect. But again with so many matches on offer it really has helped me improve ever so slightly with this process. "Sideboarding is another area I have tried to get better at during T22 and I feel like I have made some headway in this aspect of my game play also". Overall a very successful Summer League & I can’t wait for what future tourney’s & special events the committee will come up with next…..

My T22 Summer League - Final Thoughts….

I have had an absolute blast playing Tron & more importantly playing cards unifamiliar to me in an environment that promoted creativity and giving things a go. I have also loved all the interaction within the community over the duration of the Summer League group matches phase. From my observation it appears to be the most active & engaged I have seen the community during my time here.

Some of the standouts (I can’t mention them all) for me have been;

• Tim Kincaid & Travis Smith getting in some in person Summer League matches

• All the cards being freed from prison like Jim Rice’s how to tutorial, but there have been many, many more freed over the last 6 weeks. It makes me all warm & fuzzy inside to know these cards may take part in future 4HM tourneys. So to the brave souls that pass the Safety Q&A’s after Jim’s how to tutorial you’re the real heroes.

• While we’re on the Jim Rice train, I have loved all the data. Keep it coming & make sure if you haven’t already go and check it out (Links above).

• The memes & jokes (John Eckleberry you have a wicked sense of humour!) my favourite being the question posted by John in the Four Horseman Players Group chat “Should the Australians play with their webcams upside down?”, quickly defended by Chris Holsonback & Jack Clegg….🤣 Great banter team!

• And let's not forget the Creator, Chadster Junior. Your passion & drive to keep growing the community is to be commended. If the matches I managed to get in over the group match phase of T22 are any indication, I don’t think this sometimes referred to as “Niche Format” can stay that “Niche” for much longer.. The gameplay just invokes everything that players want, to either reconnect with their Old School cards or players who want to try something new & give a different format a go, I can’t recommend it highly enough!

• I also hope that the launch of “Make Magic Great Again” Caps on the Etsy store drives up sales and traffic. 

My last mention & thanks goes out to all the players, new & old I connected with & battled it out with over the last 6 weeks. It’s been a blast & a special thanks & genuine appreciation to you all for allowing me to perform some R&D during the group matches stage with some Full Art Proxies I have been working on over the same timeframe as T22. This is a whole other rabbit hole I have ventured down, which I might go into further at a later date. All your feedback & encouragement has been invaluable & I look forward to putting that feedback to work over the coming months.

Oh what the heck! I thought if you have made it this far, I'd give you a sneak peak of a few of the cards I have created over the duration of Summer League..

As always may the cards be in your favour!

Cheers,

Luke

My T22 Summer League Decks

Deck Name (link)	Post Group Stage Thoughts.....
4HM_White Weenie	Strategy too narrow, not enough interaction & definitely poisoned by love of Mountains and wanting to smash face!
4HM_Summer Beast	I really liked playing Guardian Beast and then getting up to shenanigans with non-creature artifacts. Suffered against Arabian Agro builds but I will revisit this in future tourneys.
4HM_Blue Tron_v1	This really started me down the rabbit hole! As you will see by the later variations of the deck.
4HM_Blue Tron_v2	Added Brass Man to try and keep Agro strategies at bay… It still needed work…
4HM_Blue Tron_v3	Removed Deserts, increased my Island count and introduced Hurkyl's Recall for more interaction with both my opponents and my artifacts & Tawnos’s Coffin for Coffin things!
4HM_Blue Black Green Tron_Restricted_v1	This marked a big shift in strategy for T22. I sideboarded some of the more powerful restricted cards like The Abyss, Nether Void, Sylvan Library & The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale & City of Brass playset to help cast them.
4HM_Blue Black Green Tron_Restricted_v2	Moved the Restricted package to the Main Deck and included Underground Sea playset.
4HM_Blue Black Green Tron_Restricted_v3	Brought the Deserts back in place of the Brass Man after discussing the build with Chad. Also swapped out the Clockwork Avian for Dancing Scimitar. The thinking behind these moves is to slow down the Agro builds long enough for me to play Triskelion & then bounce, transmute & resurrect them! Also wanting to see if Energy Tap is of any use in this build as another way to ramp and play out artifact creatures cheaper and quicker.

Handy Links

Four Horseman Handy Links	Link
Four Horseman Rules	https://bit.ly/4HMRULES
Four Horseman Facebook Group	https://www.facebook.com/groups/fourhorsemenmtg
Four Horseman Players Group Chat	https://www.facebook.com/messages/t/4890582584378650
Four Horseman Discord	discord.gg/wyXFHtgsar
Tolaria	https://tolaria.app/events/grid
Four Horseman Tournament Data	Card Stats Player Decks Unused Cards