Jared Sherman

No Time to Waste – Brewing for Oath of the Gatewatch Standard

The spoilers are out.  All of them. The complete card list for Oath of the Gatewatch was finally released just a few days ago. A lot of cards caught my eye. A devoid, conditional [card]Rampant Growth[/card] variant looks to push the ramp decks’ abilities to get their game plan rolling faster than ever, despite putting heavy restrictions on deck building. Black gets a very solid, cheap piece of instant-speed removal, though it requires BB to cast. The Oaths themselves, legendary enchantments that represent the commitment of Nissa, Jace, Gideon, and Chandra to defend Zendikar from the Eldrazi, all look to be possible role-players in the upcoming Standard format. Despite having a tumultuous spoiler season plagued by unintended leaks (and the consequences for said leaks threatening to tear apart our community), I’m quite excited and impressed by this set.

ruinintheirwakegraspofdarknessoathofjace

 

So, why am I so impressed with Oath of the Gatewatch? This set offers a LOT to each type of player. Whether you’re a Timmy, Johnny, or Spike, you’re going to find a large number of cards you can’t wait to play with. Furthermore, this set looks to have not just a fairly high power level with some eternal format implications, but from the perspective of Standard playability, it looks like it has a fairly flat power level.  At various times in the modern history of Standard, many of the cards from Oath would be highly playable. As of late, Wizards of the Coast seems very committed to having a high level of deck diversity available in Standard, with multiple competitive options for both Timmy and Johnny, not just Spike. The reason I bring this up is I have some very serious Timmy and Johnny tendencies.  I like doing big things and I absolutely love brewing to maximize synergy and value.  That said, I like to win.  What’s of even more personal value to me than winning is brewing or tuning decks that others win with.  The ultimate accomplishment for a brewer is to create a deck that not just wins a tournament, but becomes a known part of a metagame. It’s a very difficult goal to achieve as the Magic community as a whole is very intelligent, competitive, and innovative. So, as a brewer, I have to analyze my brews through the lens of a Spike.

I know I have an affinity for Jund decks and had moderate success with them shortly after Battle for Zendikar was released.  Before the community saw the first spoilers, I was hoping there would be more support for a Jund strategy in Oath of the Gatewatch, and was the color combination in which I wanted to brew.  The first card that really caught my attention was Goblin Dark-Dwellers.

No, it’s not [card]Snapcaster Mage[/card], but I don’t care.  It’s like Snapcaster Mage.  That’s all I need.  As soon as I saw the potential for value I was hooked.  I knew I would be brewing around it.

goblindarkdwellers

 

I made a mental short list of every instant and sorcery I could see myself flashing back with it and filed it in the back of my mind, waiting for additional spoilers before writing down potential deck lists.

The next card I was impressed by was Chandra, Flamecaller.

chandraflamecaller (1)

Chandra is really interesting.  As other writers have pointed out, you almost need to look at her minus ability first.  It’s the board-impacting ability, the ability that actually helps when behind on board.  At her base level, Chandra is similar to an overloaded [card]Mizzium Mortars[/card].  That is a card worth considering in the format.  The other abilities are, in my opinion, upside.  If 4RR for a sorcery that deals 4 damage to each creature is playable, then Chandra is playable.  The fact that she can be both a potent threat on an empty board and a source of card selection and card advantage are icing.  I don’t know if Jund becomes the best shell for her, but she definitely stood out as a possible curve-topper in the right deck.

The card that almost forced me to put pen to paper was Sylvan Advocate.  Without trying to abuse its ability to pump land creatures, this card screams midrange.  Right now, the Standard format is full of cards that cost three, four, and five mana that are good rates, powerful for their respective costs, and offer some form of card advantage.  What we have been missing are powerful two-drops.  Sylvan Advocate is precisely what many decks have, in my opinion, been screaming for.  Abzan Aggro has tested [card]Snapping Gnarlid[/card], [card]Heir of the Wild[/card], and [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] in that role and none seem impressive.  I would be surprised if Sylvan Advocate is not immediately adopted to replace the other options.  When playing with Jund shells over the last few months, I’ve been frustrated by the lack of a solid green, red, or black midrange two-drop creature and have felt it was a slot that had to be filled before I considered revisiting the color combination.  Sylvan Advocate looks to be the precise card I’ve been wanting (short of a [card]Fleecemane Lion[/card] reprint with a different mana cost).

SylvanAdvocate

The other realization I came to when playing Jund is that [card]Ruinous Path[/card] has felt solidly playable, if not outright good, in this color combination.  Although it’s seen little play in Standard, it’s been very good as a late top deck and very serviceable so long as it’s not your first play of the game on turn three.  The Jund color combination also lacks a better catch-all removal spell.  What stands out to me is not only the synergy between Sylvan Advocate and awaken cards like [card]Ruinous Path[/card], but the fact that support cards that make either Sylvan Advocate or [card]Ruinous Path[/card] better generally make them both better.  The card I feel most strongly ties Goblin Dark-Dweller, Sylvan Advocate, and Ruinous Path together is [card]Map the Wastes[/card].

[deck title= Map the Wastes Jund]

[Creatures]

*2 Hangarback Walker

*2 Den Protector

*4 Sylvan Advocate

*2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer

*4 Goblin Dark-Dwellers

*1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*2 Duress

*2 Fiery Impulse

*1 Roast

*1 Grasp of Darkness

*1 Read the Bones

*3 Ruinous Path

*2 Kolaghan’s Command

*4 Map the Wastes

*2 Murderous Cut

*1 Ob Nixilis Reignited

*1 Chandra, Flamecaller

[/Spells]

[Land]

*4 Bloodstained Mire

*4 Wooded Foothills

*1 Polluted Delta

*4 Hissing Quagmire

*2 Llanowar Wastes

*2 Swamp

*1 Mountain

*3 Forest

*3 Smoldering Marsh

*1 Cinder Glade

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*3 Transgress the Mind

*1 Outpost Siege

*3 Pitiless Horde

*2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

*2 Ultimate Price

*1 Dark Petition

*1 Infinite Obliteration

*1 Virulent Plague

*1 Tainted Remedy

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

 

kalitastraitorofghethissingquagmire

This deck may be a little too linear, a little “too cute”, but it’s built to take advantage of a moderate amount of ramp in the form of [card]Map the Wastes[/card] with creatures that work well with +1/+1 counters.  By ramping your land drops, you’re able to speed up the process of growing Sylvan Advocate, awakening with [card]Ruinous Path[/card], and generating more resources than your opponent.  Goblin Dark-Dwellers has a host of removal spells to flash back when it isn’t allowing you to replay disruptive spells like [card]Duress[/card] in the main or [card]Transgress the Mind[/card] out of the sideboard. The Dark-Dwellers is also able to flash back [card]Map the Wastes[/card] to potentially grow to be bigger than [card]Siege Rhino[/card] or just continue to ramp towards powerful cards like Chandra, Flamecaller.

The sideboard is a rough draft.  I haven’t established a predicted metagame or built a gauntlet.  I have not proxied this list and started testing to see how many cards are actively bad in each match-up.  What I do have is a number of silver bullets for 4C Rally decks (in light of its recent success).  Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet plays the [card]Anafenza, the Foremost[/card] role and the combination of [card]Dark Petition[/card] with [card]Infinite Obliteration[/card] and [card]Tainted Remedy[/card] work as ways to stop [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card] in its tracks.  [card]Transgress the Mind[/card] is very powerful against midrange and control decks, its power level increased substantially when combined with Goblin Dark-Dwellers.  Stealing a page out of Logan Mize’s playbook, I am relying on [card]Pitiless Horde[/card] to provide a very substantial clock to attack control and Eldrazi ramp decks alike.  [card]Outpost Siege[/card] is a great mirror-breaker in the midrange, attrition match-ups. The match-up that has the fewest dedicated sideboard slots allocated for it is Atarka Red.  Relying only on a pair of [card]Ultimate Price[/card], and, to a lesser extent, Kalitas, only makes so much of an impact.  After testing, I may conclude that the match-up requires more interaction, but Sylvan Advocate appears to be somewhat of an ideal two-drop against red.

There are a lot of other intriguing cards in the set, but the aforementioned Jund list seemed to build itself in my head.  The other, perhaps flashier, cards in the set include a new wave of Eldrazi.

realitysmasherthoughtknotseermatterreshaper

Reality Smasher is the card that speaks to me most. Thundermaw Eldrazi (ish). What we have here is a very aggressive, efficient beatdown creature that generates value if your opponent chooses to target with a removal spell. Your opponent should, in most cases, swallow their medicine and choose to remove it. I’ve heard more talk of this card and the potential to cheat it’s mana cost with [card]Eldrazi Temple[/card] and [card]Eye of Ugin[/card] in Modern, but I believe it will also have an impact in Standard.

Similar to Reality Smasher, Thought-Knot Seer is also surrounded by lots of Modern hype. It’s an efficient creature, if not the most impressive rate. It’s been described my many as a “delayed [card]Vendilion Clique[/card].” It’s disruptive, provides immediate value, and is a card that will see play if the right shell emerges. Thought-Knot Seer can also be utilized as another enabler for the Eldrazi processors, which did not receive much help in Oath of the Gatewatch.

Matter Reshaper is somewhat less powerful than the preceding cards, but is still a noteworthy value creature. It’s been pointed out that it’s a solid [card]Collected Company[/card] target, and looks to be a reasonable curve-filler.

In the upcoming Standard format, I see a potential divergence occurring.  The GR Eldrazi ramp decks will most likely continue to focus on playing out [card]Ugin, the Spirit Dragon[/card], [card]Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger[/card]. and potentially Kozilek, the Great Distortion.  With the addition of Kozilek’s Return, it seems like flex spots will be few an far between, leaving little or no room for some of these midrange Eldrazi threats.

kozilekthegreatdistortionkozileksreturn

I do see the midrange Eldrazi showing up in decks containing Khans of Tarkir wedge colors.  Each wedge has access to two playsets of painlands, becoming pseudo tri-colored lands in terms of casting Eldrazi with colorless casting cost requirements.  Each wedge seems to offer pros and khans, i mean cons, as far as support goes.  My initial inclination is to explore Mardu Eldrazi.

[deck title= Mardudrazi]

[Creatures]

*4 Forerunner of Slaughter

*4 Eldrazi Mimic

*2 Eldrazi Obligator

*2 Matter Reshaper

*3 Wasteland Strangler

*4 Thought-Knot Seer

*4 Reality Smasher

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*2 Fiery Impulse

*3 Silkwrap

*2 Transgress the Mind

*1 Kolaghan’s Command

*3 Stasis Snare

*1 Murderous Cut

[/Spells]

[Land]

*4 Caves of Koilos

*4 Battlefield Forge

*4 Nomad Outpost

*4 Shambling Vent

*2 Evolving Wilds

*1 Mountain

*2 Swamp

*2 Plains

*1 Wastes

*1 Sea Gate Wreckage

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*2 Bearer of Silence

*3 Arashin Cleric

*2 Radiant Flames

*1 Surge of Righteousness

*2 Transgress the Mind

*3 Hallowed Moonlight

*Painful Truths

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

bearerofsilence (1)eldrazimimiceldraziobligator

I’m not entirely sure this list is optimized or even quite quick enough with its manabase. Despite that, many of the Eldrazi are reasonably priced and create either value or tempo. If it gets off to a fast start, this deck has the tools necessary to stay ahead. Ahead on board, ahead on resources, ahead in general. Curving [card]Transgress the Mind[/card] into [card]Wasteland Strangler[/card] was a successful combination for Craig Wescoe at GP Indianapolis a few months ago. When you’re able to follow that up with Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher, it should be a curve that lines up well with most of the midrange decks that are currently dominating the Standard format.

This is but one of many options for creating a wedge-colored Eldrazi midrange deck.  Temur and Abzan also offer their own advantages, but Mardu seems well-equipped in terms of diversity of threats and enablers for playing with Eldrazi processors. I’d love to see your take on midrange Eldrazi lists including what will most likely be my favorite creatures in the set: Reality Smasher and Thought-Knot Seer.

Gruul Blitz – The Most Underrated Deck in Modern

First off, a belated happy holidays and a happy New Year to everyone!  As I mentioned in my previous article about the Modern ban list, I have spent the limited amount of time I’ve had to enjoy Magic: The Gathering testing different brews in Modern.  Lately I’ve been going off the deep end trying to make [card]Death’s Shadow[/card] work in Grixis Delver, have tried [card]Knight of the Reliquary[/card] + [card]Life From the Loam[/card] shells with [card]Ghost Quarter[/card], and have made every terrible Sultai midrange build possible.  What I keep coming back to, especially when I need to recoup lost player points on MTGO, is Gruul Blitz.  This style of deck is also known as “Little Zoo”  or “Green/Red Aggro”, but I feel Gruul Blitz best encompasses the feeling you get when stampeding over your opponent before they’re able to establish any sort of meaningful advantage.  Right now, there’s a very wide spectrum of playable red-based Naya strategies in the format.

The most commonly played Naya build is the much maligned burn deck.

[deck title= Naya Burn by Jasper Johnson-Epstein Top 8 GP Oklahoma City]

[Creatures]

*4 Goblin Guide

*2 Grim Lavamancer

*1 Vexing Devil

*4 Monastery Swiftspear

*4 Eidolon of the Great Revel

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Lightning Bolt

*4 Lava Spike

*4 Rift Bolt

*1 Shard Volley

*4 Atarka’s Command

*4 Boros Charm

*2 Searing Blaze

*2 Skullcrack

[/Spells]

[Land]

*2 Arid Mesa

*3 Bloodstained Mire

*1 Copperline Gorge

*4 Sacred Foundry

*3 Scalding Tarn

*2 Snow-Covered Mountain

*2 Stomping Ground

*3 Wooded Foothills

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*2 Searing Blaze

*1 Skullcrack

*3 Kor Firewalker

*1 Electrickery

*1 Grafdigger’s Cage

*1 Path to Exile

*2 Rending Volley

*1 Deflecting Palm

*3 Destructive Revelry

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

Here’s a pretty straightforward, powerful version of the Naya burn deck.  It’s consistent, fast, and has several match-ups that are almost guaranteed wins in the format.  Despite its strengths, it is, in my opinion, one of the easier decks to hate out in the format.  When playing bigger Naya zoo decks or Abzan lists, every time I’ve resolved a [card]Kor Firewalker[/card], I’ve gone on to win the game.  Cards like [card]Kitchen Finks[/card] and [card]Voice of Resurgence[/card] put the burn list at a tremendous disadvantage.  When Jund can [card]Inquisition of Kozilek[/card] to see if the coast is clear to [card]Feed the Clan[/card], the burn deck has basically just been 3-for-1’d.

As a way to combat the card disadvantage a more streamlined burn list faces, many players started adding more threats.  Most coverage commentators refer to the creatures in the lists as the “sources of renewable or consistent damage” as opposed to spells that simply trade for an opponent’s life points.  The most widely adopted threat has been [card]Wild Nacatl[/card] to quickly eat three, six, or even nine life from the opponent.  The following list is an example that 5-0’d a Modern event recently:

[deck title= Naya Burn by STREJDA]

[Creatures]

*4 Goblin Guide

*4 Kird Ape

*4 Monastery Swiftspear

*4 Wild Nacatl

*2 Grim Lavamancer

*4 Eidolon of the Great Revel

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Lightning Bolt

*2 Mutagenic Growth

*4 Atarka’s Command

*4 Boros Charm

*2 Lightning Helix

*2 Searing Blaze

[/Spells]

[Land]

*2 Arid Mesa

*4 Bloodstained Mire

*1 Mountain

*3 Sacred Foundry

*3 Stomping Ground

*3 Windswept Heath

*4 Wooded Foothills

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*2 Lightning Helix

*2 Ancient Grudge

*4 Destructive Revelry

*4 Path to Exile

*2 Rending Volley

*1 Skullcrack

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

On Christmas day, a highly refined list was posted by Brian Demars on ChannelFireball that eschews the widely adopted inclusion of [card]Eidolon of the Great Revel[/card]

[deck title= Burning Zoo by Brian Demars]

[Creatures]

*4 Kird Ape

*4 Wild Nacatl

*4 Goblin Guide

*4 Monastery Swiftspear

*2 Grim Lavamancer

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Lightning Bolt

*4 Lava Spike

*4 Rift Bolt

*4 Boros Charm

*3 Searing Blaze

*4 Atarka’s Command

[/Spells]

[Land]

*2 Mountain

*2 Sacred Foundry

*2 Stomping Ground

*4 Bloodstained Mire

*4 Wooded Foothills

*4 Scalding Tarn

*1 Arid Mesa

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*4 Skullcrack

*2 Path to Exile

*2 Rending Volley

*4 Destructive Revelry

*2 Ancient Grudge

*1 Searing Blaze

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

The iterations of burn decks that were widely popular a few months ago have slowly begun to adopt more creatures, looking to deploy multiple threats as early as possible. Many of the creatures dodge [card]Pyroclasm[/card] by having three toughness and these decks have the capability to kill an opponent before he or she is able to cast a four mana sweeper.

I’ve been a big proponent of pushing the creature blitz strategy even further, cutting sacred cows like [card]Monastery Swiftspear[/card] and [card]Grim Lavamancer[/card] completely.  Currently, [card]Anger of the Gods[/card], probably the best card against a deck that looks to empty the vast majority of its hand by turn two or three, is seeing very little play right now.  There are sufficient playable cheap threats available to Gruul and so few ways to combat them.  Creatures also dodge a lot of the interactive cards that decks like Grixis Control, Abzan, and Jund looks to employ against a more spell-heavy version of Naya.  [card]Dispel[/card], [card]Duress[/card],  and [card]Feed the Clan[/card] are all either very narrow or have limited effectiveness against an all-out creature rush.

[deck title= Gruul Blitz]

[Creatures]

*4 Experiment One

*4 Kird Ape

*4 Wild Nacatl

*4 Goblin Guide

*2 Vexing Devil

*2 Flinthoof Boar

*4 Burning-Tree Emissary

*3 Tarmogoyf

*2 Ghor-Clan Rampager

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Lightning Bolt

*3 Path to Exile

*4 Atarka’s Command

*1 Searing Blaze

*1 Domri Rade

[/Spells]

[Land]

*4 Wooded Foothills

*4 Windswept Heath

*3 Arid Mesa

*3 Stomping Ground

*1 Temple Garden

*1 Sacred Foundry

*1 Forest

*1 Mountain

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*3 Kor Firewalker

*1 Plains

*1 Lightning Helix

*2 Ancient Grudge

*1 Stony Silence

*1 Kataki, War’s Wage

*2 Destructive Revelry

*2 Rending Volley

*1 Gruul Charm

*1 Pillar of Flame

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

Several of the creatures are not format staples and should be discussed.

[card]Experiment One[/card]:  This is the ideal one-drop for the “nut draw” and obviously is what should be played on turn one for ideal sequencing.  In this list, there are multiple ways to push Experiment One to become a 4/4, making it the best rate for size in the deck.  It’s also very comparable to [card]Wild Nacatl[/card] as it attacks fairly consistently for three on turn two.  Experiment One led me down a path of building this deck to optimize everybody’s favorite human ooze.  I didn’t want any creatures that would fail to evolve it, so it was a big reason for cutting [card]Grim Lavamancer[/card].

[card]Vexing Devil[/card]:  I’m typically not a fan of this card.  Allowing your opponent to choose whether it is sacrificed or not is generally pretty bad, though its synergistic reasons for inclusion outweigh its potential drawbacks.  First of all, whether your opponent chooses to allow the devil to live or not is irrelevant in terms of evolving [card]Experiment One[/card] and is one of the few ways to actually allow it to evolve to a 4/4.  Secondly, the damage rate on Vexing Devil (as most frequently, your opponent chooses to have it sacrificed) is amazing for the one mana investment.  Finally, with the inclusion of [card]Domri Rade[/card] as the one way to build card advantage in a prolonged game, the fact that Vexing Devil is a creature helps to keep that count very high.  During the course of the game, you’ll be fetching lands and will generally have at least a fifty percent chance of flipping a creature with Domri’s +1.

[card]Burning-Tree Emissary[/card]:  This is the highest variance card in the deck (as it’s usually one of the worst topdecks if the game runs long), but is the best card to include when you want to maximize your chance of having a turn three kill.  Playing a turn one Experiment One, turn two Burning-Tree Emissary into a [card]Kird Ape[/card] and [/card]Wild Nacatl[/card], and a turn three [card]Atarka’s Command[/card] will kill your opponent and nearly all of the one-drops in the deck are interchangeable so long as you have the Atarka’s Command, the Burning-Tree Emissary, and enough one-drops.

*On a side note, be wary of playing Burning-Tree Emissary into an untapped blue source on turn two.  One of the easiest ways to lose a tremendous amount of tempo and potentially the game is running Burning-Tree Emissary into a [card]Spell Snare[/card].  In those situations, I generally opt to play two one-drops on turn two and pressure the opponent into dealing with that board state and opening up the opportunity for another big tempo push with Burning-Tree Emissary into a [card]Tarmogoyf[/card] or [card]Flinthoof Boar[/card].

[card]Flinthoof Boar[/card]:  This pig is just big and fast enough to earn its keep.  Having the activated ability to give it haste allows this card to win when there’s a board stall or if both players are in topdeck mode.

[card]Tarmogoyf[/card]:  Potentially the biggest single threat in the deck, though it is somewhat clunky and is generally a 3/4 until turn four or five.  By no means is Goyf needed to make this deck competitive, but it does edge out its competition to earn its place in what I would consider the optimal build.  Goyf is also generally the best topdeck in an attrition war.

**If your budget does not allow for Tarmogoyf, substitute either two [card]Flinthoof Boar[/card] and a [card]Ghor-Clan Rampager[/card] or one [card]Vexing Devil[/card], one boar, and one Ghor-Clan Rampager.  Goyf is only a modest upgrade from the testing I’ve done.

[card]Ghor-Clan Rampager[/card]:  The Rampager really shines in this list.  The number of threats this deck spits out at the speed that it does forces your opponent’s hand.  This deck has such a speed advantage (even on the draw), that you can force your opponent to use his or her instant-speed removal before committing to Bloodrush.  Ghor-Clan Rampager is great as a topdeck, is a great combat trick that can be flipped with Domri, and is another way to continue evolving an Experiment One past being a 3/3.

So, what are some reasons to play this list?  It’s one of the most proactive decks in Modern, which is definitely a good thing.  I remember one day this last summer when I was watching Michael Jacobs streaming Jund in a Modern event on MTGO.  He was discussing various cards and strategies that the chat, myself included, were asking him about.  At one point he said “Stop talking about strategies that win on turn six or seven.  Modern is all about having a strong game plan and winning as quickly as possible.”  That stuck with me.  Despite a few rare exceptions, like Lantern Control, it’s been a perspective on the format I’ve adopted as well. You need to be fast.  You want to win quickly.  And this deck is among the fastest in the format.

GR ZooT3Kill

GruulBlitzT3vBeldrazi2

As I mentioned before, much of the hate that targets burn decks is far less effective against this list.  One observation that reaffirms my passion about this list is its threat density and the fact that its threats are just the right size to avoid being two- or three-for-one’d.  Historically, most all-out, pure aggressive strategies that aren’t able to win by turn four or five see their expected win percentage tank drastically by each passing turn.  This deck feels as though it strikes a beautiful balance of having strong removal, just enough reach, and such a massive number of threats that it can easily win a twelve turn game.  It’s very hard for many of the highly competitive decks in the format to truly stabilize against this strategy and turn the corner.

If you’re new to the Modern format, this is a list highly recommend.  It teaches good fetch sequencing, hones your ability to make mulligan decisions and rewards you for making good choices in that regard.  Gruul Blitz affords you the luxury of not needing to play around many of your opponent’s cards, but rewards you immensely when you recognize when it’s advantageous to do so.

As far as the sideboard goes, most of it is pretty standard, though there are exceptions.  There’s the typical Affinity hate in the form of  [card]Destructive Revelry[/card], [card]Ancient Grudge[/card], [card]Kataki, War’s Wage[/card], and [card]Stony Silence[/card], as well as a hidden gem I’ll discuss a bit later.  I like having a broad mix of hate in the match-up, as playing a [card]Kataki, War’s Wage[/card] and then casting a [card]Ancient Grudge[/card] after your opponent has paid the upkeep cost on his or her artifacts is back-breaking.  Since this deck relies on playing so many threats itself, drawing multiple [card]Stony Silence[/card] is pretty abysmal and is an easy way to allow your opponent to turn the game around.

Many sideboard cards for Affinity are also brought in against Tron.  For that match-up, I tend to sideboard minimally and only look to add 1-2 [card]Destructive Revelry[/card] and the single [card]Stony Silence[/card].  This deck is incredibly fast and [card]Pyroclasm[/card] only kills a few threats out of this list, so it’s a favorable match-up.

For the Splinter Twin match-up, you have the ubiquitous [card]Rending Volley[/card].  Having three [card]Path to Exile[/card] maindeck along with these bullets solidifies the removal base for the format’s most widely played combo deck.

Burn will always be a race for a strategy like this, and a race I hope to win.  During a recent StarCityGames Modern event, I saw a deck tech with Steven Long (whose list, along with other similar decks, was my jumping off point for testing and honing this final 75) and he had an interesting plan for the match-up.  [card]Kor Firewalker[/card] is my favorite tool against burn and apparently it’s Long’s as well.  He also added a Plains to the sideboard to reduce the damage taken to fetch double white mana (and increase the total number of white sources in the deck) to pay for the Firewalker.  I’ve also adopted his choice to play the singleton [card]Lightning Helix[/card] out of the sideboard for that match-up.

The last match-up, and potentially worst match-up, for this deck that I’ve allocated sideboard slots for is Abzan.  [card]Kitchen Finks[/card], [card]Siege Rhino[/card], and when it’s played, [card]Voice of Resurgence[/card] are very difficult to beat.  [card]Pillar of Flame[/card] is not the highest impact card in the sideboard, but it does offer a cheap way to deal with Finks and Voice.  [card]Gruul Charm[/card] is incredible against Abzan.  It can sweep away [card]Lingering Souls[/card] spirits or it can be a [card]Falter[/card], letting you bypass their powerful creatures.  I’ve also found [card]Gruul Charm[/card] to be a great way to combat the nexuses out of Affinity and Infect, and another answer to [card]Vault Skirge[/card] with an attached [card]Cranial Plating[/card].  I wish the third mode on Gruul Charm was relevant in the format, but the other two modes have been great in the right match-ups.

There are several other cards that could be added based on an expected meta.  [card]Electrickery[/card] is another great choice for dealing with [card]Lingering Souls[/card] and is also powerful against [card]Timely Reinforcements[/card].  It also has applications against Infect and Affinity.  Additional copies of [card]Searing Blaze[/card] is great if you anticipate smaller creature strategies.  If the new Green/Black Infect deck continues to rise in popularity and replaces the Blue/Green Infect list in the metagame, some number of [card]Dismember[/card] may be necessary to deal with [card]Phyrexian Crusader[/card].

I wanted to look at another possible addition to the deck; Reckless Bushwhacker. This freshly spoiled beauty from the upcoming Oath of the Gatewatch looks like it could be incredibly powerful in this shell. After goldfishing with it, it creates several new opportunities for turn three kills when combined with [card]Burning-Tree Emissary[/card]. Whether or not it earns its keep in the deck after testing is still to be seen, but I can’t wait to test it out!”

There could easily be meta shifts that are less hospitable to a deck like this.  Until that time, I’ll happily continue to grind Battle for Zendikar packs on MTGO to fund my next trainwreck of a Modern brew.  If you have any questions about the list or want to discuss the Modern format in general, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.  I hope everyone has a great to start to the new year!

To Ban or Unban?

It has been a while since I’ve contributed to the site and I’ve missed writing, missed seeing your comments, missed feeling like I’ve contributed to the community that I so enjoy being a part of.  Due to some personal commitments, I haven’t been as active a participant in the current Standard season, though I have been keeping up with weekly Magic: The Gathering news over the course of this fall.  When I have had a chance to play, I’ve been testing and brewing in Modern.  I’m sure I’m not alone in investing countless hours trying to find a hidden gem in the format.  I will say that, despite not being quite competitive enough, Bant Delver with [card]Tarmogoyf[/card], [card]Monastery Mentor[/card], and [card]Ojutai’s Command[/card] was an absolute blast to work on (hopefully we get another Modern-playable white removal spell at some point).

For the last couple of weeks, our community has been abuzz about the upcoming year’s Grand Prix promotional card selection, [card]Stoneforge Mystic[/card], and whether or not it’s foreshadowing some changes to the Modern banned and restricted list.  Many writers whose content I read and whose opinions I respect have weighed in on what they believe could or should be banned or unbanned.  I wanted to convey my own thoughts on what changes could or should be made and why.

To start off, let’s address the elephants in the room.  The egregious violators of the “Turn 4” decree, the combo decks that you “can’t interact with.”  Amulet Bloom and Grishoalbrand.  While it is true that both decks are difficult to interact with and each have their own forms of resilience (despite reasonable fail rates), neither are oppressive in the current Modern metagame.  They don’t REQUIRE changes in order to maintain a healthy format.  That said, both decks do play very differently than the other combo decks in Modern.  They feel as though they don’t belong, as though they should be relegated to some nonexistant purgatory, an ethereal format hovering somewhere between Modern and Legacy.  There’s a reason for that feeling, for that sickening dread that befalls you when Borborygmos starts flinging [card]Temple of Malice[/card]s at you after watching your opponent goldfish for ten minutes on his or her second turn.  There’s a reason why you shake in anger, becoming a Dragon Ball Z-esque personification of all things tilt when your opponent plays his or her THIRD (insert expletives here) [card]Primeval Titan[/card] on turn two while you’re literally crushing your Japanese foil [card]Abrupt Decay[/card] in your helpless little, white-knuckled hand.  There is a spirit to the Modern format.  There is a feel for what is and is not allowable, or acceptable, in the format.  As I said, neither of these decks have to be addressed.  But should they be addressed?  I believe they should.

So, what do we drop the almighty banhammer on?  Most writers have proposed that the cards that are most likely to be banned from Modern are [card]Summer Bloom[/card] and [card]Goryo’s Vengeance[/card].  This, in my opnion, would be a travesty.  First of all, [card]Summer Bloom[/card] is, in terms of mana acceleration, the more problematic and bigger offender than its partner-in-crime, [card]Amulet of Vigor[/card].  It’s the obvious choice to ban.  However, what [card]Amulet of Vigor[/card] fails to provide in terms of acceleration, it more than makes up for in terms of momentum.  Both of these cards work in tandem to do broken things, but once that first Titan hits the battlefield, [card]Amulet of Vigor[/card] creates a ridiculous snowball effect, allowing the pilot to grab an untapped [card]Boros Garrison[/card] and [card]Slayers’ Stronghold[/card] to do the hasty Titan thing, which allows the pilot to attack with the Titan, which the let’s the pilot search out a [card]Tolaria West[/card] and a bounce land to. . . wait for it. . . bounce said [card]Tolaria West[/card] to Transmute for. . . Blah blah blah.  A lot of shit happens when you cast [card]Primeval Titan[/card] with an [card]Amulet of Vigor[/card] out.  We can leave it at that.  The [card]Summer Bloom[/card] makes a whole series of unfair plays happen earlier, whereas [card]Amulet of Vigor[/card] allows all of these unfair plays to happen and then keep happening.  When I present this observation to other players, the most frequent argument I get is “Amulet Bloom can still [card]Simian Spirit Guide[/card] into [card]Summer Bloom[/card] and win with [card]Hive Mind[/card] on turn two.”  BOOM.  EUREKA.  We found the feelings offender.  We’ve identified the One-Who-Breaks-the-Spirit-of-Modern. Now, let’s pause this Amulet Bloom conversation where we are (as an incomplete, somewhat rambling paragraph that almost went somewhere) and look at Grishoalbrand.

Grishoalbrand is so sweet about half the time you pilot it.  Nothing feels better than spending two minutes trying to figure out if you can keep an insane abomination of a hand, figuring you have a way better chance with it than mulliganing to five cards, and then spending fifteen or so minutes playing perfectly and triumphantly chucking trees at people by the end of your second turn.  The reason it feels sweet is because the deck is really sweet.  You do fail… A LOT,  but working your way through the shoaling and splicing and looting to victory feels great.  You work really hard and make a lot of decisions to win games faster than you’re supposed to be able to in Modern.  That said, your opponent has probably spent the last ten minutes wondering if her or she will get to fetch a third land.  And then if a third land means anything.  If anything means anything.

Do I even matter?  You hear that Grishoalbrand players?  Your deck causes people to have existential meltdowns during your second turn.  All joking aside, the sweetness of the deck comes from playing really cool cards that should absolutely not be banned in Modern.  [card]Goryo’s Vengeance[/card] is awesome and, in every deck OTHER than Grishoalbrand, it’s a cool tool that can generate value and does some pretty sweet things.  [card]Nourishing Shoal[/card] + [card]Worldspine Wurm[/card] + [card]Through the Breach[/card] absolutely should be a thing in Modern.  What I absolutely do not think should be a thing is [card]Simian Spirit Guide[/card]. Being able to start off a [card]Desperate Ritual[/card] chain with no prior mana floating violates this “spirit of Modern” I’ve proposed.  [card]Simian Spirit Guide[/card] is unique, it’s the only free, mana source-speed way to create mana in the format.  At the steep cost of a card, you don’t just bypass one turn’s worth of mana development.  You negate your opponent’s chance to interact, to play a second land to [card]Remand[/card] that [card]Through the Breach[/card], to [card]Thoughtseize[/card] that [card]Hive Mind[/card] because your opponent’s [card]Inquisition of Kozilek[/card] revealed two [card]Summer Bloom[/card]s.  You, Players-of-[card]Simian Spirit Guide[/card] violate what we, the Other Players of the Format Modern, know to be just, what we know to be fair (or at least acceptably unfair).

Okay, so the last couple of paragraphs were fairly hyperbolic, but what I wanted to express is that feeling of helplessness players experience when they do lose to either Amulet Bloom or Grishoalbrand.  I wanted to try to capture why it has become almost assumed that there will be a DCI intervention concerning at least one of these decks before the next Pro Tour.  What I don’t want to see happen are bannings that are only intended to handicap these decks.  I wanted to uncover why these decks work the way the do, identify the series of plays that cause these intense feel-bad moments, and find the precise culprits that truly feel like they violate the spirit of Modern.  I would be absolutely heartbroken to see [card]Goryo’s Vengeance[/card] leave the format.  Michael Majors and Jeff Hoogland both did a lot of great work with this card independently.  They both built and honed decks around [card]Goryo’s Vengeance[/card] to generate value, to gain notable advantages in advancing their game plan.  But neither of them tried to win with it on turn two.  Nobody plays [card]Simian Spirit Guide[/card] without aggressively trying to narrow his or her opponents’ opportunity to play an interactive game.  It feels like a Legacy card, or at least supports the kind of strategies that are deemed appropriate for that format.  I also think that without [card]Simian Spirit Guide[/card] and [card]Amulet of Vigor[/card], Titan Bloom could still be a shell that’s competitive, but would then have to interact with its opponents rather than let [card]Amulet of Vigor[/card], in conjunction with [card]Primeval Titan[/card], bury its opponent in card and tempo advantage.  [card]Summer Bloom[/card] and [card]Primeval Titan[/card] should be allowed to be played together.

Now let’s change gears to the fun stuff.  New toys! The idea of seeing some unbannings makes me feel like a six year old on Christmas Eve.  Let’s get the obvious out of the way: there are reasonable, logical objections to removing any card from the Modern banned list.  The amount of excitement and anticipation created by the announcement of the Grand Prix promo [card]Stoneforge Mystic[/card] has been tremendous. However, I would not fault the DCI for choosing only to add to the ban list or make no changes prior to Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch.  With all of that said, I think many of the cards on said list could be removed based on their power level and the power level of the Modern format.  I want to look at some candidates I think could be unbanned, but what I will not do is take all factors for the health of the format into account, like the chance of a card becoming ubiquitous, average game length issues, etc.

[card]Sword of the Meek[/card] – I’m just going to defer to all other articles about the upcoming ban list announcement.  The consensus seems to be that this card should be unbanned.

[card]Stoneforge Mystic[/card] – I don’t believe this card is too powerful for the Modern format.  It does infringe on future equipment design space, but I think [card]Umezawa’s Jitte[/card] and [card]Skullclamp[/card] already ensured that Wizards R&D would give equipment a second look before getting the nod.  Turn three [card]Batterskull[/card] is good but easy to interact with.  If casting [card]Tasigur, the Golden Fang[/card] on turn two has not been oppressive, I don’t think [card]Batterskull[/card] will be.

[card]Bloodbraid Elf[/card] – This card probably never should have been banned, but I understand the DCI’s hesitation at unbanning it.  Cascade is an incredibly powerful ability and borders on being inherently unfair.  With that in mind, we are still talking about a ban list for an eternal format.  We should expect almost every card that doesn’t contribute to a game-ending combo or blisteringly fast aggressive strategy to have a significant payoff.

[card]Jace, the Mind Sculptor[/card] – Jace is a really hard card to consider allowing back in the format.  He’s undeniably powerful and introduces a [card]Brainstorm[/card] effect into Modern.  Four mana is a hefty cost though, and [card]Lightning Bolt[/card] is one of the most dominant cards in the format.  Overall, he would warp the format but I don’t think he would end up dominating it.  Based on the casting cost and the overall pace of the format, I think [card]Jace, the Mind Sculptor[/card] could be unbanned.

As a final note, the last card I want to briefly touch on is [card]Blood Moon[/card].  There is a very vocal portion of the Modern player base that despises this card.  I would not count myself among them (though I definitely wouldn’t consider myself a fan of the card), but their calls for a banning based on the notable percentage of noninteractive games that occur once [card]Blood Moon[/card] has resolved is at least worth noting.  [card]Blood Moon[/card] and [card]Choke[/card] are relics of a different era in Magic.  Land destruction, mana denial, and prison-strategy enablers have been phased out of R&D’s design based on the feedback of players and what they consider to be enjoyable gaming experiences.  That said, [card]Blood Moon[/card] does require that the vast majority of decks must have a broad enough sideboard to deal with it and, perhaps in the eyes of the DCI, there should be constraints on the manabases players choose to play with.

Magic Online Standard – Down with Atarka Red!

Last weekend, with the StarCityGames Open at Indianapolis, we saw our first glimpse into what the new Standard format looks like.  There were a lot of really interesting decks that performed well and we saw some card choices I hadn’t anticipated.  I thought Brian DeMars did an incredible job of tuning his Atarka Red list and it’s the deck I could never in a million years think about being ill-prepared for when Battle for Zendikar cards are available on Magic Online.  Quite a few articles released during the week that preceded the event were starting to write the deck off because of the lack of good burn options.  However, DeMars found the reach he needed in [card]Titan’s Strength[/card], [card]Temur Battle Rage[/card], and [card]Become Immense[/card].  [card]Arashin Cleric[/card]s collapsed in vain, unable to save their Abzan pilots from the ridiculous 15-20 points of damage they were dealt in a single combat step.  I play Magic: the Gathering online exclusively.  I don’t have a paper collection, so I have to be ready to weather the storm.  This deck will be everywhere online.  Droves of angry spikes are going to be spamming every bot to get their hands on [card]Cinder Glade[/card]s and submit their, in the words of Shaheen Soorani, knucklehead [Atarka] red decks for 8-man queues.  So, how do we beat it?

It’s easy to say that red always wins week one of a new Standard format and that it’s easy to hate it out of a metagame.  This new list feels different, more explosive and potentially more resilient.  It only needs one threat and the right mix of combat tricks to deal 20 points of damage.  I don’t like [card]Arashin Cleric[/card] AT ALL in the face of a 9/10, double striking, trampling [card]Monastery Swiftpear[/card].  I want an instant speed answer that 3-for-1s my opponent.  These are some of the tools I’m most interested in exploring for the Magic Online Standard metagame.

archangeloftitheskolaghanscommandsurgeofrighteousness

Now, I’m not necessarily saying to throw them all into one deck.  But I think that [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card] is incredible against Atarka Red.  I’ve covered the reasons why in my first article, but let’s review just why this card is so good against red decks.  First of all, it doesn’t die to [card]Roast[/card] or any of their other removal spells.  Second, Atarka Red requires mana to execute its gameplan.  Prowess requires casting additional spells to increase the damage output of [card]Monastery Swiftspear[/card] and [card]Abbot of Keral Keep[/card].  Dash is a powerful mechanic that really pushes tempo to allow Atarka Red to force additional damage points through, but again, it requires a mana investment every turn or the Atarka Red player has to take a turn off attacking to simply cast the creature.  The combat tricks that Atarka Red relies on, though cheap, are most effective when used in unison.  Having the mana to cast them AND being able to pay for the angel’s tithe is not frequently feasible.  It’s very hard for DeMars’s tournament-winning list to win once an Archangel of Tithes has resolved.  In the previous Standard format, [card]Stoke the Flames[/card] and [card]Exquisite Firecraft[/card] allowed the red decks to at least burn out mono white if the red player was able to get in early damage and then procede to topdeck enough burn spells to close out the game.  Those burn spells have either rotated or are not making the cut.  The downside to Archangel of Tithes, of course, is that it costs 4 mana and is a key card against a deck that can kill on. . . you guessed it! Turn 4.  That said, the shell Archangel fits in is the fairly aggressive mono white deck designed by Justin Heilig at the end of the last Standard season.  With 6 one-drops and a fairly low, interactive curve, it should reliably get to turn four with a healthy life total.

[card]Surge of Righteousness[/card] seems criminally underplayed right now.  Outside of just being a great way to intervene in your potential demise when your opponent casts a [card]Become Immense[/card] on an [card]Abbot of Keral Keep[/card], Surge can also kill [card]Mantis Rider[/card], [card]Siege Rhino[/card], [card]Anafenza, the Foremost[/card]. [card]Drana, Liberator of Malakir[/card], [card]Savage Knuckleblade[/card], [card]Dragonlord Atarka[/card], [card]Thunderbreak Regent[/card] and MANY more.  The more I play with this card, the closer and closer it gets to being considered for maindeck inclusion.

 

[deck title=Monowhite]

[Creatures]

*4 Dragon Hunter

*2 Kytheon, Hero of Akros

*4 Knight of the White Orchid

*4 Consul’s Lieutenant

*2 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit

*3 Hangarback Walker

*4 Archangel of Tithes

*3 Wingmate Roc

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*2 Silkwrap

*4 Stasis Snare

*3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

[/Spells]

[Land]

*2 Foundry of the Consuls

*3 Sandstone Bridge

*20 Plains

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*3 Surge of Righteousness

*2 Planar Outburst

*2 Felidar Cub

*2 Radiant Purge

*1 Quarantine Field

*3 Mastery of the Unseen

*1 Valorous Stance

*1 Emeria Shepherd

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

This deck has changed a bit since the previous Standard format.  [card]Mastery of the Unseen[/card] just isn’t as good as it was in the dark, so it’s relegated to the sideboard.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s the most powerful card in the sideboard.  Justin and I once joked about whether it was right or wrong to keep six lands and a Mastery on the play against Esper Dragons and we actually think it’s correct to do so.  Let’s go over some of the other changes/additions.

Dragon Hunter:  Basically as close a replacement to [card]Soldier of the Pantheon[/card] as you can get.  It has a relevant protection ability, allowing it to attack past or hold off either [card]Dragonlord Ojutai[/card] or [card]Thunderbreak Regent[/card].

Consul’s Lieutenant:  This card has improved A TON in the new format.  [card]Sandstone Bridge[/card] is a great way to force it through on turn three and there are fewer nuisances like [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card] and [card]Fleecemane Lion[/card] to get in its way.  Once renowned, having the ability to attack through [card]Deathmist Raptor[/card] is great.

Gideon, Ally of Zendikar: 

Silkwrap: With [card]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy[/card] and [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] seeing as much play as they currently are, it’s a safe bet that [card]Silkwrap[/card] is VERY seldom dead in any given match-up.  This is just an incredibly efficient removal spell and a more important tool in the maindeck than [card]Valorous Stance[/card].

Stasis Snare: This piece of removal is fantastic and is part of the reason why this deck could still be viable.  Just hope [card]Silkwrap[/card] hits [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] before you cast a [card]Stasis Snare[/card] on a [card]Deathmist Raptor[/card] against Green White Aggro ([card]Dromoka’s Command[/card] continues to be one of the best cards against this deck).

Sandstone Bridge: Really solid value land.  Since [card]Knight of the White Orchid[/card] really doesn’t play as well with three mana spells, this card is your ideal turn three land drop in a lot of situations.  It also has great synergy with Consul’s Lieutenant, Hangarback Walker (you mean I can attack AND pump?!), and Archangel of Tithes (pay her mana!).

This deck is still just really solid and consistent.  Ironically, I consider this deck high variance because it has a slightly lower power level but heavily punishes any opponent stumbling with his or her fancy manabase.  Because Atarka Red variants will likely be the most played deck on Magic Online, this deck is a solid approach to tackling that metagame, though it may have less success in a large tournament.

 

The other card I expect to punish Atarka Red is [card]Kolaghan’s Command[/card].  There seem to be many more relevant targets running around with two or less toughness in this new format than there were a couple of weeks ago.  This card has proven itself to be a powerhouse in Modern and if Standard is ANY more hospitable to it, it’s popularity should rise drastically. Against Atarka Red, if you’re able to cast a removal spell on either turn one or two and follow up with a Kolaghan’s Command on turn three, you’re able to continue to attack your opponent’s board while also draining resources in his or her hand (often the powerful combat tricks that make the deck so explosive).  The shell I most want to tune with it is an archetype that’s taken a backseat for the last couple of years – Jund.

 

[deck title= Kolaghan Jund]

[Creatures]

*3 Den Protector

*3 Hangarback Walker

*2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer

*4 Woodland Wanderer

*2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

*1 Dragonlord Kolaghan

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Wild Slash

*2 Reave Soul

*3 Ruinous Path

*3 Kolaghan’s Command

*2 Languish

*2 Outpost Siege

*2 Murderous Cut

*2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

[/Spells]

[Land]

*4 Wooded Foothills

*4 Bloodstained Mire

*2 Polluted Delta

*3 Cinder Glade

*2 Smoldering Marsh

*1 Sunken Hollow

*2 Evolving Wilds

*3 Forest

*2 Mountain

*2 Swamp

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*3 Deathmist Raptor

*1 Greenwarden of Murasa

*2 Boiling Earth

*2 Radiant Flame

*2 Despise

*2 Duress

*2 Rending Volley

*1 Outpost Siege

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

This deck is all about value.  Casting [card]Den Protector[/card] to get back a [card]Kolaghan’s Command[/card] to get back a [card]Den Protector[/card] and make my opponent discard feels great.  [card]Tasigur, the Golden Fang[/card] doesn’t seem to be in any lists I’ve seen and I think he’s still a great option alongside [card]Languish[/card]. And, if you can start activating his ability each turn, it’s hard to lose from there.  [card]Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker[/card] never had his time to shine, spending his last year hiding in the shadows of [card]Stormbreath Dragon[/card].  He also didn’t have a bodyguard like [card]Woodland Wanderer[/card] to come down a turn earlier and protect him.  I love the concept of Sarkhan in Jund.  This is an archetype that plays a lot of removal, and Sarkhan’s -3 gives the deck additional answers while also providing a reasonable clock to close the game out.  [card]Woodland Wanderer[/card], when cast with four colors of mana, is a 6/6 with vigilance and trample.  This elemental is swinging in every turn, combining with Sarkhan for 10 points per turn, while also protecting his dragon-obsessed pal.

I hope all of you online grinders that aren’t looking to cast as many [card]Atarka’s Command[/card]s as possible are ready for what awaits you.  Mono white and Jund are both decks that I’m looking to continue tuning for the online metagame and are reasonable archetypes for bigger tournaments as well.  I’m excited to see this Standard format evolve in the upcoming weeks and will continue brewing up a storm.  Best of luck to all of you in the new format!

 

Will the Aristocrats Join The Battle?

We finally have the full spoiler for Battle for Zendikar and, despite a lot of community dissent about the power level of the set and its mechanics, I am thrilled with a lot of the cards about to enter the Standard format.  I’ve been brewing and looking over cards constantly. That said, there is one card in particular that has completely captivated my attention:

bloodartist

Well, not exactly Blood Artist, but close:

zulaportcutthroat

[card]Blood Artist[/card], combined with sacrifice outlets and creatures that leave behind tokens after dying, is the centerpiece of an archetype known as The Aristocrats, regardless of the format (and regardless of if there are any cards with the word “aristocrat” in the deck).

The original Aristocrats deck was a human-based sacrifice-for-value deck in the Innistrad and Return to Ravnica Standard format.  Sam Black created the archetype in preparation for Pro Tour Gatecrash, and it took down the tournament in the hands of his teammate Tom Martell.

[deck title=The Aristocrats piloted by Tom Martell]

[Creatures]

*4 Champion of the Parish

*4 Doomed Traveler

*4 Cartel Aristocrat

*3 Knight of Infamy

*2 Skirsdag High Priest

*4 Boros Reckoner

*2 Silverblade Paladin

*4 Falkenrath Aristocrat

*1 Restoration Angel

*2 Zealous Conscripts

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Orzhov Charm

*2 Lingering Souls

[/Spells]

[Land]

*3 Plains

*4 Blood Crypt

*3 Cavern of Souls

*1 Clifftop Retreat

*4 Godless Shrine

*4 Isolated Chapel

*4 Sacred Foundry

*1 Vault of the Archangel

[/Land]

[/deck]

The deck’s name came from two of the sacrifice outlets in the deck that fueled its synergy, [card]Cartel Aristocrat[/card] and [card]Falkenrath Aristocrat[/card].  The value gained by sacrificing disposable creatures like [card]Doomed Traveler[/card] to enable Morbid on [card]Skirsdag High Priest[/card] or protect [card]Cartel Aristocrat[/card] and [card]Falkenrath Aristocrat[/card] with their activated abilities was the synergy that drove the archetype.  [card]Doomed Traveler[/card] is perfect in the shell, because it is not only a human to power up [card]Champion of the Parish[/card], but also left behind a spirit token.  Though the deck didn’t dominate subsequent tournaments for the release of Dragon’s Maze, it did shine a spotlight on some powerful synergies in the deck and had the community’s attention.  Several people continued to brew varying version of the deck that included [card]Blood Artist[/card] and the deck did have some success.

The deck’s next incarnation, following the release of Dragon’s Maze, was brought to prominence and was the weapon of choice for Standard master Brad Nelson.  He tweaked and popularized the deck that we knew as Junk Aristocrats.

[deck title=Junk Aristocrats by Brad Nelson]

[Creatures]

*4 Doomed Traveler

*2 Young Wolf

*4 Cartel Aristocrat

*4 Voice of Resurgence

*4 Blood Artist

*3 Skirsdag High Priest

*3 Varolz, the Scar-Striped

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Tragic Slip

*4 Lingering Souls

*3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

[/Spells]

[Land]

*1 Swamp

*2 Gavony Township

*4 Godless Shrine

*4 Isolated Chapel

*4 Overgrown Tomb

*2 Sunpetal Grove

*4 Temple Garden

*4 Woodland Cemetary

[/Land]

[/deck]

There were various different viable builds of the deck in this format prior to Magic 2014 that saw success.  Some lists pushed the human subtheme, playing [card]Champion the Parish[/card] alongside [card]Gather the Townsfolk[/card].  Regardless of what cards were added in the “flex slots”, the deck won by playing out a massive number of creatures, attacking with them, and then sacrificing them to drain out their opponents with [card]Blood Artist[/card] triggers, amass an army of flying demons courtesy of [card]Skirsdag High Priest[/card], or just create a giant [card]Voice of Resurgence[/card] token to bash their opponent to death with.  Despite playing a large number of “bad cards”, the deck was resilient and a contender in the metagame.

When Innistrad and company rotated out with the introduction of Theros, the deck died.  Various versions of the deck popped up in Modern.  Most recently, Steve Rubin played an Abzan version of this shell to a 14th place finish at Grand Prix Oklahoma City this month.

[deck title=Modern Abzan Aristocrats by Steve Rubin]

[Creatures]

*4 Doomed Traveler

*2 Tukatongue Thallid

*4 Viscera Seer

*4 Voice of Resurgence

*4 Blood Artist

*4 Tidehollow Sculler

*4 Satyr Wayfinder

*1 Cartel Aristocrat

*1 Teysa, Orzhov Scion

*1 Eternal Witness

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*3 Abzan Ascendancy

*3 Collected Company

*4 Return to the Ranks

[/Spells]

[Land]

*1 Dryad Arbor

*2 Godless Shrine

*1 Isolated Chapel

*3 Marsh Flats

*1 Overgrown Tomb

*2 Razorverge Thicket

*1 Snow-Covered Swamp

*1 Snow-Covered Plains

*1 Snow-Covered Forest

*1 Temple Garden

*3 Verdant Catacombs

*4 Windswept Heath

[/Land]

[/deck]

 

What is most interesting about this modern deck is that key components of the deck came from the Standard-legal Khans of Tarkir block. [card]Collected Company[/card] and [card]Abzan Ascendancy[/card] are important role-players in the deck and may enable a similar deck to come to light when Battle for Zendikar is legal in Standard.

So let’s start the brewing process.  Looking at the Aristocrats deck lists, I would divide the card choices into four categories:

  • Cheap resilient threats/two-for-one creatures
  • Sacrifice outlets
  • Payoff cards
  • Interaction/disruption

The best way to go about building a deck that fits into the Aristocrats archetype, in my opinion, is identifying the options in each of those categories and then finding the most powerful, synergistic, and powerful 60-card combination.

One card every Aristocrats deck has in common is [card]Doomed Traveler[/card].  It’s integral to the archetype.  One mana for two bodies.  That’s two creatures to trade in combat or two triggers off of [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card] when those creatures die.  Well, we don’t have a single casting cost creature that produces a flying token on its way to the graveyard, but we do have [card]Blisterpod[/card], which leaves behind an Eldrazi Scion token that can ramp us to casting [card]Collected Company[/card].  We also have [card]Carrier Thrall[/card] and [card]Sultai Emissary[/card] that have similar characteristics to [card]Doomed Traveler[/card] and [card]Voice of Resurgence[/card].  Though there is no card in the Standard format capable of doing what [card]Voice of Resurgence[/card] does in this strategy, having creatures that leave behind tokens after they die is incredibly important.  Another creature that is worth considering is Standard all-star [card]Hangarback Walker[/card].  Though it is awkward with [card]Collected Company[/card], it is resilient, can leave us with multiple flying tokens, and has a high power level on its own.  I would say that, no matter how we build a deck around [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card], it’s safe to say that we will be starting with four [card]Blisterpod[/card] and can add up to four each of Carrier Thrall, Sultai Emissary, and Hangarback Walker.  Though [card]Collected Company[/card] is an instant, it does provide us with multiple bodies, and would place it in this category.

Cheap Resilient Creatures/Two-for-Ones:

  • [card]Blisterpod[/card]
  • [card]Sultai Emissary[/card]
  • [card]Carrier Thrall[/card]
  • [card]Collected Company[/card]
  • [card]Sandsteppe Outcast[/card]
  • [card]Catacomb Sifter[/card]
  • [card]Hangarback Walker[/card]
  • [card]Hordeling Outburst[/card]
  • [card]From Beyond[/card]
  • [card]Bloodsoaked Champion[/card]
  • [card]Gideon, Ally of Zendikar[/card]

As for sacrifice outlets, there are a few in Standard worth considering.  The most obvious, in my opinion, is [card]Nantuko Husk[/card].  At three mana, it’s perfect for curve considerations.  Turn one, play Blisterpod.  On turn two, play Zulaport Cutthroat.  Turn three, play Nantuko Husk.  You have your board state set up to be competitive in combat and start getting value off of [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card].   The best part is that you’re also set up to follow up on turn four with either a Collected Company or by casting two additional Carrier Thrall, Hangarback Walker, and/or Sultai Emissary.  There are additional ways to get value off of sacrificing creatures.  Evolutionary Leap is incredible at gaining card advantage with [card]Blisterpod[/card].  Or, you can get aggressive and producing a powerful individual threat like [card]Butcher of the Horde[/card].  Later, we can look at some overlap between sacrifice outlets and interactive cards.

Sacrifice Outlets

  • [card]Nantuko Husk[/card]
  • [card]Evolutionary Leap[/card]
  • [card]Butcher of the Horde[/card]
  • [card]Smothering Abomination[/card]
  • [card]Altar’s Reap[/card]
  • [card]Sidisi, Undead Vizier[/card]

So, now we have to figure out what higher purpose these poor creatures being sacrificed for.  The sacrifice outlets give us value, our reward for making such a [card]dark deal[/card] to begin with.  That said, we still need to extract additional value out of our dying creatures.  The premier payoff card is the reason for building this style of deck, [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card].  It’s one of our most promising win conditions and makes cluttered battlefields insurmountable for our opponents.  [card]Grim Haruspex[/card] would also be a great way to generate incredible card advantage.  If we aren’t generating value out of the sacrifice itself, we need to get value out of having multiple creatures on the battlefield.  [card]Abzan Ascendancy[/card] buffs our creatures and also provides evasive threats or sacrifice fodder as well.  [card]Liliana, Heretical Healer[/card] is also a versatile, powerful option that is can easily be flipped.  She is good against red decks, gains value over the course of the game when flipped in the midrange match-ups, and can threaten the hand of control players or recur threats in the late game.  There are several options to consider.

Payoff Cards

  • [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card]
  • [card]Grim Haruspex[/card]
  • [card]Liliana, Heretical Healer[/card]
  • [card]Abzan Ascendancy[/card]
  • [card]Sorin, Solemn Visitor[/card]
  • [card]Rally the Ancestors[/card]
  • [card]Drana, Liberator of Malakir[/card]

Now we need to figure out what kind of interaction or disruption we need.  If we want a catch-all removal spell, we would look to play the slow, but effective [card]Utter End[/card].  If the shell we end up building has an aggressive slant, we may consider [card]Crackling Doom[/card].  Other good removal spells in the four colors we have touched on thus far include [card]Ruinous Path[/card], [card]Murderous Cut[/card], [card]Mardu Charm[/card](versatile and can create additional creatures when advantageous[/card], and [card]Abzan Charm[/card].  Any of those could be fine options.  As far as other disruption goes, without [card]Thoughtseize[/card] in the format, I think the available discard spells are too narrow.  If we want to continue looking at flexible forms of interaction, [card]Kolaghan’s Command[/card] could also be a viable and synergistic option, as it does allow us rebuy a [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card] or [card]Carrier Thrall[/card].  Continuing down the path of looking at synergistic interactive spells, we should definitely consider cards that work with the sacrifice theme of the deck.  [card]Fleshbag Marauder[/card]/[card]Merciless Executioner[/card] have a symmetrical effect that our deck is well-suited to abuse, and, if [card]Collected Company[/card] is in the deck, the 3/1s are additional targets for the powerful instant.  Last but not least, the recently spoiled reprint [card]Bone Splinters[/card] would also serve as a way to sacrifice creatures.

Interation/Disruption

  • [card]Ruinous Path[/card]
  • [card]Utter End[/card]
  • [card]Ultimate Price[/card]
  • [card]Silkwrap[/card]
  • [card]Mardu Charm[/card]
  • [card]Abzan Charm[/card]
  • [card]Murderous Cut[/card]
  • [card]Kolaghan’s Command[/card]
  • [card]Duress[/card]
  • [card]Crackling Doom[/card]
  • [card]Transgress the Mind[/card]
  • [card]Deadbridge Shaman[/card]

At this point all that’s left is building a shell and testing.  There are tons of options available, and many of them could be viable or competitive.  An aggressive Mardu shell featuring [card]Butcher of the Horde[/card] and [card]Bloodsoaked Champion[/card] with lots of removal spells could be one direction to go.  If you wanted [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card] to be reach to close out a game, perhaps a Black-White weenie strategy with a multitude of 2/1s for one, including [card]Kytheon, Hero of Akros[/card],  along with [card]Drana, Liberator of Malakir[/card] and [card]Sorin, Solemn Visitor[/card] could be fast enough to punish midrange decks.  From initial testing and deckbuilding with Justin Heilig (who designed the White Devotion deck played by Craig Wescoe at a WMCQ to a top eight finish and by Sam Black to 4-0 the Standard Swiss rounds at Worlds) we’ve wanted to capture the feel of the Aristocrats predecessors.  We wanted to balance raw power level of card selections with synergy and thus far, though it’s early in testing, our favorite build is a base green and black shell splashing red and white.  [card]Blisterpod[/card] seems like it is one of the most important role-players and the best thing to do on turn one when playing [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card].

[deck title=4c Aristocrats]

[Creatures]

*4 Blisterpod

*4 Zulaport Cutthroat

*3 Carrier Thrall

*2 Sultai Emissary

*4 Hangarback Walker

*3 Liliana, Heretical Healer

*4 Nantuko Husk

*2 Fleshbag Marauder

*3 Butcher of the Horde

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*3 Abzan Ascendancy

*3 Collected Company

*2 Bone Splinters

[/Spells]

[Land]

*4 Sandsteppe Citadel

*2 Llanowar Waste

*2 Windswept Heath

*3 Wooded Foothills

*2 BloodStained Mire

*2 Smoldering Marsh

*1 Canopy Vista

*1 Cinder Glade

*2 Forest

*3 Swamp

*1 Plains

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*4 Arashin Cleric

*4 Bloodsoaked Champion

*1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor

*2 Utter End

*3 Evolutionary Leap

*1 Fleshbag Marauder

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

We had input from several friends including Zach Byrd, Robbie Mitchell, and Allen Wiggs in developing this list.  The deck has several resilient creatures, making [card]Abzan Ascendancy[/card] powerful as an anthem effect and as a way to generate additional creatures.  One synergy I particularly like in grindy match-ups is [card]Sultai Emissary[/card] and [card]Abzan Ascendancy[/card].  With 29 creatures in the list, the manifest created when [card]Sultai Emissary[/card] dies can often turn into a more powerful creature and, if the manifests die, you generate a spirit token off the Ascendancy (unlike the tokens created by [card]Carrier Thrall[/card] or [card]Hangarback Walker[/card].  That continuous stream of creatures allows you to start alpha striking when your opponent is at a fairly high life total and then drain them out with [card]Zulaport Cutthroat[/card].  [card]Collected Company[/card] is incredibly powerful but puts a substantial constraint on deckbuilding.  This list has 26 targets, which is enough to hit two creatures with a fair degree of consistency.  It can be awkward with [card]Hangarback Walker[/card], but having to choose it as one of the targets for Collected Company isn’t the absolute worst.  With Zulaport Cutthroat, you get a drain trigger, and with Abzan Ascendancy, the Hangarback Walker generates a spirit token.  The Hangarback dying immediately will also flip a [card]Liliana, Heretical Healer[/card].

The sideboard has some some powerful tools.  Against red decks, you can simply sideboard out Abzan Ascendancy and two Butcher of the Horde for Sorin, Solemn Visitor and Arashin Cleric.  The deck has blockers for days and has more attrition tools in the match-up.  Against control, [card]Bloodsoaked Champion[/card] allows for fast starts and is great against sweepers.  [card]Evolutionary Leap[/card] comes in to ensure there’s a constant stream of threats to combat their removal spells. [Card] Shadows of the Past [/Card] may also have a role in the board for slower, grindier match-ups. The remaining cards are catch-all answers to nearly anything problematic your opponent presents.

Post-Rotation Standard, It’s Never Too Early. . .

Even though Pro Tour Magic Origins is still fresh in our minds and we are currently looking at a new Standard format, I want to look forward to what I think could be some powerful shells after rotation.  It may be premature, but there may be financial opportunity and a way to get ahead of the metagame by taking the time to look towards the future of Standard.

The first archetype with potential to be really powerful is Atarka Red.  There will be some changes to the core of the deck, as we are losing [card]Stoke the Flames[/card], [card]Lightning Strike[/card], and [card]Foundry Street Denizen[/card], but I’d like to look at a build I think will be powerful:

[deck title= Atarka Red]

[Creatures]

*4 Monastery Swiftspear

*3 Zurgo Bellstriker

*4 Lightning Berserker

*4 Abbot of Keral Keep

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Wild Slash

*4 Atarka’s Command

*4 Exquisite Firecraft

*1 Fiery Impulse

*4 Dragon Fodder

*4 Hordeling Outburst

*2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

[/Spells]

[Land]

*22 Mountain

[/Land]

[/deck]

I am only posting mountains because we have no idea what kind of fixing we are going to see in Battle for Zendikar, which could stop allied-colored aggressive decks in their tracks before deck-building even starts.  That said, I think this shell has a lot of potential if the manabase can be consistent and fast.  I think that after rotation, [card]Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker[/card] will be poised to make a splash.  [card]Hero’s Downfall[/card] will be rotating, and I expect many pros to be leaning hard on [card]Languish[/card] to keep boards clear. Sarkhan doesn’t care about [card]Languish[/card].  While looking at the list, it’s easy to see the other synergies that work well with this all-but-forgotten planeswalker.  [card]Atarka’s Command[/card] has several modes and I think the most overlooked, especially in an aggressive deck, is its ability to ramp out a land.  This is great on turn three when you want to push through damage for your [card]Monastery Swiftspear[/card] and [card]Dragon Fodder[/card] tokens while also enabling a turn four Sarkhan.  An additional land drop doesn’t hurt when you’re looking to dash out [card]Lightning Berserker[/card]s either.  The other synergy Sarkhan has that finishers like [card]Thunderbreak Regeant[/card] or [card]Avaricious Dragon[/card] do not is that it is a noncreature spell, triggering Prowess on [card]Monastery Swiftspear[/card] and [card]Abbot of Keral Keep[/card].  We haven’t seen any cards spoiled from Battle for Zendikar (at least not for an archetype like this) yet, so it could just get better from here.

The strong sideboard options that will be available post-rotation are not all that different from what we have now.  We can plan for longer attrition games with [card]Molten Vortex[/card] and [card]Outpost Siege[/card].  Against the mirror, we have access to [card]Scouring Sands[/card].  If large ground creatures look to get in the way of our plans, a full playset of [card]Roast[/card] is available if we so choose.

 

 

Another shell I think has a ton of potential is a Sultai reanimator deck.  Though we are losing [card]Satyr Wayfinder[/card], there are still plenty of enablers available.  The first, and most powerful, is [card]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy // Jace, Telepath Unbound[/card]. Jace is a discard outlet to pitch your reanimator target (perhaps something like [card]Gaea’s Revenge[/card]), he helps smooth out your draws, and also has the ability to snap back instants and sorceries.  [card]Gather the Pack[/card] seems like a natural fit to find and/or mill creatures, while also stocking your graveyard (similar to [card]Satyr Wayfinder[/card]).  What reanimator spell best fits in with this strategy? [card]Necromantic Summons[/card].  If you enjoyed or are familiar with Matthew Tickal’s take on [card]Rally the Ancestors[/card], Jace is great at flashing back the Rally if it was milled or already cast.  In essence, Jace turns [card]Necromantic Summons[/card] into an [card]Unburial Rites[/card] with upside (the two +1/+1 counters).  Other roleplayers in the deck are [card]Sultai Charm[/card] and [card]Murderous Cut[/card].  While [card]Murderous Cut[/card] is pretty straightforward, [card]Sultai Charm[/card] provides not just removal for creatures AND artifacts/enchantments, but also serves as an additional discard outlet (with its [card]Catalogue[/card] mode).  The versatility that [card]Sultai Charm[/card] provides with the ability to flash it back with [card]Jace, Telepath Unbound[/card] makes it an all-star, jack-of-all-trades for this style of deck.  Though we obviously don’t have the full picture, we can start to piece together a shell and, as spoiler season starts, we can look to fill in the gaps:

 

Sultai Reanimator (key components)

4 [card]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy// Jace, Telepath Unbound[/card]

4 [card]Gather the Pack[/card]

4 [card]Necromantic Summons[/card]

4 [card]Sultai Charm[/card]

2 [card]Murderous Cut[/card]

3 [card]Sagu Mauler[/card] (great if it becomes an 8/8 hexproof trampler)

2 [card]Gaea’s Revenge[/card] (potentially a turn five 10/7 with Haste that cannot be targetted)

 

So we have the start to a deck with synergy, utility, and a high power level.  The hidden reason for building a shell like this is that [card]Despise[/card] will still be legal after rotation, and [card]Necromantic Summons[/card] doesn’t matter whose graveyard a fatty comes from.  If [card]Dragonlord Atarka[/card] is still a thing after the devotion deck rotates, the sideboard plan of making your opponent discard his or her Atarka, upgrading it to a 10/10 with flample, and doing it on turn 5, seems powerful.  Another reason to look at a reanimator shell is that the one spoiler we’ve seen from Battle for Zendikar is an Eldrazi.  While the Eldrazi Titans cannot be binned to reanimate at sorcery speed, the set may have some Eldrazi targets in the 7-8 mana cost range with powerful abilities that are worth cheating into play.  My favorite part of this strategy is that this shell only makes up about a third of the deck.  From here we can look to be controlling with sweepers like [card]Languish[/card] and countermagic in the form of [card]Clash of Wills[/card] , further abuse the graveyard and add value with [card]Tasigur, the Golden Fang[/card], and even fit the powerful [card]Den Protector[/card]/[card]Deathmist Raptor[/card] midrange combo.  There are many different directions we could go and seems like a worthwhile place to start brewing, especially since [card]Elspeth, Sun’s Champion[/card] won’t be around to rain on our parade.

 

 

The final deck that I’ve been thinking a lot about is a base-blue Temur tempo list.  This style of deck gets much better after rotation happens.  Without Elvish Mystic, Courser of Kruphix, and Sylvan Caryatid in the Standard format, the board may open up on the ground in the early turns.  Cards like [card]Frost Walker[/card], [card]Bounding Krasis[/card], and [card]Harbinger of Tides[/card] seem as though they could play very well together.  [card]Bounding Krasis[/card] can tap down blockers to allow [card]Frost Walker[/card] to swing in or tap down an opposing creature before it attacks, allowing [card]Harbinger of Tides[/card] to bounce it the following turn.  Though [card]Frost Walker[/card] is about the squishiest threat imaginable, it is capable of dishing out a ton of damage per turn and is a turn 2 Ferocious enabler.  The countermagic available to us really pushes a tempo strategy like this over the top as well.  [card]Stubborn Denial[/card] protects our threats, [card]Clash of Wills[/card] is versatile and can be quite a nuisance for opponents to play around, and this actually feels like a deck that could get value out of [card]Temur Charm[/card].  In a deck like this, we also have the ability to use [card]Savage Knuckleblade[/card] to its full potential.  Instead of running it out as a 3-drop that trades for a removal spell, it can be a finisher that we can play while keeping up extra mana to protect it or disrupt our opponent, much like [card]Gurmag Angler[/card] in the modern Grixis Delver and Grixis Control decks.  The reason I feel this strategy could be so powerful in the upcoming format is the manabase that enables it.  Being base blue, we have access to both [card]Shivan Reef[/card] and [card]Yavimaya Coast[/card], which makes the deck very fast (painfully fast), and [card]Frontier Bivuoac[/card] for all of our colors.  I’m not sure that all of the pieces are out there to make this a tier-1 strategy, but there’s one card in particular that I’m hoping to see reprinted that could push this over the top.  [card]Serum Visions[/card].  Many people speculated that we would see it in Modern Masters 2015, but it was omitted.  With Scry becoming an evergreen mechanic as of Magic Origin‘s release, we could see this powerful cantrip back in Standard.  We also have the option to build this deck around [card]Collected Company[/card], running other creatures with disruptive enter-the-battlefield effects like [/card]Silumgar Sorcerer[/card].  If we’re looking for strong top-end win conditions, Temur has access to [card]Sarkhan, Unbowed[/card] and [card]Icefall Regent[/card].

Mono White Tokens – A Whirlwind Weekend

Deckbuilding is a passion of mine.  Over the past couple of years, I’ve found the formula that best suits my style when creating a new deck.  I analyze my brews and the card selections within along three axes:  power level, synergy, consistency.  If those three components of a deck are sound, the deck in question often has what it takes to be competitive in its format.  Many players want to assemble something sweet, placing synergy above all else and building their deck to try to ensure they can pull off their plan.  In the current metagame, a good example would be Blue-Red Sphinx’s Tutelage, built by Andrew Cuneo for Pro Tour Magic Origins.  The deck is full of card-draw spells, removal or other interactive spells that slow its opponent’s ability to mount an offensive board ([card]Anger of the Gods[/card], [card]Whelming Wave[/card], and [card]Send to Sleep[/card]) and a win condition that takes advantage of the card-drawing spells.  Though the power level of many of those cards may not be the highest available in that color combination, his card-draw spells become recurring triggers for [card]Sphinx’s Tutelage[/card] on board while also allowing him to dig for answers for his opponent’s attackers.

This deck is highly synergistic and consistent, and countermagic out of the board helps him protect his hard-to-interact-with win condition in [card]Sphinx’s Tutelage[/card]. In true Cuneo fashion, this deck is a symphony of what were somewhat obscure card choices that allow him to durdle (when not milling out the opponent by turn five) until his opponent is nearly helpless and then win in a relatively untraditional, inevitable fashion.

Conversely, there are decks like Abzan Control in the format.  It has a good curve, card advantage, and power.  It’s like a traditional Jund deck in that way – it’s comprised of the best removal spells, card advantage, value-creatures, and finishers in its colors.  It works cohesively because every card has a high impact in most matches of Magic, but those cards aren’t inherently synergistic.

Last week I was incredibly proud of the list I posted in my first article.  I thought I had found a deck that was balanced and met my standards, and the standards required to be competitive in this Standard format, in terms of power, synergy, and consistency.  Over the last few weeks, I had shared the evolution of this deck with a professional player I hold in the highest regard, Craig Wescoe.  I felt like that Mono White Tokens deck was completely finished and was the best possible 75 it could be.  I tested it on Magic Online extensively, tested competing card options in the deck, and was proud to share it with someone who enjoys playing the archetype.  Craig tested it, choosing to play it for his weekly article and in this case, video series, for TCGPlayer, and chose to play it this weekend at Grand Prix San Diego.  Just the fact that he considered my deck as being worthwhile to test further was a tremendous source of pride.  The night before the tournament, we went over the card choices via Facebook, finalizing the 75 cards before registration the next day.  I was flying high.  To say it was an honor is an understatement.  For someone who, as I mentioned last week, is not a competitive player, but is driven to find hidden, competitive decks in the format, this was the realization of everything I wanted out of Magic: The Gathering.  A Pro Tour-winning, future Hall of Fame member, white deck enthusiast was going to play my deck in a Grand Prix.  I tested a few matches online after our discussion, trying to glean any additional information I could pass on before ultimately succumbing to sleep (face on keyboard) at nearly 5:30 AM.

Though I felt really good about the deck, Craig’s intuition told him to play [card]Knight of the White Orchid[/card].  I had my reservations about that card and was adamant about it in my article last week.  It’s not synergistic.  It’s not as proactively powerful in a token-based strategy, it’s not an anthem on wheels like [card]Consul’s Lieutenant[/card].  It doesn’t pressure control or [card]Sphinx’s Tutelage[/card] decks like the Lieutenant can.  Testing against Abzan Rally decks made me realize how much pressure the Lieutenant could put on and how hard it was for that deck to deal with a 3-power  First Strike creature.  I had played [card]Knight of the White Orchid[/card] in earlier versions of the deck, even tested it in the final version and it felt like it wasn’t proactive enough to warrant inclusion.  What I didn’t realize is that, though I made concessions and chose cards to increase the consistency of the deck, it still wasn’t consistent enough.  Even though [card]Knight of the White Orchid[/card] couldn’t steal games the way [card]Consul’s Lieutenant[/card] had during my testing, what it did do is give the deck a much better chance to win with hands that I’d grade as a C-.  The hands you knew you had to keep.  The two-land hands where you just need to “get there” to get your [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card] on the board and let the deck do what it does best: manage a cluttered board until it becomes just favorable enough to create a window to win the game.  To clench the match.  To be in contention for top 8.  The margins this deck operates on against Abzan Control and Green-Red Devotion are so slim that a consistency issue is almost always a death sentence.  When your deck is playing cards that are, if not for a synergistic reason for inclusion, almost laughable on their own (like [card]Raise the Alarm[/card]), mulligans can hurt you far more than they would your opponent.  In hindsight, it’s clear now that the true power of the deck is that despite looking unassuming, its creatures can dominate most boards.  It’s really hard to attack into a [card]Brimaz, King of Oreskos[/card] and a [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] on the ground.  [card]Wingmate Roc[/card] and its token offer enough pressure in the air that they can often close out the game on their own.  [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card] makes it very hard for an opponent to continue using their mana to add creatures to the board while also being able to pay the tithe required to block off alpha strikes.  An offensive 2-drop would be nice in the deck, but having a serviceable body that also improves your chances of getting to [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card] and [card]Wingmate Roc[/card] before it’s too late is far more important.  Another land also seems like it could be a welcome addition to help with those consistency issues as well.

Without going into too much detail about a tournament I didn’t play in, the deck seemed to beat itself from what I heard.  I don’t think I’ve ever checked my phone so much over the course of a weekend.  Wescoe was kind enough to keep me in the loop after nearly every round.  I truly felt like I was in it with him and was grateful to feel like part of a team with one of the best players in the world.  The deck showed its prowess at beating, well, Prowess in the form of [card]Monastery Swiftspear[/card] and [card]Abbot of Keral Keep[/card].  The deck also had mixed results against Abzan Control and Green-Red Devotion, its consistency being a major factor in the unfavorable outcomes.  I took the negative portion of the results personally.  I had earned the trust of a player I revere and always hope to see win whenever he’s featured on coverage.  When every match, every game, and in this case, every land drop can impact a professional player’s chances at earning Pro Points, the responsibility of having a deck you designed fall short in terms of consistency weighs quite heavily on you.  At one point he shared that he had two white sources and two [card]Foundry of the Consuls[/card] in play and lost to GR Devotion with two [card]Tragic Arrogance[/card], two [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card], and a [card]Wingmate Roc[/card] in hand.  All of the best cards in the match-up were stranded there, uncastable.  I felt sick, felt as though I had let him down, felt as though I had personally taken away his opportunity to play Magic.  A professional player’s intuition was correct and since I designed and tested the deck, he trusted me and went with my two-drop selection, which impacted his record at the tournament.

While the tournament was in progress, Craig and I also talked about trying find that special “something” to push the deck over the top.  Push the power level just a little more.  He thought that perhaps adding a second color for either [card]Dromoka’s Command[/card] or [card]Disdainful Stroke[/card] was the way to go and I’ve chosen to pursue the latter option.  The manabase in the deck can support a second color at very little cost.  The deck already plays five scry lands to dig to either action or lands, help to prevent flood, and give the deck some velocity.  Adding some fetch lands should pull most of the weight in terms of rounding out the splash.  [card]Disdainful Stroke[/card] seems like an ideal selection for a deck with synergistic creatures that combine to trump opposing creatures that are individually more powerful.  In a long, grindy game, it’s hard to rely solely on the synergy when trading in combat and having your creatures fall to removal spells.  [card]Disdainful Stroke[/card] slots in perfectly out of the board to answer most of the trump cards in the format.  [card]Dragonlord Atarka[/card], [card]Languish[/card], and [card]Ugin, the Spirit Dragon[/card] are all cards the deck can beat if they’re resolved, but the right pieces have to be in place at the right time to do so.  [card]Disdainful Stroke[/card] is the back-up plan to protect your creatures and your board advantage as the game progresses.  I’m still testing the new version of the deck, but it feels every bit as powerful (sorry [card]Consul’s Lieutenant[/card]), more consistent, and has a more versatile sideboard.

[deck title= W/u Tokens]

[Creatures]

*3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros // Gideon, Battle-Forged

*4 Knight of the White Orchid

*4 Hangarback Walker

*3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos

*4 Archangel of Tithes

*3 Wingmate Roc

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Raise the Alarm

*2 Valorous Stance

*2 Banishing Light

*2 Devouring Light

*1 Spear of Heliod

*1 Ajani Steadfast

*1 Dictate of Heliod

*2 Secure the Wastes

[/Spells]

[Land]

*4 Temple of Enlightenment

*1 Temple of Silence

*4 Flooded Strand

*2 Tranquil Cove

*2 Foundry of the Consuls

*2 Island

*9 Plains

[/Land]

[Sideboard]

*2 Hallowed Moonlight

*3 Tragic Arrogance

*3 Disdainful Stroke

*1 Negate

*1 Stratus Dancer

*1 Banishing Light

*1 Valorous Stance

*3 Surge of Righteousness

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

Here, all of the blue spells are relegated to the sideboard.  I believe it’s too risky to main-deck a card like [card]Disdainful Stroke[/card] in a format with Mono-Red and Blue-Red “Running With Scissors” being played as much as they were at Grand Prix San Diego.  The sideboard gives the deck great ways to prevent [card]Languish[/card] and more interactive choices against G/R Devotion.  [card]Hushwing Gryff[/card] has been great for me, though it is a “nonbo” with [card]Wingmate Roc[/card], and the newly added [card]Knight of the White Orchid[card] makes it a liability.  [card]Vryn Wingmare[/card] is simply too narrow and feels worse than countering the spells it is disruptive against.  Our match-up against [card]Rally the Ancestors[/card] is worse than it was in the previous version, but that deck didn’t perform well enough this weekend to warrant more dedicated slots.  I’m still confident that we’re a strong favorite if it does show up.  A big reason to include [card]Negate[/card] over more copies of [card]Stratus Dancer[/card] is [card]Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver[/card].  Against U/B Control, Ashiok can be one of the toughest cards to deal with and having answers is a big boon, especially since you can leave up [card]Negate[/card] in the early turns and cast [card]Raise the Alarm[/card] on your opponent’s endstep.  It can also be a key card if [card]Sphinx’s Tutelage[/card] rises in popularity after its win this weekend.

I don’t know where the deck goes from here.  I’ve heard good feedback from people who ran versions at their LGSs over the weekend and there is power in it.  The above 75 certainly feels good every time I play it.  Craig Wescoe believes there’s potential, so in all honesty, if you’re interested in what a white-based [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card]/[card]Wingmate Roc[/card] deck can do, what the absolute best version of it is out there in this Standard format, I would look out for anything he posts if I were you.  I know I’ll be looking.

I want to change gears a little bit and end this article with a pet deck I’ve been having a blast playing when taking a break from testing Standard.  Although the premise for the deck will be controversial and most players will disagree with it, the deck was built around the hypothesis that [card]Voice of Resurgence[/card] is a better card than [card]Tarmogoyf[/card] in the current Modern meta.  Voice is more disruptive, is better against removal (or exactly AS good against [card]Path to Exile[/card]), and grows in much the same manner if your deck is built to create a large board presence. With the rise of Grixis decks, preventing an opponent from playing on your turn is quite strong.  I’ve also been testing various homes for Kytheon in Modern, liking him in my version of Orzhov Sisters, but I’ve been enjoying Abzan Tokens for a few weeks now.  I definitely don’t feel like I’ve found the finished version of the deck, but I do think there’s potential in this brew:

[deck title= Abzan Tokens]

[Creatures]

*3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros // Gideon, Battle-Forged

*4 Voice of Resurgence

*2 Siege Rhino

*1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Inquisition of Kozilek

*3 Thoughtseize

*2 Path to Exile

*2 Bitterblossom

*2 Intangible Virtue

*2 Abrupt Decay

*4 Lingering Souls

*4 Spectral Procession

*1 Maelstrom Pulse

*1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor

*1 Murderous Cut

[/Spells]

[Lands]

*4 Windswept Heath

*4 Marsh Flats

*3 Temple Garden

*3 Godless Shrine

*1 Overgrown Tomb

*2 Stirring Wildwood

*1 Gavony Township

*1 Isolated Chapel

*2 Razorverge Thicket

*1 Forest

*1 Plains

*1 Swamp

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

*1 Leyline of the Void

*2 Rest in Peace

*2 Stony Silence

*1 Disfigure

*1 Duress

*1 Celestial Purge

*1 Surgical Extraction

*2 Abrupt Decay

*1 Sundering Growth

*2 Kitchen Finks

*1 Pithing Needle

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

There have been many cards added and removed over the last few weeks and it’s hard to nail down exactly how each match-up feels with so many cards going in and out, but I’ve had good results against [card]Delver of Secrets[/card] decks.  The Grixis Control match-up feels closer, though I do think this deck is favored.  Jund feels that way as well.  Other than that, a lot of its match-ups seem pretty similar to what you’d experience with most GBx decks, though this is far more heavily based in white.  If you are casually playing Modern with friends or it’s the upcoming FNM format, I think this deck is a solid choice and I’d love to hear feedback on your results or alternate card choices!

Can Mono White Get There After Pro Tour Magic Origins?

So this is my first article.  None of you readers will know me from anything I’ve done previously.  I’m not a top level professional magic player, not a known deck designer or content producer.  None of you have even seen my Magic Online username posted on Daily Event results (mostly because I’m broke and choose to spend my tickets building decks rather than competing).  I don’t play competitive magic.  That said, I do follow everything that happens in the Magic community.  I watch every video posted, read nearly every article on every content site, listen to the podcasts, watch every tournament.  I analyze metagames and I look for unique synergies that may or may not be powerful enough to make tier-1 decks.  Why should you bother reading my content?  Because I believe there are many of you out there that are true brewers and have had that moment where you think you’ve found IT.  The new deck.  The overlooked cards.  The hole in the metagame.  It feels great doesn’t it?  I had that feeling last week, two days before Pro Tour Magic Origins began. I found what I believe to be a tier-1 competitive deck.

I’m writing this on the heels of an incredible Pro Tour weekend.  Magic Origins blew the Standard metagame wide open with new archetypes (blue-red [card]Ensoul Artifact[/card]) and raised the power of others (red aggro) to be, at least in the minds of the players at the event, competitive.  Before the tournament started, I spent weeks building and testing decks, hoping to stumble onto something unique and competitive for the new Standard format. Even though I don’t play at a high level, I personally challenged myself to find at least one or two of the top decks that would show up in Vancouver.  I also thought, or fantasized, about what strategy I would gravitate towards if I were in the position of any of the players in the event.  In hindsight, I believe I chose the right one: a monocolored aggressive deck.  They never seem to be a bad choice in a new format.  They’re consistent, proactive, and force your opponent to disrupt your game plan.  As Marshall Sutcliffe would say, they ask questions that require answers.  If I had that coveted opportunity to play in such an arena, my color of choice would’ve been white.  The list I feel is most powerful and best-equipped for Standard right now is a far cry from what I envisioned when I started to brew.  Let’s take a look:

[deck title= Monowhite Token Aggro]
[Creatures]
*3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros // Gideon, Battle-Forged
*4 Consul’s Lieutenant
*4 Hangarback Walker
*3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
*4 Archangel of Tithes
*2 Wingmate Roc
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
*4 Raise the Alarm
*2 Valorous Stance
*2 Devouring Light
*2 Secure the Wastes
*2 Banishing Light
*1 Spear of Heliod
*2 Dictate of Heliod
*2 Ajani Steadfast
[/Spells]
[Land]
*4 Temple of Plenty
*1 Temple of Enlightenment
*3 Foundry of the Consuls
*15 Plains
[/Land]
[Sideboard]
*3 Tragic Arrogance
*3 Hallowed Moonlight
*2 Hushwing Gryff
*2 Vryn Wingmare
*1 Glare of Heresy
*4 Surge of Righteousness
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

I think this is THE best balance of resilience and aggression for a monowhite deck in Standard.  This is not a blitz aggro style of deck (though you can goldfish a turn 4 kill), as it can slow down and have controlling elements, create cluttered board states that allow its flying threats to shine, and overall has a lot of play to it.  Even though this deck can be soft to Languish, white weenie decks have been competitive in formats with four mana [card]Wrath of God[/card] effects before.  I want to go over each card and its role in the deck.

[card]Kytheon, Hero of Akros // Gideon, Battle-Forged[/card] Allows the curve to start at one for early damage and really shines in the midgame to force bad attacks once his spark has been ignited (which has great synergy with [card]Devouring Light[/card]). Getting familiar with this deck is important to find the balance of when to force him to flip, when to hold back, and when to allow him to trade/die to removal. He costs 1 cmc and if he trades for a [card]Hero’s Downfall[/card] in the midgame, that’s a huge tempo/mana advantage. If he gets hit with a [card]Wild Slash[/card] that would otherwise be aimed at a turn two [card]Consul’s Lieutenant[/card] (which is a more integral part of our anthem + token game plan), he died well. When flipped to Gideon, he synergizes incredibly well with [card]Tragic Arrogance[/card] in the board.

[card]Consul’s Lieutenant[/card]: I absolutely believe this card is a better fit than [card]Knight of the White Orchid[/card]. This deck’s ability to attack both vertically (building a singular threat) and horizontally (attacking with a ton of small creatures) gives it a lot of play. Once renowned, this 2-drop combos really well with [card]Brimaz, King of Oreskos[/card] (remember to stack the triggers so the token gets +1/+1) and with anthems, [card]Consul’s Lieutenant[/card] can attack into many creatures in the format.

[card]Hangarback Walker[/card]: Versatile, resilient, and has tremendous synergy with this game plan. When it dies you get additional flying tokens that get better with the anthem effects in the deck.  Having access to twelve 2-drop creatures really helps make this deck consistent. [card]Consul’s Lieutenant[/card] is the best on turn 2,  followed by [card]Raise the Alarm[/card] , followed by [card]Hangarback Walker[/card](generally).  Two other big reasons to play Hangarback Walker are having Tragic Arrogance (select Hangarback as the artifact OR creature to keep or let it die to create tokens) in the sideboard and [card]Ugin, the Spirit Dragon[/card]. This deck can be disrupted by control and having a threat that cannot be swept away by Ugin is HUGE.

[card]Raise the Alarm[/card]: The bread and butter of the deck. Gideon enabler, great with anthems, plays at instant speed for tempo, and very important against the red decks that showed up at Pro Tour Magic Origins.

[card]Brimaz, King of Oreskos[/card]: Powerhouse, best white 3-drop in Standard, perfect for this deck.

[card]Archangel of Tithes[/card]: Her power level seems to vary greatly.  Her synergy with [card]Ajani Steadfast[/card] and [card]Gideon, Battle-Forged[/card] is powerful and she can completely change the tempo of any game where creature combat is relevant.  She also survives [card]Languish[/card], [card]Stoke the Flames[/card], and [card]Exquisite Firecraft[/card], while also dodging [card]Roast[/card].  When combined with any of the anthem effects in the list, she can become a reasonable clock as well.  If the monored decks that we saw at the Pro Tour become a large part of the meta moving forward, [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card] really does work against that deck.  Dashing requires an additional colorless mana when attacking into [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card], attacking with multiple creatures a turn limits their ability to cast their burn spells for the turn (taking away their ability to abuse the Prowess mechanic), and it allows the deck to quickly turn the corner, making blocking all of your token producers impossible.  The last attribute may seem like a “win more” scenario, but when the life totals are very tight and every draw step gives them a chance to throw 4 damage to your face, the game needs to end VERY quickly.  It’s a powerhouse in the match-up and only gets better in multiples when staring down multiple [card]Lightning Berserker[/card] and [card]Monastery Swiftspear[/card].

[card]Ajani Steadfast[/card]: I really didn’t want issues with the legend rule outside of [card]Brimaz, King of Oreskos[/card]. I really like having two [card]Ajani Steadfast[/card] and one [card]Spear of Heliod[/card] for that reason (since Spear of Heliod is less likely to be the target of removal and is not as fragile as a planeswalker).  [card]Ajani Steadfast[/card]plays really well both when the deck’s draw is moving towards playing vertically (powering up the single threat) or horizontally (spreading the +1/+1 counter love, a bonus synergy with [card]Hangarback Walker[/card]). After the popularity and performance that monored decks displayed in Vancouver this weekend, having a source of life gain and vigilance seems very important in making that match-up favorable.  Also, [card]Ajani Steadfast[/card] is a planeswalker to, which helps create a vast disparity in nonland permanents after casting [card]Tragic Arrogance[/card] out of the board.

[card]Wingmate Roc[/card]:  I have wavered between [card]Wingmate Roc[/card] in this slot and, surprisingly, [card]Triplicate Spirits[/card].  Both options synergize with anthems and allow the deck to move its offensive strategy to the air in the midgame.  I realize that to most people, the idea of playing [card]Triplicate Spirits[/card] in constructed is a joke, but it enables turn five kills that no other card can when coupled with [card]Dictate of Heliod[/card].  At the moment, I’ve been leaning towards [card]Wingmate Roc[/card] but don’t sell [card]Triplicate Spirits[/card] short.  It is a viable, competitive option in the deck.  That said, these two slots should be occupied by a flying threat.

[card]Dictate of Heliod[/card]:  Incredibly powerful at instant speed and is what really raises the power level of the deck.  A [card]Consul’s Lieutenant[/card] coupled with [card]Dictate of Heliod[/card] makes it trivial to dish out 12-18 points of damage a turn when curving out.  If an opponent taps out at the wrong time or is short on a removal spell, your flying threats can do tons of damage each turn.

[card]Spear of Heliod[/card]: The deck likes anthems, and this is the cheapest. Being both an artifact and enchantment allows it to play really well with [card]Tragic Arrogance[/card] in the sideboard. It also dissuades free attacks if they are not lethal. This deck topdecks well and is not an all-in aggressive strategy, allowing its activated ability to shine. Anthems and strong fliers can allow this deck to come back from behind or break parity.

[card]Secure the Wastes[/card]:  Versatile curve filler, great topdeck lategame, sometimes it’s a three mana [card]Raise the Alarm[/card].  Overall the card just slots in with everything the deck is trying to do and helps provide some flood insurance.

[card]Devouring Light[/card] + [card]Banishing Light[/card]:  The removal package for the deck.  [card]Devouring Light[/card] is conditional but incredibly powerful, especially in a deck that looks to flip Kytheon into Gideon.  It can affect the tempo of a game in a way that no other white removal spell can.  When coupled with [card]Raise the Alarm[/card] or [card]Secure the Wastes[/card], you can cast [card]Devouring Light[/card] in the same turn and take you from behind in a game to ahead, which is powerful in this Standard Format.  In fact, it can just feel broken.  Because [card]Devouring Light[/card] does have a high setup cost, [card]Banishing Light[/card] seems like its perfect counterpart.  Though [card]Banishing Light[/card] is slow and doesn’t always stick, it is a catch-all answer.  No conditions, it just removes whatever needs removing (including [card]Ugin, the Spirit Dragon[/card], [card]Thopter Spy Network[/card], [card]Elspeth, Sun’s Champion[/card], [card]Outpost Siege[/card], [card]Sphinx’s Tutelage[/card], [card]Sigil of the Empty Throne[/card], and [card]Ensoul Artifact[/card]).  In a format that has been greatyly influenced by the value generated by [card]Den Protector[/card] and now that we’re seeing the widespread adoption of [card]Hangarback Walker[/card], having removal spells that exile their targets is an added bonus.

[card]Valorous Stance[/card]:  Good role-player but not amazing.  Having a way to protect [card]Brimaz, King of Oreskos[/card] or [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card] is nice and it is also a conditional answer.  Though it is not my favorite card, it does earn its spot.  If [card]Languish[/card] and other -X/-X effects grow in popularity AND we continue to the decline of cards like [card]Polukranos, World Eater[/card], [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card], and [card]Siege Rhino[/card], then [card]Valorous Stance[/card] may just be too weak, opening up slots in the deck.

Lands:  [card]Foundry of the Consuls[/card] is just amazing with anthems and amazing in a deck that wants flood insurance. Forcing your opponent to [card]Languish[/card] your Foundry tokens feels real good. Five scry lands seems like the correct number after testing this list. You really want to set up your curve, even if it means going 2-drop, 2-drop, 4-drop turns two, three, four.  The deck also needs to hit land drops, depending on your hand, and also minimize the risk of  flooding out. It is RARE for a white deck to have access to this kind of deck manipulation and it is POWERFUL.  [card]Secure the Wastes[/card], [card]Foundry of the Consuls[/card], and [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] serve as ways to take advantage of excess mana and work together to increase the power level of the deck as a whole.

The sideboard should be changing with your metagame, but this is my choice following the Pro Tour, and it happens to be my favorite part of the deck.  The 75 cards were selected to take full advantage of [card]Tragic Arrogance[/card].  Many of the cards in the deck have multiple types or are capable of having multiple types.  Imagine playing against green-red devotion and staring down four mana dorks, [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card], [card]Polukranos, World Eater[/card] and a [card]Hornet Queen[/card] along with her worshippers.  You have a [card]Hangarback Walker[/card], a [card]Spear of Heliod[/card], a [card]Banishing Light[/card] pinning down a [card]Dragonlord Atarka[/card], and a [card]Brimaz, King of Oreskos[/card] in play.  Suffice it to say, you’re not favored in this scenario.  When you cast [card]Tragic Arrogance[/card], however, you can keep [card]Banishing Light[/card] (sorry Atarka) as your enchantment, [card]Spear of Heliod[/card] as your artifact, [card]Brimaz, King of Oreskos[/card] as your creature, AND you get to sacrifice your [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] to get your thopter tokens which get +1/+1 from your [card]Spear of Heliod[/card].  The other side of the board is left with. . . [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card]?  ONLY [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card].  The same goes for any and all Constellation deck variants.  These engine/ramp/total board domination decks are generally attrocious match-ups for a token/anthem deck.  [card]Tragic Arrogance[/card] obliterates these seemingly hopeless board states.  This deck is built to ensure that when you cast it, you have a vastly superior board state when the dust clears and can close out the game within a couple of turns.

Let’s talk about the other sideboard slots now:
[card]Hallowed Moonlight[/card]: two mana [card]Cryptic Command[/card] against [card]Collected Company[/card].  Against [card]Rally the Ancestors[/card], it’s a two mana [card]Cryptic Command[/card] with the upside of exiling all of those pesky creatures from your opponent’s graveyard. The Rally deck has to start from scratch.  This card can have other applications as well.  If your monored opponent is playing [card]Hordling Outburst[/card] or [card]Dragon Fodder[/card], this is a great two mana answer that also draws you a card.  It synergizes really well with [card]Raise the Alarm[/card], [card]Secure the Wastes[/card], and all of the other instant speed plays in the deck (just please don’t cast [card]Hallowed Moonlight[/card] to counter one of the aforementioned spells and then try to cast a token generator end of turn).  It is also powerful if you happen to see an odd Sidisi Whip deck, Jeskai tokens deck, or anyone playing [card]Hornet Queen[/card].

[card]Hushwing Gryff[/card]:  This card serves double duty in the sideboard.  First and foremost, it is amazing against [card]Rally the Ancestors[/card]  (stopping [card]Fleshbag Marauder[/card], [card]Mogis’s Marauders[/card], [card]Satyr Wayfinder[/card], and [card]Nissa, Vastwood Seer[/card] from triggering), Abzan Control (sorry [card]Siege Rhino[/card]), and any other deck abusing enter-the-battlefield effects.  The second job our hippogriff friend does is play at instant speed.  Often against a blue-black control deck, I will sideboard in the gryffs so I’m deploying threats on the opponent’s turn, setting up windows to resolve important spells (like a midgame, resilient [card]Hangarback Walker[/card]).  This is a great roleplayer and has more utility than first meets the eye.

[card]Vryn Wingmare[/card] Even though this deck does have a number of noncreature spells, slowing down a [card]Languish[/card] is incredibly important.  Imagine going turn two [card]Consul’s Lieutenant[/card], turn three [card]Raise the Alarm[/card], turn four [card]Vryn Wingmare[/card], turn five [card]Archangel of Tithes[/card] against a control deck.  Your opponent can [card]Languish[/card], removing a large part of your board, yet still facing down an archangel AND allowing you to untap without mana for countermagic.  This is the best strategy I’ve found for dealing with [card]Languish[/card].

[card]Surge of Righteousness[/card]:  Monored was all over the place at Pro Tour Magic Origins.  I think this deck is favored greatly in the match-up, so allocating four sideboard slots may be overkill. That said, I do think red will be a very common deck to see moving forward.  You could shave one, two, or all of these depending on your confidence in the match-up and the metagame you think you’ll see.
[card]Glare of Heresy[/card]:  Just an all-around good card to have access to.  It hits problematic permanents like [card]Sigil of the Empty Throne[/card], [card]Elspeth, Sun’s Champion[/card], [card]Jesai Ascendancy[/card], [card]Fleecemane Lion[/card], etc.  Having one in the board just broadens and strengthens the deck’s removal suite.

So that’s the deck.  I feel like it was strong going into the Pro Tour weekend and it feels strong coming out of it.  Is it a top tier deck?  Time will tell.  It certainly feels like it can compete.  If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to see them.  Next week I want to continue my testing of Kytheon.  We may look at potential splashes for this deck to deal with the changing standard format, or look at what Kytheon has to offer in the modern format.  If you’re interested in the list posted, play it, test it, and post the changes you’ve found to be powerful.  I’d like to start each week by taking a look back at the previous week’s deck, testing suggestions from readers, and updating the list to make it more powerful, more competitive. The perfect deck is rarely created by one person.  We hone them as a community.