The MKM Series in Toulouse happened just a few days ago, and with it the Legacy main event. Over a hundred people showed up to play in the tournament, making it a fairly large event. Out of all these people, only eight were left for the elimination rounds, and while there’s a lot to say about each individual decklist, first I want to take a look at what the top 8 itself looked like. Without further ado…

Grixis Delver

UWR Control

Four Color Delver

Grixis Aggro

UWR Control

Aggro Loam

BUG Control

MUD

Interestingly enough we see zero copies of Miracles in the top 8, despite the deck making up thirteen percent of the metagame, and twice as much as the second most played deck; ANT (a complete metagame breakdown can be found on their website). Both Four Color Delver and Aggro Loam (we really need a better name for that deck) however continued to impress, making a showing in yet another larger legacy event. This is just one event, and we should be careful not to read too much into these results. Still, when two decks keep consistently putting up top 8 finishes, that’s a sign that something’s going on. Right now Legacy is evolving, and we are witnessing the process.

While Miracles failed to impress this time, there was still plenty of control decks to be seen in the top 8, and lots of innovation. Miracles has long been the go-to control deck of the format, and it’s nice to see that there are other options. Let’s dive in and take closer look, starting with the winning list; UWR Control by Miguel Alcoriza.

Alcoriza Miguel – UWR Control

This deck features sixteen pieces of library manipulation, eleven pieces of counter magic, seven removal spells and twenty lands, alongside two copies of Jace, the Mind Sculptor, three Snapcaster Mage and one Secure the Wastes as its win conditions.

Game one this deck has a lot of disruption, but no real clock or soft lock to put pressure on the combo decks. That changes quickly after sideboarding though, when the full four copies of Meddling Mage and two copies of Vendilion Clique are brought in to give you another angle of attack.

Rather than Terminus, this deck plays Supreme verdict, as the aforementioned miracle is less exciting when you don’t have Sensei’s Divining Top in your deck. What’s more interesting is the inclusion of the second Council’s Judgement. With both Aggro Loam and Four Color Delver on the rise, the decision to run a second copy makes a lot of sense, as it gives you more outs to some of the troublesome permanents seen in those decks, namely Sylvan Library and Chalice of the Void. With two copies of Council’s Judgement and a single Spell Snare, you should have a decent shot at combating those cards.

The biggest eyebrow-raiser in this deck is certainly the singleton Secure the Wastes, a card rarely seen in Legacy. As far as big spells go however it serves as a nice supplement for Entreat the Angels that also happens to work quite well with Snapcaster Mage. As a matter of fact, Secure the Wastes has many uses. You can play it on turn two to trade with an opposing Dark Confidant, or use it to hold off a Tarmogoyf later in the game, while simultaneously getting in for several points of damage every turn. It also deals excellently with Young Pyromancer, negating the value they would normally get from having a single card produce multiple bodies.

Next up we have Paul Ridoux and his MUD deck

Ridoux Paul – MUD

Paul’s list seems to be a fairly stock MUD lists, with no really unconventional card choices. It has been established by now that Ugin, the Spirit Dragon deserves a spot in this deck, as the card has continuously  proven its worth. Time will tell if Orb of Warding will replace Witchbane Orb in the sideboard going forward. It does cost an extra mana, but having a card that deals with both Tendrils of Agony and Empty the Warrens seems sweet.

Chalice of the Void is very well positioned right now, and MUD is definitely one of the better decks to take advantage of that. If you expect a lot of blue decks, perhaps it’s time you consider MUD.

The next deck on our list is Gabriel Deloison’s Grixis Delver deck, featuring a few gems of its own. I present to you…

Deloison Gabriel – Grixis Delver

Gabriel piloted his Grixis Delver list to a top 4 finish. Sadly this list is missing four cards, but seeing as there are only fourteen lands, I have an idea as to what the missing slots may be. Anyway, the card that catches my eye here is the one maindeck Kolaghan’s Command. Kolaghan’s Command is a highly versatile spell indeed, but normally the mana cost would be detrimental for its chances of being included in a deck like this. Grixis Delver does have a lot of trouble playing against Chalice of the Void, and in fact I beat the deck twice on the back of that card at GP Lille. It could be that the one Kolaghan’s Command is a concession to Chalice of the Void as a miser’s answer that is maindeckable thanks to still being live in other matchups.

The next thing to note is that there are only two copies of Cabal Therapy in the entire 75. In my experience with Grixis decks, their ability to completely rip a hand apart with Gitaxian Probe + Cabal Therapy has been one of its major strengths, which makes the decision to cut down on therapies seem questionable. With Gabriel opting to play Gurmag Angler and True-Name Nemesis, shaving a Gitaxian Probe and a Young Pyromancer however, the power level of Cabal Therapy goes down. Compared to its controlling counterpart, the Grixis Delver deck is a bit lacking in terms of staying power, so having a card like True-Name Nemesis to mitigate that weakness is definitely appealing. I’m not sure I agree with the way this deck is built, but I can definitely see where Gabriel is coming from.

Next up we have an interesting take on BUG Control, a deck that hasn’t been seeing too much play lately. Let’s take a look at what Carles Minion brought to the table!

Minion Carles – BUG

This deck aims to trade one for one with the opponent and then land a planeswalker to run away with the game. It has a lot of the traditional elements of BUG Control; discard spells, countermagic and removal. The singleton Spell Pierce looks a bit out of place in a deck that’s looking to go this long, but is very efficient early on, and can be made live later in the game thanks to Life from the Loam + Wasteland.

The anti synergy of Tarmogoyf and Innocent Blood is a little unfortunate, but having a creature that can stand in the way of opposing critters as well as live through Toxic Deluge can be quite valuable. This way your opponent will have to add more creatures to the table if they are to attack past your blocker, making your sweeper even better. Tasigur takes this one step further, as he survives Pernicious Deed in addition to Toxic Deluge.

After sideboard you have the option of adding even more creatures in the form of Scavenging Ooze and Vendilion Clique, enabling you to take a more proactive stance versus the combo decks, and potentially other control decks as well.

Game one versus combo your best bet is to get a Liliana of the Veil into play to keep their hand in check. A combination of hand disruption and permission should be enough to get there.

These BUG Control decks have a certain draw to them. It seems as if every card they draw has an impact on the game. There is very little ‘air’ in a deck like this, and the power level of each individual card is very high.

Rodriguez Pozo Javier – 4C Delver

This is the stock Four Color Delver list. The deck has been making top 8 after top 8, placing very well in larger legacy tournaments lately. While these lists are very much alike, there are a few things to note about this one. First is the decision to play the 3-1 split between Tarmogoyf and Snapcaster Mage and the 19:th land over the maindeck Red Elemental Blast. This is the version that was taken to a top 8 at GP Lille by Petr Sochurek. Playing a 3-1 split makes sense when you don’t want to overload on Tarmogoyf, and because Snapcaster Mage is the more mana hungry card you want the extra land. Most of the time you will be flashing back a one mana spell, but every now and then you need a Dig Through Time or Abrupt Decay with your Snapcaster Mage, which is when the importance of the additional mana source becomes especially apparent.

In the sideboard we see a couple of interesting card choices that differ a bit from what we’re used to. Javier opted to go with a Grafdigger’s Cage and a Surgical Extraction over the two copies of Nihil Spellbomb that Petr Sochurek had in his sideboard. Surgical Extraction is quite strong with Snapcaster Mage, although not quite as good as when paired with discard spells. It also happens to be much better against Punishing Fire, a popular inclusion in Aggro Loam (or should I say Punishing Blue?) that can single handedly deal with almost all of your threats. Grafdigger’s Cage is great against Elves! and dedicated graveyard decks, and doesn’t mess with your Tarmogoyfs. I can definitely respect the decision to go with the more powerful card, even if it’s not as good against the top decks. Legacy is a diverse format, and stepping into a tournament you are likely to face a variety of decks.

Sulfuric Vortex is an interesting choice. Traditionally strong against Miracles it might seem like a sound decision, seeing as how that deck is currently very popular. To cast Sulfuric Vortex however you need double red, and unless you have a Deathrite Shaman that is a serious stretch if you also want to be playing Tarmogoyf and Abrupt Decay. Sulfuric Vortex does have some utility against Batterskull, but I’d much rather have access to Ancient Grudge in my sideboard. Especially now that many Miracles players have adopted Monastery Mentor, making them far better at taking a proactive stance and racing the enchantment, I would be hesitant to include Sulfuric Vortex outside of Burn.

Gonzalez Ruben – Grixis Aggro

This deck is listed as Grixis Aggro, and to be honest I don’t really see why. While it is certainly capable of coming out of the gates quickly with an army of Young Pyromancer tokens or an early Tasigur, the Golden Fang, it should be even better suited for games that go long. All your cards are very powerful and your answers are very efficient. The low land count and high density of cantrips means you will most likely be getting a steady stream of gas, and should provide you with both card quality advantage and virtual card advantage. Dig Through Time is also a beast going long, and this is one of the best Dig Through Time decks in the format. It is Grixis Control.

I finally picked up this deck a few days ago after having had my eyes on it for quite some time, and was super impressed with how consistently powerful it felt. There have been a few different variations of this deck going around, with the main difference being whether they play Deathrite Shaman or not. At first glance this might seem like just any other Grixis Control list, but there are a couple of interesting decisions here that I want to take a closer look at. First up we have the choice of removal spells. Four copies of Lightning Bolt is a given, but after that things start to get more interesting.

A singleton Murderous Cut was a common inclusion for a while, since it deals with most creatures for a small cost and this deck fills the graveyard so easily anyway. There are two main problems with Murderous Cut however, and they’re the reason I would stay away from the card right now. For starters, it is a lot worse on turn one, and having this in hand as your only removal spell when your opponent deploys a turn one Mother of Runes or Goblin Lackey is not a spot I want to be in. Secondly, while having enough feeding delve may not be a problem in a vacuum, you have to account for the fact that you also want to be chaining Dig Through Times. Other versions of this deck have had four additional cantrips, and sometimes even Thought Scour. Once you move away from those however, Murderous Cut gets a lot worse.

Forked Bolt is a card I like quite a bit, especially if you’re expecting a lot of Young Pyromancer mirrors. The problem is that it fails to shore up any of your weaknesses. You already have an answer to smaller creatures in Lightning Bolt. What you’re missing is a way to deal with all the Tarmogoyfs, Gurmag Anglers and Knight of the Reliquaries your opponent might throw at you, and Forked Bolt doesn’t help with any of that.

When I played this deck I had Terminate, and it’s a card I would play again. It’s not flashy, but it gets the job done. It does have the same problem as Murderous Cut with it being unable to answer a turn one play on the draw, but gets better as the game goes on. In a deck that is built to trade one for one it is essential that your removal spells do what they’re supposed to. Because of the low land count however you also need them to be efficient in order to not fall behind on tempo early on. This is why I think Terminate is a better fit for the sideboard, as games usually slow down a bit after board.

Next up we have the counter magic. When I played this deck it had three copies of Counterspell and a lone Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Ruben’s version has two Pyroblast effects and an additional copy of Jace. This can easily be explained by the fact that my metagame is less blue, with more creature decks seeing play, making Counterspell preferable over Pyroblast. Pyroblast also happens to be more narrow, and three copies feels a bit much, which means you get to fit in another Jace instead.

Romero Vilardell Adria – Jeskai Control

Ah, another innovative UWR Control list! It is very similar to the winning list, and even has the signature Secure the Wastes, only this time it’s in the sideboard. The fact that both decks made it to the top 8 is for me reason enough to at least have a closer look at the archetype. That will have to wait for another time though, as for now we’re going to examine the differences between the two lists.

Adria plays three additional removal spells (the two Lightning Bolts and the one-of Pyroclasm) where the other list had a second Pyroblast, a Spell Snare, and the fourth Dig Through Time. Eight pieces of dedicated creature removal might be too much, but when I play a deck like this I always want to have an answer ready for my opponent’s creatures. If you have to spend your cantrips looking for a removal spell you might find yourself shuffling away otherwise good cards or keeping bad Ponders just because you desperately need to answer their threat, and that is a recipe for failure. I’d much rather play it safe and not skimp on the removal. Having a second sweeper also takes a lot of the pressure off when facing an army of Young Pyromancer tokens, and Pyroclasm is a much more efficient answer than Secure the Wastes.

Having shaved some of the counter magic, Adria’s list is weaker to combo. To compensate for this, the singleton Secure the Wastes has been replaced with a Vendilion Clique, serving as both disruption and a victory condition.

Aside from Storm, Spell Snare also has a lot of utility against various problematic permanents, such as Counterbalance and Chalice of the Void. Having split the two copies of Flusterstorm in order to fit in a Spell Pierce ensures you still have as many ways to deal with these cards.

Chhen Patrick – Loam

This is essentially the exact same list that we’ve seen repeatedly doing well in tournaments lately. The only change that has been made here was to replace the second copy of Barren Moor with a second Tranquil Thicket. Tranquil Thicket seems stronger in general, whereas Barren Moor helps cast Liliana of the Veil, and also works very well alongside Life from the Loam and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.

This deck just keeps performing extremely well over and over again. It’s time we recognise its place among the best decks in Legacy.

As for me, the journey outside my comfort zone has been great. I’ve kept my promise, trying new things in Legacy and playing better decks. So far I have tried both Grixis Control and Omnitell, going 4-0 and 3-1 respectively. My confidence as a player has been renewed, and I couldn’t be more excited to keep working on the format, exploring new ideas. There’s a WMCQ coming up, where I’ll be playing Mono Red, so for the time being most of my energy is directed towards learning the ropes in Standard.

Once the WMCQ is over however it’s all about Legacy, as the first season of our legacy league is coming to an end. Sixteen players will be competing for the title of Stockholm Legacy Champion, hundreds of dollars in legacy staples, and a handmade playmat by @PG_Alterations.

Until next time,

Sandro Rajalin

Last weekend brought us GP London so let’s take a look at the Standard action that happened last weekend:

Grand Prix London

Decklists

Abzan Aggro was the story of the tournament! Putting four people into the Top 8, [card]Hangarback Walker[/card]  is still a force to be reckoned with. Let’s take a look at some Abzan Aggro card numbers to see where the deck is possibly headed in the future.

Abzan Aggro Deck Numbers

Land
16x [card]Windswept Heath[/card]
16x [card]Sandsteppe Citadel[/card]
14x [card]Temple of Malady[/card]
12x [card]Caves of Koilos[/card]
12x [card]Llanowar Wastes[/card]
8x [card]Temple of Silence[/card]
4x [card]Mana Confluence[/card]
4x [card]Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth[/card]

Planeswalker
6x [card]Sorin, Solemn Visitor[/card]
2x [card]Ajani, Mentor of Heroes[/card]

Creature
16x [card]Anafenza, the Foremost[/card]
16x [card]Fleecemane Lion[/card]
16x [card]Hangarback Walker[/card]
16x [card]Siege Rhino[/card]
12x [card]Den Protector[/card]
6x [card]Warden of the First Tree[/card]
4x [card]Wingmate Roc[/card]

Instant
14x [card]Dromoka’s Command[/card]
12x [card]Abzan Charm[/card]
10x [card]Ultimate Price[/card]
6x [card]Hero’s Downfall[/card]

Sideboard
16x [card]Thoughtseize[/card]
10x [card]Tragic Arrogance[/card]
8x [card]Elspeth, Sun’s Champion[/card]
6x [card]Herald of Torment[/card]
3x [card]Surge of Righteousness[/card]
4x [card]Ultimate Price[/card]
2x [card]Unravel the Aether[/card]
2x [card]Arashin Cleric[/card]
2x [card]Dromoka’s Command[/card]
2x [card]Glare of Heresy[/card]
2x [card]Self-Inflicted Wound[/card]
2x [card]Tasigur, the Golden Fang[/card]
1x [card]Sorin, Solemn Visitor[/card]

Based on those numbers, [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] is a new key piece of the Abzan Aggro strategy. [card]Anafenza, the Foremost[/card] is another creature that is critical to the strategy. A 4/4 that keeps growing your creatures every turn, with a bonus of being able to shut down graveyard strategies, is definitely a large threat in the deck. In terms of planeswalkers, [card]Sorin, Solemn Visitor[/card] should not be overlooked as it can greatly help out against the new U/R Thopters archetype by giving you some lifelinking reach throughout the game in order to survive the critical final turns.

The other decks that rounded out the Top 8 were GW Megamorph, Jeskai Tempo, Abzan Midrange, and RG Dragons.

Similar to Abzan Aggro, GW Devotion was playing [card]Dromoka’s Command[/card] due to its huge versatility in the format right now. Other cards seen were [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] (again), [card]Hidden Dragonslayer[/card], and [card]Nissa, Vastwood Seer[/card].

Jeskai Tempo is still making good use of [card]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy[/card] however the use of [card]Soulfire Grand Master[/card], [card]Mantis Rider[/card], and [card]Ojutai’s Command[/card] should not be overlooked. These cards provide fast and massive amounts of card advantage throughout the game.

Finally, GR Dragons was packing the usual [card]Thunderbreak Regent[/card] and [card]Stormbreath Dragon[/card] along with [card]Draconic Roar[/card], [card]Rattleclaw Mystic[/card], and [card]Haven of the Spirit Dragon[/card].

All in all, not an exciting Top 8 it but it does provide us with some data about how Origins continues to shape up the format leading into Battle for Zendikar. Keep tuning in for more weekend updates.

Money Draught #39 — We Never Sleep

Topics include: post-rotation Standard, Community Cup changes, Modern Masters 2015 flashback drafts, the Great
English Pet Culling of 1939, Jim Jones, Bernie Sanders and demographics, JR’s horse handicapping strategy, and
a revival of the pre-Vegas Money Draught Modern rotisserie draft.

** This cast is for mature listeners **

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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!

Last weekend brought us Grand Prix San Diego and Star City Games: Washington which featured Legacy as the main event, with some Standard and Modern on the side. Let’s take a look at the results.

Grand Prix San Diego

Format – Standard

Decklists

Magic Origins innovations are abound again! First place this time went to UR Tutelage, a deck based around the uncommon [card]Sphinx’s Tutelage[/card] and the overwhelming mill that the enchantment can generate once the deck’s engine get’s going. The deck only played four creatures in the form of [card]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy[/card] because at it’s heart it is a control deck similar to the Bant Tutelage fog deck that was featured on camera a few weeks back when Origins first hit the tournament scene. This deck seems to be the refined version, which plays strictly blue and red in order to maximize on removal while being able to continue drawing cards with [card]Tormenting Voice[/card] and [card]Magmatic Insight[/card]. The deck also featured [card]Whelming Wave[/card] and [card]Send to Sleep[/card], along with a single copy of [card]Alhammarret’s Archive[/card] to keep the the card draw engine going. In the sideboard, Fiery Impulse seems good as a pseudo-[card]Lightning Bolt[/card] that can take care of pesky fast creatures if you’re playing against decks like Mono-Red Burn. All in all, I’m sure this deck is pretty miserable to play against but sure seems fun to pilot!

Second place went to Abzan Constellation, an archetype that gets one final [card]Swan Song[/card] before it leaves Standard forever in the fall. [card]Herald of the Pantheon[/card] and [card]Starfield of Nyx[/card] have really pushed this deck’s power up a ton until the fall rotation. Again, we see cards like [card]Eidolon of Blossoms[/card] coming back in order to get the most out of all the enchantments that you need to run along with [card]Doomwake Giant[/card] for board control. This deck seems like great fun to pilot, even though we’re only getting most of the pieces for a few months.

Rounding out the Top 8 were Abzan Midrange, Esper Dragons, Abzan Aggro, Black-Red Dragons, GW Megamorph, and Jeskai Tempo. Key cards from Origins that we’re seeing in these archetypes are:

• [card]Nissa, Vastwood Seer[/card] and [card]Languish[/card] in Abzan Midrange
• [card]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy[/card] in Esper Dragons
• [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] in Black-Red Dragons
• [card]Nissa, Vastwood Seer[/card] in GW Megamorph (along with four [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] and two [card]Evolutionary Leap[/card] in the sideboard)
• [card]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy[/card] in Jeskai Tempo (which has also made [card]Ojutai’s Command[/card] see more play these days due to the card advantage it offers with Jace and other creatures in the deck)

All in all, I’m really liking the direction that Standard is going! There are both old and new decks aplenty out there, and players have a wide variety of options that they can choose from when deciding which Standard deck they might select for an event. I’m sure that the “top dogs” will make themselves known over the course of the next few months however for now it seems that the possibilities for Standard are endless.

Star City Games Open: Legacy (Washington)

Decklists

Legacy is still going strong, with SCG still supporting the format with large Legacy opens (even though now they aren’t happening nearly as frequently as before Modern was introduced and hyped up as a format).

Omni-Tell took down the Legacy Open piloted by Josh Pelrine. This deck has continuously been making waves in the format over the past several months, since the combination of [card]Show and Tell[/card] into [card]Omniscience[/card] is unbeatable if allowed to resolve. [card]Dig Through Time[/card] is still seeing extensive play in Legacy in both combo and control decks, so I would continue to expect to see the card since it is super powerful in formats where the graveyard is continuously filled up throughout the game. Also, [card]Cunning Wish[/card] continues to see play in this deck in order to quickly grab any instant from the toolbox sideboard in order to deal with threats both on (and off) the board.

Second went to Jeskai Stoneblade, a prominent deck in the format that has many proven top finishes since the deck is able to control the game so well through both [card]Stoneforge Mystic[/card] and [card]Jace, the Mind Sculptor[/card]. Again, we see [card]Dig Through Time[/card] since it such a powerful card selection spell along with Lingering Souls to create flyers for both an offensive and defensive strategy (depending on the matchup).

Rounding out the Top 8 were Grixis Delver, Temur Delver, Storm, Reanimator, Lands, and Death and Taxes. [card]Vryn Wingmare[/card] is now a solid playset in the Legacy Death and Taxes deck, which shows just how good a flying Thalia can be along with all the other tax effects in the archetype. Take note, and realize that Death and Taxes has yet another great card to add to their arsenal!

Rounding out the Top 16 were UWR Miracles, Shardless Sultai, Jeskai Stoneblade, Grixis Control, Death and Taxes, two Infext, and Grixis Delver. [card]Monastery Mentor[/card] is still appearing in sideboards and main decks throughout the Top 16, so that bodes well for its continued use in eternal formats. [card]Baleful Strix[/card] is still used quite a bit among decks, since it provides a nice way to draw cards and stop bigger creatures from attacking. [card]True-Name Nemesis[/card] is still seeing a small amount of play amongst decks but it isn’t being used nearly as much as when [card]Treasure Cruise[/card] was still legal in the format.

Star City Games Premier IQ: Standard (Washington)

Decklists

Looks like [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] has even made its way into Bant Heroic, since it can provide additional bodies to use all of the enchantments and pump spells on if the main creature dies. Certainly a great innovation by Todd Anderson to enable him to win the Standard IQ. UR Thopters took second place, on the back of the Pro Tour where the deck was prominently featured. Many new cards were seen in this deck – [card]Chief of the Foundry[/card], [card]Hangarback Walker[/card], [card]Whirler Rogue[/card], [card]Ghostfire Blade[/card], [card]Ensoul Artifact[/card], [card]Shrapnel Blast[/card], and even four [card]Stubborn Denial[/card] main deck.

Rounding out the Top 8 were two Mono-Red Aggro, Abzan Delve, Abzan Aggro, Abzan Constellation, Abzan Rally. So, lots of Abzan decks that all are slightly different from each other! Mono-Red is doing quite well these days, since the introduction of [card]Abbot of Keral Keep[/card] and [card]Exquisite Firecraft[/card] have been introduced in Magic Origins. However, Abzan Delve is something new. This deck features multiple copies of cards like [card]Hooting Mandrills[/card] and [card]Gurmag Angler[/card] to take advantage of other cards played like [card]Satyr Wayfinder[/card], [card]Gather the Pack[/card], and [card]Commune with the Gods[/card]. Definitely an interesting take on the Abzan archetype, which proved to do quite well that weekend in a field full of crazy new brews. Abzan Midrange has adapted [card]Hangarback Walker[/card] into the build, which is unsurprising given how versatile the Walker can be, along with [card]Tragic Arrogance[/card] as a way to control the board after dropping a [card]Siege Rhino[/card] or some other such threat. Abzan Rally, yet another take on the archetype, is similarly pretty crazy – the deck operates completely differently from other Abzan strategies due to the fact that you want value creatures like [card]Shaman of the Pack[/card] in order to generate value from [card]Collected Company[/card] and [card]Rally the Ancestors[/card]. I think that this is a deck that could possibly survive through rotation, as long as a decent replacement for [card]Satyr Wayfinder[/card] is included for Battle for Zendikar.

Star City Games Premier IQ: Modern (Washington)

Decklists

Finally, Jonathan Anghelescu took down the Modern portion piloting Naya Zoo, which is still using Collected Company in order to generate card advantage from cheap creatures off the top of the deck. Rounding out the rest of the Top 8 were two Jund, Goryo’s Vengenace, Grixis Delver, G/W Auras, Affinity,  and something called W/B Hate Bears.

W/B Hate Bears is definitely a misnomer – the only strictly “black” card in the deck was two copies of [card]Orzhov Pontiff[/card], a B/W card that used to be played heavily in the old [card]Birthing Pod[/card] decks of yore but was selected for this deck because of his great ability to kill cards like [card]Delver of Secrets[/card] and [card]Young Pyromancer[/card]. Also, [card]Lingering Souls[/card] was in here for value. Other than this, it was basically a Modern version of Death and Taxes, playing cards like [card]Serra Avenger[/card], Thalia, [card]Aven Mindcensor[/card], [card]Brimaz, King of Oreskos[/card], and [card]Aether Vial[/card]. Definitely an interesting take on Hate Bears, since the usual builds splash green for cards like [card]Collected Company[/card] and [card]Voice of Resurgence[/card].

The rest of the Top 16 included Grixis Twin, three Affinity, Goryo’s Vengeance, Jund, Mono-White Aggro, and Dredgevine.

Mono-White Aggro is the most unique Modern deck I’ve ever seen. Literally every single card in the deck is a one-drop – check out the list to see for yourself how John Gniadek had playsets of everything from [card]Boros Elite[/card], to [card]Figure of Destiny[/card], to [card]Champion of the Parish[/card]. The deck seems to be built around the newly released [card]Kytheon, Hero of Akros[/card] from Magic Origins since the planeswalker is transformed when you attack with three or more creatures, which this deck aims to always complete by turn three. What a totally crazy brew, and one I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of (as long as [card]Chalice of the Void[/card] stays out of Modern sideboards!!).

Dredgevine is another deck we haven’t seen place in some time. This deck uses the power of [card]Golgari Grave-Troll[/card] and other Dredge enablers in order to make use of “free” casts from the graveyard like [card]Bloodghast[/card] and [card]Vengevine[/card]. Also, cards like [card]Grisly Salvage[/card] and [card]Faithless Looting[/card] keep the engine going. Even [card]Satyr Wayfinder[/card] made it into the deck! Looks like Modern is still a viable place for graveyard strategies to do well since [card]Gurmag Angler[/card] and other Delve cards of its ilk continue to be major threats in the format.

That’s all for this week, keep checking back for more weekend Magic updates. As always, thanks for reading.

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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.

Magic Origins continues to showcase some of the potential future directions that Standard could take. This weekend Star City Games heads to Richmond to seek out the direction of the new Standard. Let’s take a look at those results, as well as the Modern and Legacy side events that also were reported.

Star City Games Open: Standard (Richmond, USA)

Decklists

Ray Tautic took down the event with a new brew called Abzan Rally. This deck utilizes the power of [card]Rally the Ancestors[/card] in order to generate advantage from Enter the Battlefield effects at instant speed. The deck also utilizes four [card]Liliana, Heretical Healer[/card] which means that she could be a powerful force in the new Standard if a deck like this places well at the Pro Tour. The deck also utilizes [card]Fleshbag Marauder[/card], [card]Grim Haruspex[/card], [card]Merciless Executioner[/card], [card]Mogis’s Marauder[/card], and [card]Nantuko Husk[/card] as additional ways to generate advantage from Rally and also [card]Collected Company[/card].

Rounding out the Top 8 were two Bant Heroic, Abzan Control, Sultai Control, Mono-Red Aggro,G/R Ramp, and Abzan Constellation. [card]Nissa, Vastwood Seer[/card], [card]Languish[/card], [card]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy[/card], [card]Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh[/card], [card]Exquisite Firecraft[/card], [card]Herald of the Pantheon[/card], and [card]Starfield of Nyx[/card] all saw play in the top tables. That is a tone of Origins cards that is shaking up Standard! I especially like that someone found a way to make [card]Starfield of Nyx[/card] work since it is definitely one of my favorite Origins cards because we haven’t seen anything like it since [card]Opalescence[/card] (without the confusion!). Even Chandra, rated the worst planeswalker by many players, seems to hold her own in Mono-Red since there are plenty of ways to quickly flip her for profit.

Rounding out the Top 16 were two Abzan Control, U/B Control, Jeskai Heroic, two Jeskai Aggro, G/R Devotion, and Mardu Dragons. [card]Hangarback Walker[/card], [card]Thopter Spy Network[/card], [card]Artificer’s Epiphany[/card], [card]Clash of Wills[/card], and [card]Harbinger of the Tides[/card] are additional Origins cards seen throughout the Top 16. There was also a hearty helping of [card]Ojutai’s Command[/card] being seen in many of the Jeskai decks, since it interacts so favorably with [card]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy[/card] in addition to being a somewhat decent command. I think we’ve found a home for [card]Ojutai’s Command[/card], at least for the time being. Things continue to be shaken up in Standard, and I like the direction it is going! Wizards is certainly turning up the dial on the number of Standard playables in newly released sets and Magic Origins continues to surprise us as the weeks go on.

Star City Games Premier IQ: Modern (Richmond, USA)

Decklists

Mono-Blue Tron made the Top 8 of the Modern IQ. This deck differs from the R/G version by playing spells such as [card]Treasure Mage[/card] (with a package of [card]Platinum Angel[/card] and [card]Sundering Titan[/card]), [card]Condescend[/card], [card]Repeal[/card], [card]Chalice of the Void[/card], [card]Talisman of Dominance[/card], [card]Mana Leak[/card], [card]Mindslaver[/card], and [card]Thirst for Knowledge[/card] in order to control the game and eventually tutor for a win. The sideboard is also interesting since it includes cards such as [card]Ratchet Bomb[/card] and [card]Aetherspouts[/card].

Burn is the story of the Top 16, with four players making it in with one of the quickest decks in Modern. [card]Eidolon of the Great Revel[/card], [card]Goblin Guide[/card], [card]Boros Charm[/card], and of course [card]Lightning Bolt[/card] are all main staples of the deck along with tons of other direct damage to finish off the opponent as quickly as possible by taking advantage of all the fetches and shocklands in the format.

Star City Games Premier IQ: Legacy (Richmond, USA)

Decklists

[card]Monastery Mentor[/card] continues to make appearances in eternal formats, with two copies being seen in Reynolds Esper Control list. Lands also continues to be seen at the top tables, packing cards such as [card]Mox Diamond[/card], [card]Exploration[/card], [card]Gamble[/card], and [card]Thespian’s Stage[/card] / [card]Dark Depths[/card].

Even [card]Day’s Undoing[/card] is seeing play in Legacy, with one copy seen in Omni-Tell. Other interesting cards were [card]Thunderous Wrath[/card] in Grixis Delver and [card]Krenko, Mob Boss[/card] in Goblins.

That’s all for this week. Keep checking back for more weekend updates!

Grand Prix Lille was two weeks ago, and before I get to the story of how my own trip went, I want to talk about the Grand Prix itself, what performed well, and what that means for Legacy.

Looking at the top 8, we see two Miracles decks facing off against each other in the finals, with the eventual champion of the event, Claudio Bonanni, piloting a list with both Monastery Mentor and Daze, much like Kazuya Murakami’s list from his top 8 at GP Kyoto earlier this year.

Miracles by Claudio Bonanni, 1st place at GP Lille

Creatures

4 Monastery Mentor

2 Snapcaster Mage

Spells

4 Ponder

4 Brainstorm

4 Sensei’s Divining Top

4 Counterbalance

3 Daze

2 Pyroblast

1 Counterspell

4 Force of Will

3 Swords to Plowshares

3 Terminus

2 Dig Through Time

Lands

2 Arid Mesa

3 Scalding Tarn

4 Flooded Strand

4 Island

1 Plains

3 Volcanic Island

3 Tundra

Sideboard

1 Red Elemental Blast

1 Disenchant

1 Wear // Tear

1 Engineered Explosives

1 Surgical Extraction

1 Rest in Peace

1 Pyroclasm

2 Flusterstorm

2 Vendilion Clique

2 Ethersworn Canonist

1 Blood Moon

1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 

Monastery Mentor allows the deck to take a proactive stance when needed, especially when it is backed up by Daze. Daze also gives you more ways to fight decks like Omnitell, and significantly increasing your chances of winning the counter war on the turn two Counterbalance in the mirror match. On the other hand, having these cards in your deck does have its drawbacks, such as making your opponent’s Terminus more live, or drawing a Daze on turn seventeen. Still, the upsides are very much real, especially so when you considering the surprise factor, and how much better a card like Daze gets when your opponents don’t expect you to have it.

Backing up a bit we see a top 8 that looks as follows.

• Miracles
• Miracles
• Infect
• Aggro Loam
• 4 Color Delver
• 4 Color Delver
• Lands
• Aggro Loam

Here we see that several archetypes managed to put multiple copies in the top 8. Miracles has been largely accepted as the default best deck for a while now, and it had no problems living up to its reputation this time. Interestingly enough though, both Four Color Delver and Aggro Loam, the breakout decks from Prague Eternal, saw two players finishing in the top 8, suggesting that they may more than just ‘good decks’, but actual contenders for the title of ‘the deck to beat’. For the time being, that honor remains with Miracles, but it is refreshing to see more archetypes doing so well.

Four Color Delver by Thomas Van Der Paelt

Main Deck

4 Delver of Secrets

4 Deathrite Shaman

4 Tarmogoyf

4 Ponder

4 Brainstorm

3 Spell Pierce

4 Daze

4 Force of Will

4 Lightning Bolt

2 Abrupt Decay

1 Red Elemental Blast

3 Dig Through Time

1 Sylvan Library

3 Wasteland

1 Scalding Tarn

4 Polluted Delta

4 Flooded Strand

2 Volcanic Island

2 Underground Sea

2 Tropical Island

Sideboard

1 Red Elemental Blast

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Grafdigger’s Cage

1 Nihil Spellbomb

2 Submerge

2 Golgari Charm

2 Flusterstorm

1 Vendilion Clique

1 Pithing Needle

1 Dread of Night

1 Ancient Grudge

1 Pyroblast

Four Color Delver by Petr Sochurek

Main Deck

4 Delver of Secrets

4 Deathrite Shaman

3 Tarmogoyf

1 Snapcaster Mage

 4 Ponder

4 Brainstorm

3 Spell Pierce

4 Daze

4 Force of Will

4 Lightning Bolt

2 Abrupt Decay

3 Dig Through Time

1 Sylvan Library

3 Wasteland

4 Flooded Strand

2 Polluted Delta

2 Misty Rainforest

2 Scalding Tarn

2 Tropical Island

2 Volcanic Island

2 Underground Sea

Sideboard

1 Sylvan Library

1 Wasteland

2 Nihil Spellbomb

3 Red Elemental Blast

2 Flusterstorm

2 Dismember

1 Golgari Charm

1 Forked Bolt

1 Vendilion Clique

1 Ancient Grudge

The two Four Color Delver lists from the top 8 of GP Lille share 58 out of 60 cards (not accounting for different fetchlands), and Pets Sochurek’s maindeck is identical to the one Tomás Már made the top 8 of Prague Eternal with.

Back then we had multiple versions of the deck. Here we see both players playing a more streamlined mana base. We see both players opting for Tarmogoyf over True-Name Nemesis, and Spell Pierce over Thoughtseize. It seems we are getting to a consensus for the what the stock list of Four Color Delver should look like.

Broadening our scope to the top 16 we see multiple copies of both Storm and Omnitell falling just short of top 8. I think this is in part due to more people finally having figured out how to combat Omnitell. Still, the two decks did account for nearly a third of the top 16, and they are definitely forces to be reckoned with. Notice how two out of three Storm players in the top 16 opted to go with the additional kill conditions and business spells, each packing two copies of Tendrils of Agony and a single Empty the Warrens, as well as the second Past in Flames. Enabling the natural combo more often seems like a most excellent idea when your opponents plan to fight you with countermagic, and I like this idea a lot.

There is more innovation to be found in this top 16, such as three copies of Sulfur Elemental out of Martin Vonasek’s Storm sideboard, and Lukas Blohon playing Monastery Mentor over Young Pyromancer in his Omnitell sideboard. Overall though, the top tables at Grand Prix Lille showcased a perfect example of beautiful deck construction; tweaking good decks to beat the opposition while not getting cute doing so.

Going forward I expect both Four Color Delver and Aggro Loam to be considered a force to be reckoned with. At this point they have been putting up consistent results over two larger tournaments. When you have a deck that is powerful, consistent and proactive, that is a recipe for success, and now we have two.

I’ll be interested to see how the metagame will adapt to these newcomers among tier 1 decks. The banned and restricted announcement brought no changes, so we won’t see that shaking up the meta game for at least a while. For now though, two new and powerful contenders have joined the scene, and the rest of the format in turn will have to adapt.

I am also very curious as to what the evolution of Miracles is going to look like. Carsten Kotter has been experimenting with a list completely foregoing Swords to Plowshares in the maindeck in favor of more countermagic and library manipulation to make you better positioned in the mirror, as well as against the combo decks. Claudio Bonnani’s list featured Daze and Monastery Mentor, whereas Olivier Ruel was on a more traditional list.

As for how my own tournament went, I ended up going 4-4, drop with Goblins. Despite my poor record however ö I still had a great time in Lille. I got to eat good food and socialize with my friends. I got to meet many other legacy players and talk to them about the format. I met with GoboLord, who has written the opening post on the Goblins thread and is one of the best and most dedicated Goblins players in the world today, and we had a long and informative discussion, sharing our thoughts about the deck with one another. I got to play some very memorable games, and if you want to know more in detail how my matches went, be sure to keep an eye out on the Goblins thread.

I was happy with how I played and I had a decent list. I can’t complain about my draws or my matchups, nor about the quality of my opponents’ draws, and still I only managed to put up a mediocre result. This has made me realize what I’ve been fighting to disprove for so long; if I want to consistently put up great results in Legacy, Goblins isn’t the way to go. I still love the deck and I’m still confident it can put up good results (hat’s off to Aston Ramsden’s 152:nd place finish), but it’s time for me to start working on something else. I will still keep playing Goblins at my local legacy weekly tournaments. The deck is my baby after all and I love working on the puzzle that is tuning it, but by the time GP Seattle comes around I will be playing something else. I’ve made my decision and accepted what I need to do. Now I have a lot of catching up to do. In the meantime, does anybody have a deck I can borrow on Magic: Online? I have to get to work on Legacy.