Welcome back to the Tree of Tales, have a sit and we can spin some stories. This previous week we saw an announcement for the banning of Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic. I talked about this a bit in the last article, but only touched on it slightly. Now that the announcement is official, why don’t we look at what’s left in the aftermath of this decision?
There are quite a few archetypes out there, and some of the less powerful constructs may step up to become better decks now that the monster in the closet has been eradicated. I’ll go through them one by one, examine their strengths and weaknesses, and provide a sample list. Without further ado, here we go!
Valakut
This is the deck most people have been talking about, and for good reason. When Caw-Blade was the dominant force in the format, this deck suffered considerably, as that was not an excellent match. That is no longer a problem, and this looks very good.
With good game against most mid-range decks, this list will need to shift back to it’s former look, with cheap sweepers and mana acceleration to reach Primeval Titan mana. Cards like Lotus Cobra that were used to compete with the control in the format will be less necessary, and they can focus more on acceleration like Cultivate and Explore. Quick aggression from decks like RDW can be problematic depending on build, but with good planning can be handled.
Here’s a sample list:
| Land (25) 3 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle 10 Mountain 4 Terramorphic Expanse 8 Forest Creatures (10) 4 Overgrown Battlement 4 Primeval Titan 2 Avenger of Zendikar Spells (25) 4 Explore 4 Rampant Growth (M12) 4 Cultivate 4 Slagstorm 3 Green Sun’s Zenith 2 Summoning Trap 4 Beast Within |
Big Red
This deck was another that was horribly at the mercy of Caw-Blade, and it just didn’t have what it needed to even that match. That being said, this deck is very good against much of the format. It crushes most of the aggro in the format, and has an extremely good mid-range game. Artifact destruction can be problematic, but aside from that this list has very little to fear from most decks.
The proliferate plan has shown the most success in testing, using a strong engine to push Planeswalkers to their ultimate activations in a very quick fashion. Coupled with good removal and some card draw, this deck starts looking like a very real contender. Here’s the list:
| Land (24) 20 Mountain 4 Tectonic Edge Artifacts (12) 4 Everflowing Chalice 4 Sphere of the Suns 4 Contagion Clasp Planeswalkers (6) 4 Koth of the Hammer 2 Chandra Nalaar Instants (10) 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Volt Charge 2 Comet Storm Sorceries (8) 4 Slagstorm 4 Tezzeret’s Gambit |
RUG Twin
This deck suffers a bit from losing Jace 2.0, but all told it’s still a pretty viable contender. It has options to use aggressive threats like Vengevine, Titans and such, while still retaining the ability to provide an instantaneous combo win. Couple that with the acceleration of Lotus Cobra, and this deck looks just as strong as it did before, especially given that the best deck has left the room.
It still has the same vulnerabilities it did from the start, which is Lotus Cobra. Cheap removal can completely screw you, taking away your ability to ramp and thus to play. All things concerned, I really like this list more than the Grixis version, at least post-Jace. Here’s the list:
| Land (25) 5 Forest 4 Island 2 Mountain 3 Copperline Gorge 3 Raging Ravine 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Scalding Tarn Creatures (23) 3 Birds of Paradise 4 Lotus Cobra 3 Sea Gate Oracle 4 Deceiver Exarch 4 Vengevine 2 Phyrexian Metamorph 2 Frost Titan 1 Inferno Titan Spells (8) 4 Preordain 4 Lightning Bolt Enchantments (4) 4 Splinter Twin |
Infect
So there are quite a few variants on this archetype, so I will focus on U/B, which I believe to be the most stable. First off, you get Tezzeret 2.0, which is probably the best walker in the format now that big daddy is gone. Only having to do 10 damage is just gravy, and you get a strong suite of removal, card draw and counter-magic to support your shell.
Cheap removal can just beat this deck, as well as cards like Creeping Corrosion. Big Red was crushing this deck, despite the protection built into Crusader. Even RDW was giving it problems, since Shrine deals with that protection problem nicely, and Dismember is becoming pretty much standard board against this list. Anyhow, here’s the list:
| Land (24) 4 Inkmoth Nexus 4 Darkslick Shores 4 Drowned Catacomb 2 Creeping Tar Pit 6 Swamp 4 Island Creatures (19) 4 Plague Myr 4 Ichorclaw Myr 4 Necropede 4 Phyrexian Crusader 3 Spellskite Sorceries (8) 4 Preordain 4 Inquisition of Kozilek Instants (5) 3 Dismember 2 Go for the Throat Planeswalkers (4) 4 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas |
RDW
I’ll preface this by saying that I’m going to have Grim Lavamancer in this list, despite the fact that he’s not legal quite yet. However, we know he’s coming back, and unless you’ve suffered a stroke, there’s no good reason to exclude him from this list. That being said, I really like this deck. In terms of mana efficiency, there’s nothing like it in the format. Everything furthers your game plan, and this is just a lightning quick deck.
It faces the same problem of every RDW since the beginning of time, most notably life gain. It can just cripple you, and is certainly the most dangerous vulnerability. Despite this, I truly believe this archetype to be back in the top tier, as it has just excellent game against MANY of the decks in this article, even ones that you wouldn’t expect it to (like the mono-white Puresteel list you will see shortly). Here’s two disparate lists:
| Land (22) 18 Mountain 4 Scalding Tarn Creatures (8) 4 Goblin Guide 4 Grim Lavamancer Artifacts (4) 4 Shrine of Burning Rage Planeswalkers (3) 3 Koth of the Hammer Spells (23) 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Burst Lightning 4 Forked Bolt 4 Arc Trail 4 Staggershock 3 Tezzeret’s Gambit |
This next one will be a Goblins list, with Grenade in it:
| Land (20) 16 Mountain 4 Teetering Peaks Creatures (24) 4 Goblin Guide 4 Goblin Arsonist 4 Goblin Wardriver 4 Goblin Bushwhacker 4 Goblin Chieftain 4 Grim Lavamancer Spells (16) 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Goblin Grenade 4 Burst Lightning 4 Incinerate |
Puresteel
This deck really didn’t want to lose Stoneforge, but oh well, these things happen. That being said, this is still a very solid deck, and can just win games. It’s quick, aggressive, efficient, and reliable, which are all very good things. It provides a very simple strategy, while at the same time giving complicated choices at times. While not as play skill intensive as a deck like Caw-Blade, you can definitely walk yourself out of games based on bad decisions.
The broadest weakness this deck has seen thus far is cheap removal. Notice how much of a trend that is becoming? That being said, 2-for-1s like Arc Trail, Slagstorm and such can flat out beat you, and there’s very little you can do to prevent this. However, you do have options post-board to combat this, and it certainly isn’t un-winnable. Here’s my personal list:
| Land (20) 18 Plains 2 Inkmoth Nexus Artifacts (10) 2 Mox Opal 2 Sword of Vengeance 2 Sword of Body and Mind 2 Sword of Feast and Famine 2 Sword of War and Peace Creatures (26) 4 Memnite 4 Signal Pest 4 Flayer Husk 4 Vault Skirge 4 Porcelain Legionnaire 4 Puresteel Paladin 2 Kemba, Kha Regent Spells (4) 4 Dispatch |
Birthing Pod
This is another newcomer to the format, but it fits right in. Using the engine of Birthing Pod, these decks seek to gain incremental card advantage while answering threats. This is done in a variety of ways, and colors, each with it’s own particular advantages and disadvantages.
The list I’ve built is BUG, and I’ve been quite happy with it. It seeks to attack mana and provide quick aggressive creatures, while using Birthing Pod and turn Elves into Myr Superion and Vengevines into Acidic Slimes. This deck usually crushes Valakut and other mid-range decks, and has moderate problems with aggressive decks such as RDW and Puresteel. I actually experienced quite a bit of success against Caw-Blade with a list similar to this (obviously I was running Jace 2.0 back then).
Here’s my personal list:
| Land (24) 8 Forest 2 Island 2 Swamp 2 Darkslick Shores 2 Creeping Tar Pit 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Verdant Catacombs Creatures (27) 4 Birds of Paradise 2 Llanowar Elves 4 Lotus Cobra 2 Myr Superion 4 Sea Gate Oracle 1 Glissa, the Traitor 3 Vengevine 1 Obstinate Baloth 2 Phyrexian Metamorph 3 Acidic Slime 1 Frost Titan Instants (3) 3 Beast Within Planeswalkers (2) 2 Garruk Wildspeaker Artifacts (4) 4 Birthing Pod |
B/r Vampires
This deck has been consistently hanging around the edges, occasionally jumping itself into the spotlight for a tournament win. This deck is consistent, aggressive, and hard to interact with. It has lots of removal, some of which is even attached to creatures, and some of the best creatures in the business. Without Caw-Blade to attack it, this may go back to being on top of the power struggle.
It’s biggest foible has been, and will be, mass removal. It can usually handle one-for-one spot removal, but cards like Slagstorm, Day of Judgment, and Black Sun’s Zenith can become very irritating. Bloodghast and Kalastria Highborn give a little space, but they can be handled. Here’s the list:
| Land (22) 4 Dragonskull Summit 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 4 Lavaclaw Reaches 3 Verdant Catacombs 2 Marsh Flats 5 Swamp Creatures (25) 4 Pulse Tracker 4 Vampire Lacerator 3 Viscera Seer 4 Bloodghast 4 Kalastria Highborn 4 Gatekeeper of Malakir 2 Captivating Vampire Spells (11) 4 Inquisition of Kozilek 4 Lightning Bolt 3 Arc Trail Enchantments (2) 2 Dark Tutelage |
Control (U/W and U/B)
These decks took a huge beating from Jace 2.0 getting banned, and I’m not altogether sure that they are completely viable. Were I to make an attempt, I would say U/W probably offers better options, but neither looks especially appetizing to me. U/W does, however, allow you to finally abuse artifacts in a way you haven’t been able to up to this point. Here’s a sample list:
| Land (15) 4 Seachrome Coast 4 Glacial Fortress 4 Celestial Colonnade 3 Tectonic Edge Artifacts (19) 4 Everflowing Chalice 3 Sphere of the Suns 1 Brittle Effigy 3 Tumble Magnet 1 Elixir of Immortality 2 Ratchet Bomb 1 Chimeric Mass 2 Contagion Clasp 1 Throne of Geth 1 Mox Opal Planeswalkers (7) 3 Jace Beleren 2 Venser, the Sojourner 2 Gideon Jura Creatures (6) 1 Hex Parasite 3 Trinket Mage 2 Sun Titan Instants (4) 4 Dispatch |
Obviously there are other lists and archetypes, and I can’t possibly list everything. The Phyrexian Mana Death’s Shadow deck seems to be a fairly viable deck, as are a few others that I didn’t put up. All things said, I really think this banning will make for a healthier format for the next few months. I say this as someone who has ownership of 6 Jace, the Mind Sculptors and 8 Stoneforge Mystics, this was a good thing. The format had become stagnant, and players weren’t showing up to events. It had become every bit as bad as Ravager was back when, it was just a more gradual ramp to it.
Now is the time for the innovators to separate themselves from the group and develop new and interesting ideas. Finding new interactions and strategies is more viable now than ever, and at least for now the format will favor the bold. Honestly, most of the “good” players won’t have a clue what to play, so get out there and smack them around and show them who’s boss! In the words of my favorite song, “Who’s Your Daddy ^$%^$?”
-Mike
Why aren’t you running arid mesa’s in rdw? Especially with grim lavamancer, you want to get more cards in your graveyard.