A couple weeks ago I recorded a few videos of myself playing Junk Reanimator against some of the more popular decks in the format. Feedback was mostly positive, so I’ve decided to give it a whirl again.
This time I will be piloting a Naya Midrange list similar to Brian Edgar’s deck that took third place last weekend at SCG Standard Open: St. Louis.
Creatures (28)
- 1 Arbor Elf
- 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
- 3 Restoration Angel
- 4 Thundermaw Hellkite
- 4 Loxodon Smiter
- 4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
- 4 Boros Reckoner
- 4 Voice of Resurgence
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (23)
Spells (5)
I feel like this deck is fairly well positioned right now. It has the tools to go over the top of the other Naya decks that are more aggressive, yet it still has the power level to compete with the various midrange decks of the format. Control is pretty nonexistent at the moment.
For the most part, I’ve kept his list intact, but I did want to make a few changes to account for a shift in the metagame and my own personal preferences.
For one, I’m playing Rest in Peace in my sideboard. I feel like Rest in Peace is one of the best cards in the format that nobody is really considering or playing at the moment. It’s a solid value card against Junk Reanimator—it won’t win you the game, but it can dilute their strategy—and it’s the best card in the format against Junk Aristocrats. Likewise, it is very good against the Act II version of The Aristocrats, although it isn’t quite the same game ender there.
Against Junk Aristocrats, it severely limits or completely and utterly invalidates Lingering Souls; Varolz, the Scar-Striped; Doomed Traveler; Young Wolf; Voice of Resurgence; Skirsdag High Priest; Blood Artist; and Tragic Slip. The powerful and synergistic Junk Aristocrats list becomes a pile of Squires and Grizzly Bears with a Rest in Peace in play. You could probably beat them with a pair of Mindless Nulls, a rusty nail, and a roast beef sandwich at that point.
Another major shift is that I’m playing Bonfire of the Damned in my deck. Again, Bonfire is an awesome powerhouse against both versions of The Aristocrats while still being a solid card against most of the rest of the decks in the field. The combination of Bonfire of the Damned and Thundermaw Hellkite is a nice one-two punch against Junk Reanimator as well. You stifle their acceleration and then play a huge, near unblockable 5/5 flier to finish them off before they can rebound.
The final change I’ve made is adding a second copy of Arbor Elf and a 24th land. In a deck aiming to cast four- and five-drops, not to mention hard casting Bonfire later in the game, I feel that it’s essential to have enough mana sources to be able to make all of these plays. Adding another mana dork and a land helps ensure that Thundermaw gets cast on time. Playing a few copies of Arbor Elf means that I feel it’s pretty necessary to play two Forests to complement the eight green shocklands so that Arbor Elf is turned on. As a result, every other land in the deck produces red or white so that we can ensure Boros Reckoner is castable as early as possible.
The deck is also pretty heavy on three-drops, so I want to maximize the number of hands I can curve a one-drop into a Domri Rade, Loxodon Smiter, or Boros Reckoner on turn 2. Playing an extra Arbor Elf helps make that dream a reality.
When it’s all said and done, the list I’ll be playing looks like this:
Creatures (28)
- 2 Arbor Elf
- 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
- 2 Restoration Angel
- 4 Thundermaw Hellkite
- 4 Loxodon Smiter
- 4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
- 4 Boros Reckoner
- 4 Voice of Resurgence
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (24)
Spells (4)
U/W/R
Against U/W/R, I opted to go for a very light sideboarding plan:
+3 Boros Charm
As always, this should change based on the cards you see from your opponent. U/W/R is a very customizable deck. There is a wide swath of cards you can see from a U/W/R player, which leads to a number of different options for cards to bring in. Against a control-heavy opponent, I want Garruk Relentless and possibly even Rest in Peace if they are really utilizing Snapcaster Mage and Think Twice. Against a version playing Augur of Bolas and four Restoration Angels, I might want Mizzium Mortars as a way to clear those two cards out of the way for my attackers.
Jund
+2 Mizzium Mortars
+2 Selesnya Charm
+2 Garruk Relentless
-4 Voice of Resurgence
-1 Loxodon Smiter
-1 Bonfire of the Damned
Naya Blitz
+2 Mizzium Mortars
+3 Unflinching Courage
-4 Thundermaw Hellkite
-1 Restoration Angel
Junk Reanimator
+2 Mizzium Mortars
+3 Rest in Peace
+2 Garruk Relentless
+2 Selesnya Charm
-4 Loxodon Smiter
-4 Voice of Resurgence
-1 Domri Rade
Junk Aristocrats
+3 Rest in Peace
+2 Mizzium Mortars
-4 Voice of Resurgence
-1 Loxodon Smiter
Thanks for watching, and as always please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions for improvement. I’m very open to trying new things and would love to hear how I can get better at this.
BBD on Magic Online
@BraunDuinIt on Twitter