The excitement of spoiler season in the weeks leading up to a Prerelease is electrifying for the Magic community because each new card changes the game forever. New cards create new possibilities, options, and combinations and thus expand the bounds of what was previously possible.
Of course, not all cards are created equal, and some change the game to a greater extent than others…
“Rodman is coming…”
A 5/5 trampler for four mana is already quite impressive, but what really puts Advent of the Wurm over the top is the versatility of having flash. Most people are already aware of AOTW and some of the practical uses for it so I will only briefly summarize the key points before moving along to a few decklists.
Advent, like Restoration Angel, flashes down during combat and functions as a 5/5 removal spell. Restoration Angel has the advantage of flight and Blinking an allied creature, but the Wurm’s giant body also has some advantages. The ability to squash Loxodon Smiter and Ash Zealot enchanted with Rancor both come to mind.
“G/W instants play well with blue creatures.”
Advent of the Wurm is an instant that produces a creature token and thus has synergy with many blue cards that reward players for playing with noncreature spells. Delvers flip it, Augurs find it, and Snapcasters recast it.
With the printing of Advent, Selesnya mages finally have a reason to utilize their RTR keyword mechanic populate. Rootborn Defenses was already borderline playable as a defense against Supreme Verdict, and Druid’s Deliverance is another card that will surely see more Constructed play as well.
Last but not least, the card gives a player a really solid way to continue pressuring an opponent that casts a Wrath effect during their turn. If an opponent taps out to cast Supreme Verdict, we can simply flash down a Wurm token on their end step and keep beating down.
Advent Bant
The first deck that I put together after hearing about Advent of the Wurm was a modified version of the Wolf Run Bant control deck I wrote about last week. Basically, replacing existing options with Advent of the Wurm makes the deck significantly better in the abstract.
Creatures (9)
Lands (25)
Spells (26)
- 2 Dissipate
- 4 Farseek
- 2 Think Twice
- 4 Azorius Charm
- 4 Supreme Verdict
- 2 Detention Sphere
- 4 Sphinx's Revelation
- 4 Advent of the Wurm
Sideboard
My first version of the deck does not play any of the utility lands (Kessig Wolf Run or Alchemist’s Refuge) because I am worried that adding four copies of a card with heavy mana requirements will make casting my spells awkward. It is very possible that with Farseeks splashing Kessig Wolf Run will be a worthwhile endeavor.
I really like how this version of Bant has a lot of aggressive draws that give the deck some real ways to punish stumbling or mediocre draws from an opponent. Turn 2 Farseek into turn 3 flash down a Wurm to squish an attacker in combat is a rout.
Bant Delver
Some Bant Delver decks have popped up on Magic Online, and Advent of the Wurm pretty clearly improves that deck.
Here is my first draft of an updated Delver deck for Standard.
Creatures (15)
Lands (22)
Spells (23)
- 3 Unsummon
- 2 Rootborn Defenses
- 4 Call of the Conclave
- 4 Selesnya Charm
- 3 Simic Charm
- 3 Spell Rupture
- 4 Advent of the Wurm
Sideboard
Bant Delver is another deck that directly benefits from having Advent of the Wurm as an option. The card is basically everything that a deck like Delver could possibly ask for—it has flash and is an extremely efficient finisher.
Block G/W Populate
The last deck I have been testing out is a G/W Populate deck for block. Although my testing with the deck is limited to one session, I was really happy with many of the things the deck was able to do.
Creatures (20)
- 4 Dryad Militant
- 4 Loxodon Smiter
- 2 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
- 2 Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
- 4 Experiment One
- 4 Voice of Resurgence
Lands (22)
Spells (18)
“Everything I ever wanted in a chump blocker.”
The deck seems very powerful, and the additions of Voice of Reason and Advent of the Wurm clearly make the deck much better. In fact, they are two of the three best cards in the deck!
The deck has a lot of options after sideboard since it seems there is a narrow populate card for every occasion, with Rootborn Defenses being the most powerful. I love the way that it counters a Supreme Verdict (which is probably the best card against this deck), and it’s also a blowout against the aggressive red deck. Rootborn Defenses is basically an amazing card against the top two strategies in Block!
Wurm Wrap-Up
Some great cards to play with Advent of the Wurm in Standard:
Snapcaster Mage
Augur of Bolas
Rootborn Defenses
Delver of Secrets
Druid’s Deliverance
Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice
Some great cards to play against Advent of the Wurm in Standard:
Dramatic Rescue
Unsummon
Dispel
Negate
Duress
Falkenrath Aristocrat (and anything with flying that Restoration Angel could block that a Wurm token can’t)
Some cards that Advent of the Wurm makes much worse in Standard:
Loxodon Smiter
Supreme Verdict
Jace, Memory Adept (and planeswalkers in general)
Essence Scatter
It is my belief that Advent of the Wurm is going to see a considerable amount of Constructed play in the future, and having known about the card for a few days, these are the best things I have thought of to do with it.
My financial prediction is that the Return to Ravnica Wurm token goes up in value.
“Chase rare?”
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Brian DeMars