I’ve got a confession to make.
When I first read that one of the new mechanics in Champions was the addition of the Arcane subtype to a select group of Instants and Sorceries, I was pretty sure the impact was going to be minimal.
Boy, was I wrong.
Just like everyone else, I knew that splicing Glacial Ray onto something more than once would be absurd, but I didn’t think it would go far beyond that. After fix or six drafts, I stood corrected.
Not only is Arcane (and obviously Splicing) a powerful mechanic, it is actually the foundation for what I consider to be the best draft archetype in the format.
How can I make a statement like that this early on with any degree of certainty you ask?
Plenty of drafting my friends, plenty of drafting.
The fact of the matter is that Spirits and Arcane are more important than you think.
This could very well be the reason for the existence of Hisako’s Defiance. Wizards obviously realized how powerful the theme was too (not to say that Defiance is really any good, but the fact that they made a specialized counterspell should tell you something). To illustrate my point, let’s take a look at a difficult pick among the Green commons which is swayed in one direction because one of the creatures is a Spirit.
Order of the Sacred Bell
I’ve heard that some people are of the opinion that this guy is the best Green common.
Are you crazy?
Clearly that title goes to Kodama’s Reach.
Hell, this guy isn’t even the best four-drop! Obviously 4/3 for four mana is a great deal, but there’s one problem with the Order… he’s a human. This may not seem like much, but the fact of the matter is that the creature type Human Monk has absolutely no synergy with anything else in the set. On the other hand…
Feral Deceiver
I talked about everyone’s favorite trickster last week in detail, so I’ll just make my point quickly here. He costs the same mana as Order and starts with -1/-1, but this is easily compensated by his powerful pump ability that also gives him trample. When you throw in the fact that he triggers cards like Teller of Tales and Kami of the Hunt, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
The key distinction in power level between these guys is that the Order is very vanilla, while the Deceiver can gain trample and become a very real threat to your opponent, but being a Spirit is the icing on the cake for the Deceiver. Order is stopped by anything with three power, while the Deceiver will at least get through for some damage if your opponent does manage to kill it.
So yeah, anyway, back to the real topic of this article, the Arcane archetype.
The basic idea behind the deck is to get a tempo advantage with quick Green ground creatures and Blue fliers, and then abuse the Arcane mechanic to finish the job or just gain card advantage.
Obviously then, the base colors are usually Green and Blue, but the deck can also take on a few other forms which I’ll talk about later.
Usual Suspects
I sat down the other day and tried to write out a complete pick order for the commons in this deck, but it ended up being too hard. The Green commons in this set are extremely hard to rank among one another, and there are just so many good ones that a lot of the time the pick will depend on your mana curve. So instead of having a complete pick order for the deck, I’m going to go over the core cards that make up the deck and I’ll provide some pick information wherever possible.
These aren’t exactly in pick order, but I tried to group them together with other cards that produce the same type of effect. I didn’t mention Glacial Ray because it should be extremely obvious that if you open it, you should splash it in this deck and you should take it over anything that isn’t a bomb rare or uncommon.
Kodama’s Might
A lot of people who believe that U/R is the best way to go with an Arcane deck are simply missing out. The fact that this card costs the same to Splice as it does to cast is just stupid. For an additional one mana for every Arcane spell you cast, you get to tack on a mini Giant Growth. I’m usually able to pick up some of these guys pretty late too, since most people are still taking a lot of the creatures over it (which is wrong). I like to have at least two copies of this and there’s nothing wrong with three, but that’s about the max I’d play. When combined with quick creatures and abuse of the cheap Splice cost here, it’s very hard for anyone to overcome your tempo advantage. An absolute staple.
Consuming Vortex
This is the other piece of the puzzle that makes the deck really powerful. Multiple copies of Vortex and Might is just unfair combined with any reasonable attack force and when you start splicing them onto each other, it’s pretty hard to lose. This card is my pick for most underrated card in the set right now (as far as our CMU drafts go), and in my opinion it is even better than Mystic Restraints in this deck. Restraints just seems cumbersome to me, and it’s not even a real form of removal since they can simply untap their guy with Teller of Tales or still use it’s special abilities if it has any. Vortex is simply the better form of “temporary” removal in my opinion and usually you just win the game by casting it and splicing Might or something else onto it or vice-versa.
Kodama’s Reach
No need to sit and explain why this card is nuts, but I do want to make clear what it provides for the archetype. It allows easy splashing of such powerful Arcane spells as Glacial Ray, Rend Flesh, Pull Under, and sometimes even Blessed Breath. Not to mention that Reach itself has Arcane and usually gets a Ray spliced onto it on turn five. I’d usually take this over any non-Glacial Ray common if you were attempting to draft this deck since it allows you to splash and ups the power level and consistency of your deck. Multiples are a plus as well.
Kami of the Hunt
Need a reason to play Spirits and Arcane spells? Look no further.
I initially thought this guy was just another Grey Ogre with an above average ability, but it turns out he’s actually a high pick. As I said earlier, the Green commons are really hard to rank, since so many of them are close in power and desirable in any deck with Forests. One of the initial orders I was having trouble with was this guy, Matsu-Tribe Decoy, and Moss Kami. I’ve decided that it really depends on your deck, but if you’re drafting this deck, I’d take the Kami unless you really had curve issues.
Kami is extremely annoying to play against, usually getting in for three a turn as you unleash more Spirits into your army, and also benefiting from all of the Arcane action that usually occurs with this deck. Let’s not forget that he becomes 5/5 when targeted with a single Kodama’s Might.
Teller of Tales
I talked about this guy last week in my first impressions article, and boy has he found a home in this archetype. Teller clears the way for your attackers and can also play defense duty and shut down two of your opponents creatures for the turn with a single Consuming Vortex. The reason this guy and Kami are so crucial is that their triggers are both excellent and you will usually be setting them off almost every turn by merely developing your board. The beauty is that the triggers don’t even require any real effort to get off since your deck is already built around them. Teller makes it very hard for your opponent to stop your already overwhelming tempo advantage by screwing with his blockers. Teller, Kami of the Hunt, Kodama’s Might, and Consuming Vortex are really the inner core of this archetype (this doesn’t mean they’re all necessary, but it’s definitely beneficial to have them).
Sakura-Tribe Elder
This little dude is great, again allowing you to splash, while also chump blocking for a turn or just interacting with some of the tribal Snake effects later in the game. Not to mention getting you to the crucial four mana on turn three so you can deploy a Feral Deceiver, Order of the Sacred Bell, or Soratami Mirror-Guard.
Orochi Sustainer
Like the Elder, the new Wirewood Elf is highly attractive to a tempo-oriented deck like this one. He is only slightly worse than the Elder and you should still pick them high. There are lots of big dorks that can fill out your deck, so you should take the accelerators over them to begin with.
Soratami Mirror-Guard
Unfortunately Rishadan Airship costs one mana more now, but thankfully there aren’t that many effects in the format that destroy X/1’s.
The Mirror Guard is an attractive turn 3 play off of one of the Green accelerants, and as of now I’m unsure whether or not I like it better than Mystic Restraints. I think that once you have a decent flier base you should probably take the Restraints, but up until then it’s really a close pick between the two.
Matsu-Tribe Decoy
I keep wanting to move this guy up on my pick order, as he’s just great at what he does. He keeps X/1’s off the board in the early game, acts as Lure in the late game, and locks down two creatures a turn when he’s donning a Serpent Skin. If you have a few Kodama’s Mights already, I’d probably pick this guy higher as he can basically assassinate anything in combination with the cheap pump spell. The real problem is that there are so many good Green commons that sometimes you have to make difficult judgment calls as to whether or not you’ll see more of a particular common later in the draft. Decoy is near the top echelon of those commons though and should be picked accordingly.
Mystic Restraints
So how do I ever get a Mystic Restraints anyway if I’m taking Teller, Vortex, and possibly even Mirror-Guard over it? The answer is that I don’t usually, and if I do, I only have one. Honestly, I don’t think the card is all it’s cracked up to be, as a simple Blessed Breath can destroy it, and that card has Splice for one mana. Restraints is a cumbersome way for this deck to deal with problem creatures. For my money, I’d rather have Teller or Consuming Vortex every time. However, it is still a removal spell in a color combination devoid of them (unless you’re splashing), so don’t feel bad if you have to early pick one.
Feral Deceiver and Moss Kami
It’s worth noting that I like Deceiver better than Moss Kami because it’s sleeker and when pumped is basically the same creature. Both are good fatties for the deck though, and always make the cut.
Soratami Rainshaper
Excellent ability, and well costed, a welcome addition.
Mirror-Guard is better though, because of the extra point of power.
Reach Through Mists and Counsel of the Soratami
KK championed this card in his article this week as a necessity in Arcane decks. While I agree that it is strong, I don’t think I’d be picking it over anything else good that would go in the deck unless I already had at least three or four spells with Splice. It’s a tough decision between this and Counsel early in the draft, since Counsel is great at smoothing out your draw and fixing any mana screw or flood.
So there’s a basic list of most of the cards that usually end up comprising the deck. Obviously there is a supporting cast of cards like Orochi Ranger, Soratami Cloudskate, Order of the Sacred Bell, and others. Serpent Skin is also a solid trick that should make the maindeck when you’re shorter than usual on spells and should definitely be boarded in against any other Green deck.
The Framework
So at this point you’re probably wondering what one of these decks would look like right?
Have no fear, I have a sample decklist from a draft last weekend for ya.
Kodama’s Might
Kodama’s Might
Consuming Vortex
Consuming Vortex
Orochi Sustainer
Orochi Sustainer
Orochi Ranger
Soratami Cloudskater
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Kami of the Hunt
Kami of the Hunt
Matsu-Tribe Decoy
Kashi Tribe Reaver
Soratami Mirror-Mage
Soratami Mirror-Guard
Mystic Restraints
Gifts Ungiven
Soratami Savant
Soratami Seer
Petals of Insight
Strength of Cedars
Moss Kami
Moss Kami
Seshiro the Anointed
Relevant Sideboard
Floating-Dream Zubera
River Kaijin
Yamabushi’s Flame
Humble Budoka
Time of Need
Wear Away
Kami of Twisted Reflection
Admittedly, this deck is a little bit more powerful than you can expect on average. This happened because neither person in front of me in the draft was in Blue or Green, so I ended up getting lots of quality cards as late picks. It’s worth noting that I didn’t splash the Yamabushi’s Flame in this deck (and I usually would) because I only had one Elder to fix my mana and I didn’t want to screw up the consistency of the deck for just one Red spell. It’s also worth mentioning that I’d have played the Time of Need if I had another Legend, since finding Seshiro is usually game over.
Some of the cards that I really don’t like in these colors are also worth talking about.
Humble Budoka is pretty bad. I’d only run it if I was really needed another two-drop, since the ability is actually a drawback in disguise. Not being able to target your guy with Might or other combat tricks is really bad, trust me. It’s irrelevant that they can’t kill him with burn, he’s not even good to begin with!
Kami of Twisted Reflection also only gets played if I’m really running short on cards or three drops. The ability does practically nothing, with its best claim being that it can fizzle Blind with Anger or an Arcane spell with something Spliced onto it (but only if there is only one target). The way the ability works, it’s really hard to gain any sizeable advantage from it and the guy costs double Blue, making him clunkier than a normal three-drop.
Eye of Nowhere is another last resort, though playable if you really need something to Splice onto. Double Blue is really a hindrance.
River Kaijin is a fine card, but I’d rarely run it in this deck because the Green creatures are just as good at defending and better at attacking. You want your Blue guys to primarily be fliers, though it’s okay if you have to play the occasional Callous Deceiver in the three slot.
I’m also not a huge fan of Hisoka’s Defiance or Thoughtbind, since neither has Arcane. They are sideboard cards and nothing more – try to avoid maindecking them.
Hopefully all of this gives you some idea what you should be shooting for.
Some Final Notes
When drafted correctly, this deck is very difficult to beat. The overwhelming majority of matches that I’ve won in this format have been with some form of this deck.
Remember to take the Kodama’s Mights and Consuming Vortexes high, along with the manafixing cards from Green. You’ll get plenty of shots to develop a good creature base, since the commons are so deep in Green. You should also always be on the lookout to splash removal spells, since you have the power of Reach and Elder.
Another thing is that the Shrines are extremely powerful when you get multiples. This deck can easily support three different Shrines because of the manafixers, so you should pick other Shrines high after you’ve already grabbed one. All of the Shrines except the Black are excellent, and the Black becomes playable if you have one or two others and can afford putting a dent into your manabase.
So, who’s got questions?
Feel free to email me or post in the forums.
Nick Eisel
[email protected]
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