A B B.
A.
B.
B.
A = always.
B = be.
B = brewing.
Always be brewing.
Always. Be. Brewing.
Put that coffee down…
Coffee is for brewers only.
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (8)
Lands (26)
Spells (18)
So you wanna play some Battle for Zendikar cards do you? Well let’s start with a B/W Control list that sports an amazing 31 of them.
One of the big shifts with the exodus of Hero’s Downfall and other good instant speed removal spells is that we are going to need to decide if we want our
control deck to be a draw-go counterspell style deck, or a big threat, sorcery-speed tap-out style deck. We also need to decide which colors we are going
to play, and how many of them there are going to be.
Our first list is firmly a tap-out deck, and decides to keep it to only two colors to be as consistent as possible.
Wasteland Strangler is extremely good, and it thankfully does not require the use of the Eldrazi ingestors to be useful. Like your average American
consumer, Wasteland Strangler doesn’t really care how the cards were exiled, it just wants to eat them. This creates a natural synergy with white’s
“Oblivion Ring” exile type cards, as not only do they provide Wasteland Strangler with the fuel it needs, but the relationship goes two ways as Wasteland
Strangler makes sure that an untimely Dromoka’s Command won’t be returning any creatures to the battlefield as well.
This is an excellent combination, as Silkwrap is already one of the best removal spells in the format. Aside from being a two-mana removal spell,
Silkwrap’s exile is also extremely relevant against Hangarback Walker and Deathmist Raptor. Between Wasteland Strangler, Silkwrap, and Stasis Snare, this
deck has quite the removal package.
Of course, having a great removal package doesn’t really mean much if your deck doesn’t do anything. This deck takes a Superfriends approach, and relies on
an army of planeswalkers to get the job done. Much has been said already about Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and he does a great job of pumping out creatures
for defense or smashing in on offense.
Ob Nixils Reignited is perhaps even better suited for the deck, as it really is the control player’s planeswalker. I love Phyrexian Arena and I love
Shriekmaw, and Ob Nixilis is both in one high-loyalty package. I expect to see and play with Ob Nixy a ton in the next year or two. With the exit of Hero’s
Downfall, Banishing Light, and a host of the best burn spells, planeswalkers are safer than ever.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor I’m not a huge fan of, but he does what the deck wants him to do. Hangarback Walker is definitely a prominent force in the deck (as
with most decks), and Sorin, Solemn Visitor can create his own threats or pump up a bevy of tokens. Most importantly, Solemn provides one thing the deck is
lacking – lifegain.
Otherwise the deck is rounded out with a good supporting cast of control cards, and looks to take advantage of what is expected to be a creature-heavy week
one. Creature removal is pretty bad against this deck, and with so many threatening planeswalkers, it should not be hard to run your opponent out of
Ruinous Paths.
The last card in the deck that really excites me however is Blighted Fen. This deck wants to hit its first five or six land drops, but doesn’t have a ton
of use for mana beyond that. Blighted Fen gives us an essentially free Diabolic Edict, and is amazing at stopping Dragonlord Ojutai and Silumgar, the
Drifting Death before they can ever get going. Expect to see this card in a lot of decks.
Creatures (15)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (26)
Spells (14)
Of course, you could always just move into three colors as well.
This would afford you some of the most powerful cards from Abzan Control, and Abzan Charm fits like a dream as it takes the slot of both a three-mana
exiling removal spell and Read the Bones. And of course, Siege Rhino is just Siege Rhino and Den Protector is just Den Protector. It remains to be seen if
the splash is worth it.
Of course, green is not the only worthy splash color.
Creatures (6)
Planeswalkers (7)
Lands (26)
Spells (21)
This deck sticks to the tap-out style, but adds perhaps the best planeswalker in the format as well:
Jace is already fantastic, but even better when surrounded with other planeswalkers and proactive spells. Jace was great in U/W Control, but because the
deck has so many counterspells in it and needs to leave mana open so often it was often hard to use the sorcery speed Flashback ability. In a deck like
this, it’s all about tap-out sorcery-speed power, and Jace flourishes. While Jace is one of the only targets for creature removal in the deck, the amount
of fetchlands and early interaction means you may be able to flip it on turn 3. Jace is well worth it.
Jace is joined by another fancy two-drop, the new Fathom Feeder. This is a card I think a lot of people are sleeping on, and it does a lot for the deck. It
is a fantastic blocker, which helps defend your planeswalkers, and is also very valuable in long grindy games as well.
Both Jace and Fathom Feeder are fantastic with Ojutai’s Command, but in this deck Ojutai’s Command takes on a slightly different role. With so few instants
in the deck, it will be somewhat transparent when you have Ojutai’s Command, but that’s okay. Ojutai’s Command is essentially included to be a four-mana
version of Jace that can draw a card or gain life if necessary. The counterspell aspect is just a bonus.
Like the previous two decks, the deck is packed with an excellent suite of planeswalkers and the best control cards. Cards like Reave Soul and Transgress
the Mind are going to be great with Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy and Narset, and Treasure Cruise is going to be fantastic with so many fetchlands. Because the deck
is base B/W and not concerned with tapping out, Treasure Cruise gets the nod over Dig Through Time.
But what if you don’t want to tap out?
Creatures (7)
Lands (26)
Spells (27)
Not going to lie, it’s a bit rough.
Without Hero’s Downfall or Banishing Light, you lack a really solid and versatile removal spell, and while there are other options, none of them are as
flexible or efficient. Utter End works but costs about a hundred mana.
We definitely get some new tools, mostly in the counterspell department. Scatter to the Winds is a pretty straightforward Dissolve replacement, while I
think that Horribly Awry is going to be a very important card going forward. Horribly Awry does a great job at bridging the gap to Ojutai’s Command for a
very low cost and is a nice complement to the counterspells suite.
I’m also a pretty big fan of Complete Disregard as well. It is very easy to cast, an instant, and also a nice, clean answer to Hangarback Walker, Deathmist
Raptor, Mantis Rider, and so on. Considering how the deck already has some incidental exile effects, it’s possible there could be some sort of
exile/Processer control deck, but that would require some tinkering.
One major bonus is how sweet our new manabase is. We only have four lands that enter the battlefield tapped, and enough basics that our Battle lands should
almost always be untapped. With twelve fetchlands we also make our Jaces and delve spells much better as well, which is a very nice bonus. The
fetchland/Battle land connection is great for these sort of double splash decks, as we aren’t that deep into black and are very light on white. Having most
of your lands enter the battlefield untapped is extremely important when you are playing counterspells, as you can’t afford to not be able to cast Clash of
Wills or Ojutai’s Command on curve.
The upside is that a counterspell-heavy control deck seems quite good here at the start of the format. While it is true that control decks are hard to
build during a format’s inception because it is easier produce threats than proper answers, it looks like people are going to be casting Siege Rhino and
mana ramping into Eldrazi and Dragonlord Atarka; if that is the case, then a counterspell heavy control deck is the place to be. Abzan decks also no longer
have Thoughtsieze, and Ojutai’s Command is very good against them in general.
Of course, it doesn’t need to be all control all the time. Perhaps you’d like time to get food between rounds?
While R/W was the landfall deck of choice during the previous Zendikar format, Scythe Leopard is the new Cat in town and does a very passable Wild
Nacatl impression.
Creatures (21)
- 2 Hooting Mandrills
- 4 Monastery Swiftspear
- 3 Zurgo Bellstriker
- 4 Abbot of Keral Keep
- 4 Scythe Leopard
- 4 Makindi Sliderunner
Lands (24)
Spells (15)
I think that Retreat to Valakut is the real deal; the bee’s knees; the cat’s pajamas.
It really does everything a red deck like this wants to do. Red decks typically have trouble with cheap sweepers and big booty blockers, and Retreat to
Valakut allows you to play around both while also increasing your damage output!
If you are worried about a mass removal spell, just load up +2/+0 triggers onto your one or two threats on the battlefield and force their hand. One Dragon
Fodder is going to deal six damage spread over two creatures with each fetchland, and that’s a lot of damage without really exposing yourself to removal.
If you’re worried about a big blocker, Retreat to Valakut has you covered there as well. A fetchland or two invalidates pretty much all relevant blockers,
and any ‘missed’ trigger is just an extra two damage. Retreat to Valakut also plays great with dash and haste creatures, as you can often deal five or six
damage from an empty board.
If Retreat to Valakut only did one of these effects, it would likely be too narrow to be anything but a sideboard card, but both together hit that perfect
sweet spot.
This list is a bit different than many of G/R Landfall lists I’ve seen, mostly due to these three cards.
Abbot of Keral Keep is an absolutely fantastic Magic card, and it fits perfectly here. I don’t think we need more two-mana landfall creatures, so Snapping
Gnarlid really doesn’t interest me, and I think Undergrowth Champion is a better sideboard card for when you want to go a bit bigger against decks with
lots of blockers or damage-based removal.
However good Abbot of Keral Keep usually is, it was always frustrating to hit a land in the midgame that was pretty much irrelevant. In this deck pretty
much anything is a relevant hit, and very often a fetchland is exactly what you are going to want to hit. Abbot allows you to keep a low aggressive curve
while also playing more lands to properly utilize your landfall effects. With only three spells in the deck that cost more than three mana you will almost
always be able to properly utilize your Abbot’s flips.
Dragon Fodder stands in for Snapping Gnarlid in the two-drop slot as well, which is reasonable if you think about it. Again, we don’t really want a
non-evasive essentially vanilla creature, and Dragon Fodder does a lot for us. The extra bodies play very well with Retreat to Valakut and Atarka’s
Command, and the fact that it is a non-creature spell that hits the graveyard gives us both prowess triggers and food for Hooting Mandrills.
Speaking of Hooting Mandrills, delve is awesome. With all the fetchlands and early spells we will be casting, Hootie will often be a one or two mana 4/4
trampler, and that is a superb rate. Trample works great with Retreat to Valakut, and one Atarka’s Command brings him to the magic 5/5 needed to blow by a
Siege Rhino.
Aside –
I want to play a deck with both Hooting Mandrills and Gurmag Angler and call it “Hootie and the Blowfish.”
– End aside
The only major question I have about this deck is if it should be three or four Retreat to Valakut. They stack up great in multiples, but you don’t want an
opening hand that is three land, three Retreat to Valakut, one Wild Slash.
Regardless, I think this deck has some major legs. G/R Landfall will likely become the premier aggressive deck of the format, and I think this version is a
great start.
SCG Indy
While I unfortunately won’t be attending #SCGINDY, luckily for me there is a Super IQ in Brooklyn that day so I can still get a taste of new Standard. I
haven’t decided what to play yet, but some sort of planeswalker control deck is certainly on the menu. It is very likely that my deck will contain Jace,
Vryn’s Prodigy and Ojutai’s Command… but then again Retreat to Valakut seems awesome too… and I haven’t even talked about Drana, Liberator of Malakir or
Smothering Abomination/Catacomb Sifter decks yet… man new formats are tough!
Regardless what I decide, I will be keeping a close eye on the #SCGINDY coverage to see what is in store for Standard. Here are my bold predictions for the
event:
– There will be at least one copy of the card Retreat to Valakut in top 8
– There will be at least eight copies of Mantis Rider in the top 8
– A deck with Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy will win the event
– That deck may also include Deathmist Raptor, but if it does not, there will at least be a playset of those in top 8 as well
– There will be zero copies of Bring to Light in top 8
– There will be at least one copy of the card Bone Splinters in top 8
– The most exciting new deck will have Drana, Liberator of Malakir in it
What about you? What’s your week one deck of choice?