This first week of Battle for Zendikar Standard is over, and after all the dust has settled, we are left with a Top 8 that most thought would be
devoid of one or two-color decks, only to see G/W Megamorph and Atarka Red in the finals. I would like to say that I was surprised, but honestly I wasn’t.
I had been talking about how I felt that Atarka Red was extremely well-positioned for this weekend, but the direction that Brian DeMars had taken the deck
was absolutely perfect for #SCGINDY.
Brian had determined that the instant speed spot removal was pretty bad in the format currently. This means that everyone is trying to tap out as
aggressively as possible to deploy their threats and establish a board presence. Even still, when people are sitting back on mana it’s usually something
like Ojutai’s Command.
You know what doesn’t care about Ojutai’s Command?
Breaking down DeMars’ deck, we can see that there really aren’t that many removal spells. With M15 and Theros block leaving, almost all
of the great cheap interaction has left, and that includes burn spells like Lightning Strike and Searing Blood that we would normally see in this kind of
deck. We still have Wild Slash to give us our fix and kill the Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy that our opponents will undoubtedly play against us, but Brian decided
to just try and plow right through them.
Atarka’s Command, Titan’s Strength, Become Immense, and Temur Battle Rage really just want a single creature to get through. Going wide is
something that we started to hear a lot of during the time that Martin Dang won Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir with his Dragon Fodder and Hordeling
Outburst-fueled Atarka’s Command deck. DeMars has opted to omit Hordeling Outburst although he does still have a couple three-drops in the deck with his
pair of Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh. We also see a full four copies of Zurgo Bellstriker and only two copies of Lightning Berserker. I’m not sure if I’m a
fan of the full set of Zurgo, but I can’t argue with his result. Holding together the deck is Monastery Swiftspear, which is included in some of the deck’s
absurdly fast kills.
One of the main things Atarka Red gained (as opposed to what this archetype lost) with Battle for Zendikar is that its mana is just so
much better now. Having to play Mana Confluence in the past iterations came with a real price, especially in the mirror. Not quite the Ultimate Price, as
BBD would say, but real none the less. If you ever played the deck before, you knew the sting of drawing the one-of Temple of Abandon the turn you needed
an untapped red source. Hell, even the basic Forest was gross. DeMars still runs one here, but I honestly think that it could just be a Cinder Glade.
Getting an untapped dual land was just what the doctor ordered for this aggressive deck that wanted to splash for Atarka’s Command.
The other two-color aggressive deck that made it to the finals was G/W Megamorph piloted by “Dreamboat” Michael Majors. This deck had always been a fringe
deck that preyed on the control style of decks, but previously would use something like Collected Company and resilient, hard hitting threats like
Fleecemane Lion and such. Pairing this with the Den Protector/Deathmist Raptor combo and you have quite the recipe to hate on the Esper Dragons and Abzan
Control style of decks.
Hangarback Walker being printed has definitely changed the landscape of Standard, and this style of deck is no different. We might have lost Fleecemane
Lion, but its spirit is still carried on with Hangarback Walker. Deployable early, yet still great at any point in the game is exactly what you want from a
two-mana creature, and this deck takes advantage of it. Along the same vein, we have Warden of the First Tree, which without the aforementioned plethora of
cheap interaction available, this little guy can quickly take over the game if you get to level it up like Figure of Destiny.
With all the options in terms of creatures with abilities and spells like Dromoka’s Command and Valorous Stance, one of the big pulls to play a G/W deck
like this is taking advantage of Wingmate Roc. Stormbreath Dragon is gone, and as such, the Rocs are rocking the skies. I can’t really say that Stormbreath
Dragon was singlehandedly keeping these birds of prey from raiding the skies, but I can imagine that being trumped so easily played a big part of it. Now,
there really aren’t many options when it comes to trying to race these guys.
Oh, you say Languish is a thing? I’ll just play and flip this Den Protector to regrow the Wingmate Roc and put a Deathmist Raptor onto the battlefield!
As for new cards, we see Gideon, Ally of Zendikar making an appearance here. As a purely value card, Gideon is great. Being able to make 2/2s for free
along with getting an emblem to fuel your flying Thopter army, Gideon really is all upside. Oh, he can also just become a 5/5 and thomp our opponents right
on the noggin. I really like how this card plays along with Wingmate Roc, making expendable 2/2’s that can attack and trigger raid.
This isn’t even taking into account just how awesome making a 2/2 every turn is when you have Evolutionary Leap on the battlefield.
We see the new Battle land, Canopy Vista, make an appearance here as well. While it’s not going to let us cast Warden of the First Tree on turn 1, it does
help with the hefty color requirements on Dromoka’s Command on our double-spell turns, and it gives us access to double white for our Gideon and Wingmate
Rocs. Blighted Steppe seems pretty sweet as a way to have a huge life buffer while racing or against an aggressive red deck that’s not trying to do twenty
to you in one turn.
I definitely expect to see these decks continue to get a lot of reps as we move forward into the format. It may seem like you don’t really lose much by
adding another color, as we saw the majority of players do, but I really like the consistency that we can garner from playing just straight up two colors.
That being said, did any of you actually see Gerry Thompson’s Five-Color Bring to Light deck?
I’m in love!
I made a prediction that Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy was going to have quite the weekend, and that was correct. He may not have been in the finals, but he was all
over the tournament, and Gerry’s deck is the one that definitely makes the most of our Unbound Telepath.
When you think of the term “toolbox,” what cards come to mind?
These types of cards are extremely powerful, and Bring to Light is no different, and until they decide to reprint Spell Pierce in a Standard legal set, get
used to playing against a million Siege Rhinos.
The core of the deck is really Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy. Being able to double back on your Bring to Lights is where this deck starts to really pile on the card
advantage, especially since we have so many one-ofs that are just extremely powerful.
These three are absolutely beautiful. Clever Impersonator is something that we haven’t really seen before, but just imagine how nice it is to have infinity
+1 Siege Rhinos, or something like your own Dragonlord Ojutai, or even copying your Gilt-Leaf Winnower. Let’s face it, we’re living in a Siege Rhino world,
and Gilt-Leaf Winnower is great at breaking that up. It even kills Wingmate Roc, Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy’s Human side, or anything else that you use Jace,
Telepath Unbound’s +1 ability on.
Yep, that’s right. Go ahead and double check that bad boy.
Silumgar, the Drifting Death is just great. Hangarback Walker is the thing, and Silumgar version 1 is insane against it.
The rest of the deck is real sweet. Unfortunately, we can’t find enchantments with Bring to Light, so it’s a no-go on cards like Demonic Pact or Outpost
Siege, but we do get sweet things like Sultai Charm and Utter End. It’s important to note that while you can’t play a spell for its awaken cost through
Bring to Light, you can with Jace’s “Flashback” ability, since it’s not actual Flashback.
The sideboard is pretty sweet, relying on Radiant Flames and spot removal against the aggressive decks along with our Rhinos and sweepers in the main.
Sadly, I don’t really think that we can afford to play Arashin Cleric while we are Radiant Flaming, but that could be wrong since we can control how big
they are.
I do think it’s important to note that we are seeing more and more Radiant Purge. It’s a clean, instant-speed answer to Siege Rhino and Mantis Rider, and
it even exiles so Den Protector can’t bring it back.
The rest of the Top 8 was littered with Esper Dragons, which wasn’t that much of a surprise since Dragonlord Ojutai is still bonkers, and Jeskai Black.
Both decks utilize Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, but Jeksai Black looks to take advantage of the pressure that Mantis Rider can put on unprepared opponents with
the power of Crackling Doom and Kolaghan’s Command.
One thing that I do want to point out is how cute Dragonmaster Outcast is in Adam Varner’s Jeskai Black deck. Being able to rebuy this little guy in the
lategame with Ojutai’s Command just has value stamped all over it!
Rounding out the Top 8 was a lone Abzan Control deck piloted by Bradley Carpenter. We see a Gilt-Leaf Winnower being played, which is a concession to just
how important these Siege Rhino battles are, but we also see a full four Ruinous Path.
With new creature-lands, megamorph cards like Den Protector, and draw-twos like Abzan Charm, wanting to play more lands feels like the thing to be doing,
and I really like Ruinous Path. Not being instant speed is obviously a hit against it when compared to Hero’s Downfall, but the flexibility of Downfall now
or Downfall + a 4/4 later just seems insane to me, and every time I saw it cast for its awaken cost during #SCGINDY last weekend, I was extremely impressed
with the card.
I think we’re going to see Ruinous Path, and some of the other awaken spells, more and more as the format starts to sort itself out.
So where do we go from here though?
This weekend the Open Series heads to Atlanta for more Standard action with Battle for Zendikar. One of the most common questions I’ve been
getting this week during my streams is “What do you think of the decks from #SCGINDY and what should I play this weekend in Atlanta?”
To be honest, I really like Brian DeMars’ Atarka Red deck, and I feel like if you can’t get whatever it is that you’re working on to beat it, then you
should probably just be playing it. As for preparing for the mirror, more Fiery Impulse is probably a good place to start, and I can imagine an uptick in
cards like Surge of Righteousness. Sadly, I don’t think that the old standby of Arashin Cleric will be good enough to stand up to this new type of red deck
since the three life isn’t just countering a spell or holding off attacks for a while. They can just combo-kill you from having no board.
Ultimate Price is also good against the deck, but it sadly matches up pretty poorly against Siege Rhino and Mantis Rider, so we really can’t bank on that
one too much.
I wish everyone lots of luck at #SCGATL this weekend, and honestly, if you can’t beat em’ (Atarka Red), I really think you should just join em’.