Earlier this week, while playing in a mid-week draft, I got into a discussion with one of the players about the particularly poor quality of the rares in our box. No Gideon, Sarkhan, or Vengevine made for a definitely sub-standard value box. Kozilek, Dragonlord, and Emrakul were the obvious first picks on the redraft, and a couple Consuming Vapors went as well. I ended up grabbing a Realms Uncharted, which many feel hasn’t lived up to its spoiler hype.
I decided there had to be something worthwhile to put it in, and while I think it has definite applications in Extended and beyond with Life from the Loam, I wanted to put it to use in Standard. My first brew was greedy, for sure.
Creatures (14)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (26)
Spells (15)
It’s definitely greedy, but cascading into Wall of Omens makes for a very powerful start. Bloodbraid Elf isn’t typically used as an attacker, but instead as a valuable wall, similar to Plumeveil back in the day. It trades with Vengevine and most everything else in Jund, and can be an extra attacker in control match ups.
Sadly, this deck didn’t quite pan out, although when it’s on, it is extremely strong in many match ups. 4 colors means 3 flavors of fetchlands, which is amazing with Realms Uncharted. The synergy with Knight of the Reliquary is also pretty obvious, and that’s the area I decided to focus on with Realms Uncharted in my next brew.
I decided to cut red, as I was only using it for Bloodbraid Elf. Moving into just the Bant colors made the mana base stronger. I made some changes and then battled some games against a newer Jund build with Sarkhan the Mad. Here’s the list, although it doesn’t have a sideboard yet.
Creatures (11)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (27)
Spells (17)
Game 1 against Jund, my opening hand has 2 Celestial Colonnade, Arid Mesa, Wall of Omens, O- Ring, Baneslayer, and Elspeth. I keep, this hand, as I have early defense, and I need 1 land in 4 draws (turns 2-4 and the Wall cantrip) which is an aggregate of about 90% to draw a land by turn 4. *(math at the end, for those curious)
I lead off with Colonnade, and he plays Raging Ravine.
Turn 2, I draw Day of Judgment, play Arid Mesa, fetch out a Plains (19), and play Wall of Omens, which draws me another Day of Judgment. Jund plays a Lavaclaw Reaches.
Turn 3, I draw a 3rd Day of Judgment, and play my 2nd Colonnade. Jund lays Swamp, Blightning. I pitch 2 day of Judgments, going to (16) now.
Turn 4, I draw Knight of the Reliquary, which I can’t cast, and pass. Jund plays Bloodbraid into Lightning Bolt, hitting me for 3 (13).
Turn 5, I draw another KotR, and pass again. Jund plays Forest, Garruk, +1 to have mana to Terminate my Wall. Bloodbraid beat me for 3 (10), and Jund has 1 Savage Lands untapped. I draw and play Stirring Wildwood, and O- Ring his Garruk. However, end step Bolt (7) makes his Ravine plus Bloodbraid lethal.
On hindsight, I don’t think there’s much else I could do there, as mulliganing makes little sense there.
Game 2, I keep Plains, Stirring Wildwood, Evolving Wilds, Wall of Omens, Path to Exile, 2x Knight of the Reliquary.
Turn one, I lead with Stirring Wildwood, and Jund plays Raging Ravine, still not knowing I have Spreading Seas.
Turn 2, I draw and play Plains, then play Wall of Omens, which draws me Celestial Colonnade. Jund plays Verdant Catacombs into Swamp (19), then plays Putrid Leech.
Turn 3, I draw Spreading Seas, and play Celestial Colonnade. Jund plays Mountain, attacks with Leech, pumping (17) to hit me for 4 (16), then ends with a post-combat Sprouting Thrinax.
Turn 4, I draw Terramorphic Expanse, play Evolving Wilds, then Spreading Seas his Raging Ravine, to lock out Green. Seas draws me into a Knight of the Reliquary. Jund plays a Forest, casts Bloodbraid into Blightning on me. (13) I pitch Plains and a Knight of the Reliquary. Jund attacks with Leech, Blood braid, and Thrinax. I block Thrinax with Wall, then Path the Leech in response to the pump. Bloodbraid gets through for 3 (10). End step I Evolving Wilds for a Forest.
Turn 5, I draw Day of Judgment, and consider playing it, but I would be in the same position I am now, as I can blank his Thrinax with my Wall, so he’s getting through for 3 now. 3 saprolings would do the same, and I become kold to Bloodbraid Elf, so I decide to cast Knight of the Reliquary after playing a Terramorphic Expanse. Jund plays Lavaclaw Reaches, then casts another Bloodbraid Elf, this one cascading into Leech. I kill one of the Bloodbraids with my Knight, taking beats (7) from the other and blanking the Thrinax again. End step, I Terramorphic for an Island.
Turn 6, I draw Realms Uncharted, which I cast for Forest, Plains, Sejiri Refuge, Graypelt Refuge. He gives me Forest and Graypelt Refuge. I play the Forest and lay a second KotR. Jund plays Mountain into a 3rd Bloodbraid Elf, in a row. Must be nice, etc. That cascades into Thrinax, and he attacks with Thrinax, Leech, and 2 Bloodbraid Elves. Wall keeps blanking the Thrinax, KotR1 eats his Leech, while KotR2 eats a Bloodbraid Elf. Still, another Bloodbraid Elf gets through, dropping me to (4).
Turn 7, I draw Misty Rainforest, play the Refuge (5) and pass. Jund plays Verdant Catacombs, activates their Lavaclaw Reaches, and sends with it, 2 Thrinaxes, and a Bloodbraid Elf. I eat the land and Bloodbraid, blank a Thrinax, and block the other with my face (2).
Turn 8, I draw and play O- Ring on his Thrinax, thinking I may have finally stabilized, but he peels Blightning off the top to finish me.
This game is frustrating because I don’t think any deck can expect to beat 3 straight Bloodbraids, but I almost pulled it out. That’s Jund for you, though. Leech into Thrinax into 3 Bloodbraids is about as good as it gets for them.
Game 3, I keep Misty Rainforest, Evolving Wilds, 2x Wall of Omens, Knight of the Reliquary, Day of Judgment, Elspeth. This is again a solid hand, with a lot of chances to draw the lands I need, a nice curve, and some good defense and action.
Turn 1, I play Evolving Wilds, getting a Plains on Jund’s End step. Jund plays a Savage Lands.
Turn 2, I draw Baneslayer, play my Misty Rainforest, getting a Forest (19), and play Wall of Omens, which cantrips me a Jace. Visions of game 1, dance in my head, and I hope I can draw a land sometime soon. Jund plays a Swamp.
Turn 3, I draw a Spreading Seas, then play a second Wall of Omens, which draws me a Plains, which I play. I don’t have any U to Spread some Seas on his Savage Lands, but think it’s better used on a man land later anyway. Jund plays Forest, Blightning (16), causing me to pitch my Day of Judgment and Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
Turn 4, I draw and play Seaside Citadel, then cast Knight of the Reliquary, currently a 4/4. Jund plays Mountain, Bloodbraid Elf into Putrid Leech.
Turn 5, I draw Arid Mesa, and play it to get me a Plains (15). I then cast Elspeth, making a 1/1 soldier. Jund plays Oran-rief, the Vastwood into Nest Invader
Turn 6, I draw Path, and use Elspeth to Angelic Blessing a Token to Jund’s face (16) Jund plays Lavaclaw into Sarkhan the Mad. He tries to turn the Eldrazi Spawn into a Dragon, but I Path the Spawn token in response. Jund goes and gets a Swamp for its trouble.
Turn 7, I draw Knight of the Reliquary, Spread his Lavaclaw, which draws me a Jace 2.0. I play the KotR, then Elspeth pump the token again to hit Sarkhan down to 1 loyalty. Jund plays a Verdant, Sarkhan draws a Bolt and dies, and Jund ends the turn by casting a Thrinax.
Turn 8, I draw and play a Misty Rainforest, getting an Island. I play Jace, and fateseal Jund. I let them keep their Leech. Elspeth makes a Token. On my end step, Jund casts Momentous Fall, sacrificing the Thrinax to draw 3 cards, gain 3 life (19), and then uses the Oran-rief to make 3 1/1 saprolings into 3 2/2 saprolings. Nice end step. Jund lays a Mountain, then beats with Leech, Bloodbraid Elf, Nest Invader, and all 3 saprolings. I block the Bloodbraid Elf with 2 Soldier Tokens, Leech with Knight of the Reliquary, Wall of Omens on Nest Invader, Wall 2 on a Saproling, and KotR 2 on a Saproling, leaving the third unblocked.
Before damage, Jund Bolts my Knight on the Leech. Currently, they are 6/6. In response, I activate that Knight, sacrificing a Plains (7/7). In response to that, Jund Terminates KotR 2. In response to that, I activate KotR 2, sacrificing another Plains (8/8). Jund responds to that by Bolting KotR 1 again. The last Bolt resolves, then KotR 2’s ability resolves, getting a Sejiri Steppe to counter the Terminate. KotR 1 gets the other Sejiri Steppe, choosing Pro-Black for KotR 1 to protect it from the Leech. Jund pumps the Leech anyway (17), and then sacs it to a second Momentous Fall, gaining 4 (21) and drawing 4 more cards. I take 2 from the unblocked Leech (12)
Turn 9, the board is as follows: I have 2 Wall of Omens, 2 Knight of the Reliquary, Elspeth and Jace to go with my 6 lands. Jund has 9 lands, 2 2/2 saprolings, a Nest Invader, and is tapped out except for an Oran-Rief. I draw O- Ring, then Angelic Blessing a Knight, and swing at Jund for 19 (2). I fateseal Jund and let them keep a Savage Lands. Jund plays a Ravine, and then Double Dragon, using Oran-rief to pump the Original Flavor Dragon.
Turn 10, I draw and play Wall of Omens, drawing me a Realms Uncharted. I cast O- Ring on the Dragon Token, use Jace to Unsummon the Broodmate, and then Elspeth Blessing a KotR for the win.
Game 4, I keep the following hand: Plains; Sejiri Steppe; Terramorphic Expanse; Knight of the Reliquary; Day of Judgment; Jace, the Mind Sculptor; and Oblivion Ring.
Turn 1, Jund leads off with Savage Lands. I draw Elspeth, and play Terramorphic expanse, getting a Forest on Jund’s end step.
Turn 2, Jund plays Lavaclaw Reaches, and passes. I draw and play Arid Mesa.
Turn 3, Jund plays Raging Ravine, then plays Putrid Leech. I draw Spreading Seas, get a Plains with my Arid Mesa (19), and play a Plains from my hand. I then cast KotR.
Turn 4, Jund Terminates my Knight, then attacks with the Leech, pumped. (Jund 18, Bant 15) I draw Spreading Seas, lay Sejiri Steppe, and O- Ring the Leech.
Turn 5, Jund casts Blightning, and I pitch Jace 2.0 and one of my Seas, since I have no blue. (12) I draw Wall of Omens, then cast Elspeth, making a token.
Turn 6, Jund casts Nest Invader. This worries me, as they have missed 3 straight Land drops, stranded on 3. I draw a Sphinx of Jwar Isle, cast Wall of Omens, drawing me Marsh Flats, which I play, getting a Plains. Elspeth makes another token.
Turn 7, Jund casts Garruk, using the Nest Invader Token, then makes a Beast token. An onlooker thought he should be using it to ramp his mana, but it’s going to die no matter what on my turn to a flying token, so it’s best to just get the beast. I draw another Sejiri Steppe, but don’t play it. Elspeth jumps a token to off Garruk.
Turn 8, Jund Blightnings me (9), causing me to pitch Sphinx and Day of Judgment. Jund then attacks with the Beast and the Nest Invader. Wall blanks the Beast, and I take two from the Invader (7). I draw Jace, make a token, and pass.
Turn 9, Jund terminates my Wall of Omens, then attacks with the Beast and the Invader. I triple block the Beast with my tokens, trading and taking 2 (5). I draw and play a new Wall, which draws me a Misty. I play the Rainforest, finally getting me an Island (4). I then cast Spreading Seas on his Lavaclaw Reaches, which draws me Path to Exile. Elspeth makes another token.
Turn 10, Jund finally peels a Mountain off the top, and plays Garruk, making a Beast. I draw O- Ring, taking out the beast, then jump a token to kill Garruk.
Turn 11, Jund attacks with Nest Invader, and I block with Wall of Omens. I suspect he has Bolt, and he finishes the Wall off in that exact manner. I draw and play Celestial Colonnade, then ultimate Elspeth from 10 to 2 to make everything Indestructible.
Turn 12, Jund plays a Thrinax, but suspects he needs burn to turn this game around. I draw and play Wall of Omens, drawing me a Day of Judgment. Jace Fateseals a Savage Lands to the bottom of the deck, and Elspeth goes back to being a token factory.
Turn 13, Jund peels a Swamp, and plays Sarkhan the Mad. He tries to sacrifice the Thrinax, but I Path in response. Jund grabs a Forest. I draw and play Misty Rainforest, but can’t crack it till I’m above 4. Elspeth jumps a token, taking Sarkhan to 1 counter, and Jace Brainstorms, getting me Realms Uncharted, Sejiri Refuge, and DoJ. I put a Day and Sejiri Steppe back on top, with the Day on top.
Turn 14, Jund plays Verdant Catacombs, getting a Forest. Sarkhan draws an Oran-rief, dodging a bullet, and Jund plays Broodmate Dragon. I draw DoJ, as expected, play Sejiri Refuge to gain one (5), then Judge some Days, which is very one-sided thanks to Elspeth. Elspeth makes another Token, and I attack with two tokens, one on Sarkhan to finish him off, and one on Jund’s face (17).
Turn 15, Jund plays the Oran-rief, then throws down a second Double Dragon. I cast Realms Uncharted during his end step, getting Seaside Citadel, Graypelt Refuge, Celestial Colonnade and Stirring Wildwood. Jund gives me the Citadel and Refuge. I draw Path to Exile, play the Refuge (6), Judge some more Days, attack Jund for 3 (14), then fateseal with Jace, leaving a Savage Lands on top. Elspeth makes another token.
Turn 16, Jund plays the Savage lands, then Bloodbraids into Putrid Leech. I draw Celestial Colonnade, then play Seaside Citadel. I activate a Colonnade, then boost it with Elspeth, beating for 7 (7). I fateseal with Jace, sending Bolt to the bottom.
Jund draws for turn 17, then concedes.
All in all, I like the deck. We each lost a game to land screw, and split the fairer games. I’ve decided to drop an Arid Mesa in favor of a second Island, and may be dropping the Sphinx for a third Baneslayer.
Gideon is certainly an option instead of Baneslayer, but I really do want the life gain provided by the Baneslayer, as the deck can often be in an early hole.
I may try to incorporate a third Realms Uncharted into the list as well, as in later testing, it proved quite powerful at both pumping the Knights and thinning the deck.
Until next time, this is Jeff Phillips, reminding you: Don’t make the Loser Choice
Teflon_Jeff AT Hotmail DOT com
Teflon_Jeff on Twitter
*math: I have 24 lands left out of 53 cards to start:
1- [(29/53)*(28/51)*(27/50)*(26/49)= .9139 = 91.39%
Cue inevitable Math fight in the forums.