Last week
, Patrick Chapin told you that you should be playing Elspeth, Sun’s Champion.
This week I’m here to tell you that you should be indeed playing an iconic female Magic card, but it won’t be a planeswalker.
With the finals of this week’s Open Series in Dallas giving a pretty clear picture of what Standard has shaped up to be, it’s clear that there is a
strategy out there that we’re not utilizing.
Flashback six months ago and Abzan Reanimator was a budding strategy near the tail-end of Khans. It was picking up a good bit of steam on multiple levels,
but the printing of Ugin, the Spirit Dragon had to put the kibosh on that.
Whip strategies that didn’t utilize Disdainful Stroke or other ways to answer the powerful planeswalker fell by the wayside. It wasn’t that you couldn’t
disrupt Ugin, but you can’t stop a topdeck. If the game went long enough and they inevitably drew it, a quick minus on that loyalty and it was enough to
send an Abzan Reanimator player packing.
But thankfully, the times are changing.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is in shorter supply. This weekend’s Top 16 featured only four copies, and to make matters better, every single Ugin was a one-of
in sideboards except for Nick Schoolcraft-McCuen’s U/B Control deck- which only featured a singleton of the daunting planeswalker complemented by, you
guessed it, only one Haven of the Spirit Dragon.
At this point, I think it’s safe to say that the days of decks running two or even three Ugin may be over for the time being. The biggest concern may now
be how to beat the overabundance of Dromoka’s Command out there, which lets the focus be on how best to utilize Abzan Reanimator fundamentally shifting to
dealing with midrange decks, and that happens to be its bread and butter.
That brings us to the leading lady that I believe might be the best positioned creature in Standard at the moment.
The more midranged a format gets, the better Hornet Queen gets.
Her natural home is tucked right in Abzan Reanimator; a deck which plays the powerful cards that Abzan affords it, like Siege Rhino and Abzan Charm, but
couples them with Whip of Erebos and Satyr Wayfinder to fuel a devastating midgame.
In my head it feels like Den Protector and Deathmist Raptor naturally fit in to this deck. It can become less clunky than it used to be and let itself
streamline with (possibly) a better sideboard.
This would be my rough draft:
Creatures (27)
- 2 Hornet Queen
- 2 Elvish Mystic
- 4 Sylvan Caryatid
- 4 Satyr Wayfinder
- 4 Siege Rhino
- 1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
- 1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
- 1 Dragonlord Dromoka
- 4 Den Protector
- 4 Deathmist Raptor
Lands (24)
Spells (9)
I’ve always been a big fan of transitional sideboards, so this sates my desire to have that as my gameplan after sideboard. If we’re afraid of Dromoka’s
Command, we can just make ourselves “immune” to the blowouts it presents.
Let’s understand something: Courser of Kruphix is going to get killed by Command, but that’s usually not a deterrent to playing it. In this deck, I think
the card advantage afforded by Den Protector and Deathmist Raptor can make up for what you’d be missing with Courser. The inherent synergy with our marquee
two-drop in Satyr Wayfinder make playing them both instead of Courser an attractive option, and one I’m anxious to explore.
I like playing the two copies of Elvish Mystic because the format, aside from Mono-Red and Atarka Red, all have plenty of lands that enter the battlefield
tapped (and so do you), so Mystic can give you that turn 2 Caryatid or Wayfinder while still letting you scry with one of your Temples or smooth out your
mana with a tri-land.
Of course, one of the best reasons to play this deck is Hornet Queen.
When you look at the winning deck of Dallas, G/R Dragons has always had a bit of trouble with a resolved Hornet Queen, and returning it can be devastating.
Den Protector late can let you rebuy the Queen in the same way they rebuy their Atarka but with the benefit of a hard-to-block 3/2 attached to it. Abzan
Aggro has a devil of a time with Hornet Queen, and if John Lim’s Abzan Control deck becomes the gold standard, it only boasts one Command to prevent you
from returning her with Whip of Erebos!
I believe it’s necessary to play the three copies of Murderous Cut because of Anafenza, the Foremost. While you’re tooled to be as effective as possible
against decks with Dromoka’s Command, the fact that Anafenza is as prevalent as she is might be the only downside to this deck right now. Luckily it’s not
hard to respond to her with a Murderous Cut, and I think that even though it has declined in popularity, Murderous Cut is still one of the best spells you
can be casting against a lot of the format right now.
Rounding out the maindeck is Deathmist Raptor. If nothing else, this card gives another dimension of advantage throughout certain matchups. The ability to
recur it off of Den Protector or other Raptors does a great job of further taxing your opponent’s resources. This all comes with the obvious benefit of
being able to return it after dropping it in your graveyard with Satyr Wayfinder.
The last card that I wanted was something you could accelerate into that would have an impact. With the amount of Mono-Red and Atarka Red, Dragonlord
Dromoka might be one of the best stop signs in the format. It’s not bad to Whip back, and it can be returned with Den Protector for massive value, and the
life swings that it brings against aggressive decks is invaluable. It might just be better as another Hornet Queen, but for now, I want to test this card
out.
In terms of sideboarding, I am a big fan of having a way to make your deck strong against what your opponent is expecting you to do. At face
value, you are a Whip deck, so after sideboard when they bring in their Dromoka’s Commands, Reclamation Sages, or other ways to contain your “primary”
strategy, you slip into something more comfortable.
Radiant Purge is a card that has gotten almost zero respect since being printed, but I believe it’s primed for a breakout performance as a sideboard crown
jewel. Abzan Aggro is the “best” deck in the format, and this hits everything except for Warden of the First Tree and Wingmate Roc, but that’s still a lot
of targets. It might seem silly against Esper Dragons, but think again. Their primary win conditions are multi-colored Dragons! This means your Purges hit
almost all of their threats.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor has been a planeswalker finding his way in and out of decks, and this is one where I feel like he shines quite heavily after
sideboarding. The +1 is going to do a ton of work against red-based decks, and the -2 gives you some play against the control decks. That’s also why we’re
supplementing our package with Thoughtseizes: because they will get those pesky Perilous Vaults out of their hands and really give us ways to stick threats
against Esper Dragons or U/B Control.
Honing in on Atarka Red and Mono-Red Aggro is the single Arashin Cleric and three Drown in Sorrow. The matchup is already pretty solid, but I never, ever
want to lose to red due to being underprepared and overconfident. Playing cards like Siege Rhino and Whip of Erebos are awesome starts, but they aren’t how
you guarantee victory. How many games do they win the die roll and you’re about dead before you even get to cast that first Siege Rhino?
That’s why I want a tech card like Cleric on turn 2 and possibly a Drown in Sorrow on 3 to give me all the time in the world to execute my gameplan against
them. Also, I think we can all agree how great it would feel to Whip back an Arashin Cleric.
Self-Inflicted Wound is one of the best, most versatile sacrificing effects we’ve seen in Standard for a while. G/W and Abzan Megamorph have a pretty rough
time dealing with it, not even to mention how strong it can be against Bant Heroic. It also can come in as a one or two-of if you are really that worried
about Ojutai. It’s also a double-whammy against Abzan Aggro, and it hits their whole squad unless they have Tasigur.
The last card I knew I wanted was Wingmate Roc. Roc is one of my favorite cards…period. For the Pro Tour, I had to kick my feet to get the team to consider
Roc for the deck, but once it was added, it was again vastly clear how powerful it can be. I love the positioning it has against most decks in the format,
from being your top of the curve against red, a winning play against other Abzan decks, and two bodies against control. It can bring you back into games
when you’re behind, and it has a cute interaction with Whip of Erebos.
To achieve this kind of power after sideboard, you’ll often sideboard out your Satyr Wayfinders as a baseline, bringing in Abzan Charm and other key cards,
depending on the matchup. Against Red we’re going to take out the expensive things and bring in the cheaper, more interactive cards.
Since I’m still working on this deck, I don’t really have the best sideboard guide for it, so I’ll leave it in your hands to determine how best to go about
it.
If you have any suggestions, make sure to leave them so I can see what kind of tech you’re bringing to the table. I really want to get back to playing the
kind of Magic I love, and this deck is a huge part of that.
Hornet Queen is absolutely the reason that I think this deck is amazing going forward, and you can bet your bottom dollar if you’re playing it, a lot of
opponents are going to be bowing down to the Queen.
I’ve named my Hornet Queens Charlotte, and I yell “Wooooo!” every time I play them.
What will you call yours?