The talk of Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar, at least in the early rounds, was Christian Calcano and company’s U/B Aristocrats deck, starring Liliana, Heretical Healer.
This deck has the typical Aristocrats gameplan of sacrificing things for value, but this one is sort of special. Instead of valuing out its opponents, most games seem to finish with the one-two punch of Nantuko Husk plus Whirler Rogue. The Rogue puts some tokens on the battlefield that can make the Husk unblockable, which can then use the Whirler Rogue for +6/+6.
Sidisi’s Faithful is a pretty nice card in this format. Unsummon is solid against Hangarback Walker, plus it can clear the way for Nantuko Husk while also being a cheap creature you can return with Liliana. I wouldn’t be surprised if this card is the reason why their deck did so well.
The sideboard is kind of just a pile of blue and black Magic cards, but I’m not sure what we actually want. I’ve been happy with Duress against decks like Esper Dragons and Atarka Red, but aside from that card, none of the sideboard cards seem to drastically alter your matchups very much.
The Calculator’s team may have fallen a bit short with this deck, but I like it, and I fully expect people to pick it up.
Creatures (32)
- 4 Nantuko Husk
- 4 Bloodsoaked Champion
- 4 Sultai Emissary
- 4 Sidisi's Faithful
- 4 Liliana, Heretical Healer
- 4 Hangarback Walker
- 4 Whirler Rogue
- 4 Zulaport Cutthroat
Lands (23)
Spells (5)
Sideboard
