Abzan Rally may have won the Open Series in Richmond last weekend, but it wasn’t the only comboriffic deck in the field. Adam Bialkowski’s deck was turning heads all weekend long. If not for Ray Tautic’s dominating performance, Adam’s deck would likely have been the talk of the tournament.
Adam’s deck is mostly trying to put together the combo kill of Atarka, World Render and Xenagos, God of Revels. See the Unwritten conveniently helps you find them both. If that doesn’t come together, it’s not a big deal though. The rest of Adam’s deck resembles a G/R Dragons deck, which means his “backup” plan is rock solid. Even if the combo never comes together, this deck can play a normal game of Magic. Plus, your opponent always had to play around it.
In order to maximize See the Unwritten, you need to be Ferocious, but this deck has very few issues with making that happen. Cards like Yasova Dragonclaw and Surrak, the Hunt Caller are the cheapest and best four-power creatures. When you’re playing a normal game of Magic, having ways to break through stalled board states are important, and Adam’s deck has that in spades. Yasova can steal one of their creatures, the various Dragons can fly over, and Draconic Roar or Crater’s Claws can get in the last few points of damage.
The big question is “How much better is Atarka, World Render than Dragonlord Atarka?” Atarka, World Render plus Xenagos, God of Revels is a clean kill whereas Dragonlord Atarka falls short. Is that really an issue though? I imagine that finding Dragonlord Atarka and Xenagos, God of Revels from a See the Unwritten will likely result in just as many wins, plus Dragonlord Atarka is a better card on its own. I’d be interested to know how often Adam won games with Atarka, World Render when no other card would have done it.
Creatures (25)
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 2 Sylvan Caryatid
- 2 Xenagos, God of Revels
- 4 Rattleclaw Mystic
- 2 Yasova Dragonclaw
- 3 Atarka, World Render
- 1 Dragonlord Atarka
- 4 Thunderbreak Regent
- 3 Surrak, the Hunt Caller
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (23)
Spells (10)
Sideboard
