Wow! Detention Sphere on a stick!
Converting a spell into its creature form has proven successful in the
past, as long as the body is combat-relevant. Creatures that interact with
your opponent are among my favorite Magic cards to cast.
I fully expect Deputy of Detention to become a Standard staple in a variety
of strategies, from aggro to midrange to dedicated Wizard tribal. Now we
just have to hope for a Cephalid lord!
Reputation of Strength
Okay, maybe not so much this one.
Tacking on the text of a powerful interaction piece has proven to be a
successful formula for a format all-star.
More Than A Two-For-One
You need to win the game somehow, and for me, beating down is the way to
go. Loading up on interactive spells that may or may not be impactful can
be a losing strategy. Of course, creatures are more susceptible to getting
removed than, say, enchantments or artifacts, but that’s a tradeoff I’m
typically happy to take, especially when opposing removal is overloaded by
also having other good creatures in your deck.
Exiling all of a permanent name is pretty nice. Just like Declaration in
Stone and OG Detention Sphere, it blows away all tokens of that name.
Examples include Soldiers from March of the Multitudes, Goblins from
Siege-Gang Commander, Saprolings from Saproling Migration, and various
Vampire tokens like those from Adanto, the First Fort. Oh, and it gets both
Knights from History of Benalia and reeaally punishes them from
drawing multiples (which is normally a really good thing for them).
Anytime you nab two cards with Deputy of Detention it’s going to be
amazing. Deputy of Detention is already a huge upgrade to Fiend Hunter.
It’s basically like comparing Exclusion Mage to Reflector Mage in terms of
power level boost.
Deputy of Detention also gets rid of another recently previewed card in
Hydroid Krasis. Not much to be gained when they get a 0/0 back. The same is
true for Golgari Raiders and Chamber Sentry.
Solves Problematic Permanents
Much like Oblivion Ring and its kinfolk (Conclave Tribunal), Deputy of
Detention hits a wide range of permanents, making it an ideal card for
maindeck play and for MTG Arena “best-of-one” games.
Just be careful exiling things with “enters the battlefield” effects like
Ravenous Chupacabra.
Modern Workhorse
Aether Vial and Collected Company as instrumental for Bant Spirits and
various lists of Humans. They thrive off powerful three-drop creatures that
can be put onto the battlefield at instant speed.
Modern is extremely wide so an all-encompassing exile effect is a blessing.
I’d expect Lightning Bolt to pick up in a big way once the format gets
adjusted to Deputy of Detention.
Creatures (29)
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 3 Phantasmal Image
- 4 Drogskol Captain
- 4 Spell Queller
- 2 Selfless Spirit
- 4 Mausoleum Wanderer
- 4 Supreme Phantom
- 4 Deputy of Detention
Lands (21)
Spells (10)
Reflector Mage has been showing up in Bant Spirits even though it lacks the
namesake creature type. The tempo swing is enormous, particularly in tandem
with a quick clock. Now that Deputy of Detention is here, I can see it
being an upgrade for Bant Spirits.
Deputy of Detention isn’t as well-guarded as Spell Queller without Drogskul
Captain helping it out. Still, Mausoleum Wanderer and Selfless Spirit offer
a reasonable buffer, along with Spell Queller also countering the
occasional spell.
Exiling creatures through the Deputy is better in a lot of scenarios
compared to Path to Exile. The first that pops into mind is the Dredge
matchup where you’d love to exile multiple Bloodghasts or Prized Amalgams
without ramping your opponent.
Creatures (29)
- 4 Leonin Arbiter
- 2 Mirran Crusader
- 2 Geist of Saint Traft
- 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
- 3 Restoration Angel
- 2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
- 4 Spell Queller
- 4 Selfless Spirit
- 4 Deputy of Detention
Lands (24)
Spells (7)
Craig Wescoe was working on an Azorius Taxes Modern deck earlier this year,
and Deputy of Detention looks to be a perfect fit. White and blue have some
of the best sideboard options in Modern, and I can only imagine how open
the sideboard is now having four pieces of artifact and/or enchantment
interaction maindeck.
Creatures (20)
- 4 Siren Stormtamer
- 2 Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
- 4 Merfolk Trickster
- 2 Naban, Dean of Iteration
- 4 Viashino Pyromancer
- 4 Deputy of Detention
Lands (21)
Spells (19)
Deputy of Detention is a great enters the battlefield effect to go along
with Naban, Dean of Iteration. Previously there were only Viashino
Pyromancer and Merfolk Trickster to copy the effects of. There were more,
like Firefist Adept, Ghitu Journeymage, and Academy Journeymage… but of
course those rates are too low for Constructed.
There aren’t quite enough evasive creatures to make Curious Obsession
appealing to me, though I wouldn’t doubt that playing four of them was the
way to go.
Siren Stormtamer and Dive Down do a good job at protecting Adeliz, the
Cinder Wind and Deputy of Detention.
It’s possible the deck is low on power and wants more anthems like Radiant
Destiny or more Adeliz. Heck, even Venerated Loxodon might deserve a look.
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (24)
Spells (19)
A generic “good stuff” deck would be another fine place to end up on with
Deputy of Detention. I got a small history take going on with Raff
Capashen, Ship’s Mage because there are a lot of great things to leave up
mana for….
Adanto Vanguard is a nice sideboard option here to further press the
beatdowns while putting up the appearance of a control deck.
Tithe Taker. Deputy of Detention.
How long until I get to put these in the same Standard deck again?