An inevitable metagame forms each year around the time of the State Championships. This year the decks to beat are White/Red (both White Weenie and control), Mono-Blue control, Gifts Ungiven, and Black/Green. I know you don’t want to be playing one of those pieces of vanilla bull****. No sir! You want the hottest, the latest, the best, the brightest, the newest, the roguest, the most-strung-out-on-crack-tech in techville.
Well, you’re not going to get that. Sorry! Instead you’re getting my thoughts on a ton of cards that are available for play in the format that are generally getting overlooked and underappreciated. It’s possible that these cards are all trash – but I think there are a few gems in the rough amongst the cards I’m trotting out. Without further ado, the cards!
Creatures Long Forgotten
There are quite a few creatures floating around in Standard right now. For every Meloku, there’s three Goblin Pikers. For each Sakura-Tribe Elder, there’s a Grayscaled Gharial. There are plenty of solid beaters, role players and tricksters waiting in the wings of those tier one baddies. My daddy can beat up your daddy.
Adamaro, First to Desire
Where did big baby Adamaro go? Wasn’t he supposed to be the be-all/end-all of college game day? Wasn’t big brother Thoughts of Ruin going to be the return of a kindler, gentler day of Erhnamgeddon? This tag team duo has completely dropped off the map – does this mean that people aren’t expecting their opponents to keep cards in hand, given how much of the field is control? Thoughts of Ruin is nearly worthless against R/W aggro, but isn’t it backbreaking against R/W control, Mono Blue control, Gifts, and Black/Green? Has Wildfire made both of these cards obsolete?
Blinding Angel
Meloku has made Blinding Angel fall by the wayside. I’ve heard rumblings that the lady of thou-shalt-not-attack making some guest appearances in control decks at States. It’s definitely a card to consider if you need to stop a deck with a bunch of 2/2 flyers.
Budoka Gardener/Sakura-Tribe Scout
Just two considerations for decks that might be considering a heavy Life from the Loam/Vinelasher Kudzu build. I’m not entirely sold on these guys given that Llanowar Elves, Elves of the Deep Shadow, Birds of Paradise, Utopia Tree and Sakura-Tribe Elder are all legal for the environment, but the purpose that the Gardener and Scout serve is one entirely different from those other creatures.
Fists of Ironwood
Not a creature per se, but the Green Raise the Alarm. Plus, who doesn’t want to give trample to Hunted Troll, Hunted Wumpus, Maro, or any other number of dorky large Green men who don’t have trample?
Genju of the Cedars
It’s a huge 4/4 creature in a format where 3/3 (due to Bushido and Lightning Helix) is the breaking point. It combos well with Life from the Loam, as you can keep trading up even and end up back all your lands in the end.
Genju of the Fields
Starting to gain some momentum, now that people realize A) Searing Meditation is a good card and B) Genju of the Fields is a great complement to Wrath of God.
Ghost-Lit Raider
Deals well with 2/2 creatures in decks that don’t necessarily run a lot of removal (WW/r). Deals well with X/4 creatures in decks that run countermagic (Mono-U control). A little clunky in the first scenario, quite nice in the second.
Ghost-Lit Redeemer
I’ll never understand why this card doesn’t get played at all. Yes, it’s a role-player – but it hits on turn 1 and keeps the game afloat against an aggressive deck. Against any aggro deck, a first turn Redeemer will buy you a good 6-10 life before you’re ready to Wrath. That’s nothing to sneeze about. It can channel for a decent chunk of life in a pinch. It attacks, it blocks, and it gains you two life a turn for only one mana. I believe the Redeemer compares well to Sun Droplet, which many people discovered was a great anti-aggro card.
Groundskeeper
The card advantage made possible by combining Groundskeeper with Dredge cards is staggering. Donde esta la jardinero? Note: Yes, I know what that really means. Note on the note: Make R&D happy. Play with their plant.
Jade Statue
Survives Wrath of God and Wildfire. It’s got big butt and I cannot express falsehood at that sentiment. Beats for three. Can’t be Helixed. Mommy wants a new piece of Jade at States.
Kaho, Minamo Historian
Kind of like an Isochron Scepter, for those who liked that sort of thing. Seems like it wouldn’t be bad to throw Hinder, Telling Time and Boomerang underneath Kaho to have him act as Archivist, Ertai and Temporal Adept all at once.
Keening Banshee
You’re playing Nekrataal. Why not play Nektraal that flies, hits black creatures, and circumvents damage prevention effects? Sure, it can’t kill Meloku – but at least it doesn’t get blocked by Hand of Honor all day long and sit there useless against Hypnotic Specter.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
I swear there are lots of great things to use with Kiki-Jiki! It’s just a shame that we only have four of each of the new dual lands, because otherwise we’d be seeing a R/G beats deck the likes of which has never before been seen. For further reference, see turn 1 2/3 Kird Ape.
Matsu-Tribe Sniper/Trophy Hunter
Great sideboard cards against everything. They take down WW/r like a mad fiend, they deal handily with Meloku and friends, and they eat Hypnotic Specter and Birds of Paradise for lunch. Why play Needle Storm when you can beat with a 5/6 Trophy Hunter?
Skull Collector (with Nekrataal, Keening Banshee, Ravenous Rats) and Stampeding Serow (with Carven Caryatid/Wood Elves/Civic Wayfinder/Loxodon
Hierarch
/Viridian Shaman)
Skull Collector might not have enough targets to get going with the loss of Chittering Rats from Standard. Stempeding Serow gains Loxodon Hierarch, Carven Caryatid and Civic Wayfinder. You have got to think there’s massive card advantage to be found by running a 5/4 trampler who can keep you drawing cards and gaining life turn after turn.
Ryusei, the Falling Star
Wrath of Red. Discourages attacking in the same way that Keiga discourages attacking – except that Keiga gets played and Ryusei doesn’t. Poor Ryusei – always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
Silklash Spider
File this one under Matsu-Tribe Sniper, Trophy Hunter, Needle Storm, and Arashi. It’s nice that Wizards of the Coast is giving Green the Wrath of Fliers ability. Where’s Whirlwind Wizards?
Thought Courier
Jushi Apprentice is universally hailed as the savior of mono-Blue control. Okay, not the savior – but he’s definitely well-touted. Why not Merfolk Looter? Did Merfolk Looter kick a puppy when I wasn’t looking? Is Merfolk Looter being ostracized from the community because he’s transspecied now and working as a wizard? You’re breaking his balls, man! You get to see as many cards with the Courier as you do with the Apprentice, except that the Courier has no cost in its ability except for tap. You don’t generate card advantage but you do generate card quality advantage.
Two from the case files of Ravnica – Sunhome Enforcer and Surveilling Sprite
Sunhome Enforcer is like the Wildfire Emissary that lost half its abilities, and doesn’t quite pump as well. Still, four toughness is the key in this format (passes test #1) and it can swing life totals 6-8 points a turn (passes test #2). Surveilling Sprite is so far off the radar that most people will have to click on it to see what it does, but it acts as a temporary speed bump for Blue decks, without losing you card advantage. That one turn is crucial against a White creature rush, or against a second turn Hypnotic Specter.
Spells From The Vault
Charge Across the Araba
The Charge seems good as an anti-Wildfire card off the board. It’s not quite the finisher people thought it might originally be, but you can’t argue with having 3-4 creatures left on the board when your opponent clears everything else out.
Eradicate
Why deal with a creature four times when you can deal with it just the once? Unfortunately, it can’t hit most dredge creatures (as they are Black). Fortunately, it can take out Meloku once and for all. It seems like packing Eradicate and Cranial Extraction behind Boseiju would be a backbreaker against Mono-U control.
Fiery Conclusion
This card has got to be at least mentioned. Five damage for two mana is absurd, and the loss of the creature might not be too bad against smaller board-clearing effects (Pyroclasm), to take down Jitte-enhanced creatures (five damage), or to break through against fatties (Meloku, Kagemaro, Kokusho, etc). Please note that Fiery Conclusion can only damage creatures. Please also note that if blocking ensues, you’re trading your creature plus this spell for their creature plus their best/next-best creature.
Fellwar Stone
It is criminal that non-Green, non-WW decks are not starting deck construction with four of these main. Yes, I’m talking to you Mono-Blue, Wildfire, and R/W control.
Ghostly Prison
Suppression Field for attacking creatures. Get it? Ha ha ha! What a funny joke! In Communist Russia, creature suppresses you!
Icy Manipulator
Now that there’s a lot less artifact destruction running around thanks to the rotation of Mirrodin block, will Icy finally see the play it deserves? Icy acts with pure stymieing power, the likes of which are not otherwise available for the low cost of a mana a turn.
Journeyer’s Kite
Kai taught the world that Journeyer’s Kite + Sensei’s Divining Top = good times. The world promptly forgot. Think of this card as Jushi’s Apprentice that gets you lands, but can’t be killed by creature removal and can be run by any color.
Life from the Loam
Just an insane card with so many uses. This is already going to see some play – many have not realized just how versatile and useful this card is. Use it for mana fixing, graveyard filling, card advantage, anti-land destruction – just use it. It’s good.
Loxodon Warhammer
In a world without Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of Light and Shadow, there is only Loxodon Warhammer. And Umezawa’s Jitte. But forgetting the Jitte for a second, Armadillo’s equipment has been generally ignored for the better part of two years now. +3/+0, trample and Spirit Link aren’t worth ignoring forever.
Mark of Eviction
This is a really annoying piece of semi-removal to play against. It’s always going to run a turn behind an opponent’s creature, but it’s great for dealing with creatures that don’t care much for attacking (Birds of Paradise, Jushi Apprentice). It also works to return your creatures to hand the turn before a Wrath of God (although this will telegraph the move, it might be unavoidable for the opponent).
Natural Affinity
Turn an opponent’s Pyroclasm, Kagemaro or Wrath of God into an Armageddon. Turn Wildfire into a true board sweeper. Attack for twelve!
Presence of the Wise
Back in the day there was a card named Gerrard’s Wisdom. Blue/White and White and White/Red control decks used Gerrard’s Wisdom to gain 12-14 life on turn 4, allowing them to stay alive much longer against aggressive decks. This in turn gave these control decks time to set up the game in their favor. Presence of the Wise is Gerrard’s Wisdom by way of 10th Edition. Enjoy it in advance!
Quicksand
Many people have been pulling Quicksand out of their decks because it messes with the colored mana base of their deck. Let’s take an old school tip – count Quicksand as a spell slot instead of as a land slot. For instance, if you are running 24 lands and 36 spells, count Quicksand as one of the 36 spells when building your deck, and not as one of the 24 lands. You’ll find that this helps you fit this piece of removal into your deck while fortifying your deck against mana screw.
Shining Shoal
Another underappreciated card from Kamigawa block. Kill Hokori while locked down! Make a second turn Hypnotic Specter take it where it hurts! Cause exclamation points to appear randomly in sentences! Act as the killing stroke against Wildfire! Hurray!
Two Kill Cards to Consider
Battle Of Wits and Biorhythm
The Deck I’d Love To Build If I Had Time
I’d build a Black/Red deck built around Vigor Mortis, Zombify, Sensei’s Divining Top, dredge cards (to get past cards with the Top in play), Autochthon Wurm and Undying Flames. 15 to the dome yo! Add in Blazing Archon for ten points of fun. This deck might not have been the most competitive, but it’d be a blast to play and would abuse graveyard manipulation and reanimation in the environment.
In Conclusion
These definitely are not the best cards in the environment – but they are also better than their current status of being mainly ignored. This whole article was written to get people’s juices flowing – you might not find anything for States you’re looking for here. You might hit that one card that will help you swing a match that was otherwise giving you problems. Maybe you’ll find that 60th card or 15th sideboard card for your deck – or 250th if you’re going to run Battle of Wits. Regardless, I hope that somebody finds a card in this article and uses it to wreck people when they otherwise might have skipped over that card because common sentiment ignored said card. If anyone builds the Undying Flames/Autochthon Wurm deck and runs it on Saturday, please e-mail me at [email protected] and give me a full tournament report. Most of all, good luck and have fun at States!