Graveyards are back in vogue.
Between self-mill’s return from Innistrad and beyond, and the power of delve spells in every format, your graveyard’s size proportionately reflects your
power to influence the game’s progress and outcome. It’s not just a place to put your fetchlands and spent instants anymore, and it’s shaped the way we
view the game in all formats.
I suppose, in a way, graveyards never actually went out of style, they just look different these days. Instead of caring about having the right cards
there, say, instants for Snapcaster Mage or juicy targets for Exhume or the more-recent Unburial Rites, their size matters. Except against a few decks, we
can assume that an empty or small graveyard means they have limited access to their spells in hand, whether it be a Murderous Cut or a Treasure Cruise.
This paradigm supplants our previous one for Standard sets.
Today’s featured card, however, doesn’t care about having a large graveyard so it can delve away its riches. It wants the good stuff to stick
around. This card is on a grave mission, and I mean to make its presence known.
This little sorcery has a lot of potential; with a particularly large graveyard, this spell could execute a two-mana death sentence. It gets better as the
game goes on too, and it doesn’t require a huge presence to be effective. Its design and functionality is desperately simple, and everyone loves to build
around graveyards. It’s got to fit in lots of decks then, right?
Well, sort of. Grave Strength comes at a time where delving is way up there on the graveyard priority scale, while getting a small milling effect and a
targeted spell seems a bit iffy. So, you guessed it, we’re going to have to think outside the box a little bit.
Why don’t we just brainstorm for a second? Maybe we’ll find some interactions and connections that would dissuade us from just turning our graveyards
sideways to cast a one-mana 4/5. I’ve got four interaction-oriented ideas, and each has a different take on the idea of graveyard power that, for the most
part, doesn’t involve delving. Each idea has one focus: creatures; every card in our deck that isn’t a creature is a card that doesn’t help our +1/+1
total, so each list will keep these non-essentials to a minimum. Those that do exist will, hopefully, help to swell the yard. While I’ll get to highlight
lots of exciting Fate Reforged cards, Grave Strength should be at the center of these casual conjectures. Again, these are just brainstorms, not complete,
battle-ready decks, but that gives us a certain level of freedom too.
Naturally, green makes sense to attempt first as a companion for the black spell.
Creatures (32)
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 4 Sylvan Caryatid
- 4 Boon Satyr
- 4 Nemesis of Mortals
- 4 Satyr Wayfinder
- 4 Rakshasa Deathdealer
- 4 Siege Rhino
- 4 Warden of the First Tree
Lands (21)
Spells (7)
This is, admittedly, a somewhat unexciting attempt at pushing the concept. Elvish Mystic, which is just as much a creature as critical components like
Siege Rhino, puts things like Warden of the First Tree online right away. Rakshasa Deathdealer is meant to be a safe place to cast Grave Strength lategame,
with plenty of mana to regenerate the Demon. In some instances, it won’t even need it, as it can help itself along. Siege Rhino, with its trample and
general value-ness, is another great target. There are only a few instants in Standard that can kill the Rhino in response to a Grave Strength trigger, so
no worries if you’re fighting green, red, or blue. Nemesis of Mortals has delve, in a sense, and you don’t even lose your investment. If you cast Elvish
Mystic on turn 1, brick with a Wayfinder on turn 2, hitting all creatures, you can cast two Nemesis of Mortals on turn 3, assuming you have the
land drop. Two 5/5s with upside on turn 3 will put you on the fast track to the winner’s circle. Murderous Cut, the natural concession to the fact you
won’t always mill creatures and that removal is necessary in some quantity, makes a necessary appearance here. You should probably be able to
interact somehow.
This deck is decidedly one-note and might be the lowest hanging fruit. So once we’ve had that
rotten
delicious fruit, what’s next?
Well, I suppose we could just do black.
Here’s a card that lets me fill my graveyard with creatures without losing card advantage, and I even get to make pals! Well, not “pals” so much as fleshy
automatons, but if in this line of work, this is what suffices as a friend.
If you’re in the necromantic mood, we can add in some more Zombie fodder and crank up the tribal flavor. There’s a surprising number of Zombies in our
current format, so we didn’t have to dig too deep to find what we needed (hehe.)
Creatures (28)
- 4 Black Cat
- 4 Spiteful Returned
- 4 Grim Guardian
- 4 Returned Reveler
- 4 Xathrid Slyblade
- 4 Necromancer's Assistant
- 4 Gurmag Angler
Lands (24)
Spells (8)
All our favorite flesh-eaters are accounted for, even the somewhat dubious Necromancer’s Assistant and Returned Reveler. The strategy for this one is a bit
more defensive, with blockers like Black Cat and Grim Guardian. This is somewhat contradicted by cards like Spiteful Returned, but being able to swing back
and drain some life convinces me a little more.
As an aside, I ignored Gurmag Angler when it was released. Utterly ignored it. However, Gurmag Angler made it into Patrick Chapin’s most recent Modern build, of all things. Yeah, this French vanilla common made it to the big show. After I read Chapin’s take, I almost like the Angler for
Standard better than Tasigur. First, it’s not legendary. Having multiple Tasigurs (or recovering one with his ability) is a stone-cold bummer most of the
time. Second, that one power really matters. It can hold off or attack into a Siege Rhino or actual Tasigur. Finally, Tasigur’s ability, at least
in my experience, has always been subpar, as they usually return a highly irrelevant spell to my hand. As a bonus, Gurmag Angler is also a Zombie, a
relevant creature type. The fact that it costs one more will often not be important, especially in a non-aggro build where you don’t have to rush creatures
out whilst consuming valuable graveyard real estate.
Xathrid Slyblade is the only non-Zombie, but it makes for a perfect target for your Grave Strength. In the removal-heavy builds, no activation needed; just
target and smash forever. Fighting a green and/or creature-based build? Slap the first strike on to get around deathtouch and gang blocking. Four seems
like a lot, but you can always toss them with the Stockpile. I liked a Crux of Fate to level the field and make every Grave Strength strong.
This one similarly built itself to some degree. A combination of Zombies and consistency might be good enough, but how about if we acknowledge Grave
Strength’s ability to trigger heroic? There’s one in particular that enjoys +1/+1 counters.
Blue’s known for milling itself and/or others, so there’s good support too. With some of the bestow creatures and a powerful suite of heroic creatures, you
don’t have to give up much to get a highly cohesive build.
Creatures (32)
- 4 Nighthowler
- 4 Tormented Hero
- 4 Agent of the Fates
- 4 Herald of Torment
- 4 Spiteful Returned
- 4 Gnarled Scarhide
- 4 Sage of Hours
- 4 Bloodsoaked Champion
Lands (23)
Spells (5)
This build is significantly more aggressive, relying on early trades to fill the graveyard, and late bestows will close the game out. Agent of the Fates,
probably my favorite heroic creature, can easily be bestowed the turn after you cast it. Because the deck has nearly no removal, bestowing to create
hard-to-block creatures or life drain through cards like Tormented Hero and Spiteful Returned will help you close out a game against a mired boardstate.
Bloodsoaked Champion is a safe and easy mill, and it’s a great way to get back in the game after getting your team swept away; it takes every bestow
creature well, even as a measly 2/1. Nighthowler, a somewhat latecomer to this brainstorming session, works best with aggressive strategies centered on
heroic creatures, as does Herald of Torment.
This list may be too light on enablers or rely on cards that are too weak to make an impact, but that’s why we’re talking them out.
Finally, we have this magical member of the graveyard squad: Alesha, Who Smiles at Death.
Alesha thrives on a full graveyard, and she has so much potential by herself that Grave Strength may not be necessary. But it is still a kind of Commune
with the Gods that doesn’t require green, so it’s worth a shot.
Creatures (27)
- 4 Child of Night
- 4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
- 1 Tymaret, the Murder King
- 3 Mogis's Marauder
- 3 King Macar, the Gold-Cursed
- 4 Generator Servant
- 4 Battle Brawler
- 4 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
Lands (23)
Spells (10)
Alesha has the power to bring anything back by herself. Perhaps the most awesome target is Generator Servant, who can help cast Alesha on turn 3 and leave
enough mana to bring the Servant back. Battle Brawler is a nice one to take back, making another 3/2 first striking creature when resurrected, and Child of
Night makes for a great cache for +1/+1 counters despite its generally weak frame. Gray Merchant of Asphodel, one of the most infamous two-power creatures
in Standard, can finish the game then and there, and it makes a nice turn 3 cast off Generator Servant if Alesha can’t be found. Mogis’s Marauder gives
your Grave Strength-enhanced creature right of way to crash through enemy lines.
King Macar is a card I’ve wanted to use for about a year; as a 2/3 for four mana, the rate is pretty bad. However, recovering it and putting it in combat
means it will take out a blocker when it untaps, provides mana, and will be more difficult to block each subsequent turn.
Lightning Strike, while off theme, is a necessity these days; couldn’t see not including any kind of removal.
Out of all of them, I like the red and the blue one best. I’m sure there are elements from each deck that could help the other: the Nighthowler might work
well in the build with Alesha, as she can recover it at any time. Xathrid Slyblade might also be a nice choice with the blue deck. These lists are for
illustrations only, and in the end, that’s what Grave Strength is: it’s a fairly poor card that, if experimented with, provides an opportunity for
deckbuilding and refining. These decks, as is, are untuned and are not a good choice as-is for an FNM. But I bet that, amongst the four ideas presented,
one, or a combination of several, might be good enough that it will do well after a good sifting and spitshine.
I can think of lots of cards that could help: Strength of the Fallen, perhaps, or even Commune with the Gods or Nyx Weaver? Maybe the red deck likes Goblin
Rabblemaster and will always be happy to draw it, even when behind?
If you could build a deck based around Grave Strength, what would you build?