I want to take a moment and thank everybody that has stuck with Jund through thick and thin. I am not merely talking about Jund pilots who played it “before it was good.” I am talking about the people that didn’t want to pay Jund at first, but once they realized that it was so good, they moved in and haven’t looked back. I am talking about the stubborn Jund players that refuse to concede the throne to U/W. I am talking about the open-minded Jund players that want to be proven wrong about Jund, but until they are convinced that Jund is anything other than the best, they keep taking percentage away from the field.
You might expect that paragraph to be said in jest, or sarcastically, but it is not. I mean it. Jund is one of my favorite bad guys of all time. They are the perfect midrange deck. If I play beatdown, they are willing to play along and let me be the beatdown. If I play control, they oblige and let me be the control deck. They don’t mana lock me, combo me, or counter all my spells. They let me play my game, and then get rid of my stuff with removal. However, they are not slouches. Their card quality is awesome, their deck is full of card advantage, and they have versatile cards that are very tough to hose. Jund puts up a fight. I respect that. I wouldn’t want a bad guy that couldn’t actually win.
Jund is not the most glamorous deck in the world, and it sometimes gets a bad rap. I am as guilty as the next guy of bashing Jund players, but the truth is that Jund is a darn good deck, and often a darn good deck choice. The strange thing is, for how good Jund is, there is comically little written about the deck these days, mostly because of how much has been written before. Surely most writers figure, “What more is there to say?” Well, Rise of the Eldrazi is here, and with it a surprising number of possibilities.
Today, I would like to weigh in on choices facing Jund players. My hope is that I may be of use not only to Jund players, but to everyone that will have to face Jund in the weeks to come, whether at Grand Prix: DC or PTQs for Amsterdam.
Let’s look at the baseline. Here is a perfect example of a Jund build without anything from Rise of the Eldrazi:
Stock Jund
Josh Herr
4 Putrid Leech
4 Sprouting Thrinax
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Siege-Gang Commander
3 Broodmate Dragon
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Terminate
3 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Blightning
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Savage Lands
4 Raging Ravine
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
2 Dragonskull Summit
1 Rootbound Crag
4 Forest
3 Swamp
3 Mountain
Sideboard
3 Malakir Bloodwitch
3 Goblin Ruinblaster
3 Doom Blade
2 Duress
2 Jund Charm
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Terminate
Josh’s list is extremely typical for what has worked in Jund prior to Rise of the Eldrazi (and it’s still fine). This was the most common style of Jund before, so the burden of proof is on any change that would deviate from this formula. The most important characteristics we observe are:
1) Putrid Leech, Sprouting Thrinax, Bloodbraid Elf, Siege-Gang Commander, and Broodmate Dragon are the good creatures. While Thrinax, Bloodbraid, and usually Broodmate have been essentially universally adopted throughtout, Putrid Leech had some opponents for a while, and Siege-Gang was a little slow to pick up (though it’s a change that I am in 100% agreement, as it is a nice threat versus everyone, and it can totally rip open a game against a mid-range or aggro deck).
2) You have to do something on the first two turns besides just Leech and Bolt. Here, the old standbys were Terminate, Rampant Growth, Explore, and occasionally Burst Lightning. Many people wished for more Putrid Leeches, but thus far the search for the second two-drop has been elusive.
3) Play a lot of land (and man-lands). Raging Ravine is a near universal four-of, and many people also add a Lavaclaw Reaches or two. This added concentration of threats out of your manabase accomplishes not only the goal of virtual card advantage. If you smash your cards into theirs and both of you are left with nothing to work with, and your seventh land is a Raging Ravine and theirs is not a manland, it is like you are +1 cards. The relative value of a land as a card has changed tremendously compared to threats.
Here is a possible new direction to go with Jund, taking advantage of lots of new Rise of the Eldrazi cards.
Creatures (21)
- 3 Siege-Gang Commander
- 1 Broodmate Dragon
- 4 Sprouting Thrinax
- 4 Putrid Leech
- 4 Bloodbraid Elf
- 3 Nest Invader
- 2 Vengevine
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (26)
Spells (11)
Sideboard
Let’s start by looking at the differences between this and Stock Jund. Nest Invader is an attempt at a compromise between “Another Putrid Leech” and “Rampant Growth/Explore.” Nest Invader may not look like much, but he is actually a very potent card that will surely see plenty of play in both Block Constructed and Standard in his time. First of all, the fact that he gives you a mana back makes it so that it is like he only costs G for a 2/2, which is already going to at least get attention. On top of that, you can save the mana for use next turn, and often ramping from two into four is the best place to use an accelerator in the format. In fact, most Jund players that use Rampant Growth or Explore are essentially paying two mana just to have a chance to get 1 extra mana on turn 3. Nest Invader accomplishes this, but then instead of stranding you with an extra land (particularly later in the game) you have another threat, another potential blocker (or two), and another target for Sarkhan the Mad.
If this is all that Nest Invader did, he would already be a consideration, but the fact that he immediately presents two blockers for just two mana and a single card makes him an ideal way to protect Sarkhan the Mad from potential attackers, as well as provide Dragon food. In addition, his low cost and mana ability helps make it possible to actually rebuy Vengevine, a very powerful option in a deck like this.
Let’s look at Vengevine for a moment. Whereas some decks like Naya or Bant have somewhat more competition at the four spot and ask more out of their four drop, Jund actually needs less out of a four drop, despite the quality of Bloodbraid. This is because beyond Bloodbraid Elf, what are you really doing for four mana? Ruinblaster and Garruk, then what? Abyssal Persecutor? The competition isn’t that high. Vengevine offers a very aggressive four power worth of haste, helping regain lost percentage against Wall of Omens. In addition, he helps improve every Planeswalker match-up, as he is very effective at helping keep them down, even the new Bad Boy, Gideon, a walker that most creatures struggle with.
In addition to hasty attacks and having four power, Vengevine’s rebuy DI power comes into play here and not just with Bloodbraid Elf. As we mentioned above, Nest Invader can help enable him, but sometimes it is really just a matter of turn 5 or 6 dropping Putrid Leech and Sprouting Thrinax. Finally, it should be remembered that Sarkhan the Mad’s usual algorithm is to make a Dragon every turn unless his ultimate kills the opponent. Then, when Sarkhan hits 1-3 loyalty, you have no weak creatures or you need to draw removal, you start to really look at the Dark Confidant ability. This is not to say that you shouldn’t deviate from this, because you often should, I am just suggesting this as a typical pattern to guide you. Also, I am calling attention to the fact that Sarkhan will help you end up with multiple creatures in your hand, at times, further enabling Vengevine. Remember, you can cast and attack with your Vengevine, then when they don’t block, sacrifice Vengevine to your Sarkhan in your second main phase. Finish by casting another creature to get it back untapped to help protect your mad man.
Remember that Sarkhan the Mad can be used as removal. The most common application of this is to strip your opponent’s Baneslayers of lifelink, first strike, and “protection from” abilities. Another common use is to deal with a turn 3 or 4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. It’s pretty obvious, but if your opponent has an Eldrazi Conscription on one of his guys, a 5/5 flier is a small price to pay to remove it. You may be saying, “That is a terrible removal spell for five mana.” Guess what? You aren’t paying five mana for it. You are paying zero. You paid five mana for Sarkhan the Mad and he gave you a variety of options, one of which is not losing to those cards. Think about how Jace, the Mind Sculptor is not a four-mana Unsummon, yet this ability of his is extremely useful, when it matters.
Maybe it’s a mistake to not play more Broodmate Dragons, trying for Sarkhan’s Ultimate more often, but I guess I am just trying to use Sarkhan the Mad as a five mana Broodmate that gives you a 5/5 flier and a weird Planeswalker that threatens more action next turn, instead of two 4/4 fliers. I think a lot of people get hung up on how Sarkhan has no plus ability, and that all of abilities seem conditional, but the key is that he actually gives you a lot of extremely different options. The reason this is so good is that each Planeswalker you activate each turn only gives you one ability. It is not really that much of a help to have a great ability that you never use because one of the others is just better. Sarkhan’s abilities are all so different that the scenarios in which you want each are going to cover a wide range of board states.
Will his Confidant ability kill him? Yes, but think back to Jace Beleren. So often, the third use of Jace would kill him. Did that make him bad? No, because by the time you got to Jace three times, you were already super happy. Sarkhan is similar. If you make a couple of 5/5 fliers out of your Thrinax and a token, you are already happy. It is not that you are trading Sarkhan for the random card from the top, it is that you are trading a Sarkhan with depleted loyalty for a card, just like trading a Jace Beleren with one loyalty for a card. Besides, sometimes you flip a land and get to keep him for yet another turn, etc.
The Ultimate is a better threat than an actual weapon in most cases, as it will force opponents to bend over backwards so as to avoid dying out of nowhere. In practice, you don’t activate this one that often, but you would if your opponents let you. The ability to remove an opponent’s creature is definitely a measure of last resort, but it is certainly a better option to have than not. In general, however, you usually want to make a 5/5 on your side when you first play him (most commonly Thrinax). One move to remember: if you get desperate, you can attack with your 5/5 Dragon when it’s your only creature. Then, Sarkhan forces you to sacrifice him and put another Dragon onto the battlefield (essentially untapping him). This is a rough way to brute force it, but there will be times where it is your best play.
The Rise of the Eldrazi doesn’t stop there. Out of the sideboard, Consuming Vapors has becomes industry standard, as it is particularly effective at helping regain percentage against Mythic and most any dedicated creature deck. You haven’t lived until you have Consuming Vapors’ed a full on Ultimate Kargan Dragonlord. Remember, when times are tough, particularly against Rono-R, you have to be willing to give yourself the Vapors, if that’s what it takes to stay alive. There is no shame in sacrificing a Thrinax to gain a bunch of life (or anyone else, if you can successfully play around an opponent’s ability to burn you out).
Doom Blade makes a better sideboard than Terminate because the only mainstream matchup where Terminate is better is the Jund mirror, which is not a match-up where you want to Doom Blade guy after guy. Terminate is still a better maindeck card, if you want that sort of thing, on account of its flexibility in the mirror, but I prefer more creatures and Planeswalkers.
Goblin Ruinblaster is generally a pretty popular option, and this build makes particularly good use of him, as Nest Invader helps set up a nice turn 3 attacking with four power and a Stone Rain. Besides, between Vengevine, Bloodbraid, and now Ruinblaster, we are talking about a lot of haste, which can really add up to put a lot of pressure on someone (and their Planeswalkers).
Is this the only direction, I could see Jund going? Far from it. This is just a build that pushes the envelope in a few ways that were not possible before, giving you the advantage that most of your opponents will not have much experience against most of these new cards. Besides, they are all quite high on power. Let’s look at a new approach that is not so much about Rise, but rather preys on the current metagame quite nicely.
Creatures (22)
- 4 Siege-Gang Commander
- 4 Sprouting Thrinax
- 4 Putrid Leech
- 4 Bloodbraid Elf
- 2 Borderland Ranger
- 4 Plated Geopede
Lands (26)
Spells (12)
John Pham recently won a PTQ with Josh “Wraptor” Leyton’s unorthodox Jund build. To begin with, we see that the number 10 as far as two-drops goes, has been preserved, though the addition of Plated Geopede (attempting to build more Putrid Leeches) has actually decreased the need for Lightning Bolts (which serve the primary purpose of helping get Jund to the mid-game, where it thrives, without being totally dead in the late game).
Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, Scalding Tarn, and Verdant Catacombs are more than just mana fixing. They are also landfall enablers to ensure that Plated Geopede is a lethal threat, if left uncontested. A single Island in the sideboard opens up a sweet sideboard plan of Sedraxis Specters, with seven ways to fetch it, not to mention the fact that it comes in against every Spreading Seas deck and some Blightning decks, giving you essentially 4 more ways to use it against each opponent. This seems a little strange, but it is actually quite brilliant. This is a move first made famous by Eric Taylor back in the mid-nineties, when he would sideboard in Soul Burn (while playing U/W/r) against Necro opponents that were using Infernal Darkness against him, locking him with only Black mana, though commonly dropping to a very low life total against him.
Not only can you cast your Specter off the Seas your opponent sticks you with, you can also just happily pitch it to a Blightning, giving you another “card” when you hit your opponent back with it, or having the option to use it as a flying way to kold a Planeswalker. Just remember that if you attack a Planeswalker with it, your opponent will not have to discard a card.
In addition to these uses, there is even more room to get play out of the Specter, such as cascading into it directly, or even cascading into a Borderland Ranger (or an opponent Path to Exiling you). The lesson here is to continually think outside the box. Leyton was not content to merely imagine what cards would be good against him opponents; he went further and imagined what cards they would have that are good against him. Then, examining these cards, he identified ways to use the opponent’s momentum against them. This is the stuff of genius.
One final strength of the fetchlands that should not be overlooked is the ability to play one on turn 1, and endstep it, ensuring that Spreading Seas will not be able to prevent a turn 2 Leech. This seems a minor point, but the difference between a turn 2 Leech and not is huge. Just imagine if someone Spread the Seas on two on the play, causing you to skip your two-drop, then on turn 3 you play a Leech. That is slow. Now instead imagine that you hold a fetch up so they waste their second turn. Then you drop a Leech. Then they Spread your Seas on three. You bash for four and drop a Specter, using their own card against them. That is a brutal opening, and even if they Day of Judgment you next turn, you can still get value out of the Specter later.
Builds that skimp on removal, such as Wraptor’s, find it especially important to have the right mix in the sideboard because while you may not want it against Jund or U/W, you are going to need it elsewhere. Also, remember to board in Consuming Vapors against U/W/x. It may not even be that good game 1, but the odds are high that they will board in Baneslayers or Walls of Denial, if they didn’t have them, and if they did, they certainly won’t board them out. In addition, you can be sure they have Wall of Omens, so it will never be dead.
Consume the Meek is a potentially sweet sideboard card that has not seen much play yet, and for the time being seems slightly poorly positioned. First of all, Siege-Gang, Thrinax tokens, Nest Invader, Broodmate Dragon, and Sarkhan’s Dragon all add up to a lot of creatures that are a little awkward with it. Also, the creatures it is best against, like Kor Firewalker and White Knight, are not at their all time most popular. Still, it is a potent tool to keep in mind if the format shifts.
Inquisition of Kozilek is reasonable discard spell that will be relatively sweet in the right formats, but in current Standard is just not as good as Duress. The ability to hit Planeswalkers is huge, as is Cruel Ultimatum, Polymorph, Day of Judgment, and more. Good card, wrong time.
Staggershock is a sweet card, but the three-drop slot is always a tough one to break into for Jund, and if you cascade into a Staggershock, you will NOT get to rebound it (since you didn’t play it from your hand).
Tuk-Tuk the Explorer is a very strange card, but one that I think might have the potential to find its way in on raw power. When things work out, this guy is a 1/1 AND a 5/5 for just 3 mana and a card, which is a lot of value. The main things holding him back are the tough competition at three mana and the question as to whether or not a 1/1 creature has much of a board presence beyond that of a chump blocker. If you were playing a Basilisk Collar deck, maybe Tuk-Tuk would have a little more impact…
Growth Spasm is a great tool for the right decks, but it is not much of a real option here on account of two factors. First, you want to ramp into four, not into six. Second, there is still just too much competition at the three.
Overgrown Battlement is a reasonable option and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone finds a way to really take advantage of it, but for the time being, I think that a 0/4 blocker is not ideal because the format is already warped around fighting Wall of Omens. Second of all, I like taking Jund in a more aggressive direction. Nest Invader isn’t just an accelerator, he is also another guy that can attack Planeswalkers (which is really what Standard is all about: activating Planeswalkers, defending them, and attacking them).
A lot of people may be surprised that I consider Ondu Giant a realistic option, but he is actually a deceptively strong card. Compare to Borderland Ranger, a card that sees a lot of play. For one mana more you not only get two points of toughness (which are well placed in this world of Bolts and Bloodbraids) but also you get to put the land onto the battlefield directly. I imagine this guy will find a lot of homes before he is done, but here, I prefer the aggression of Vengevine at the four spot.
Perish the Thought is interesting and could be good if the format moved towards combo, but for the time being I don’t think you can spend so much mana on a Coercion effect someone. All the control decks have so many Planeswalkers that allow them to capitalize on wasted tempo, so I think you need to stay fast and mana efficient. It is kind of filthy that you can take their land, though….
Kargan Dragonlord has not been discussed by many, at least with regards to finding a home in Jund. While it’s true that your Forests and Swamps aren’t going to get him there, this is not actually a deal-breaker. He doesn’t really work that well with Putrid Leech, but I could imagine a world where someone might want to play a Jund/RDW hybrid. You don’t really need to play that many non-Red lands to make Jund work. In addition, if there was a good Leveler in Jund, it would be highly prized, as Jund is a deck that is starved with things to do with its mana (hence why man-lands are so good in it).
A couple more misses, then I’m out. Let’s see… All is Dust is far too slow. That is not the kind of game Jund is playing. You want to keep up with the opponent the whole time. If your Jund deck is built right, most of the time you cast All is Dust, it will be a clumsy somewhat symmetrical effect. It’s funny how much power creep can change your perspective. In many other eras, Arrogant Bloodlord would have been an auto-include. Now, he is not even close.
Well, it’s time to roll out. Congrats to everyone that qualified for Nationals this weekend! It sounds like the ringers were out in force. So far, Brian David-Marshall, Josh Ravitz, Michael Flores, Gavin Verhey, Kitt Holland, Christian Calcano, Calosso Fuentes, and Greg Marques all won slots among many other savage misers. Nice work, guys!
Time to get on a plane to Washington DC and try my hand at my first Standard tournament since Pro Tour: San Diego. I am super pumped. Of course, I always get excited when playing a new brew… and when playing beatdown!
Patrick Chapin
“The Innovator”