Everyone loves to be the hero.
Whether you’re saving the world or saving your tournament record, going the heroic route is an option fraught with peril, uncertainty, and some blowouts.
The heroic mechanic is, in a sense, already constructed to the idealized heroic story; the mechanic seemed subpar and dangerous at first, and few attempted
it, but it eventually proved itself to be one of the mightiest forces in the metagame, both because of and in spite of its challenges.
Tom Ross’s W/U Heroic deck has surfaced in many venues, and it’s taken him to victory multiple times. I love his build. Heroic, in general, is a mechanic
that welcomes a brewer’s hand, both because it rewards synergy and because it makes finding spells that make the trigger happen exciting. Every color has
support for the heroic mechanic, and arguably most any combination can reward a diligent player on this front.
When Khans of Tarkir came out, new additions to traditional heroic decks sprang up. Many garnered favor; Defiant Strike was a free cycler and heroic
trigger, and prowess acts like heroic in most ways.
However, there was one spell I’d been dying to try out, one that seemed destined for heroic creatures or, if not the mechanic in word, the spirit of it.
This cheap number offers the value of regeneration alongside the efficiency of a one-black Bonesplitter. This can make a dangerous attack lethal, and a
killable threat indestructible. More than anything, this thing provides the fledgling Mono-Black Aggro plan a heroic-flavored boost, and sufficient support
can make any creature a scary one.
Molting Snakeskin is not ground-breaking or even a particularly powerful spell, but it is underutilized, and I feel that it’s worth it to poke around with
it to see if we should retain this spell or shed it.
While Mono-Black Aggro has proven to be problematic, mostly because it gets stonewalled by big creatures, I wanted to get another color in there. Given its
use in Tom Ross’s list, I chose blue for two maindeck spells and the ease of access thanks to an available fetchland.
Creatures (18)
Lands (19)
Spells (23)
- 4 Thoughtseize
- 1 Sign in Blood
- 4 Crippling Blight
- 4 Aqueous Form
- 4 Boon of Erebos
- 2 Treasure Cruise
- 4 Molting Snakeskin
Sideboard
Creatures
There are currently three one-drop creatures that have two power in black. If you consider the format’s other one-drops, most live in One-Power Land. In a
sense, despite the lack of heroic creatures, these effectively have a heroic trigger built in; Favored Hoplite, Satyr Hoplite, and even Hero of Leina Tower
are 1/1s to start with, but these all come in with extra beef. Tormented Hero is the ideal target and the only one that can block, making it the best of
the bunch. Bloodsoaked Champion, who’s still waiting for his breakout role, follows up, and Gnarled Scarhide brings up the read. The Scarhide can enchant a
Tormented Hero for extra value, but I’m not sure I’ve ever cast it on an opponent’s creature to make it so they can’t block. That sounds like it’s just
asking for a beating.
I have a love/hate relationship with Spiteful Returned. Sometimes it’s literally the best card you can rip because it provides a nice dose of
inevitability; attaching it to an attacker adds three effective damage (one from the bonus and two from the trigger), and even if they nuke the target,
you’ll still be attacking for two more damage. Incremental advantage helps the black version of these kinds of decks more than it does the red or white
versions. Four seems like a lot, but if you’ve got one or the other, you’re attacking for an unblockable four damage. In the absence of truly evasive
threats in black like Tormented Soul or Inkfathom Infiltrator, this is a serviceable alternative. On the other hand, this is literally the worst possible
topdeck when you’re behind. You’re better off drawing a Squire (one toughness more and can’t be removed by enchantment removal). BBD would agree.
The last oddball is Bloodcrazed Hoplite. +1/+1 counters aren’t the big deal they used to be, and with no outlast cards seeing play, it seems to fall on
deaf ears a bit, but being able to gain one yourself while your opponent loses another might make or break a combat. The fact that it does gain counters is
far more important than the fact it reduces others, but it’s possible that second part of the trigger will be relevant. Maybe chip away at a Genesis Hydra
with it.
Spells
Everyone’s more excited about the spells in a heroic deck, or at least I am. Thoughtseize, while not directly heroic-related, is too good in black aggro to
pass up. You need to be able to remove their Bile Blight, Anger of the Gods, or Siege Rhino before they become a problem. Against this deck, it turns a
conditionally loose keep into a disaster. Boon of Erebos has been a staple in black heroic decks since its inception; it’s a one-turn instant version of
Molting Snakeskin! Crippling Blight follows next; as stated earlier, having suitable blockers that can stuff the flurry of 2/1s is a good way for any deck
out there to beat a black aggro strategy. For just one mana, this can invalidate their blocking completely. The loss of power means they cannot attack back
as well either. In a pinch, you can target your heroic creatures if you need the trigger alone.
Aqueous Form is, in fact, the opposite; it allows me to push forward through an army of blockers, and the scry trigger is not to be
underestimated; anyone who knows what it’s like to only draw cards during the draw step know how critical it is to maximize the effectiveness of that draw.
Next, we have the enchantment of the day, ready to regenerate any degenerate black creature, whether on offense or defense.
Blue also offers the delightfully destructive Treasure Cruise. Two seems like plenty, and with the number of cheap instants, sorceries, and enchantments
we’ll be casting, chances are this can come online pretty early. A Sign in Blood slots in for the third Cruise, which seems obnoxious in a deck without
looting or milling.
Land
I miss Mutavault.
Sideboard
Potentially the most critical place to win heroic games is post-sideboard. I liked a set of Cruel Feeding, a strive card from Journey Into Nyx that can
completely turn around an aggressive race. One cast and resolution on two targets can completely foul up combat math. Blue affords us Swan Song that can
stop anything from a Drown in Sorrow to an End Hostilities. Bear in mind the token’s effectiveness. Chances are, if you’re playing a control deck, they
can’t or won’t use the Bird token aggressively. Plan accordingly. Gurmag Swiftwing seems about as lame as they come, but it offers three things not always
found in black: two kinds of evasion and haste. Black heroic decks are based on inevitability through continuous pressure and slow whittling, unlike red
heroic decks which focus on a big turn of burn and lots of Goblin tokens. With a protected Molting Snakeskin, I can see this unblockable problem mounting
every turn. One each of Sign in Blood, Hall of Triumph (where not getting -1/-1’d is what wins you the game), and a top-end Agent of Fates for the
non-ramp, non-token decks round out the list.
I’ve actually been blessed with the opportunity to test this one for a while in its original and slowly evolving forms. At first, the deck didn’t perform.
Having Molting Snakeskin didn’t change my opponent’s ability to block aggressively (snap blocks, that is), and I couldn’t close pre-board games very well
at all. Treasure Cruise was often just a brick, with only three or four cards in the yard and me stuck on two or three lands. I was in bad shape against a
large part of my testing pool, and my last outing with the initial list brought me a 4-6 record (I test in ten-match batches).
Something had to change. Molting Snakeskin was good when they didn’t have blockers, but sweepers off the top and their own immense pressure often made me
buckle. I shook the decklist down and tried a slightly more focused approach.
Creatures (18)
Lands (20)
Spells (22)
- 2 Thoughtseize
- 3 Sign in Blood
- 4 Crippling Blight
- 4 Aqueous Form
- 4 Boon of Erebos
- 1 Treasure Cruise
- 4 Molting Snakeskin
Sideboard
I slimmed down my Thoughtseizes and Treasure Cruises and shifted the lands around a bit. The sideboard saw Feast of Dreams, a little-known removal spell
designed to end the enchantment creatures of Theros block. However, I came to discover that some of my biggest problems were enchantment or enchanted creatures. Hammerhand your Goblin Rabblemaster? Okay, feast on it. Courser of Kruphix gumming up the ground? Feast. Because the deck
itself has so many enchantments of its own, you can combine this with any enchantment and kill all creatures. Does Hero’s Downfall do that? You bet it
does, but hitting three mana and tapping out for a Downfall is often not the kind of plan you want.
Back into the grinder I went, and after about six or seven matches, I kinda pooped out. The deck was still clunky, and I never felt like I was creating
real pressure on an evenly matched game. It got, well, boring.
The blue was doing little for the deck. I never had it when I needed it, and the number of Islands interfered with early turns. Sounds like there’s an easy
solution to that.
Creatures (18)
Lands (20)
Spells (22)
No blue! With a slight gameplan shift, we added more answers (four Despise) and some honest removal (Bile Blight) and gave significantly more reach in the
lategame (Sign in Blood). The maindeck still doesn’t crack two mana, and the manabase was drastically simplified. Adding scry effects gives this deck lots
of options when it comes to what it plays. For decks like this, any land after land #2 is a dead draw, so we might as well make those draws a bit better.
The sideboard now carries the maindeck’s Boon of Erebos; in the end, I realized it doesn’t actually push damage through. It was generally a blocker
stopping something larger, and the two life became a substantial concession. Instead, I think Boon’s place is in a heavy removal deck, e.g. slow midrange
or control, where your life total doesn’t matter as much. Then it can really be the final nail in the coffin. Dark Betrayal was mostly added due to an
inordinate amount of Siege Rhino’s lately. It also kills Doomwake Giant, a huge problem for this list. Erebos is the card that helps you stay on top once
you’re established your presence. Remember to take into account Crippling Blights when counting devotion!
This version, unlike its predecessors, proceeded very well, landing an 8-2 testing round. It had big wins against Temur, Abzan, and even one against
mono-red. Jeskai Tokens, an increasingly popular online deck, claimed one blowout win, and I lost a close match with another mono-red deck. It was fast
enough and interactive enough to beat green decks and non-token Jeskai decks. It was probably best at crushing Sultai, as getting a Whip out of their hand
early will pretty much win you the game on the spot.
This version was much more fun, more consistent, and an all-around better way to showcase Molting Snakeskin. This enchantment was amazing on Child of
Night, allowing me to pull out of a mono-green and mono-red race effectively. Once that combo’s out there, you almost don’t need to play other cards. I
think Molting Snakeskin is a nice tool, but not enough to totally change the deck’s plan. I’m pretty sure the deck listed above is similar to the only
possible deck where this card shines.
—————
This past weekend, I had the pleasure to play in a PTQ I wasn’t expecting to be able to attend. Held at a local shop on 12/13/14, I had hoped that my stars
would align for a PT invite to beautiful, breezy Brussels. This was the final traditional-style PTQ ever, with the new season of PPTQ’s and regional PTQs
starting up in a couple weeks.
My original plan was to play, card for card, Gareth Aye’s exact 75 that granted him a top 8 berth at GP San Antonio last month, which you can find here. This Mono-Red Cruise burn deck had my name written all over
it. On the morning of, I was short a few pieces and, when the Facebook contact I’d made in the hopes of filling my needs decided to play the cards I needed
in his own list, I was forced to audible to a friend’s Abzan Midrange deck, which gave me a good ol’ 2-2 drop.
This tiny event, with only 95 participants, is exactly what a PTQ should be; a locally-based event won by a local pro. With the new system though, this
system of one good day has been eliminated. As it was, just one tournament win could grant a lucky player the trip of a lifetime. The PPTQ system will make
it hard for working folks and/or family folks to make the two trips required to qualify, the second of which might be a significant drive or
flight away. In a sense, I understand that the increased rigor will ensure that the Pro Tour competitors are the best players in the world, but it also
removes the chance for a Cinderella story. All 95 people in that shop on Saturday came in thinking, “If I just play one good tournament and make a good
meta choice, I will fly to Brussels.” If you run good twice, that’s not a Cinderella story; that’s just a good player.
Both the old and new system cater to the good player, but PTQs in their former form catered to the casual player in a much more tangible way. I fear that
the new system will force the casual players to a GP and not to a locally managed event.
Have you found success with Molting Snakeskin? Do you like the PPTQ system better?