Out With The Old: The New Ixalan Goods

#MTGXLN
is on its way and with that there are also some sets that will be rotating
out of Standard. Let’s take a look at some key cards as well as role cards
that we’ll be losing, and possibly some new cards from #MTGXLN that might
replace them.

Removal

Any Standard format is defined by its removal. If we take a look at some of
the removal that will be leaving us, we see there were quite a bit of
goodies.

Out:

Grasp of Darkness and Blessed Alliance are probably the two biggest losses
for decks that used them, especially against Ramunap Red. Hazoret the
Fervent’s value in Standard may go up even more than it already is without
these two maindeckable cards to answer it cleanly. I imagine U/W Approach
loses a lot from the absence of Blessed Alliance since it was a good way to
gain life along with being removal. That being said, #MTGXLN does bring us
another answer to Hazoret the Fervent in the form of:

While this card does cost one more mana compared to its predecessor, Hero’s
Downfall, you are getting 2 life and the ability to exile out of the deal.
This allows you to answer cards in the format like Scrapheap Scrounger,
embalm creatures, and the various gods with relative ease. Alongside
Torrential Gearhulk, this card can even come back to do more devastating
work on your opponents’ precious permanents.

This card is likely worse than Grasp of Darkness in many ways. While you do
get the added benefit of being able to nab creatures with five or more
toughness, it still can’t touch Skysovereign, Consul Flagship. Losing out
on instant speed is a significant downgrade, but hopefully Vraska’s
Contempt can make up for that.

Knowing how your removal lines up against the threats of the format is an
important part of deckbuilding. Speaking of threats, there are quite the
number of threats that will be leaving us when Ixalan comes out, and
personally, I say good riddance! All of these cards have had their time to
shine and I am ready for something new!

Threats

Out:

Just like most every rotation, there’s no shortage of powerful cards that
are leaving the format. Many of these threats were defining cards in
Standard at one point or another, and many current decks will have to adapt
with the loss of these threats. Thankfully, Ixalan has some
threats of its own!

These guys aren’t messing around. Two huge green creatures that will make
anyone who’s trying to rumble on the ground look like mince-meat. Carnage
Tyrant is definitely a beating for any control deck and could potentially
break midrange mirrors simply due to its size. Ripjaw Raptor, on the other
hand, shines more against aggressive decks as a brick house that threatens
to draw cards when it blocks.

This card is super sweet and allows you to work with other vampires to
swarm your opponent. The value of this card in Standard definitely depends
on the other vampires that surround it. It’s unfortunate that so many
vampires are rotating out of Standard with the release of #MTGXLN, but there are
still some quality vampires such as Yahenni, Undying Partisan and Gifted
Aetherborn in the format.

This card has the ability to take control over the air in standard, barring
any pesky vehicles getting in the way. It’s a pirate synergy card that
looks pretty appealing, so let’s look at some other pirates from the set.

Deadeye Tracker is a pretty interesting card that could have some sideboard
applications against God Pharaoh’s Gift decks. It’s also pretty nifty
against anything else that has Eternalize of Embalm. I wouldn’t be
surprised to even have it see maindeck play as a one drop pirate.

Fathom Fleet Captain also has some pirate synergy text as well for a pretty
nice payoff. If it goes unanswered, your opponent is going to have a lot to
deal with. Currently, against most decks in the format, menace can be
pretty hard to deal with. Think of all the time Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
has been able to attack unscathed from Ramunap Red.

Ruin Raider reminds us of a card very near and dear to all of our hearts,
Dark Confidant. This card can really get the card advantage rolling in any
aggressive deck, including pirates. I don’t believe that you would want a
high mana curve in a pirate-based synergy deck, especially when you’re
including Ruin Raider. You can maybe top out at The Scorpion God or The
Scarab God depending on your colors, but most likely not any higher than
that.

Captain Lannery Storm is one of a few red pirates that have been spoiled so
far, but it is awesome! Maybe Ahn-Crop Crasher has a new tag-team buddy for
Ramunap Red as curving this card into a Glorybringer on turn four can be
pretty devastating for your opponent. Oh and don’t forget… Kari Zev,
Skyship Raider is also a pirate!

Utility

Out:

Losing these cards is a quiet, but huge blow to Standard. Many decks leaned
on these cards as a backbone and they will no longer be around for support.
Mardu Vehicles may have a tough time getting artifacts in play without the
help from Thraben Inspector. There will no more splashing off-colored
planeswalkers easily due to having access to Oath of Nissa, and no more
extra copies of each threat in your deck due to Traverse the Ulvenwald.
However, one of the very best utility cards ever printed was Pithing
Needle, and #MTGXLN has
a new version of the fan favorite.

This card has some nice potential for Standard, but Abrade is definitely
going to be keeping this a bit in check. I could see Sorcerous Spyglass
being in maindecks for the current format. Between Ramunap Ruins, Heart of
Kiran, any creature using energy, and various planeswalkers; there are so
many good targets for Sorcerous Spyglass and you get to look at their hand!

Lands

Out:

What are we bringing back in their place?

That’s right! They’re back!

Standard now has five ally-color cycle lands, five ally-color buddy lands,
and five enemy-color fast lands. This means a few things: For starters,
cycle lands and buddy lands work great together! Midrange and control decks
that want their lands to come into play untapped in the late game are the
biggest benefactors with this reprint. Specifically, the shard based three
color decks are more viable now that they have access to ten lands for each
color pair between their shard. Finally, aggressive strategies will likely
want to stick with either being mono color or enemy based because they
benefit most from fast lands.

Let’s Go #GPDC

It seems like everyone I know who plays Magic will be attending #GPDC, and I think the
tournament will be quite large. I’m super happy that StarCityGames.com is
hosting the event because they run excellent events. After
starting 8-1 at #GPINDY
, I was 10-2 going into the final draft where I had a good G/W deck. I
unfortunately went 1-2 in that last draft to end 11-4, and I couldn’t be
hungrier for a trophy this weekend. For those of you who don’t know, I
played Ramunap Red at #GPDEN two weeks ago,
and although my record was only 8-6, I still think it is a good choice for
the coming weekend. The decks that I’m considering for #GPDC are:

Ramunap Red

Pete Ingram

Test deck on 09-01-2017

Standard

Creatures (23)

Planeswalkers (2)

2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance

Lands (24)

Spells (11)

Sideboard

If I decide to register Ramunap Red this weekend, it’s likely going to look
something like this. If I decide to cut Collective Defiance, I may go down
to fourteen Mountains. I think Abrade isn’t as great right now as the Temur
Energy decks are moving away from Vehicles. I’m still not a fan of Village
Messenger, and although I’m not thrilled with Soul-Scar Mage either I think
it’s necessary for mirror matches. The other matchup that Soul-Scar Mage is
good in, B/G Constrictor, has flown off the radar, and I don’t expect to
see much of it this weekend. I’m trying Hour of Devastation in the
sideboard right now, but they might turn into Cut // Ribbons, especially if
I go to fourteen Mountains. Ramunap Red is definitely a good choice for
this weekend and I wouldn’t fault anyone for playing it.

Temur Energy

Tradewind (7-1)

Test deck on 08-26-2017

Standard

Creatures (23)

Planeswalkers (2)

2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance

Lands (22)

Spells (13)

Sideboard

I’m not too well versed in the art of Temur Energy yet, but I do intend on
playing the deck all week to get a sense of it and there is a good chance I
end up playing it. I’m not sure if the black splash is correct, but if
Gerry Thompson’s Woodland Wanderer idea is good then I’m on board! You
can’t go wrong with traditional Temur Energy this weekend either. Even
though it has a target on its back, the deck is very resilient and
malleable. I’m still curious if Solemnity is good against this deck and
perhaps it’s the answer.

U/R God-Pharaoh's Gift

Corey Burkhart

11th Place at Grand Prix on 08-19-2017

Standard

Creatures (26)

Lands (23)

Spells (11)

Sideboard

According to Mike Sigrist, this deck has a very good matchup against Temur
Energy. I’ve heard it the other way around from other people, but I’m one
to give Siggy the benefit of the doubt. I took Corey Burkhart’s list from #GPDEN because he had an
Aethersphere Harvester in the maindeck, a card that I think would be a
mistake to not include when you have access to four Trophy Mage. I’ve
played a little bit with this deck so far and I have to say, I’m not the
biggest fan. The deck has many decision points and requires precise
sequencing, making it a difficult deck to pick up and learn.

Not only that,
but there are some games where you don’t draw any relevant spells, and I
really don’t want to sign up for a deck that I know will lose some games
before the tournament starts. That being said, I could see a world in which
I play this deck at #GPDC
, and that is saying something about its power level.

Regardless of how the tournament goes, this weekend is going to be a blast!
So many of my friends will be in attendance for #GPDC and I can’t wait to
battle! As always, feel free to stop by and say hello at the event. Also, a
special thanks to the person who turned in my boogie board at #GPINDY, I was super
happy when I got it from the lost and found on Sunday morning. Tune in next
week for hopefully some more sweet #MTGXLN cards to be
previewed!