Grand Prix: Brussels is this very weekend, and I am almost certain that I will be running Jund at that event. My list is a little different to most of the Jund decks you will be facing. Let’s get started with the decklist before I explain what is different and why.
Creatures (20)
Lands (26)
Spells (14)
Sideboard
Trace of Abundance over Rampant Growth
There are reasons for playing both these cards. Rampant Growth is definitely performing better against any deck running Spreading Seas if you are on the draw. It is slightly easier to cast and will always fix your third color, assuming you drawing only two lands (one of which includes Green). In addition, cards like Maelstrom Pulse or Oblivion Ring can’t remove the land you are fetching, while they can disrupt your mana if you are running the Trace. On the other hand, Trace of Abundance costs one mana less when you cast it any turn targeting a land that is untapped. The best aspect about the card is that you can give your manlands shroud and put a lot of control decks in trouble when you enchant a Raging Ravine in the early game and turn it into a shrouded monster later on. There are some other small advantages that shouldn’t come up too often, such as being able to pay for Quenchable Fire, or stopping your opponent from casting Archive Trap for zero mana.
Master of the Wild Hunt and Siege-Gang Commander over Removal and Broodmate Dragon
The list is very short on targeted removal, which makes Bloodbraid Elf on empty boards a lot more productive. The lack of removal is compensated by the removal in creature form. Both Master of the Wild Hunt and Siege-Gang Commander are performing excellently against any White-based creature deck. Master of the Wild Hunt needs to get removed by almost any deck immediately, otherwise it will win the game very quickly. Broodmate Dragon is just a bit too expensive in the current metagame. There are tons of cards like Tectonic Edge, Goblin Ruinblaster (at least post-board), Baneslayer Angel, or Kor Firewalker which makes it have a smaller impact on the board than it did a while ago, even if you are able to cast it. Siege-Gang Commander is one of my favorite creatures, and it’s a card I really appreciate in the current Jund strategy. As I’ve said many times before, the deck is a lot more aggressive, and this card gives the deck a lot more reach while being very hard to handle in general.
Oran-Rief, the Vastwood over Lavaclaw Reaches
In the games I played with Lavaclaw Reaches, the card was disappointing. Instead, I added Oran-Rief to my build, which has some extra targets in Master of the Wild Hunt. Giving Master of the Wild Hunt a fourth toughness against a deck like Naya can be crucial, as the major part of their removal is represented by Lightning Bolt. And Oran-Rief has performed well in the deck ever since, with its major all star being Sprouting Thrinax. However, Lavaclaw Reaches might be a bit better than it was when I tested it, as I’ve now added Trace of Abundance.
The Sideboard
Since the result from the last GP came in, I’ve wanted to add Dragon’s Claw to my sideboard. As I really want to play 4 Goblin Ruinblaster in my sideboard and I want to be able to sideboard out 8 cards against White Weenie, I couldn’t add the full set of the artifact to my sideboard. Instead, I am able to play only three copies, and a single Burst Lightning. The Burst Lightning is the next card I want to have against Mono Red, but it will perform well against White aggro decks too.
The set of Deathmark is necessary in the current metagame. As the deck is not running a lot of spot removal, you really want some fast solutions to Knight of the Reliquary and Baneslayer Angel in your sideboard. Malakir Bloodwitch is the best non-Deathmark card against any White-based creature deck, and having only one slot for it is a little sad, but it’s necessary with a build that is already running 4 Master of the Wild Hunt. The Acidic Slimes were added since I really feel like punishing opponents that don’t board out Broodmate Dragon in the mirror, and I always want to draw Goblin Ruinblaster. In addition, it’s performing fine against control as well, and it’s decent enough against White Weenie to warrant boarding it in, as it blows up Oblivion Rings, Honor of the Pure, and Manlands.
Versus Jund
The only difference between this list and the usual Jund decklist is Master of the Wild Hunt. Try to play the card as late as possible, or whenever you think that your opponent is out of removal. Once you untap with the card, you are very likely to win the game. Broodmate Dragon is a decent amount of trouble in pre-board games, since the only real solution you have to the card is Siege-Gang Commander, which is kind of slow. Still, it is the Jund mirror, and a fair amount of the games are decided before Broodmate Dragon comes down. Playing Oran-Rief should definitely give you a bigger advantage in the mirror than running Lavaclaw Reaches.
+2 Acidic Slime
+4 Goblin Ruinblaster
-4 Lightning Bolt
-2 Maelstrom Pulse
Since you have access to 6 Goblin Ruinblasters, there is no need for Lightning Bolt to deal with Raging Ravine, which is the major reason to keep Bolts post-board. The Goblin Ruinblasters in the sideboard are the major reason I decided not to play Bituminous Blast. As I’d always want to cast Bituminous Blast with an extra Red mana available, it becomes Broodmate Dragon expensive, which is just one mana too much for my taste.
Versus Naya / Knight of the Reliquary Based decks
The major difference between these decks is that Naya will have more removal and Ranger of Eos, while most Knight of the Reliquary based decks will have less removal and more Angels. An early Baneslayer Angel can give you a fair bit of trouble in the pre-board games. But in the games I played against such decks, Master of the Wild Hunt won me the game alone a lot of times, many times more than the games I was losing to Baneslayer Angel.
+4 Deathmark
(+2 Acidic Slime)
(+1 Burst Lightning)
+1 Malakir Bloodwitch
-4 Putrid Leech
(-4 Blightning)
Putrid Leech just does not do a great job in this matchup. The games aren’t often decided by speed; rather, it comes down to have the last threat standing. You want to have Acidic Slime over Blightning whenever one of your opponent’s major removal options is Oblivion Ring. Against decks with Ranger of Eos, I prefer not having any Blightning at all. Burst Lightning won’t be very good, but it is definitely the most comfortable removal spell for an early Lotus Cobra or Noble Hierarch.
White Weenie
Another matchup where Master of the Wild Hunt and Siege-Gang Commander are at their best. The major concern in this matchup is Baneslayer Angel. Luckily, not everybody is running this. And Siege-Gang Commander is a good enough removal for the Angel in this matchup. I expect White Weenie to be a decent part of the metagame in the upcoming Grand Prix, since Mono Red won the last big Standard event, which also had a ton of Jund in the Top 8. And with this deck list, I’ll happily play against White Weenie all day long.
+4 Deathmark
+2 Acidic Slime
+1 Burst Lightning
+1 Malakir Bloodwitch
-4 Putrid Leech
-4 Sprouting Thrinax
Both Putrid Leech and Sprouting Thrinax are a must card to board out no matter what Jund list you are playing. Both are only marginal attackers and/or blockers, while your opponent is very likely t o board in Devout Lightcaster. Boarding out these cards also makes your cascades more consistent.
Mono Red
The matches I played against Mono-Red on Magic Online always finished in my favor. A key to the matchup is knowing when to move from a defensive strategy to an offensive one. The most important cards in the matchup are Blighting, Putrid Leech, Lighting Bolt, Raging Ravine… And, of course, Bloodbraid Elf. You often accumulate a lot of splash damage and eventually have a two-turn clock with Raging Ravine. The games you win are usually very, very close.
+3 Dragon’s Claw
+1 Burst Lightning
-2 Maelstrom Pulse
-2 Master of the Wild Hunt
Post-board games are very similar to pre-board games, and the only major difference is Dragon’s Claw. There are two fairly big advantages you have with Trace of Abundance over Rampant Growth in this matchup. First, it is a Red spell for Dragon’s Claw. Second, you are able to pay for Quenchable Fire. The second reason gives you a tough decision: which land do you enchant in the latter stages of the game? Enchanting Raging Ravine leaves you unable to pay the Fire and still be able to attack with your manland, while not enchanting the creature land leaves it vulnerable to Goblin Ruinblaster. The land being targetable by Searing Blaze or Lightning Bolt shouldn’t affect your decision much.
Control
Having your removal in creature form makes this matchup a lot more comfortable than it usually is. You have almost no dead cards, while they have to be able to deal with more creatures. Trace of Abundance, enchanting Raging Ravines, is obviously one of the best things you can do in this matchup.
+1 Malakir Bloodwitch
+2 Acidic Slime
+4 Goblin Ruinblaster
-4 Lightning Bolt
-2 Maelstrom Pulse
-1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
This sideboard plan is far from untouchable. A lot of the decisions should consider how many Baneslayer Angels your opponent will bring in (or already is playing), who will start game 2, and if you managed to win game 1. If you are down one game and you feel like you have an edge on your opponent, you might want to sideboard on the safer side… while if you are up one game and feel like your opponent is a stronger player, you might want take more risks. I board out the Oran-Rief because its ability very rarely matters, and I want to be boarding out a land in this matchup. It doesn’t matter a lot if you are stuck on four mana in this matchup if you are drawing a lot of threats. Eventually you will draw your fifth mana source, and then you are able to cast your remaining spells and start attacking with Raging Ravine. I know it is a bit anti-productive to Tectonic Edge, but that should not matter a lot since you should often be stuck on 4 mana in form of three lands plus Trace of Abundance, which leaves your opponent unable to activate the Wasteland.
In the end, you should always be playing the decklist with which you are most comfortable. I myself feel far more comfortable with threats over removal, and I really like having a ton of Siege-Gang Commanders and Masters of the Wild Hunt. If you don’t feel like this, there is no way you should touch this list.
That’s it for this week. I don’t expect myself to change decks or make changes before the Grand Prix, but you never know what’s happening, therefore I won’t be able to promise I am running the deck. But, as I said, the chances are really high.
Manu B