Fate Reforged has finally begun! Now we can talk about the best strategies in the format thanks to the huge amount of new and returning decks present at
the Open Series event in Washington DC this past weekend. Gerard Fabiano, one of our own, claimed the trophy after eighteen rounds of Standard action!
Let’s take a look at his —
We interrupt this otherwise boring and overdone article to bring you a breaking news bulletin!
One of the most interesting and flavorful cards in Fate Reforged has already been relegated to the uncommon bulk pile at local card shops! After being passed over and ignored as a way to shoehorn in some
sweet Aaron Miller weapon art, this poor defenseless card has already been left on countless draft tables, as one would with excess copies of Bloodfire Expert and Jeskai Runemark!
Before this card is dismissed as worthless filler for Magic databases everywhere, someone has to act!
Who can help us? I’ve heard there’s a group of people who can do this job. I have a problem, and no one else can help. Now I just need to find them.
Time to bring in…the A-Team!
~ Bum da dum dummm, dum dum, dummm! ~
The A-Team can save us! With the help of these four individuals, we can save Hero’s Blade and its destiny will change forever! Our foes abound from all
sides: “This card is worse than Vulshok Battlegear and that card saw no play,” cries one dissenter, and another warns that “it requires a legendary deck
shell to build around, so it’s too narrow.” Well I’ve got news for you, bucko: you’re in for a world of hurt!
Creatures (20)
- 3 Daxos of Meletis
- 4 Generator Servant
- 1 Narset, Enlightened Master
- 3 Seeker of the Way
- 3 Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
- 3 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
- 3 Renowned Weaponsmith
Lands (17)
Spells (23)
- 3 Plains
- 1 Mountain
- 2 Island
- 1 Hammer of Purphoros
- 4 Gods Willing
- 1 Heroes' Podium
- 3 Stubborn Denial
- 4 Wild Slash
- 4 Hero's Blade
Sideboard
In the world of 1980’s media-endorsed vigilantism, there are many players, and no matter how much screen time they got, all of them were important to the
overall awesomeness of the show.
Narset the Enlightened – Hannibal Smith
The deck contains four legendary superheroes, well-versed in utility and combat. Their leader, the most powerful (and expensive) of the bunch, is Narset,
Enlightened Master, most closely likened to the show’s Hannibal Smith. Hannibal perennially disguises himself, much like Narset does; on some occasions,
she is the best card in your hand, and often she’s the worst. She can be an excellent, hard-to-kill finisher, or she can block every red two-drop ever
without fear of a burn spell knocking her out. There’s no telling what situations will arise, but you can be sure Narset will be the best tool for the job.
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death – Faceman
Alesha is the looker of the group. Her armor, stance, and abilities hint at a person of great charisma. Naturally, Faceman is the closest comparison.
Calculated, slick, and often the negotiator, Faceman does for the A-Team what Alesha does for her fallen comrades: empowers them. Alesha is efficient,
synergetic, and always ready to jump into the fray. She can resurrect a defeated soldier and keep your team successful.
Daxos of Meletis – Murdock
Combining the potential for unlikely success with the megalomaniacal delusions of someone who might actually do it, Daxos of Meletis finds a lot in common
with the crazed, but highly-skilled Howling Mad Murdock. Daxos’s evasive ability allows him to win, or rather, avoid fights he surely couldn’t win. Only a
fool would attack into creatures that could surely kill you! However, when he is able to get through, you reap the benefit of Daxos’s bravery.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest – B.A. Baracas
Shu Yun’s got a bone to pick. As an ascetic, Shu Yun bides his time until an attack could be devastating. He never forgives, and when he hits you, you’re
gonna feel it. Mr. T’s character B.A. Baracas also likes things done a certain way, and he’s happy to beat you up or, at the very least, intimidate you
into never crossing his particular life choices. If you let him or any one of his allies through, he’s going to make you regret it.
The Extras
Generator Servant can help fuel any of the A-Team members into a frenzy. Narset’s trigger is on attack, so getting Narset out of the gate two turns early
and with haste will help your trigger be way ahead of the curve. Alesha provides a fun interaction. If you cast Generator Servant on turn 2, you can crack
the Servant on turn 3, play Alesha with that mana, attack, and with her triggered ability and the two mana you saved by popping the Servant, you can return
the fallen Generator Servant to the field attacking. Daxos’s trigger is also attack-based, so attacking turn earlier will let you not only get the lifegain
trigger faster, but it will save you mana to immediately cast what he exiles. Finally, Shu Yun doesn’t need the Servant so much; Shu Yun is most powerful
late in the game when any one of the A-Team members will be able to land a vicious killing blow.
Seeker of the Way is an auxillary, temporary team member, helping the A-Team stay aggressive even during a commercial break (slow draw). With the variety
of cheap and powerful spells, you can make the Seeker of the Way as scary as one of the main four crew. Poor Seeker though, as like most extras, you don’t
have a name to use when you have your obligatory thanking moment at the end of each story arc.
Renowned Weaponsmith helps make sure that the team’s Hero’s Blade comes in early and without interference. With a Weaponsmith, you may cast the Hero’s
Blade and still have mana to cast any of the three-mana A-Team members, so the sword will immediately become equipped as early as turn 3. Tapping two
allows you to attach a Hero’s Blade without tying up your lands, so the Weaponsmith is a critical, if unglamorous, part of the cast.
Plot Devices (Spells)
The Hero’s Blade, the star of the show, grants every A-Team member a chance to go big. Without it, they’re all fine, but together and with the help of this
blade, they are unstoppable. While the extras can wield it, you have to develop their character a bit before giving them that power. We have to invest
four minutes
four mana into their story before they can get a glimpse of episodic fame.
Wild Slash, comparable to the A-Team-induced explosions throughout the show, is fast, easy to find, and really difficult to prevent as long as one of the
A-Team members is involved. From a mechanics standpoint, it is a relevant, cheap way to activate prowess and can easily be cast alongside an A-Team member
and used the same turn. Gods Willing, while an excellent protection spell against burn and black-removal-centered decks, is also a fact of the A-Team show;
despite physical injury and obvious setbacks, they all appear in the next episode unscathed and seemingly without consequence. Stubborn Denial is just
that: a denial of reality that succeeds only if an armed A-Team member is present. Sure, you can jump that jeep over a canyon or come back from one life,
as long as you vehemently deny the consequences of failure.
One Hammer of Purphoros lets you fast-forward the show to the part where the A-Team is pummeling the foes du jour. It can even create buddies late in the
episode. Finally, a Heroes’ Podium helps the helpless defend themselves by calling on the A-Team for help, becoming more urgent and successful as the
episode goes on.
Lands
There is no analogy to lands. Sorry. I guess they’re like Nielsen ratings? More of them make the members more successful and durable? I guess then a mana
screw is really just them playing Monday Night Football at the same time slot as The A-Team. Tough break, soldiers.
Sideboard
Glare of Heresy is designed to answer everything from a Siege Rhino to an Elspeth, Sun’s Champion. As far as the show is concerned, you can consider every
glare at the camera heretic in regards to realistic action sequences. Ajani’s Presence, which is more like a deus ex machina, prevents damage to our heroes
and, despite their dire circumstances, they are actually stronger for it after avoiding certain death. Ride Down, while a powerful combat trick
that I believe is fearfully underutilized, represents the A-Team’s ability to mow over even insurmountable odds. Just ask B.A. and his awesome 80’s van.
Peak Eruption is, well, just another explosion. It’s also good at destroying Chained to the Rocks, the Magic analogy to a show’s euphemism, an “abrupt
hiatus.” Disdainful Stroke is a masterful, almost unbelievable act performed by any one of the A-Team. While your opponent invests more time and dedication
to execute a plan, the A-Team can deflect it seemingly by magic with much less effort. It always seemed to be so well-timed too.
Erase? Well, you ever watch an episode and wonder what happened to those guys that just flew out of that Jeep into a lake? Well, so did they, because they
just got exiled from the show. Just remember to shuffle them back in for the next episode.
Okay, so from a serious perspective, this deck has it all: speed, flexibility, power, and really big numbers. Hero’s Blade has the potential to be a
powerful, reusable enchant creature, and it only gets better in multiples. Each legendary creature gets better by an order of magnitude when they’re
equipped with a Hero’s Blade the moment they enter play. Alesha becomes a 6/4 first strike on turn 3, and Daxos becomes a 5/4 that can’t be blocked by
creatures that could actually kill it in combat. Because the dream is to hit the Blade on 2 and a compatible creature on 3, I lean towards nine potential
early aggressors. The spells are cheap and very different in their purpose, but they all work together towards a flavorful, exciting, and highly thematic
deck to take to an FNM. Why play Abzan Midrange for the 14th week in a row when you can play the A-Team? I mean, it’s even the colors of America!
While this week was fun and flavorful, next week’s deck is about a potentially unstoppable combo in Standard. I’ve been working on it since the necessary
cards were spoiled, and I’ve been testing it extensively too, where it’s been slaying consistently. If the testing remains positive, I will take it to the
Standard Premier IQ in Indianapolis this Sunday. Crossing my fingers and hoping for a truly revolutionary brew!
Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion!
Hero’s Blade isn’t just a great choice with the A-Team provided. What’s your A-Team look like? Has Hero’s Blade found a home for you? Is there Modern
application, even if it’s just a neat interaction?