We’ve only seen a few major events with Rise of the Eldrazi, and already the face of the Standard format looks completely different. Prior to the new set, Jund and U/W Control were clearly the decks to beat, but after the results of the StarCityGames.com Atlanta Open and the recent National and Pro Tour Qualifiers, it seems that at the very least there are new challengers to the throne, if not new kings of the hill altogether.
Two new decks each put two representatives through to the Top 8 of the SCG Atlanta Open. That in itself is remarkable, but what is even more impressive is that both pilots of one of those decks were undefeated going into the elimination rounds — and the deck’s only loss once there came to the mirror match! If that isn’t a sign of a powerful new deck, I don’t know what is.
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (12)
Lands (26)
Spells (18)
Sideboard
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (12)
Lands (26)
Spells (18)
Sideboard
This is the deck that put both Lewis Laskin and Ben Stark into the Top 8, with Laskin taking down Stark in the semifinals on his way to winning the whole thing. In my look at the top spoiled cards from Rise before the set’s release, I talked at length about how powerful I felt Gideon Jura could be in combination with other planeswalkers, and that is exactly how this deck works. The deck takes advantage of both Gideon and Wall of Omens — along with Elspeth — to enable a board control strategy that can easily protect Jace, the Mind Sculptor, that incredibly hyped and incredibly powerful fellow who just hasn’t quite had the right supporting cast to show his true power in Standard.
That combination of cards in U/W would be powerful to begin with, but Larkin and Stark’s deck doesn’t stop there. Ajani Vengeant turns the planeswalker trio into a quartet and gives the deck a tremendous edge against those who stick to strictly U/W. Ajani has been a trump card in control matchups since he was printed, and he gains a tremendous amount of extra value against aggressive decks now that he can be cheaply protected by Wall of Omens.
That’s what this deck is all about – efficiently protecting planeswalkers. Everything works toward that goal. Wall of Omens is really the glue that holds this plan together, since it is a card that you can easily play out in the early turns of the game that will hold off your opponent’s creatures while you tap out to play Jace or Ajani. Similarly, Spreading Seas shuts down manlands in the early turns of the game so they can’t attack your planeswalkers when you tap out to play them, while Path to Exile is the most efficient removal available that can take out either manlands that avoided the Seas or any haste creatures that may rear their ugly heads.
Perhaps most important is the synergy between the planeswalkers themselves. Each planeswalker in the deck is not only able to generate powerful advantages if left unchecked, but also able to defend himself — and each other. Elspeth and Gideon in particular can give your opponent fits if they’re relying on creatures to try to take out your planeswalkers, and each can keep your opponent’s planeswalkers under control.
I love the look of this deck, and it’s certainly something I could easily see myself playing at Grand Prix: DC. But there’s still the other deck that exploded onto the Standard scene since RoE to look at, and it’s definitely my style…
Creatures (28)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Rhox War Monk
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 4 Sovereigns of Lost Alara
- 4 Baneslayer Angel
- 4 Lotus Cobra
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (25)
Spells (2)
Creatures (28)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 4 Sovereigns of Lost Alara
- 4 Dauntless Escort
- 4 Baneslayer Angel
- 4 Lotus Cobra
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (25)
Spells (2)
Sideboard
Talk about fatties! This update to Zvi’s Mythic deck is all about going large. The new RoE enchantment Eldrazi Conscription turned once bulk rare Sovereigns of Lost Alara into a one-card combo to create an absolutely monstrous creature, giving the already explosive deck the ability to win out of nowhere.
Of these two versions, I significantly prefer the one played by Matt Sperling. The addition of Dauntless Escort to the maindeck gives the deck much needed protection from Day of Judgment, as well as a way to protect a Conscription-enchanted creature from removal. With the rise of U/W decks, and decline of Jund, Rhox War Monk just isn’t as important as he used to be. Dauntless Escort fills out the same hole in the curve while bringing a much more significant effect to the table.
One additional big difference between both of these decks and the pre-RoE Mythic build is the inclusion of planeswalkers. Again, the rise of control decks and the relative decline of Jund makes Jace much more attractive, since he won’t just die all the time to Blightning and Bloodbraid Elf and can singlehandedly win the game against slower decks. Both included Elspeth, as well, and Sperling also played Gideon Jura and said after the tournament that he wished he’d just had more Gideons. Gideon seems like a good fit in this deck, since he provides a sizable body that doesn’t die to Wrath against control decks while having the potential to break any stalemate in a creature matchup wide open. His Siren’s Call ability seems especially backbreaking against other Bant decks, since they won’t gain any of their Exalted bonuses when their team is forced to suicide into yours. Keep in mind that your mana creatures don’t have to run in to their doom — you can tap your Birds and Hierarchs for mana to keep them from walking into the waiting arms of a Baneslayer. It seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how often people miss that sort of thing.
This deck is the real deal. Previously, Mythic was kept down largely by fear of Naya and the dreaded Cunning Sparkmage, but with U/W and U/W/R control decks rising in popularity, Naya seems unlikely to make up a major part of the metagame. Even if it did, RoE as finally offered up a reasonable solution — Linvala, Keeper of Silence. Linvala turns off your opponent’s Sparkmages — as well as their Knight of the Reliquary and mana creatures, no less. Previously, I’d suggested Pithing Needle or Harm’s Way as a possible Sparkmage solution, but Linvala offers the same lockdown attached to a 3/4 flying body, which is a much more attractive option for a deck that’s concerned about threat density.
With these two set to be the hot decks of the new format, I decided to give them each a spin against one another. I expected the UWR deck to be somewhat favored in game one, but get significantly worse after sideboarding, and that’s pretty much what happened. The Conscription Bant deck has more game than you might expect in the first game, however, and Dauntless Escort in particular makes it hard to ever really blow them out with Day of Judgment or Martial Coup. With only two Day of Judgment in the UWR deck, the Bant deck was often able to just get explosive openings and run the planeswalker deck over, and even when you could stabilize behind an Elspeth or something of the sort, a Sovereigns could just come down and kill you over virtually however many blockers you could muster. Path to Exile was definitely the second most important card in the matchup, behind Day of Judgment, since it could answer a Sovereigns before it could fetch out a Conscription or remove a Dauntless Escort to turn on Day of Judgment.
If the UWR deck is a slight to moderate favorite in game 1, it is pretty much a dog in the same proportions after sideboarding. The Negates and Deprive that the Bant deck gets to bring in are just so much better than everything in the UWR sideboard for the matchup. In fact, I feel like the best plan for the UWR deck with this sideboard is to bring in Negates of its own just in order to combat the Bant deck’s Negates and get its key spells to resolve.
I’m not entirely sold on exactly which cards the Bant deck wants to sideboard out in this matchup. Some advocate cutting most or all of your Sovereign/Conscription plan, but it seems like far more games are going to be won by that combo than something like Baneslayer Angel — I’d lean toward cutting some of your Baneslayers, myself, along with some mana creatures (probably Lotus Cobra) to fit the Negate/Deprive package, along with Oblivion Rings.
For UWR, you don’t really have any truly bad cards. Spreading Seas is probably the weakest — I could see taking out all of them, but it’s still a good answer to manlands. Wall of Omens doesn’t really block very well against the creatures in Bant (especially if they board out their cobras), but it can give you a free turn with your planewalkers and it’s the only card in your deck that can’t be Negated, which is worth something. I’d probably try boarding out the Spreading Seas for 3 Negate and a Day of Judgment with this list, though if I were to play UWR in the coming weeks, I’d certainly consider fitting a 4th Day somewhere between deck and sideboard. I’d also consider something like Pyroclasm, since killing Bant’s mana creatures can make it very difficult for them to play threats with Negate backup, and sometimes you can catch a naked Knight of the Reliquary with it as well, which is a pretty awesome feeling.
While I’m on the subject of sideboard changes, I think if I were to play Bant I’d give serious thought to fitting some Bant Charms in my sideboard for the mirror match. With Sovereigns I suspect the matchup is drastically different than it was pre-Rise, when games would often drag out and you had time for cards like Mind Control to shine taking Baneslayers and the like. In the world of Sovereigns, instant speed removal is at a premium, and Bant Charm is the best option through most stages of the game.
I have a feeling these two decks are going to come to define the Standard format in the coming months. You’d be well served to practice with them and against them if you’re playing in any PTQs or the upcoming GP DC. I certainly know I will be.
Until next time…
bmk