Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar is over and done with. This tournament showcased many run-of-the-mill decks we’ve been seeing on the Open Series for weeks
now, but the event also had some interesting innovations as well. I’ve spent most of my time since the Pro Tour trying to make sense of all the madness
that happened at the event, and today I’m going to breakdown which decks you should be playing and those you shouldn’t waste your time with.
The Good
We’re going to kick things off with easily the best list from the Pro Tour. The Pantheon have been having some issues as of late bringing decklists as
powerful as their roster to the Pro Tours, but things changed this past weekend. Their list of Jeskai Black wasn’t revolutionary for the archetype, but it
was so well tuned that they could take advantage of the archetype for the event. I knew Jeskai Black was a great choice for the event, but we couldn’t find
a list as well built as the one that put Owen Turtenwald and Jon Finkel into the top 8.
Creatures (14)
- 1 Dragonmaster Outcast
- 4 Mantis Rider
- 2 Soulfire Grand Master
- 3 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
- 4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (26)
Spells (19)
- 2 Dispel
- 4 Crackling Doom
- 1 Utter End
- 2 Dig Through Time
- 2 Wild Slash
- 3 Ojutai's Command
- 3 Kolaghan's Command
- 2 Fiery Impulse
Sideboard
What set this deck apart from all the other versions of Jeskai Black was the inclusion of Tasigur, the Golden Fang. One thing our team did to beat the
mirror was to play Treasure Cruise over Dig Through Time. This allowed us to play around Dispel which we knew would be good in the mirror match, but The
Pantheon took it one step further. Tasigur, the Golden Fang is a great threat that comes down early, but it also dodges many of the spells targeting
earlygame threats. It also diversifies the threats in the deck, making it extremely difficult to have catch-all answers for all of the potential threats.
Another inclusion to this decklist that wasn’t apparent in most Jeskai Black lists was the density of Commands. Three Ojutai’s Commands and three
Kolaghan’s Commands allowed the deck to play a very attrition-based game while also having tons of cards to help win Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy mirrors.
I honestly believe variance was not on Owen’s or Jon’s side to not meet each other in the finals of the Pro Tour. Their deck was easily the best to come
out of the Pro Tour.
Next up is deckbuilding extraordinaire Sam Black and his Bant Tokens deck. This uniquely designed deck didn’t have many pilots to give it the proper camera
time, but it quietly put up outrageous results in the hands of only four people. I played around with this deck online and found it to be incredibly
powerful and a perfect deck to play if Windswept Heath is your favorite card in the format.
Creatures (14)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (25)
Spells (17)
- 2 Dispel
- 4 Silkwrap
- 3 Secure the Wastes
- 1 Planar Outburst
- 2 Stasis Snare
- 1 Quarantine Field
- 4 Retreat to Emeria
Sideboard
What sets this deck apart from other versions of G/W is its ability to ignore hard removal. Abzan Aggro and G/W Megamorph are very reliant on some of their
threats not being disrupted. Sometimes these decks will flood out uncontrollably and rely greatly on the one or two threats left on the battlefield to
finish things off. This is a problem Sam’s deck doesn’t have. Retreat to Emeria gives this deck some staying power when excess lands are drawn, but oddly
enough, is so powerful that it always feels like a land off the top is exactly what you always want to draw.
I have run into some issues with the deck similar to other G/W-based strategies. Sometimes things get out of control too early for the deck to catch up,
and getting stuck on low numbers of lands is almost always fatal. The four copies of Nissa, Vastwood Seer and three Elvish Visionaries are there to
alleviate these concerns, but these cards aren’t technically powerful enough to stem any bleeding from earlygame aggression.
The best card in the deck is easily Secure the Wastes, which is also the best home I’ve ever seen for the card. Most of my victories end up coming from a
mid-game Secure the Wastes for 3-5 Soldiers followed up by Retreat to Emeria. Wingmate Roc isn’t too shabby in this deck either.
Last on my list of decks to play this weekend is our team’s R/G Landfall deck. It’s been a while since I regretted my deck choice for a Pro Tour when I had
another option available to me, but I really didn’t think the deck was too good. I guess I should have listened to the words of Austin Bursavich on how
powerful this deck was the night before the PT.
“If anyone is second guessing themselves on deck choice, I will help you find the cards. Don’t trick yourself into not playing the best deck I’ve ever
played at a Pro Tour. The deck plays Wild Nacatl, Jotun Grunt, unblockable Eternal Witness, Dark Confidant with prowess, Goblin Guide without giving
them lands, and double Giant Growth for only one G. And it’s in Standard! Don’t pass this up guys!”
Creatures (20)
- 4 Monastery Swiftspear
- 1 Zurgo Bellstriker
- 4 Den Protector
- 4 Abbot of Keral Keep
- 4 Scythe Leopard
- 3 Snapping Gnarlid
Lands (24)
Spells (16)
So why didn’t I play this deck? Well, for starters, we were very behind in the evolution of the sideboard a few days before the event. The deck was having
serious issues with both Jeskai and Atarka Red. It easily smashed the mopey green-based decks, but was a significant dog to the other decks capable of
playing Wild Slash. I was high on the deck after seeing how badly the deck would whoop up on Abzan Aggro and G/W Megamorph, but I finally gave up on the
deck when we had a single day left and couldn’t defeat the rest of the field.
This was a mistake. Many free wins come from people not knowing what you are doing at the Pro Tour, which was the major sell to the deck. The problem I fed
into was that we were beating it during testing while also knowing the ins and outs of the deck. This was very similar to when I tested with Team
Revolution for Pro Tour Magic 2015 when we debuted Rabble Red. Testing was a nightmare in the last couple days, but we stood tall and convinced ourselves
that our last minute testing would not reflect the actual event and it didn’t. The same was true for this R/G Landfall deck. They figured out how to make
both bad matchups serviceable in the last couple hours. Instead of working on that with them, I took a break the night before the event and trusted our G/W
Megamorph testing. This didn’t work out for me due to the hateful environment as well as not having cards in my deck that could punish ignorance. Those who
played R/G Landfall well had a rather spectacular finish with the deck. Those who didn’t play found themselves losing round after round.
I don’t want to go too deep into the deck since Ari Lax wrote an excellent article on the deck earlier this week. The only thing I want to
say about this deck is that it is a great choice if you expect minimal Atarka Red and you have tested with it extensively. It’s a difficult deck right when
you pick it up, but will be well worth it in the coming weeks if people lean too heavily on Sam’s Bant Tokens deck or the winning Abzan Aggro build.
The Bad
I did consider not being so polarizing in my content after #CRACKLINGDOOMGATE from a couple weeks ago. People seem to really dislike it when I’m hyperbolic
about cards or strategies when it comes to this game, but I don’t really know why. Maybe they just love to prove me wrong (which you get to do all the
time), or possibly get offended when I say I dislike the things they like. I guess I should probably be more cautious about the way I word things from now
on to not only preserve my credibility but also not ruffle as many feathers.
Atarka Red sucks.
Like so unbelievably bad that it was surprising to see Paublo Doritos’ top 8 with that pile. I’m not even sure how the deck wins a consistent enough number
of games for people to put their faith in the deck.
Creatures (14)
Lands (21)
Spells (25)
R/G Landfall is a superior deck to Atarka Red except for in the mirror match. Surge of Righteousness is the main removal spell being played against
red-based aggression which makes the combo of Temur Battle Rage and Become Immense to be much more reliable out of R/G Landfall thanks to all of the green
creatures. That deck also has Den Protector, which is the best way to deal lethal damage with the pump spells when Temur Battle Rage isn’t available. I
don’t even think Atarka Red is more reliable being heavily based red. I just think the deck stinks and is only good if you expect a ton of R/G Landfall,
but playing that game is a bit risky.
Esper Control is the next archetype on my list to be worse than other choices. I was shocked to have heard about how much Esper showed up for the Pro Tour.
I didn’t think it was playable and was beginning to become concerned about missing something significant for the event. A few rounds later eased my doubts
when I saw the decks performing.
Before you jump down into the comments to tell me all about how well Patrick Chapin and Reid Duke did with the archetypes, I already know. Reid finished
the event with only three losses in Constructed, but I would be shocked if that stud-dog didn’t do that with any deck. I’m actually quite interested in why
he chose to play that deck over the team’s Jeskai Black list.
I could talk for hours about how I don’t understand why people would want to play these colors but not play the red cards. Mantis Rider, Dragonmaster
Outcast, Kolaghan’s Command, and Fiery Impulse seem super good to me. Jeskai variants are just leaner and more flexible than Esper. I also think The
Pantheon’s version of Jeskai Black beats the living hell out of any Esper deck. I just don’t understand!
Now I know that I have called Esper bad more times than the boy cried wolf, but it’s my personal opinion. Every version of the deck under-performed at the
Pro Tour compared to the other archetypes, making it a worse choice than other decks. I also know that saying bad words about Esper doesn’t deter anyone
from actually playing the deck, so I guess I will just say good luck with the deck and thanks for the free wins.
I got nothing…
Last up on my do-not-play list is Mardu. I’m not going to tell you why you shouldn’t play it, but rather let my beloved friend Gerry’s article articulate everything in a rather humorous
way.
Now we finally get to the fun part of the article.
The Clunky
How well have you been paying attention? Riddle me this, what card have I not talked about that was the “breakout” card of the Pro Tour? You guessed it,
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar! To preface, this card is disgustingly broken. Sometimes this card comes down and eliminates any chance for an opponent to win the
game. Usually this involves a post-combat Wingmate Roc, but many other times the threat of multiple creatures drowns an opponent in card advantage before
they ever get a chance to come back.
Every yin has a yang, and this card has a weakness much like most cards in this game. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is just as bad as it is good. Sometimes
multiples rot away in the hand and inevitably will gain no traction for the caster. This format has a very snowball way of playing out, which is most
exploitable against the decks trying to snowball. These Gideon, Ally of Zendikar decks are forced to curve out every game and can never afford to stumble
in the early turns. Nissa, Vastwood Seer is often times there to help out from missing land drops, but the 2/2 body attached to the card is often not
powerful enough to impact the board.
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar decks are inconsistent at best, which make them powerful choices, but also risky ones.
Creatures (21)
- 4 Anafenza, the Foremost
- 2 Wingmate Roc
- 4 Siege Rhino
- 4 Warden of the First Tree
- 4 Den Protector
- 3 Hangarback Walker
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (26)
Spells (9)
Abzan Aggro reigns supreme in the Gideon mirrors as the format currently stands. Deathmist Raptor is a powerful card, but G/W Megamorph strategies have a
difficult time beating Abzan Aggro. G/W Megamorph is the best choice once people realize that Abzan Aggro isn’t that great of a deck choice, and yes I know
how ridiculous that sounds since the deck just won the Pro Tour.
The reason I don’t like Abzan Aggro is because it’s clunky! It has the most powerful draws in the format, but only some of the time. Abzan Aggro actually
had a pretty bad Pro Tour for being the deck that won it all. That’s because the deck can force some pretty lopsided games both ways. Stumbling has become
a real thing in Standard due to how the manabases work alongside the powerful permanents being cast. Sometimes the powerful deck wins, and sometimes it
loses. Just because the deck won doesn’t make it the deck to beat. It’s actually one of the middling strategies you could choose. It’s just the best deck
to play if you are unfamiliar with the format because Siege Rhino.
G/W Megamorph isn’t the worst choice either, but it’s still pretty inconsistent against the best decks in the format. I would also not want to be playing
this deck right now when many players will be trying Sam Black’s Bant Tokens deck out. I think that matchup will be heavily in Bant’s corner thanks to the
token generators.
I personally won’t be playing either of these two decks in the coming weeks but wouldn’t argue against doing so to anyone who hasn’t gotten to put much
time into the format. They are both powerful and can easily win a tournament backed by some good draws. I just want to try to explore the strategies that
give me more control over my fate. I think the two best decks doing that right now are the first two I wrote about in the article – Jeskai Black and Bant
Tokens.
This format is still young, which makes me believe there is a lot of promise for it. I will be spending the next couple weeks at home, giving me ample time
to start unraveling how it all works out, but until then I can only tell you what I would and wouldn’t play. I wish you the best of luck this weekend.
Unless you are playing the Magic Online Championship Qualifier. Because I plan to win that.