I’d like to start off this week with a query:
You’re playing TEPS at a PTQ (mistake number 1?), and during the first game, your opponent has played a completely traditional Faeries game-plan with all of the usual participants: Vendilion Clique, Jitte, Explosives, Spell Snare, Mana Leak, and so on. He manages to stop your initial attempt at a Desire, but a second attempt the turn before you are to lose to a Jitte-carrying Clique results in a Desire for 4 that doesn’t get there. You’ve seen a typical manabase for this deck, including a Steam Vents in play. How do you sideboard?
Clearly you want Gigadrowse, and probably Pact of Negation, as your opponent is going to have Stifle and/or Trickbind (with Stifle thankfully being more common), as well as the obvious counterspells. The Brain Freeze plan has also paid dividends for me against this deck in the past, as the ability to win at Instant speed is very powerful.
The question, really, is how much cross-pollination is occurring between the Bant Aggro decks from the previous weekend and the typical list of Faeries? Specifically, do you bring in, or leave in place, any “bounce” or removal spells you might have at your disposal, such as Repeal, Chain of Vapor, Electrolyze, Magma Jet, or Echoing Truth? I deliberated on this during sideboarding and ultimately decided to stick to my regular (read: practiced) plan, which involved very little as far as removal goes.
You can imagine my excitement when I was staring down a second-turn Ethersworn Canonist.
po·si·tion
—noun
1. condition with reference to place; location; situation.
2. a place occupied or to be occupied; site: a fortified position.
3. the proper, appropriate, or usual place: out of position.
4. situation or condition, esp. with relation to favorable or unfavorable circumstances: to be in an awkward position; to bargain from a position of strength.
5. status or standing: He has a position to maintain in the community.
This isn’t the complete definition, but it gets the point across. What is the current position occupied by TEPS? Recent developments suggest that it is occupying an extremely unfavorable position in this metagame. The creation, and early success, of the Bant deck is a serious issue for TEPS, as that deck is a nightmare matchup. It packs lifegain, countermagic, Stifle, and has maindeck or sideboard access to Teeg and Ethersworn Canonist. Not only can it play these creatures, but it can protect them. This is not a match-up TEPS can win, outside of serious luck.
But it isn’t just the creation of this deck that has TEPS moving into an unfavorable position. As my experience above shows, Canonist is branching out. It is out there mingling, making friends, sending Facebook friend requests to Naya Zoo, Faeries, and other decks that have reasonable access to White mana and a general dislike of TEPS. Stifle and Trickbind also seem to be finding their way into a wide variety of decks, including some Affinity sideboards.
Given this information, what was my personal “position” after two rounds at the Edison PTQ, my condition with reference to place or location? Frowntown.
From a practical standpoint, playing TEPS is a relatively questionable proposition right now. The “dumb aggro” decks that TEPS could feed on have mostly died out or adapted by running Pyrostatic Pillar and sideboarding Ethersworn Canonist, and the Death Cloud decks are on the decline. Right or wrong, TEPS is in a position of prominence as far as its influence in deck and sideboard choice. Simply stated, people don’t want to lose to TEPS. They’re prepared — almost too much so, in some cases (Voidslime in the Bant sideboard, I’m looking at you). It is very difficult to know how to sideboard correctly in this environment. Will that Affinity deck sideboard in Stifle? Does this Faeries deck have maindeck Stifle, or sideboard Canonist? Answering these questions incorrectly will mean that the TEPS player is totally out of position heading into game two. In the past, the TEPS player was able to successfully reposition the deck after sideboarding to remain in a position of strength. As the number of answers to the deck has increased, and the rate of adoption of these answers has exponentially increased, this successful repositioning after sideboard is no longer a given.
That said, if I were to play TEPS again, I think my list would look something like this:
Lands (16)
Spells (44)
- 2 Tendrils of Agony
- 1 Mountain
- 1 Island
- 4 Peer Through Depths
- 3 Desperate Ritual
- 4 Mind's Desire
- 2 Magma Jet
- 4 Seething Song
- 4 Remand
- 1 Sins of the Past
- 2 Repeal
- 4 Rite of Flame
- 4 Lotus Bloom
- 4 Ponder
- 4 Manamorphose
Sideboard
Between Repeal, Gigadrowse, and Magma Jet, I think this list has at least has a fighting chance against the additional hate showing up. A note on Magma Jet — I think this card is solid against Elves, given the speed in which that match-up unfolds, and Magma Jet is considerably better against Bant than either Repeal or Electrolyze in that you can Jet a Canonist before they can set up and protect it with their plethora of answers (Bant Charm, Spell Snare, Mana Leak).
The Shattering Sprees in the sideboard are justified as long as Affinity remains as popular as it has lately. They’re packing serious trumps like Canonist and Trickbind backed up by Thoughtseize or Pyrostatic Pillar, so it seems fair for TEPS to pack a trump of its own. I had better success with Wheel of Fate against Raven’s Crime decks than I did with Ad Nauseam, but I consider that slot interchangeable. As has been suggested elsewhere, those two slots might actually be completely open if Death Cloud is disappearing in your area, freeing up space for some additional Elves hate.
All of that being said, often the correct response when faced with this kind of environment – that is to say, an environment with additional hate cards bleeding into maindecks, and a resurgence of Elves – is to strongly consider playing a different deck. The field has caught up to TEPS, just as I expect is beginning to happen with Affinity. This change doesn’t necessarily mean that in a few weeks, TEPS won’t be a good choice again. On the contrary, the speed of evolution in this Extended season is blisteringly fast. As players move away from TEPS, it won’t take long before many of those answers to the deck stop showing up in maindecks, and then disappear from sideboards. Sideboard space is at a premium in a field this diverse, and carrying Canonist or Stifle in a sideboard and then not playing TEPS all day tends to result in those slots changing into something else — something to beat whatever the new “it” girl of the week ends up being. Already this season, we’ve seen the “it” deck change from Elves, to Faeries, to TEPS, and now probably to Affinity.
I’ve touched briefly on Affinity — let’s take a more detailed look at that deck. Players who are planning to run Affinity in upcoming PTQs have three main concerns.
The first concern, and probably the most obvious, is how to gain an edge in the mirror. Having Master of Etherium in play gives intiative to that player, so running the full playset of Masters might be the first step. The builds that run Thoughtseize main can get lucky by denying their opponent access to a key card like Arcbound Ravager, Master of Etherium, or Cranial Plating. Should you choose the Atog and Fatal Frenzy or Soul’s Fire build, those have a definite advantage in a strict racing situation. Out of the sideboard, the best answer for the mirror is probably Ancient Grudge, as it works with the mana available (especially if you run Tree of Tales – more on that below) and should provide enough of a lift to carry the match if you draw more than your opponent. Path to Exile is another excellent option, which makes sense as it is a strictly better Swords to Plowshares against Affinity.
The second concern for Affinity players is the reemergence of Kataki, War’s Wage. Choosing to ignore this card in a tournament where you can only absorb one loss is questionable. Darkblast is a natural answer out of the sideboard, as it is also solid in the Elves and Faeries match-ups. Seal of Fire is also a reasonable choice as it is useful against Elves and can be aimed at your opponent’s face should no other target present itself. Choosing one of these options in combination with Thoughtseize at least gives Affinity outs to Kataki. As noted above, if your Affinity list includes Ancient Den, Path to Exile is another reasonable option, although you’re going to absorb a potentially serious tempo loss giving an Aggro deck access to 4 mana on turn 3. Regardless of what you choose, you should hedge your bet by making your answer to Kataki cost only 1 mana.
Finally, the last concern: it seems likely that Elves is poised for a comeback. Many of the newer Zoo lists are packing less Burn, Faeries players are cutting Chrome Mox and some are down to two Engineered Explosives, and Bant is slower and lacks as many flyers to equip with a Jitte. This isn’t good news for Affinity, as Elves is generally faster than all but the fastest Affinity draws, and is almost guaranteed to be faster when on the play. Elves has built-in resistance to Affinity, as most players have turned to the Chord of Calling / Wirewood Hivemaster version, which can create a wall of blockers. The fact that Elves can tutor up Viridian Shaman and play him repeatedly using Wirewood Symbiote is a major problem. Viridian Shaman happens to trump several of the cards people use to combat Elves (Jitte and Canonist), so you can definitely expect to see more, even up to a full playset, after sideboarding. Again, Thoughtseize is a key player in this match-up as it can preemptively remove Glimpse, Viridian Shaman, or Wirewood Symbiote. Out of the sideboard, cheap spot removal like Darkblast or Seal of Fire can buy precious time, and Affinity has traditionally turned to answers like Krark-Clan Shaman to sweep the board or Pyrostatic Pillar to help prevent Elves from truly being able to combo out.
What might an updated Affinity list look like?
Creatures (23)
Lands (18)
Spells (19)
Sideboard
This version of the deck plays Ancient Den for access to Path to Exile and Ethersworn Canonist at the expense of having access to additional Ancient Grudge or Tarmogoyf. Should your main concern become the Affinity mirror and Zoo decks, I would change Ancient Den to Tree of Tales, and swap Path for Ancient Grudge, and Canonist for Tarmogoyf.
As an example of the rampant hate showing up for Affinity and TEPS, take a look at the Richmond, VA PTQ from 2/22. The Top 8 was completely dominated by Naya Zoo (4) and Faeries decks (3), with one Bant Aggro deck in 8th. Here is a recap of some of the sideboard cards mentioned above, which are direct threats to the success of TEPS and Affinity (both notably absent from this top 8):
TEPS:
Ethersworn Canonist: 4 Main, 7 Sideboard
Pyrostatic Pillar: 0 Main, 6 Sideboard
Stifle: 5 Main, 2 Sideboard
Trickbind: 0 Main, 3 Sideboard
Gaddock Teeg: 0 Main, 0 Sideboard
Affinity:
Kataki, War’s Wage: 0 Main, 9 Sideboard
Ancient Grudge: 0 Main, 14 Sideboard
Hurkyl’s Recall: 0 Main, 0 Sideboard
Shattering Spree: 0 Main, 0 Sideboard
We can infer from this that, as suggested, Canonist is bleeding into the sideboard of some Naya Zoo decks (as the Bant deck ran the full set of 4), and seems to have completely replaced Gaddock Teeg as the anti-TEPS card of choice for Aggro decks. This validates the use of Repeal, which deals with both Canonist and Pyrostatic Pillar out of the sideboard of these decks. Furthermore, Ancient Grudge is strongly represented due to the decks that make up this top 8 (including in the sideboard of Faeries), but Kataki is most definitely present in the sideboard of both Bant and Naya Zoo. Ancient Grudge makes life difficult for Affinity — unanswered Kataki makes life impossible.
The Top 8 posted for the Des Moines, IA PTQ on 2/22 shows considerably less TEPS hate, and 2 TEPS decks in the top 8 (including one that lost in the finals running a 61st card, Sins of the Past), while in Garden City, MI we again see no TEPS or Affinity in the top 8, but two Bant decks and one Elves deck, again showing a metagame there that is packing answers to TEPS and Affinity.
The challenge for a potential TEPS or Affinity player is to try to decide which of these scenarios is most likely to occur for their next PTQ:
– Players will look at these Top 8s and make a deck choice among those listed, leaving the list mostly the same, fostering an environment that continues to be hostile to both Affinity and TEPS
– Players will look at these Top 8s and make a deck choice among those listed, but alter their sideboard to gain an edge against the other decks present in these top 8s (for example, removing SB cards such as Stifle, Rule of Law or Kataki), thereby weakening their performance against Affinity and TEPS
– Players will review these Top 8s, and either change to a deck type likely to perform well against the posted Top 8 decks (for example, switching to Astral Slide), or alter the maindeck and sideboard of their existing deck to beat these decks (specifically Naya Zoo, Bant, and Faeries), potentially making a choice that leaves them vulnerable against Affinity and TEPS
In reality we know to expect players to reach all three conclusions. Ultimately we must decide whether the raw power of the Storm and Affinity mechanics justifies playing these decks in an environment that has more or less adapted.
The Edison, NJ PTQ Finals was Astral Slide vs. Faeries, with Slide taking the blue envelope. With TEPS being hated out of the metagame, Slide becomes an excellent choice given its strong Zoo and Faeries match-ups, and is a deck to watch in upcoming weeks. We may also see the return of Mono-White Control decks, as this is another deck type that was hated out due to the prevalence of TEPS.
Finally, a look at the Extended Top 8 from online events revealed a Dredge deck running a playset of Mesmeric Orb main, which I found pretty interesting. Dredge saw some success at both PT: Berlin and at worlds, but hasn’t been a player in the metgame — just something to keep in mind.
The evolution of this format has led us to a point in time where the best-positioned decks in each archetype appear to be:
• Control: Wizards remains the “best” control deck, with Bant Aggro a reasonable alternative depending on your expected Metagame.
• Combo: Due to rampant hate, Elves has displaced TEPS as the best choice for Combo players.
• Aggro: Naya Zoo has replaced Domain Zoo and the Burn deck as the best Aggro deck in the format, although the exact make-up of the “best” list seems undetermined at this point.
• Everything else: Loam decks have evolved away from Death Cloud, with Astral Slide and the Michael Jacob-style Rock seeming to be the best-performing. Sullivan Red, with its mana-denial strategy (including the criminally-underplayed Blood Moon), is a legitimate player in this environment as well, and is perfectly suited to prey on Affinity and Faeries decks in particular.
I hope this look at the position occupied by the major deck archetypes will help guide you during the second half of this exciting Extended season.
Bonus decklists:
These are the two decks that have been posting the best results for me lately, and had I not been violently sick on 2/28 I’d probably have played one of these. The Elves list is relatively standard. The Faeries list has some interesting choices I’d be happy to debate in the forums.
Creatures (33)
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Wirewood Symbiote
- 4 Wirewood Hivemaster
- 1 Eternal Witness
- 2 Viridian Shaman
- 4 Birchlore Rangers
- 1 Mirror Entity
- 4 Heritage Druid
- 4 Nettle Sentinel
- 1 Regal Force
- 4 Elvish Visionary
Lands (12)
Spells (15)
Creatures (15)
- 1 Trinket Mage
- 1 Venser, Shaper Savant
- 3 Sower of Temptation
- 4 Spellstutter Sprite
- 3 Vendilion Clique
- 3 Glen Elendra Archmage
Lands (21)
Spells (24)
- 3 Umezawa's Jitte
- 2 Island
- 4 Mana Leak
- 2 Chrome Mox
- 3 Engineered Explosives
- 4 Spell Snare
- 4 Ancestral Vision
- 1 Cryptic Command
- 1 Executioner's Capsule
Sideboard