In one weekend, the Standard metagame went from undefined to very well-defined. Not only do the words “well-defined” mean that I will probably have to do a proof as to why dimensions are unique in Linear Algebra, it also means that now is an even better time to start brewing.
(Taking 23 credits in just Math and Physics classes causes you to start thinking about these topics outside of class a lot, so please don’t mind my little assertions.)
Personally, I do not really like working on decks when a new set comes out until at least one tournament occurs. I don’t care how small or big the tournament is. One tournament can cause a cascade of decks and tunings to occur, from the Friday Night Magic scene to the next StarCityGames.com Open. Planning for an undefined metagame will just lead to useless guessing and speculation, all of which become useless after one tournament.
When some people test, they prefer to play against the “extreme” decks. They want to play against the fastest aggressive strategy and the most controlling, well… control strategies. Let’s look at the former.
The fastest aggressive strategy can mean a lot of things. It could be the fastest and most consistent strategy, like Red Deck Wins from this past weekend in the StarCityGames.com Open in Indianapolis. However, it can also attempt to smash the opponent with a particular, strong card in an aggressive manner, just like Tempered Steel.
The main issue is that it is impossible to deal with both of these strategies in the same way. For Red Deck Wins, you can play Timely Reinforcements and Gut Shot. However, these do not impede the artifact menace. For Tempered Steel, you would prefer to have answers like Viridian Corrupter and Ancient Grudge. Why does this have to be so difficult? All you wanted to do was play against the fastest aggressive deck to see whether your deck was viable.
These days, it is not easy to just lump together a bunch of archetypes into simple “Aggro,” “Combo,” and “Control” categories. Red Deck Wins. Tempered Steel. Tokens. Humans. Illusions. Birthing Pod. Only a handful of cards are good against all of these aggressive decks, some of which include Oblivion Ring and Day of Judgment.
So, what types of decks do I like building and playing? I’ve always felt like Lorwyn Block Faeries was the reason for my evolution and growth as a Magic player. I started to see game progression differently and felt like every game was just another puzzle that had a solution. Bluffing and thinking about what my opponent must be expecting from me are two good skills I learnt from Faeries as well. For this reason, I tend to have an affinity towards Aggro-Control decks with blue (even though I have played my fair share of Rock style decks in the past).
What card do I want to try to build around in this fresh new Standard metagame? Four words: Geist of Saint Traft.
This card is absolutely amazing in my opinion, but I don’t think it is simple enough to just stick into your decks. You need to think about how games will play out with it in your hand and deck. If your plan is to just beat down with Geist of Saint Traft, expect your awesome card to simply die.
Let’s check out the more controlling Aggro-Control lists that have Geist of Saint Traft:
Creatures (9)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (13)
Spells (35)
Creatures (9)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (25)
Spells (24)
These builds try to utilize the hexproof in Geist of Saint Traft, which makes them perfect Sword of Feast and Famine carriers. Snapcaster Mage can also play a similar role, allowing you to hold countermagic up but still be able to threaten a guy to wield the Sword of Feast and Famine. How about the other cards?
Gideon Jura is in a very good spot right now, along with Elspeth Tirel. The format has been defined by Liliana of the Veil. Instead of having nice, flashy creatures that will die to a minus two from Liliana, planeswalkers like these two, Koth of the Hammer, and Garruk Relentless are at a premium. Since we are in blue and white, the only options are Gideon Jura and Elspeth Tirel. However, which one would be the better planeswalker to top off the curve?
On one side of the coin, we have Gideon Jura, which has been championed by nearly all Caw-Blade players for the past year. It can help you beat the aggressive decks by forcing them to attack him or Assassinating their single attacker. Lastly, Gideon Jura combines very well with Day of Judgment, which was in both Ricky and Brian’s list. He is the best “creature” to have in this situation.
The other contender is Elspeth Tirel. She has the ability to Scatter the Seeds, creating enough creatures to protect both your planeswalker and life total, and wield your Sword of Feast and Famine. The lifegain ability seems like it would be better in an aggressive deck with more creatures. For that reason, I would probably agree with the above lists and play Gideon Jura. However, in a more aggressive deck, Elspeth Tirel seems like it could be the way to go.
Control decks like to have their fatties, but which fatty is the optimal one? Consecrated Sphinx has been the premier blue finisher since it came out in Mirrodin Besieged. She lost her partner in crime, Jace Beleren, and probably will in turn suffer a lot from that. The printing of Tribute to Hunger makes Consecrated Sphinx a turn off if Geist of Saint Traft and other single card finishers get big, so we wouldn’t want to make ourselves too vulnerable.
Batterskull is like a pseudo Wurmcoil Engine. In some ways, it’s better because it can both attack and block as well as provide you with endless Germ tokens; equipping it to Geist of Saint Traft seems like the nuts. The shortcoming is that Wurmcoil Engine is bigger, and being able to kill 5/5s and larger can be important. Batterskull will lose a heads-up battle to Consecrated Sphinx really badly. Geist of Saint Traft and Snapcaster Mage can help you get past, but that costs a lot of time and mana. For this reason, either Batterskull or Wurmcoil Engine deserves a spot in either the main or the sideboard, depending on the metagame.
My fatty of choice? It would have to go to Sun Titan. The reasoning is fairly similar to that of the Solar Flare decks. You want to be able to bring back Phantasmal Images and other three-or-less drops. In Solar Flare, that honor goes to Liliana of the Veil. In our Geist Control deck, you can bring back Geist of Saint Traft or Blade Splicer. Phantasmal Image is also key for killing the legendary Geist of Saint Traft.
Blade Splicer is a card that hasn’t been getting enough attention. Liliana of the Veil provides a test that is similar to the Jace, the Mind Sculptor test. The main difference is that you get to choose what creature you lose with Liliana of the Veil, while a player playing Jace, the Mind Sculptor gets to choose which one gets bounced. Both of these aspects combined make Blade Splicer insane against Liliana of the Veil, while not doing much to Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
Timely Reinforcements was an interesting card to see in the maindeck. However, I think there are too many decks against which it would just be a dead card. Blade Splicer seems to complement Geist of Saint Traft in the three-drop slot the best.
I understand that my list of U/W Control is going to be a lot more aggressive than other lists. In fact, I don’t even think it is correct to call it U/W Control. My list is a lot more aggressive and is focused on dealing with the opponent’s cards while establishing a stable board presence with dense cards that carry their weight. In a way, it is a lot like Caw-Blade vs. Hero-Blade. It all depends on what feels comfortable and how you want to attack the metagame.
Here is the list I would probably play of Geist-Blade:
Creatures (15)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (26)
Spells (16)
Sideboard
Venser, the Sojourner has sick synergy with Blade Splicer, Snapcaster Mage, Gideon Jura, and Sun Titan using its plus ability. It is important to note that Venser, the Sojourner’s unblockable ability is really good with both Sword of Feast and Famine and Geist of Saint Traft. I sure hope he catches on.
Nevermore is to combo with Gitaxian Probe and to stop decks that play only a few important cards, like Burning Vengeance. Purify the Grave is there to indirectly counter Snapcaster Mage. Ohhhhh snap!
Time for the more aggressive Geist of Saint Traft builds:
Creatures (25)
- 4 Elite Vanguard
- 4 Mirran Crusader
- 3 Hero of Bladehold
- 2 Gideon's Lawkeeper
- 4 Grand Abolisher
- 4 Champion of the Parish
- 4 Geist of Saint Traft
Lands (11)
Spells (24)
Sideboard
Creatures (28)
- 4 Elite Vanguard
- 3 Hero of Bladehold
- 2 Leonin Relic-Warder
- 4 Blade Splicer
- 2 Gideon's Lawkeeper
- 2 Phantasmal Image
- 4 Grand Abolisher
- 4 Champion of the Parish
- 3 Geist of Saint Traft
Lands (24)
Spells (8)
Now, we need to view Geist of Saint Traft in a different light. It is necessary to observe that in the Geist-Blade I posted above that Geist of Saint Traft was meant to be a threat that provided a very quick clock, similar to that of Hero of Bladehold. However, the hexproof is what makes it potentially better.
In these aggressive builds, Geist of Saint Traft is meant to just attack your opponent and kill them as soon as possible. Once again, the natural comparison is to Hero of Bladehold. On turn 4, instead of playing Hero of Bladehold, you can be attacking with six total power. However, it’s going to be a constant six power every turn, while Hero of Bladehold is zero on the first turn, since you played it the turn you would have attacked with Geist of Saint Traft, then seven, eleven, fifteen, and so on. The only thing this excludes is the fact that Hero of Bladehold’s battle cry helps other creatures a lot. However, why compare the two when you can just run them together??
If I were building a decklist from scratch, I would start with Geist of Saint Traft, Blade Splicer, and Hero of Bladehold. Oblivion Ring would have to be a natural addition along with Dismember.
Champion of the Parish has been getting a lot of press and for good reason. Even as a one-mana 2/2 (I’m assuming you have a second creature), it seems like it will be an efficient beater. Elite Vanguard is needed to consistently curve out, which is important to beat up on Liliana of the Veil.
For pump effects, I would have to go with Sword of War and Peace and Angelic Destiny. I really like Angelic Destiny a lot right now (so much that I changed my background from penguins to Angelic Destiny). It can be really good with Geist of Saint Traft but will be just as efficient on any creature. To complement this idea, I think it is only fair to add Invisible Stalker to the deck.
Creatures (25)
- 4 Elite Vanguard
- 4 Hero of Bladehold
- 4 Blade Splicer
- 1 Phantasmal Image
- 4 Invisible Stalker
- 4 Champion of the Parish
- 4 Geist of Saint Traft
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (23)
Spells (11)
Sideboard
I hope that this article has really showcased Geist of Saint Traft. I know I think it is one of the most powerful cards in the current Standard format. The question is… do you?
Thanks for reading,
Jonathan “Watchwolf92” Sukenik