Welcome back to Untapped! Before I get into today’s deck, I want to review some of my favorite ideas that you all added from our “We Make the Card” article a couple weeks ago. I said I was going to choose three, but I chose five since I’m indecisive. For each, I wanted to put on the development hat and tweak based on color identity, balance, and utility, so some of these are slightly adjusted from their original form. Here are the ones I liked the most in no particular order!
Gift of Gloom by Elliot Lester
Mr. Lester blended a super fun casual card (Shifting Borders) and a fun new design space. This novel effect belongs in black, but the exchange is blue so I felt it fair to balance the two.
Swath of Empathy by Douglas Scheinberg
I am a big fan of morph, and I rocked my Ixidron deck for a long time in Time Spiral days (and as recently as a year ago if we’re being honest). Douglas explored the transformation of creatures into noncreatures to emulate a familiar and nifty effect. Better not block!
Leyline of Frailty by Derrick Paulson
I loved Derrick Paulson’s concept from a development perspective since it answers an issue that could arise from a number of issues Derrick mentioned—infect and Aura-based spells—while also giving your spells a way to kill creatures. As narrow as it is, it is a really fun and pertinent way to make Horobi, Death’s Wail a part of Modern or casual alike. I adjusted it from “spell or ability” because that has the potential to get you in trouble on turn 1; you could lock someone out early with a cheaply activated creature.
Vraska’s Culling by Jacob Slavick
Jacob’s idea was pretty much unchanged. Black and green together have the ability to destroy any permanent, so I see no problem with giving them the power to kill anything. This is a weaker Violent Ultimatum, but this feels like the right price point.
Lastly, a planeswalker!
Araya, Weapon Master by Scott Mills
Scott took a beloved casual archetype, white Equipment, and made a planeswalker for it! I adjusted some of the abilities to make it a little softer, but I think she is a great addition to any deck that wants her. Pack some Kor and have a ball!
Thanks again for all your comments and brainstorming! Now, let’s dig into some Standard!
One of my favorite cards from Gatecrash has gotten very little attention since its advent.
Master Biomancer’s entire game plan involves making every creature large and relevant. Although I’ve seen a couple neat and tricky decks that revolve around the Biomancer’s ability, I’d rather be more direct about it and hop right in with deck #1.
Creatures (31)
- 4 Arbor Elf
- 4 Predator Ooze
- 3 Somberwald Dryad
- 3 Lightning Mauler
- 3 Wolfir Avenger
- 2 Ulvenwald Tracker
- 1 Yeva, Nature's Herald
- 4 Burning-Tree Emissary
- 2 Elusive Krasis
- 2 Ghor-Clan Rampager
- 3 Master Biomancer
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (22)
Spells (4)
- 4 Rancor
Creature Core
The shell for Biomaggro draws from Brian Kibler successful G/B Ooze deck, though it plays out much differently based on the vast difference between black and red/blue as the alternate colors. I wanted his core of Arbor Elf, Predator Ooze, Ulvenwald Tracker, and Wolfir Avenger to round out the solid baseline of the deck.
Ooze is always a good offense and defense player, so I stuck with a playset. I drew so many Trackers in playtesting that I slimmed to two from his three. The addition of Domri Rade lightens the load on the Tracker anyway. If you’ve ever read anything about Mr. Kibler’s list and his success and/or you have experienced it for yourself, you can attest to how good these folks are.
Burning-Tree Emissary
This was a really weird card to put in this deck, but I found that with the Biomancer a free 4/4 that also fixes your mana for a turn and can get your Rancor online right away is fine. Although this lady didn’t immediately come to mind, I can’t picture the deck without her anymore. She is just too good.
Lightning Mauler
A natural pairing after adding the Emissary, this Mauler lets me get the Ooze online right away, and with the Biomancer, you can give a mighty entrant a hasty boost. The Mauler itself can enter as a 4/3 haste for two mana, too.
Somberwald Dryad
I heard you snicker. I have Putin ears.
Landwalk is one of those abilities that has the potential to either be awesome or completely dead in Limited or Constructed. If you could guarantee that your opponent was playing that land, though, wouldn’t you be more likely to play it? Think about all the decks that play Forests. Any Bant, Naya, G/B/W, G/X Aggro, Jund, RUG and BUG deck will let the Dryad sneak by even the sturdiest defenses. Making her a 4/4 with the Biomancer makes this a two-mana Phantom Warrior against a lot of decks. That’s something we can get excited about! If they’re playing one of the few decks where Forestwalk is irrelevant, side in something else!
Elusive Krasis; Yeva, Nature’s Herald; and Ghor-Clan Rampager
I liked Elusive Krasis for two reasons. It’s unblockable and has a huge derriere. When fighting is the only form of removal you have, the Fish Mutant can stand up to a lot of tough competition. With just one counter, it’s unkillable by a lot of spot removal spells. Feel free to load it up with counters and Rancors and swing for the win!
Yeva, a card I never seem to be able to leave out of a green creature deck, is always helpful for flashing in those clumsy hasteless creatures. Similarly, no G/R aggro deck should be without a couple copies of the Rampager. You’ll almost never cast him as a creature, but he’s a great synergetic combat trick as always.
Domri Rade
Domri is back for another 30+ creature deck, and his ability to continuously fight helps every large creature act effectively as a removal spell. A steady stream of creatures will keep your hand stocked, and three copies means you can fight at will since you know you will likely draw into another one.
Rancor
As another core card, Rancor hauls. I am always happy to have one in my opener. If the trample won’t be as relevant, make sure you put it on your Biomancer. Then everything you play comes into play with four +1/+1 counters. Everyone likes a 7/7 Wolfir Avenger, right?
From the sideboard, I wanted to explore the Peddle to the Metal combination of Nightshade Peddler and Izzet Staticaster. The Wizard, although supported by only nine sources of each color, was rarely tough to cast in playtesting. Even without the Staticaster, Peddler works well in congress with any creature due to the fighting nature of this deck’s removal. Fighting your Arbor Elf with their Angel of Serenity just got a lot better!
I included Deathrite Shaman as a racing card and anti-graveyard card. You only really need the green against those decks, so I didn’t want to put any black in the deck and slow it down. Aetherize is another great tool against Reanimator and a variety of aggressive matchups; take out the Domri Rades for these to throw a huge wrench in their Craterhoof Behemoth turn, shut down a token offense, or stiff-arm an aggressive Naya Blitz attack! I like it much more than Fog despite being four times the cost. Garruk, Primal Hunter is another tool against slower decks. Making 5/5 Beasts seems like fun, too—just side out some Rancors for the Hunter for maximum results!
In playtesting, I found this deck performed very effectively against several archetypes. Black was its biggest enemy because it could often drain life and out-tempo me with removal spells. It had too many creatures for control decks to deal with, and Wrath effects were often ineffective against the haymakers of the deck. Against hyperaggro decks, I found I lost the race to burn spells, which required a lot less effort to execute than my fighting plan. In a second build, Searing Spear would be much better, so I think I should play one less creature, move Domri Rade to the sideboard, and play a set of Spears. This gives the R/G nature of this deck the best and most efficient tools available in its colors. Try that if you’re going to take it to a local event!
Here’s another deck that, though untested in this current incarnation, has been bouncing around my head for a while in one form or another. Unlike most of my decks, I would not recommend playing this deck at a fun tournament. It’s not because I think it’s bad or weak in the current format; it’s that I think you might lose some friends.
For those willing to brave that mire, read on.
Creatures (20)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (22)
Spells (16)
Sideboard
The plan of this deck is honestly to grief you to death. Eight mana dorks alongside a set of Farseeks start us on the right path early, launching us towards that turn 3 Slime. Doing so puts your opponent in a tough spot, and the ability to Blink and repeat means you can always be one (or two or three) steps ahead of your opponent.
The white splash maindeck is for Restoration Angel, who adds significantly to the potential of this deck. The Archaeomancers combo with Ghostly Flicker infinitely, targeting the Archaeomancer and the Slime perhaps. Get the Flicker back and repeat! Master Biomancer is here in place of what would in most decks be Thragtusk, but if you find it should be maindeck, be my guest! He’s more of a role-player here; he offers every mana dork and Blinked critter a major power boost so you can land the final blow.
Aetherize, as a turn 3 play that can be rebought with the Archaeomancer, will keep you safe while smashing the lands they need to recast them! As I said, not the fairest deck ever. Bramblecrush lets me hit a land on 3 if I can’t find a Slime or can hit a problem planeswalker or enchantment! I like this card too much, I think. Tamiyo acts as mono-blue land destruction. Tap down a good land or protect yourself from the one stubborn threat they resolved.
Fungal Sprouting, a card I’ve wanted to try alongside the Biomancer, can act as an army in a box. For example, with a Restoration Angel and Biomancer out, you can create three 4/4s, or with just the Biomancer you still make a pair of 3/3s. The possibilities are endless! Faith’s Reward acts like a fifth Ghostly Flicker, but it has the potential to rebuy some of my best permanents. It’s a perfect answer for that Wrath effect or bad combat!
In the land department, I only put in minimal white (with only eight cards requiring W altogether) and pushed Forests to help Arbor Elfs have more targets and encourage the likelihood of turn 1 dorks. Alchemist’s Refuge is great with any sorcery speed deck, and this one is no exception! Moorland Haunt was a late addition, as a Biomancer lets me make 3/3 flyers instead and twenty creatures gives me a good amount of fuel.
The sideboard includes the aforementioned Thragtusks and some helpful instants depending on the situation. I like Cyclonic Rift against decks without Aetherize and Selesnya Charm to make 4/4 Knights instantly as well as deal with troublesome large creatures that might not attack (like Olivia Voldaren or Obzedat, Ghost Council). Simic Charm can protect your combo or let you reuse an ETB on your side. Ghost Quarters are in here to be used against complex, three-color+ decks that get greedy and play few to no basics. As such, side these in only if you feel like they will be Wastelands. It won’t slow you off your tempo as much as it’ll hurt them, trust me.
I hope you’ll use one of these at your next FNM or local tournament. I did warn you about the second one, though.
Dragon’s Maze is hurtling towards us! The Prerelease is in two weeks, and I hope to bring you a Limited Top 10 list as soon as I have the full spoiler in my hands. Until next time, don’t forget to bring your +1/+1 counters!
– Matt H