Dragon’s Maze hits the shelves in less than three weeks. I really wanted to spend today gushing over all of the exciting cards I think will make an impact in Standard, but the grinder in me wouldn’t allow it. This weekend is another string of World Magic Cup Qualifiers and Pro Tour Qualifiers that you guys are hoping to take down, and I am here to help.
The Deck
Creatures (20)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (24)
Spells (13)
"This is the best deck in the format!"
I speak in exclaimed hyperbole 99% of the time, which makes it very difficult to believe the things I say. I don’t even believe half the things that come out of my own mouth. All I know is I haven’t had this much success with a deck in a very long time. The Aristocrats: Act 2 is not only powerful, but it also has a ton of play to it. This is a powerful combination when it comes to high-level events like PTQs and WMCQs.
The list has gone through multiple changes in the last couple weeks since it is now "old news." People know it is coming and are preparing for it in every way they know how.
That is why Skirsdag High Priest is no longer good enough. Sure, the card was one of the centerpieces of the initial versions of the deck, but people are adapting and running more spot removal for problematic creatures. Skirsdag High Priest was much better when combat was the only way creature decks were winning games because most decks simply relied on other creatures to do most of the heavy work. Times are changing, and more and more cheap removal spells are finding their way into maindecks.
The other reason to move away from Skirsdag High Priest is because the number of people playing G/B/W Reanimator is dwindling. Players are focusing on decks that are more polarized like Naya Blitz and Esper Control, neither of which is terribly afraid of Skirsdag High Priest.
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad is a four-drop that is very good against Burning-Tree Emissary and Sphinx’s Revelation decks. This planeswalker also plays well with Blasphemous Act and helps grind out many of the tough matchups. I have been very happy since I made that change.
How to Play the Deck
Playing this deck can be difficult. There are multiple different interactions, and knowing which line to take can be tough. The important thing to always remember is that your opponent has inevitability. This deck doesn’t have anything to do with extra mana but has to play a high number of lands for a deck that’s curve stops at four. Many of the spells in the deck are also extremely low impact on their own, making important topdecks few and far between.
Games have to be won as early as possible. You have to be actively looking for sources of damage as early as possible. One of the things I often do to sneak damage in is flashback Lingering Souls and sacrifice one of the tokens to get my Cartel Aristocrat through for two damage.
Matchups
Let’s move on to talking about matchups and sideboarding since that’s mostly what I’ve been asked about.
G/B/W Reanimator
Game 1 plays out in one of three ways. There are the easy games where you deal some early damage and Blasphemous Act away every creature your opponent controls along with their life total. There are the not so simple games where you use combat along with Blood Artist to put an opponent on a very short clock. Then there are the tough games when you don’t draw any Blood Artists or Blasphemous Acts.
When you are not able to combo kill them, it is important to be as aggressive as possible because you won’t win a long game. Tragic Slip their early mana guys to slow them down while trying to get as many creatures in the air as possible. It is often correct to sacrifice a Doomed Traveler to Cartel Aristocrat to get in that early damage.
Sideboarding:
-3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-2 Orzhov Charm
-1 Tragic Slip
+1 Blasphemous Act
+1 Electrickery
+3 Mark of Mutiny
+1 Zealous Conscripts
Mark of Mutiny and Zealous Conscripts play a very important role in the deck after sideboard. Even when you are not able to Blasphemous Act an opponent out of the game, you can still crush them by stealing Thragtusk and going beatdown. Cartel Aristocrat also survives an Angel of Serenity trigger so you might still have a sac outlet left after an Angel hits the board.
Killing mana guys isn’t as important in sideboarded games since you do have the fourth Blasphemous Act and ways to punish them for early Thragtusks. I would still Slip an Elf on turn 1 if I have the resources, but don’t waste Electrickery. Lingering Souls is one of the only defenses Reanimator has and should be saved for more value.
Naya Blitz
This is a very good matchup as long as you don’t get too aggressive. This is the only matchup where you actually have inevitability. Save removal spells for Frontline Medic and Mayor of Avabruck when you have the chance. Cartel Aristocrat and Boros Reckoner are the most powerful creatures in this matchup since they make combat a nightmare. The only card that can swing a game in their favor is Ghor-Clan Rampager. Blasphemous Act is still very strong because they’re one of the few decks that topdeck worse than you.
Sideboarding:
+1 Cavern of Souls
+1 Blasphemous Act
+1 Dreadbore
+1 Electrickery
Falkenrath Aristocrat can do a couple interesting things in the matchup but is not something you will need very often. Blitz comes at you too quickly for the four-drop Vampire to have enough of an impact on the game.
Blasphemous Act comes in but it is not for the combo potential. You can win by casting Blasphemous Act every once and a while, but it is here just to stop the horde from killing you. Be wary of removal-heavy hands with Blasphemous Act. These usually don’t pan out since you will be forced to use removal spells to stem the bleeding, which will cause the Blasphemous Act to cost more. Creatures are critical in the early stages of the game.
Esper Control
Game 1 is fairly rough. Tragic Slip, Boros Reckoner, Blasphemous Act, and Blood Artist are all very low impact, forcing you to rely on Falkenrath Aristocrat; Lingering Souls; and Sorin, Lord of Innistrad to do most of the work. Do not try to play around spells in game 1. Every turn you choose to play weaker cards into open mana instead of the game winners gives them that much more time to Think Twice, Azorius Charm, and Sphinx’s Revelation into the spells they need.
Make them have it!
Sideboarding:
-4 Tragic Slip
-3 Blasphemous Act
-2 Orzhov Charm
+2 Zealous Conscripts
+3 Obzedat, Ghost Council
+2 Duress
+1 Cavern of Souls
+1 Assemble the Legion
The sideboard games are easier, but the same principles apply. Run your spells out there and only play around things you know they have in hand. It is difficult to play around countermagic with this deck, so just play your spells and run them dry as soon as possible. Value land-heavy hands over land-light ones. The easiest way to lose a game in this matchup is to miss the fourth and fifth land drops for too many turns since most of the spells you are casting are high impact.
U/W/R Flash
Game 1 is the exact same as it is against Esper except our spells are slightly better in this matchup. They have more creatures, making Blood Artist and Tragic Slip do more things.
Sideboarding:
-4 Blood Artist
-3 Blasphemous Act
+1 Assemble the Legion
+1 Cavern of Souls
+2 Duress
+3 Obzedat, Ghost Council
Removal is decent in this matchup since they will often have Izzet Staticaster and Boros Reckoner trying to play defense. Izzet Staticaster is a very difficult card to beat, so it is important to have removal for it.
Jund
This is one of the most interesting matchups. Jund has a ton of removal and some very good creatures, but at the end of the day, that is all they have. Conserving resources is important since they will have a tough time killing you as long as you can deal with their creatures. Both Aristocrats are very good in this matchup and tend to be the most important spells. It is almost always correct to create an emblem with Sorin even if it will die because of it. 3/2 Cartel Aristocrats come equipped with two Spears, making Thragtusk a much easier card to deal with.
The most problematic thing about this matchup is flooding. They draw off the top better than we do, so it is important to not get both sides of Lingering Souls caught in a Bonfire. Make sure you have resources for as long as possible since it is difficult to go under Jund and win before they set up. You have to grind them out for a while.
Sideboarding:
-3 Blasphemous Act
-4 Blood Artist
-1 Tragic Slip
+1 Dreadbore
+2 Duress
+3 Mark of Mutiny
+2 Zealous Conscripts
I originally liked Obzedat, Ghost Council in this matchup, but it didn’t do enough for me. The most important cards are the Aristocrats, which make the Threaten effects even more brutal. Stealing, attacking, and sacrificing almost anything will often lead to a win, so it is important to play towards those lines.
Mirror
The mirror match is one of the most interesting matchups I have played in years. So many different things become important at different times of the game, forcing you to always be alert and know what your opponent is trying to set up. Sometimes an opponent will block your Souls, and sometimes they won’t. This always means something. "Maybe they have a Blood Artist they want to get into play first?" "Maybe they want to play Reckoner-Act?" These are questions you constantly have to be asking yourself to try to put an opponent on a hand and make sure you don’t get blown out by something.
The best card in the matchup is Blood Artist. It will keep someone in a game they have no business being in as well make it easier to steal games. Removal should almost always be saved for this guy in the early game.
Protect yourself from the possibility of an opponent casting Boros Reckoner into Blasphemous Act. I have found myself sacrificing Spirits when my opponent cast a Boros Reckoner just so he wouldn’t have enough mana to play the Blasphemous Act. I don’t know if it is always correct to do that, but if my hand could deal with the Reckoner next turn, it was probably worth it.
Sideboarding:
-3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
-1 Cavern of Souls
+1 Blasphemous Act
+1 Dreadbore
+2 Duress
+1 Electrickery
+3 Mark of Mutiny
That is how I have been sideboarding. It might be wrong moving forward since it is now public information, but I will let you guys deal with that.
Four-drops tend to be too slow in the mirror. They also force you to play 24 lands, which is too many when both players are frequently trading resources. Flooding is a serious problem with this deck, especially in the mirror match when both players have reset buttons.
Blasphemous Act can be the best card in your deck or the worst depending on board position. It is very difficult to pull the trigger on it with so many instant speed removal spells as well as opposing Blood Artists and Boros Reckoners. That’s why I’m running Mark of Mutiny.
Mark does two important things. The first thing it can do is kill any Falkenrath Aristocrats if an opponent kept them in, which is nice but not the main reason for playing it. Its actual role in the deck is to steal Blood Artists and Boros Reckoners. Sometimes you will sacrifice them to Cartel Aristocrat, sometimes an opponent will sacrifice them to their own Cartel Aristocrat, and sometimes you will steal a guy and use it for your own Blasphemous Act. Neat.
Most of your opponents in the mirror will have a small advantage if they have Skirsdag High Priest, but it isn’t enough of one to be worried. We have enough removal to deal with it and can also reset the board with Blasphemous Act if we need to.
G/R Aggro
This matchup is weird. Each game typically ends in a blowout one way or the other. We have Blasphemous Act and Falkenrath Aristocrat that they can’t deal with, and they have Thundermaw Hellkite and Bonfire of the Damned. The die roll is very important, but we always have the "best" nut draw.
Sideboarding:
+1 Blasphemous Act
+1 Dreadbore
+2 Zealous Conscripts
I am not a fan of this matchup and don’t have an adequate sideboard for it, but I don’t think a few cards would necessarily change anything. After all, we both have nut draws the other can’t exactly interact with.
I sideboard out Lingering Souls because they have many ways to kill your Spirits without losing value. It took me a while to figure that out, but I have been happy with it so far.
Bant Control
Bant is our worst matchup game 1. They have the control elements that the other control decks have, but they’re backed up with good roadblocks like Thragtusk and Restoration Angel. You have to be as quick as possible and rely on Falkenrath Aristocrat and sneaky Blasphemous Acts to steal game 1.
Sideboarding:
-3 Blasphemous Act
-4 Tragic Slip
-4 Blood Artist
-1 Doomed Traveler
+1 Assemble the Legions
+1 Cavern of Souls
+2 Duress
+3 Mark of Mutiny
+3 Obzedat, Ghost Council
+2 Zealous Conscripts
The easiest way to punish them is by stealing and sacrificing a Thragtusk. They will play some control spells into Sphinx’s Revelation, but they tend to follow that up with Thragtusk. That is the weakness in their deck we can exploit. They have less permission, so you can usually ride something like Obzedat or Assemble the Legion to victory. The worst thing they can do is get carried away with Thragtusk and Restoration Angel, stalling until another big Sphinx’s Revelation.
I’m incredibly excited for next week when we start brewing Standard with Dragon’s Maze for the Versus Videos. Until then, I hope you guys get those wins this weekend because I want to see Act 2 in every single Top 8!
GET TO WORK!