Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Creatures (14)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (24)
Spells (20)
- 2 Plains
- 4 Thoughtseize
- 4 Underworld Connections
- 4 Hero's Downfall
- 1 Whip of Erebos
- 4 Bile Blight
- 1 Banishing Light
Sideboard
Even though the same archetypes have reigned supreme in Standard for over a year, the format has this rather interesting cyclical feel to it. Decks, as
well as cards, gain and lose value as popularities rise and fall. The secret to the format begins one of two ways: either a player can pinpoint exactly
what is going to happen the following week and take appropriate action in understanding how to properly metagame, or one simply masters a deck over the
longevity of the format. Both gameplans come with ups and downs resulting in some good weeks as well as some bad ones. Looking back at the last year, I
constantly question if I should have been one of those players that sticks with a single deck and fully masters it. In the end though, my first job is
thinking of new things for you wonderful people which makes me confident in my decisions. Just like today; I wholeheartedly believe this deck is the next
best thing. I want to play it in the next couple events I participate in. I just need to learn how to play it!
Sylvan Caryatid decks are currently on the downswing. Many of them are moving away from Polukranos, World Eater and starting to pack upwards of eleven
planeswalkers instead of meaty monster win conditions. One of these planeswalkers happens to be Chandra, Pyromaster herself. On the other side of the
spectrum we have Black Devotion variants moving away from all their two mana removal besides Bile Blight. Mono-Red Aggro has Rubblebelt Maaka. G/W Aggro
has Selesnya Charm and Advent of the Wurm. The world has finally respected Lifebane Zombie enough to invalidate it. It no longer snags many creatures from
an opposing grip, never wins in any fight, and is constantly an irrelevant permanent. Its effect and body have become irrelevant.
It’s time for some new blood.
With the format adapting to the zombie menace, the King of Oreos is quietly becoming one of the best three-drops. Brimaz handles himself well in any combat
situation which makes him good against aggressive and controlling strategies alike. Sure it’s just another creature that dies to removal, but some of the
removal being played doesn’t touch it, and most of it will have to target it immediately. Much like Goblin Rabblemaster, Brimaz is a must-answer since it
will begin to gain card advantage immediately. This forces an opponent’s hand into using the following turn to kill the creature which allows the black
deck to not only get another land into play but quite possibly another threat.
The only problem with this 75 is The Pantheon-style B/W decks. Their version of B/W is very good in the mirror if the opposing deck is not playing the same
powerful cards like Blood Baron of Vizkopa and Lifebane Zombie, but those cards are significantly worse in every other matchup. By sacrificing The
Pantheon-style B/W matchup, I feel that this version is much better across the board.
Time will tell, however, and this and many more dailies will be played before my article this Friday where I breakdown the entire format and discuss what I
think are the decks to play, the decks to tune, and the decks to bench. All I know is this deck is screaming “Put me in coach”!