Cryptolith Rite was a very popular card during Shadows over Innistrad Standard, as it had the ability to punish G/W Tokens for its relatively low amount of removal by creating overpowered, synergistic battlefields.
However, since the rotation of Collected Company, the card has struggled to see play despite retaining the rest of the shell that made it so successful, with Yahenni, Undying Partisan replacing Nantuko Husk. Unsurprisingly, Collected Company was a linchpin of the deck, providing it much-needed card advantage as well as significant velocity so that it could assemble the necessary pieces to overwhelm its opponents.
Hour of Devastation may have exactly a card for that role in Driven. No deck in Standard is able to produce such wide battlefields as this one in the early turns of the game. Catacomb Sifter and Weaponcraft Enthusiast quite easily see to that, as does the resilience of Blisterpod and Carrier Thrall to removal.
With two, three, or even four creatures on the battlefield on turn 4, casting Driven and Despair on the same turn can easily lead to a four-, six-, or even eight-card swing, crippling your opponent and refueling your hand to easily overwhelm them in the coming turns.
And let’s not overlook the free damage you get from that attack. Decks filled with small creatures and no removal have a hard time attacking through roadblocks and you want to get your opponent to within range of either a single Ormendahl, Profane Prince attack or a burn out from Zulaport Cutthroat. Driven helps you do that, even if you don’t get to draw an absurd number of cards from it.
With Driven in the deck, it once again gains its trademark versatility. You can grind opponents out with sticky creatures and card advantage from it, Duskwatch Recruiter, and Vizier of the Menagerie. You can get aggressive with your small creatures if your opponent stumbles, or you can go over the top with Zulaport Cutthroat combo turns and Westvale Abbey.
After a year of winning with broken cards in Standard, it’s about time Blisterpod gets a second chance at fame. It’s a true working class hero, rising to power from the ashes of the oligarchy with its ragtag cadre of dunces in tow.
Creatures (31)
- 4 Catacomb Sifter
- 4 Blisterpod
- 4 Carrier Thrall
- 4 Zulaport Cutthroat
- 3 Duskwatch Recruiter
- 4 Loam Dryad
- 4 Weaponcraft Enthusiast
- 2 Yahenni, Undying Partisan
- 2 Vizier of the Menagerie
Lands (23)
Spells (6)
