I mentioned that I was working on Block decks
with Strength from the Fallen a lot in my testing for the Pro Tour, so I decided to try porting it to Standard to see how well it can hold up there, with
the benefit of the new tools the format offers. The deck I’m trying is:
Creatures (30)
- 1 Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
- 2 Lotleth Troll
- 4 Deathrite Shaman
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 4 Shadowborn Demon
- 1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
- 1 Nighthowler
- 1 Herald of Torment
- 4 Satyr Wayfinder
- 2 Pharika, God of Affliction
- 4 Nyx Weaver
- 2 Renowned Weaver
Lands (13)
Spells (17)
Sideboard
The most notable card this deck isn’t playing is Nighthowler, which seems like it should fit, as it’s an enchantment that triggers Strength from the Fallen
and works with filling my graveyard, but the theory is that Strength from the Fallen fills the same role, offering power once I’ve stocked my graveyard,
but in a better way.
Nyx Weaver is an awesome enabler for Strength from the Fallen and Shadowborn Demon.
Renowned Weaver is likely wrong, but it’s a way to both load the graveyard and trigger Strength from the Fallen at instant speed, which is a unique enough
upside that I want to try it.
I like the way that my threats scale bigger as the game goes on to keep up with the control deck going bigger. I also like the diversity of kinds of
threats, which makes sweepers less effective and forces my opponent to keep a wide range of answers in their deck. I don’t know how good the matchup is,
but those are certainly strengths of the deck.
Well, that was certainly a good demonstration of the potential of Strength from the Fallen.
I thought that first game was going well, but two Fanatics proved to be too much. Everything went perfectly in the second game. The third was close, but
even though I missed an onboard kill, my opponent wasn’t able to capitalize on it in the one turn before I noticed.
Game 1 felt close, but I needed to be able to cast my demons; relying on five mana removal spells against aggressive decks that can kill my mana
accelerants when I’m only playing 22 lands certainly has its costs. Missing with my first Satyr Wayfinder in Game 2 was brutal, but I somehow still managed
to win thanks to Scavenging Ooze. It’s likely that a 23rd land would help against these decks, and possible that I want four Scavenging Oozes in the
mirror, as it’s great against both burn and other graveyard decks. In my third game, I was happy that I started with a land with so much mana, but still
failed to get to five mana on Turn 5 and lost. I don’t think it’s realistic to plan to bring in more five-drops against aggro. While Doomwake Giant
performed well in Block, the fact that I have Shadowborn Demon and access to Golgari Charm means that I just need a cheaper card in that slot. I guess I
know how to make room for two more Scavenging Oozes.