Ravnica has done its fair share to shake up the Vintage scene. Everywhere I go I see people trying to break Life from the Loam in Vintage, as it has been in Extended and other formats. Players argue the merits of Darkblast against Lava Dart as the king of one-toughness killers. Above all, people seem fascinated with the latest invitational card on the scene… Dark Confidant. With his relatively efficient casting-cost-to-body ratio, and an ability that seems to scream out “break me,” it’s no wonder that he’s become so popular so quickly.
However, it seems that everyone is trying to cram Dark Confidant into any available frame. This is reminiscent of when Isochron Scepter first arrived on the scene with the release of Mirrodin Block. I think the time has come for an analytical look at Confidant and where his place in Vintage lies.
Dark Confidant in Fish
It’s quite easy to see why Dark Confidant in a Fish-style list appears to be a match made in Heaven. The relatively low casting-cost of everything in the deck greatly reduces Bob’s drawback. As Fish’s strategy involves whittling away at an opponent’s life total turn by turn, Dark Confidant’s cheap 2/1 frame fits perfectly. However, Black was a color typically shunned by Fish-style decks in the past, in favor of Mono-Blue versions, or version with White (Savannah Lions, Swords to Plowshares and Meddling Mage) or Red (Grim Lavamancer and various burn spells) as readily available splash colors.
Fish decks are not without their fair share of liabilities, as the five casting-cost Force of Will has always been a staple of Fish’s counter base, and hitting these with Confidant draws can quickly bring the fun to an end. People seem to have taken different strategies for dealing with these vulnerabilities. In the first Ravnica legal Vintage tourney (Waterbury Day 2 event) Kyle Leith found success with this list:
Creatures (16)
Lands (17)
Spells (27)
Kyle’s deckbuilding strategy seemed to focus around heavy disruption to compensate for his lack of a counter base. Duress, Cabal Therapy and Mesmeric Fiend are in the deck to hopefully steal all the key spells out of the opponent’s hand. Withered Wretch and Rootwater Thief is an attempt to attack opponent’s late game strategies. Withered Wretch provides a solid 2/2 body for two mana, efficiently shutting down opposing Goblin Welders and neutering Yawgmoth’s Will.
Dark Confidant in Storm Based Combo Decks
Confidant also seems to have spawned his very own version of Storm based Combo, which is appearing with increasing regularity. The origins of this deck seem to start with Koen van der Hulst, out in the barren wastelands of Europe.
Creatures (4)
Lands (16)
Spells (42)
- 1 Sensei's Divining Top
- 2 Tendrils of Agony
- 4 Brainstorm
- 4 Mana Drain
- 1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
- 1 Mystical Tutor
- 1 Yawgmoth's Will
- 2 Duress
- 4 Force of Will
- 1 Mana Vault
- 1 Sol Ring
- 1 Demonic Tutor
- 1 Hurkyl's Recall
- 1 Time Walk
- 1 Ancestral Recall
- 1 Mana Crypt
- 1 Mind's Desire
- 1 Merchant Scroll
- 1 Memory Jar
- 2 Thirst for Knowledge
- 1 Tinker
- 2 Rebuild
- 1 Black Lotus
- 1 Lotus Petal
- 1 Mox Emerald
- 1 Mox Jet
- 1 Mox Pearl
- 1 Mox Ruby
- 1 Mox Sapphire
Obviously this deck has decided to take its chances with Dark Confidant, running such high casting-cost spells as a playset of Force of Wills, a Mind’s Desire, a Yawgmoth’s Bargain, and the mother of all anti-synergy: Darksteel Colossus. The only attempts to “soften the blow” from Dark Confidant are the lone Sensei’s Divining Top and the four Brainstorms. The theory is that, with any luck, Dark Confidant will generate two or three additional cards, thus manoeuvering the deck into a position to go off. Maybe even swinging in for a few points of damage in the process.
Personally, I find this deck somewhat lacking, confused about which role it wants to play. To truly capitalize on Dark Confidant, the game needs to last long enough to net significant card advantage, but not so long that Bob begins to pose a legitimate threat to his controller. Much of the rest of the deck, however, seems to be urging the player to win and win quickly, as is the nature of combo decks. When I look at this decklist, I find myself asking “Is Confidant any better than Night’s Whisper?”
Think about it for a moment.
They have the same casting cost.
Both are sorcery speed.
Night’s Whisper will never accidentally lose you the game because you drew your Darksteel Colossus off of it.
Night’s Whisper will draw you the cards immediately, rather than having to wait multiple turns for the cards to show up.
Night’s Whisper will never get plowed, blasted, darted, duped, or any of the other fine methods Vintage uses to deal with one-toughness creatures.
One doesn’t need to reveal the cards drawn off Night’s Whisper.
Night’s Whisper doesn’t encourage running singletons like Sensei’s Divining Top for the sake of synergy.
The benefits of Confidant don’t seem to measure up…
He has the potential to draw more than two cards.
If they can’t deal with the creature or provide a blocker, he’ll come in for two damage every turn.
This is not to say that I think people should start playing Night’s Whisper in place of Dark Confidant in decks such as these, but rather to illustrate my misgivings about the viability of this deck on the whole. I think a Storm Combo deck with a game-plan that involves sitting around for multiple turns to net some card advantage off a vulnerable 2/1 body is inherently flawed. It’s three turns before Dark Confidant so much as draws even with Night’s Whisper, which is an eternity for a Vintage combo deck.
Confidant in Control
I have yet to see examples of a deck that fits Dark Confidant into a pure Control deck. Put simply, a pure Control deck plays such a long game that a turn 1 Dark Confidant could easily become lethal to its controller before the deck is in a position to win. As such, the closest thing to a control deck with confidant is Koen’s deck from above, which runs a full complement of Mana Drains and Force of Wills.
Conclusions
I think the criteria for a perfect home for Dark Confidant are as follows:
The “body” should be an advantage, not a vulnerability.
The average casting-cost in the deck should be relatively low.
A “Panic Button” to get rid of Dark Confidant when necessary is helpful.
Synergy with either Brainstorm and/or Sensei’s Divining Top is a definite plus.
Michael Lydon
Meddling Mage on TMD
Lydonmh@BC dot edu
Team Reflection
Thanks to Chris Dibiase and my teammates for helping to edit.