Back when the Betrayers of Kamigawa expansion was released, Spirit-based White/Black decks got very popular in the CCB booster draft format. The addition of Waxmane Baku, Faithful Squire, Skullmane Baku and many more cards to a deck that was already focused on Spirits and Soulshift (Scuttling Death and Gibbering Kami had always been good in this archetype), made White/Black a very strong color combination. The consensus among pros was that Blue/White and White/Black decks were the decks to beat in that format.
This is what Anton Jonsson said about it in his article about CCB drafts: “More specifically, I am going to talk about the archetype which I feel is the strongest in Champions/Champions/Betrayers booster draft; White/Black Spirits.”
The current booster draft format is not CCB anymore; a Saviors of Kamigawa pack replaces one of the Champions packs these days. Today I will try to explain how I think that the White/Black Spirits deck has evolved in this new format. Also, I will discuss whether it is still the best draft deck in the format or whether it has lost most of its power.
The thing that is crucial about any White/Black deck in this format is synergy. There usually isn’t much removal in your deck, and most of your creatures are not that great at attacking. However, the exact same things held in the CCB format and W/B Spirits was considered as one of the best archetypes. Basically, your goal in drafting W/B is to acquire as many synergies as possible. You know you’re winning when three different things trigger when you play Scuttling Death on turn 6. Spirit triggers make this deck work, maximizing the number of Waxmane Baku-like effects as well as maximizing the amount of counters a Waxmane assembles is what this archetype is all about.
Soulshift fits nicely in this game-plan as well, as there will be plenty of Spirits one can bring back, which will probably trigger something when they hit play again. Even though White is better in Champions than in Saviors, I don’t think this archetype has lost any of its value. This does not mean, however that you just go ahead and do the exact same things you did before and end up with a solid deck. In the current draft format, picking up the best card in your color is not such an effective strategy. While this does not mean that picking Hundred-Talon Kami over Kitsune Blademaster can be justified, it does mean that with each pick a trade-off between individual card power and synergy with the rest of your deck will be required. Losing a Champions booster is not that crucial, because the only great White common that is in Champions that is a Spirit is Kabuto Moth, while Black only offers Scuttling Death in this category.
The White and Black commons that Saviors has to offer for this archetype aren’t very amazing, but they are usually good enough to fill in gaps in your mana curve, pick up some essential tricks (like Plow Through Reito), etc. The advantage of the CBS format over CCB is that Betrayers (which is the crucial expansion for White/Black Spirits) is the second pack these days. This means that cutting White and/or Black in the first booster can result in solid late picks in pack two. Myself and some other Dutch players took this to another level at Pro Tour: London. When I had the feeling that the player passing me was drafting White, I would often jump into White right behind him, to make sure that the next few players wouldn’t be picking White cards for sure. I received three third-pick Shining Shoals at that Pro Tour, which would otherwise be pretty unusual. Of course, you have to be careful with this strategy, since for all you know the player you’re feeding might be employing that plan himself.
To me, White/Black Spirits is one of the most powerful draft archetypes currently, as I think that most other drafters don’t give it enough respect and as most White/Black decks won’t have a hard time beating basic draft decks that only contain creatures and some removal spells (like White/Red decks usually, or Black/Red). Most of the time when I find out that I am in a good position to draft White, I’ll try to force White/Black as Black is the best color to complement White cards in this format. The other way around works almost in the same way. When Black is open, adding either White or Green works best I believe.
I will now list common pick orders for White/Black Spirits. Of course, these orders are only guidelines, adjusting the order within a draft is often essential. For example, picking up your fourth five-drop isn’t all that smart, even though your list says that it’s the best pick for your deck.
Champions:
Kabuto Moth
Kitsune Blademaster
Cage of Hands
Scuttling Death
Rend Spirit
Befoul
Kitsune Diviner
Rend Flesh
Gibbering Kami
Blessed Breath
Kami of Ancient Law
Nezumi Cutthroat
Mothrider Samurai
Waking Nightmare
Pull Under
Hundred-Talon Kami
Devouring Greed
Wicked Akuba
Ashen-Skin Zubera
Cruel Deceiver
Kami of the Waning Moon
Nezumi Ronin
Lantern Kami
Indomitable Will
Kami of the Painted Road
Soulless Revival
Harsh Deceiver
Ethereal Haze
Quiet Purity
Distress
Cursed Ronin
Kitsune Riftwalker
Villainous Ogre
Devoted Retainer
Kitsune Healer
Silent-Chant Zubera
Call to Glory
This is how I draft White/Black in the first booster. I am sure that there are many other effective strategies, but to me focusing on Spirits (and Arcane spells) is the key to success. That is why, for instance, Cruel Deceiver and Ashen-Skin Zubera are above Nezumi Ronin in this list. Barring any unusual circumstances, you should not be including cards below Kami of the Painted Road in your main deck.
Evaluating uncommons and rares works in the same way in this context. Nezumi Graverobber is not so hot (not a Spirit), while Thief of Hope and Swallowing Plague are very high picks.
To me, Kabuto Moth is one of the best first picks possible in this archetype. I would pick it over Nagao and Eight-and-a-Half-Tails for instance. At U.S. Nationals I saw Mr. Adam Chambers pick Teller of Tails over Kabuto Moth first pick first pack, which surprised me a lot. I disagree on this pick, and until you’re as good as Chambers is, you should probably disagree too. If you do settle on that Teller of Tails, it’s quite possible that there will be a few difficulties in the draft and that your maindeck includes not only Crawling Filth but also a couple of Big Quillmane Bakus. [For the record, Chambers is one of the more unusual and interesting drafters in the game and he chose Teller because he really likes to play U/B. Plus, for whatever reason, he really loves a five-mana 3/3 to say nothing of his fascination with Vine Kamis and Bounteous Kirins. – Knut]
Betrayers:
Waxmane Baku
Horobi’s Whisper
Moonlit Strider
Split-Tail Miko
Okiba-Gang Shinobi
Skullmane Baku
Takenuma Bleeder
Kami of False Hope
Kami of Tattered Shoji
Hundred-Talon Strike
Skullsnatcher
Silverstorm Samurai
Psychic Spear
Bile Urchin
Mending Hands
Heart of Light
Stir the Grave
If possible, leave all copies of cards below Hundred-Talon Strike in your sideboard. Especially in this section of the draft, adjusting your pick orders will be crucial. Okiba-Gang Shinobi drops on this list if you don’t have a lot of evasion creatures. Also, Takenuma Bleeder should be taken over Skullmane Baku if you won’t be able to really abuse the Skullmane. Kami of False Hope becomes better with Soulshift creatures, etc.
The uncommons and rares are pretty good in Betrayers. Rares that I would pick over Waxmane Baku are Umezawa’s Jitte, Ink-Eyes, Shining Shoal, Patron of the Kitsune, Sickening Shoal and Opal-Eyes, Konda’s Yojimbo. If you do have a Cage of Hands, then picking Tallowisp over Waxmane is correct. The other uncommons are all worse than Waxmane Baku. Faithful Squire and Throat Slitter should be taken over Horobi’s Whisper, but other uncommons are worse than the Banishing-effect.
Saviors:
Torii Watchward
Kagemaro’s Clutch
Shinen of Star’s Light
Kami of Empty Greaves
Death Denied
Moonwing Moth
Kitsune Loreweaver
Sink into Takenuma
Plow through Reito
Kuro’s Taken
Araba Mothrider
Deathmask Nezumi
The available commons in Saviors for White/Black Spirits are pretty unspectacular to say the least. It’s never a great sign if a Snidd is on top of your list. However, Saviors is pretty solid when it comes to completing your deck. There is a three-mana Spirit, a four-mana Spirit and a five-mana Spirit, which you can usually pick up until pick 7. There is also a combat trick that comes very late most of the time (Plow through Reito), which may be useful. Finally, every White/Black deck should have exactly one Death Denied to restart all Soulshift action.
There is also a decent amount of amazing rares in these two colors, like Kagemaro and both Kirins, plus the best card in the set (Charge Across the Araba) is an in-color Arcane spell.
By now, I explained how to look at the White/Black Spirits archetype, and I gave you the pick orders I’m using when I draft White/Black. A few more notes are necessary:
- Be careful that your White/Black deck isn’t too slow. Double Skullmane Baku alongside Torii Watchward and Scuttling Death might provide some nice synergy, versus a Red/Green decks you may well be dead once Skullmane accumulated his first counter (Skullmane Baku needs to be boarded out against good Red/Green decks). Including a Kuro’s Taken or an Araba Mothrider in your main deck is often necessary, even though these cards have only little interaction with the rest of your deck.
- Make sure that every White/Black deck you draft has guys in it that will always be able to deal damage. Waxmane Baku is not that effective when all your dudes are 2/2, because in that case most opposing creatures need to get tapped down to get some damage in. Especially versus a defensive Blue deck, you will really need those Kami of Painted Roads and Kitsune Blademasters to break through River Kaijin and Shimmering Glasskite.
- Finally, don’t regard White/Black Sprits as a 100% control deck. It’s important to punish opponent for their slow draws, just as it is necessary to race problem cards (like Glasskites and Kitsune Riftwalker).
With the Spirit-philosophy, the listed pick orders and the importance of a balanced mana-curve (a combination of early and late game cards) in mind, you are ready to draft powerful White/Black decks.
This is an example of a White/Black deck that I drafted lately. If you look closely, you may think that the individual card quality is nice that high, but as said before, it’s not so much about individual cards as it is about card interactions in this archetype.
Kami of False Hope
Cruel Deceiver
Kami of Ancient Law
Tallowisp
Nikko-Onna
Waxmane Baku
Descendant of Kiyomaro
Shinen of Star’s Light
Thief of Hope
Takenuma Bleeder
Moonlit Strider
Kami of Empty Graves
Skullmane Baku
Torii Watchward
Scuttling Death
Death Denied
Horobi’s Whisper
Waking Nightmare
Sink into Takenuma
Pull Under
Kagemaro’s Clutch
Indomitable Will
This deck is solid, and I like my chances against all other archetypes with this list. It’s fast enough to hold off Red/Green’s early assaults, and has enough card advantage to win the long game versus Blue and other White decks.
Good luck in your next CBS drafts, hopefully you learned something from this article.
Until next time,
Rogier