With Murders at Karlov Manor fully previewed and the Prerelease right around the corner, join me in exploring the set’s Limited two-color archetypes. Wipe your magnifying glass, and let’s take a look at the allied-color pairs.
White and Blue: Azorius Detectives
Azorius Detectives will be a great home for Thinking Cap, the new Inventor’s Goggles. In traditional Azorius fashion, the deck has great evasive threats, like Perimeter Enforcer, Crimestopper Sprite, Marketwatch Phantom, Exit Specialist, and Mistway Spy. While Case of the Pilfered Proof is designated for this archetype, I’m still skeptical about the card, as it doesn’t do anything on its own and makes for a terrible topdeck.
Burden of Proof looks like an excellent trick for the deck when both options are readily available. Out Cold will also be a good trick for the deck, helping your tempo – the “cannot be countered” text will allow you to tap disguised creatures without paying the ward cost! I also expect Projektor Inspector to be an overperformer here, allowing you to rummage for most creature spells you cast.
Blue and Black: Dimir Clues Control
Dimir will also look to use more evasive creatures than your typical deck. In addition to the two flyers pictured above, black adds Nightdrinker Moroii, Basilica Stalker, Clandestine Meddler, and Leering Onlooker. Cards like Unscrupulous Agent, Cold Case Cracker, and the insanely powerful Undercity Eliminator fit into the overall gameplan of out-valuing your opponent. Dimir is the deck for Persuasive Interrogators as well; though unlikely, I hope to kill an opponent via poison counters sometime!
Black and Red: Rakdos Suspect Aggro
Home to my personal favorite new mechanic, suspect, Rakdos looks to end games before the opponent can stabilize with access to cards like Frantic Scapegoat, Clandestine Meddler, and Convenient Target; Equipment like Lead Pipe; and Concealed Weapon help turn small creatures into viable threats. While there aren’t any great sacrifice options, Caught Red-Handed looks like a strong finisher for the deck, even removing said creature as a blocker the following turn. While Rakdos has access to some of the best removal spells, like Shock and Murder, it’s also important to keep your creature count in mind while drafting or building.
Red and Green: Gruul Big Disguise
I was surprised to see Gruul as one of the disguise guilds, but it certainly has some potential, with strong creatures like Flourishing Bloom-Kin, Culvert Ambusher, and Bolrac-Clan Basher. There are also some payoffs with Tunnel Tipster and Tin Street Gossip. Fanatical Strength is the go-to combat trick for the deck, allowing you to attack freely during early turns and end games via trample. Case of the Trampled Garden is in a similar vein, easily solved with some of the bigger creatures available and then closing out games with trample.
Green and White: Selesnya Go-Wide Disguise
Selesnya is another disguise archetype, but instead of big creatures, it wants to add more creatures to the battlefield. While Boros (red and white) looks to have better cards for the go-wide archetype, green provides access to Greenbelt Radical, Get a Leg Up, and A Killer Among Us. It’s important to keep in mind that Dog Walker is playable here, as you can cast it for its disguise cost of WW. On the disguise front, Sumala Sentry looks like the real deal, and will make a huge impact on any game when cast on Turn 2. Overall, the deck doesn’t look to have a ton of synergy by itself, and will likely combine with another color for a Naya (plus red), Abzan (plus black), or Bant (plus blue) deck.
That’s it for the allied-color pairs. Stay tuned for the enemy color pairs.
Lose and Learn, Learn and Win!
