Standard rotation is right around the corner and it is time for us to prepare. Control was not hit too hard last year, able to keep a pile of powerful planeswalkers even with the loss of Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. Narset, Parter of Veils and Teferi, Time Raveler easily held down the fort, allowing Azorius Control to flourish until the dark reality of Simic set in.
The Simic guild has had more mistake printings than any other since I started playing the game. There is no need to speak ill of the dead and I hope the banned cards rest in peace. I will also take the high ground against cards that are rotating, specifically Nissa, Who Shakes the World and Hydroid Krasis. The mighty green planeswalker will be no more and it is taking that weird Jellyfish with it, making the world inherently safer for control players. The removal and upcoming rotation of problematic Simic cards prompts a desire to celebrate; however, there remains one giant elephant in the room.
Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath is not leaving without a fight. It does not rotate, nor is there chatter about banning it before the next set is released. This creature should have never seen the inside of a booster pack and will require a ban in each competitive format. Not only does it plague Standard, it makes the older formats close to unbearable for most players. As a control player, it does not bother me much if I have my Narset, Parter of Veils and powerful disruption. Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath is not inherently a control killer, but instead warps formats away from creature-based aggro.
Fans of one-drops and burn spells might as well pick up a few copies of Temple of Mystery, because there is no way to take down this monster with what is available. It is very unlikely that a new set, taking a giant rotation into consideration, will save the aggro world from Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath. Most of my readers know I value aggro for its role in format health, and when it is not represented adequately, we are in trouble. This is the case in Standard now, but it gets even worse. Not only is format health in jeopardy, control is about to lose whatever edge it had over this Simic monster.
Narset, Parter of Veils is leaving Standard and control’s viability might be joining it. The power of Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath crashes with an active Narset, Parter of Veils on the battlefield, making control still a legitimate contender. The matchup against Sultai Ramp was still suspect, even with this silver bullet. Once it rotates, there is not a card in the deepest realm of my imagination that will disrupt Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath enough to make a traditional control deck viable. Even with the mediocre Simic options left after rotation, Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath will place it solely in the number one spot unless something drastically changes. Regardless of how strict Wizards is when considering banning a flagship mythic rare, they will have no choice but to act.
Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath will be banned in Standard, Historic, and Pioneer at minimum. I say that with utmost confidence, understanding the negative dynamic that the card brings to each format it touches. I may have been off about the strength of Preordain, or still thinking Esper Stoneblade was good five years after its debut, but seeing an upcoming ban/unban has been easy for me. Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath will not be banned in the next few weeks; however, it will not make it far into the new format. For the sake of Standard’s popularity, and to move older formats to a healthier place, this creature must go.
With the loss of our beloved three-mana planeswalkers, as well as a possible Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath ban, control will have to start over soon. The strongest disruption will remain, allowing us to keep Elspeth Conquers Death and Shatter the Sky. Those two cards alone are enough to keep control afloat, with a few caveats attached. Elspeth Conquers Death is the best answer control has had for a very long time, but it requires a graveyard creature or planeswalker to be dominant. Losing the best planeswalkers, with a Teferi, Time Raveler ban and a rotated Narset, Parter of Veils, delivers a blow to the powerful enchantment. Luckily for us, Teferi, Master of Time is decent enough to pick up some of the slack.
Although I have been critical of Teferi, Master of Time, it can be an effective two-of in control decks. The planeswalker competition was fierce when it was released, making it the clear loser in the pack. With the big changes, Teferi, Master of Time becomes an effective placeholder for a Turn 4 tap-out.
Just that card alone will not cut it, so we need some miracles from Zendikar Rising in the planeswalker category. The first blue one did not disappoint and will immediately make it into the new control prototype in the works.
I know some people will hate Jace, Mirror Mage already. It does not protect itself, the card advantage is unorthodox, and there is no form of disruption attached. Jace, Mirror Mage is a vessel of card draw that I plan on playing four of in all my starting control decks of the new season.
The first ability that adds a loyalty to provide a scry 2 is one that I will not be using very often. I understand the allure of smoothing out draws while keeping the loyalty high through a challenging battlefield. That does not interest me in the slightest, especially when the second ability, with a little bit of luck, provides enough cards to make the three-mana investment well worth it. For those who have seen me at work with a Jace, the Mind Sculptor, you are aware that I only know one mode. I have nearly Brainstormed myself to death out of principle, as card advantage is the number one key to control success.
The second ability that adds no loyalty but draws a card is amazing. If the converted mana cost of that card is less than four, it will keep Jace, Mirror Mage on the battlefield to repeat the process the next turn. Hitting land will be great, as it does not negatively impact the loyalty. There were many spots where I wished Narset, Parter of Veils could help me with land drops. This is not to say that Jace, Mirror Mage is a stronger planeswalker; however, it does serve an additional purpose. Drawing some cards and then eventually destroying itself is a positive thing with current control decks.
I mentioned that the power of Elspeth Conquers Death relied on a graveyard target. Jace, Mirror Mage and Elspeth Conquers Death will be absolute best friends, creating a cycle of card advantage that can easily bury any aggro or midrange opponent. Using Jace, Mirror Mage as an enemy target that is destined to be returned by Elspeth Conquers Death, while providing card advantage prior to that event, will occur with a high frequency and fill the void that rotation created in that slot.
For those who are immediate critics of this planeswalker, remember that Narset, Parter of Veils; Oko, Thief of Crowns; and Teferi, Time Raveler are Legacy-playable. We cannot compare every three-mana planeswalker to the greatest ever made, so Jace, Mirror Mage must be analyzed through a relevant scope. This will be in the next Standard, a world lacking multiple broken sets, and with an eventual Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath ban. In that format, Jace, Mirror Mage will be a control staple right off the bat and have tremendous synergy with the surviving elements of rotation.
Even though Jace, Mirror Mage is limited in its abilities, it has significant card advantage embedded. The card advantage may not come in the traditional package that we are used to, which is why many will be suspicious of its effectiveness. To help dispel that negativity, a kicker ability was attached to it, helping to seal the deal for me.
For an additional two mana, it creates a non-legendary copy of itself with one loyalty. This is where the planeswalker gets fun, being able to use that copy to scry cheap spells to the top and then use the original to effortlessly draw them. I declared my intention to not use that scry ability; however, that only applies to the three-mana original. When the copy hits the battlefield, it is game on for this card-drawing engine. More often, we will see Jace, Mirror Mage arrive on Turn 3, or later with mana open. This will keep our kicker experiences to a minimum, but having that option gives this planeswalker a huge edge in the upcoming format.
My excitement level for Jace, Mirror Mage is through the roof, almost reaching levels to match Shark Typhoon when it was previewed. This may not see play in older formats like Shark Typhoon, but it will be just as powerful a player in Standard when it arrives.
I was very concerned about the state of control when rotation hits because of the lack of planeswalker options that hit the battlefield prior to an Elspeth Conquers Death on Turn 5. Jace, Mirror Mage allows me to breathe a sigh of relief, illuminating the end of the rotation tunnel we are soon heading down.
