We’re back for some more Conspiracy draft archetypes! I’ve had the good fortune to draft some more of this set since the last article went up. My conclusion: it’s baller.
Each color combo is super deep, but today we’ll be focusing on the more prominent synergies for the allies. If your looking for the enemy color pairs, check out this article.
Okay, let’s get started.
Key Commons: Messenger Jays, Jeering Homunculus, Wild Griffin
Key Uncommons: Coveted Peacock, Guardian of the Gateless, Ascended Lawmage
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Platinum Angel
Let’s start off with a true classic. Not much has changed for blue-white flyers in this set; you’re looking for your titular flying dudes, quality blockers on the ground, Pacifism-type effects, stuff like that. Your creatures might be relatively small, but the evasion gives you a huge advantage.
As quality flyers go, I really dig Ascended Lawmage. Three aerial damage each turn is nice. Three aerial damage each turn that can’t be targeted is even nicer. Also, you have the perfect opportunity to quote Sylvester Stallone when you cast it. If that’s not reason enough to draft it, I don’t know what is.
In regards to our blockers, I really like Jeering Homunculus in this deck. It’s a nice early drop that halts little attackers early and distracts bigger attackers later. That’s exactly what you’re looking for in one of your defensive creatures. Also, the art is outstanding.
And then there’s Guardian of the Gateless, which is good on both offense and defense (especially defense). It’s just such an amazing deterrent, especially for decks that might be swarming you with with a bunch of little creatures (we’ll get to those in a second).
Though I like this color combo, be warned: other players aren’t going to like it nearly so much. Board wipes are going to hurt, especially considering that many of your best offensive threats are vulnerable to spells like Hurly Burly and Infest.
Key Commons: Prey Upon, Ravenous Leucrocota, Ill-Tempered Cyclops
Key Uncommons: Nessian Asp, Domesticated Hydra, Sulfurous Blast
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Splitting Slime
For the stompy people out there, this is a fun one. Just draft big dudes, make them bigger, then smash faces. The monstrous ability is an old favorite and a great way to use your mana whenever you have it.
Since Conspiracy is a mutiplayer format, you’ll have more time than usual to ramp. Take advantage of that time to build up a mana base, throw down some threats, trigger monstrous, then rumble. It’s a simple game plan, but it’s a fun one.
Sulfurous Blast is very nice in this deck because your creatures are going to be so darn big. You’ll easily turn a three-for-one profit off this, if not more. That’s big upside, even in multiplayer.
And now the downside: this deck feels a little one dimensional. Your big dudes are big, sure, but when you invest 12 mana into your Nessian Asp and then your opponent nukes it with a one-mana Regicide, you can’t be happy.
From what I’ve gleaned in my limited playtime with this format, small flyers are a big problem for this deck. Therefore, I recommend prioritizing life gain and creatures with reach. You might even try mainboarding a Plummet. Trust me—you’ll find juicy targets (except for that stupid Lawmage).
Key Commons: Driver of the Dead, Assemble the Rank and Vile, Shambling Goblin
Key Uncommons: Fleshbag Marauder, Havengul Vampire, Gang of Devils
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Harvester of Souls
We’ve got another returning classic in red-black sacrifice. Look for cards like Shambling Goblin, which give you a bonus when they die. Looks for cards like Driver of the Dead, which resurrect the Goblin when they die. You should also snatch up Assemble the Rank and Vile, which allows you to get even more sacrificial fodder when your named creatures die.
At the uncommon slot, Fleshbag Marauder is primo in your deck. Weakening each opponents’ board is sweet, and since you’ll probably benefit from whatever creature you sacrifice, this dude makes for a nice turn three play.
Havengul Vampire is also sweet, quickly growing into a straight up beefer from all your sacrificing. Oh, and did I mention that the Vampire gets pumped not just for your creatures dying, but for your opponents’ as well? That means you can throw down the aforementioned Fleshbag, dump four counters on your vampire, then swing for six. And if your victim happens to have no blockers, throw another counter on there after combat. I’ll take a playset, please.
I think this is one of the strongest archetypes in the set. With twice the number of players, twice the number of creatures are going to hit the bin.
Key Commons: Mnemonic Wall, Regicide, Canal Courier
Key Uncommons: Into the Void, Shipwreck Singer, Spire Phantasm
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Sphinx of Magosi
This is one of the less synergistic pairs in the set, but it’s still powerful. Blue-black wants to generate two-for-ones, recursion, and solid card advantage. Luckily, there are all kinds of cards that fit that bill in these two colors.
Regicide shines in this archetype. Though one-for-one removal takes a bit of a hit in multiplayer Magic, it’s not every day that we get one mana, instant speed, nearly unconditional removal. Sure, your opponents get to choose what colors you can target, but even if you draft just two Regicides, you’re guaranteed four colors to target. And if you’re lucky enough to draft three? You can kill anything. For one mana. At instant speed!
Other than removal, look for Mnemonic Wall, which can recur your sweet removal. Spire Phantasm is another nice one here. If you can guess correctly—which isn’t as difficult as it seems—you get to throw down a four mana, three-power flyer that even draws you a card. Sweet!
Last thing: no control deck is complete without a big ol’ game-ender. I’d be looking for Sphinx of Magosi, Guul Draz Specter, or Archdemon of Paliano to do some work for you. It’ll be a slow build to get to the fatties, but once you do, they’ll end the game quickly.
Key Commons: Raise the Alarm, Lieutenants of the Guard, Strength in Numbers
Key Uncommons: Juniper Order Ranger, Overrun, Gleam of Resistance
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Forgotten Ancient
Everyone’s least favorite standard deck is back for Conspiracy. Well, sort of.
This is an interesting color combo. While white seems to have the token makers, green appears to offer the payoffs for making them. Your strategy is simple: wall up behind a lot of tokens, then give them a massive boost, swing for a win. Sounds fun, right?
Tokens are a bigtime archetype in multiplayer for a reason. Though your tokens are generally 1/1s and 2/2s, you’ll often have enough of them to serve as a strong deterrent for attackers. In addition, when you yourself decide to attack, a wide board usually makes for big damage.
The card you’re looking for when you draft this deck is Overrun. Triple green makes it a little annoying to cast, but when you cast it, the upside is huge. A lot of times you’re going to catch players when they’re tapped out, maybe even when they have no blockers, and you’re going to hit them hard. +3/+3 is no joke, and trample breaks through for even more.
The problem with a deck like this is that it’s pretty obvious what you’re doing from the get-go. Furthermore, for colors like red or black, disrupting your plan will be fairly simple—all it takes is a well-timed Sulfurous Blast or Infest to really ruin your day.
Whew, that’s all for now. Happy drafting!
