One of the shining pillars of the Theros Block Constructed format is the awesome White planeswalker Elspeth, Sun’s Champion though that doesn’t necessarily lend itself easily to just White deck choices. This deck was one which realized how to harness that incredible power while finding support for it in other colors. What emerged was a Gruul based Naya deck that went down a very Aggro beatdown route. There are strong ramp elements to power out monstrous creatures and incredible planeswalkers working hard to seal the deal as fast as possible. And although there are different combinations to build this deck there are key elements which emerge from all of them.
It all starts with the trio of ‘mana’ dorks with Voyaging Satyr and Sylvan Caryatid into Courser of Kruphix. These three are crucial to the plan of deploying huge Midrange threats well ahead of the curve, and those threats come in the form of some truely monstrous beasts. The first of which we find Polis Crusher which is a fine beatstick as a 4/4 for four but also has a relevant ability in this format with Protection from Enchantments, and when you activate his Monstrosity becomes a 7/7 that destroys enchantments the damaged player controls which with its Trample should connect often. The next step on the Monstrosity curve comes with Stormbreath Dragon which with Flying and Haste will often be a surprise to skirt around sorcery speed removal, and against control style decks blasts to the dome of your opponents equal to their cards in hand when he becomes monstrous. There is also a one of Polukranos, World Eater as a value five power four drop that can go monstrous to act as additional instant speed removal for the deck. Yuuki chose to run with a trio of planeswalkers but it all centers around a full set of the decks namesake Elspeth, Sun’s Champion which unchecked by the opponent will easily start to dominate the board with its soldiers, remove large threats en masse or even beef up and raise your entire army to the air with her emblem. He also went with a pair of Ajani, Mentor of Heroes to strengthen your soldiers, it can gain some advantage by finding any of the decks 28 creatures or planeswalkers, and given enough time even gain you 100 points of life. The other planeswalker we find in the deck is Xenagos, the Reveler who’s ramping ability in conjunction with the decks dorks will help power out the big monsters quickly unless you need him to bring some of his satyr friends to the party, or if you do get to ultimate with him with 45 creatures and lands in the deck the top seven is bound to share a bounty of wealth. The deck is wrapped up simply with White based removal using the catchall enchantment answer Banishing Light to remove a plethora of permanent threats and also Chained to the Rocks which is the reason why we find the deck with a substantially larger amount of Mountains then in similar decks of this style.
There was also another RG Elspeth list by Andrea Mengucci which finished in sixth place. While it did follow the same line of attack there are some fundamental differences starting with the manabase where Andrea not using Chained to the Rocks opted for much less Mountains and went for Temple of Triumph instead of Mana Confluence and a singleton Plains. In order to add in a varied array of spells he cut a Voyaging Satyr and the singleton Polukranos from the creatures but was able to pack a more robust removal package. He decided upon only two Banishing Light and then went with direct damage with a set of Lightning Strike, a trio of Destructive Revelry and a singleton Magma Jet. He also opted to forgo Ajani to go up to three Xenagos instead. While neither list is necessarily better then the other they do play along a slightly different line and you should run with the one you feel compliments your style of play better.
I have very little doubt that we will see this as one of the top decks at the Grand Prix in Manchester. We have already seen in Standard that this combination of Green and Red monsters is a winning style. And with the addition of Elspeth to that equation there is little to prevent the raw power of this deck from shining. I expect that we will see this not only as a superstar in the Block format but also continuing into the next Standard season as well. I would definitely stock up on the cards for this deck if you enjoy this style of Midrange monster beatdown.
The deck works on a very strong a linear path up the mana curve from one to three in an effort to clog the board with beaters. We start it off with Dryad Militant and Soldier of the Pantheon that both unchecked can start to swipe chunks off the opponents life total. Next are the Selesnya two drops with Voice of Resurgence which is amazing against control decks or removal in general and Fleecemane Lion which given the chance will turn into a Monstrous beast which opponents will be having fits to try and remove. Then we have continued profit in three drops from Boros Reckoner which can attack into small blockers and still push through damage or act as a brick wall against attackers and Loxodon Smiter which is basically a great 4/4 for three with some added value. The sole four drop creature in the deck is Ghor-Clan Rampager but it will most often be used for its Bloodrush ability to pump an attacking creature to push through extra damage to finish off the opponent. Moving over to the spells in the deck we start first with the ever useful Brave the Elements which with almost every creature being White, Ghor-Clan Rampager is the only exception, will be a key tool enabling alpha strike pushes past defenses to destroy the opponent or a way to ensure your creatures survive to fight through removal or as blockers against a flurry of attackers. The deck also sports two different charms with multiple useful modes to take advantage of. Selesnya Charm is capable of either giving a creature a boost with Trample to push for a kill, can exile a large creature as long as it has power of 5 or more, or is able to put a 2/2 Knight token onto the battlefield which is also White to take advantage of Brave the Elements as well. The other charm is Boros Charm which can be used as direct damage to scorch your enemy, is able to save all your permanents from destruction in a pinch, or will grant Double Strike to one of your creatures if you need it to deal a final blow to take you on a path to victory. The deck also takes advantage of the new mana fixing land Mana Confluence in order to smoothly run a three color manabase using a bare minimum of into play tapped lands.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
Email: ejseltzer@hotmail.com
Here’s a spicy little Aggro number that while by no means any sort of new concept is quite a sight for sore eyes. It’s nice to see that the Mono-Black Devotion (or more accurately now Golgari Devotion since rotation) was not able to reach the summit, although it did put three decks into the top 8. This is a powerful and fast deck which is highly capable of coming from out of nowhere and beating down the opponent in the blink of an eye.
The main focus of Boros burn is to throw burn spells at the opponents face in a fast and furious fashion. To that end we find 22 of the decks spells able to spew lightning to the dome, and additional burn from the decks removal. The varieties of burn come based off of how much damage they will do and land in three varieties doing either two, three or four damage. The starting point of the deck comes with our basic burn at one cost in Shock which is just a straight-up two point blast, but also with two points of burn we have Magma Jet which for its cost of two will also Scry 2 for the deck as some of its only ‘draw’ ability. Then we have three point burn both costing two with Lightning Strike and Skullcrack, but Skullcrack while not being able to target creature has the added value of shutting down lifegain AND damage prevention for the turn which can foil plans of many decks to try and recover from an initial onslaught. And finally we get to the four point burn spells with Boros Charm which will primarily be wasted of its other abilities to blast opponents to an early grave and Warleader’s Helix that will rebuild your life total if you have been under pressure already in the game. As a compliment to all of these burn spells the deck runs Chandra’s Phoenix that will no doubt be returned to hand anytime it has found its way into the graveyard. The other maindeck creature is Eidolon of the Great Revel which may seem like an odd choice seeing that this deck is packed with so many cheap spells but when you drop him you should be far enough ahead and using your burn is either an equal loss on life or you deal those crucial points extra. As the manabase allows for it there’s also a full set of Mutavault which often are those last points needed to seal the deal. For removal the deck is able to use any of the many burn spells of course but also includes Chained to the Rocks and Searing Blood which itself does double as a burn spell when you are able to rid the board of the intended target. For draw the deck has some Scry from both Magma Jet and Temple of Triumph, but also actual drawing from Wild Guess which can easily cycle unwanted lands later in the game. You’ll also notice that the deck eshews Boros Guildgate in favor of Mana Confluence in order to avoid any additional into play tapped lands which go directly against the speed of this deck.
So there we have another great contender to battle for control in this post Journey into Nyx metagame. It is well positioned to be the Standard format staple Aggro deck going forward. I would be very surprised if some style of this deck is unable to reach into the top 16 of the major tourneys going forward. I would be very confident to sleeve this up any weekend and expect to compete for the win.
Spring is here! Thank goodness because winter felt VERY long. The sun feels warmer, the snow is all gone and the excitement of summer is just around the corner. It is also the time of change. New flowers, new leaves, new clothes, new activities, new plans…ah…new plans…here’s an idea.
The Spring set is here with Journey into Nyx. Standard will start to evolve with the new cards, but rotation is only 4 months away with a new block on the way that will change the complexion of the Meta-game completely. Players who aren’t already committed to this Standard format but are looking to get into playing Standard have a very serious conundrum. They COULD run around and track down the chase rares to put together a strong Standard deck, but that can be pretty pricey for a limited 4 month window where the cards will be well and truly playable. And if you are on almost any sort of budget, well, now we are talking a near impossibility. So what is an aspiring Standard player to do? Well, let this be a sort of a road map to help you find your way to getting ready to play Standard. I’ll lay out a series of steps that an aspiring Standard player on a tight budget could follow in order to get ready to join the ranks of competitive Standard players at any Local Game Shop.
Once again, here is my usual disclaimer. There will be some players out there that won’t heed a single word of this. They have the deep pockets needed to pick up all the Standard playable staples they need. I however have players with a limited budget each month. What exactly is that budget? I have no precise number in mind, but the basic tenets will remain the same. Players with slightly larger budgets can likely accomplish the steps more quickly, but even those with tighter budgets can hope to get there following these steps. So, without further delay let’s see what we’ve got.
As uncool as this sounds, the mana base is the backbone to every deck. I have often maintained that the mana base can’t win you the game…but you sure as heck can lose the game if you don’t have the right mana. Now is the time to track down full play sets of all the Scry lands, Nykthos, and Mana Confluence as these will be key lands in every two colour (or more) deck once rotation hits. The nice thing with the mana base, from a monetary standpoint, is that they at least seem to hold their value once you’ve invested in them. So, once they rotate out, you can probably still find a taker who will be willing to either allow you to trade for reasonable value or a shop that will give you decent (notice…decent) value off their Buy list.
Now, this is absolutely an investment. Lands don’t come cheap and the scry lands all look to run at least $5 a piece (more for some of them), but if you can find someone willing to trade with you for them ,or a decent price on them somewhere, your budget will be wisely spent on these. Don’t worry if you get fleeced a little on your trade. If your end goal is to play Standard, then you will need the lands to play, and if you have other older cards that someone is willing to trade for to give you those lands, well, guess what? You’re doing it.
One of the biggest traps that players fall into is that they want to “crack packs”. I love cracking packs…we all do…but the numbers don’t play out very well in your favour. So, how else do you get cards? The answer is easy…draft. For your entry fee into a draft you get the equivalent of 3 packs of cards…AND you get to try those cards out in game play. This is the perfect place to try out that kind of unusual rare card you opened, just to see what it does. Maybe you want to try out a different colour combination that isn’t your all time favorite in order to get a feel? Draft is a great place to get your feet wet experimenting and trying out new ideas. Heck, you might even win a few prizes along the way to further expand your pool of available cards without costing you any extra. Don’t bank on the prizes because you are out experimenting, so your decks may be somewhat less streamlined than other players, but every once in a while a little prize support is a nice bonus for your night of drafting.
Now, the danger with draft this time of year is that soon the new stand alone set will be out. Last year it was Modern Masters, this year it’s Conspiracy. These cards aren’t Standard playable, so if you do sit down to draft these, this won’t help you much in terms of getting you ready for Standard post-rotation (although it is fun!). So, be sure to be familiar with the format you will be drafting and the sets that will be used.
It has already been said by Gerald right here on Three Kings Loot that one of the best ways to prepare yourself for the NEXT Standard format is to sit down and make a conscious effort to play block constructed. Whether that is with your buddies at a kitchen table, or at a shop if they host a Block Constructed event, the experience of limiting your key card pool will be a huge factor in determining how prepared you will be for the next Standard format. You will see what cards emerge as cards that were underplayed in the current format and that might make a splash once rotation hits. So, Herald of Torment…time to shine big guy!
The biggest difference with Magic in 2014 versus when I started in 1996 is that the amount of information available to players is staggering. Between all the various discussion groups, websites, articles, podcasts, and videos there is no shortage of information for the average player. I would strongly suggest that you take the time to sit down and read the thoughts of players and writers you like and respect. As we near rotation many of these players will have the advantage of sitting down and doing their utmost to figure out the best strategies in the new format and can give you some helpful tips to help you along…just by reading the internet.
The other great asset is all the coverage of various events available. Between the Pro tour coverage and coverage from other events around the globe (and watching MTGO for those who have time) you can not only see the deck lists of these many top players, but you can actually see them in action. This will give you a chance to see the decision making processes tied to each choice made. This is super useful so that you can make optimal use of whatever strategy you like best. Let’s be honest, many of the guys on the Pro-Tour are going to get maximum bang for their buck with each card and it is undoubtedly helpful for us less experienced players to see them in action. The same can be said of watching players at your local game shop that you respect and like the way they play. Yes, it can be nerve wracking to sit down and watch someone live and in person at a store, but if you start talking to them you might find that they are quite willing to sit and talk shop with you to give you some pointers
It takes a lot of time in order to get really good at something and Magic is no different. If you want to play Standard, and presumably if you are playing on a competitive (or semi-competitive ) basis you would like to be as good as possible, then you will need to sink time into this. This is by far and away the hardest part of making this transition. Up until this point you can do most of the steps I’ve laid out with some money you’ve saved up or for free on open sources on the internet. However, there is a finite amount of time in each day and unless you are independently wealthy or playing Magic for a living, there will be other things that will drain your time. This will mean evening trips to the game shop to sit down and play. It likely also means some weekend as well. You will need to sit and read about changes to the meta game and how it will impact your deck of choice. And most of all, you will need to play. Play lots. Play lots against just about anyone. The more you play, the better you will get at playing your deck and the choices you will need against each other archetype. Time is absolutely a commodity and something else you will need to gauge closely if you hope to perform to the best of your abilities.
So, these are the 5 steps that I’ve seen and other players I know take in order to climb into the realm of Standard competitive Magic. For some this works out great because they are prepared to invest wholeheartedly. For others, this process is difficult for a number of reasons. Needless to say, these 5 steps each have their own pit falls that must be navigated and may not come easy. This is part of the reason making the transition from playing Casual Magic to Standard is tricky. Not impossible…but it is tricky. Needless to say, it can be very rewarding once you get yourself into the format, but it is not for everyone, and that’s ok. Not everyone on the planet needs to play Standard…there are formats aplenty for each and everyone.
Thanks everyone and I hope that some of you find this helpful. If there are aspiring Standard players out there I hope I haven’t made the process seem too daunting. It is achievable, but it does take a plan. This is just one of many ways to getting to your end goal. In the mean time, I’ll go back to brewing up silliness and see where my Casual meandering takes my Magic and my decks.
Take care and until next time Keep it fun, Keep it Safe…Keep it Casual.
by Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters @bgray8791It’s like the 5th day of Christmas again…let’s see what Santa left us under the tree today!
Dictate of Karametra- So, it appears as if my prediction on the Dictate cycle is coming to fruition, this one is green. So, for 5 mana (3 colourless and 2 green) whenever a player taps a land for mana, that player adds one mana of any type that the land can produce. Like the other Dictates it comes in with Flash, which is kind of neat, but the real appeal of this is the mana ramp. This ensures that you land makes its regular mana, but then gives you an additional boost. This is a cool effect that reminds me very much of Mana Flare in its global effect. I don’t know if there is a Standard deck that is screaming out for this, but it will be a terrific casual and EDH card to allow players to ramp into all sorts of silly shenanigans. I’ll give it a C, much in line with my view on the other Dictates in the cycle, but at least this one I think is fun and cute to play.
Hypnotic Siren- a 1/1 flier for 1 Blue and had this stopped there it would be very playable in Limited. A 1 drop with evasion in Blue is super good and will automatically get consideration over a number of 1 drops elsewhere in the Block. The real treat is the Bestow ability that is in essence a Control Magic type effect. So, in the late game if you are being smacked around by some big beat stick , or you see an opportunity to take a particularly valuable asset from your opponent, this little guy could be your ticket. Now, the Bestow cost is very steep at a 7 mana (5 colourless, 2 Blue), but the effect is very powerful and not overlooked. I’ll give this a B+ because the efficient 1 drop with evasion is very valuable, and late game can turn the tide of battle by permanently stealing a creature from your opponent.
Kiora’s Dismissal– This is yet another Strive card and it is kind of interesting. For 1 Blue you get to return target enchantment to their owner’s hand. The Strive cost for additional targets is 1 Blue for each additional target. Now, ordinarily I would be down on this card because in many set enchantments just aren’t that prevalent. Furthermore, you are only returning it to their hand, not eliminating it permanently. However, in this set, with all the Enchantment Creatures with Bestow circulating around this is getting close to being an unsummon effect. Notice I say “close”. It isn’t an unsummon or even retraction helix, but it is cheap and can significantly impact a board with multiple enchantments at instant speed. I still think the fact that it limits you to targeting enchantments will be the reason players pass it over in favor of other things, if you are in dire straight for some sort of quasi removal effect in your draft or sealed deck then this could see play. Otherwise, I think this is just too limiting and will be set aside as an interesting but seldom played card. This is getting a C from me because of the conditions on it.
Launch the Fleet– A 1 White sorcery with Strive that says “Whenever this creature attacks, put a 1/1 white soldier token into play” and can target multiple creatures by adding a mere 1 colourless for each additional target. This is a Heroic triggering nightmare for decks playing against any base white Heroic deck in limited. This will basically ramp out a whole load of 1/1 soldier tokens, trigger Heroic on the whole team, and then allow for the White Weenie beat down to begin in earnest. I think this could be a very valuable and potent draft card because we’ve seen the value of inexpensive Heroic triggers, and this not only is a massive trigger, but also nets you extra value in the form of creatures. The value decreases significantly if you aren’t the Heroic deck, but adding extra, inexpensive chump blockers is also quite useful, so I can see it get a reasonable amount of play at draft. I figure this will be a B- because not every deck will want this type of effect, but when it goes off it could be very powerful and flood the board to put you well ahead of the race.
Mana Confluence- This Rare land allows you to tap it, pay one life to add one mana of any colour to your mana pool. This sort of damage land used to be the norm with lands that produced multiple mana types and they have all proven to be very good. Adarkar Wastes, Battlefield Forge and the lands of that ilk did at least allow you to tap for colourless without taking damage, but that doesn’t mean Mana Confluence won’t see play. This basically opens the door to splash all sorts of fun and interesting spells without the need to worry too much about trying to find the required fixing to make it work . So, no Sprinleaf drum, no Traveler’s Amulet, heck, no Sylvan Caryatid (unless you really want to), you can just put Mana Confluence in and off you go to Splash-ville. It will absolutely get played at Draft, of that there is no doubt, but the flexibility in terms of play at Constructed formats could allow this to sneak in to help decks splash new options and liven up the format with fun new spells that decks didn’t have available to them. I think this is a solid B for having a range of possibilities, but the drawback of taking damage will still deter some players from playing this overly aggressively.
Ritual of the Returned- This 4 mana Black instant allows you to exile target creature from your graveyard and put a zombie token into play that is the has the power and toughness of the exiled creature. Ok, first off, I love this spell. The G/B reanimator deck will gobble this up all day because it could very well allow them to cheat their big fatties into play for a modest price. Yes, 4 is a significant price to pay, the fact that this can be done at instant speed is really what makes this appealing. You can cast this on their end step, bring back your big fatty that you put in your yard with a Grisly Salvage, Commune with the Gods, or Satyr Wayfinder, and then it will be all ready to attack and smash face when you untap. Solid card…and at uncommon is EXACTLY what reanimator decks are looking for to make this a viable strategy again. This gets a B+ from me.
Worst Fears- A 8 mana sorcery that says control target player during that player’s next turn. Ok, there is trend with Mythic Rare cards and that is the ability is either absolutely crushing, or hilarious, and sometimes both. This one fits the bill for both. The problem is really in the casting cost…8 mana is very expensive. It won’t see play in Constructed. I doubt that it will see play in limited. The only place I see this fitting is in EDH decks (and incidentally, wouldn’t that be a riot to play at a multiplayer EDH game!) or by Casual players who want to see if they build some wacky deck. In all the games I’ve played, I have yet to see someone else actually control an opponent for a turn, but it is something I’d like to see and this just might open that possibility. I still can only give this a D+ because I can conceive of very few situations where I ever really want to draw this card…but some Johnny out there is going to love this spell and will break it wide open, I’m sure.
Well, that’s it for today. Thanks for reading and I’ll be back with more spoilers as soon we get them!
Bruce Gray
@bgray8791
