Jackie Lee
7/11/2012 10:44:00 AM
Last week, I discussed some of the changes M13 might have on RG Aggro, one of the archetypes I have the most experience with. Since I'll be doing commentary for the TCG Open 5k in Orlando this weekend, I've spent some time speculating about how M13 might change what we see there.


Adaptations

Outside of that guy who refuses to play any other deck when Mogg Flunkies is in the format, Standard will largely remain comprised of current decks with M13 tweaks. I'll look at a couple of these first.

Some have speculated that Rhox Faithmender will be a reasonable one-of in Naya Pod, which seems worth consideration, given that it plays a variety of life-gaining creatures like Huntmaster and Nearheath Pilgrim. Considering that a 1/5 is a virtually impenetrable wall to most aggro decks, the sum value of the addition seems pretty reasonable, right? I mean, the deck only needs to play one...

High Mid Low

Rhox Faithmender

$5.23

$4.28

$3.40

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I've come around to the idea of maindecking a single Rhox Faithmender, but I would still probably relegate it to the board. The rhino is definitely better than it looks, gaining 2 life per combat on its own. Most aggro decks have access to Sword of War and Peace, which can allow one creature to get by. Regardless, forcing them to hold other creatures back will definitely slow down an attack. Initially, I feared that it wouldn't do significantly more than a Huntmaster, yet do much less in situations where you don't specifically want it. Getting greedy with your one-ofs is a great way to ruin a toolbox deck, but one Faithmender seems worthy of consideration and testing. It's not necessarily a death sentence to draw against Control or Infect, since you can Pod it into a more relevant 5-drop. I would test it very thoroughly before deciding to include one in my sideboard.

High Mid Low

Void Stalker

$1.35

$0.27

$0.14

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Void Stalker is one of the most exciting cards from M13, and I don't feel like it's been properly extolled. Playing a Coral Eel in Standard isn't the worst thing you could do, and once you untap with mana, it gives you a way to deal with any targetable creature in the format. Since the creatures aren't dying, things like Wurmcoil Engine won't trigger. Best of all, though, the Void Stalker gets shuffled back into your deck.

I could easily see playing a Void Stalker in Sean Adam's RUG Pod deck, which Top 8'ed a Standard Open recently. I would probably replace a Phantasmal Image, to avoid unbalancing the curve and to diversify threats.

RUG Pod by Sean Adam Finished 5th - 8th Place at 2012 StarCity Open Standard - Seattle - 6/30 Main Deck Sideboard 1 Acidic Slime 1 AEther Adept 4 Birds of Paradise 1 Borderland Ranger 1 Daybreak Ranger 1 Deceiver Exarch 3 Huntmaster of the Fells 1 Inferno Titan 3 Llanowar Elves 2 Phantasmal Image 1 Phyrexian Metamorph 3 Strangleroot Geist 1 Thrun, the Last Troll 1 Ulvenwald Tracker 1 Wolfir Silverheart 1 Zealous Conscripts Creatures [26] 2 Garruk Relentless Planeswalkers [2] 3 Birthing Pod 2 Bonfire of the Damned 3 Green Sun's Zenith Spells [8] 4 Copperline Gorge 9 Forest 4 Hinterland Harbor 2 Island 1 Kessig Wolf Run 2 Mountain 2 Rootbound Crag Lands [24] Deck Total [60] 1 Ancient Grudge 3 Autumn's Veil 1 Consecrated Sphinx 1 Hellrider 1 Hex Parasite 1 Hound of Griselbrand 3 Nihil Spellbomb 1 Trinket Mage 3 Zealous Conscripts Sideboard [15] View a Sample Hand! Solitaire this Deck! Click for full deck stats & notes!

The Void Stalker is great here, because you can trade any of your mana dorks for your opponent's problem creatures over the course of two turns. It also serves as an Instant-speed source of removal once it's active, which is something on which Pod is generally short. Finally, you can use it on your own creatures to protect them from removal and Wrath effects. Particularly relevant to a Pod deck will be to shuffle a one-of back into your library at the end of turn, allowing you to re-fetch after untapping. This particular build of RUG Pod can best take advantage of this, with a slew of singletons that have enter-the-battlefield abilities. Because the Void Stalker also shuffles into your library, you can Pod into it many times over the course of a game.

For a more unconventional take on RUG, I'd like to offer a list my family member has been tweaking.

RUG Midrange by Mark Brezinski Main Deck Sideboard 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Huntmaster of the Fells 3 Snapcaster Mage 2 Thragtusk 4 Wolfir Avenger Creatures [17] 3 Garruk Relentless 2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage Planeswalkers [5] 1 Batterskull 3 Bonfire of the Damned 1 Dismember 4 Ponder 1 Sword of Feast and Famine 1 Sword of War and Peace 3 Vapor Snag Spells [14] 4 Copperline Gorge 2 Evolving Wilds 6 Forest 4 Hinterland Harbor 3 Island 2 Kessig Wolf Run 1 Mountain 1 Rootbound Crag 1 Sulfur Falls Lands [24] Deck Total [60] 1 Bonfire of the Damned 2 Crushing Vines 1 Mind Control 2 Naturalize 2 Ratchet Bomb 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Sword of Feast and Famine 1 Sword of War and Peace 2 Wolfir Silverheart 1 Wurmcoil Engine Sideboard [15] View a Sample Hand! Solitaire this Deck! Click for full deck stats & notes!

My husband, or “the boy who loved both Huntmaster of the Fells and Snapcaster Mage very much,” as he is now known to a subset of the Internet, has been brewing this deck and taking it to PTQ Top 8's. The list referenced in the link was a previous iteration that placed in the Top 16 of TCGplayer's 5k in Edison. It's true that it resembles a “Ponder/Snapcaster/Vapor Snag package [jammed] into a RG Aggro deck,” but that's why the above list looks so different. You see, it's really a control deck in disguise.

Okay, for those of you whose veins are popping at the inappropriate use of the word “control,” it's actually a midrange deck with control aspects. If the cards in this deck were more flexible, it could qualify as an aggro-control deck and would likely play countermagic. However, because the cards are more fixed in their roles, the deck is resigned to its maligned title, “midrange.”

After we discussed the deck's goals in more depth, Mark removed the Strangleroot Geists and increased the number of top-end cards. Apparently, Wolfir Avenger is truly the heart of the deck. It's a tricky creature that dodges removal and presents a quandary to your counterspell-wielding opponent when you Flash it in at end of turn. If she counters it now, and you get full reign of your own turn. Now, with the addition of Thragtusk, the deck doesn't need to run so many Batterskulls and Wurmcoil Engines, which are susceptible to artifact-removal splash damage.

Can I just talk about Thragtusk for a minute? Known as “Value Buffalo” to the natives, this beast does a ton of things. I had the opportunity to play him at a prerelease this weekend, and while he may not be the splashiest rare, playing him just feels so nice. He's like the guy who comes to your party with drinks for everyone, plus a cool friend you've never met before!

“Vapor Snag? Aw, no problem. I'll just tag out for a bit and go pick up some more drinks.”

Besides being an excellent home for Thragtusk, this deck serves as a testament to the value of comfort. It's one thing to pick up a deck you've been told is “the best,” but when its superiority is very debatable, you'll likely be better off playing a deck you've spent a lot of time testing. As an example, this deck runs many one-ofs after sideboarding. Many times, it will board out a single Tamiyo. As with Delver, Ponders help you find individual cards more readily than you might think. Learning a deck's subtleties is crucial to both sideboarding and mulligan decisions, which are two of the game's most valuable skills.

If you don't know a good deck well, you might not know how to optimize its pieces. On the other hand, if you're told a deck isn't good enough, you probably won't take the time to figure out its nuances. Play many games with the primary goal of learning, and don't quit until you determine a deck's true boundaries.


New Archetypes

Most of the new cards won't do much to change a Standard format that's almost completely saturated with cards from two blocks and another core set. After Magic 2012 rotates out, they'll likely have more impact. Regardless, there are a couple archetypes that may be able to escape the cruel Oppression of a “solved” format. I will attempt to release them onto the internet like beautiful doves, or more accurately, doves that are kind of ratty and misshapen due to a lack of playtesting. Maybe they are pigeons. In either case, your mom would advise you not to touch them.

WG Exalted by Jackie Lee Main Deck Sideboard 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim 3 Champion of Lambholt 4 Champion of the Parish 4 Grand Abolisher 3 Hero of Bladehold 4 Mirran Crusader 3 Sublime Archangel 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben Creatures [28] 3 Ajani, Caller of the Pride Planeswalkers [3] 2 Angelic Destiny 3 Oblivion Ring Spells [5] 4 Cavern of Souls 2 Forest 2 Gavony Township 8 Plains 4 Razorverge Thicket 4 Sunpetal Grove Lands [24] Deck Total [60] View a Sample Hand! Solitaire this Deck! Click for full deck stats & notes!

I think this list has a lot of cool interactions, and I'm curious to see how viable it is in the current meta. Champion of Lambholt isn't a card you'll want in every matchup, but if it's not unblockable by the time you play Sublime Archangel, it will be by the time it attacks. Otherwise, Hero of Bladehold is a good creature to send on its own, because it can gain the benefits of Exalted before summoning its companions.

Ajani can add his +1/+1 counter to the already double-striking Mirran Crusader for maximum value, forcing you to utter “Aww, yeah.” You can also play a Sublime Archangel or Angelic Destiny before activating Ajani's -3 ability. This, in turn, may cause your opponent to say things that will get that Magic Online account suspended. Grand Abolisher is particularly important in this deck, because it helps make your opponent feel completely helpless in these situations. Remember: Magic is all about being a huge jerk, but only via game actions! Also remember that if you didn't have Grand Abolisher in play, your opponent would be the huge jerk, Vapor Snagging your Angelic Destiny-enchanted creature as you attempt to target it with Ajani.

Mono Black Control by Jessie Butler Finished 5th - 8th Place at 2010 SCG Invitational Main Deck Sideboard 4 Gatekeeper of Malakir 2 Grave Titan 2 Skinrender 4 Vampire Hexmage Creatures [12] 1 Liliana Vess Planeswalkers [1] 1 Consume the Meek 2 Consuming Vapors 1 Duress 3 Grasp of Darkness 2 Grim Discovery 4 Inquisition of Kozilek 3 Mimic Vat 2 Mind Sludge 4 Sign in Blood Spells [22] 4 Marsh Flats 16 Swamp 4 Tectonic Edge 1 Verdant Catacombs Lands [25] Deck Total [60] 2 Consume the Meek 2 Doom Blade 2 Duress 2 Malakir Bloodwitch 2 Memoricide 1 Mind Sludge 2 Sadistic Sacrament 2 Smother Sideboard [15] View a Sample Hand! Solitaire this Deck! Click for full deck stats & notes!

This is a StarCity Invitational Top 8 list from 2010. We will have to make some substitutions for today's Standard, but we still have Duress, Sign in Blood, and the plentiful supply of death metal at a black mage's disposal.

In olden times, Monoblack Control played Mind Sludge to ruin its opponent's hand after it had already picked out the choicest cards with Duress. In a deck with Mimic Vat, I think that Triumph of Cruelty is worth considering as a current version of the popular discard spell. When paired with Duress, Smallpox, and Liliana of the Veil, having a black Honden on the board could soon have your opponent playing off the topdeck.

Gatekeeper of Malakir won the Best Creature Exiled by Mimic Vat Award of 2010, but the title was revoked by a passing judge, who explained that it doesn't work that way. Skinrender was, and still remains, a good creature to exile. Vampire Nighthawk is another decent creature to use, since its copies can trade with anything your opponent has left on the board. They also help heal back all that life you frittered away with Sign in Blood, Smallpox, and Dismember. Finally, the addition of Smallpox as the edict effect is kind of cool, since you can sacrifice a Vat token in an attempt to recreate the Gatekeeper of Malakir experience.

Because this deck runs so many self-discard effects, I thought a couple Veilborn Ghouls might actually be worth playing. If you've achieved your goal of destroying your opponent's hand and all of their creatures, you might even be able to attack with them.

The other addition from M13 is Mutilate, which rounds out the rest of the deck's removal. While it doesn't play that nicely with Lashwrithe germs, it's cheaper than Black Sun's Zenith and works well with Mimic Vat.

High Mid Low

Liliana of the Dark Realms

$11.32

$8.39

$5.75

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I wanted to include Liliana of the Dark Realms, but I ultimately felt that a 3-drop with discarding and edict effects was more valuable than a 4-drop that helps you get more swamps into play. Beyond the fourth Swamp, which you already have if you're casting Liliana of the Dark Realms, you don't really need any more. She could, however, prove to be a good sideboard option

Monoblack Midrange by Jackie Lee Main Deck Sideboard 2 Phylactery Lich 3 Phyrexian Metamorph 2 Phyrexian Obliterator 4 Porcelain Legionnaire 4 Vampire Nighthawk Creatures [15] 1 Liliana of the Veil Planeswalkers [1] 2 Dismember 3 Duress 3 Lashwrithe 2 Mortarpod 2 Nihil Spellbomb 2 Swiftfoot Boots 4 Tragic Slip 2 Tribute to Hunger Spells [20] 24 Swamp Lands [24] Deck Total [60] View a Sample Hand! Solitaire this Deck! Click for full deck stats & notes!

For those of you who really want Phylactery Lich to be playable, the only decks that ever ran it in the past were...strange. They ran Swiftfoot Boots, which can be valuable if you play Phyrexian Obliterator. I think they're good in this deck, too, to protect the fragile Porcelain Legionnaire. Duress will really be the most valuable card in protecting your creatures, though, since you can avoid running them into removal.

I would be interested to see whether a deck like this is viable in current Standard. Although the meta is closing up around the end of the format, it's opened up a little bit since times when it was believed that Restoration Angel Delver had destroyed Magic and diseases were caused by evil spirits. At one point, this was the most open Standard meta in quite a while. I just have to wonder how much of the format's current homogeneity is due to stubbornness, rather than power level.

Finally, I'll leave you with this monstrosity:

Battle of Wits by Jackie Lee Main Deck Sideboard 2 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite 4 Restoration Angel 3 Rune-Scarred Demon 4 Snapcaster Mage 4 Solemn Simulacrum 3 Vampire Nighthawk 2 Wurmcoil Engine Creatures [22] 4 Gideon Jura 2 Karn Liberated 3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad 3 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage Planeswalkers [12] 4 Amass the Components 4 Barter in Blood 4 Batterskull 4 Battle of Wits 4 Black Sun's Zenith 4 Curse of Death's Hold 4 Day of Judgment 3 Dead Weight 2 Diabolic Revelation 4 Diabolic Tutor 4 Dismember 4 Dissipate 4 Divination 4 Doom Blade 4 Forbidden Alchemy 4 Gitaxian Probe 4 Go for the Throat 3 Increasing Ambition 4 Lingering Souls 4 Mana Leak 4 Mycosynth Wellspring 4 Oblivion Ring 4 Ponder 4 Pristine Talisman 4 Ratchet Bomb 4 Rewind 4 Sever the Bloodline 4 Terminus 3 Tezzeret's Gambit 4 Think Twice 4 Timely Reinforcements 4 Tragic Slip 4 Traveler's Amulet 4 Vessel of Endless Rest 3 Victim of Night Spells [134] 4 Darkslick Shores 4 Drowned Catacomb 4 Evolving Wilds 4 Ghost Quarter 4 Glacial Fortress 30 Island 4 Isolated Chapel 16 Plains 4 Seachrome Coast 2 Shimmering Grotto 21 Swamp Lands [97] Deck Total [265] View a Sample Hand! Solitaire this Deck! Click for full deck stats & notes!

I would just like to point out that a deck very similar to this one won Texas States in 2005.

Seriously.

This one has planeswalkers instead of Propaganda effects, and its curve is higher. However, it has a bit of ramp to offset the cost. How will you know whether or not it works if you don't try it yourself? This is supposed to be a Battle of Wits, after all!

To those of you in or near Florida, I hope to see you at the TCG Orlando Open 5k, mixing things up with M13.


Love and battle,
Jackie Lee——

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