Standard
magic.gg
cross-posted from: https://mtgzone.com/post/1018063
cross-posted from: https://mtgzone.com/post/942869 > ## The project > > This is the latest in a [series](https://mtgzone.com/post/893890) of posts exploring the potential of [Roaming Throne](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/258/roaming-throne) as a build-around card for budget Standard decks. Today we look at four more Bloomburrow creature types. > > Roaming Throne itself is an expensive rare, but we start by assuming you already have a playset of it, then fill out the remainder of each deck using only commons and uncommons. These decks are not intended to be competitive in tournaments, but they should be fine for casual play. (I've tested them all in Standard Play on Arena.) > > Here's a [Scryfall](https://scryfall.com/) search to help find likely candidates. Just add a creature type like `t:frog` or `t:rabbit`. > > > f:standard r<=u (o:when or o:"at " or keyword:backup or keyword:offspring or keyword:prowess or keyword:ward) > > # Raccoons > > https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6643520 > > 9 Forest > 7 Mountain > 4 Bristling Backwoods > 4 Escape Tunnel > 4 Brazen Collector > 4 Wandertale Mentor > 2 Coati Scavenger > 4 Brambleguard Veteran > 2 Teapot Slinger > 4 Roaming Throne > 2 Junkblade Bruiser > 4 Shock > 2 Dreadmaw's Ire > 3 Hunter's Talent > 2 Trash the Town > 3 Torch the Witness > > The best raccoon to combo with Roaming Throne has got to be Wandertale Mentor. With an ideal draw you can be casting Throne on turn 3 and putting two more counters on the Mentor every turn thereafter. > > That fits nicely with the general plan of this deck, which might be summarized as "make creatures that are big enough that you can afford to attack with them every turn." Don't overthink it, just swing away. > > Torch the Witness and Trash the Town are in here to help you fine-tune how much mana you're spending, so you can expend 4 as often as possible. Shock and Dreadmaw's Ire help you use the mana you get from Brazen Collector. Also note that Trash and Ire grant temporary triggered abilities that can be doubled by Roaming Throne. > > # Lizards > > https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6643543 > > 6 Swamp > 6 Mountain > 4 Jagged Barrens > 2 Bloodfell Caves > 4 Rockface Village > 2 Mudflat Village > 4 Agate-Blade Assassin > 4 Flamecache Gecko > 4 Steampath Charger > 4 Fireglass Mentor > 4 Thought-Stalker Warlock > 4 Gila Courser > 4 Roaming Throne > 2 Reptilian Recruiter > 2 Bitter Triumph > 2 Go for the Throat > 2 Patchwork Banner > > The thing about Lizards is that it's already a perfectly good aggro deck that doesn't need to be slowed down by adding any four-drops. To make our deck something other than a bad version of its competitive counterpart, we'll have to emphasize some aspect of Bloomburrow's lizards besides their highly efficient combat stats. Fortunately, lizards are also good at generating card advantage. If you manage to get two triggers off of Fireglass Mentor or Gila Courser more than once, it can really tilt the game in your favor. (Note that one of those says "Until end of turn" and the other says "Until the next of *your next* turn".) If you can't afford to cast all of those extra cards, maybe making a profit on Flamecache Gecko will help. > > With no non-creature red spells we can get away with four copies of Rockface Village here. > > # Otters > > https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6643539 > > 10 Island > 8 Mountain > 4 Eroded Canyon > 2 Swiftwater Cliffs > 4 Coruscation Mage > 4 Stormcatch Mentor > 4 Frolicking Familiar > 4 Roaming Throne > 2 Daring Waverider > 4 Otterball Antics > 2 Shock > 4 Lightning Strike > 4 Moment of Truth > 4 Pearl of Wisdom > > Otters are generally in agreement about what they want Roaming Throne to duplicate: their prowess triggers. > > I like prowess decks in theory, but it always seems difficult to balance having the right number of prowess creatures vs. the right number of noncreature spells. As a sorcery that makes up to two creatures with prowess, Otterball Antics does a lot to help address that problem. Frolicking Familiar also earns its spot for its ability to play both roles. > > The rest of our noncreatures have been chosen for their cheapness. All of them can be cast for one mana with a Stormcatch Mentor out, which helps to enable the one overwhelming turn that will win you the game. One of the deck's most impressive lines is to make two Coruscation Mage offspring, then cast a cheap spell and get six bonus damage. > > If you're looking to add some rares to this deck, there are a few directions you could go. [Valley Floodcaller](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/79/valley-floodcaller) or [Bria, Riptide Rogue](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/379/bria-riptide-rogue) can give the rest of your creatures double prowess. [Thundertrap Trainer](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/78/thundertrap-trainer) plays a role similar to Daring Waverider, with the alternative option to serve as an early chump-blocker. But maybe the funniest choice would be [Stormsplitter](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/154/stormsplitter). Starting with one Throne and one Stormsplitter, your first instant or sorcery spell will make two more Stormsplitters. The next will make six more, and the third will make another 18. > > # Birds > > https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6643530 > > 8 Plains > 3 Island > 4 Lonely Arroyo > 4 Tranquil Cove > 4 Lilypad Village > 1 Lupinflower Village > 2 Enduring Bondwarden > 4 Miner's Guidewing > 4 Saiba Cryptomancer > 4 Thrummingbird > 4 Preening Champion > 4 Plumecreed Mentor > 4 Roaming Throne > 3 Knightfisher > 4 Parting Gust > 3 Requisition Raid > > When I started looking at the birds available to me, the most interesting synergy seemed to be between Plumecreed Mentor and Thrummingbird. So I set out to build something focused on +1/+1 counters. > > The problem with Plumecreed Mentor is that it wants non-flying creatures upon which to bestow its benefits. So Roaming Throne wants a lot of birds, birds want a lot of non-birds, and you'd probably still like to have some removal or other utility spells. How do you find room for it all? > > As is often the case in Magic, you use cards that can play multiple roles. Preening Champion and Knightfisher make non-flying tokens -- maybe two at a time? -- that can get counters from the Mentor. Saiba Cryptomancer functions as protection while also giving out counters that Thrummingbird can proliferate. Parting Gust is removal, except when it's letting you repeat one of your ETB triggers. > > It's safe to say that this deck, with its elegant synergies, is my favorite of the bunch. I like it so much that I had trouble playtesting the others because I just wanted to keep playing this one. > > And really, I don't know if there's much I would change here if I weren't on a budget. A copy or two of [Kastral, the Windcrested](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/221/kastral-the-windcrested) in place of Knightfisher might be nice, but you don't want to give up too much of your token production. > > # Any plans for Mice and Rabbits? > > Like Lizards, these types work best as aggro decks that don't need a four-drop, but unlike Lizards, my efforts to find workable alternative versions of them have not met with success. If I do crack those nuts, I'll let you know.
cross-posted from: https://mtgzone.com/post/893890 > ## The project > > [Last year](https://mtgzone.com/post/331310) I made a series of posts exploring the potential of [Roaming Throne](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/258/roaming-throne) as a build-around card for budget Standard decks. Since then, Bloomburrow has been released, with a whole bunch of mechanically consistent creature types to build around. So here's the continuation of that series. > > Roaming Throne itself is an expensive rare, but we start by assuming you already have a playset of it, then fill out the remainder of each deck using only commons and uncommons. These decks are not intended to be competitive in tournaments, but they should be fine for casual play. (I've tested them all in Standard Play on Arena.) > > Here's a [Scryfall](https://scryfall.com/) search to help find likely candidates. Just add a creature type like `t:frog` or `t:rabbit`. > > > f:standard r<=u (o:when or o:"at " or keyword:backup or keyword:offspring or keyword:prowess or keyword:ward) > > Since rotation, we've sadly lost [Secluded Courtyard](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/275/secluded-courtyard), which used to be an auto-include in these decks. On the plus side, Bloomburrow added a cycle of uncommon lands that care about our creature types, as well as [Patchwork Banner](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/247/patchwork-banner). > > # Frogs > > https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6593033 > > 11 Forest > 9 Island > 4 Lush Oasis > 4 Sunshower Druid > 4 Pond Prophet > 4 Three Tree Scribe > 2 Stickytongue Sentinel > 4 Long River Lurker > 2 Lilysplash Mentor > 4 Roaming Throne > 4 Splash Portal > 4 Trash the Town > 4 This Town Ain't Big Enough > > One thing I like about this deck is the cross-set synergy. Bloomburrow's Frogs have obvious synergy with each other and with Roaming Throne. But while [Run Away Together](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/67/run-away-together) was reprinted in Bloomburrow as the frog-bouncing spell for draft, Outlaws of Thunder Junction's This Town Ain't Big Enough is just better in about three different ways. And Trash the Town's last mode gives its target a trigger that's great for doubling. Opponents sometimes just concede when the plan comes together. > > I've got a couple of copies of Lilysplash Mentor in here even though it doesn't have a triggered ability, just because I wanted some more reliable options for frog-flickering. To make room for them, I shaved two Stickytongue Sentinels -- it's definitely possible to set yourself too far back on tempo by misusing them. > > If you like this deck and want to start spending more money on it, [Valley Mightcaller](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/202/valley-mightcaller) is the obvious first stop. > > # Rats > > https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6593036 > > 9 Swamp > 4 Island > 3 Mudflat Village > 2 Lilypad Village > 4 Escape Tunnel > 1 Terramorphic Expanse > 1 Evolving Wilds > 4 Gnawing Vermin > 4 Nezumi Informant > 4 Shoreline Looter > 2 Tidecaller Mentor > 4 Roaming Throne > 2 Thornplate Intimidator > 3 Wick's Patrol > 4 Cut Down > 4 Bitter Triumph > 3 Patchwork Banner > 2 Self-Reflection > > Shoreline Looter + Roaming Throne turns out to be a pretty nice combo. It helps you get Threshold faster, and once you have it, you can start drawing two extra cards every turn. > > I ended up with only two copies of signpost uncommon Tidecaller Mentor, since I felt it underperformed a bit. Before you have Threshold, its text box is nearly blank, and by the time you have it, it's usually a bit late in the game for a tempo play like bouncing creatures. Still, this deck has the highest average mana cost of the four I'm presenting today, and sometimes a three-mana 3/3 is what you need to survive long enough to cast your Thornplate Intimidators and Wick's Patrols. > > I didn't even remember that Self-Reflection existed before I started building this deck. A couple of copies fit really nicely. It's great to mill with Gnawing Vermin or discard to Shoreline Looter or Bitter Triumph, and once you've done that, it's pretty handy to be able to make a copy of your most valuable creature (and its triggers). > > Fetchlands help you get to Threshold, but I'm only running half as many as I could be because I felt the deck was too clunky with more. > > When it's time to upgrade, you have a few legends to choose from: [Lord Skitter](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/97/lord-skitter-sewer-king), [Karumonix](https://scryfall.com/card/one/98/karumonix-the-rat-king), and [Vren](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/239/vren-the-relentless) all look appealing. > > # Squirrels > > https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6593040 > > 11 Forest > 5 Swamp > 4 Escape Tunnel > 2 Terramorphic Expanse > 2 Evolving Wilds > 1 Bonecache Overseer > 3 Tough Cookie > 4 Bushy Bodyguard > 4 Vinereap Mentor > 4 Curious Forager > 4 Honored Dreyleader > 4 Roaming Throne > 4 Cache Grab > 3 Savor > 3 The Witch's Vanity > 2 Welcome to Sweettooth > > Honored Dreyleader does some silly things in BLB draft, so when it came up in my search, I knew this deck was going to be good. > > We're all in on food tokens, to the point that all of our non-creature spells can make one, and some of our creatures can make two. I have seen this deck rack up double-digit numbers, but don't eat all that food before you need it, because if you can kick a Bushy Bodyguard with Roaming Throne out, you'll make three creatures and they'll each get to forage twice. > > I went with eight fetchlands instead of any duals in this deck to help the foraging plan. Don't exile your graveyard too aggressively, though, because you'll want some permanents in there to bring back with Curious Forager. > > Looking to upgrade? A copy or two of [Camellia](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/207/camellia-the-seedmiser) seems like a good start. > > ## Bats > > https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/6593031 > > 11 Swamp > 4 Plains > 4 Scoured Barrens > 4 Lupinflower Village > 1 Mudflat Village > 4 Ruin-Lurker Bat > 4 Lifecreed Duo > 4 Deep-Cavern Bat > 4 Starscape Cleric > 4 Moonrise Cleric > 4 Roaming Throne > 2 Star Charter > 2 Starseer Mentor > 3 Cut Down > 3 Bitter Triumph > 2 Patchwork Banner > > The highlight here is the interaction between Roaming Throne and Starscape Cleric. Throne duplicates both the offspring trigger and the life-draining trigger. If you can follow a turn 4 Throne with a turn 5 Starscape, you'll get two little Starscapes, and if you can follow *that* by attacking with a Moonrise Cleric, your opponent will lose 12 life even before the combat damage connects. > > This deck doesn't need white mana for anything other than creatures, so we can safely run the full four copies of Lupinflower Village. But we need black mana for our removal spells, so I'm being cautious and only including one Mudflat Village. Scoured Barrens is another easy inclusion as a dual land that contributes to our lifegain plan. > > This is probably the deck that would benefit most from lifting the budget restriction. [Essence Channeler](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/12/essence-channeler), [Zoraline](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/242/zoraline-cosmos-caller), [Darkstar Augur](https://scryfall.com/card/blb/90/darkstar-augur), and [Aclazotz](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/88/aclazotz-deepest-betrayal-temple-of-the-dead) are all high-powered rare bats that synergize with Roaming Throne.
Standard will finally rotate next week, for the first time in two years. Some of my decks with survive, with a few changes, and some won't. But when I think about it, I don't think there are any cards in the whole year's worth of disappearing sets that I'm really sad to see go, except for [the five channel lands from Neon Kamigawa](https://scryfall.com/search?q=s%3Aneo+t%3Aland+keyword%3Achannel). They're basically perfectly designed: useful without being overpowered. Very few decks want four copies of them, but most decks benefit from having one or two in the appropriate colors. With the possible exception of Slogurk legends, decks aren't built around them, and games don't hinge on whether you draw one or not. Their abilities are moderately powerful and fairly costed. They help mitigate mana flood. Their legendary status makes them self-regulating. I do my share of complaining when I think Wizards gets something wrong, so I don't want to neglect to mention what they get right. The channel lands were a great design and I'll miss not being able to put them in my Standard decks.
Which decks leaving with rotation this autumn are you sad to see go? For me there are two big ones: Rakdos Anvil and Mono-Blue Cauldron Combo. Rakdos Anvil has been able to turn into Mardu Warleader's Anvil, which can kill out of nowhere with Ojer Axonil. It's a lot of fun to play, but yes not a tier one deck at the moment. Gets wrecked by Temporary Lockdown, unfortunately; but still does alright if not great. Mono-Blue Cauldon Combo is, in my opinion, more consistent than the GU Culdron Combo that remains. It can be surprisingly aggressive as a plan B in case oppo is focused on disruption, and with new additions from MKM (Forensic Researcher) and OTJ (Harrier Strix) is more powerful and consistent than even. Does very well on ladder, but is a bit of a hassle to play on Arena, because infinite mana isn't handled well at all. That might be why it seems unexpected and steals a lot of wins. Doesn't actually get wrecked by Temporary Lockdown, because you can bounce it at end of turn and get all the combo pieces back and then just go off. But what about all you other Standard Appreciaters? What decks are you sad to see go at rotation?
www.mtggoldfish.com
I'll always have a place in my heart for Dinos no matter how jank they are
I need to be clear up front that I'm not presenting this as a strong choice for the current Standard metagame. I'm sharing it because I think it's cool and maybe has some potential, but I'm struggling to win with it. Suggestions are welcome. I stumbled across the combo between [Calamity, Galloping Inferno](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/116/calamity-galloping-inferno) and [Terror of the Peaks](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/149/terror-of-the-peaks) while brewing something for the OTJ Constructed Midweek Magic event. Then a couple of days later I saw that [PowrDragn had posted a video](https://youtu.be/p8mfL21QtIo) on a similar theme (he's actually done Gruul ramp several times in the past few weeks, but that video is the closest to what I'm posting here). So I've kept working on a Standard-legal version. The goal is to field Calamity along with another creature that will put the game away if it saddles Calamity. Ideally you'll win on the spot, but setting up to win soon afterwards is an acceptable consolation prize. I've been playing this in best-of-three ranked matches on Arena and, like I said, it's not putting up the results I would like; opponents have plenty of relevant disruption. Trying to surprise people with it in best-of-one games might be a better plan. But, eh, it's fun when it works, and I still feel like there might be a good deck under here if I can work out the right configuration. # The list > About > Name Asteroid Horse > > Deck > 5 Mountain > 4 Forest > 2 [Boseiju, Who Endures](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/266/boseiju-who-endures) > 1 [Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/276/sokenzan-crucible-of-defiance) > 2 [Commercial District](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/259/commercial-district) > 4 [Karplusan Forest](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/250/karplusan-forest) > 4 [Rockfall Vale](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/266/rockfall-vale) > 2 [Conduit Pylons](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/254/conduit-pylons) > 1 [Bucolic Ranch](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/265/bucolic-ranch) > 3 [Tamiyo's Safekeeping](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/211/tamiyos-safekeeping) > 3 [Scorching Shot](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/145/scorching-shot) > 4 [Smuggler's Surprise](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/180/smugglers-surprise) > 4 [Armored Scrapgorger](https://scryfall.com/card/one/158/armored-scrapgorger) > 4 [Bramble Familiar](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/164/bramble-familiar-fetch-quest) > 1 [Ruby, Daring Tracker](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/212/ruby-daring-tracker) > 3 [Outcaster Trailblazer](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/173/outcaster-trailblazer) > 1 [Topiary Stomper](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/261/topiary-stomper) > 4 [Railway Brawler](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/175/railway-brawler) > 4 [Terror of the Peaks](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/149/terror-of-the-peaks) > 4 [Calamity, Galloping Inferno](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/116/calamity-galloping-inferno) > > Sideboard > 3 [Pick Your Poison](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/170/pick-your-poison) > 1 [Pithing Needle](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/312/pithing-needle) > 1 [Unlicensed Hearse](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/246/unlicensed-hearse) > 3 [Brotherhood's End](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/128/brotherhoods-end) > 4 [Obstinate Baloth](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/187/obstinate-baloth) > 2 [Tyrranax Rex](https://scryfall.com/card/one/189/tyrranax-rex) > 1 [Titan of Industry](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/159/titan-of-industry) # Card choices ## Ramp creatures There are other possibilities, but these are all the mana-producing creatures I thought were worth an audition: | Creature | Pros | Cons | |-----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | [Armored Scrapgorger](https://scryfall.com/card/one/158/armored-scrapgorger) | In this metagame, maindeck graveyard hate is amazing. | Looks like it should be a decent blocker but is actually terrible against [Monstrous Rage](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/142/monstrous-rage). No combo with Brawler, Terror, or Calamity (even if the original has power, the tokens will always be 0/3 and won't "become" tapped). | | [Ruby, Daring Tracker](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/212/ruby-daring-tracker) | Haste helps her protect herself with Tamiyo's Safekeeping. Attack trigger is sometimes relevant. | Legendary; gets in her own way and can't saddle Calamity. | | [Bramble Familiar](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/164/bramble-familiar-fetch-quest) | One of the most efficient at blocking and attacking. In the late game, Fetch Quest can help you find a finisher. | Only makes green mana. | | [Hardbristle Bandit](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/168/hardbristle-bandit) | Teams up with Scrapgorger to sometimes produce more than one mana in a turn. | Unexciting stats. | | [Gwenna, Eyes of Gaea](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/185/gwenna-eyes-of-gaea) | Fills our fairly empty 3-mana slot. Shouldn't be hard to rack up a counter or two. | Mana can only be used on creatures. Also legendary. | | [Outcaster Trailblazer](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/173/outcaster-trailblazer) | Pretty easy to draw an extra card or two off it. Fills the 3-mana slot. Good combat stats. Combos well with Calamity. | Only generates mana once. | | [Topiary Stomper](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/261/topiary-stomper) | The lands stay even if the creature dies. Best combat stats, once it comes online. | Aggro opponents can easily kill you before you hit 7 lands. | I considered non-creature ramp spells, but the ones available in Standard right now don't excite me. Reprint [Rampant Growth](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/201/rampant-growth)! ## Saddlin' up This list includes some creatures that aren't in my current build, but that I think combo well with Calamity (and perhaps each other) and are definitely worth consideration. N.B.: While Calamity creates two tokens as part of the same ability, the tokens enter one after the other. The original creature sees the first token enter. Then the original and the first token both see the second token enter. | Creature saddling Calamity | Effect | Total attacking power | |----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------| | [Outcaster Trailblazer](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/173/outcaster-trailblazer) | You'll draw three cards and add two mana (that you probably can't use). | 12 | | [Topiary Stomper](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/261/topiary-stomper) | You'll get to search for two more basics. | 12 | | [Obstinate Baloth](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/187/obstinate-baloth) | You gain 8 life, pretty good against red decks. | 12 | | [Krenko's Buzzcrusher](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/136/krenkos-buzzcrusher) | Opponents who run too few basics may find themselves getting Stone Rained by the time you've blown up a couple of their utility lands. Consider upgrading your own Conduit Pylons or Karplusan Forests while you're at it. | 12 (8 flying) | | [Workshop Warchief](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/165/workshop-warchief) | You'll gain 6 life and make two Rhinos for next turn. | 14 (10 trampling) | | [Railway Brawler](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/175/railway-brawler) | Each new Brawler will get extra power from the earlier ones. | 34 (30 trampling) | | [Terror of the Peaks](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/149/terror-of-the-peaks) | You'll deal 5 damage 3 times. Check whether you can win immediately by directing that damage upstairs, and if not, whether you need to remove blockers that could kill Calamity. | 14 (10 flying) | | [Trumpeting Carnosaur](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/171/trumpeting-carnosaur) | You'll discover 5 twice. Think critically about whether to cast what you find. Which do you need more: blockers for the backswing, or the potential to rebuild after a sweeper? | 18 (14 trampling) | | [Tyrranax Rex](https://scryfall.com/card/one/189/tyrranax-rex) | Unless the opponent can muster 8 toughness to block, they'll be nearly dead from poison counters. | 18 (14 trampling) | | [Titan of Industry](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/159/titan-of-industry) | You'll get to choose four modes, perhaps with some repetition. Shielding Calamity might be valuable. | 18 (14 trampling) | | [Vaultborn Tyrant](https://scryfall.com/card/big/20/vaultborn-tyrant) | You'll gain 9 life and draw 3 cards (but you won't get any tokens). | 16 (12 trampling) | I experimented with various configurations, but I've gravitated towards playsets of Railway Brawler and Terror of the Peaks. They work well with each other, and are the most likely of the options to be able to win the game on the spot when they saddle Calamity. ## Other spells The Calamity combo is pretty disruptable: opponents can remove Calamity, of course, but they can also remove the creature saddling it in response to the token-producing trigger. I put in [Tamiyo's Safekeeping](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/211/tamiyos-safekeeping) to try to defend against that. There are several similar spells in Standard, but I like Safekeeping for a couple of reasons: it protects from some board wipe spells, and the lifegain might be relevant against aggro. I never like to be completely without creature removal, and I think [Scorching Shot](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/145/scorching-shot) is the most efficient removal in our colors at the moment. However, I often end up sideboarding it out in match-ups where it's not relevant. I could be convinced to replace it with something else. I previously experimented with [Strangle](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/125/strangle), and might go back to that. [Smuggler's Surprise](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/180/smugglers-surprise) on the opponent's end step is one of the ways we try to work around control decks. If they don't counter it, great, and if they do, you can untap and try to cast the creatures themselves. Ideally you'll cast it for eight mana, but if the best you can do is flash in one creature for six mana, it may still be worth it. In a pinch, you may find yourself casting it for three to dig for lands. Before I saw PowrDragn's video, I was running [Commune with Nature](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/166/commune-with-nature) in the Smuggler's Surprise slot. Commune made the deck more consistent -- it's cheaper and looks at more cards -- but Surprise makes it more resilient. ## Lands I'm running zero [Copperline Gorge](https://scryfall.com/card/one/249/copperline-gorge) and only two [Commercial District](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/259/commercial-district) because I think it's essential to have untapped mana on turn 5 or 6 when you're trying to land your big creatures. This deck does nothing on turn 1, so [Rockfall Vale](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/266/rockfall-vale) is only bad on turn 2, which is easy to work around as long as not *all* the lands in your opening hand are Vales. I think we may start seeing [Conduit Pylons](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/254/conduit-pylons) popping up in unexpected places. Getting a free surveil on a land that enters untapped is pretty good. I rarely have color problems in this two-color deck, so a couple of Pylons aren't too much to handle. Calamity is the only card in this deck that [Bucolic Ranch](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/265/bucolic-ranch) can put into your hand, but even if that doesn't happen, repeatable scrying can still help you break late-game stalemates. I tried [Cavern of Souls](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/269/cavern-of-souls) in an early build, but it's tough to know what to name because no two creatures in this deck share a type. # Sideboarding I used to see people putting [Obstinate Baloth](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/187/obstinate-baloth) in their sideboards and think, that's a huge swing if you can make it work, but how often will it actually happen? Well, this deck, and this metagame, are the Baloth's time to shine. Bring it in against Boros Convoke and other aggro decks, where a little lifegain and a big blocker coming down as early as turn 3 can really give them pause -- and if you live long enough to see it saddle Calamity, it'll probably put the game out of reach. But *also* bring Baloths in against Grixis Crimes or any other deck with multiple open-ended discard effects like [Hopeless Nightmare](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/95/hopeless-nightmare), [Tinybones Joins Up](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/108/tinybones-joins-up), [Liliana of the Veil](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/97/liliana-of-the-veil), or [Aclazotz](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/88/aclazotz-deepest-betrayal-temple-of-the-dead). [Pick Your Poison](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/170/pick-your-poison) is a good substitute for your removal spells in the Atraxa Domain match-up, equally worth casting against [Up the Beanstalk](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/195/up-the-beanstalk), [Spelunking](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/213/spelunking), or [Temporary Lockdown](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/36/temporary-lockdown) early, and [Atraxa](https://scryfall.com/card/one/196/atraxa-grand-unifier) or [Archangel of Wrath](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/3/archangel-of-wrath) late. I'd also bring it in against [Slogurk](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/242/slogurk-the-overslime)/[Rutstein](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/207/honest-rutstein) legends and try to snipe their [Relic of Legends](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/236/relic-of-legends) as soon as possible. [Brotherhood's End](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/128/brotherhoods-end) is of course good against aggro, and should also help you fight back against [Simulacrum Synthesizer](https://scryfall.com/card/big/6/simulacrum-synthesizer) strategies -- not all of their artifacts cost three or less, but enough of them do. None of your mana-producers survive Brotherhood's End, but as long as it gets more of the opponent's creatures than your own, that may be a fair price to pay. [Tyrranax Rex](https://scryfall.com/card/one/189/tyrranax-rex) is primarily here to force its way through counterspells, although now that control has an instant-speed wrath in [Final Showdown](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/11/final-showdown), it may not be the panacea you'd hope. The toxic dinosaur can also be worth bringing in against decks that gain a lot of life, such as Orzhov [Amalia](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/221/amalia-benavides-aguirre)/[Voice of the Blessed](https://scryfall.com/card/vow/44/voice-of-the-blessed) strategies, and Atraxa Domain. [Unlicensed Hearse](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/246/unlicensed-hearse) comes in to support your Armored Scrapgorgers in the match-ups you'd expect: Slogurk/Rutstein legends, Azorius [Djinn](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/99/haughty-djinn) & [Mentor](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/28/monastery-mentor), and anything playing [Aftermath Analyst](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/148/aftermath-analyst)s. I like having one [Pithing Needle](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/312/pithing-needle) for general interference purposes. It's cheap hate for Restless lands, planeswalkers, and combo pieces such as Aftermath Analyst, [Rona, Herald of Invasion](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/75/rona-herald-of-invasion-rona-tolarian-obliterator), [Slogurk, the Overslime](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/242/slogurk-the-overslime), etc. If you know your opponent's deck, you can feel fairly confident naming one of those things blind on turn 1, when you weren't doing anything else anyway. # Known bugs There is a [reported issue on Arena](https://feedback.wizards.com/forums/918667-mtg-arena-bugs-product-suggestions/suggestions/48271433-calamity-galloping-inferno-saddle-triggers) where Calamity will only produce one token, not two, if the opponent controls a planeswalker. (Please go vote for it!) It happens consistently and it's a pretty serious drawback. # What does "Asteroid Horse" mean? A couple of days after I started working on this deck, I was watching a livestream concert (not Magic-related) and the streamer responded to a question from a chatter named "Asteroid Horse". I thought it was a cool name and a fitting one for this deck. I don't know the chatter nor where they got the name from. There was apparently an [undefeated thoroughbred racehorse named Asteroid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_\(horse\)), so maybe that's it? # What is going on here flavor-wise? Is that a dragon riding a horse? I don't know what to tell you. Saddle doesn't make any sense to me either.
www.mtggoldfish.com
Simulacrum Synthesizer decks are hot lately
Let me say up front that I didn't come up with this idea and I don't know who did. I've seen it make the [magic.gg lists](https://magic.gg/decklists) a couple of times and I thought it looked cool. If by some chance the deck's author reads this, thank you! I've had a lot of fun playing it and I never would have thought of it myself. I'm calling it "Poison Burn" because it kind of plays like a burn deck, where you don't develop much of a board presence and just try to deal damage to your opponent as quickly as possible, except instead of actual damage, it's poison counters. # Why play Poison Burn? Bad news first: this deck has a poor match-up against Boros Convoke, which has had a pretty large metagame share recently, and only a slightly better one against Mono-Red Aggro. The good news is that this is one of the few decks I've found that is actually favored against Domain -- the feeling of seeing a turn-one [Jetmir's Garden](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/250/jetmirs-garden) and thinking "oh good, this should be easy" is quite something, let me tell you. It also does pretty well against control and combo in general. And since it's not a significant presence in the metagame, opponents will have few relevant sideboard tools and little experience to draw on. One thing I like about the play pattern is that you rarely get into situations where the game is "over before it's over". You never establish board control, so even if your opponent has nothing going on, they'll still feel like they could get back into it with a big creature. Similarly, even when you're looking down the barrel of lethal damage with only 6 or 7 poison counters racked up, there are still topdecks that could turn things around for you. While I can't really call this a budget deck, it does feature more commons and uncommons than most. Check your collection; you might be closer to having this built than you think. I've been playing this deck in ranked best-of-three matches on Arena for months now, and I think it's competitive. At least Tier 2, maybe Tier 1.5. If I were entering a Standard tournament tomorrow, this is what I'd bring. # The list Here's my current configuration. The maindeck is pretty stable and doesn't have a lot of flexibility IMO, but my sideboard has changed a lot to try to adapt to the metagame. > About > Name Poison Burn > > Deck > 5 Island > 3 Plains > 1 [Otawara, Soaring City](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/271/otawara-soaring-city) > 1 [Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/268/eiganjo-seat-of-the-empire) > 4 [Seachrome Coast](https://scryfall.com/card/one/258/seachrome-coast) > 4 [Adarkar Wastes](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/243/adarkar-wastes) > 1 [Deserted Beach](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/260/deserted-beach) > 3 [Mirrex](https://scryfall.com/card/one/254/mirrex) > 4 [Crawling Chorus](https://scryfall.com/card/one/8/crawling-chorus) > 4 [Skrelv, Defector Mite](https://scryfall.com/card/one/33/skrelv-defector-mite) > 3 [Arcane Proxy](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/75/arcane-proxy) > 4 [Prologue to Phyresis](https://scryfall.com/card/one/65/prologue-to-phyresis) > 4 [Experimental Augury](https://scryfall.com/card/one/49/experimental-augury) > 4 [Serum Snare](https://scryfall.com/card/one/68/serum-snare) > 4 [Bring the Ending](https://scryfall.com/card/one/44/bring-the-ending) > 4 [Fateful Absence](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/18/fateful-absence) > 3 [Gadwick's First Duel](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/51/gadwicks-first-duel) > 4 [Distorted Curiosity](https://scryfall.com/card/one/46/distorted-curiosity) > > Sideboard > 1 [Pithing Needle](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/257/pithing-needle) > 2 [Elspeth's Smite](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/13/elspeths-smite) > 2 [Doorkeeper Thrull](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/13/doorkeeper-thrull) > 1 [Lion Sash](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/26/lion-sash) > 2 [Unlicensed Hearse](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/246/unlicensed-hearse) > 2 [Knockout Blow](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/20/knockout-blow) > 1 [Reject Imperfection](https://scryfall.com/card/one/67/reject-imperfection) > 4 [Vanquish the Horde](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/41/vanquish-the-horde) # The game plan This deck mulligans more than most. You should be willing to go pretty deep in search of an opening hand that can cast Crawling Chorus; Skrelv, Defector Mite; or Prologue to Phyresis. Trust in your draw spells to dig you out of it -- I'm not saying it's easy, but I've been known to recover from mulls to 4. If you've already taken a couple of mulligans then you can think about keeping on the basis of Experimental Augury or Bring the Ending, but I never feel great about it. The good news is that any hand that can cast one of those three poisoners, and has at least two lands, is an easy keep pretty much regardless of whatever else is in it. In the first few turns, do whatever it takes to assign the first poison counter. If that means "wasting" a Fateful Absence or Serum Snare on an opposing [Novice Inspector](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/29/novice-inspector), so be it. Assigning at least one counter turns on all your proliferate spells, and your job gets easier from there. But if it gets to turn 4 or 5 and your opponent is still poison-free, I don't like your chances. Use a combination of counterspells, bounce, removal, and Skrelv to get in as much early attacking as possible. Sooner or later your opponent will overwhelm this plan, but ride the train for as long as you can. Your toxic 1/1s are here for a good time, not for a long time. A suicidal charge may be a fine play as long as you're reasonably confident that you'll get even one poison counter out of it. Depending on the match-up, you may eventually be able to go wide with Mirrex, but most commonly you're aiming to finish with a cavalcade of two-mana instants. Because the deck is almost entirely one- and two-mana spells, it's usually pretty easy to use all of your mana every turn. It depends on what the opponent is up to, but if it's turn 2 and I have a Chorus or Skrelv that I could cast, but I also have a Prologue or Augury, I'll often hold the creature until I've got my third land, just to maximize mana efficiency. # Card choices & interactions ## Creatures Skrelv, Defector Mite is rarely used for protection in this deck. Primarily it's here to force through damage, and often it's just a regular attacker with Toxic 1. Take the time to learn what its ability does and doesn't do. Importantly, it does grant Toxic 1, which means a Crawling Chorus or mite can hit for 2 poison counters, and your Arcane Proxies, which normally don't give poison, sometimes can. If you have a choice between playing a Chorus or Skrelv on turn 1, lead with the Chorus. If it gets [Cut Down](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/89/cut-down) or [Play-with-Fire](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/154/play-with-fire)d, you'll still have a mite ready to attack on turn 2. The exception might be if you have multiple Skrelvs and you're expecting the first one to die. If you think you'll attack with a Crawling Chorus next turn, don't hesitate to chump-block with it this turn. It could be your best chance to get any blocking value out of it. You may be surprised by how often tokens from Mirrex are relevant in this deck. Because so many of our spells can be cast at instant speed, I often find myself waiting until my opponent's end step to see whether I can make a mite or not. If they're not pressuring me, I usually do it. You can always proliferate later, but mites need time to recover from summoning sickness. And going (moderately) wide with mites is a not-infrequent finishing strategy. ## Removal & other answers Bring the Ending is so often a hard counter in this deck that I frequently forget it isn't really, and cast it at times when the opponent can pay for it. So, uh, don't make that mistake. But overall the card is really good for us. While I think that [Get Lost](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/14/get-lost) is a stronger card than Fateful Absence in the abstract, I learned from bitter experience that the calculus is different for this deck. Basically, you need to be able to trade your 1/1s in combat sometimes. It's important to be able to attack into a [Deep-Cavern Bat](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/102/deep-cavern-bat) or [Faerie Mastermind](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/58/faerie-mastermind) and have your opponent actually stand to lose something if they block. Likewise, it's important to be able to attack into something big knowing that you can *make* it a trade by following up with Gadwick's First Duel (more on that in a minute). If you're helping your opponent put +1/+1 counters on their creatures, you're giving up those opportunities. In contrast to maps, the clues you hand out with Fateful Absence are harder to spend leftover mana on, and take longer to affect the board state, which aligns with our tempo strategy. As I said, be alert to the potential of Gadwick's First Duel as a removal spell. All your creatures are tiny, but if you send one attacking into, let's say, [Sheoldred, the Apocalypse](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/107/sheoldred-the-apocalypse), you can follow up with a Duel and kill that blocker with the Cursed role. (In my experience, opponents almost always block in this situation. I don't know whether they think I'm dumb or they foresee the trade and decide it's worth it, but very rarely will you get to bluff your way into a free poison counter.) Make sure you understand the intricacies of how the curse works. Cursing [Regal Bunnicorn](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/25/regal-bunnicorn) is *good*; the curse overrides the Bunnicorn's innate ability, leaving it as a 1/1 permanently. Cursing a [Botanical Brawler](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/220/botanical-brawler) is *bad*; you're actually just helping to grow it. Always put the Cursed role on something, if you can afford to, even if you're cursing one of your own creatures. There is a small but non-zero chance that you will later find yourself holding a Serum Snare with no good targets other than the role. Serum Snare really shines in this deck. Bouncing your opponent's turn 2 or 3 creature, giving them an extra poison counter and clearing the way for your next attack, is a huge tempo swing. Sometimes I pass on countering a creature just because I want to Snare it first. If it's late in the game and there aren't any better targets, feel free to Snare something random -- [The Celestus](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/252/the-celestus), [Up the Beanstalk](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/195/up-the-beanstalk), a map token -- just to proliferate. (Don't Snare food/clue/blood tokens if they could be sacrificed in response.) ## Stupid spell tricks But one of the best things you can do with Serum Snare is combo it with Arcane Proxy. It may take a few turns to play out, but imagine a sequence like this: Proxy, recasting a Prologue > Snare the Proxy > Proxy, recasting Snare, targeting the Proxy > replay Proxy, recasting another Prologue. Note that you have to *cast* Proxy in order to flash back a spell. If you try bouncing an opposing [Ossification](https://scryfall.com/card/one/26/ossification) to free your Proxy, you will temporarily have a 4/3, but you won't get to do anything cool with it. In the course of dozens of matches I have only once cast a Proxy for full price, and that was probably a misplay. Don't entertain any ideas of trading with [Preacher of the Schism](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/113/preacher-of-the-schism) or flashing back Distorted Curiosity. That's not how the card works, at least not for us. The final chapter of Gadwick's First Duel is phenomenal in this deck, though I only run three copies of the saga because having two at once is awkward. This is very situational, but here's a rough priority order for which spells you want to double with chapter 3: Distorted Curiosity > Experimental Augury > Prologue to Phyresis > Serum Snare > Fateful Absence. If you haven't left one of those (or an Arcane Proxy) on top after scrying, but you do have one in your hand, hold on to it instead of trusting your deck to deliver. When you proliferate with a Duel in play, you have to actually think about whether you want to add a lore counter or not. (If you're playing on Arena, the Duel will be selected by default, and you might want to de-select it.) Will you have both the spells and the mana to make good use of chapter 3? Can you do that while also leaving two or four lands untapped to threaten interaction? Waiting until your next turn is sometimes the best play. While I love Gadwick's First Duel and Arcane Proxy, you'll see me sideboarding them out more often than any other cards. That's because spell-repeaters are necessarily slower and more situational than the spells they're repeating. One last spell-slinging tip: if you're close to winning, but also close to dying from Sheoldred triggers, remember that those triggers use the stack and can be responded to. If you're lucky, you may be able to chain Prologues to Phyresis and win even as the specter of death looms over you. ## Lands This deck needs to get underway quickly, so playing untapped lands in the first two turns is non-negotiable. I figure I can get away with one Deserted Beach because it's not like I'm going to keep one-landers (er, most of the time...). When it comes to dual lands that do enter untapped early on, we'll take as many as we can get. Mirrex is a great land in general, and especially here. It's hard for control decks to answer, and it often comes to the rescue when we're in topdeck mode. I don't run [The Seedcore](https://scryfall.com/card/one/259/the-seedcore) primarily because I think our need for blue mana that can be spent on instants is too pressing. But maybe trying out one copy wouldn't hurt. ## In the sideboard Vanquish the Horde is for any go-wide decks but most especially for Boros Convoke. Most people seem to sideboard [Temporary Lockdown](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/36/temporary-lockdown) against Convoke, but I prefer Vanquish because it hits all of their creatures, leaves you your Chorus tokens, and will usually cost about the same, in the match-ups where it matters. Standard has enough recursion decks at the moment that I think some amount of anti-graveyard tech is a necessity. Lion Sash and Unlicensed Hearse are the graveyard hate in my sideboard at the moment, and I wrote this guide with them in mind. But [Rest in Peace](https://scryfall.com/card/a25/32/rest-in-peace) recently got reprinted in The Big Score, and I think there's an argument that it would be worth the collateral damage to our Arcane Proxies (which we'd definitely have to board out) and Crawling Choruses. Then again, if your opponent brings in [Pick Your Poison](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/170/pick-your-poison) as counter-hate, your artifact creatures can run interference for Sash or Hearse better than Gadwick's First Duel can for Rest. If all of these cards are too rare for your budget, [Soul-Guide Lantern](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/251/soul-guide-lantern) is a decent substitute, but I think you'll find that it's just not as robust as the others. # Match-ups & sideboarding ## Atraxa Domain No changes. You are already favored and you don't have any silver bullets that answer anything in particular. They run [Cavern of Souls](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/269/cavern-of-souls) so I would not bother bringing in Reject Imperfection, and expect to use Bring the Ending against things like [Sunfall](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/40/sunfall) rather than things like Atraxa. A resolved [Atraxa](https://scryfall.com/card/one/196/atraxa-grand-unifier) or [Herd Migration](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/165/herd-migration) is probably game over within a couple of turns; you just have to win faster, but that's a realistic goal because their answers don't line up well with what we're doing. They usually can't interact sooner than turn 3, so it shouldn't be hard to start poisoning them. If a Gadwick's First Duel gets trapped under a [Temporary Lockdown](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/36/temporary-lockdown), you can Serum Snare the Lockdown on their end step and use the proliferation to proc the Duel's first two chapters right away, then untap and finish it off. (And hopefully you can get in with a Chorus or Skrelv before they replay the Lockdown.) ## Azorius, Dimir, or Orzhov Control As with Domain, you're favored and don't have to change too much, but −1 Arcane Proxy +1 Pithing Needle can be worthwhile if you had trouble with planeswalkers or Restless lands. They'll be able to outclass or sweep away your creatures eventually, but it'll be harder for them to deal with your Prologues and Auguries, which they have to answer one-for-one while still trying to develop their own board. Cast your instants on their end step if you can (always good advice, but even more so here). Bluff counterspells, being mindful of the fact that they may be waiting for a window to resolve [The Wandering Emperor](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/42/the-wandering-emperor). If the game goes long, Mirrex can be one of your most valuable assets (though they likely have [Field of Ruin](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/400/field-of-ruin) for it). Some of my earlier builds had [Skrelv's Hive](https://scryfall.com/card/one/34/skrelvs-hive) in the sideboard. If you do that, this would be the time to bring it in. ## Esper and other midrange This is a fairly even match-up, winnable if you play carefully and/or luck breaks your way. Esper is probably the toughest midrange variant: [Raffine](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/213/raffine-scheming-seer) is a monster, and their maindeck [Dennick, Pious Apprentice](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/217/dennick-pious-apprentice-dennick-pious-apparition) shuts down your Arcane Proxies (sideboard out some or all of them). Golgari is probably the easiest variant. I don't have much experience against the Grixis Crimes deck yet, but I'd guess that it fits in this category, from our perspective. Bring in Reject Imperfection, somewhat counterintuitively, if you're worried about big, hard-to-kill threats like [Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/88/aclazotz-deepest-betrayal-temple-of-the-dead). ## Rakdos or Boros Discover Even to slightly favorable; from our perspective these are midrange decks with extra combo potential. −1 Arcane Proxy +1 Pithing Needle if you saw a planeswalker. Doorkeeper Thrull would stifle [Geological Appraiser](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/150/geological-appraiser) and [Trumpeting Carnosaur](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/171/trumpeting-carnosaur); is that good enough? I might test it sometime. ## Boros Convoke −1 Fateful Absence −2 Bring the Ending −2 Gadwick's First Duel −3 Arcane Proxy \+2 Elspeth's Smite \+2 Doorkeeper Thrull \+4 Vanquish the Horde I used to bring in Knockout Blow, but I stopped because the majority of their creatures are not red. I'm sideboarding out 2 Bring the Ending because they have [Cavern of Souls](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/269/cavern-of-souls), but keeping 2 because they also have [Case of the Gateway Express](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/8/case-of-the-gateway-express) and [Warleader's Call](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/242/warleaders-call). Flash Doorkeeper Thrull in response to any creature that would generate an ETB trigger, be it [Knight-Errant of Eos](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/26/knight-errant-of-eos) or merely [Voldaren Epicure](https://scryfall.com/card/vow/182/voldaren-epicure), but expect to lose the Thrull to your own Vanquish later on. ## Mono-Red or Gruul Aggro My advice for fighting red aggro with this or any other deck is to forget about your own game plan and just try to stop theirs. If you can stabilize, you can take your time about winning. Chump-block pretty much any time it would save more than one life point. Remember that the back side of [Kumano Faces Kakkazan](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/152/kumano-faces-kakkazan-etching-of-kumano) prevents you from getting tokens out of your Choruses, but you may not have the luxury of playing around that. −2 Fateful Absence −1 Gadwick's First Duel −1 Arcane Proxy \+2 Elspeth's Smite \+2 Knockout Blow Vanquish the Horde is a maybe. The sorcery speed is a drawback; what you really want is to be able to respond to a [Monstrous Rage](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/142/monstrous-rage). It might be better against Gruul, which leans more heavily on creatures. Different builds of mono-red can be more creature-focused or more spell-focused, and it can be hard to guess which you're dealing with just from seeing one game. Even if you do board in Vanquishes, I would probably not take all four copies. Cut Duels and/or Proxies to make room. ## Temur Lands Combo This match-up is tricky but winnable. It gets a lot better if you can find one of your sideboard cards. Failing that, slow them down by bouncing/killing/countering their [Nissa](https://scryfall.com/card/mat/22/nissa-resurgent-animist)s and [Aftermath Analyst](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/148/aftermath-analyst)s (but remember that Analyst's ability can be activated at instant speed and without tapping). See if you can hold a Bring the Ending for [Worldsoul's Rage](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/244/worldsouls-rage). −1 Fateful Absence −2 Gadwick's First Duel −1 Arcane Proxy \+1 Pithing Needle \+2 Unlicensed Hearse \+1 Lion Sash If you find your Pithing Needle, name Aftermath Analyst. It doesn't stop their combo but it slows it down a lot. Equip Lion Sash to another creature if you can spare the mana, to save it from (the first) [Ill-Timed Explosion](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/207/ill-timed-explosion). Wait until their end step to activate Sash or Unlicensed Hearse, so you'll always be ready to respond if they try to recur something, and consider reserving a Serum Snare to save the Sash/Hearse from an [Abrade](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/131/abrade). Exile their cards in this order of preference: anything they're trying to bring back right now > [Memory Deluge](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/62/memory-deluge) (unless they're still a few turns away from casting it) > fetch lands > other lands > [Shigeki, Jukai Visionary](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/206/shigeki-jukai-visionary) > Worldsoul's Rage > Nissa, Resurgent Animist > Aftermath Analyst > [Virtue of Strength](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/197/virtue-of-strength-garenbrig-growth) > other creatures > other spells. Don't assume that Bring the Ending is a get-out-of-jail-free card; they probably board in [Negate](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/68/negate). ## Azorius Djinn & Mentor If you're not familiar, this deck has a low creature count, sometimes just [Haughty Djinn](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/99/haughty-djinn) and [Monastery Mentor](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/28/monastery-mentor) but sometimes with a supporting actor like [Picklock Prankster](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/64/picklock-prankster-free-the-fae) or [Fallaji Archaeologist](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/48/fallaji-archaeologist), then tries to recur those creatures with [Helping Hand](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/17/helping-hand) or [Recommission](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/22/recommission). A high density of cheap cantrips lets them go wide (with Mentor) or tall (with Djinn) to finish the game quickly. −3 Gadwick's First Duel −3 Arcane Proxy \+1 Lion Sash \+2 Unlicensed Hearse \+3 Vanquish the Horde This is a lot like Temur Lands in that it's a tricky match-up that improves significantly if you can keep their graveyard empty. Again, remain vigilant for your chance to exile something in response to a spell. Here's your priority order: anything that's being targeted right now > Monastery Mentor > [Otherworldly Gaze](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/115/otherworldly-gaze) > other instants & sorceries > Haughty Djinn > anything else. Move Haughty Djinn up a couple of notches if there are so many spells in the graveyard that you won't be able to exile them fast enough to keep a Djinn's power low. Chump-block freely, keeping in mind that they can grow their prowess creatures at instant speed. The mono-blue predecessor that usually runs some number of [Tolarian Terror](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/72/tolarian-terror) is an easier battle. Sideboard in the same graveyard hate but not the sweepers. They have more counterspells and will never cast a Djinn if they can't protect it, so be prepared to fight a counter war over it. ## Simic Artifact Aggro This deck can put you on a pretty fast clock without warning. It helps if you can hold up interaction to respond to a [Zoetic Glyph](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/86/zoetic-glyph) on the stack. Their animated tokens are pretty Snareable, just pay attention to whether they can sacrifice them in response. You may have to do a lot of chump-blocking. I don't know if there's anything to sideboard for this -- Elspeth's Smite is generically good against aggro, but the Simic deck can make X/4s a little too easily. I'd rate the match-up as maybe slightly unfavorable, but far from hopeless. ## Selesnya Enchantments I haven't seen Enchantments around in a while, and I don't miss it. Like Simic Artifacts, it can rack up a lot of power pretty quickly. And also like Artifacts, most of their cards are low-cost and make good Serum Snare targets. That's the advantage that you want to exploit if you can. Bringing in some number of Vanquish the Horde may be worth it, especially if their build looks token-heavy with things like [Teachings of the Kirin](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/212/teachings-of-the-kirin-kirin-touched-orochi). ## Orzhov Lifegain We don't care about their life total, but we do care about how big [Amalia Benavides Aguirre](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/221/amalia-benavides-aguirre) and [Voice of the Blessed](https://scryfall.com/card/vow/44/voice-of-the-blessed) can get. Fortunately they have a lot of good targets for Serum Snare. They have a lot of ETB triggers, from [Lunarch Veteran](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/27/lunarch-veteran-luminous-phantom) and [Elas *il*\-Kor](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/198/elas-il-kor-sadistic-pilgrim) and so on. Could bringing in the Doorkeeper Thrulls (in exchange for one each of Proxy and Duel, I think) be good? I don't have a lot of experience against this deck, but I'll give it a try next time. ## Bant Poison I think this match-up is unfavorable; they're trying to do the same thing we are, but they're faster at it. −4 Fateful Absence \+4 Vanquish the Horde Vanquish over Absence will help you work around their Skrelvs and [Venerated Rotpriest](https://scryfall.com/card/one/192/venerated-rotpriest)s. But you definitely have to get a little lucky to win this one. ## [Jodah](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/203/jodah-the-unifier) Legends I think you're at least slightly favored, because they take a while to set up, but an early Skrelv can stymie your removal, and an early [Thalia](https://scryfall.com/card/vow/38/thalia-guardian-of-thraben) can stymie your entire game plan. I don't think there's anything in the sideboard to bring in here, but maybe value Fateful Absence a little higher when mulliganning. ## Dinosaurs & other Fight Rigging decks Slightly favorable. Kill or bounce their early mana-producers if you can. Bring the Ending is valuable here because [Palani's Hatcher](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/237/palanis-hatcher) or [Hulking Raptor](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/191/hulking-raptor) become big problems if they resolve. If you missed your chance to counter a [Fight Rigging](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/145/fight-rigging), see if you can let them pour more effort into it before you deal with it -- e.g., let them target something to put a counter on and then bounce or kill the target. Most of their creatures are green, so Skrelv should often let you attack through them. −1 Arcane Proxy +1 Reject Imperfection is at least worth consideration. # Rotation The core of this deck is from Phyrexia: All Will Be One, which should remain in Standard until August of 2025, but we will lose a few cards this year. The biggest loss will be Fateful Absence (from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt). As discussed above, I don't think Get Lost is an acceptable substitute in this deck in particular. After looking through the two-mana white removal in Standard, I think our best replacement is probably [Soul Partition](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/26/soul-partition). When you think about it, Partition is sort of like Absence, if the card your opponent draws off the clue were guaranteed to be the same one you killed. Oh, and it can't answer the Restless lands. Those drawbacks aren't great, but Partition does offer the ability to target enchantments and artifacts, as well as the potential to save and re-use your own creatures. It's worth a try at least. And who knows what other analogues may arrive in future sets? # Playing against the deck I've only once seen an opponent playing something that might have been Poison Burn. I definitely don't think you can justify dedicating sideboard slots to it. But if you do find yourself facing it, here's some advice. It may be hard to distinguish this deck from Bant Poison in the early turns. Green-producing lands would be an obvious clue. Additionally, [Jawbone Duelist](https://scryfall.com/card/one/18/jawbone-duelist), [Skrelv's Hive](https://scryfall.com/card/one/34/skrelvs-hive), and [Annex Sentry](https://scryfall.com/card/one/2/annex-sentry) are seemingly fitting white cards that I personally would not maindeck in the Azorius version. Fight like hell to avoid getting the first poison counter. Don't Cut Down a Chorus on your own turn; do it on their turn so the Mite has to wait to attack -- but you may want to do it during their upkeep, before they've played a land or possibly drawn a counterspell. If you play [Deep-Cavern Bat](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/102/deep-cavern-bat) on turn 2, you may find that the Poison player has only one card that can actually poison you. That's probably a good choice. When it comes to building your defenses, *more creatures* is better than *big creatures*. If the Poison player makes an odd attack, suspect [Gadwick's First Duel](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/51/gadwicks-first-duel) (or [Eiganjo](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/268/eiganjo-seat-of-the-empire)). That doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't block, but factor it into your decision. When sideboarding: sweepers are fine but they can't be your whole plan, because (a) Crawling Chorus replaces itself, (b) Mirrex makes mites at instant speed, and \(c) after the first few turns, the spells do most of the work. [Negate](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/68/negate) or [Spell Pierce](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/63/spell-pierce) shouldn't lack targets. One-for-one removal is bad unless it's cheap, like [Cut Down](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/89/cut-down). In particular, [Go for the Throat](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/250/go-for-the-throat) has only Crawling Chorus as a potential target, so you should definitely take that one out. Weakening your own plan to bring in graveyard hate is inadvisable. My build has only three Arcane Proxies for recursion, and they're often the first things to get boarded out. But if you have access to incidental graveyard hate like [Lord Skitter](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/97/lord-skitter-sewer-king) or [Graveyard Trespasser](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/104/graveyard-trespasser-graveyard-glutton), that's probably worthwhile.
magic.gg
