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It all started with a phone call from Dashaud Moore…

He told me of a new “Scepter Tron” deck he had been testing, and was planning on playing in his PTQ. At that moment, I became nostalgic, reminiscing over my days playing Scepter Chant. The nostalgia was followed by an epiphany: much of the metagame at the current time was “cold,” shall we say, to Scepter Chant. Doran, Affinity, Goblins, Ideal, TEPS, Red Deck Wins, Domain Zoo, Dredge, The Rock, Tings, and Cephalid Breakfast all seemed to be very troubled by the two card, easily attainable, non-mana-restrictive combo.

Had the time come? Was Scepter Chant the proper metagame choice? I sure thought so.

The next step entailed finding a good core deck which could support the combo without it being detrimental to the deck's proper functioning. Immediately, my mind raced to a deck with both Chrome Mox and Thirst for Knowledge, as most Scepter Chant decks have these elements. Would Tron be a good idea? Or a more conventional build of Scepter Chant? Or possibly a list like Kenji Tsumura’s deck from Pro Tour: Valencia, which combined both Scepter Chant and Counterbalance/Top into one deck…

I've pondered over this for quite some time, and luckily the recent victory by Paul Cheon (Grand Prix: Vancouver) led me to my answer. After reviewing the list, it became the apparent to me that the deck had an obvious weakness: Decree of Justice. Armed with Vedalken Shackles, Threads of Disloyalty, and Tarmogoyfs to deal with creatures, the deck seemed ill-equipped to handle an army of 1/1 soldiers, not to mention the fact that the deck has ZERO Engineered Explosives. Tron was the core that could allow this; therefore I sought help in polishing my list with the Magicians Shaheen Soorani, Kenji Tsumura, and Owen Turtenwald. After much discussion, debate, and testing, this is the list.

Scepter Tron Featured by Alex Kim on 2008-03-09 (Extended) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/15549.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Azorius Signet 2 Chrome Mox 1 Engineered Explosives 3 Isochron Scepter 1 Tormod's Crypt Creatures 2 Exalted Angel Instants 4 Condescend 2 Fact or Fiction 4 Orim's Chant 2 Repeal 4 Thirst For Knowledge Legendary Artifacts 2 Mindslaver	Sorceries 3 Decree of Justice 3 Wrath of God Lands 4 Hallowed Fountain 3 Skycloud Expanse 3 Tolaria West 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza's Power Plant 4 Urza's Tower Legendary Lands 1 Academy Ruins	Sideboard: 1 Engineered Explosives 3 Tormod's Crypt 4 Meddling Mage 2 Sphere of Law 2 Threads of Disloyalty 2 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Wrath of God
Download this deck in Apprentice format!		Download this deck in Magic Online Text format!

Let me clarify a card choice that may be in question- Fact or Fiction over Gifts Ungiven. My reasoning for this lies in Fact or Fiction's versatility in digging for Wrath of God and Decree of Justice when you most need them. Also, Playing a Gifts Ungiven graveyard plan can suffer from the splash maindeck hate for Dredge.

Matchup Analysis and Sideboarding

Dredge

I guess I'll start with what I enjoy playing against least… first, learn to love what you hate!

Dredge…

Let’s face it, at times it will obviously overpower you too quickly for you to react. Other times you'll be able to Scepter-lock them out of the game prior to their doing much of anything.

Transmuting Tolaria West for the Tormod's Crypt / Academy Ruins combo is always a nice trump (although time consuming), so try to buy as much time as possible early. Use your Chants aggressively to keep your opponents from casting Breakthrough (or even just killing you).

-2 Mindslaver, -2 Exalted Angel, -2 Wrath of God, -2 Fact or Fiction
+4 Meddling Mage, +3 Tormod's Crypt, +1 Engineered Explosives

After boarding, your deck should aim to achieve three things.

1. Stop the Combo
2. Do not suffer Death By Narcomoeba
3. Make a win condition! (This also includes Scepter Chant and Tormod's Crypt / Academy Ruins, but you must watch out for Pithing Needle and Chain of Vapor.)

As mentioned, Pithing Needle (the reason you keep in Repeal) and Chain of Vapor are both somewhat problematic to your Scepter Chant combo, along with your Crypt plan, so the solution may lie in naming those cards with your Meddling Mage should you already have established one of the two trumps. Dread Return is a great card to name if you have a way to deal with zombie tokens, like Engineered Explosives, but for this plan to work Golgari Grave-Troll must be out of the equation due to their mana (or due to you having ways to handle the Dredged huge fatty). Keep in mind that some lists play Sickening Dreams, so should you find yourself in a position with excess Mages and want to keep yourself from getting blown out, naming that card might be a good thing.

Doran

Although this deck seems to be losing popularity with the re-emergence of many decks thought to be obsoleted, its presence is undeniable. The matchup should be in your favor, seeing as how you possess a combo they are helpless at fighting in game 1. To make things seem even grimmer for them, you're also playing Wrath of God and ways to accelerate into it, minimizing the cards they can net off Dark Confidant, along with Repeal, Decree of Justice, and Exalted Angel, which all seem pretty stellar against the deck. You’ll often find yourself outclassing their cards with your own.

+2 Threads of Disloyalty, +1 Wrath of God
-2 Mindslaver, -1 Tormod's Crypt

I hate to state the obvious, but we all know what the Threads are for... Tarmogoyf and Dark Confidant! Mindslaver is a little too slow for this matchup, and while the thought of casting a Profane Command on their turn - with their mana and your choice of targets - may equate to the ecstasy of a wet dream, it is unlikely it’ll happen.

Goblins

Another deck that is cold to your Isochron Scepter / Orim's Chant combo… but unlike Doran they are defenseless even at manipulating your hand (unless they play Cabal Therapy, in which case, should they see Tron lands, they are unlikely to name one of the two). It is important to keep in mind the entire deck revolves around Goblin Warchief, and should you be able to remove it from the equation the matchup slows down and becomes much more comfortable. Keep Gempalm Incinerator in mind while playing your face-down Exalted Angel, as it may be proper to simply opt to cast it face up, or not at all.

Wrath of God obviously plays a key role in this matchup, along with your Scepter-Chant lock.

+1 Wrath of God, +2 Sphere of Law
-1 Tormod's Crypt, -2 Repeal

For game 2, keep in mind they may have the luxury of Ancient Grudge, so your Scepter-Chant plan may not end the game as surely as it did game 1. Mindslaver, although slow, can be absolutely devastating in this matchup. You can turn their Matrons and Prospectors into Plague Winds, which is always nice, along with having the luxury of using their removal on their own creatures.

Domain Zoo

Once again you have a plan that they are pretty cold to game 1, outside of burning you to death with Lightning Helix and Incinerate (should their list differ from the norm). Engineered Explosives is always something to keep in mind while holding a Tolaria West, as it will play the same role of Wrath of God much of the time. Try to read if your opponent is holding Gaea's Might by looking for hesitation after you declare “no blocks.” This can be crucial in casting a well-timed Repeal.

-2 Mindslaver, -1 Tormod's Crypt, -1 Fact or Fiction
+2 Threads of Disloyalty, +1 Wrath of God, +1 Engineered Explosives

Threads of Disloyalty is obviously potent in any match featuring Tarmogoyf, but it becomes more powerful here since almost all of this deck's creatures are targetable. Engineered Explosives is often better than Wrath, since it can stop aggressive openers that feature multiple one-drops, and it comes online one turn faster if your hand is lacking a Signet or a Mox. Something to consider taking precautionary measures against might be Ancient Grudge, as many of these lists have been spotted sporting the answer to your Scepter-Chant.

Rock Variants

Once again, should you play against this deck, unless they're running Putrefy or manage to play an early Pernicious Deed (and you have no Repeal), they should be rendered helpless by the Scepter-Chant lock. Another advantage you have in playing this match is the distinct difference in the power- level of your cards. It may be wiser to cycle Decree to protect your win conditions from Pernicious Deed if you're holding a Condescend rather than hard-casting it, so that you may have adequate mana available to protect. Sideboarding depends on what type of build your opponent is running.

Gifts Rock (No Goyf)
-2 Repeal, -1 Engineered Explosives, -1 Wrath of God
+4 Meddling Mage

Death Cloud Rock
-1 Engineered Explosives, -1 Tormod's Crypt, -2 Repeal
+2 Threads of Disloyalty, +2 Meddling Mage

Next Level Blue/ Previous Level Blue

AHH!

We've unfortunately run into some matchups where Scepter-Chant isn't so great. It’s a sad day in Mudville. Fortunately, Orim's Chant seems to still be reasonably good in this matchup, as it stops Previous Level Blue's Ancestral Visions. It can even bait countermagic, or provide important protection from the bane of Counterspell. If it’s ever relevant, it can also stop your opponent’s Rude Awakening from ever attacking you. The plan for this matchup lies in Decree of Justice. Remember, Previous Level Blue has no way of warding off a Tron-powered cycling of Decree, so your plan should be just that... search for Tron with Tolaria Wests and dig for Decree of Justice. Keep in mind that much of the time you can also bait countermagic with your Isochron Scepters even if you're lacking an imprint card in your hand.

-1 Tormod's Crypt, -3 Isochron Scepter, -3 Orim's Chant
+4 Meddling Mage, +1 Engineered Explosives, +2 Threads of Disloyalty

Affinity

Should your opponent assume you're playing a standard Blue/White Tron, their Pithing Needles shouldn't frighten you too much, and they should have no answer (outside of Shrapnel Blast) to the Scepter-Chant lock. Don’t be scared to cycle Decree for chump blockers, as it buys you time to find your combo pieces, Wrath, and it replaces itself. If your Scepter-Chant lock is met by a Pithing Needle game 2, try to dig for an Engineered Explosives or a Repeal.

-1 Tormod's Crypt, -2 Mindslaver, -1 Repeal (Somber Hoverguard version) or -1 Fact or Fiction (Atog / Tarmogoyf version)
+1 Wrath of God; +2 Kataki, War's Wage; +1 Engineered Explosives

Enduring Ideal / TEPS

These two matchups play in a very similar fashion. Orim's Chant is obviously quite a good “combo breaker” in both of these matchups by itself, as casting it in response to a Mind's Desire from TEPS (or Seething Song from Ideal) can be devastating. Keep in mind you can cast Repeal on Lotus Bloom at the end of their upkeep on the turn it comes into play, thus restricting their mana.

Ideal
-3 Wrath of God, -1 Engineered Explosives
+4 Meddling Mage

TEPS
-2 Repeal, -3 Wrath of God
+1 Engineered Explosives, +4 Meddling mage

Ideal has two ways to deal with Meddling Mage - Fire/Ice and Burning Wish. Take measures against these cards once you've established your first Mage. TEPS has the potential of casting Empty the Warrens… this is your incentive for boarding and leaving in Engineered Explosives. Their way of getting around Meddling Mage is limited to Burning Wish targets. Should you think your opponent is boarding in more Empty the Warrens, you may want to consider leaving in some copies of Wrath of God.

Red Deck Wins

As long as you stay out of Barbarian Ring and Incinerate range, you should be safe with a Scepter/Chant lock. Keep in mind that Orim's Chant negates Blistering Firecat, and that post-board they may be equipped with Ancient Grudge.

-1 Tormod's Crypt, -2 Wrath of God, -2 Mindslaver
+1 Engineered Explosives, +2 Threads of Disloyalty, +2 Sphere of Law

Never, and I mean never, will you be so happy to see Sphere of Law. Wrath of God is usually too slow for this matchup, as the creatures have usually done their work by the time you cast it, and they are pretty useless when it comes to fighting a Blistering Firecat. Threads of Disloyalty and Engineered Explosives parallel, and occasionally exceed, the productivity of Wrath of God, since they come down one turn sooner and do the same thing… their only two-drop creature is Tarmogoyf.

Scepter Chant backed by the power of the Tron is a powerful and thus-far unexpected strategy. It allows you to approach the game with multiple avenues of attack. If one is rendered worthless, the other should surely bear fruit.

I hope this article has opened your eyes to some new Extended possibilities. Good luck at your next PTQ, and at Grand Prix: Philadelphia!

Alex