It's the quiet weeks like these that kill me.

Sure, I could fire up the Standard and / or Block Constructed metagame data. But what's the point? Future Sight is coming to an electronic terminal near you… and hell, this sh** is already legal in cardboard play.

You want some Block metagame data? Go take a look at the Grand Prix, and fill your boots with the successful decks there. Until Future Sight arrives, of course.

You want some Standard metagame data? Go take a look at my article from last week. Sure, time moves quickly online, and there will doubtless be tweaks and innovations since then… but how many times can I say "Dragonstorm and Gruul are the tier 1 decks" before it sinks in? Everyone is working on their decks for Regionals… Planar Chaos Standard is largely old-hat.

So today's article forgoes the metagame breakdown. Instead, I'm gonna share an interesting Standard decklist I ran into online… one that has a fantastic game against Dragonstorm, and a favorable matchup against Gruul.

I'll kick things off old-style with the Standard Decklist.

Eskimo Pie Featured by Craig Stevenson on 2007-05-27 (Standard) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/14194.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Orzhov Signet Creatures 4 Angel of Despair 2 Skeletal Vampire Enchantments 1 Debtors' Knell 3 Faith's Fetters 4 Phyrexian Arena Instants 3 Condemn 3 Hide / Seek	Legendary Creatures 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath Sorceries 4 Castigate 2 Damnation 3 Persecute 2 Wrath of God Basic Lands 4 Plains 4 Swamp Lands 4 Caves of Koilos 2 Ghost Quarter 4 Godless Shrine 3 Orzhov Basilica 1 Urza's Factory Legendary Lands 2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth	Sideboard: 2 Tormod's Crypt 3 Disenchant 2 Extirpate 1 Hide / Seek 3 Luminesce 2 Sudden Death 2 Wrath of God
Download this deck in Apprentice format!		Download this deck in Magic Online Text format!

First up, I am not claiming credit for this deck. I played against it in the first round of an eight-man Constructed queue. While I defeated my opponent 2-1 (Gruul is cool, as we know), and he was gracious enough to ship me his list, I neglected to take his name for full creditation. If you're out there, fella, leave a message in the forums and I'll credit the deck properly.

Black/White strategies have been popular since Ghost Dad made its first forays into the Standard scene. The colors lend themselves to both Aggro and Control strategies, and the heavy discard and creature kill available means they can flip between those two stools without losing pure focus. Decks such as the Panda Connection, popular as an anti-Dragonstorm strategy at Worlds 2006, prove that the tools are there to smash the popular decks.

In a metagame dominated by Dragonstorm and Gruul, Eskimo Pie (not my name, I assure you) has a number of tools to break down those walls. Let's look at the evidence.

Cards to batter Dragonstorm:

Hide / Seek
On the play, Seeking a Bogardan Hellkite from the deck is stupendous. Should they go off, it almost guarantees you a chance to untap and Wrath their game away. If you squeeze through a second when they tap out for their storage land shenanigans, you're golden.

Castigate
Pinpoint discard is, as we all know, the secret to bring down the metagame's Voldemort. Taking their Dragonstorm on turn 2 can slow them down enough for you to wreak sufficient havoc with your Hide / Seeks, or even your Faith's Fetters on a land to gain a little life. Hell, you can even nab their Remand to ensure your four-mana discard hits home.

Persecute
And speaking of which… Persecute, wrecking hands since 1857. Those Red spells won't be speeding up their mana from the graveyard. Unless they're Rite of Flames. Heh.

Faith's Fetters / Wrath of God / Damnation
Okay, so I'm reaching a little here. A Fetters on turn 3 (if the Seeks are hiding) may be just enough life to stall their turn 4 kill, even if you use a Shock-enducing Ravnica dual land to get there. Untap, Wrath of God, good game.

Cards to batter Gruul:

Wrath of God / Damnation
Yeah, one Wrath ain't usually enough… so how about six after boarding? I feel that the 2/2 Wrath / Damnation main looks a little funky, but then again I've not tested with the deck. Maybe it's genius. Maybe it's retarded. I'll hedge my bets and say it's renius.

Condemn
One-mana creature kill is quite the value against Gruul, simply because it can be used turn 1 on the play to neuter their "guy into Scab-Clan Mauler" plan. The Gruul early kill is well scripted, so any crimp in their plans could be enough to maximize the turn 4 Wrath, letting the Fetters and stronger late-game cards take the fire from their bellies.

Faith's Fetters
Sadly, it's been proved that Faith's Fetters is a mite slow against Red/Green in the abstract, but coupled with multiple Wraths, Condemn, and even a cheeky early Hide / Seek, and we're looking at a more attractive scenario.

Hide / Seek, Castigate, Persecute
As with the Dragonstorm matchup, it appears that these cards in this matchup could be described as weak… but going to 24 on the play by Seeking out a Giant Solifuge, or Castigating a vital cog from their sculpted turn 4/5 smash-machine may well be enough to let the true matchup-winning cards strut their funkay.

Other Cards of Distinction:

Luminesce
A White Fog for Red damage? Hmm… yeah, this seems the value versus Dragonstorm, as it can lead to the "not die, untap, Wrath" scenario that means the DS player must rethink their path to victory. It may also be a solid delaying tactic against Gruul, although it hardly impacts the board. Mid-late game versus Gruul it should be fine, as they're relying on topdecked burn to deal the final few.

There are problems, of course. Blood Moon gives this deck fits unless the Signets arrive – although the highly-anticipated Magus of the Moon poses a significantly smaller threat… and I think that Blood Moon will be given the boot in Tenth Edition anyway. From Dragonstorm, Ignorant Bliss could also prove problematic… but the life-gain into Wrath of God plan is still possible regardless.

Other Matchups:

Control
Control decks are still popular in today's metagame, as we all know. So how does Eskimo Pie face up against multiple countermagic? Well, the discard suite is an excellent start, and the card advantage provided by Phyrexian Arena has always helped in such games. But is it enough? After all, Teferi will always be a problem, and a paltry two Sudden Death in the sideboard seem ill-equipped to handle them. I suppose Persecute followed by Extirpate couldn't hurt, and Seeking out a Teferi from their deck seems sweet, especially if they tap low. I'd even be tempted to board in more Wraths, but I have The Fear when it comes to such things.

Dredge
Tormod's Crypt in the sideboard, coupled with Extirpate… and taking Akroma or Hellkite from their deck with a Seek is also a decent strategy. For once, Castigate's Removed From Game clause is a real boon. It helps against the Mystical Teachings from Control decks too… something to remember.

Big Mana Tron Decks
Hmm… I'm unsure about these decks. Thankfully, it seem that they're falling from grace at the moment, and of course they'll be gone from the National metagame (but maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here). Discard seems to be the all-purpose disruption tool here, but that still don't stop the Hellbent Demonfire off the top. Hide / Seek targets number one and two, methinks… good luck getting them to tap out so you can resolve your key spells.

…

When I faced this deck in the eight-man, my opponent was unlucky to lose 2-1. He died on turn 7 of Game 3, with three lands in play, and with two Wraths and three Fetters in hand. The first game I won from nowhere with multiple Chars, and the second was a complete blowout in his favor.

While I happily don't have to run the gauntlet at Regionals, I'll be testing and tweaking this (alongside other decks) for Nationals. Of course, Wizards will drop Wrath of God from Tenth addition and f*** me in the tin, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

…

For Next Week

Last week, I promised y'all some MTGO Casual goodness. Y'know, Vanguard, Prismatic, Emperor, Momir, that sort of guff.

Thing is… I'm not a casual player. And I had no idea where to begin.

I took a look at the various sweetmeats on offer… and I got scared.

So I'm here with a plea. What should I look at? Should I try Vanguard? Or maybe a little bit of Singleton? How about I enter a Momir Premier Event? Come make yourself heard in the forums, and I'll explore them for next week.

…

And that's it for another day! I hope my words didn't make your eyes bleed, and I suggest you go give the Eskimo Pie deck a whirl. It's pure gas.

Until next week, remember – you can't stop the signal.

Craig Stevenson
Scouseboy on MTGO
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