This weekend marked the first “real” weekend of major Standard tournaments with Rise of the Eldrazi, and there is no question the set did not disappoint. Every deck in the Top 8 of the StarCityGames.com Standard Open this past weekend in Atlanta took advantage of new Rise of the Eldrazi cards, with new technology left and right. I originally had a different article planned for today, but when I saw the rich and diverse Top 8 in Atlanta, bringing with it a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale world of Jund and U/W, I was compelled to audible (please don’t let the forums turn into a discussion on the term audible used in this context…).
Lewis Laskin and Ben Stark’s U/W/R Planeswalker Control was the talk of the tournament and for good reason. How could people not love this deck? First of all, everyone always loves Planeswalkers. Next, consider how much everyone loves U/W/R specifically. Every time anyone ever posts any kind of a finish with U/W/R, people are quick to jump on board, presumably because it is often right at the line of how greedy someone would dare to be with mana (and boy, are people greedy…). Finally, Laskin and Stark’s deck has no Savage Lands. That alone is going to make it a fan favorite!
Before we look at the decklist, let me go off on a small little tangent. When LSV did well with U/W/R control, did he call it “American Control,” “USA Control,” “American Planeswalkers,” or “American ______?” Think of the five or ten players you put the most stock in. How many of them have you heard call U/W/R American Anything? Okay, you might be saying, U/W/R is too long, it needs to be abbreviated when spoken… well guess what: American is longer. You want to describe the wedge, much like how Jund describes B/R/G? Raka is the name of the wedge. Raka. You want to call it Raka? Go for it, that is accurate, though obviously not popular on account of not a lot of Raka cards being printed lately. You don’t want to be that guy. You know the guy. The guy who is more interested in coming up with a clever name than winning the tournament. The purpose of Magic deck names is to describe briefly and concisely as much useful information as possible.
The world championship’s last year featured a U/W/R Control deck that those in the know referred to as Austrian Control (despite many Americans changing the name to American Control). Why was Austrian Control accurate, but American Control not? Austrians designed it and were the only ones playing it; in addition, as a country it was fairly universally adopted, at least as far as that event went. Austrian was not an attempt to rename the Raka wedge. It was simply the description of which Raka deck we were talking about. Lewis and Ben are certainly American, but they are far from the only Americans working on U/W/R Planeswalker decks, and it remains to be seen if their version is universally adopted. You want to call their list Florida Planeswalker Control? Go for it. Florida Raka? Sure. U/W/R (or R/W/U, or whatever)? Knock yourself out. All I am saying is that when someone sits down at a table at a PTQ, when they post a list in a forum, when they update their blog, or when they fill out the deck title of their decklist, when they write “American Control,” every non-amateur knows who the amateur is.
Why should you care? Well, you shouldn’t care too much, but remember, Magic is game where it is highly advantageous to be “In The Club.” Despite the one-on-one battles, networking, teamwork, communication, sharing technology, and more are all important aspects of the larger game. Every tiny action one does that breaks etiquette is just one more little thing that disconnects them from the community as a whole. Each individual action is generally not a big deal, but it is a far more effective strategy to be mindful of the culture you are a part of. How many people do you think have made the same joke when they call their totally stock Jund deck some crazy name, “to be funny?” You may not like the name Mythic, but if you want to use a different name, a descriptive one like Bant is at least passable, whereas “Hurricane of Happiness” wastes everyone’s time.
If Laskin or Stark wants to call their build “American Control” or whatever, that is their perogative, since they built it. My issue is with third parties thinking of clever names to name other people’s decks. Why is Mythic called Mythic? Its designer called it that. All I am saying is that I haven’t heard any notable pros call their U/W/R decks “American Anything,” a point worth thinking about…
Man, I can already see the hate mail…
Let’s check out the top 8 decks:
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (12)
Lands (16)
Spells (28)
- 5 Plains
- 1 Mountain
- 4 Island
- 3 Oblivion Ring
- 2 Martial Coup
- 4 Path to Exile
- 3 Divination
- 2 Day of Judgment
- 4 Spreading Seas
Sideboard
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (12)
Lands (16)
Spells (28)
- 5 Plains
- 1 Mountain
- 4 Island
- 3 Oblivion Ring
- 2 Martial Coup
- 4 Path to Exile
- 3 Divination
- 2 Day of Judgment
- 4 Spreading Seas
Sideboard
As you can see, Laskin and Stark cleaned up in Atlanta with nearly identical U/W/R Planeswalker Control decks, with only a couple minor sideboard differences. Was it a gimmick? Will it last? To begin with, let’s talk about the fundamental question that every deckbuilder that is considering U/W versus U/W/R.
Will the mana work?
Various U/W decks have been dominating Standard, quietly undermining Jund’s claim as the best deck in the format, let alone of all time. Between U/W and Mythic, can you imagine if every Chicken Little that wanted Bloodbraid Elf banned would have gotten their way..? So if U/W is so good, why add Red? Why now, since it did not succeed pre-Rise and we are not adding any Red Rise cards?
The subtle brilliance of Laskin and Stark’s build is that Wall of Omens is actually the reason to add Red! Ajani Vengeant, Lightning Bolt, and possibly Earthquake are generally the primary reasons people want to add Red to their U/W decks. Earthquake is the least important of these, since Oblivion Ring helps control Planeswalkers and Wall of Omens helps defend against an early creature rush. Lightning Bolt is a truly awesome card, to be sure, but again, Wall of Omens alleviates the need for such a card. This leaves only Ajani Vengeant, an absolute top tier card that plays very well into the U/W/R strategy, no question. Another nice feature of Wall of Omens is that it helps protect your Planeswalkers without the investment that Wall of Denial requires, making each of them better.
It must not be overlooked that Wall of Omens increases your velocity. Velocity, in this context, is how fast you are able to execute your game plan, most generally, looking at more cards, such as looking for your Red mana to cast Ajani. With no Bolts or Quakes or Double Negatives, there is no need for Red mana during the first three turns of the game. Cutting Lightning Bolt is the difference between merely just another version of U/W/R and real genius, as it allows Laskin and Stark to play only seven sources of Red without getting stranded with uncastable cards. It is not just that there are only 3 Red cards, it is also that by not needing Red until turn 4, you let each Wall of Omens and each Divination and each Spreading Seas bring you that much closer to finding one of your sources. Wall of Omens, Path to Exile, and Oblivion Ring mean that to defend yourself, all you need is White mana.
Another subtle benefit of Wall of Omens is that it gives a Planeswalker deck another two-drop besides Everflowing Chalice. Without the Chalice, previously, U/W/R Planeswalker decks were just too slow and often tried using Everflowing Chalice to speed themselves up. This put an added strain on their manabase, as this meant more colorless mana in a deck that is already stretched thin. Wall of Omens is the perfect solution. With such a quality play on turn 2, Laskin and Stark were free to take their time and play Divination or O-Ring on three, then drop Planeswalkers at their leisure starting on four.
Laskin and Stark featured another strong addition from Rise of Eldrazi: Gideon Jura. This addition will come of little to surprise to many, as Gideon has had legions of supporters since the first day he was spoiled. The big question Gideon has always faced is why use him over Baneslayer? Laskin and Stark actually sidestepped the Baneslayer debate brilliantly by running absolutely zero Baneslayers deck or sideboard. At this point, the Baneslayer sideboard is so common, every White deck is just expected to board them in. Laskin and Stark certainly went through the motions making it look as though they were boarding in Baneslayers every round, leaving so many Jund opponents with Terminates and Deathmarks BOARDED IN.
Where as many decks needed Baneslayers to regain lost edge, from Jund players adjusting their decks after sideboard, this new breed of U/W/R is so solid against Jund they can actually hold their edge after boarding without exposing themselves to creature kill. In fact, Laskin and Stark go the complete opposite direction, instead boarding in Wall of Denials against Jund and Mono-Red so as to ensure that they are able to protect their Walkers from hasty Bloodbraids, even if the opponent is Terminating Wall of Omens after Wall of Omens. Just because the Walls of Omens will die sometimes, don’t board them out here, as they draw a card, it costs mana to kill them, and sometimes they live. Wall of Denial is also a brilliant solution to Vengevine, a new potentially potent Rise of the Eldrazi card that tends to give U/W and U/W/R fits.
The basic strategy is fairly intuitive, although there are a deceptive number of decisions required for a tap-out deck, on account of so many Planeswalkers and determining the right order to play your spells. Wall of Omens and Spreading Seas give you reasonable ways to slow people down that don’t strand you with weak cards in the late game. Once you get to the midgame, a collection of four of the most powerful Planeswalkers of all time arms you with card advantage, threats, and plenty of ways to combat enemy creatures with value. This build is very well tuned and I wouldn’t change a single card until I played it more. This deck is definitely a deck to beat, and should be in every Standard gauntlet for the weeks to come. While Wall of Omens and Gideon Jura are hardly the most surprising new cards, it is all of the card choices that changed as a result of these new cards that Laskin and Stark made that make this deck so smart and my favorite of the tournament. Nice work guys!
Creatures (17)
Lands (21)
Spells (22)
Ahh, Jund. While there is no question that most people are going to be happy to see Jund not win, we cannot be complacent as it is still very much a deadly threat. Despite months of Jund’s dominance causing the metagame to be totally set-up to beat Jund, it continues to be one of the better performing archetypes, and I predict it will continue to be, as least for the time being. Alex’s build is fairly standard, making it a good update to your gauntlet. Where is the Rise of the Eldrazi? Emrakul, the Aeons Torn in the sideboard! You might be laughing and saying that it doesn’t count, as it is obviously a joke card, but don’t be so hasty to pass judgement.
Obviously Alex isn’t planning on casting Emrakul often, but the card is there for a reason. In many circles, Turbo Fog decks are circulating and a single Emrakul, the Aeon’s Torn radically alters the face of those match-ups. Even if Alex gets locked out from Fog after Fog, Emrakul serves as an uncounterable Feldon’s Cane that shuffles itself back in. All he has to do is discard it over and over and with all of the Howling Mine type effects, he no longer has to worry about running out of cards (for the most part), leaving him as many Maelstrom Pulses and Lightning Bolts as it takes. The miser’s Emrakul is hardly going to be universally adopted, but it will be used in a variety of places and contexts (though Ulamog and Kozilek can both serve this purpose as well, depending on what you are trying to accomplish).
Creatures (28)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Rhox War Monk
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 4 Sovereigns of Lost Alara
- 4 Baneslayer Angel
- 4 Lotus Cobra
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (16)
Spells (11)
Creatures (27)
- 2 Birds of Paradise
- 2 Rafiq of the Many
- 4 Rhox War Monk
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 1 Thornling
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 2 Sovereigns of Lost Alara
- 1 Dauntless Escort
- 3 Baneslayer Angel
- 4 Lotus Cobra
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (15)
Spells (17)
The Eldrazi continue to have an impact, as we look at Aintrazi and Orr’s updates to Zvi’s Mythic strategy. Eldrazi Conscription is a card that caught many eyes upon its unveiling, as it is the biggest creature enchantment ever, and whenever you have the most extreme version of something ever, in Magic, savvy deckbuilders will ask themselves if it can be abused.
Aintrazi’s list appears to be almost identical to Patrick Dickmann’s PTQ winning deck in Germany a little over a week ago, whereas Orr goes in a slightly different direction, most likely developed independent of Dickmann’s deck. It just goes to show it is very possible, even probable, that multiple deckbuilders will pioneer the same concepts at the same time. I rather like his Eel Umbra, as it is a very clever way to present an incredible tempo advantage and is an awesome way to have more gas for the Sovereigns without more difficult to cast cards.
This new twist on Bant is the real deal and will probably be nearly universally adopted by Mythic pilots, though the execution will vary. In addition to putting three in the Top 8 in Germany and four in the Top 16 in Atlanta, The Counselor Matt Sperling won a west coast PTQ this past weekend, helping solidify this as a deck to beat. His main twist was the use of maindeck Dauntless Escorts, helping protect his investment when he tries to “Go For It.”
In case anyone missed the memo, Sovereigns of Lost Alara are essentially 11/11 haste creatures in this deck (that cantrip!), since they add +11/+11 to your attack the first turn they come down (permanently!) plus they are still on the battlefield, meaning even if the opponent deals with the immediate threat, the Sovereigns are still there. While it is true that you do not get the Annihilator trigger the first turn (since the creature was already attacking), you do get +10/+10, and that is pretty good.
Creatures (2)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (12)
Spells (44)
- 5 Forest
- 7 Island
- 4 Polymorph
- 1 Garruk Wildspeaker
- 1 Jace Beleren
- 4 Ponder
- 2 Into the Roil
- 2 Spell Pierce
- 4 Spreading Seas
- 4 Explore
- 2 Deprive
- 4 Growth Spasm
- 4 See Beyond
Sideboard
As we continue through the Top 8, we find one of the most hyped strategies from recent weeks, U/G Polymorph. While it is unclear if U/G is actually the right color combination (with White being the primary other option), the first point seems to go to U/G. Tanner’s use of Growth Spasm, See Beyond, and Deprive is no surprise. Emrakul versus Iona is a hot debate, with many suggesting that Iona is just not a strong enough board presence against some decks. In fact, some theorists suggest that Emrakul is actually better than Iona in every match-up besides Mono-R and U/W/x. Here, Tanner has Iona in the board for those match-ups, but also features Pelakka Wurm as an added option that is both castable and a nice Polymorph hit.
The maindeck is fairly standard, with the only other notable aspects being the unusual numbers of Jaces and maindeck Spell Pierces. Some will surely question the lack of Awakening Zones, but personally, I like Awakening Zone in a Summoning Trap deck a lot more than a Polymorph deck, as the main power of the card is as a “storage land,” and without a lot of expensive cards to cast, what is the point? The sideboard has a bit more filth, with Telemin Performance to gain edge in the mirror and Domestication (the best Control Magic since Sower of Temptation).
The jury is still out on whether Polymorph has what it takes to be a true tier 1 strategy, but at the very least, it appears to be a solid contender, one that should probably make your five- or six-deck gauntlet, though not a three-deck gauntlet. While this strategy was a fine fringe deck before Rise, it has gained so many new toys that it has to be taken very seriously now, as it is just going to get so many free wins from the quick turn 3 or 4 Polymorph. You may be imagining a world where your opponent always has the Doomb Blade for your Saproling. You don’t want to be that guy. Often, they just don’t have it, and it is SO good when you get there and really not that bad when you don’t. Besides, you can play a game besides just Polymorphing into untapped mana. You can set it up with protection!
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (11)
Spells (34)
- 6 Plains
- 5 Island
- 2 Oblivion Ring
- 3 Mind Spring
- 4 Martial Coup
- 4 Path to Exile
- 3 Fieldmist Borderpost
- 1 Divination
- 3 Day of Judgment
- 3 Everflowing Chalice
Sideboard
If Jund gets a representative in the Top 8, I suppose it is only fair that U/W does too. Chris uses a fairly standard U/W Tap-Out strategy, updating with Rise by replacing his Spreading Seas with Wall of Omens. Whether this is the right move remains to be seen, but I think it is at least reasonable. There is not a lot of crazy technology in this list, but while Jund still has what it takes to compete, so does U/W and it should be in your gauntlet. If you only have three decks in your gauntlet, you only need one U/W or U/W/R deck. However, if you have five or six, you should consider both U/W and U/W/R. The primary difference isn’t really about the Red or not, it is about whether you are Planeswalkers or X-Spells and Baneslayers. Strategically, these are very different, and you should at least test against whichever is more difficult for you, if not both. One of the best parts of this past weekend’s StarCityGames.com Atlanta Open is that it does a beautiful job of laying out an ideal post-Rise gauntlet.
Creatures (16)
Lands (12)
Spells (32)
- 4 Lightning Bolt
- 12 Mountain
- 4 Burst Lightning
- 4 Searing Blaze
- 4 Devastating Summons
- 2 Forked Bolt
- 2 Staggershock
Sideboard
A man after my own heart! Yancey helps demonstrate the awesome power of the Devastating Summons plus Goblin Bushwhacker combo, piloting this new breed of Mono-Red designed by Michael Jacob and I to its first Top 8 finish. For lengthy discussion on this list, check out last week’s article here. This deck is an absolute must for every gauntlet. It is certainly beatable, but it is a monster that attacks from a different angle than the other top decks.
Rise of the Eldrazi is here, and it appears to be making waves across the format. New decks made possible, fringe decks elevating their tier, and existing decks gaining new weapons, it appears that everyone has something new, with Jund getting the least of all. Could it be any better? While this week’s metagame is pretty, shiny, and new, we must not be content to sit back and assume the format is as stable as it was a month ago. There is a new set out, a set full of game changers, many of which have not yet found the right home. It is an exciting time to be a deck-builder, and I for one am loving it.
Before I go, I would like to take this time to answer a few question from readers:
Q: Is U/W Control really this good? -C.P.
A: It was. Times change though and while it is still good, it is not the only big kid on the playground. Laskin, Stark, and Simpson have offered us some nice suggestions on where to start making room and which removal to use.
Q: Can Jund find a way to beat U/W Control? – Mr. Phillips
A: No, next question. Just kidding! Seriously, Jund’s big hope is probably that the format opens up all sorts of new decks and hopefully these new decks lose to Jund, because if the format is U/W/x, Mono-Red, Eldrazi Mythic, and Jund, it is kind of a rough time to be a Jund player.
Q: Is Polymorph for real? – Ced
A: It appear so, though it remains to be seen if it can dominate or if it will simply be another role-player in the shadows. My prediction: Role-Player.
Q: Can Mono-Red make a comeback? – Anon from Purdue
A: Yes. Kor Firewalker is hard, but as you can see, it is not the most popular card in the format. U/W and U/W/R are both potentially tough, especially if Wall of Denial gains greater adoption. Kiln Fiend over Kargan Dragonlord? Really? Kiln Fiend is for people who playtest against goldfish. Dragonlord is for people who actually play real games in the streets. Yes, he is not as good at setting up a turn 4 kill, but he is a LOT better at combating an opponent that fights back. Time will tell… Kargan Dragonlord is as real as the streets.
Q: How good is Open the Vaults? – An Insider with Information
A: It’s not bad… it is just too well known for how much power it has. It makes a nice fringe deck, preying on the unprepared, but when people are ready for it, it loses a bit of its oomph, and it is a victim of its own popularity.
TL;DR-
New Gauntlet:
1) Jund
2) U/W/R
3) Eldrazi Mythic
4) Mono-R
5) U/W Tap-Out
6) Polymorph
Why is U/W Tap-Out so low? You have probably already tested against it and if you only play against one U/W/x deck, you probably want to get a few games in against the new kid on the block, though I still recommend testing against all six of these decks. See ya next week!
Patrick Chapin
“The Innovator”