Wow, do I like Odyssey! There are so many subtly powerful cards that I just don't know what to do. Of course, then there are the horribly broken cards that make me cry. Not really... But I don't like putting half of my library in the damn graveyard.

Well, maybe a little.

So far, I've been looking at Odyssey with Limited and Standard in mind. Limited is the format I am most interested in in terms of upcoming competitive events at the moment, due largely in part to the fact that the upcoming qualifier format is Sealed Deck. Sealed deck has long been one of my favorite formats, because I feel that I am a very good Sealed player, and that the format allows you to really see what you can build with an unknown, at least until you open the packs, group of cards. Unfortunately, the majority of the people I play with prefer Drafting to Sealed, so most of my Sealed practice takes place online. Despite my affinity for Limited, Constructed will always be my favorite kind of Magic. Therefore, I have spent the time between first seeing the full Odyssey spoiler and now thinking of ways to break Braids, Cabal Minion. I came up with several different builds, including a B/R, B/G, and a mono-black.

B/R
3x Braids, Cabal Minion
2x Pyre Zombie
2x Phyrexian Scuta
4x Phyrexian Rager
4x Skizzik
4x Blazing Specter
4x Duress
4x Addle
4x Innocent Blood
2x Charcoal Diamond
2x Fire Diamond
2x Firebolt
4x Sulfurous Springs
4x Urborg Volcano
8x Swamp
7x Mountain

The idea is simple, and friggin' effective: Attempt to destroy their hand on turns 1 through 3, or lay Diamonds and set up for Braids. Lay Braids. Win. Just like that. In testing, I have only lost one game where I successfully cast Braids on the third turn off of a Diamond. If they don't counter, or have burn or bounce for her, then she dominates their board position by making them sacrifice an artifact, creature, or land. That early in the game, your opponent will almost definitely be sacrificing lands. That's what you want. The Scutas and Skizziks are in the deck for obvious reasons: Smash. Five damage is a lot, and since you almost always kick the Scuta, these two creatures are perfect at attacking and possibly dealing five damage. Pyre Zombie is a versatile solution to modern living, and it kills little creatures. G/R is a savagely fast deck, but by putting down the Zombie third turn with sacrifice mana up the next, you gain some serious virtual card advantage. What I mean is that your Zombie has the ability to block an attacking creature, and it has the potential to be"thrown" at another attacking creature, either before or after damage goes on the stack. This scenario makes your opponent rethink his attacking strategy, and I think that alone is just cause for the Zombie. Blazing Specter is pretty obvious: Permanent hand disruption with a 2/2 flyer attached.

Innocent Blood is another quality creature control spell. What I love about it is the lack of the word"Target" anywhere on it. That means when your opponent lays an early Blurred Mongoose, you can cast Innocent Blood for one Black and smile, or do whatever else it is you do when you're mocking you opponent. Firebolt is the only card that seems odd in the deck. All I can say is that it has been an amazing card in testing. Having the option to kill Birds, Elves, Familiars, and other assorted dudes for R, and later for 4R, is just great. It gives your opponent one less variable to consider when sacrificing a permanent to Braids, and giving your opponent fewer choices is key in this deck. The land is easy in a two-color deck, especially with all of the dual lands available. I have consistently drawn the right amount and color of lands in the majority of games.

Okay, on to the next build:

B/G - Indeed (Hah! Sorry, I know I've made that joke more than once, but I can't help it)
3x Braids, Cabal Minion
3x Spiritmonger
4x Phyrexian Scuta
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Llanowar Elf
2x Innocent Blood
3x Creeping Mold
2x Pernicious Deed
4x Duress
4x Addle
2x Moss Diamond
2x Charcoal Diamond
4x Llanowar Wastes
10x Forest
9x Swamp

You've probably begun to notice that there is a core group of cards that I try to fit into the deck. I feel that they are necessary for the"archetype," though it isn't really one yet. This build plays out much more aggressively, using Braids and hand disruption to keep your opponent from getting the chance to set up until it's too late. The Birds and Elves provide you with acceleration, allowing consistent third-turn Braids, fourth-turn Spiritmonger draws. Forcing your opponent to deal with a 6/6 regenerator while sacrificing valuable cards makes it hard for them to actually play their deck. They spend too much time trying to catch up - and if you play it right and the cards are there, that's impossible. I'm a big fan of this build for a few reasons: The elves and birds make great sacrificial creatures once they have gotten a Braids, and a Scuta or Spiritmonger on the table. This build also has the option to play Pernicious Deed and Creeping Mold; both are cards that I feel belong in the deck. Creeping Mold allows you to really put the pressure on your opponent by hitting (more often than not) a land, thus keeping your opponent from casting threats - or answers, for that matter. The Deed does many of the same things that the other cards in the deck do. It makes it really hard for your opponent to get out of a Braids lock by playing small creatures, or mana artifacts like the Diamonds and Star Compass. By far, this build is my favorite, with the next being a close second:

Mono-black
3x Braids, Cabal Minion
4x Phyrexian Rager
3x Phyrexian Scuta
4x Duress
4x Addle
3x Befoul
4x Innocent Blood
3x Phyrexian Arena
3x Diabolic Tutor
1x Persecute
1x Plague Spitter
1x Tsabo's Decree
3x Charcoal Diamond
23x Swamp

I've never built a deck with simpler mana. I don't exactly know where this build falls in terms of comparison towards the other two; this deck's advantage over the other two is its mana. It couldn't get any simpler than 23 basic lands. As of right now, I don't even think a non-basic land exists in Standard that would belong in this deck. The deck plays much like its cousins. It's faster than the B/R, but lacks in dominating late-game cards. I might consider adding Yawgmoth's Agenda, but preliminary testing shows that it could just be unnecessary... Though I'd certainly enjoy playing hand destruction spells for the first four or five turns, only to drop Agenda and do it again. We'll see about the Agenda. Compared to the B/G Indeed, this deck is much, much slower. Indeed looks to come out fast, and provide enough disruption so that it can win unimpeded. It's possible for Straight Black to win quickly, but it doesn't seek to. It looks to dominate board position from its first play until the end of the game. It seems to me that all three of the decks are solid choices against a field that as of right now is fairly unknown. So far, I've played against several Traumatize/Haunting Echoes decks that pack themselves up and go home when their"combo" cards are stripped from their hand. The Braids decks also ravage any sort of creature-heavy build. Between Innocent Blood, Braids, and Scutas, Skizziks, or Spiritmongers, they have a very hard time getting through for fatal amounts of damage.

Sideboards for the three decks will vary due to different metagames, of course, but there are some solid cards that should probably be considered. In the B/R: Terminate, Shock, Slay, Price of Glory. B/G: two more Pernicious Deed, two more Innocent Blood, Jade Leech, Blurred Mongoose, Slay. Mono-black: Persecute, Plague Spitter, Slay. All in all, I think these decks will serve as a model for new archetype, because Braids is that good. If you have any suggestions, or feel that there are cards I have missed that belong in any of the three decks listed above, send me an email at ewok195@yahoo.com, talk to me on Instant Messenger as ewok195, and on MIRC as joshhill.

Rock On,
Josh Hill