There comes a point in every format where people try to cast a bunch of Fogs. This typically happens when two conditions are met. First, the format is defined by midrangey decks that can interact with the board but not the stack. If players can counter key Fogs, then a Fog deck isn’t going to work. Second, control decks need to be focused on interacting with creatures, rather than with your hand or non-creature permanents. You need some key permanents to keep cards coming and ensure you have more Fogs, and if your opponents can interact with those either in your hand or on the board, your deck is going to struggle. So, has Standard reached a point where Fogs can get it done? Roy Van Den Oever seems to think so:
Turbo Fog ? Aether Revolt Standard | Roy Van Den Oever
- Instants (20)
- 4 Anticipate
- 4 Commencement of Festivities
- 4 Encircling Fissure
- 4 Glimmer of Genius
- 4 Harnessed Lightning
- Sorceries (8)
- 4 Attune with Aether
- 4 Fumigate
- Enchantments (6)
- 2 Consulate Surveillance
- 4 Fevered Visions
- Artifacts (4)
- 4 Dynavolt Tower
- Lands (22)
- 1 Mountain
- 2 Island
- 2 Plains
- 3 Forest
- 2 Spirebluff Canal
- 4 Aether Hub
- 4 Botanical Sanctum
- 4 Inspiring Vantage
- Sideboard (15)
- 1 Bruna, the Fading Light
- 2 Gisela, the Broken Blade
- 2 Dispel
- 2 Disallow
- 2 Radiant Flames
- 2 Torrential Gearhulk
- 4 Negate
This deck looks relatively similar to other Dynavolt Tower decks we’ve seen in recent weeks. The key difference is you’re playing zero copies of the creatures that help in the mid and late game. No Torrential Gearhulks, Rogue Refiners, or Whirler Virtuosos to help bridge the midgame or turn the corner and end the game.
Instead, this deck is looking to use Dynavolt Tower to set up a hard lock against creature decks. If you can resolve Consulate Surveillance with a Dynavolt Tower up, you should be able to utilize your spells in such a way you can ensure your opponent is Fogged every turn for the rest of the game. Multiple Towers means you even net plenty of energy per turn cycle and let you begin working your way up to Lightning Bolting your opponent to death. Your goal is to use Consulate Surveillance in conjunction with your sweepers and removal spells to ensure your opponent can’t assemble enough resources to kill you in one turn.
The strength of this deck is your early fogs prevent your opponent’s most aggressive starts from really mattering. You just need to Fog your way into a Fumigate or Harnessed Lightning to break up key pieces of their attacks. Sure, that’s not a great plan against Torrential Gearhulk Decks, but that’s what your Fevered Visions are for.
The key thing you have to worry about is non-combat damage. Walking Ballista is likely the biggest concern, and is a real reason to keep your life total relatively high. Sure, Consulate Surveillance can give you a way to fight Walking Ballista damage, but you don’t want to end up in a position where you have to trade two energy for each counter off of Walking Ballista, since they can always activate the Ballista again in response to your Consulate Surveillance.
The one thing that surprises me about this deck is the lack of any copies of Lumbering Falls. You have Encircling Fissure as a way to potentially start turning the corner and ending a game. Certainly, you don’t want to turn on opposing removal spells if at all possible; that’s why there are zero copies of Torrential Gearhulk, even if only as a way to rebuy Glimmer of Genius and other Fog effects. However, Lumbering Falls won’t care about opposing removal spells, particularly by the time your casting awakened spells.