This is it; the week that Journey into Nyx comes to Magic Online! That means it's time to get excited and find out what this new set can do! We've got a Pro Tour around the corner, two hundred new toys to play with, and Journey into Nyx just went live on the unrelenting crucible of competitive Magic ideas. This week we're going to take a look at what Journey into Nyx has to offer for your favorite formats.
Twitter was awash with players who took Tomoharu Saito's Journey into Nyx lists to successful finishes. From UWR Control to GW Eidolon of Blossoms, Saito's decks are as powerful and innovative as ever. However, one list in particular has caught the attention of Tom Ross, and has him brewing up a storm with Nyx-Fleece Ram.
[Cardlist Title= Killer Sheep - Journey into Nyx Standard | Tomoharu Saito]
This may be the deck that brings Ephara, God of the Polis to tier one status. Just take a look at how many ways there are to generate incidental tokens: Brimaz and Precinct Captain do a good job of powering this engine in the early game, and Elspeth and Heliod are more than happy to take over later on.
The best part? These tokens aren't just drawing you cards. They can actually get in for damage. Not only do you have Dictate of Heliod as a double-anthem combat trick, you can also start going off with Nyx-Fleece Ram and Archangel of Thune to start growing your army out of control.
We haven't seen a ton of Supreme Verdict decks in recent weeks, and if that trend continues, this deck may just be where you want to end up. You've got enough threats that can win the game on their own to power through Mono-Black variants, enough removal to contain other midrangey decks, and Dictate of Heliod does a pretty good job of going over the top of other aggro decks.
Modern is a format jam-packed with powerful Green strategies. From Birthing Pod and Chord of Calling to Primeval Titan and Primal Command, all of these powerful Green engines see a reasonable amount of play in Magic's newest eternal format. The thing is, in the Bazaar of Moxen Modern event, Christian Ljundquist was able to put up a Top 8 finish with a Green deck that featured zero of these mainstay cards. Are you ready to get aggressive?
Mono-Green Aggro - Journey into Nyx Modern | Christian Ljundquist
One part Hate Bears, one part Leatherback Baloth, this deck most closely resembles Pauper Stompy. You have the most efficient creatures at every mana cost, cheap pump spells to trump Tarmogoyfs and Lightning Bolts, and just enough disruption to buy you that extra turn against unfair decks.
This deck seems underpowered at first glance, and it certainly isn't as flashy as some of the marquis decks of the format, but this certainly gets the job done. Christian's list has a clear, focused game plan, plays powerful and efficient cards, and occupies an interesting space in the format as a fair creature deck that's just a little bit bigger than everything else.
There's enough resiliency here to fight through cards like Electrolyze and Pyroclasm, and your creatures are big enough to brawl with Knight of the Reliquary and Tarmogoyf. Something like UWR control might be a little too much removal for this deck to handle, but Mono-Green has a fair shot at racing and just outsizing the other key players in the metagame.
I like what this deck is trying to do. You've got powerful disruptive elements in [card]Inquisition of Kozilek" href="/p/Magic%3A+The+Gathering/Descendant%27s+Path%5B%2Fcard.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5BCardlist+Title%3DDescendants%27+Path+-+Journey+into+Nyx+Modern+%7C+Travis+Woo%5D%0D%0A%5BLands%5D%0D%0A4+Murmuring+Bosk%0D%0A1+Sunpetal+Grove%0D%0A1+Stirring+Wildwood%0D%0A2+Temple+Garden%0D%0A1+Isolated+Chapel%0D%0A1+Godless+Shrine%0D%0A2+Overgrown+Tomb%0D%0A1+Woodland+Cemetery%0D%0A4+Verdant+Catacombs%0D%0A1+Swamp%0D%0A1+Forest%0D%0A1+Misty+Rainforest%0D%0A3+Mutavault%0D%0A%5B%2FLands%5D%0D%0A%5BCreatures%5D%0D%0A4+Birds+of+Paradise%0D%0A3+Treefolk+Harbinger%0D%0A3+Eternal+Witness%0D%0A1+Doran%2C+the+Siege+Tower%0D%0A4+Leaf-Crown+Elder%0D%0A1+Gigantomancer%0D%0A1+Woodfall+Primus%0D%0A1+Chameleon+Colossus%0D%0A1+Emrakul%2C+the+Aeons+Torn%0D%0A%5B%2FCreatures%5D%0D%0A%5BSpells%5D%0D%0A4+Descendants%27+Path%0D%0A4+Abrupt+Decay%0D%0A4+Congregation+at+Dawn%0D%0A4+Inqusition+of+Kozilek%0D%0A2+Thoughtseize%0D%0A%5B%2FSpells%5D%0D%0A%5B%2FCardlist%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AI+like+what+this+deck+is+trying+to+do.+You%27ve+got+powerful+disruptive+elements+in+%5Bcard%5DInquisition+of+Kozilek">Descendant's Path[/card.
[Cardlist Title=Descendants' Path - Journey into Nyx Modern | Travis Woo]
And if that's not big enough, you've got Descendants' Path plus Congregation at Dawn to go as big as you could possibly want, particularly with Mutavault and Chameleon Colossus to guarantee that whatever creature you flip is getting cast. Yes, that's right. Descendants' Path says cast. That means that sometimes your extra creatures will get Cryptic Commanded, but it also means that your flying spaghetti monster comes with a Time Walk attached.
This is the kind of deck that I desperately want to be successful in the Modern format. It's got cool, powerful interactions, disruptive elements, and an aggressive, flexible gameplan. Just looking at this, I have no idea if it's good or not. It looks like it could be incredibly powerful if the pieces come together. It also looks like you could get plenty of hands that just don't do anything.
Regardless, I'm excited to see Travis and other players explore what this deckbuilding space has to offer and see if they can bring this strategy to the top tables of Modern competition.
So this is another take on Storm in Legacy. We've seen a couple of interest takes deviating from the stock Ad Nauseam and Burning Wish variants, but this may be one of the most interesting takes we've seen in awhile.
This deck tries to ride the line between the fast, fragile combo decks like Goblin Charbelcher and the slower, more resilient decks like Ad Nauseam and Show and Tell. All of these decks still have explosive draws; the question is how many turns you want to give your opponent to interact with you.
Realistically, I think that this deck's primary purpose could be a budget build of Ad Nauseam for someone who's just looking to get their feet wet without buying into Lion's Eye Diamond, Polluted Delta, and Underground Sea. Optimistically, I really want to see some huge Epic Experiments get cast on turn two at Legacy events near me.
This deck does so many of my favorite things in Legacy that it's hard to enumerate them all. First, Life from the Loam plus Wasteland has been a powerful tool for a very long time, and it's only getting better as Delver of Secrets become increasingly in-bred to beat Delver mirrors and combo. Deathrite Shaman would normally be an issue, but you've got Punishing Fire to keep that offline.
What about control decks? They generally don't do too well against Wastelands, but if that's not good enough you've got plenty of ways to grind them out of cards with Liliana of the Veil. Both Life from the Loam and Punishing Fire give you free cards to throw away while you continue to develop your board. Abrupt Decay even protects you from Counterbalance and the like!
As always, this archetype has a solid plan against control and aggro, but combo is tough. It's a little better when you have maindeck Karakas and plenty of ways to find it against Show and Tell, but you have to lean pretty hard on Chalice of the Void game one, and even post board your plan doesn't get that much of an upgrade.
All told, this seems like a fantastic choice if you don't expect to play against very many copies of Tendrils of Agony. You've got all the tools you could possibly need to dismantle the fair decks and plenty of ways to battle back against the decks that are too reliant on Legendary Creatures.
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