Context context, it's always about context!

Emergent Ultimatum is a card that can't be evaluated at all in a vacuum. If the best mono-colored cards in the format are Vizzidrex, Trained Orgg, and Wood Elemental, then going to get them for seven mana isn't super exciting. If they're Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Time Stretch, and Griselbrand... well you get the idea. As such, the cards just weren't there yet in Standard to make for good Emergent Ultimatum piles.

Well now they are!

If you've ever seen Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Kahn, you're familiar with the "Kobayashi Maru" test that all Starfleet cadets must go through to become an officer. In essence, the test is unwinnable and will always results in the destruction of the cadet's ship. It's meant to see how a captain faces a no-win-scenario, as a test of character.

Well, be ready to test your opponent's character!

Time Stamps:

00:05:34 - Match 1

00:20:33 - Match 2

00:43:36 - Match 3

01:11:23 - Match 4

The Kobayashi Maru | MTGA Standard | Jim Davis

• Companion (1)
• 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad

• Creatures (6)
• 1 Elder Gargaroth
• 1 Massacre Wurm
• 1 Polukranos, Unchained
• 1 Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider
• 2 Valki, God of Lies

• Instants (7)
• 1 Cling to Dust
• 2 Eliminate
• 4 Heartless Act

• Sorceries (17)
• 1 Extinction Event
• 2 Alrund's Epiphany
• 3 Sea Gate Restoration
• 3 Shadows' Verdict
• 4 Cultivate
• 4 Emergent Ultimatum

• Enchantments (11)
• 1 Kiora Bests the Sea God
• 3 Elspeth's Nightmare
• 3 Shark Typhoon
• 4 Omen of the Sea

• Artifacts (3)
• 1 Esika's Chariot
• 2 Mazemind Tome

• Lands (32)
• 2 Island
• 4 Forest
• 4 Swamp
• 2 Ketria Triome
• 4 Barkchannel Pathway
• 4 Clearwater Pathway
• 4 Darkbore Pathway
• 4 Fabled Passage
• 4 Zagoth Triome

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Duress
• 2 Negate
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 3 Mystical Dispute
• 2 Chainweb Aracnir
• 1 Shark Typhoon
• 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad
• 1 Shadows' Verdict
• 2 Koma, Cosmos Serpent

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This is my version of the deck that won the SCG Tour Online Open the past weekend in the hands of Kensuke Kato and has been one of the most popular decks both that weekend and this recent weekend.

With a boatload of removal and the proven power of Yorion, Sky Nomad this may just look a normal grindy control deck, but the addition of Emergent Ultimatum gives it an almost combo feel. As we saw earlier, adding a Time Walk into your piles is extremely good, putting your opponent in the situation to make some impossible choices. You can mix your piles up for more removal or more threats, making it so you almost always have a good out when you cast it.

With great removal and an excellent amount of flexibility, this deck can be tuned for whatever metagame you may face. With counterspells and aggressive decks coming back in vogue to try and beat it, there are great tools like more removal and counterspells, as well as uncounterable threats like Shark Typhoon and Koma, Cosmos Serpent.

The deck is not only very good, but also a blast to play!