Hey, everyone!

I’m back again with a good result, this time from Grand Prix Toronto! As someone who has played at least fifty Grand Prix, you may find it surprising to find I only have about a dozen Day 2s. I’m not sure why I’m so bad at them, but boy am I bad at them. For this reason, I take pride in my 11–4 record, which was good for two pro points. I now have twenty-two for the season, so a good finish at the Pro Tour in Sydney will earn me gold.

I knew G/W Tokens was going to have a target on its back, but I didn’t think that would be a big deal. The deck is full of very powerful spells, so I’m not sure how to get hated out. Since this deck was largely an unknown quantity before the Pro Tour, I imagined there would be plenty of people who would jump on the bandwagon. This meant I had a great opportunity to get a leg up in the mirror match against unfamiliar opponents.

R/G Goggles was going to crush the Bant Company decks, but the matchup against G/W Tokens was close. I know Steve Rubin beat Brad Nelson 3–0 in the Top 8, but G/W needs to keep good hands to compete.

B/G Company is a sweet deck, so I expected it to be popular. Collected Company is among the strongest cards in Standard; if Bant Company is in a bad position, there has to be an alternative. Tokens has an allegedly bad matchup against B/G Company, but my team had a great record against it.

Control decks will show up here and there because Languish had a strong showing at the Pro Tour. In my experience, players overhype the control decks and expect to face it more often than they do. There are some players who will play control whenever they can, but most players want to be proactive. I was happy to face Languish with either G/W or Bant because those decks can generate more card advantage than the control decks. It’s a sad day when G/W draws more cards than blue, but here we are.

Team Ann Arbor was largely in attendance; Stu Parnes, Andrew Elenbogen, Tyler Hill, and I showed up while Max Mcvety was too cool to show up after he won the Star City Games Invitational. This is what the team came up with:

G/W Tokens? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Team Ann Arbor

• Creatures (14)
• 3 Lambholt Pacifist
• 3 Sylvan Advocate
• 4 Hangarback Walker
• 4 Archangel Avacyn

• Planeswalkers (8)
• 4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
• 4 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

• Spells (13)
• 3 Secure the Wastes
• 4 Dromoka's Command
• 1 Declaration in Stone
• 1 Stasis Snare
• 4 Oath of Nissa

• Lands (25)
• 6 Plains
• 8 Forest
• 3 Westvale Abbey
• 4 Canopy Vista
• 4 Fortified Village

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Gryff's Boon
• 1 Lambholt Pacifist
• 2 Declaration in Stone
• 2 Tragic Arrogance
• 3 Den Protector
• 2 Evolutionary Leap
• 2 Quarantine Field

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This deck has some differences when compared to Steve Rubin’s Pro Tour–winning list. The most important change is cutting Thraben Inspector for Lambholt Pacifist. Grand Prix Toronto was the first big tournament where Lambholt Pacifist in the main deck wasn’t controversial, and you will be seeing it often until it rotates. It began as a sideboard card, but I only specifically wanted it against Humans. The truth is that this is just a great card, but it is weakest against Languish decks because you have to overextend to put a 4-power creature in play. I ’boarded in the fourth copy often and would play all of them in the main for future events.

I kept the single Stasis Snare and added a Declaration in Stone to the main as well. The biggest issue I had with Steve’s deck was the lack of answers to Ormendahl, Profane Prince. If the mirror is going to be everywhere, I need to adapt. In practice, Stasis Snare was much worse than Declaration in Stone for a host of reasons, and I should have played more Declarations. It’s awkward against Ramp because World Breaker exiles it. I want to kill multiple tokens in the mirror, and Stasis Snare will only hit one threat. An opposing Tragic Arrogance kills Stasis Snare if I have an Oath of Nissa in play, so it becomes a liability in the mirror. It’s also more expensive to cast. The drawback of giving your opponent a Clue isn’t bad in white mirrors because it’s all about making big plays. Sacrificing a Clue creates a loss of tempo, so the opponent can draw a card while I cast Archangel Avacyn, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, or Secure the Wastes. The only place Stasis Snare shines is against B/G Company. I need to exile Ormendahl before it hits me a single time thanks to Zulaport Cutthroat drains.

Speaking of Secure the Wastes, I added a third copy to the main. This was a mistake. I figured making an Ormendahl in the Tokens mirror was going to break the game open, but I’m committing two turns of mana and two cards in the late game to produce a single threat. This is still a powerful play, but I didn’t need to play so many expensive cards in my deck. I don’t want the third secure in my ’board because control decks have Virulent Plague and I’m already ’boarding in expensive cards in the mirror.

The sideboard has some interesting choices that are headlined by Gryff's Boon. This card should be ’boarded in for the mirror and for B/G Collected Company. My main issue in the mirror is not being able to attack opposing Planeswalkers. Nissa and Gideon put blockers in the way, so Sylvan Advocate and Lambholt Pacifist have their work cut out for them. Gryff's Boon combos well with Lambholt Pacifist since it gives +1/+0 and can attack on turn three. This is important because Nissa goes up to 4 loyalty and Gideon either stays at 4 or is immediately emblemed.

Gryff's Boon is great against B/G Collected Company because those decks have inevitability. It’s hard to attack through their Scion tokens at a reasonable speed. When the board stalls, those decks are at an advantage; Westvale Abbey is very scary when Zulaport Cutthroat creates the 14-point life swing. The 9/7 attacks with haste, and five sacrifice drain triggers occur.

I tried out Den Protector as a way to interact with control decks. Secure the Wastes is a weak haymaker when it runs into Virulent Plague, so I wanted something different. Den Protector works well with Evolutionary Leap because you can morph it for value then sacrifice it to grab either Hangarback Walker, Avacyn, Sylvan Advocate, or another Den Protector. I’m very cost-conscious with my sideboard plans. I can morph Den Protector on turn three, and it won’t run into Ultimate Price. It seems most players’ sideboard plans involves expensive spells like Tragic Arrogance, Sigarda, Heron's Grace, Dragonlord Dromoka, and Evolutionary Leap. I want to cut costs whenever possible.

On Day 1, I had two byes, but sadly, I ended up with a 6–3 record. Here were my matchups:

Round 1 — Bye

Round 2 — Bye

Round 3 — Bant Company, 2–0

Round 4 — Mirror, 2–1

Round 5 — R/G Goggles Ramp, 0–2

I kept slow hands that didn’t pan out. This matchup was all about sticking an early Gideon, which was answered by a turn-five Dragonlord Atarka. Going forward, I would like some copies of Surrak, the Hunt Caller to improve the matchup.

Round 6 — Mardu Control, 2–0

All of the Read the Bones control decks are favorable because they trade one for one while I stick Planeswalkers that generate value each turn.

Round 7 — W/B Eldrazi, 0–2

This seemed to be a bad matchup. The biggest threat against me is Eldrazi Displacer because one of those can kill Hangarback Walker or Ormendahl. Going forward, I’m going to ’board in Evolutionary Leap in order to get value out of my Walkers before they are displaced.

Round 8 — Bant Company, 1–2

This match took some wind from my sails. I lost on turn five of extra turns because of a singleton Eldrazi Displacer. This card is a huge issue and is among the best threats you can play to fight G/W Tokens.

Round 9 — G/W Collected Company, 2–0

My opponent was playing an interesting deck that had hits such as Managorger Hydra and Avatar of the Resolute. I think there's a good shell here since threats with trample can attack Nissa well.

I went into Day 2 with a 6–3 record not expecting much.

Round 10 — Pat Cox with Mono-White Humans, 2–1

I lost Game 1 because I drew a land each turn. The match played out smoothly for me in post-’boarded games because I had so much removal. Key cards include Dromoka's Command, Avacyn, and Lambholt Pacifist.

Round 11 — Mirror Match, 2–1

Round 12 — R/G Ramp, 2–1

Nissa was very good at holding off a pair of World Breakers so I could catch up.

Round 13 — B/G Collected Company, 2–0

This was the first time I played against the deck, so I was unfamiliar with some of the cool tricks it can do. I made a gutsy attack into Collected Company mana figuring he would cast it and then block my creatures. This did not happen; instead, he cast it at end of turn, and I died to a surprise Nantuko Husk and Zulaport Cutthroat. Make sure you hold back one creature so you don’t die to a big Husk. I ’boarded in Gryff's Boon that took over a game since it was enchanted on a 7/7 Hangarback Walker. The deck’s interaction post-’board is Ultimate Price, so putting the Boon on an artifact creature has merits.

Round 14 — Mirror Match, 1–2

Round 15 — Mirror Match, 2–1

I managed to turn a bad situation (6–3 on Day 1) into a pretty solid result. I was happy with my preparation since I went 3–1 in mirror matches.

Overall, I was happy with the list, but I think there can be improvements. This is what I plan to try out at my next Standard event:

G/W Tokens ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Kyle Boggemes

• Creatures (17)
• 3 Sylvan Advocate
• 4 Lambholt Pacifist
• 4 Hangarback Walker
• 2 Surrak, the Hunt Caller
• 4 Archangel Avacyn

• Planeswalkers (8)
• 4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
• 4 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

• Spells (11)
• 4 Dromoka's Command
• 3 Declaration in Stone
• 4 Oath of Nissa

• Lands (24)
• 6 Plains
• 8 Forest
• 2 Westvale Abbey
• 4 Canopy Vista
• 4 Fortified Village

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Gryff's Boon
• 1 Declaration in Stone
• 1 Tragic Arrogance
• 2 Den Protector
• 2 Evolutionary Leap
• 2 Quarantine Field
• 1 Westvale Abbey
• 2 Secure the Wastes
• 1 Clip Wings
• 1 Hallowed Moonlight

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Surrak is the new card I’m interested in playing. He goes very well with Lambholt Pacifist; the 3/3 can attack, and the 5/4 gains haste. I also like giving Archangel Avacyn haste because I want to play it on my turn and attack with an indestructible team.

I made room for Surrak by cutting the main-decked Secure the Wastes, which reduced my mana curve. Since I had fewer expensive spells in the main, I could move the third Westvale Abbey to the sideboard. This makes sense to me because the impactful sideboard cards will increase my curve.

A Clip Wings made it in the ’board because I expect a short-term rise in Esper Dragons. I only want this spell to kill Dragonlord Ojutai; I don’t like it in the mirror because I can kill flyers with Declaration in Stone.

I’m trying out a Hallowed Moonlight to fight the rise of Four-Color Rites. I expect this to be a rough matchup since those decks can fight your aggression with Reflector Mage and Eldrazi Displacer.

Before I go, I want to share how I ’board against the big decks:

G/W Tokens

In: 2 Gryff's Boon, 2 Secure the Wastes, 1 Tragic Arrogance, 1 Westvale Abbey, 1 Declaration in Stone

Out: 4 Oath of Nissa. 2 Surrak, the Hunt Caller, 1 Sylvan Advocate

I’m ’boarding in a lot of spells so I’m more likely to draw just a land with Oath of Nissa. I can cast Gryff's Boon with my leftover mana, too. Be sure to save your Secure the Wastes for impactful turns because they’re weak to Tragic Arrogance and Declaration in Stone.

R/G Goggles Ramp

In: 2 Secure the Wastes, 1 Westvale Abbey

Out: 2 Dromoka's Command, 1 Archangel Avacyn

These decks have a hard time beating Ormendahl, which makes Secure the Wastes a great threat.

B/G Company

In: 2 Gryff's Boon, 1 Tragic Arrogance, 1 Declaration in Stone, 1 Hallowed Moonlight

Out: 2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, 1 Sylvan Advocate, 2 Oath of Nissa

Kill the opponent’s Zulaport Cutthroat and leave a blocker behind for Nantuko Husk. I want plenty of kill spells and then to close out the game in the air or with a giant creature. Watch out for Ultimate Price in Games 2 and 3.

Grixis Control

In: 2 Den Protector, 2 Evolutionary Leap, 2 Quarantine Field, 2 Secure the Wastes, 1 Westvale Abbey

Out: 3 Dromoka's Command, 2 Surrak, the Hunt Caller, 4 Lambholt Pacifist

The role you want to play is of a grindy G/W deck that needs to respect Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. It’s hard to fight a Kalitas with Dromoka's Command because the opponent has so many removal spells. Surrak loses to Ultimate Price and needs +1/+1 to survive Grasp of Darkness, so he is cut.

Mono-White Humans

In: 1 Tragic Arrogance, 1 Declaration in Stone

Out: 2 Surrak, the Hunt Caller

You’re the control deck here; try to gum up the ground and stabilize with Avacyn.

There are many more matchups to consider, but I went over decks that belong in distinct pillars of the metagame.

One tip I have when playing this deck is to remove your deck under the table because there will be a big stack of tokens in your box. This is a dead giveaway you’re playing tokens, so don’t offer free information to your opponent.

That’s all I have this week. G/W Tokens may have a target on its head, but will be here to stay.

Thanks for reading!

-Kyle