Locations
Hey there! This week, I’ll take my first look at what Dragon’s Maze is bringing to the table. Instead of just looking at a single format, I will be looking at the top ten cards from Dragon’s Maze for tournament play in general. I will present the list according to some sort of arbitrary personal ranking based on overall importance.
10. Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
Standard.
Why is it good?
This is a classic example of a card that is very powerful but outshined by its competition. Both Hellrider and Falkenrath Aristocrat are better choices at the moment. Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch is a card that’s worth remembering once October rolls around and we can’t play Hellrider or Falkenrath Aristocrat in our aggressive decks in Standard anymore. Exava even has some nice synergy with other Rakdos cards, as it allows your other unleash creatures to attack straight away.
9. Turn // Burn
Standard.
Why is it good?
Next is the only card on this list that is not a rare or a mythic. Turn // Burn is not the most impressive cards if you just look at the mana cost, as 5 mana should buy you quite a lot. However, the reason the card is on this list is that it solves some very specific problems in Standard. The R/W/U Flash deck has been a solid choice for months, but there are a lot of creatures that cause the deck headaches. Obzedat, Ghost Council, Thragtusk, and Angel of Serenity can all be tough to beat, but Turn // Burn gives you the ability to get rid of any creature as long as you have 5 mana to spare. Sometimes, even 3 mana is enough if you can get the creature you want to kill involved in combat—or if you play Izzet Staticaster.
8. Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Standard.
Why is it good?
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed really puts the hurt on when played against control decks. Ruric also conveniently stops any opposing Restoration Angels or other flyers and then attacks for large chunks. Especially against decks like R/W/U Flash and Esper, this Ogre is very impressive, as the opponent is going to take a minimum of 6 to get rid of it. I would imagine Clone and Evil Twin become even more popular in the future as a way to get rid of this legend. The fact that Cavern of Souls exists in the Standard format also helps this 6-mana card enter play.
7. Sire of Insanity
Standard.
Why is it good?
Speaking of Cavern of Souls, Sire of Insanity absolutely wrecks any control strategies if the control player doesn’t instantly have an answer to it that is not a counterspell. Many other writers have talked about “big Jund,” with eight or more mana accelerators to bring Sire of Insanity into play as fast as possible. This card is not very impressive against aggro, but neither is Rakdos's Return. Even though the 6/4 body is not the best against current aggressive decks, it should still be good enough to at least trade for one or two cards from your opponent.
6. Advent of the Wurm
Standard.
Why is it good?
There you were, just waiting for Christmas, and suddenly, a 5/5 trampler came through the roof! Advent of the Wurm is not a huge upgrade if we think about mana-to-stats ratio, as Deadbridge Goliath has been around for a while now, but adding flash makes this a lot better. The fact that you can more easily play around sweepers with your creature deck is a huge boon. Planeswalker around the world are not safe against 4 open mana from a G/W deck, as the Wurm might just come down end of turn and eat up the planeswalker. The fact that you can proceed to populate with cards such as Rootborn Defenses and Trostani, Selesnya's Voice add even more value to this card.
5. Aetherling
Standard.
Why is it good?
At first, I thought Aetherling looked a bit expensive and lackluster on paper, but after having played with it, I have to say I was wrong. Granted, Aetherling is a bit expensive, but once you make it to that point in the game, it is almost impossible to deal with this creature. It kills quickly, as it can attack for 8 unblockable damage each turn and even blink out to stay on defense. There are not many other creatures in Standard that can stay alive as well as this guy. Obzedat, Ghost Council is a good comparison, but the ghost dad does not play very well with your own sweepers. One thing that might stop Aetherling from seeing play in the coming months is the existence of Nephalia Drownyard. Esper is the most controlling deck in Standard and is the deck most likely to play something like Aetherling, but as it already has access to Nephalia Drownyard, it does not really need a dedicated win condition as such.
4. Beck // Call
Modern and Legacy.
Why is this good?
Many have heralded the return of combo Elves because of this card, but it is worth noting this card is a lot worse than Glimpse of Nature. The first is almost the same, with a difference of just 1 mana, but once you cast the second one, you are already 2 mana down. That being said, this still has great potential, as this kind of effect quickly grows out of hand. It also has some upsides with cards that just generate creatures, such as Forbidden Orchard. I think we will see an increase in Elves during the next Modern season. As mentioned in an article on combo decks on the mother ship, in Legacy, you can play Glimpse of Nature and Beck // Call in the same deck to go very deep with various free creatures. Travis Woo also wrote a piece on the applications of this card.
3. Notion Thief
Legacy and potentially Standard.
Why is this card good?
While this card does have some applications in Standard against Sphinx's Revelation, I think the real format where this might shine is Legacy. Getting to flash this in when your opponent casts Brainstorm or activates Jace, the Mind Sculptor is just insane. This might not be a main-decked card, but in the various B/U/G mirrors, this might see some real play. Abrupt Decay is the most commonly-played removal spell in these decks, and it can’t touch Notion Thief. Deathrite Shaman helps you make it to 4 mana, and if the card is not doing anything, you can just remove it to Force of Will. The B/U/G mirror even has Ancestral Vision as another card to wreck with Notion Thief.
2. Ral Zarek
Standard.
Why is this good?
At first, I was not too impressed by this card, as the +1 ability seemed weak. It might not be the most powerful planeswalker ability ever, but the other two abilities are very good. Against creature decks, you can generate one or two Lightning Bolts out of this, and against control decks, you can make some extra mana while threatening to go ultimate, forcing the opponent to do something. You can even chain one ultimate into another if you win three extra turns from the first one, so things can quickly become very ridiculous. I think Ral Zarek works best in aggressive decks in which you might want to Lightning Bolt your opponent, and I think it could find a home in a more aggressive version of the R/W/U Flash deck.
1. Voice of Resurgence
Standard, Modern, and potentially Legacy.
Why is it good?
As obvious as it sounds, Voice of Resurgence has applications in all formats where there are green and white decks playing creatures. In Standard, it is very good against control decks, as you are almost always making a token out of this. Azorius Charm is not very impressive when it just puts another large creature into play. In Standard, Pillar of Flame is the best answer, and in older formats, Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile are the cards that best answer this. You do have to play a fair number of creatures for this card to do enough. If you are not playing a deck that can put on pressure, your opponent can just ignore Voice of Resurgence and go on with his own game plan. That said, I could see this in the sideboard of a creature-light Bant deck against other control decks, as it makes all your opponent’s counterspells a lot worse.
Decks!
Finally, here are a few decks using these new cards from Dragon’s Maze. These are mostly rough drafts and are untested. However, I think there are many current archetypes that will benefit from the new cards, and surely, completely new decks will also pop up. If you have any suggestions regarding these decks or ideas for new decks using Dragon’s Maze cards, be sure to let me know in the comments section!
"Ruric Naya"
- Creatures (30)
- 2 Borderland Ranger
- 2 Restoration Angel
- 3 Arbor Elf
- 3 Thundermaw Hellkite
- 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
- 4 Boros Reckoner
- 4 Loxodon Smiter
- 4 Voice of Resurgence
- 1 Aurelia, the Warleader
- 3 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
- Planeswalkers (5)
- 1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
- 4 Domri Rade
- Spells (2)
- 2 Mizzium Mortars
- Lands (23)
- 2 Forest
- 1 Kessig Wolf Run
- 4 Rootbound Crag
- 4 Sacred Foundry
- 4 Stomping Ground
- 4 Sunpetal Grove
- 4 Temple Garden
In the sideboard, you can run a few copies of Cavern of Souls to help resolve Ruric Thar, the Unbowed against the control decks and then also run some more removal for the really aggressive decks. Voice of Resurgence is very nice in this type of deck, as it gives you some added protection against sweepers and acts as a good blocker against aggro. Having only ten Forests to untap with Arbor Elf might be a bit too few, so feel free to tinker with the mana base.
"R/W/U"
- Creatures (13)
- 3 Restoration Angel
- 4 Boros Reckoner
- 4 Snapcaster Mage
- 2 Aurelia, the Warleader
- Planeswalkers (3)
- 3 Ral Zarek
- Spells (18)
- 2 Dissipate
- 2 Sphinx's Revelation
- 2 Turn // Burn
- 4 Azorius Charm
- 4 Searing Spear
- 2 Pillar of Flame
- 2 Supreme Verdict
- Lands (26)
- 1 Island
- 1 Mountain
- 1 Plains
- 3 Sacred Foundry
- 4 Clifftop Retreat
- 4 Glacial Fortress
- 4 Hallowed Fountain
- 4 Steam Vents
- 4 Sulfur Falls
You could make this list more aggressive by cutting some of the control cards such as Supreme Verdict and running Boros Charm, but I’ve chosen to go with a version somewhere in between. Pillar of Flame seems good with Voice of Resurgence in the format, as that is a card that is sure to cause you problems. Turn // Burn is also a good answer even though it is a bit on the expensive side. As I mentioned earlier, continuing to play Clone in the sideboard seems like a good idea, as it is among the best answers to Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. Recently, I saw a more aggressive R/W/U Delver list with a ton of burn, and I’m sure Ral Zarek would fit in there as well.
Signing Off
I hope this list gave you some new ideas about which Dragon’s Maze cards to look out for in the coming months. As always, all questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome. You can contact me either via Twitter or through the comments section below.
Thanks for reading,
Max
@thebloom_ on Twitter
Maxx on Magic Online
You can find my music on: http://soundcloud.com/bloomlive
