To Review:

A lot sure has changed since Brian Kibler declared Baneslayer Angel the best large creature of all time (upon winning with the then-Standard-legal Staple in an Extended tournament). Over the course of especially the last couple of years, creatures outside of pure aggro strategies have fallen more and more on the Mulldrifter side of the line.

I mean, look at these tribal linear creatures (one of which isn't even a Rogue):

Thieves' Guild Enforcer is actually dangling one toe in Titan territory. While it is itself unlikely to survive combat, no one wants to tussle with it; and 4/2 for one mana is a ferocious Jackal Pup indeed.

But most of Thieves' Guild Enforcer's "damage" comes from the non-damage of Roguish 187 triggers, leeching lands off the top of your deck at instant speed. The quintessential Mulldrifter; not only has it gotten its value - even if that doesn't feel like typical card advantageous value - after hitting the battlefield, we are generally loathe to kill one, in no small part due to it being potentially more dangerous alongside ubiquitous Companion Lurrus of the Dream-Den.

Ruin Crab is in a way even worse. 0/3? Zero-three? I mean Ruin Crab can certainly be an annoying blocker for pure beatdown strategies but it's not only not a dangerous attacker, it often feels wasteful to spend removal on one. This is a card that, almost hastily, can come down (sometimes as a twin) and follow up with a Fabled Passage double or even quadruple trigger. Gross and gross.

These Mulldrifters are oddly the beatdown (even if they're not expressly attacking your life total) and are certainly not Baneslayer Angels despite being conditionally useful in attacking or blocking. The Standard story is even more pronounced when we look at "regular" creature decks.

Et tu, Questing Beast?

Questing Beast has been Standard's Baneslayer Angel of choice for as long as it's been legal in the format. Initially outshined by Wicked Wolf due to the wide availability of Food tokens thanks to Oko, Thief of Crowns and Trail of Crumbs, Questing Beast took its rightful - some might say legen-wait for it-dary - spot at the Green four in response to all that Food.

None of these creatures were blocking a Questing Beast

Questing Beast solidified its slot across rosters various as the format's best possible Embercleave Barrier (you always take nine) and as the cleanup hitter in the emergent StOmPy decks... A magnificent foil to then-top end Nissa, Who Shakes the World or a hasty finisher to exploit Control opponents who had just tapped out.

While Questing Beast is still relatively popular in StOmPy decks, it has never been less so. We are not only seeing two-of or three-of Questing Beasts decisions in Mono-Green, it has at least piecemeal given up some ground to this non-creature 4-drop:

I am going to go out on a limb and say we'll have a full scale rotation before the question is settled in Mono-Green, but the fact that it is even being asked is one of the biggest nods we can give to Mulldrifters over Baneslayers in Standard. The most beatdown deck - one that is actually rewarded for creature density thanks to Ranger Class - sometimes opting for Esika's Chariot?

The question is fairly settled in neighboring decks, though.

Remember what I said about Questing Beast being the best Embercleave-bearer?

Gruul Adventures | AFR Standard | Kouta Ehara, 2nd Place SCG Tour Online Championship 8/8/2021

• Creatures (28)
• 1 Gemrazer
• 2 Embereth Shieldbreaker
• 2 Valki, God of Lies // Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor
• 3 Goldspan Dragon
• 4 Bonecrusher Giant
• 4 Edgewall Innkeeper
• 4 Jaspera Sentinel
• 4 Lovestruck Beast
• 4 Magda, Brazen Outlaw

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass

• Artifacts (7)
• 3 Embercleave
• 4 Esika's Chariot

• Lands (21)
• 1 Mountain
• 3 Forest
• 2 Den of the Bugbear
• 3 Lair of the Hydra
• 4 Blightstep Pathway // Searstep Pathway
• 4 Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway
• 4 Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Burning Hands
• 1 Gemrazer
• 2 Klothys, God of Destiny
• 3 Ox of Agonas
• 3 Ray of Enfeeblement
• 2 Redcap Melee
• 2 The Akroan War

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This is about what you'll see from a mid-2021 Gruul Adventures deck. Deathtouch be damned! Four copies of Esika's Chariot, regardless of what might be lost on the other Legendary Artifact end.

Esika's Chariot is only very, very good in Gruul. I mean it's good but it's not as stupidly good as it is in some neighboring archetypes. Still, four-of over who was supposed to be best Baneslayer.

One reason might be this sequence:

You can follow a first turn Jaspera Sentinel with a second turn Magda, Brazen Outlaw and just make free Treasure.

On the third turn you have a clear path to four mana (and at a bonus); plus the option of making more and more Treasure as the game progresses. For instance, although Esika's Chariot produces 4 power of Cats to crew it, you're not obligated to use those Cats. Two power can come from Magda, which would help produce additional Treasure.

Treasure is good in general, but it has a special place in Gruul.

• We already talked about how Esika's Chariot can benefit from Treasure-Ramp. But did you realize that in a pinch you can make more Treasure by attacking with the Chariot?
• What if your Chariot dies in combat? Making five Treasure can put you ahead as Magda can just replace Chariot #1 at a bonus. Mulldrifter again! But instead of two cards in hand, you get two more Wolves.
• Instant Embercleave is a problem any wary opponent is going to have to be ready for once you're at as few as three Treasure. Magda and Chariot taps can put you over the top and the opponent in the obituary section.
• Finally, the ability to get not only a Dragon - but a Dragon that benefits from having Treasure in play - rounds out these synergies.

You lose a little oomph relative to Questing Beast, especially against Control decks; but it's difficult to argue with just how much you get back.

If all that Esika's Chariot action sounded really, really good... You haven't seen anything yet.

Naya Midrange | AFR Standard | Martin Del Guercio, 1st Place SCG Tour Online Championship Qualifier 7/25/2021

• Creatures (23)
• 2 Blade Historian
• 2 Kenrith, the Returned King
• 3 Lotus Cobra
• 4 Elite Spellbinder
• 4 Jaspera Sentinel
• 4 Selfless Savior
• 4 Winota, Joiner of Forces

• Sorceries (3)
• 3 Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Esika's Chariot

• Lands (30)
• 1 Mountain
• 2 Forest
• 2 Plains
• 3 Fabled Passage
• 4 Branchloft Pathway // Boulderloft Pathway
• 4 Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway
• 4 Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway
• 1 Ranger Class
• 2 Lair of the Hydra
• 3 Minsc, Beloved Ranger
• 4 Prosperous Innkeeper

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Bonecrusher Giant
• 3 Burning Hands
• 2 Drannith Magistrate
• 1 Klothys, God of Destiny
• 2 Ox of Agonas
• 2 Redcap Melee
• 2 Reidane, God of the Worthy
• 1 The Akroan War

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For my money Naya Winota is the archetype to beat in Standard right now. Winota was frustrating enough to play against in... Well... Every previous incarnation of Standard since it was printed. Now it gets an unprecedented lottery-winning tool set.

This version leans into Green for Lotus Cobra, but there are plenty of Winota folks who can duplicate Gruul's use of Magda, Brazen Outlaw. What they all like to do is add Prosperous Innkeeper at the two. Not only is this a clear one-two combo punch with Jaspera Sentinel, it's a Ramp to four-on-three all by itself... Without tapping the creature.

So, you can start on something innocuous like a Selfless Savior; play Prosperous Innkeeper on turn two; and then Treasure out Winota, Joiner of Forces on turn three... And able to attack with both your 1- and 2-drops. One's a Dog and one's a Halfling so you know how that goes.

But the less explosive draws get helped a lot by - you guessed it - Esika's Chariot. Not only is the Chariot a significant body at 4/4, it makes two non-Human bodies for Winota setup, if that's your jam. But I think the most annoying thing is just how resilient it helps make Winota decks to removal. In the past, Winota decks going one-for-one could be buried under an abundance of removal. You still see that with the straight Boros builds, actually. But Naya has so much extra material at seemingly every different casting cost, one-for-one removal often feels pointless... Sometimes even when you have a Hateful Eidolon cashing in cheques.

The Blackstaff of... Tactics

Here's kind of a weird one:

Azorius Artifact Stompy | AFR Standard | Hamuda, 7th Place MTGO Standard Challenge 7/31/2021

• Creatures (20)
• 2 Selfless Savior
• 3 Giant Killer
• 3 Silver Raven
• 4 Gingerbrute
• 4 Ingenious Smith
• 4 Stonecoil Serpent

• Instants (2)
• 2 Miscast

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 All That Glitters

• Artifacts (11)
• 1 Shadowspear
• 2 Portable Hole
• 4 Glass Casket
• 4 The Blackstaff of Waterdeep

• Lands (23)
• 3 Island
• 4 Plains
• 2 Cave of the Frost Dragon
• 2 Fabled Passage
• 4 Hengegate Pathway // Mistgate Pathway
• 4 Temple of Enlightenment
• 4 Treasure Vault

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Disdainful Stroke
• 2 Disenchant
• 2 Drannith Magistrate
• 1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den
• 1 Mystical Dispute
• 2 Negate
• 2 Portable Hole
• 1 Shadowspear
• 2 Soul-Guide Lantern

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On its face, Hamuda's deck is an update to the highly successful Mono-White and builds from a year ago. Still love to see that Gingerbrute getting its money.

The Mulldrifter addition - the hyper obvious one anyway - is at the two:

In some ways I don't see why this deck really needs to branch out of White (it was great Mono-White last year, remember)... But one of the really good Smith payoffs is The Blackstaff of Waterdeep. Which is super cheap, and can turn one of your otherwise extremely pedestrian artifacts into an absolute killer for next to no mana.

Ultimately Ingenious Smith is another card that is dipping its toes in Titan-ville, given how big and burly the Smith can get, itself in a deck full of triggers waiting to happen. But its initial Mulldrifter mention comes when it searches for a follow-up on turn two.

Just getting a Glass Casket or Portable Hole is kind of awesome. Kind of an even better version of Heliod's Pilgrim (and you know how I feel about Heliod's Pilgrim in Constructed).

But, of course, you can get heavy hitting threats as well. Stonecoil Serpent is a heck of a Baneslayer Angel in the right spot, and there are numerous potential upgrades to creatures in play that all play nicely with Smith.

But have you thought about the card advantageous / specifically synergistic implications of this longstanding buff?

First of all, All That Glitters is an enchantment. So, like Ingenious Smith, it can benefit from artifacts on the battlefield, but Smith can't actually find one. Regardless, this card has a bang-up combo with another new card. The next time you play against this deck it might be staring you in the face... Right before yours is put in the newspaper.

Treasure Vault can convert a pretty vanilla land into sometimes lots and lots of little Lotus Petals. It's never mana-positive on the turn you activate it, but it doesn't have to be. It can be very, very permanents-positive.

For five mana (including the Vault sacrifice) you can add two Treasures to your side of the table. It scales up from there, of course, but what is more important in the near term is how much harder All That Glitters can suddenly hit. Card advantage (kind of!), but bursty damage all in one.

I mean, it's literally on the table. Try not to get caught.

LOVE

MIKE