Locations
The only thing I had left to figure out was what to play. Although I do try to stay informed as to what’s going on in Standard, I hadn’t actually played a game since the World Magic Cup Qualifier in April. My work schedule conflicts with most local tournaments, and I generally prefer to draft when I am able to go out and sling spells. I saw that Brad Nelson won a StarCityGames Open in Baltimore with a fresh take on Junk Aristocrats, and hearing him call it “the best deck in the format” was good enough for me. I found an updated (as of last week anyway) list, scrounged together the cards, and hammered out a few games with one of my friends. Here’s what I played:
"Junk Aristocrats"
- Creatures (24)
- 2 Young Wolf
- 3 Skirsdag High Priest
- 4 Blood Artist
- 4 Cartel Aristocrat
- 4 Doomed Traveler
- 4 Voice of Resurgence
- 3 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
- Planeswalkers (3)
- 3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
- Spells (8)
- 4 Tragic Slip
- 4 Lingering Souls
- Lands (25)
- 1 Swamp
- 2 Gavony Township
- 2 Sunpetal Grove
- 4 Godless Shrine
- 4 Isolated Chapel
- 4 Overgrown Tomb
- 4 Temple Garden
- 4 Woodland Cemetery
- Sideboard (15)
- 2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
- 3 Deathrite Shaman
- 3 Sin Collector
- 1 Skirsdag High Priest
- 3 Abrupt Decay
- 3 Appetite for Brains
The deck is very similar to previous versions of The Aristocrats except that it eschews red in favor of green. Voice of Resurgence is simply too insane to pass up. Varolz isn’t quite as good as Falkenrath Aristocrats, but it is a sacrifice outlet and gives you something to do with your mana in the late game. The individual cards all seem really crappy on their own, but work quite well together. This version of the deck also has a bunch of ways to have an active Skirsdag High Priest on turn three.
I was feeling fairly confident about my chances in the tournament, as I felt that I had a really good deck and was one of the better players in the room—at least in terms of previous accomplishments. Here’s a quick round-by-round breakdown.
Round 1 vs. Will Carson with R/G Aggro
My opponent had a decent start with Legion Loyalists and Firefist Striker, but I was able to foil his attacks with Cartel Aristocrats and Tragic Slip. I stabilized at 12 life and started going on the offensive with my larger creatures. I boarded out three Lingering Souls for three Abrupt Decay. Lingering Souls isn’t very good in this matchup because of the Legion Loyalists and Ghor-Clan Rampager. There’s also the possibility of Thundermaw Hellkite. Having a bunch of spot-removal spells helps with keeping him off battalion and making his Ghor-Clan Rampagers much less threatening. In Game 2, my opponent was stuck on two lands, and I steamrolled him.
1–0
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Round 2 vs. Unknown (Mirror)
My opponent had two active Skirsdag High Priests very early in the game, and without any removal in hand and stuck on two lands, I was quick to concede. For Game 2, I sided in the Appetite for Brains, the Abrupt Decays, the Blood Barons, and the fourth Skirsdag High Priest. Appetite for Brains doesn’t seem as though it would be very good, but I didn’t want to risk losing to Blood Baron if he happened to be playing it. It also hits Sorin, which is another important card. I took out all of the 1-drops and the three Varolz. I have no idea if that’s right, though. I played an Appetite for Brains the turn before my opponent hit 4 mana and whiffed. To make matters worse, he had two Tragic Slips and a Skirsdag High Priest. My draws were less than stellar, as I drew land after land, and I died a slow, agonizing death.
1–1
Round 3 vs. Jason Critch with R/W/U Control
I didn’t have the quickest of starts, and my opponent slowed me down further with Azorius Charm and Snapcaster Mage. Jace, Architect of Thought put the brakes on my offense, as I had no creatures in play with more than 1 power. I did, however, have a lot of them, so a Sorin emblem would really hit the spot. I instead drew into a couple Voice of Resurgence so that I could at least start pressuring Jace a bit. I did finally draw into a Sorin, which my opponent was forced to counter, giving me some giant tokens. He tried digging for a board sweeper with his Jace, but he found nothing. On my turn, my army of Spirit tokens and pair of 9/9 Elementals killed him in one swing. For Game 2, I boarded in Appetite for Brains, Sin Collector, and Abrupt Decay, the latter of which was to hit Rest in Peace or Detention Sphere. I played an Appetite for Brains on turn three to hopefully nab a Jace, but once again, I whiffed. His hand was pretty lackluster, though, as it was two Pillar of Flame, a Sphinx's Revelation, and a bunch of lands. On turn four, I played a Sin Collector to take out his draw spell, and I followed up with a second Sin Collector on turn five to keep up the pressure and get rid of a removal spell. He did draw a Supreme Verdict, but Varolz was able to finish him off without any trouble.
2–1
Round 4 vs. Carter Barge with Jund
This was probably the most frustrating round of the tournament. I mulliganed to five cards Game 1 and made a decent game of it, but I simply lacked the resources to fight a long game. Thragtusk from my opponent was easily enough to put it out of reach for me. I boarded out Blood Artists and Skirsdag High Priests for Sin Collectors and Appetite for Brains. I only mulliganed to six cards this time. I started off with a turn-one Doomed Traveler and followed up with two more of them next turn. I played an Appetite for Brains before he hit 4 mana, and this time, I hit an Olivia Voldaren. I also saw that he had a Bonfire of the Damned, so I didn’t want to extend too much into it, and so I didn’t play the fourth Doomed Traveler I drew. Carter started getting back into the game with a Thragtusk. I took a chance by taking a big hit from a Kessig Wolf Run–powered Thragtusk, but not finding a Tragic Slip, I was forced to go on the defensive. After putting all of my men in front of both sides of Thragtusk, I was happy to see he was out of gas. I was at 3 life, however, and I was dead if he drew another Bonfire (he had used the other one to clear my board on an earlier turn). Lingering Souls plus Gavony Township put him on a very fast clock, and I was lucky enough to not be miracled out of the game.
In Game 3, I was again forced to mulligan to five cards. My opponent kept a really bad hand in my opinion, as he only had enters-the-battlefield-tapped lands and no Farseek. He missed his turn-four land drop, but I couldn’t take advantage of his stumble, as I was severely flooded. He eventually drew his fourth land, and I was unable to do anything about his Huntmaster of the Fells as I continued to draw only lands.
2–2
Le sigh. Perhaps the Magic gods were punishing me for my hubris. I decided to keep playing on the off chance I’d be able to sneak into Top 8 at 5–2.
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Round 5 vs. Spencer Barge (Mirror)
I won Game 1 strictly on the back of maintaining Blood Artist advantage. I drew three of them to his one, and after trading removal spells, I was left with a pair of Artists to his zero. This allowed me to dictate the course of the game. Despite the fact that he had a Skirsdag High Priest, I was able to push through damage every turn. For Game 2, I didn’t bring in the Appetite for Brains this time. I was up a game and could afford to wait and see if he had Blood Baron in his sideboard. Also, I noticed from Game 1 that his list was different than Brad’s, so I judged the likelihood of him playing the card was low. I boarded out all of my 1-drops as before and brought in the Blood Barons, the Abrupt Decays, and the fourth Skirsdag High Priest. Game 2 was much closer than the first one. My opponent got me pretty good with a Profit // Loss, which put things in his favor for a bit. I was able to stabilize at 1 life, and both of us were in top-deck mode. I drew for my turn . . . Varolz! I scavenged onto him and started attacking. My next draw was Sorin, so I made a 4/4 lifelinker to put my life total in a much less precarious position. That was enough to secure the victory.
3–2
Round 6 vs. Josh Smith with Junk Reanimator
This is where my tournament would end. I had yet another round in which all I did was mulligan and flood out. I didn’t have much of an offense Game 1, and double-Thragtusk would buy my opponent enough time to hard-cast a Craterhoof Behemoth and kill me outright. I boarded out my Sorins and my Varolz for Deathrite Shamans and Appetite for Brains. I mulliganed to five cards in Game 2. I had a turn-one Deathrite Shaman but no way of actually pressuring my opponent. By the time I actually put some power into play, he had enough mana to hard-cast Angel of Serenity and wipe my board. A pair of Rhox Faithmenders put his life total completely out of reach after that. Meanwhile, I was busy drawing my twelfth land.
Part of me wants to play Grisly Salvage so that I can pretend I’m a blue deck and have some actual card selection. But I feel that if you’re going to play Grisly Salvage, you might as well just play Reanimator. Another card I was thinking of trying out is Korozda Guildmage. Both of its abilities are relevant, it has a decent body, and it helps with the dreaded mana-flood problem. It’s not good when you’re curving out, though, so it’s not a card I’d want to play four of. It’s just something to consider.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my report. Obviously, I would have preferred to win the tournament, but any time I go to Niagara Falls, it’s a good time. I go there a few times a year as it is, and I’m rarely disappointed. Good luck to those of you who decide to pick up this deck, and may the Magic gods be more merciful to you than they were to me. I’ll see you guys again next week.
Take care,
Nassim Ketita
arcticninja on Magic Online
