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Hello, readers! It's been a little while, but after dealing with some computer troubles and some really boring metagame nonchanges, I'm back. Today will be the first of a series of articles covering New Phyrexia's Standard impact by looking at three to four strategies an article and covering what they've potentially gained and alternate routes for them to take. To start, let's take a look at the first real combo we've had in Standard in quite some time.
Deceiver Exarch + Splinter Twin
For those who don't understand the combo:
Play Deceiver Exarch
Play Splinter Twin on Deceiver Exarch
When you make a copy of Exarch, have it untap the original Exarch, repeat ad nauseam, and attack with a million hasty 1/4 creatures.
This is one of the most interesting combos to come out of New Phyrexia, and the first real two-card combination we've had in quite some time. What's even more interesting is how difficult this two-card combination is to beat fairly and how many decks can't interact with it very well. This may not sound like a good thing, but that's only because such an archetype hasn't been viable in years. In reality, most of the healthy and fun metagames in MtG history have featured the combo pillar.
The combo itself is practically a copy of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Pestermite, and more recently, Splinter Twin + Pestermite. However, the big upgrade this time around is that our new Pestermite has a whopping 4 toughness, making it immune to Lightning Bolt and the lack of unconditional instant-speed removal in the format. Decks with Black have no problem taking care of a Deceiver Exarch, but the two best decks in the format—Caw-Blade and R/U/G—have no easy solution to the card outside of a random Into the Roil.
That said, not all is candy canes and roses here; you still need to assemble a two-card combo quickly (by turn five at the latest against Valakut), and you need a backup plan in case the opponent can interact with you. In fact, the biggest issue this deck could face would be widespread adoption of Beast Within, which while initially overhyped, is still a Vindicate effect at instant speed and very threatening to our combo. So what backup plan will work best for us? Is there an existing archetype that can easily adopt the ExarchTwin combo?
At first glance, there seem to be a small subset of archetypes that can easily adopt the ExarchTwin combo without losing anything: Pyromancer Ascension, R/U/G, B/U/R, and U/R CounterBurn.
Of course, before we go slapping this into decks, we need to take a look at any potential support cards for the deck. Two of the biggest gains, especially for Pyromancer Ascension, are Gitaxian Probe and Tezzeret's Gambit. The first card is bound to be a head-turner for anyone familiar with Street Wraith or played with Peek in old Gro decks. Having a “free” card cantrip that gives you information is a huge boon for a deck planning to combo out or set up and protect an Ascension, Jace, or Koth. The 2 life is still a cost, but one that's easier to minimize in the current format where many decks lop off life in huge chunks rather than pecking you to death. While this may not remain the case since decks like R/D/W and White Steel get some new toys to play with, helping out your turn-four combo kills is a solid enough reason to run the card.
On the other hand, Tezzeret's Gambit is a bit more difficult to apply, being a more expensive Sign in Blood. Using that basically limits it to Pyromancer Ascension or a U/R deck using Everflowing Chalice—not out of the question, but definitely limiting where it goes. The key to the card is Proliferate; if you can consistently get value out of it by powering up an Everflowing Chalice, Koth, or Ascension, it'll be well worth using. If you can't, the card is just a worse Divination and isn't worth using. I'd start with two and play with the numbers from there in a U/R big-mana Proliferate deck. In Pyromancer Ascension, you basically need to start at four simply because of how the card works, and I couldn't see dropping lower than three. This is a difficult card to judge, because I like having card-drawing cheaper than Foresee, but situational Proliferate cards are often too clunky to use.
Here are some basic shells to get you started.
"Ascension"
- Creatures (4)
- 4 Deceiver Exarch
- Spells (35)
- 4 Lightning Bolt
- 4 Mana Leak
- 2 Into the Roil
- 1 Burst Lightning
- 4 Tezzeret's Gambit
- 4 Gitaxian Probe
- 4 Preordain
- 4 See Beyond
- 4 Splinter Twin
- 4 Pyromancer Ascension
- Lands (22)
- 11 Island
- 7 Mountain
- 4 Scalding Tarn
- Sideboard (14)
- 4 Pyroclasm
- 4 Flashfreeze
- 3 Spell Pierce
- 3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
"R/U/G"
- Creatures (11)
- 3 Inferno Titan
- 4 Lotus Cobra
- 4 Deceiver Exarch
- Planeswalkers (4)
- 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
- Spells (19)
- 4 Mana Leak
- 3 Explore
- 4 Gitaxian Probe
- 4 Preordain
- 4 Splinter Twin
- Lands (26)
- 4 Island
- 3 Mountain
- 3 Forest
- 4 Misty Rainforest
- 4 Scalding Tarn
- 2 Halimar Depths
- 4 Raging Ravine
- 2 Copperline Gorge
"B/U/R"
- Creatures (4)
- 4 Deceiver Exarch
- Planeswalkers (6)
- 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
- 2 Liliana Vess
- Spells (24)
- 3 Lightning Bolt
- 3 Go for the Throat
- 2 Gitaxian Probe
- 4 Preordain
- 4 Inquisition of Kozilek
- 2 Tezzeret's Gambit
- 2 Duress
- 4 Splinter Twin
- Lands (26)
- 4 Island
- 5 Mountain
- 3 Swamp
- 4 Creeping Tar Pit
- 4 Scalding Tarn
- 4 Darkslick Shores
- 2 Drowned Catacomb
My personal favorite of these is the Pyromancer list, but having a combo R/U/G list is nice as well, since now it has something to work toward when Lotus Cobra is taken out early. You can model the deck more toward combo/control hybrids of old rather than playing like a weird hybrid midrange ramp deck that really hates not having Cobra or Jace on the table. Or you could go with the old-fashion Trix route and pack discard and counters with the traditional card-drawing suite. The downside of this is the lack of tutors available in the format compared to the old days where you would usually have at least one viable tutor. When Liliana Vess is the best you've got, times are grim.
The other strategy I wanted to focus on was the revamped Tempered Steel deck, which has some significant gains from New Phyrexia. Why focus on Tempered Steel despite being such a bad deck in the current format? It comes down to Steel's only requiring one or two good cards to move from a Tier 2 deck to a viable archetype, especially with removal largely being taken out of main decks. Steel has a very quick goldfish even with the built-in inconsistencies, and so it's a good place to start looking when trying to find improvements.
Not everything needs to be the hottest tech; some people are content with bashing for 2 every turn. Looking through the spoiler, here are a couple of the best cards from the new set for a Tempered Steel deck.
Hex Parasite
Meet the replacement for Vector Asp. Most of the time, Hex Parasite will just be a 1/1 for 1, which isn't too impressive, but it keeps your curve nice and compact. Of course, when you can activate it, there's a pretty huge difference between 1-drops, one having a useless ability stapled on and the Parasite eating planeswalkers, removing counters from Tumble Magnet, or even cleaning off -1/-1 counters from Infect creatures or shrinking Allies. Gaining real utility from your lousy 1-drops shouldn't be underestimated!
Porcelain Legionnaire
This is the real highlight of the set for this strategy; Porcelain Legionnaire is a 3/1 with a relevant combat ability for just 2 mana and 2 life. The big problem with this deck normally is that all the creatures are garbage without assistance from Steel Overseer or Tempered Steel. Well, this guy changes that dynamic and gives you a real curve-out with creatures that can still battle even when the board becomes clogged with other midrange creatures. Add four to your Steel deck and be very happy with the addition.
Moltensteel Dragon
Moltensteel Dragon, on the other hand, is probably better suited toward a slower Steel strategy. I mention him because being a 4/4 for 4 with evasion in this archetype is still reasonable. While it may fit better in a Red deck, the fact remains that having such a large efficient body with evasion for 
has been practically nonexistent throughout Magic's history. In the current format, you could board it against mass removal as a post-sweeper threat that can still kill quickly.
Phyrexian Metamorph
Phyrexian Metamorph is another card that may be better suited in a different version of this deck, but I could see being a good sideboard card. Having access to Clone was something that was never really considered, and the fact that it can copy something like a Tumble Magnet also gives it some interesting uses. At the very least, it's something viable for sideboard use.
Dismember & Dispatch
Dismember is huge for Green strategies that can't run other types of removal, or RDW to get around Kor Firewalker or larger burn-resilient creatures like Obstinate Baloth and Baneslayer Angel. The same logic applies here: You simply can't match the efficiency of a colorless Snuff Out, and while you have access to Journey to Nowhere and Dispatch, both are conditional removal spells, which isn't what the deck usually wants. Dispatch is good in the sideboard, however, against decks that don't plan on an attrition fight, but when you may need to kill a Titan. Otherwise, the problem with Dispatch is that it can be shaky to use on turn two or three if the opponent has Lightning Bolt or any instant-speed removal of his own to knock you off Metalcraft.
[cardlist]
[Creatures]
4 Ardent Recruit
4 Glint Hawk
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Hex Parasite
4 Signal Pest
4 Steel Overseer
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Dismember
4 Tempered Steel
3 Mox Opal
[/Spells]
[Lands]
10 Plains
4 Contested War Zone
4 Seachrome Coast
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Refraction Trap
4 Spell Pierce
2 Journey to Nowhere
2 Island
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Dismember
1 Negate
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]
Moving onto another aggro strategy, I mentioned RDW a couple of times when talking about big additions from New Phyrexia. I just wanted to get a preliminary list up so people understand where I'm coming from in terms of what I want out of the deck.
[cardlist]
[Creatures]
4 Kargan Dragonlord
4 Goblin Guide
4 Plated Geopede
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
4 Koth of the Hammer
[/Planeswalkers]
[Spells]
4 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Staggershock
[/Spells]
[Lands]
12 Mountain
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Teetering Peaks
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Vulshok Refugee
4 Moltensteel Dragon
4 Dismember
3 Mark of Mutiny
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]
You'll notice the main deck has stayed largely the same, with the only new addition being the potential addition of Porcelain Legionnaire. This is something I'm trying out to see if the deck can move toward more combat-worthy creatures so I don't always have to spend precious burn to clear the way. Spikeshot Elder was proving ineffective against decks that weren't filled with Squadron Hawks, and while that could change post-NPH, I want to use these next two weeks to try different setups. Kargan Dragonlord also got the nod main-deck over Ember Hauler to help out with the new sideboard plan I have.
The biggest changes are in the sideboard options, since now you can actually "go big" as a sideboard plan and have enough good cards to pull it off. Even better, regardless of if you keep it small or go big, you have a way to kill Kor Firewalker and battle through a multitude of early walls. If you do choose the go-big plan, I highly suggest becoming comfortable with your sideboarding in every match. I would also consider adding an extra land (even if it's just sideboarded) along with Kargan Dragonlord and Moltensteel Dragon, because your curve raises significantly post-board. Vulshok Refugee is a concession to what I suspect will be an increase in Red aggro post-NPH. It's nearly impossible for RDW to beat in the mirror, and they can't easily use Dismember to kill it off due to the massive life loss.
If you want to stay small, though, there's something for you as well.
Alternate Sideboard:
Still, I recommend giving both sideboards a try; anyone not playing RDW should be sure to give it the respect it deserves post-NPH. No longer can Caw-Blade players just board in a few Condemns and a set of Kor Firewalkers and call it a day; they (and myself) have to work for our wins now. The real key to RDW will be if the metagame shifts to a more balanced one—with combo dealing with control and the quick aggro approach being more appropriate—or vice versa, like it is currently.
That's all for today. Next article, we'll be covering R/U/G, Vampires, and potentially an entirely new strategy. If not, then Caw-Blade's upgrades will get a once-over. If you have suggestions for what you would like to see, let me know!
Josh Silvestri
E-mail me at josh dot silvestri at gmail dot com
