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Main » Articles » Standard in Upheaval

Standard in Upheaval

Ryan Bushard
Posted on May 6, 2016
 Reddit

The week after the Pro Tour brings a lot of crucial information with it, and luckily, we had a strong display in Toronto to all but solidify the early metagame Shadows over Innistrad has brought us. G/W Tokens still looks to hold the top spot, at least for most-played deck, followed by Bant Company. That does not mean the metagame is stale, though, as even Esper Dragons was able to pull off a win this past weekend.

Esper Dragons ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Robert Lombardi, 1st, Grand Prix Toronto

This list does not offer much in the way of innovation, but it is interesting to see where the numbers came together in order to form a seventy-five that could take on the diverse metagame, even if G/W was public enemy number one. While I would not suggest playing this deck locally unless you have a great deal of experience, it can be a great choice if you know exactly what the anticipated metagame you are walking into is and can tweak accordingly.

It is good to see Jace, Vryn's Prodigy finding some love again. With how many nonblue decks we have been seeing so far this season, it is no wonder Jace is dropping in price. If this continues, the card may be—dare I say—affordable. That will come right in time for rotation, but with the price slowly creeping down now, it should jolt less when it does leave Standard.

Speaking of control, the Grixis Control shell that Top 8’d looks much more durable in the face of an open metagame, and while the mana may be shakier, the payoff in power can be well worth it.

Grixis Control ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Oliver Tiu, Top 4, Grand Prix Toronto

Both decks have solid plans to finish the game, but with the number of green decks and Clip Wings still running around to deal with Westvale Abbey, I am a much bigger fan of putting my creatures into the value category to at least get something when my opponent inevitably has the removal spell.

The additional value of Radiant Flames and Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet really pushes the aggressive matches to have that removal right away, and any time I can force my opponent, turn after turn, to have just the right answer while ignoring the player’s game plan, I feel that I should be pulling ahead. I also love Goblin Dark-Dwellers and Kolaghan's Command, which is what first caught my eye, so any other positive interactions beyond that is just a bonus.

This much more aggressive style of play puts a lot of pressure on the midrange decks while also netting you card advantage to take over in the late game and close through any number of finishers. While the deck does have speed on its side, it has a distinct lack of counterspells, which may hurt the control match. It would be hard to tamper with this base and find room for anything, and without access to Silumgar's Scorn, it is probably a losing battle anyway.

So what do you do if you are looking to be a little less controlling but still feel that you have impactful spells in the late game? Well, you play W/B Eldrazi of course! This deck came out of nowhere and swept the field, leaving a perfect record in its wake until the Top 8. I could not believe how much power this seventy-five contained, and if I had to pick a deck in the Top 8 to move forward with, this would be the one.

W/B Eldrazi ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Josh Buitenhuis

Though the numbers are certainly random the deck lines up very well against the current field and has answers for nearly every deck. Whether you need to hold from the mono-white onslaught or grind out the last points of damage against Esper Dragons, this deck provides the tools to do so.

The inclusion of Wasteland Strangler is a huge push forward in my opinion, as the card allows for early two-for-ones that are needed to keep aggro from running you over, and while that does come at a price, fulfilling the exile requirement is something this deck rarely has issue with. That, combined with the onslaught of efficient removal and two-for-ones left and right, creates a real headache for anyone looking for an avenue of attack.

My biggest complaint of the list I see would be the lack of Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. When I was watching the deck, it seemed Gideon was the primary way to apply pressure while burying your opponent in cards, and while I do see the role Ob Nixilis Reignited serves, and I do include him in the list, I would want to find room for the other two Gideons—or at least a third in the main.

So while I very much enjoyed watching the mategame unravel this weekend, I did not find a deck that I was excited about running out and building. The primary reason is I stumbled on one for myself and have been playing it for the past week and a half now. While it does look like a brew I would develop, this one has a lot more than meets the eye, and on top of that, it is about as budget as they come. When I built the main deck on Magic Online, it cost under ten tickets, I believe, and it has won me far more than that already. Though this is certainly not the final list, this is where I have the deck at now. And before you try to commit me for delusional thoughts, you have to understand that with a slow metagame comes the opportunity for decks like this to arise.

Rising Tides ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Ryan Bushard

So where do we start? First of all, I guess, it would be most relevant to explain the engine you are aiming toward: The Great Aurora. While I dismissed this card as far too expensive to do anything at first, I have been brought around this past week. This card may be the best kept secret in Standard, and right now, it is sitting in bulk bins everywhere!

The Great Aurora
Paying 9 mana does seem to be a lot, and while you have plenty of ramp to reach that point, you hardly are looking to rip an Aurora off as soon as you find that ninth land. Instead, you want to sit back as long as possible, disrupting the board with counters and Engulf the Shore, ideally with a Trail of Evidence in play to begin building up Clue tokens. After you feel you can wait no longer, you allocate the 9 you need to The Great Aurora and float everything else you can. As The Great Aurora resolves, note it also counts all of those Clue tokens you have been amassing as permanents for the count—even without them, you should be far ahead at this point in permanents, and once the spell resolves, you are able to put ten or so lands into play while also using the floating mana to cast Part the Waterveil, typically along with anything else you are able to. You can repeat this cycle if needed, but from this point, you can attack with creature lands or Kozilek, the Great Distortion and use counters to close out the turn or two it will take you to win.

That can be a lot to take in, and the deck is certainly not the easiest to play. Mulligans are life-or-death, and though it does have answers to creatures, you are not the strongest against decks that can put you on a five-turn clock, like Humans. This deck only thrives because everyone else is so worried about the sweepers from control right now that they cannot typically afford to be all in, and those few extra turns are usually enough for you to seal the deal.

While I could go on about how amazing The Great Aurora is, I will spare you the extra few paragraphs and instead just close by saying I have not had this much fun with a card like this since Upheaval. While this is certainly not on the same power level, it does allow for many of the same plays that style of deck used to win, and if that is a game plan you enjoy, I encourage you to try the deck out.

Next week, I will be fresh back from buying at Grand Prix New York City, and I should be able to bring a solid idea of what cards have a bright future in the short term and what may be best to let go of until Eldritch Moon approaches. I am looking forward to this weekend and seeing what else Standard may have in store; so far, it has not disappointed, and though the meta is solid, I doubt we have seen the last of innovation.

Ryan Bushard

@CryppleCommand

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TAGS articles, pro tour, standard, constructed, deck lists, decks, finance, ryan bushard, shadows over innistrad, #mtgsoi, #ptsoi

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