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Main » Articles » New York State of Mind

New York State of Mind

Ryan Bushard
Posted on May 13, 2016
 Reddit

Without fail, this format continues to progress, and even with G/W Tokens being the most played, it has once again been bested at the top tables at both Grand Prix this weekend. I was in New York, and of all of the big surprises this weekend, I can say Nahiri, the Harbinger was the most talked about—after seeing the results of Tokyo, I can see why. Since we have so much to cover with two very different Top 8s, I am going to jump right in and focus on the new an interesting lists to come out of the dual GPs.

Naya Nahiri ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Riku Kumagai, 1st Place, Grand Prix Tokyo

Japan has always been known for being ahead of the curve on innovation, and the winner of GP Tokyo decided to move in a direction few have ventured thus far. I, like most of you, may have discredited Nahiri, and though I thought she was playable, her abilities are proving to be much stronger in unison than originally anticipated—strong enough even to break into Modern as of this week.

This list looks to capitalize on the lack of fast aggro by setting up a base of card advantage early followed by haymaker after haymaker to end the game. Normally, I am not a huge fan of lists like these, as there are plenty of opening hands that are essentially mulligans to six or five with the inability to ramp. This deck, however, uses Nahiri to pitch those cards and smooth out the curve in the midgame while Oath of Nissa sets you up early and makes sure the mana cooperates.

Oath is a card we have seen plenty of over the past month but has still stayed relatively cheap even though it is not being drafted any longer. With powerhouses such as Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, Chandra, Flamecaller, or Sylvan Advocate, it can be easy to overlook such a simple draw spell. The play this card is seeing currently does indicate it should be on an upward trend, and considering a Ponder is still a Ponder no matter the format, I expect this to see play through the next year until it rotates.

Grixis Dark-Dwellers ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Kazushige Suzuki, 2nd Place, Grand Prix Tokyo

Grixis has been a looming color combination since week one, and though it has not put up the results that G/W Tokens or Bant Company have, it has been a player in the metagame. This weekend, this is similar to a list I probably would have been on had I been able to play in the Grand Prix. I love Kolaghan's Command, and this looks to be the best shell to make use of that card, adding the possibility to flash it back with Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, and I am on board. Dragonlord Silumgar is an interesting addition as more than just a one-of in the ’board. With all of the Gideons running around, I like the ability to steal it and immediately make an emblem. Even if the opponent manages to take care of the Dragonlord, you can loop this interaction with the Command, forcing the player to answer your board over progressing that player’s own.

Languish
The major downside of this list is you are forced into a position that does not allow you to play Languish, and while that card does have matches it does not line up well against, it has enough positive matches it certainly is not an easy thing to cut. If I am making that move, I feel I want to speed the deck up some and force my opponent to answer even more of what I am doing by applying early pressure that this list somewhat lacks.

While I was at the booth this weekend, Patrick Hardison and his friend stopped by, and while I was speaking with them, he informed me he was 10–0 at that point with Grixis Control. His spin on the deck involved Sin Prodder, which, on top of its own powerful ability, synergizes with Jace very well and allows you to fill the grave even quicker to use Kolaghan's Command. I really enjoy the interactions across this list, and though it does not differ much from the stock lists that showed up in Top 8, it does have the aggression I am looking for out of a deck unable to play Languish.

B/G Aurora ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Sam Black, 15th, Grand Prix New York

While Sam Black took a very different approach to The Great Aurora, it was nice to see it break into a list. I do like this addition to the deck, though, overall, we are still just looking at Seasons Past with a tune up. I don't currently like where this deck fits into the metagame, but as we have seen time and again, Sam does not disappoint in the innovation department. I would like to see this shell move to a build that is less reliant on Dark Petition to find all of the one-of’s, but builds like this ensure you always have at least one answer to everything in your seventy-five that has merit.

Ulvenwald Hydra also shows up as a new addition to this list, and I hope, with some camera play, this will begin to break into the format as well. While this is no Primeval Titan, it does have the ability to out-scale Westvale Abbey or even find your own copy among a number of other utility lands. I don't know that we will see a deck that lines up to play a full set of these, as Nissa's Renewal typically outranks this in the 6-drop spot, but complementing the Renewal is certainly something I would like to see moving forward.

W/B Planeswalkers ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Seth Manfield, 1st Place, Grand Prix New York

What can you say about Seth right now? The guy has strung together an impressive series of events, catapulting him into the dominating position this season. This deck is yet another example of the right control deck for the weekend. While I am partial to Grixis Control, it is hard to deny that Seth has a real read on the format and is using that to put up an higher-than-eighty-percent win percentage over the past few months.

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
The move of Kalitas to the ’board allows for a full set of Languishes in the main, which turned out to be a great decision to push through the field. Reading that a lot of people would be on Kalitas decks, this deck approaches the format in a way that minimizes Kalitas’s effectiveness against it. If almost everything you play only creates tokens, a 3/4 with lifelink is much less scary. And if decks are looking to end the game through this strategy, it buys Seth a great deal of time to find that endgame while not being suddenly pressured through an army of Zombies.

The last takeaway is the two Hallowed Moonlights in the main. While this card has mostly been a sideboard all-star, the move means that this deck, due to the card advantage, has found a way to play a few cards that may be dead in some matches. While you can always cycle Hallowed Moonlight, the matches in which it is catching a Gideon or Secure the Wastes off-guard can make or break the game, as the deck is otherwise cold to an end-of-turn Secure the Wastes untapping into an emblem.

I am still impressed with how much this format has to offer even if we are not seeing something revolutionary every week. The shift in the metagame suppressed G/W Tokens some, though I would still say it is probably the best overall deck to show up with in the dark. That being said, it seems we are seeing more lists this season with staying power than we have before; on any given weekend, the matches can line up correctly to allow for an interesting Day 2 or Top 8, and if that is the way of Standard, I will continue to enjoy the format. Next week, I will still be covering as much Standard as there is to keep up with, but I will shift some of my attention to Eternal Masters and the looming financial implications.

Ryan Bushard

@CryppleCommand

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TAGS articles, pro tour, grand prix, standard, constructed, deck lists, decks, finance, ryan bushard, shadows over innistrad, #mtgsoi, #gpny, new york

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