Rotation Recombobulation

Posted on September 10, 2015

My favorite time of year is upon us again. Rotation brings about so many amazing changes in the way we look at the game of Magic every year, and this one is certainly looking to shake things up and send Theros off with a bang! So far, we have not only three fantastic Planeswalkers, which I will be exploring today, but also the reveal of some old mechanics back for another go-round and what looks to be some great synergy with Khans block. Part of the reason this is my favorite part of the year is due to how drastically Standard changes and, in turn, creates a few-weeks period when nearly anything is possible. Last year, we saw that ingenuity advance even deeper into the seasons than usual, and I have high hopes that this will continue this year.

So where do we start when we only have about a quarter of the set revealed? Well, of course, we cannot predict what the rest of the set will look like and what cards will replace holes currently looking to be filled by some Khans-block sleepers. Courser of Kruphix is going to be among the largest voids that midrange green decks, or almost any green deck really, will need to fill, and that is not exactly an easy thing to do. Noting these key cards that are rotating and what can already replace them, if anything, will give you a better idea of what decks or strategies will have a chance to shine in the new year.

Abzan stands out here as a great contender early, already equipped with a broad spectrum of tools to combat nearly everything from last year. It would not surprise me to see the first few weeks have an abnormally high percentage of the field on these colors. Playing safe can win tournaments early, but even with the basic shell and creatures like Siege Rhino, we do have a good deal that needs to be replaced. Let’s just look at what we have from last season first and find what cards are rotating and whether we have immediate replacements.

Abzan ? Magic Origins Standard | Ryan Bushard

Planeswalkers (3)
3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

This is just one list, and as we all know, Abzan can take on many forms, but with the loss of so many of the low-cost creatures such as Fleecemane Lion, this is closer to the version I imagine will survive. Of course, with three quarters of the set still to be revealed, who knows what form the metagame may actually take? But for now, I am looking to update this list with cards we already have access to.

Looking down the list, the cards that are clearly obvious role-players that we are losing include Courser of Kruphix, as mentioned earlier, Bile Blight, Hero's Downfall, Thoughtseize, and Elspeth, Sun's Champion. While that doesn't seem to be a long list when you compare to other decks that are losing nearly everything, it does vastly decrease the early-game ability to lock down the hand and board for creatures like Siege Rhino to dominate the midgame, and that is a major hole in your game plan. At the beginning of the format, we see things usually speed up if anything, so we would be looking for more early game, not less. The other major hole comes from the loss of some of the deck’s best card-advantage engines: Elspeth and Courser.

So what do we have that can fill some of these gaps and bring us closer to stability next month? Let’s look through each of these cards as to the roles they serve and see what we have that can possibly replicate that. First is Thoughtseize, a card most people will not come to truly appreciate until it is gone, and this deck is a prime example of why. Normally in the early turns for these midrange decks, they are looking to catch an early creature with removal or establish a Courser-friendly board. Thoughtseize not only gives you full disclosure of exactly what you are playing against, it lets you decide from that point how the game will proceed. So many Thoughtseize choices are much deeper than they appear on the surface, and learning exactly what cards to strip in each matchup plays a huge role in this deck's success. Now that we are losing that ability, we are relying on catch-all removal and/or a faster more aggressive start to keep up—and that warps this entire deck.

One solution for the loss of Thoughtseize and Hero's Downfall is the inclusion of the slower, yet versatile, answer Utter End. If this card is not already on your radar, it should be, as it looks to be among the better replacements for Downfall in decks that can support it. Ruinous Path is another option that also adds a late-game element we have yet to explore, but overall, I feel Utter End being an instant is going to win out.

So now that we are losing our ability to peek and strip early threats if needed, it is also important that we have the ability to gain board control quickly, and with Bile Blight rotating, that becomes that much more difficult. Luckily, Ultimate Price is sticking around for a while still, but that does not answer cards like Mantis Rider that are likely to show up early on. But there is a new option that seems to fit the bill and is less taxing on our mana, as we are also losing Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. Gideon’s Reproach seems simple enough, but after looking over the other options, I believe this card will see a great deal of play to complement Utter End and Wrath of God effects.

This is all well and grand, but as anyone who plays Abzan knows, we still need the card advantage and late-game presence that we are losing from Elspeth and Courser. After digging for easy replacements, it became clear that Courser just is not replaceable—not in the way Elspeth is anyway. While it is unfortunate that we don’t have the ability to create a token army, we do still have role-players to gain card advantage or board presence in the form of Ob Nixilis, Reignited and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. I am not as sold on Gideon in a more control-based shell like this, but if aggro gains enough tools to replace what Theros is taking away, Gideon seems to be a great choice there. Ob Nixilis can provide a great deal of balance to this deck, and though it does have less impact on the board, we are watching Downfall—the easy answer to Planeswalkers—leave us, and that means friends like this are more likely to survive more than a turn.

I am sold on every ’Walker in this set and excited to see this card-advantage engine online behind the powerful flurry of removal this deck can provide. That just leaves us with Courser's role to fill, and while I would love to imagine a place where we see another 3-drop of equal value, it just does not seem likely. After scouring both new and old sets, I do like the new Undergrowth Champion in decks looking to go slightly more aggressive. No card advantage is present, but you do have a solid blocker past turn four—or past turn three with some additional ramp—and after that role is done, it can easily go on the offense, many times matching or exceeding a Siege Rhino in combat.

Abzan ? Battle for Zendikar Standard | Ryan Bushard

Planeswalkers (3)
3 Ob, Nixilis, Reignited

If I were to have to play the deck with the knowledge we have now, my list would probably look something like this, though perhaps without Tasigur, the Golden Fang, as he scares me with the new mechanics that reward your opponent for having cards in your exile. I have not seen anything yet that will be a staple, but if enough prove playable, that will drastically hurt Tasigur, among other cards this coming year. Duress looks to be growing better, as we no longer have Thoughtseize as an alternative in control matches. This will heavily reward decks that rely primarily on early creatures, which is why I would complement the board with the additional early removal.

Next week, I am hoping to bring in two decks in for facelifts, and as each day passes and more of the shroud is removed, it becomes easier to see exactly what themes work well enough to remain playable with the new cards and what is not worth even trying. With Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx gone, decks like Mono-Green suffer to the point of probably being unplayable, and if it does prove playable, I expect the list and theme to be very different from what we see now. If you have a particular deck or theme you would like to see tinkered with, let me know this week, and I will do my best to get a few of them in over the next few weeks leading up to the set release. I am also curious regarding what other people have begun to experiment with, so send me lists and ideas, and I will do my best to cover those as well.

As always, thank you for reading, I will be removing myself from civilization this weekend to attend a music festival, so though I won't be playing any Magic, I certainly will be keeping up with spoilers and theory-crafting to my heart's content!

Ryan Bushard

@CryppleCommand