First of all, let me say I hope everyone is having a great holiday season! Mine has been packed with family and friends; it’s been a fairly silent Magic holiday overall. Sometimes, we all need to get away from work and relax. Last week, I put a poll up asking if you would read a primer on W/U Heroic, and though it is certainly not what everyone is looking for, just over half of you said I should throw my hat in the ring.

As with everyone else, it sometimes is a nice relief to take some time off from the usual work and enjoy the time off. This week, I am going to do just that. This will not become a regular segment, and if I do decide to talk more about particular decks, I will probably find another outlet, but for this week, I am going to talk about playing Magic. Magic finance is my job, and though I love what I do for a living, this week has me particularly excited, so let’s dive right in!

The first point I would like to make this week is that my W/U Heroic list differs very much so from what you are used to seeing, and though many of the card choices are the same, the game plans do differ. The original list relies much more on a midgame onslaught of constant card advantage between the Ordeals and Heliod's Pilgrim while I lean more toward maximizing mana within the first three turns.

Before I explain how I arrived at where I am, let us take a look at the original list I started from a few months ago:

W/U Heroic ? Khans of Tarkir Standard | Tom Ross, Third/Fourth Place in StarCityGames Open

• Creatures (20)
• 2 Eidolon of Countless Battles
• 3 Heliod's Pilgrim
• 3 Seeker of the Way
• 4 Battlewise Hoplite
• 4 Favored Hoplite
• 4 Hero of Iroas

• Spells (18)
• 2 Feat of Resistance
• 4 Defiant Strike
• 4 Gods Willing
• 1 Aqueous Form
• 1 Ordeal of Heliod
• 1 Singing Bell Strike
• 1 Stratus Walk
• 4 Ordeal of Thassa

• Lands (22)
• 2 Island
• 9 Plains
• 1 Mana Confluence
• 2 Tranquil Cove
• 4 Flooded Strand
• 4 Temple of Enlightenment

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Seeker of the Way
• 2 Treasure Cruise
• 3 Stubborn Denial
• 1 Heliod's Pilgrim
• 2 Ajani's Presence
• 2 Lagonna-Band Elder
• 1 Aqueous Form
• 1 Ordeal of Heliod
• 2 Erase

Buy This Deck

When I saw this list piloted by Tom Ross, I was enthralled! I am not usually much of an aggro player, but this deck had such a nice combo element to it that I still felt comfortable behind the driver’s seat. Where I am now is far less reliant on the combo element the deck can provide, but that was certainly enough to at least get me intrigued about the archetype.

I noticed right off with the above list that having more than one Heliod's Pilgrim in my opener was miserable against most of the field. Stoneforge Mystic this guy is not, and that got me questioning just how necessary he was in the first place. Sure, in the midgame, it can do very well to overwhelm your opponent by chaining Ordeal of Thassas or else by find that Singing Bell Strike or Aqueous Form you needed to win, but it also usually did nothing until at least turn five.

I also noticed that the games I was winning constantly involved a turn-one Favored Hoplite and a turn-two Ordeal. With Bile Blight falling out of favor, this play became stronger and stronger, and that led me to focus the deck around this interaction over the midgame card advantage; after all, why start comboing on turn five when the game could already be over.

This line of play did make it more important to protect what few guys we would have in play, and that led to an increased number of protection spells. Inevitably, the Pilgrims were cut for earlier threats, and some of the less ideal silver bullets went out the window to streamline my draws. I would much rather see a hand full of Ordeals and 1-drops than Pilgrims and Singing Bell Strikes any day. I posted a list a few weeks back, but I have since made a few minor changes during and after the Pro Tour Qualifier I attended. The updated list looks like this:

• 4 Favored Hoplite

This is still the best option for a 1-drop we have, and I am never mad to see one in the opener. This deck would probably not exist without this card, so it is a four-of in not only my list, but probably in everyone’s.

• 3 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer

Though not as fantastic against most of the field as Favored Hoplite, this guy wears an Ordeal very well and shines in match-ups that rely on Lightning Strike or Magma Jet to clear the way. Most lists I see start their variation here, but from what I have seen testing this deck, the more 1-drops we have, the more games we win simply on tempo. This guy may not be exactly what we are looking for, but he does the job and can block fairly well in races as well.

• 4 Battlewise Hoplite

This is still one of the most intriguing cards in the deck. At one point, I cut down to two, and it was not until then that I realized just how much he smoothed out some of my draws. There will be games in which you feel that drawing two is useless, but overall, this guy is a must as a four-of. Increasing the number of cards we have that can trigger heroic also added to his strength.

• 4 Hero of Iroas

Similar to the Battlewise Hoplite, this card can feel less than ideal in multiples given how many Auras I have cut. The Hero does allow a number of lines that would not be available otherwise, such as turn-one guy and a turn-two Hero into a turn three on which you still have a guaranteed target for Ordeals in addition to still having protection backup. If rotation provides anything better in the 2-drop spot, I can see this cutting down to a two- or three-of given how much less important the card is in this build.

• 1 Eidolon of Countless Battles

Much like the initial issue of multiple Pilgrims, I found the hands with both of my Eidolons was almost always a mulligan, and though it does not happen often, the risk rarely made up for the reward. I rarely ever want a second copy of this card through any game outside of the mirror anyway, and in many matches, even seeing one was nearly a dead draw, so I cut down to one, seeking another answer that was equally good in ground stall situations while perhaps more versatile in use in other matchups.

• 4 Ordeal of Thassa

This is the card that makes this deck go round—seriously, if you have played with this deck at all, you know just how good popping these feels, and there can never be enough, so of course we are maxing out. I would run two to three more if I could.

• 3 Ordeal of Heliod

As I mentioned, I would rather these draw me cards, but considering we are maxed out, I guess 10 life will do. I really like having more Ordeals in the mirror matches as well, but in reality, this could do so much less than it does and still be playable just to get things rolling with our 1-drops. I only run three now due to a few switches I made with the deck, but the fourth is in the board and comes in against any deck that is trying to race you; as you can imagine, this decides most of those races.

• 2 Aqueous Form

This is probably my least favorite inclusion in the deck, as there are a number of games in which it does very little for you, but given how much of the format relies on creature combat to win, I have to have a way to get through when my early game begins to deteriorate, and without the Pilgrim, I decided a second copy was in order. I have toyed around with a singleton Pilgrim in place of one of these, but I still have not completely locked in that spot. Some have also asked why I run Aqueous Form over Stratus Walk, as you make up for the card disadvantage that way, but with Hornet Queen and Stormbreath Dragon already being two of the harder cards to beat, Aqueous Form is just much better in the matches in which you want evasion.

• 3 Feat of Resistance

When I first looked at this list, this card failed to impress me, but now that I have hundreds of games under my belt, I have a new understanding and respect for just how good this card is. If nothing else, it can pump every creature in your deck for +2 permanently—that, combined with the protection, makes for short work of a midgame in which your opponent is wasting his or her turn in attempts to kill your threats.

• 3 Gods Willing

This card needs little explanation as to why it is in the deck, and though I see most decks max out the number of copies, I have found that in many situations, I would rather it be a Feat of Resistance or Stubborn Denial, so I spread my answers evenly across the three. This also opened up another sideboard spot, which is never a bad thing.

• 3 Stubborn Denial

This is where I venture away from most of the conventional builds, but this card is phenomenal in this deck, and though it certainly has matches in which it shines and others in which it is weaker, I find it is almost always relevant even if you do not have ferocious. I adapted the main-deck copies when Crackling Doom took off in popularity, and I since have been more and more pleased with how the card interacts with almost every matchup. Sometimes, it is as good as a Gods Willing, and other times, it catches something like a Whip of Erebos you would otherwise have no main-deck answer for.

• 4 Defiant Strike

This one needs no explanation—it triggers heroic, deals extra damage, and draws a card. Sign me up for four copies in every build.

• 1 Treasure Cruise

This was something I tried with great success at the PTQ two weeks ago, and it has seemed to solve a number of issues all in just one spot. It acts like a fifth Ordeal in most cases, which is exactly what we are looking for. It also does well against the heavy removal decks since we can reload easily, and it solves the issue we had with the Eidolon in the opener. Opening this and Eidolon together still does not feel great, but this can be the case surprisingly often before turn five, and in combination with a few Ordeals, our hand is almost never empty. The first delve spell is always fine, and this seems to be the ideal one for this deck. I have tried two in the main, but one each of Eidolon and the Cruise seems correct for now.

• 3 Temple of Enlightenment

We want to minimize the number of lands that are coming into play tapped with this build since maximizing mana turns one through three is critical. This is the best of the tapped fixing we have, so the scry gets the nod.

• 3 Mana Confluence

This may seem to be too many, and granted, there are games against aggro during which I have had two in the opener and been punished, but overall, the number of times this smoothed out my curve has been far greater than how many times I have been punished for the extra damage. Builds without three Ordeal of Heliods may want to lower this number.

• 4 Flooded Strand

The pain is flowing in this deck, but thinning out excess lands is a must since we rarely need more than three ever. The addition of the Treasure Cruise in the main deck also makes more fetches ideal, which leads into the newest addition . . .

• 2 Windswept Heath

Yes, I am running this strictly to thin the deck and hit delve for one card—the possibility of transforming into Bant has occurred to me, and it is something I am working toward, but right now, there just isn’t enough to want to stretch for. Become Immense is, however, a strong starting point.

• 7 Plains
• 2 Island

I wanted to run down some of the matches as well this week, but if people are that interested and curious about my ’board decisions, I can write a second part at some point elsewhere. I am going to leave that off for now and just include my sideboard list since the upcoming set will probably shape what the metagame looks like—and therefore what our board must contain. For now, mine looks like this:

• 3 Ajani's Presence

This is great against control or anything with End Hostilities. It’s also fine to bring in against decks you need to go wide against to win, as you can trigger heroic on multiple creatures with one spell. I also bring this in against decks that also have a fierce early game, as conserving mana can be important, and this is usually just better in those matches than Feat of Resistance.

• 2 Erase

This is all around a great card for a number of matches—usually, when these are coming in, you are taking out the Eidolon of Countless Battles and another card depending on the matchup.

• 1 Stubborn Denial

This is great against control and Whip decks. Counter removal or Whip, and just stay ahead of your opponent on curve; the opponent usually taps out nearly every turn, so even without ferocious, you should be able to capitalize on how greedy his or her plays are.

• 1 Treasure Cruise

This replaces the Eidolon in decks running mass removal or decks like Mardu that kill anything you play.

• 1 Aqueous Form

This comes in against any deck that wants to gum up the board with Hornet Queen or tokens; don’t feel that you have to bring this in against every creature deck. Usually, just bring it in against those that have creatures across multiple colors, keeping you from giving color protection to swing for the win.

• 1 Eidolon of Countless Battles

This replaces the Treasure Cruise in the main for the mirror—I’m not sold on this needing to be in the ’board, but for now, it is still residing there.

• 1 Disdainful Stroke

I found one more counter from the ’board evens out many of the sideboarding dilemmas you have against control and Abzan, as you usually want to cut one more card than you want to bring in, and the fifth counter can catch opponents off guard.

• 1 Ordeal of Heliod

This comes in against any deck that wants to race; you can never have too many Ordeals!

• 2 Hopeful Eidolon

I bring these in mostly against decks like Jeskai or other opponents that have few ways to deal with a large creature. Giving something like a 6/6 lifelink is usually the nail in the coffin. I have considered putting Seeker of the Way in this spot, but that card does not really fit into the curve with our 2-drop sot already at maximum capacity. Don’t be afraid to slam this guy on turn one and strap him up on turn two if you know your opponent cannot interact; it does not happen often, but it has won me games.

• 1 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer

I will usually substitute one of my 2-drops for this guy if my opponent has a deck with heavy amounts of removal. Putting a guy down before the opponent does can deal with the opponent on a one-for-one basis. That’s key to these matches, and this is the best option we have at 1 after Favored Hoplite.

• 1 Hushwing Gryff

This is a flex spot right now. At the PTQ, I had one in the main—which I did not like at all—and I had one more in the board, which I did not find often enough to give a real analysis of. For now, consider this an open spot that could just as easily be another Erase if Whip of Erebos decks are prevalent in your area.

Thank you for reading, and as promised, I will get back to work next week and get some more hard financial information on the page. I really enjoyed writing this, and if anyone has any further questions or would like information on particular matches, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me on Twitter! Hope you all are having a great holiday and staying warm. Tune in next week as we start the new year off strong!

Ryan Bushard

@CryppleCommand