Flooded Strand FTW!

Flooded Strand

Flooded Strand had an interesting set of performances at last weekend’s Star City Games Standard Open.

Flooded Strand showed up in Logan Mize’s U/W Heroic deck, Jeff Hoogland’s brand spanking new Thopter-based control deck, and (along with our recent centerpiece Jace, Telepath Unbound) a new take on Jeskai in the hands of Kevin McLeskey.

U/W Heroic by Logan Mize

4 Aqueous Form
4 Ordeal of Thassa
2 Stubborn Denial

2 Ajani’s Presence
4 Battlewise Hoplite
4 Defiant Strike
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Gods Willing
4 Hero Of Iroas
2 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
4 Ordeal of Heliod
2 Seeker of the Way

4 Flooded Strand
3 Island
4 Mana Confluence
6 Plains
3 Temple of Enlightenment

Sideboard
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Stratus Walk
2 Stubborn Denial
2 Treasure Cruise
1 Triton Tactics
1 Ajani’s Presence
1 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 Monastery Mentor
2 Seeker of the Way

Logan Mize made the finals of the Standard Open with a straight U/W Heroic deck. While a seemingly perfect metagame choice (U/W Heroic is a strong deck in a field full of slow G/R Devotion decks), Logan didn’t play any new cards from Magic Origins.

This deck is an “all-in” take on U/W Heroic. Logan played four copies of Aqueous Form, and even four copies of Ordeal of Heliod! This deck wants to play a Heroic creature, slap an aura on it, and kill the opponent quickly.

U/W Control by Jeff Hoogland

4 Hangarback Walker
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

3 Artificer’s Epiphany
3 Clash of Wills
4 Dig Through Time
1 Disdainful Stroke
4 Dissolve
2 Thopter Spy Network

3 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
3 End Hostilities
1 Last Breath
2 Swift Reckoning
2 Valorous Stance

3 Darksteel Citadel
4 Flooded Strand
6 Island
2 Mystic Monastery
2 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Radiant Fountain
4 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Tranquil Cove

Sideboard
1 Perilous Vault
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Displacement Wave
2 Negate
2 Stratus Dancer
1 Fated Retribution
1 Hidden Dragonslayer
3 Last Breath
1 Raise the Alarm
1 Valorous Stance

Jeff Hoogland played an inventive new deck that showcases multiple cards from Magic Origins and is a completely different take on one of Magic’s most time-tested archetypes.

The big interaction here is around Hangarback Walker, Thopter Spy Network, and Darksteel Citadel. With either of the other kinds of artifacts in play, Thopter Spy Network can create a tremendous advantage, combining the best elements of Bitterblossom and Bident of Thassa.

Hangarback Walker is itself an outstanding card, and Patrick and Michael wax quite a bit on its mana efficiency, defensive impact, and interactions with Abzan Charm.

Jeskai Tokens by Kevin McLeskey

4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
4 Treasure Cruise

4 Jeskai Ascendancy
2 Ojutai’s Command

1 Dragon Fodder
4 Hordeling Outburst
2 Lightning Strike
4 Stoke the Flames
3 Wild Slash

3 Raise the Alarm
1 Secure the Wastes
4 Seeker of the Way

3 Battlefield Forge
3 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Plains
2 Mountain
4 Mystic Monastery
3 Shivan Reef
2 Temple of Epiphany
4 Temple of Triumph

Sideboard
4 Disdainful Stroke
2 Negate
3 Sphinx’s Tutelage
1 Dragonlord Ojutai
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Roast
2 Valorous Stance

One Dragon Fodder, three Raise the Alarms, huh?

While there are a couple of down sides to that split (in a deck that can make both red and white, one is an instant and one is a sorcery), Dragon Fodder and Hordeling Outburst both making goblins increases the danger posed by an opposing Bile Blight.

But!

There might be a reason behind this decision. Patrick and Michael discuss.

This deck is a great showcase for our newest Jace. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy and Ojutai’s Command make for some resilience here; plus Jace and Jeskai Ascendency are actually pretty good friends.

Tons of discussion of these Flooded Strand decks, and how they fit into the Standard metagame in “Flooded Strand FTW”

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