Tag Archives: Patrick Chapin

Probably Playing Karakas

Karakas
Double topics this week… We start on Standard, but then uncover why Patrick is probably playing Karakas in Legacy.

G/W had another big week (especially with Number One Seth Manfield taking down Grand Prix Costa Rica) but the coolest new technology appeared in the hands of Tom “the Boss” Ross:

R/W Humans by Tom Ross

2 Anointer of Champions
2 Consul’s Lieutenant
4 Dragon Hunter
4 Expedition Envoy
4 Knight of the White Orchid
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Town Gossipmonger
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros

4 Always Watching
3 Gryff’s Boon
4 Declaration in Stone

14 Plains
4 Battlefield Forge

Sideboard:
3 Hanweir Militia Captain
4 Reckless Bushwhacker
1 Gryff’s Boon
1 Silkwrap
2 Stasis Snare
4 Needle Spires

To the surprise of no one, Tom Ross hit #SCGATL with “eighteen Plains” … or rather, fourteen Plains and four copies of Battlefield Forge. Those Battlefield Forges do act as (painful) Plains main deck, but don’t have much immediate reason to tap for red.

After sideboarding, Tom brings in four copies of Needle Spires. This is nothing new… The post-sideboard version of R/W Humans wants to go up to twenty-two lands as it increases costs. Battlefield Forge and Needle Spires get along well, of course, with one powering up the other.

But why go up to twenty-two lands to begin with? So many of these white Humans decks side in Gideon (which is much more expensive than anything in Tom’s main)… But Tom didn’t play Gideon at all!

If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. The B/W Control deck has plenty of cards like Ruinous Path and Anguished Unmaking to handle Gideon; Tom figured out to attack the format at a different angle. Instead of Gideon he brought in an actual red card, Reckless Bushwhacker.

Basically, Tom comes in swinging as hard as possible to begin with. Bam bam bam one drops et cetera. The opponent is expected to hit a sweeper…

And then Tom waits.

And waits.

And waits as he fills his hand.

After sufficient resource repair, Tom can send up a massive turn based on dropping all the power in his hand and finishing with Reckless Bushwhacker. Probably for lethal.

Further in the Standard section…

  • Updates to Saito’s flying deck
  • Why would you ever want to play Invocation of St. Traft?
  • How to exploit a metagame where there are two fewer removal cards per deck?
  • How to increase the mana consistency of U/R Eldrazi

We then switch gears to do a little Legacy brewing for this week’s upcoming Grand Prix.

Will Patrick play a deck with Jace, the Mind Sculptor or one with Cavern of Souls? One thing is sure: His deck will be able to return a legendary creature to its owners hand!

Listen to “Probably Playing Karakas” to find out:

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Izzet Time to Go Rogue?

brutal-expulsion

G/W Tokens was once again the deck of the weekend, winning not one but two Grand Prix tournaments on opposite sides of the Atlantic on the same day! But… Izzet time to to rogue?

We are so wealthy with awesome new builds and ideas that both Patrick and Michael loved a Shivan Reef deck best… and they weren’t even the same list.

But before we get to those let’s take a moment to tip our hats to Hall of Famer Raph Levy with his umpteenth Grand Prix title and a hell of a G/W Tokens list:

G/W (Red!) Tokens by Raphael Levy

4 Archangel Avacyn
4 Hangarback Walker
2 Lambholt Pacifist
4 Sylvan Advocate

2 Chandra, Flamecaller
4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
4 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

4 Dromoka’s Command
1 Evolutionary Leap
4 Oath of Nissa
2 Stasis Snare

4 Canopy Vista
7 Forest
4 Fortified Village
7 Plains
3 Westvale Abbey

SIDEBOARD
1 Angelic Purge
2 Clip Wings
1 Declaration in Stone
3 Den Protector
1 Evolutionary Leap
2 Hallowed Moonlight
2 Planar Outburst
1 Silkwrap
2 Tragic Arrogance

That’s right! Green-white… Red? And that pair of Chandras can be cast only via Oath of Nissa. Boom.

So how about those Izzet decks? Patrick’s pick:

U/R Ulamog by Matthew Hunt

3 Drowner of Hope
3 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

2 Chandra, Flamecaller
2 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets

2 Anticipate
1 Brutal Expulsion
4 Clash of Wills
1 Confirm Suspicions
1 Epiphany at the Drownyard
4 Hedron Archive
2 Kozilek’s Return
4 Spatial Contortion
4 Void Shatter

4 Highland Lake
5 Island
4 Mage-Ring Network
4 Shivan Reef
4 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
2 Spawning Bed
4 Wandering Fumarole

SIDEBOARD
1 Drowner of Hope
2 Fevered Visions
2 Fiery Impulse
2 Kozilek’s Return
2 Negate
3 Reality Smasher
1 Roast
1 Ruin Processor
1 Warping Wail

Patrick details many cool acceleration and Eldrazi Scions interactions in Hunt’s deck. This is a deck that is chock full of technology!

Like… Why does a deck that can tap for red play Spacial Contortion instead of Fiery Impulse or Draconic Roar? How cool is a deck that taps “out” for Hedron Archive… And then Warping Wails your incoming Infinite Obliteration? Boom boom.

Here’s MichaelJ’s favorite Izzet deck of the week:

Izzet Flying by Tomoharu Saito

4 Dimensional Infiltrator
4 Goldnight Castigator
4 Rattlechains
4 Stratus Dancer

4 Clash of Wills
4 Exquisite Firecraft
4 Fevered Visions
4 Fiery Impulse
4 Spell Shrivel

7 Island
9 Mountain
4 Shivan Reef
4 Wandering Fumarole

SIDEBOARD
4 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
4 Negate
4 Roast
3 Seismic Rupture

“Seismic Rupture hits non-flyers. Then Goblin Dark-Dwellers gets Seismic Rupture back.”
-Patrick

“Immune!”
-Mike

Take a look at that for a second. Saito basically has twelve copies of Welkin Tern. Sure Rattlechains can hook up Rattlechains once in a Blue Moon and there are a couple of Shivan Reefs for Dimensional Infiltrator… But a lot of the time, that Stratus Dancer is going to hit the table face up.

Between Fevered Visions and Exotic Firecraft Saito has good reach; and between Fevered Visions and Goldnight Castigator he has outstanding planeswalker defense. This deck is the hottest; and the coolest!

What do you guys think? Which is the best Shivan Reef deck? And Izzet time to go rogue? Find out!

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Goblin Dark-Dwellers in Modern and Beyond!

Goblin Dark-Dwellers
Goblin Dark-Dwellers… Standard standout and now cross-format All-Star!

Goblin Dark-Dwellers has been a solid Standard performer almost since its first appearance in Oath of the Gatewatch. But with the recent adjustments to the Modern metagame — away from Eldrazi and loosening the fetters on Ancestral Vision — the menacing five drop has come front and center in that larger format, too.

So… Patrick didn’t play any kind of The Gitrog Monster deck at Grand Prix LA… But he did open up 8-0 with the first of this week’s Goblin Dark-Dwellers decks:

Michael Majors-esque Grixis by Patrick Chapin

2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

3 Ancestral Vision
2 Dreadbore
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Kolaghan’s Command
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mana Leak
4 Serum Visions
2 Spell Snare
2 Terminate
1 Thought Scour

2 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Darkslick Shores
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
1 Swamp
1 Watery Grave

SIDEBOARD
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Boom // Bust
1 Countersquall
2 Dispel
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Negate
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Terminate
2 Thoughtseize

This deck contains two pieces of cool technology that you will Will WILL want to understand for any go-forward Modern melees…

Ancestral Vision

Goblin Dark-Dwellers + Ancestral Vision

If Ancestral Vision is in your graveyard, you can play it immediately and “for free” by playing Goblin Dark-Dwellers. Ancestral Vision was not great in and of itself for Patrick, but it is very powerful with our centerpiece five drop (and great in the mirror).

One of the things that makes this deck cool is that Serum Visions can put Ancestral Vision on top of your deck… So you can mill it away with Thought Scour (and then re-buy it with Goblin Dark-Dwellers).

Boom // Bust

Goblin Dark-Dwellers + Boom // Bust

If Boom // Bust is in the graveyard Goblin Dark-Dwellers can look down and say “Ooh, I see there is this card ‘Boom’ that costs two mana; I can certainly cast that for free” … But then when it comes time to resolve the card, you can choose the “Bust” side and make the whole Erhnam-Geddon deck in one (okay, arguably two, cards)

One card that would have made this deck better is another Standard standout… Koziliek’s Return!

Patrick lost to Master of Waves twice, and Etched Champion once; Kozilek’s Return looks red but is colorless rules-wise… So much for Protection from Red (or other colors).

Check out this Goblin Dark-Dwellers take:

Skred Red by Chris Wallace

4 Boros Reckoner
3 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
3 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Stormbreath Dragon

4 Koth of the Hammer

2 Anger of the Gods
1 Blasphemous Act
4 Blood Moon
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Mizzium Mortars
2 Pyroclasm
4 Skred
1 Volcanic Fallout

2 Scrying Sheets
21 Snow-Covered Mountain

SIDEBOARD
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Crumble to Dust
2 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Spellskite
1 Surgical Extraction

Patrick and Michael riff on the Boros Reckoner / Skred angle, talk about how Countersquall is sometimes a Time Walk, debate the best ways to beat Nahiri, the Harbinger / Emrakul decks, killing the opponent on the third turn with Knight of the Reliquary, and shout out to now-qualified good friend Lan D. Ho. Also how Mike is a ghost.

All these decks are belong to us (and now you too) in “Goblin Dark-Dwellers in Modern and Beyond!”

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P.S. In this episode we state Grand Prix Charlotte winner Andreas Ganz played 62 cards; this was a result of a typo online. Ganz played only two copies of Temple of Enlightenment and 60 cards overall. Our apologies — and congratulations! — to Andreas.

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Eternal Masters Exclusive Preview: Toxic Deluge

Toxic Deluge
Toxic Deluge is our exclusive Eternal Masters preview card!

“Toxic Deluge. Two and a black. OWN your opponent.”
-Patrick Chapin

Toxic Deluge is a card that has never been legal in regular packs for regular [Standard] play. This is a card that was originally printed in the 2013 Commander product; but like Scavenging Ooze and True-Name Nemesis has found multiple homes in multiple competitive Constructed decks. Doing one better than even the storied Scavenging Ooze, Toxic Deluge has seen heavy play in both Legacy and Vintage, often as a sideboard bullet.

Toxic Deluge can go wide or tall. It is one mana cheaper than Languish when you need a Languish… and in fact one black mana cheaper than a Languish. It is a sweeper that can go way over Languish’s -4/-4. It is good against Mother of Runes, and in fact Mother of Runes-based strategies that can tax a defender’s speed.

It can go not just tall, but very, very tall. Facing down Emrakul, the Aeon’s Torn? If the opponent isn’t somehow smashing you with a Time Walk or a hasty attack (i.e. from a Show and Tell) Toxic Deluge can kill even a 15/15 creature! Do you have to pay fifteen life? Sure; but you would have had to pay fifteen life anyway, right?

Toxic Deluge can kill indestructible creatures! Blightsteel Colossus — or in some cases even a Marit Lage token — can be flooded out by this sorcery.

Toxic Deluge can kill lots of creatures… But can work with your own creatures sometimes! Give everyone -1/-1 and you can kill the opponent’s Snapcaster Mage and True-Name Nemesis… But leave your Tarmogoyf and Knight of the Reliquary!

Because it costs exactly three mana — and is a black card — Toxic Deluge is a good match to the popular Dark Petition… And especially perfect as a one-of for a strategy full of “Tutor” cards.

This is a card of great flexibility that has made a mark on both Vintage and Legacy. Top Level Podcast is proud to present it for Eternal Masters in this short bonus episode:

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Patrick’s The Gitrog Monster Combo

The Gitrog Monster
The Gitrog Monster allows you to win on turn five, immediately. Here’s how…

Dakmor Salvage + Seismic Assault + The Gitrog Monster

Dakmor Salvage Seismic Assault The Gitrog Monster

If you discard a land card to Seismic Assault with The Gitrog Monster in play, you can draw a card. If that land is Dakmor Salvage, you can dredge it back to start the cycle again! You can do this over and over (assuming you don’t run out of library) making 20 from a Seismic Assault on turn five require a trivial amount of materiel.

In fact, Dakmor Salvage has Dredge 2; that means that if you flip over another land while dredging, you will actually draw even more cards!

This configuration may be superior to previous versions of Assault-Loam because The Gitrog Monster allows you to win outright, instead of just grinding it out with card economy and a large positional advantage. That makes this version less vulnerable to instant kills from opposing combo decks.

At the same time — unlike other combo decks — all the cards are good, and synergistic with each other even when you don’t assemble an instant kill.

Seismic Assault + The Gitrog Monster

Seismic Assault The Gitrog Monster

Not an immediate, sure, kill… But still very card advantageous.

Seismic Assault + Life from the Loam

Seismic Assault Life from the Loam

The historical “combo” of these kinds of decks… Great generally, usually sure to win a long game, flexible, and of course advantageous.

The Gitrog Monster + Liliana of the Veil

The Gitrog Monster Liliana of the Veil

Cute — maybe even very “good” — that you can use Liliana, discard a land, and draw a card while the opponent only discards. Liliana of the Veil might be key if Bogles makes a Modern comeback.

The Gitrog Monster + Wooded Foothills

The Gitrog Monster Wooded Foothills

Fetchlands already define Modern in large part… Now they can draw cards, too! Score another synergy for The Gitrog Monster.

Patrick has a combo… But not quite a deck yet. He needs your help Top Level Podcast community to brew this one up before this weekend’s Grand Prix. Reach out to Patrick on social media and share your ideas:

Twitter

Facebook

Patreon

Sweet brewing, plus great admiration for the Modern work of Gerry Thompson and Sam Black on:

“Patrick’s The Gitrog Monster Combo”:

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Eldrazi Displacer is the Boom Boom

Eldrazi Displacer
“Good luck killing me with a Profane Prince,” says Eldrazi Displacer

Eldrazi Displacer does an insane number of awesome things. Take note!

  1. It is a great hit off of Collected Company. Why? It costs three mana. End. It’s about the same size for about the same mana as Bounding Krassis, but has a stronger long-term impact.
    When combined with Brood Monitor and Zulaport Cutthroat, Eldrazi Displacer can win the game on the spot. The Brood Monitor puts three colorless Eldrazi Scions onto the battlefield, which you can sacrifice to activate the Eldrazi Displacer (to blink the Brood Monitor), which means the opponent will be drained for three life.
  2. If you have Catacomb Sifter instead, Brood Monitor and Eldrazi Displacer can help you cycle through your whole deck. Same deal — three tokens for three mana each cycle with the Displacer’s ability — but instead of killing the opponent on the spot you can scry over and over and over again.
  3. Other “187” creatures with “enters the battlefield” effects are good duos with Eldrazi Displacer as well (Elvish Visionary, Goblin Dark-Dwellers, take your pick)
  4. When the opponent invests a ton of creatures (and a ton of mana) to flip a Westvale Abbey… Eldrazi Displacer can easily punish the seemingly indestructible Profane Prince.
  5. Even when it is less flashy than blinking / tapping / even flipping a key threat, Eldrazi Displacer can just defend, Icy Manipulator-style.

So, you know, the boom boom.

Lots and lots of things going on this week.

What deck did Mike play at Grand Prix New York? Where did he get it? What card does “everybody” like but Mike thinks is horrible (or at least was horrible for him this weekend)?Pretty good story, this.

“Getting down” aka going ultimate with Nahiri to get an Elvish Visionary!

… When to side in Clip Wings

The number of Evolving Wilds you should play in your three-color Tireless Tracker deck

“Grixis with no blue” (or as Patrick calls it, “Jund”)

The clean living of Sam Black’s B/G Ramp / Control deck… Patrick doesn’t want to live in a world where this isn’t the deck to play.

And of course our first shout-out to Patreon backers. If you want to support Top Level Podcast on Patreon you can do so at http://patreon.com/toplevelpodcast

All this and tons and tons of deck analysis and discussion on “Eldrazi Displacer is the Boom Boom”:

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Poor, Unappreciated, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is one of the best, most important creatures in Standard

… So why are we calling Kalitas poor and unappreciated?

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is everywhere — Esper Dragons, Grixis Control, Orzhov Control — but the prevailing narrative is still around G/W Tokens!

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet in Esper Dragons:

Robert Lombardi

4 Dragonlord Ojutai
2 Dragonlord Silumgar
3 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

1 Ob Nixilis Reignited

2 Clash of Wills
3 Foul-Tongue Invocation
2 Grasp of Darkness
3 Languish
2 Painful Truths
1 Read the Bones
4 Silumgar’s Scorn
2 Transgress the Mind
3 Ultimate Price

3 Caves of Koilos
4 Choked Estuary
4 Island
2 Port Town
3 Prairie Stream
2 Shambling Vent
4 Sunken Hollow
4 Swamp

SIDEBOARD
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Dark Petition
1 Dead Weight
1 Dragonlord’s Prerogative
2 Duress
1 Flaying Tendrils
1 Infinite Obliteration
2 Negate
1 Risen Executioner
1 Silumgar’s Command
1 Sorin, Grim Nemesis
2 Virulent Plague

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet in Grixis Control:
(BTW Patrick and Michael are both in love with this deck)

Oliver Tiu

2 Dragonlord Silumgar
4 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
4 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

1 Chandra, Flamecaller

3 Fiery Impulse
2 Grasp of Darkness
3 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Radiant Flames
3 Read the Bones
3 Ruinous Path
2 Transgress the Mind
2 Ultimate Price

3 Evolving Wilds
4 Foreboding Ruins
1 Island
1 Mountain
3 Shivan Reef
4 Smoldering Marsh
2 Sunken Hollow
5 Swamp
3 Wandering Fumarole

SIDEBOARD
2 Dragonmaster Outcast
4 Duress
3 Fevered Visions
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
3 Radiant Flames
1 Rending Volley
1 Silumgar’s Command

And loneliest… Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet in Orzhov Control:

Bret Tetley

3 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Ob Nixilis Reignited
2 Sorin, Grim Nemesis

3 Anguished Unmaking
4 Grasp of Darkness
3 Languish
2 Planar Outburst
4 Read the Bones
2 Ruinous Path
4 Secure the Wastes
2 Ultimate Price

4 Caves of Koilos
4 Forsaken Sanctuary
4 Plains
4 Shambling Vent
7 Swamp
3 Westvale Abbey

SIDEBOARD
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Dark Petition
3 Declaration in Stone
2 Duress
3 Hallowed Moonlight
2 Linvala, the Preserver
3 Transgress the Mind

Here’s the thing about Tetley’s deck… Since Kalitas is the only creature in this deck, it is really, really likely to die. The most popular removal — Ultimate Price, Grasp of Darkness — all kill Kalitas, and there is no one to draw off fire before it shows up.

Poor, dead-to-be, Kalitas 🙁

Patrick and Michael talk about even more Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet-featuring decks than these… As well as a new Dragons brew by MichaelJ!

All this and more in “Poor, Unappreciated, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet”:


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Drownyard Temple is Too Insane

Drownyard Temple
Drownyard Temple might just be one of the Top 5 cards in Standard. Let’s see…

Drownyard Temple was featured in multiple decks from last week’s Pro Tour Shadows Over Innistrad Top 8. Let’s see how this card fits into — or even helps define — the metagame.

R/W Eldrazi Goggles by Luis Salvatto

2 Matter Reshaper
2 Pyromancer’s Goggles
4 Thought-Knot Seer

2 Fall of the Titans
3 Fiery Impulse
3 Fiery Temper
3 Lightning Axe
2 Magmatic Insight
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
4 Tormenting Voice

3 Chandra, Flamecaller
2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers

2 Eldrazi Displacer

4 Battlefield Forge
2 Caves of Koilos
3 Drownyard Temple
8 Mountain
4 Needle Spires
2 Plains
1 Shivan Reef
2 Westvale Abbey

sb:
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
1 Avacyn’s Judgment
1 Dual Shot
2 Eldrazi Obligator
2 Rending Volley
2 Linvala, the Preserver
2 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Planar Outburst
3 Secure the Wastes

Luis Salvatto played essentially a Big Red deck (splashing for white and colorless cards). You can have played Magmatic Insight and Tormenting Voice in concert with Pyromancer’s Googles for some time… Mike hypothesizes that the “difference that makes the difference” is the printing of Drownyard Temple.

Tons of these cards — Magmatic Insight, Tormenting Voice, and Lightning Axe — all get great with Drownyard Temple; and as such…

“Three copies is indefensible,” says Patrick!

This deck actually wants colorless! There are many lands, like Mountain, one of the two copies of Westvale Abbey, or one of the weird off-color pain lands, that can potentially make room for Drownyard Temple #4.

Speaking of four copies of Drownyard Temple…

Goggles Ramp by Brad Nelson

1 Dragonlord Atarka

2 Hedron Archive
3 Pyromancer’s Goggles

4 Nissa’s Pilgrimage
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
3 World Breaker

2 Chandra, Flamecaller
3 Fall of the Titans
4 Fiery Impulse
4 Kozilek’s Return
3 Magmatic Insight
4 Tormenting Voice

3 Cinder Glade
4 Drownyard Temple
8 Forest
4 Game Trail
5 Mountain

sb:
1 Dragonlord Atarka
3 Den Protector
3 Tireless Tracker
1 Chandra, Flamecaller
2 Draconic Roar
2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
3 Rwending Volley

Drownyard Temple is even better in Brad’s deck than Luis Salvatto’s! Brad has all the Magmatic Insight-esque interactions and the long-game lock with World Breaker. World Breaker becomes an infinite threat given sufficient time as long as you can keep sacrificing a land… And one land in particular can make that a consistent reality.

We — and a lot of others — have been high on Oath of Nissa since it was printed (which was not that long ago). However Traverse the Ulvenwald is even better in this style of deck than Oath of Nissa! Notably Traverse the Ulvenwald can get either side of the World Breaker / Drownyard Temple combo, graveyard permitting.

Pro Tour Champion and Hall of Famer Patrick Chapin and Resident Genius Mike Flores discuss not only these Drownyard Temple decks but most or all of the Top 8 decks from Pro Tour Shadows Over Innistrad in “Drownyard Temple is Too Insane”:


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What We Learn from Thraben Inspector

Thraben Inspector
Traben Inspector is the best one-drop. Really!

First let’s look at Max McVety’s Invitational-winning Mono-White Humans deck:

4 Always Watching
1 Archangel of Tithes
4 Consul’s Lieutenant
4 Declaration in Stone
3 Dragon Hunter
3 Gryff’s Boon
4 Knight of the White Orchid
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
2 Stasis Snare
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Town Gossipmonger

20 Plains

sb:
3 Archangel of Tithes
2 Eerie Interlude
2 Hallowed Moonlight
3 Hanweir Militia Captain
1 Hidden Dragonslayer
3 Silkwrap
1 Stasis Snare

Patrick and Michael opine lovingly on Max’s mana base. He has these amazing lands! They come into play untapped every time. They always make the right color of mana! It is like he has twenty copies of City of Brass that never hurt him!

Max’s deck has a low mana base of “only” twenty basic Plains. This gives him a disproportionate number of good draws in topdeck situations.

In return, he “has” to play a ton of cheap creatures (so he can take advantage of the first turn, where he can slam a one drop with a very high level of regularity).

Mike thinks Kytheon, Hero of Akros is obviously the best (at least it is the most powerful)… Isn’t it weird that there are three Dragon Hunters before the fourth copy of Kytheon?

The truth is, Max’s winning deck list has lots and lots of one drops — over a dozen. The best one is Thraben Inspector. Here’s why:

  • Traben Inspector is a 1/2 for one mana. This deck has lots of 1/1 and 2/1 creatures… The second point of toughness can be important for resisting certain kinds of interactions.
  • Thraben Inspector is a lot like Elvish Visionary (a cross-format Staple). It is a super cheap creature that can draw extra cards… And is in a good tribe [like Elvish Visionary]
  • Thraben Inspector is a great way to use your mana early, and gives you useful things to do with your mana later in the game.

Mono-White Humans is obviously strong, winning such a key tournament… But it’s not the only take.

Check out Tom “The Boss” Ross’s version of Mono-White Humans:

4 Always Watching
3 Anointer of Champions
2 Consul’s Lieutenant
4 Declaration in Stone
4 Dragon Hunter
4 Expedition Envoy
2 Gryff’s Boon
4 Knight of the White Orchid
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Town Gossipmonger
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros

18 Plains

sb:
4 Hanweir Militia Captain
2 Lantern Scout
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Gryff’s Boon
3 Silkwrap
2 Westvale Abbey

Tom’s deck is even more extreme!

Twenty Plains was too many! Welcome to eighteen basic Plains!

Mike is baffled that a deck with even more one drops than Max’s still only plays three copies of Kytheon, Hero of Akros… And Patrick tricks him into falling in love with one of Tom’s unique interactions.

All this and a discussion of the future evolution of G/R Eldrazi in “What We Learn from Thraben Inspector”:

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Are You Always Watching?

Always Watching
Always Watching is a new card from Shadows Over Innistrad that has already contributed to multiple new strategies.

Always Watching is pretty much a Glorious Anthem with upside.

While the new take doesn’t buff token creatures (something Glorious Anthem did well in some decks), the addition of vigilance gives this card tremendous flexibility and play in Standard.

Consider…

Always Watching with Archangel of Tithes

Archangel of Tithes

Archangel Avacyn might be the hot new Archangel on the block, but don’t count out the Magic Origins mythic rare… Especially with this new enchantment. Archangel of Tithes is awesome at holding off “go wide” attack decks, but at some point you usually have to attack to actually win the game. When combined with our new 1WW, Archangel of Tithes can get both sides of its text box… Attacking though still untapped.

Always Watching with Dragonlord Ojutai

Dragonlord Ojutai

Dragonlord Ojutai probably didn’t need much help. While the Dragons of Tarkir headliner has been largely on the bench in recent sets, at no point did it stop being a supremely powerful Magic card.

If Dragonlord Ojutai ever had a vulnerability, it was just that it lost hexproof when tapped… And the “Anticipate” ability only ever hit when you hit the opponent. Enter: Always Watching. When you play these two cards together you can get in with Dragonlord Ojutai… But never surrender hexproof.

Oh, and Archangel of Tithes becomes 4/6 and Dragonlord Ojutai is 6/5 when played in concert with Always Watching.

Boom.

Here’s the thing: Always Watching isn’t even built for midrange control creature decks!

It is actually going to be most effective (probably) with fast creature decks that can take advantage of a “go wide” turn three buff.

MichaelJ and Patrick go over a ton of new decks featuring this card as well as Jim Davis’s Bant Collected Company deck, all from last weekend’s Open… Give it all a listen in “Are You Always Watching”


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