Combo off with Kethis, the Hidden Hand

Meet Kethis, the Hidden Hand

Kethis, the Hidden Hand is the center of Standar’s most exciting strategy
  • Effect of Card: Legendary spells you cast cost (1) less to cast. Exile two legendary cards from your graveyard: Until end of turn, each legendary card in your graveyard gains “You may play this card from your graveyard.”
  • Converted Mana Cost: 3
  • Type: Legendary Creature – Elf Advisor
  • Sets: Core Set 2020

Okay… There is a ton to unpack here. Kethis, the Hidden Hand is, first and foremost, a nice creature. For three mana (albeit of three different colors) it provides a 3/4 body. Not insane by itself, but no slouch, and more than big enough to defend the battlefield while you’re setting the game up.

More importantly come the Hidden Hand’s two lines of text:

  1. The first makes Legendary spells — including not only creatures by Planeswalkers and big endgame stuff like Urza’s Ruinous Blast cheaper.
  2. The second is a kind of card drawing engine, provided you have sufficient Legendary cards and a way to stock your graveyard.

Diligent Excavator + Kethis, the Hidden Hand

By itself, Kethis, the Hidden Hand might have been able to drive a serviceable midrange deck. After all, its power and toughness are full-on “okay” for its casting cost, and if you have enough Legendary cards… It can do some good grinding.

But combined with Diligent Excavator and Mox Amber, this Elf Advisor can weave some legen — wait for it — dary game states.

Diligent Excavator sets up Kethis.

Unassuming in the abstract, Diligent Excavator makes for an extremely cost-efficient source of self-Mill. If you have this card in play, you can Mill yourself for zero — zero mana — using a [Legendary] Mox Amber. Go ahead and tap that Mox for a mana.

When you play another one, you will not only Mill yourself again, but the Legend Rule will put your original Mox Amber into the graveyard; you know, where you can cast it again using the Hidden Hand’s shenanigans.

Between these cards and a discount on Oath of Kaya, the Standard Kethis Combo deck can play for a Storm-like recurring Fireball plan, grind the opponent out with card advantage, or mold a plan to the other mage’s specific configuration.

Sure, there are ways to nerf the graveyard, but this deck plays Teferi, Time Raveler to bounce a Leyline of the Void, and conventional disruption like Duress is a little blunted (most of the combo pieces being creatures); as is creature removal (stuff like Cast Down is rather poor against all the Legends).

In sum: Awesome!

Stay Tuned for…

The best of the rest. We talk everything from Grixis Control to innovations in Golos for Field of the Dead. Standard is so dynamic nowadays! Enjoy!

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Chandra’s Spitfire and Key Changes to Mono-Red

It’s All About Chandra’s Spitfire

Chandra’s Spitfire gives Mono-Red a whole new endgame.

Aaron Barich took down the first big Standard event of Core Set 2020 Standard with… Mono-Red Aggro!

But Aaron’s Mono-Red was a whole new flavor. While related to previous incarnations of the deck, the Barich build featured four copies of Chandra’s Spitfire. What a weird three drop, you might muse to yourself: But this isn’t just a creature that you might play… It’s a dramatically different direction for Mono-Red that preserves most of what made the deck good before, but adds a Pyromancer’s Ascension-like end game.

Aaron’s build chooses Ember Hauler over Viashino Pyromancer, and consequently, Skewer the Critics over Wizard’s Lightning. While Viashino Pyromancer kind of always burns for two (and Ember Hauler only sometimes burns for two), the ability to choose when you do this for buffing Chandra’s Spitfire or setting up Skewer the Critics is a big deal in this more strategic build.

Of note: Both Runaway Steam-Kin and Chandra’s Spitfire are Elementals. As such, they don’t die to the sweeping [-3] of Chandra, Awakened Inferno.

Ember Hauler versus Viashino Pyromancer

Ember Hauler costs RR instead of R1… Which isn’t an issue in a deck with literally 20 basic Mountains.

The ability to deal two damage to a creature is of course an upgrade over Viashino Pyromancer’s 187 ability.

The downside, of course, is that Viashino Pyromancer always hits, and “hits” even if it would die in combat or to removal. That’s not necessarily true for Ember Hauler. Under Sixth Edition rules, Ember Hauler would have had the benefit of “damage on the stack” … But those rules haven’t been in play for years. If Ember Hauler is going to trade with something in combat, it will not also be able to deal its extra two.

There are pros and cons to both two drops. Ember Hauler is a little better with Skewer the Critics and Chandra’s Spitfire. Viashino Pyromancer is a little better at loading up damage against Planeswalkers.

The tiebreaker?

2/2 versus 2/1!

The second toughness on Ember Hauler, combined with the presence of the three-toughness Spitfire, makes Aaron’s Red Deck a bit more resilient against other people’s Goblin Chainwhirlers.

And that’s not a small thing if Mono-Red is once again Standard’s early leader…

But Don’t Sleep on Cerulean Drake…

Cerulean Drake is absolutely incredible against Mono-Red.

It’s like a Sea Sprite — and Sea Sprite was a legendary sideboard card against Deadguy Red “back in the day” — but has an additional ability!

Cerulean Drake’s most important function in the modern age is being able to wear a Curious Obsession. Decks that only have red removal (like Mono-Red, but probably not only Mono-Red) will probably just lose to that two-card combo.

But Cerulean Drake can be played in more than just Mono-Blue Tempo! This card seems like an outstanding sideboard card for Esper Control. Not only will it buy you a ton of time and life against the hated Mono-Red deck… It’s outstanding for Planeswalker defense!

Putting it All Together…

Patrick thinks the Mono-Red deck may want to be splashing green in the longer term.

Cindervines is one of the best sideboard cards in the format; and a great tool if Wilderness Reclamation decks return to popularity.

But maybe more importantly? Kraul Harpooner to knock Cerulean Drake out of the sky!

For more sick tech like this, listen up to this week’s podcast now!

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We are ALL ABOUT this New Nightpack Ambusher Deck

Meet Nightpack Ambusher from M20:


2GG
Creature – Wolf
Flash
Other Wolves and Werewolves you control get +1/+1.
At the beginning of your end step, if you didn’t cast a spell this turn, create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token.
4/4

It’s all about the Risen Ree… Err… Breeding Pool

The new Standard is chock full of awesome new Breeding Pool decks. Big mana ramp is giving our old buddy Hydrod Krasis new life.

Risen Reef is appearing in a variety of Temur Elementals decks, slapping palms with two different types of M20 Chandra, going wide, and going tall.

There is an unbelievable new Simic Deck with an infinite combo driven by Drawn from Dreams. Imagine having four permanents in play and then free-playing Omniscience (and everything else you might want to do right after). Mike thought this was going to be his favorite deck — or at least Simic deck — of the week.

That is, until Patrick introduced him to Nightpack Ambusher.

Nightpack Ambusher in Simic Flash

We’ve seen Azorius Flash decks for years… But URZA2109 gave us a sweet new Simic deck… That plays almost entirely on the opponent’s turn!

Check out this lineup:

  • Brineborn Cutthroat – Flash… And a ton of upside based on your other 16 flash guys (and permission)
  • Frilled Mystic – Flash… That utterly destroys last season’s crop of “big spell” decks
  • Merfolk Trickster – Flash (and flashy)
  • Spectral Sailor – Flash; flashy on one… and really flashy on five (Whispers of the Muse, anyone?)

The unbelievable beauty of Nightpack Ambusher in this deck is that you almost never cast anything on your own turn. The only card in the entire main deck that plays main phase is Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer. That means that — unless something is going waaaaay wrong — you are making a 3/3 Wolf every turn.

With 10 permission spells (and 3 Unsummons for those Frilled Mystics) this is a tough setup to beat once you get the big Wolf down.

Shifting Ceratops Ain’t no Slouch, Neither

URZA2109 put together a heck of a sideboard. All these cards are great; but the Core Set 2020 additions are super great!

There are already four Shifting Ceratops to kill Teferi, Hero of Dominaria to death (with haste); we just think a fourth Aether Gust might make sense… To counter other players’ Shifting Ceratops 😉

There were a ton of new Core Set 2020 decks revealed this week, from B/W Vampires to Jund Dinosaurs. Check them all out now!

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Cards We’d Actually Want to Play from Core Set 2020

Wow! Core Set 2020 (M20) spoilers sure have been hitting rapid fire! It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were talking Modern Horizons… And it barely feels like the concrete has hardened on War of the Spark Standard.

But M20 is here, and while there are a ton of “interesting” cards (we’re looking at you, Atemsis, All-Seeing), there are more than a few that we want to jam into our decks and brew with. Following are a handful of these future Staples and combo pieces.

Corpse Knight from Core Set 2020 May Revitalize an Archetype

Corpse Knight

The Skinny: This card is great types. Zombie and Knight are both relevant text in Standard. Might Corpse Knight help bring back B/W Knights alongside Knight of Grace, Knight of Malice, or History of Benalia?

Maybe.

But this creature gets even more interesting when you treat it not just as a synergistic two-drop… But a Fireball!

What about Corpse Knight into March of the Multitudes? What if you have two copies of Corpse Knight in play?

Not bad, huh? We’re just getting started on the creature-combo Fireballs.

Pair Dread Presence from Core Set 2020 with Scapeshift for an instant kill

Dread Presence

“Necro!”
-Patrick

Yes, yes. Dread Presence has a little Necropotence to it; a little Phyrexian Arena, more like. And it has a little Sorin’s Thirst.

You can play Dread Presence as a five drop and turn it into either a cantrip or a Nekrataal of sorts. I guess that would be fine… But it might also be wasting the potential of this card.

How about you play Dread Presence with seven lands in play? Drop the eighth for two, and then Scapeshift the lot of them for another sixteen.

Can you manage two more points?

The only thing “bad” about this combo is that you’re playing a Hill Giant. Yes, yes. You’re playing a 3/3 creature for four mana.

It doesn’t take much to make Chandra’s Regulator from Core Set 2020 worth playing

Chandra's Regulator

First and foremost, this card is priced to move. It’s cheap to drop, and will usually get down before you play your first Chandra Planeswalker. Assuming you tap out for her, you’re not gong to get any Chandra’s Regulator benefit initially… But this artifact’s effect will put you way ahead after only one or two double-ups.

Can you imagine making RRRR for 1? How about double emblems?

The other ability on Chandra’s Regulator is also eminently relevant, and might help to produce an all-new Mono-Red archetype. Stay tuned.

As a matter of fact, just listen up now!

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