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Sphinx’s Tutelage VERSUS Constellation!

Sphinx's Tutelage
Sphinx’s Tutelage is the definition of “scissors” (as in rock-paper-scissors).
If you can get to the top tables with it, Sphinx’s Tutelage can lock up a tournament for you.

Recently on Twitter our own Patrick Chapin (aka @thepchapin) made a curious claim:

What did he mean by this?

What does that say about decks from the Pro Tour (like U/R Ensoul Artifact or Mono-Red beatdown), and how does it help inform go-forward metagame decisions in Standard?

Decks like Brian Kibler’s G/W Megamorph deck attacks particular opponents at advantageous angles:

G/W Kibler Megamorph by Loren Eakins

2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
3 Dromoka’s Command
4 Fleecemane Lion

3 Boon Satyr
2 Courser of Kruphix
4 Deathmist Raptor
4 Den Protector
4 Elvish Mystic
3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Warden of the First Tree

2 Hidden Dragonslayer
3 Valorous Stance

1 Blossoming Sands
8 Forest
1 Mana Confluence
6 Plains
4 Temple of Plenty
4 Windswept Heath

sideboard:
4 Hangarback Walker
1 Dromoka’s Command
2 Evolutionary Leap
2 Unravel the Æther
2 Arashin Cleric
1 Glare of Heresy
2 Tragic Arrogance
1 Valorous Stance

  • This deck lines up against [the Pro Tour-winning] Mono-Red deck on the fundamentals: Its cards just line up well against the Red Deck’s cards.
  • This deck has great options against the [It! Girl! breakout] U/R Ensoul Artifact deck. Unravel the Aether, for example, doesn’t care how “indestructible” an artifact might be.
  • Even against up-and-coming decks like U/R Sphinx’s Tutelage, Kibler’s deck starts Dromoka’s Command (a source of enchantment hate)
  • Tragic Arrogance is a great catch-all… “You just make them sacrifice their stuff.”

How about that Sphinx’s Tutelage deck?

U/R Sphinx’s Tutelage by Michael Majors

1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Flooded Strand
4 Island
5 Mountain
4 Radiant Fountain
4 Shivan Reef
4 Swiftwater Cliffs
4 Temple of Epiphany

1 Alhammarret’s Archive

4 Anger of the Gods
4 Magmatic Insight
2 Roast
4 Tormenting Voice

1 Dig Through Time
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Monastery Siege
2 Send to Sleep
4 Sphinx’s Tutelage
4 Treasure Cruise
2 Whelming Wave

sideboard:
3 Annul
1 Disperse
1 Encase in Ice
4 Negate
1 Whelming Wave
4 Fiery Impulse
1 Seismic Rupture

Michael Majors won Grand Prix San Diego with a port of Andrew Cuneo’s U/R Sphinx’s Tutelage deck:

With Abzan Control and G/W Megamorph so successful, U/R Sphinx’s Tutelage was a great choice! The deck can strand the heavy creature removal of Abzan, and easily race its powerful-but-slow threats with Sphinx’s Tutelage itself.

While this deck is full of card drawing — and was designed by Andrew Cuneo — make no mistake: This is a VERY offensive deck. Those card drawing cards aren’t just there for filtering and card advantage… With Sphinx’s Tutelage, they are there to kill you.

The success of U/R Sphinx’s Tutelage — and its finals opponent Abzan Constellation — have put the bullseye on enchantments as a card type. We’ve already talked about how Dromoka’s Command and Unravel the Aether can be effective against the key cards of these decks. But consider…

Back to Nature wipes the floor with Constellation! Remember Back to Nature?

Tragic Arrogance doesn’t care how many enchantments you have… It blows up [almost] all of them. Tragic Arrogance is a card people are already playing, and [Grand Prix Top 4 competitor] Paul Rietzl even ported a Tragic Arrogance into a former End Hostilities slot of his Abzan Control deck.

Abzan Control by Paul Rietzl

1 Bile Blight
3 Hero’s Downfall
2 Languish
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
4 Thoughtseize
2 Ultimate Price

4 Abzan Charm
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
4 Siege Rhino

4 Courser of Kruphix
2 Den Protector
3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer

2 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion

2 Caves of Koilos
4 Forest
2 Llanowar Wastes
1 Plains
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Temple of Malady
4 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Windswept Heath

sideboard:
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
1 Bile Blight
1 Drown in Sorrow
2 Duress
2 Read the Bones
2 Dromoka’s Command
1 Unravel the Æther
2 Arashin Cleric
2 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Tragic Arrogance

(and more)

… all in “Sphinx’s Tutelage VERSUS Constellation”

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Eidolon of the Great Revel is Surprisingly Good in the Mirror

Eidolon of the Great Revel
Eleven members of Team Ultra PRO played a red deck highlighted by Eidolon of the Great Revel

Team Ultra PRO had an outstanding Pro Tour Magic Origins!

Two members of Team Ultra PRO made Top 8 of Pro Tour Magic Origins — Pat Cox with Mono-Red and Matt Sperling with Abzan Control — with Rich Hoaen in ninth place on tiebreakers.

Find out how Michael, Patrick, and their Team Ultra PRO partners put together their multiple awesome decks, and better finishes!

Mono-Red by Pat Cox

4 Abbot of Keral Keep
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Exquisite Firecraft
1 Goblin Glory Chaser
1 Goblin Heelcutter
2 Lightning Berserker
4 Lightning Strike
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Searing Blood
4 Stoke the Flames
1 Titan’s Strength
4 Wild Slash
3 Zurgo Bellstriker

20 Mountain

sideboard:
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Goblin Heelcutter
2 Magma Spray
2 Outpost Siege
4 Roast
2 Scab-Clan Berserker
2 Scouring Sands

Highlights:

  • How many Lightning Berserkers is the right number? Top Level Podcast is a house divided here. Patrick thinks the PT-winning build (with four Lightning Berserkers) is a home run.
  • (like we said above) Eidolon of the Great Revel is surprisingly good in the mirror… also a great source of free wins
  • Abbot of Keral Keep has elevated red to high Tier One status. It is a great way to try to hit your third land drop, and a Scry 1 even when you miss.
  • “Stoke the Flames is a really powerful Magic card”
  • Searing Blood is good against most decks main deck, due to the addition of the new Planeswalkers in Magic Origins

Abzan Control by Matt Sperling

1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

3 Hero’s Downfall
2 Languish
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
4 Thoughtseize
2 Ultimate Price

4 Abzan Charm
4 Siege Rhino

4 Courser of Kruphix
3 Den Protector
3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer

3 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion

2 Caves of Koilos
4 Forest
2 Llanowar Wastes
1 Plains
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Temple of Malady
4 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Windswept Heath

sideboard:
2 Drown in Sorrow
1 Duress
1 Pharika’s Cure
2 Read the Bones
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Ultimate Price
2 Dromoka’s Command
3 Fleecemane Lion
1 Utter End
1 End Hostilities

What an unusual collection of two-ofs, three-ofs, and unique card choices! How do Platinum level pros like Patrick Chapin and Matt Sperling get to three Den Protectors, or playing them on turn two against aggro decks?

How do you end up with a deck like this, that ends up being so successful?

“Eidolon of the Great Revel is Surprisingly Good in the Mirror” will tell you!

To wit:

Three reasons Ultimate Price got better in Abzan Control:

  1. Abzan Aggro and Esper Dragons (both decks with powerful multicolor cards) got worse due to Languish being printed.
  2. The default Red Deck became more about Abbot of Keral Keep and no longer “go wide” with Hordeling Outburst
  3. Nissa, Vastwood Seer encourages Abzan players to run basic Forest… Which can cast Ultimate Price but not Bile Blight.

Remember:
“As long as you don’t have the wrong answers, you can’t beat Abzan’s card quality.”

Give “Eidolon of the Great Revel is Surprisingly Good in the Mirror” a listen now:

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Oblivion Sower is a Window to the Future

Oblivion Sower
Oblivion Sower
aka “Oblivion Dog Millionaire”

Michael and Patrick record in the same room for the first time ever!

Scratch that… They did an episode of Yo! MTG Taps together in 2010. Check that one out.

Anyway, they are together at the Team Ultra PRO house up in Vancouver to prepare for Pro Tour Magic Origins… But still took the time to make this awesome podcast!

So… Oblivion Sower.

Oblivion Sower is a new card hinted at by this week’s announcement of Duel Decks: Zendikar vs. Eldrazi. While it looks like a “clunky 5/8 for six” it is a creature with many important layers.

While it costs six, the “target opponent exiles the top four cards of his or her library, then you may put any number of land cards that player owns from exile onto the battlefield under your control” triggers on cast, not when Oblivion Sower enters the battlefield. That means that even if a blue player counters Oblivion Sower, you will still have the opportunity to get more lands into play.

Wait a minute!

I already have six mana!

Why would I want to get 1-2 more lands from the top of my opponent’s library?

It’s not just that you can get lands off the top of your opponent’s library. You can play any lands that the opponent has in exile. That means that if the opponent is setting up with Treasure Cruise or Dig Through Time you can play any of those lands, too.

But why might you want to get to 8, 10, or even 15 mana (which Oblivion Sower can help you to accomplish)?

  • Ugin the Spirit Dragon – Oblivion Sower costs six. If you can play even one land from exile your natural land drop the following turn will get you to the eight mana you need to cast Ugin.
  • Nissa’s Revelation – Having tons of expensive creatures in your deck will help you get paid off by playing powerhouse — but hella expensive — cards like Nissa’s Revelation.
  • Zendikar’s Roil – Five into six into multiple triggers isn’t just a mondo combo, it flows nicely curve-wise.
  • Emrakul, the Aeons Torn – While Patrick really, really doesn’t think that Emrakul, the Aeons Torn will be printed in Return to Zendikar, there will be some giant that is super expensive… And Oblivion Sower will help you get there.

Giant Spiders! Mike’s origin (if not Magic Origins)! How not to play Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy! All in “Oblivion Sower is a Window to the Future”

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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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Jace, Telepath Unbound (who knew?)

Jace, Telepath Unbound

Here’s a funny story: Michael kinda sorta didn’t know how Jace, Telepath Unbound works / worked / etc. I mean if you “only” get a Snapcaster Mage you are [still] potentially playing in the big leagues in terms of card power and quality.

… But what if you didn’t have to pay the mana cost on that mid-paragraph [-3]? Well you’d be flipping Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy by dumping Worst Fears or other crazily costed sorceries like Nissa’s Revelaion* and really break the costing rules of Magic: The Gathering.

… Of course, that’s not how Jace, Telepath Unbound works 🙁

All-in-all Patrick isn’t sure where this one will land. I mean: It’s a Jace. But! among other things, you can’t control the flip condition on pre-spark Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy.

Jace, Vryn's Prodigy

If Jace is feeling the spark… He’s going to flip. That puts different conditions on Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy than a regular Merfolk Looter. Besides which, Michael and Patrick seem to disagree about the playability of the classic Merfolk Looter anyway.

Is Jace, Telepath Unbound a powerful card with poor positioning? Well in terms of his [-9] Ultimate…

“It takes forever to get to it, and boy is it not good.”
-Patrick Chapin

A card Patrick finds much more interesting is (much to Michael’s surprise) Disciple of the Ring:

Disciple of the Ring

You’ll just have to listen to the podcast to get the full lowdown on this one, but Patrick has an unfettered Disciple of the Ring rated as an Opposition; an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite; and an Iona, Shield of Emeria all wrapped up into a single Aetherling.

Pretty high praise, no?

Both our intrepid podcasters seem to like Harbinger of the Tides best among the Magic Origins blue cards, ultimately.

Harbinger of the Tides

… But they play a little game about which card is best in the other four colors. Here’s a preview:

  • Archangel of Tithes or Kytheon, Hero of Akros?
  • Erebos’s Titan or Languish?
  • Nissa, Vastwood Seer v. Dwynen’s Elite?

Okay, maybe three of the five; Abbot of Kerl Keep is the whiz-bang winner in red + probably the best card in Magic Origins overall!

Abbot of Keral Keep

Sound fun? It is!

Listen to “Jace, Telepath Unbound (who knew)” now:

Direct Download

* For those wondering last week, yes of course we know Nissa’s Revelation lets you draw cards! It is still hard to use in the current environment, but pending new Eldrazi might become an All-Star in the future. For now, green decks will probably use it to find Dragonlord Atarka… Though we’re still not too keen on it.

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Where do you Rank Evolutionary Leap?

Evolutionary Leap
Evolutionary Leap

Where do you rank Evolutionary Leap? No, Evolutionary Leap is not better than “a certain banned card in Legacy” but it’s a Birthing Pod you don’t have to tap, and has quite a few ways of generating upside.

For instance, try sacrificing a Deathmist Raptor!

Evolutionary Leap beats removal — as long as you have enough mana, you can keep going and not run out of creatures.

Evolutionary Leap is deadly against control! Control probably has to have cards like Perilous Vault to keep from falling too far behind.

Evolutionary Leap is excellent with 187 creatures! You can get enters the battlefield triggers over and over.

Gaea's Revenge
Gaea’s Revenge

Oddly enough, Gaea’s Revenge can be killed by commonly played point removal now. Which card(s) can target this almost-hexproof threat?

Gather the Pack
Gather the Pack

Is this just a Commune With the Gods that can’t find enchantments, or is there some secret to triggering its Spell Mastery upside?

Fleshbag Marauder
Fleshbag Marauder

You can Can CAN play eight Fleshbag Marauders in Standard right now. You just probably shouldn’t.

Herald of the Pantheon
Herald of the Pantheon

Patrick thinks Herald of the Pantheon looks like Andrew Cuneo.

Mike says there is no way Andrew Cuneo has a greeen mana symbol anywhere near his top-right corner.

There are many, many types of decks Herald of the Pantheon can go into… Mike and Patrick discuss several of them.

And there’s more! What does Top Level Podcast think of…

  • The Great Aurora?
  • Nissa’s Revelation?
  • Outland Colossus?
  • Zendikar’s Roil?

… Would patrick run Valeron Wardens in his Undercity Troll deck?

There’s really only one way to find out.

Try “Where do You Rank Evolutionary Leap?”, the latest from Top Level Podcast

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Woodland Bellower and Demonic Pact

Woodland Bellower

When Woodland Bellower enters the battlefield, you may search your library for a nonlegendary green creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less, put it onto the battlefield, and shuffle your library.

Welcome back!

As you probably already know we did an extra episode this week around Infinite Obliteration

… But we weren’t going to leave regular listeners hanging on a Thursday! For the rest of this episode we focus on:

Woodland Bellower

“You can get anything three or less as long as it’s not Nissa, exactly.”
-Patrick

(to be honest both Mike and Patrick repeatedly suggest Legendary green targets like Anafenza and Yisan to each other)

Deathmist Raptor has implied value of greater than three mana… Having [potentially eight] Deathmist Raptors is a powerful deck building feature. The same is true of Courser of Kruphix and other standout creatures in Standard.

Woodland Bellower allows you to play both as a toolbox or just a powerful threat on rate.

Reclamation Sage
Finding Reclamation Sage allows Woodland Bellower to play as a giant Disenchant for versatility and card advantage.

Savage Knuckleblade
Finding Savage Knuckleblade (an additional 4/4 body in addition to its base size) puts Woodland Bellower on the order of Armada Wurm.

Shaman of Forgotten Ways
Besides setting up a potential Biorhythm kill, Woodland Bellower has sufficient power to “turn on” the Formidable on Shaman of Forgotten Ways… All by itself.

Woodland Bellower seems to be making Control’s life difficult in Standard. Not only can you buy resilience (like with Deathmist Raptor) just spreading value across multiple bodies makes point removal less effective.

… How do you get “one step ahead” in Magic in general? How can Woodland Bellower make a break in Modern?

Demonic Pact

Patrick and Michael finish off the podcast with a spirited discussion of Demonic Pact. What do you do with a Warleader’s Helix / Divination / Mind Rot… That might kill you? What kind of deck does this fit into best? What is the “sickest” combo with Demonic Pact?

Find out in “Woodland Bellower and Demonic Pact” now!

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Infinite Obliteration!

Infinite Obliteration
As if simple obliteration were not enough…

Top Level Podcast is proud to present Infinite Obliteration — our exclusive preview from Magic Origins!

For those of you who are used to visiting Top Level Podcast on Thursdays only… This week is a bonus.

For those of you who are visiting us the first time this week (to see our cool exclusive preview Infinite Obliteration)… Welcome! You can read some of our thoughts (largely curated from our podcast) here… But we’d really love it if you gave the podcast a listen. We are happy you are visiting and hope you enjoy your first experience with Top Level Podcast.

“You know what might be obliterated by this card? … Decks that have four Ojutais to win.”
-Mike

Infinite Obliteration:

  • Can shut off every road to victory in an Esper Dragons deck
  • Takes advantage of an early game Silumgar’s Scorn or Foul-Tongue Invocation (the opponent tells you what’s in his hand)
  • Blunts the card advantage of Den Protector or Deathmist Raptor (because it can exile cards from the opponent’s graveyard, cutting off recursion)
  • Combines nicely with the BBB Spell Mastery trigger on Dark Petition (making for a tight toolbox “one-card combo”)
  • Comes out ahead of / pre-empts most of Standard’s big threats (because of its relatively cheap cost)
  • Really takes the wind out of a Siege Rhino deck’s sails
  • … And lots more we haven’t thought of yet!

Top Level Podcast is:

  • Patrick Chapin – “The Innovator”; author of Next Level Magic and Next Level Deckbuilding; member of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame and winner of Pro Tour Journey Into Nyx.
  • Michael J Flores – The Resident Genius; noted writer and deck designer; author of Deckade and The Official Miser’s Guide.

Top Level Podcast is a competitive Magic: The Gathering podcast, generally focused on Standard and other tournament-relevant Constructed formats. We publish our podcast every Thursday. If you like what you see (and hear) on this visit, we invite you to come back next week, or subscribe.

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Why Nissa, Vastwood Seer Will be a Top 10 Card

Nissa, Vastwood Seer
Nissa, Vastwood Seer (aka Nissa, Sage Animist) is going to be a Top 10 Magic: The Gathering card in Standard.

What Mike has been thinking about all day…

He has a Hornet Nest in play. His opponent, feeling clever, dashes in a Goblin Heelcutter… The Hornet Nest will not be able to block.

But wait!

Mike casts Collected Company, revealing Nissa, Vastwood Seer and Liliana, Heretical Healer.

He goes and gets a Forest with Nissa, then blocks the Goblin Heelcutter (triggering Liliana, who then flips and makes a 2/2 token).

… And all these cards are good!

The number of amazing flips to Collected Company in Magic Origins is staggering. Nissa, Vastwood Seer isn’t the only Planeswalker you can flip with Collected Company… You can actually flip them all!

Patrick notes that “Mike has always had a fondness and appreciation for Borderland Ranger” … But it turns out that Mike really had always had a fondness and appreciation for Civic Wayfinder.

Civic Wayfinder is a card Mike learned to love in Ravnica Block; and later adopted in place of the less-consistent Knight of the White Orchid in Reveillark decks.

“Nissa is the worst ever Civic Wayfinder… But the best ever everything else.”
-Mike

“Civic Wayfinder has the power of suck.

“It’s like SATYR Wayfinder… No one wants to kill it so it gets in for seven.”
-Patrick

In addition to fetching only basic Forests (instead of any kind of basic land), Nissa has the additional drawback of being a Legend.

BUT!

The upside of Nissa is enormous. Patrick pegs the value of her flip-side (Nissa, Vastwood Seer) at five mana; and points out that flipping Nissa takes zero incremental mana.

Ultimately:

  • Nissa is great on turn 2 (she is likely to be good friends with Elvish Mystic)
  • Great (or at least good) on turn 3
  • … But if you draw Nissa on turn 10, instead of sucking you win the game
  • Nissa, Vastwood Seer is essentially what you want in a Magic: The Gathering card. It’s good early and it’s great late.

With Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills, or Evolving Wilds in play, Nissa has the ability to protect herself. If the opponent attempts to somehow kill her — either in response to searching for a basic Forest or putting her Planeswalker-flip ability on the stack — you can break the fetchland in response, putting another Nissa trigger on the stack.

Nissa, Sage Animist
It would be perfectly reasonable to pay five mana for this card.

While the focus of this podcast is Nissa, Vastwood Seer (and her opposite number) Michael and Patrick discuss numerous other cards from Magic Origins, plus make a special announcement! Check back early next week to find out more.

“Why Nissa, Vastwood Seer Will be a Top 10 Card”

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Fifty Percent Kytheon, Hero of Akros

Kytheon, Hero of Akros
This podcast is half about Kytheon, Hero of Akros

Going in, podcast un-listened-to… You probably figure this is a podcast half about Kytheon, Hero of Akros… and half about Gideon, Battle-Forged.

But you’d be wrong!

It’s half about one of the fastest new Planeswalkers from Magic Origins… But the other half is about Patrick’s performance with Grixis Control at Grand Prix Charlotte last weekend.

“Congratulations and condolences.”
-Mike

You see, Patrick tore through the tournament and finished with only two losses when the Swiss rounds finished… But “only” finished in ninth place! Oh no!

But “no condolences necessary” says our resident Pro Tour Champion. He had a great time and spends the first long stretch of “Fifty Percent Kytheon, Hero of Akros” teaching a master class on Modern Grixis Control.

Patrick’s Ninth-Place deck:

3 Gurmag Angler
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

4 Cryptic Command
1 Dispel
2 Mana Leak
1 Remand
4 Serum Visions
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Spell Snare
4 Thought Scour

1 Electrolyze
2 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Shadow of Doubt
4 Terminate

4 Lightning Bolt

2 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Sulfur Falls
2 Steam Vents
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave

Sideboard
1 Batterskull
1 Spellskite
1 Damnation
1 Shriekmaw
1 Slay
2 Dispel
1 Flashfreeze
1 Countersquall
4 Fulminator Mage
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Keranos, God of Storms

“Grixis with four Cryptic Commands… It’s what I was born to do.”
-Patrick

“Fifty Percent Kytheon, Hero of Akros” has a stack of lessons for the prospective Grixis player; here are just a few…

  • Patrick played against three Burn decks and went 6-2 against them in games… With no Sun Droplets or Dragon’s Claws! He eventually didn’t side in Batterskull or Spellskite, either. The trick is… “Every single Burn player is sitting there with a Destructive Revelry in hand. The problem is that every single Burn player expects you to have 3-4 Dragon’s Claws.” Because of this artifact sideboard cards like Batterskull, Spellskite (or more traditional ones) lose value.
  • A different paradigm is just to drop a 5/5 and defend it with “a bazillion Dispels”
  • Tarmogoyf and Siege Rhino define size in Modern at 4/5… Making the 5/5 Gurmag Angler king.

“Once you have a Zombie Fish on your side, all bets are off!”
-Patrick

Patrick finished in 9th place… But all props to his fellow Pro Tour Champion, fellow Hall of Famer, and fellow member of Team Ultra PRO Paul Rietzl who came in 10th place with a Naya Collected Company build:

Paul’s 10th Place Deck:

4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Qasali Pridemage

1 Birds of Paradise
3 Collected Company
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Path to Exile

4 Arid Mesa
2 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath

Sideboard
1 Choke
1 Blood Moon
1 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Grim Lavamancer
2 Magus of the Moon
1 Kataki, War’s Wage
3 Kor Firewalker
2 Stony Silence
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

If you are in the market for a fair deck in Modern… This is probably the deck!

Paul’s Naya has a good clock, tons of hateful creatures to generate discrete advantages, and can punish ostensibly more powerful decks with Collected Company.

Finally, Mike and Patrick highlight Zac Elsik’s Lantern Control Prison:

Lantern Control, by Zac Elsik

4 Codex Shredder
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Ghoulcaller’s Bell
4 Lantern Of Insight
3 Mox Opal
3 Pithing Needle
2 Pyrite Spellbomb
3 Spellskite

2 Duress
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Surgical Extraction

3 Gitaxian Probe

2 Abrupt Decay

4 Ancient Stirrings

2 Academy Ruins
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Glimmervoid
4 Llanowar Wastes
1 Tendo Ice Bridge

Sideboard
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
4 Sun Droplet
2 Welding Jar
1 Bow of Nylea
3 Nature’s Claim
1 Ancient Grudge
3 Pyroclasm

Elsik’s deck is one of the coolest, most elegant, decks we’ve seen in years!

Patrick in particular loves it because it’s so rare we see Prison decks any more. This is a deck that locks down the opponent’s draw steps with Lantern of Insight combined with either Codex Shredder or Ghoulcaller’s Bell. Zac can see the opponent’s top card (generally letting him draw a land) while getting rid of any actually relevant spells… While actually killing the opponent! (if slowly).

The low casting costs in Elsik’s deck combine with Ensnaring Bridge to cut off the attack phase as the elegant elements start coming together.

It’s the SECOND half of this podcast that is about Kytheon, Hero of Akros (and his opposite number, Gideon, Battle-Forged). Michael and Patrick detail the fast rate on the front side and spitball ways you can flip Kytheon on or ahead of schedule.

“Kytheon is sweet /
“Grixis is sweet /
“Team Ultra PRO is taking all the sugar in the world and pouring it into one single cup of coffee.”
-Mike

Give “Fifty Percent Kytheon, Hero of Akros” a listen now!

Direct Download

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