Tree of Tales – A Battlefield Leveled

Welcome back to the Tree of Tales, have a sit and we can spin some stories. This previous week we saw an announcement for the banning of Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic. I talked about this a bit in the last article, but only touched on it slightly. Now that the announcement is official, why don’t we look at what’s left in the aftermath of this decision?

There are quite a few archetypes out there, and some of the less powerful constructs may step up to become better decks now that the monster in the closet has been eradicated. I’ll go through them one by one, examine their strengths and weaknesses, and provide a sample list. Without further ado, here we go!

Valakut

This is the deck most people have been talking about, and for good reason. When Caw-Blade was the dominant force in the format, this deck suffered considerably, as that was not an excellent match. That is no longer a problem, and this looks very good.

With good game against most mid-range decks, this list will need to shift back to it’s former look, with cheap sweepers and mana acceleration to reach Primeval Titan mana. Cards like Lotus Cobra that were used to compete with the control in the format will be less necessary, and they can focus more on acceleration like Cultivate and Explore. Quick aggression from decks like RDW can be problematic depending on build, but with good planning can be handled.

Here’s a sample list:

 

Land (25)
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
10 Mountain
Terramorphic Expanse
Forest

Creatures (10)
Overgrown Battlement
Primeval Titan
Avenger of Zendikar

Spells (25)
Explore
Rampant Growth (M12)
Cultivate
Slagstorm
Green Sun’s Zenith
Summoning Trap
Beast Within

 

 

Big Red

This deck was another that was horribly at the mercy of Caw-Blade, and it just didn’t have what it needed to even that match. That being said, this deck is very good against much of the format. It crushes most of the aggro in the format, and has an extremely good mid-range game. Artifact destruction can be problematic, but aside from that this list has very little to fear from most decks.

The proliferate plan has shown the most success in testing, using a strong engine to push Planeswalkers to their ultimate activations in a very quick fashion. Coupled with good removal and some card draw, this deck starts looking like a very real contender. Here’s the list:

 

Land (24)
20 Mountain
Tectonic Edge

Artifacts (12)
Everflowing Chalice
Sphere of the Suns
Contagion Clasp

Planeswalkers (6)
Koth of the Hammer
Chandra Nalaar

Instants (10)
Lightning Bolt
Volt Charge
Comet Storm

Sorceries (8)
Slagstorm
Tezzeret’s Gambit

 

 

RUG Twin

This deck suffers a bit from losing Jace 2.0, but all told it’s still a pretty viable contender. It has options to use aggressive threats like Vengevine, Titans and such, while still retaining the ability to provide an instantaneous combo win. Couple that with the acceleration of Lotus Cobra, and this deck looks just as strong as it did before, especially given that the best deck has left the room.

It still has the same vulnerabilities it did from the start, which is Lotus Cobra. Cheap removal can completely screw you, taking away your ability to ramp and thus to play. All things concerned, I really like this list more than the Grixis version, at least post-Jace. Here’s the list:

 

Land (25)
Forest
Island
Mountain
Copperline Gorge
Raging Ravine
Misty Rainforest
Scalding Tarn

Creatures (23)
Birds of Paradise
Lotus Cobra
Sea Gate Oracle
Deceiver Exarch
Vengevine
Phyrexian Metamorph
Frost Titan
Inferno Titan

Spells (8)
Preordain
Lightning Bolt

Enchantments (4)
Splinter Twin

 

 

Infect

So there are quite a few variants on this archetype, so I will focus on U/B, which I believe to be the most stable. First off, you get Tezzeret 2.0, which is probably the best walker in the format now that big daddy is gone. Only having to do 10 damage is just gravy, and you get a strong suite of removal, card draw and counter-magic to support your shell.

Cheap removal can just beat this deck, as well as cards like Creeping Corrosion. Big Red was crushing this deck, despite the protection built into Crusader. Even RDW was giving it problems, since Shrine deals with that protection problem nicely, and Dismember is becoming pretty much standard board against this list. Anyhow, here’s the list:

 

Land (24)
Inkmoth Nexus
Darkslick Shores
Drowned Catacomb
Creeping Tar Pit
Swamp
Island

Creatures (19)
Plague Myr
Ichorclaw Myr
Necropede
Phyrexian Crusader
Spellskite

Sorceries (8)
Preordain
Inquisition of Kozilek

Instants (5)
Dismember
Go for the Throat

Planeswalkers (4)
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas

 

 

RDW

I’ll preface this by saying that I’m going to have Grim Lavamancer in this list, despite the fact that he’s not legal quite yet. However, we know he’s coming back, and unless you’ve suffered a stroke, there’s no good reason to exclude him from this list. That being said, I really like this deck. In terms of mana efficiency, there’s nothing like it in the format. Everything furthers your game plan, and this is just a lightning quick deck.

It faces the same problem of every RDW since the beginning of time, most notably life gain. It can just cripple you, and is certainly the most dangerous vulnerability. Despite this, I truly believe this archetype to be back in the top tier, as it has just excellent game against MANY of the decks in this article, even ones that you wouldn’t expect it to (like the mono-white Puresteel list you will see shortly). Here’s two disparate lists:

 

Land (22)
18 Mountain
Scalding Tarn

Creatures (8)
Goblin Guide
Grim Lavamancer

Artifacts (4)
Shrine of Burning Rage

Planeswalkers (3)
Koth of the Hammer

Spells (23)
Lightning Bolt
Burst Lightning
Forked Bolt
Arc Trail
Staggershock
Tezzeret’s Gambit

 

This next one will be a Goblins list, with Grenade in it:

Land (20)
16 Mountain
Teetering Peaks

Creatures (24)
Goblin Guide
Goblin Arsonist
Goblin Wardriver
Goblin Bushwhacker
Goblin Chieftain
Grim Lavamancer

Spells (16)
Lightning Bolt
Goblin Grenade
Burst Lightning
Incinerate

 

 

Puresteel

This deck really didn’t want to lose Stoneforge, but oh well, these things happen. That being said, this is still a very solid deck, and can just win games. It’s quick, aggressive, efficient, and reliable, which are all very good things. It provides a very simple strategy, while at the same time giving complicated choices at times. While not as play skill intensive as a deck like Caw-Blade, you can definitely walk yourself out of games based on bad decisions.

The broadest weakness this deck has seen thus far is cheap removal. Notice how much of a trend that is becoming? That being said, 2-for-1s like Arc Trail, Slagstorm and such can flat out beat you, and there’s very little you can do to prevent this. However, you do have options post-board to combat this, and it certainly isn’t un-winnable. Here’s my personal list:

 

Land (20)
18 Plains
Inkmoth Nexus

Artifacts (10)
Mox Opal
Sword of Vengeance
Sword of Body and Mind
Sword of Feast and Famine
Sword of War and Peace

Creatures (26)
Memnite
Signal Pest
Flayer Husk
Vault Skirge
Porcelain Legionnaire
Puresteel Paladin
Kemba, Kha Regent

Spells (4)
Dispatch

 

 

Birthing Pod

This is another newcomer to the format, but it fits right in. Using the engine of Birthing Pod, these decks seek to gain incremental card advantage while answering threats. This is done in a variety of ways, and colors, each with it’s own particular advantages and disadvantages.

The list I’ve built is BUG, and I’ve been quite happy with it. It seeks to attack mana and provide quick aggressive creatures, while using Birthing Pod and turn Elves into Myr Superion and Vengevines into Acidic Slimes. This deck usually crushes Valakut and other mid-range decks, and has moderate problems with aggressive decks such as RDW and Puresteel. I actually experienced quite a bit of success against Caw-Blade with a list similar to this (obviously I was running Jace 2.0 back then).

Here’s my personal list:

 

Land (24)
Forest
Island
Swamp
Darkslick Shores
Creeping Tar Pit
Misty Rainforest
Verdant Catacombs

Creatures (27)
Birds of Paradise
Llanowar Elves
Lotus Cobra
Myr Superion
Sea Gate Oracle
Glissa, the Traitor
Vengevine
Obstinate Baloth
Phyrexian Metamorph
Acidic Slime
Frost Titan

Instants (3)
Beast Within

Planeswalkers (2)
Garruk Wildspeaker

Artifacts (4)
Birthing Pod

 

 

B/r Vampires

This deck has been consistently hanging around the edges, occasionally jumping itself into the spotlight for a tournament win. This deck is consistent, aggressive, and hard to interact with. It has lots of removal, some of which is even attached to creatures, and some of the best creatures in the business. Without Caw-Blade to attack it, this may go back to being on top of the power struggle.

It’s biggest foible has been, and will be, mass removal. It can usually handle one-for-one spot removal, but cards like Slagstorm, Day of Judgment, and Black Sun’s Zenith can become very irritating. Bloodghast and Kalastria Highborn give a little space, but they can be handled. Here’s the list:

 

Land (22)
Dragonskull Summit
Blackcleave Cliffs
Lavaclaw Reaches
Verdant Catacombs
Marsh Flats
Swamp

Creatures (25)
Pulse Tracker
Vampire Lacerator
Viscera Seer
Bloodghast
Kalastria Highborn
Gatekeeper of Malakir
Captivating Vampire

Spells (11)
Inquisition of Kozilek
Lightning Bolt
Arc Trail

Enchantments (2)
Dark Tutelage

 

 

Control (U/W and U/B)

These decks took a huge beating from Jace 2.0 getting banned, and I’m not altogether sure that they are completely viable. Were I to make an attempt, I would say U/W probably offers better options, but neither looks especially appetizing to me. U/W does, however, allow you to finally abuse artifacts in a way you haven’t been able to up to this point. Here’s a sample list:

 

Land (15)
Seachrome Coast
Glacial Fortress
Celestial Colonnade
Tectonic Edge

Artifacts (19)
Everflowing Chalice
Sphere of the Suns
Brittle Effigy
Tumble Magnet
Elixir of Immortality
Ratchet Bomb
Chimeric Mass
Contagion Clasp
Throne of Geth
Mox Opal

Planeswalkers (7)
Jace Beleren
Venser, the Sojourner
Gideon Jura

Creatures (6)
Hex Parasite
Trinket Mage
Sun Titan

Instants (4)
Dispatch

 

 

Obviously there are other lists and archetypes, and I can’t possibly list everything. The Phyrexian Mana Death’s Shadow deck seems to be a fairly viable deck, as are a few others that I didn’t put up. All things said, I really think this banning will make for a healthier format for the next few months. I say this as someone who has ownership of 6 Jace, the Mind Sculptors and 8 Stoneforge Mystics, this was a good thing. The format had become stagnant, and players weren’t showing up to events. It had become every bit as bad as Ravager was back when, it was just a more gradual ramp to it.

Now is the time for the innovators to separate themselves from the group and develop new and interesting ideas. Finding new interactions and strategies is more viable now than ever, and at least for now the format will favor the bold. Honestly, most of the “good” players won’t have a clue what to play, so get out there and smack them around and show them who’s boss! In the words of my favorite song, “Who’s Your Daddy ^$%^$?”

 

-Mike