Top 4 Things to Know About Standard This Week - Episode 18
The period from June 1st to 7th is a time for refinement. After Prague, the format will not see any major paper tournaments for approximately two months, as the competitive season has ended. However, online competitive play continues: Play-In Qualifiers will be held on Arena on June 6th, 7th, and 12th. These are the first step towards the Arena Championship on October 24th-25th, a very important tournament that will be in the Standard format.
To prepare for the event, players are refining their decks to an extreme degree. In this issue, we analyze all the significant small changes that have come to light.
1. Dimir Elementals
Interesting Dimir lists feature a spell package similar to Excruciator and a creature base composed solely of the Elementals Eddymurk Crab, Sunderflock, Deceit, and Wistfulness, plus the classic Superior Spider-Man.
It seems like a cross between the old Sultai Reanimator and Izzet Spellementals, but with the paradoxical ability to better manage graveyard hate. The deck's clear strong point is its ability to easily integrate Cavern of Souls and interact strongly with the opponent's hand thanks to Deceit and Duress. It also has sideboard hate against key cards like Ancient Vendetta.
All of this, on paper, should make it respond well to Control. It seems like a plausible game plan, were it not for the lack of fast power plays, which makes me suspect it will forever remain in the experimental dream room.
The line of play that involves casting a discounted Sunderflock with Eddymurk Crab, then attacking with it the following turn and bouncing it back to hand with the Ninjutsu of Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, is very interesting. This makes Cyclonic Rift with Overload available again.
2. Ghost Vacuum vs. Landfall Decks
Ghost Vacuum is also seen in double copies in sideboards to counter Landfall decks. This choice is primarily made by Dimir and Jeskai Lessons decks, which struggle against MonoG Landfall.
One of the worst game interactions to face is the Earthbend from Ba Sing Se. Ghost Vacuum responds well to this by permanently eliminating the problem of lands animated by Ba Sing Se.
Indeed, the triggered ability of the Earthbent land — "When it dies or is exiled, return it to the battlefield tapped" — is a Leave-the-Battlefield trigger. A triggered ability resulting from a zone change that must perform an action on an object is able to locate that object in the first public zone it moves to. If, before the trigger resolves, the object changes zones again, the effect can no longer track it.
Therefore, if you destroy a land animated by Ba Sing Se and then remove it from the opponent's graveyard using the first activated ability of Ghost Vacuum, that land will never return to the battlefield. Essentially, you will "slander" your opponent, turning one of their best game plans into a double-edged sword.
References: MTG Comprehensive Rules 400.7, 400.7e, 603.6c, 603.10, 603.10a, and 701.66.
3. Temur Kona: Sideboard Combo Lines
There are still doubts about which is the best way to manage other meta decks, but the deck increasingly resembles Modern decks based on Karn, the Great Creator. The sideboard becomes a pure extension of the main deck, rather than a variation of it.
The bridge between the main deck and the sideboard of the deck is North Wind Avatar. The deck's limitation is that North Wind Avatar must be cast and cannot be put onto the battlefield via Kona, Rescue Beastie to grant access to the sideboard.
Lists are emerging that include Quandrix, the Proof, Terror of the Peaks, and Dracogenesis in the sideboard, in addition to the classic Marang River Regent and the last copy of North Wind Avatar. In this way, if we focus the Cavern of Souls on the Dragon creature type, we can have an out against Control that disrupts our main Kona, Rescue Beastie - Omniscience plan.
Other lists include Improvisation Capstone and Extinguisher Battleship in the sideboard. The first is self-explanatory; the second has excellent interaction with Marang River Regent, which bounces it infinitely to clear the opponent's board of all permanents, including lands. For this to work, however, an Omniscience must be on the battlefield.
The deck is strong, but unfortunately, it often loses to itself. However, I don't think the problem lies in the sideboard lines. The focus is being missed.
4. Boros Weapons
Weapons Manufacturing
Enchantment
Whenever a nontoken artifact you control enters, create a colorless artifact token named Munitions with "When this token leaves the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to any target."
It occasionally appears to offer hope for artifact-based strategies. The deck is playable and loved by enthusiasts who try to replicate a game plan centered around Weapons Manufacturing, similar to the functional one in Modern.
The problem is that the deck doesn't have a real advantage over others in the meta. It lacks any particular characteristic that would make it preferable, except that, as a deck, it's quite flexible.
If you don't combo with Pinnacle Starcage, you can always play a more midrange game by using the Craft ability of your resources, or by heavily exploiting the ability of Legion Extruder to sacrifice Ammunition tokens and create 3/3 Golems for attrition.
It's resilient, which isn't bad, but without the integration of agile power plays that disrupt the game's momentum in the early turns, I don't think it will ever become anything more than a deck for lovers. However, it could have its glow-up if the right cards were printed, or many artifacts with reduced mana costs.
"See you, Space Cowboy!"
Francesco
