8 Cards That Will Define Pro Tour Aether Revolt
Every Pro Tour brings massive shakeups to the standard metagame, but following on from the recent bannings of three major standard staples, Pro Tour Aether Revolt could bring us more new decks than any PT in recent years.
Teams are testing extensively, and nobody knows exactly what’s going on behind closed doors, but here are my top 8 picks for cards that could well define the pro tour.
Saheeli is the elephant in the room. Early events have shown us that the combo between her and Felidar Guardian is most certainly real. The combo can be played in a variety of shells, many of which have already proven that they can perform well.
For players that haven’t been able to do a huge amount of testing, Saheeli combo looks like one of the go-to decks, so even if the top teams aren’t on it, we should still expect to see a lot of it in the field.
Winding Constrictor gives you far more than any creature should for its mana cost. For GB you are getting a decent body and a massively relevant ability. It’s the sort of card that doesn’t need that many sources of counters to start performing well above rate.
Perhaps the greatest strength of this card comes from the strength of cards it plays well with. We have multiple sources of counters in standard that were already completely playable without it, making many brewers take a good look at it.
Which brings me to…
Speaking of cards that generate counters and are good on their own, Rishkar gives any green deck a lot of bang for its buck. Whether you’re going wide with counter-based beatdown, ramp into some bigger threats, or a combination of the two, Rishkar does it all.
Expect to see Rishkar appearing alongside Winding Constrictor in some truly powerful midrange decks.
Thalia has seen fringe play since she was printed, but with Saheeli combo around, she’s looking better than ever. You don’t want to be packing main deck copies of Authority of the Consols just fight the combo deck, but Thalia is a great answer that is more worthy of a main deck slot..
Expect to see many Thalia appearing in main decks and sideboards alike.
Torrential Gearhulk was one of the biggest winners from the standard bannings. It was already a great card, and the relative drop in power level among alternative cards and decks made it shine even brighter.
Being blue obviously allows it to be played alongside the Saheeli combo, but it has an equally important role to play in control or spell-heavy decks.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a removal spell as strong as fatal push. It’s a card that everyone is aware of, and it’s a big reason to play black. Whether you’re a creature deck or a control deck, it’s easy to squeeze copies of Fatal Push into your 75, and I’d expect it to be one of the most played cards of the weekend..
Shock is back, and it’s as easy to overlook as ever. While it may not seem that important to most, Shock could easily turn out to be one of the most important cards at the pro tour.
The main advantage of playing shock is that it is incredibly flexible and versatile. When you need to kill a creature it’s removal, when you want to kill your opponent it provides reach, and perhaps most importantly, by sequencing correctly, it can stop the Saheeli combo dead in its tracks.
If a red deck makes it through testing for this pro tour, expect it to include 3 or 4 copies of Shock.
It’s difficult to not compare Walking Ballista to Hangarback Walker. While it isn’t quite as powerful as hangarback on paper, the added support for +1/+1 counters in the format could make it just as standard playable.
It’s good at any point in the game, and the ability to shoot creatures or players directly again makes the card extremely versatile. It’s even an artifact for your delirium, which may turn out to be relevant!
Are there are any cards I have missed that you expect to make it big at the Pro Tour? Sound off in the comments below.
