Potential Energy
Taking a step back from my comfort zone (talking about modern, modern and only modern), I thought I’d look at the new decks that I consider to have the highest potential going into the first few weeks of the freshly rotated standard format. When looking at a new set, a common trap that people fall into is that they evaluate individual cards as they are spoiled, rather than looking at the possibility of a new archetype or the interactions between various different cards. This is the reason that we see people going crazy over cards that prove to be pretty unimpressive and buying out bulk rares at higher prices.
These, for example:
These are cards that seem very powerful in a vacuum ( an anthem effect that also allows you to cheat on mana and a seven mana powerhouse planeswalker) but that haven’t had a strong enough support shell to really prove themselves (yet). Looking forwards into Ixalan, here are the cards that I fear could fall into the same dead zone of marginal playability:
Whilst we’re at it, here are my picks for sleeper cards in the set:
Although many of these may not be the flashiest cards from the new set, I think that they have the biggest potential to add to an existing or even to create a new archetype. Treasure Map may be the push that Tezzeret decks needed and Freebooter could potentially give black decks a cheap threat that interacts with both control decks and Ramunap Red (the bogeyman of week one). Meanwhile, Legion’s Landing and Shadowed Caravel threaten to make BW tokens and some kind of explore strategy viable in their own right. Vance’s Blasting station is the biggest hedge here, but as a potential addition to the already dominant Ramunap Red deck and possibly even a key card in a burn deck in the future, it seems fairly likely to me that it will see play at some point. Drawing an extra nonland card every turn is great, especially if you know that it’s a Ghostfire!
Treasure Map is the card that appeals to me the most as I can’t seem to get away from my affinity for artifacts. For that reason it seems best to start with a classic UB archetype when brewing for the new Ixalan standard format: Tezzerator.
Treasure map unlocks a whole new world of possibilities for Tezzeret the Schemer and Marionette Master. By combining Spell Swindle or Treasure Map with the master, we can present lethal damage as early turn 6! Tezzeret’s pseudo treasure tokens can even power out Heralds and Masters a turn ahead of schedule too. Herald of Anguish is another insane payoff for playing artifacts in Standard at the moment, attacking creature and control decks through its two different triggered and activated abilities. Bontu’s Last Reckoning is at its best in this deck as it protects Tezzeret and the drawback can be taken advantage of through the use of Treasure and Etherium Cell tokens. There is definitely potential for some other cards such as Battle at the Bridge in the deck as it would assuredly fit in somewhere in the sideboard or main deck to improve the Red matchup. Although this deck needs some tuning, I’m never going to be one to miss out on the opportunity to deal 20 direct damage outside of combat.
Analysing early 5-0 decklists is one of the more exciting things to do at the start of a new format, and the next two lists are certainly interesting. First of all, Dinosaurs!
This is TurkeyTurkey’s 5-0 list from a competitive standard league and it’s definitely streamlined. It seems like this deck just builds itself, full of 4 ofs and an abundance of new cards. You could even argue that Samut is a new card in that it’s a card that has seen practically no play prior to this deck. The cards that excite me the most in this deck are not the big payoffs but the support cards. Otepec Huntmaster’s ability to make a Ripjaw Raptor or Regisaur Alpha have haste is pretty impressive and Savage Stomp is an unbelievable card when costed at just one mana. Top that off with the fact that it cantrips when used in combination with Ripjaw Raptor and you have a format all-star… maybe. Even Commune with Dinosaurs adds a huge amount of consistency to the deck, allowing you to play the dino-equivalent to what many believe to be one of the most powerful cards in modern: Ancient Stirrings. Despite the fact that this decklist did impress me, I can’t help but think that it could possibly be improved with the addition of white, opening up the possibility of a potentially busted 1, 2, 3 curve through the addition of Kinjalli’s Caller. The splash isn’t even particularly difficult thanks to the new and downgraded Cavern of Souls, Unclaimed Territory, which conveniently can name human in a pinch , allowing you to cast any one of your enabler creatures. You could even jam a spicy copy of Gishath, Sun’s Avatar into your deck if you felt so inclined. Overall, it appears that there are a wealth of options for this archetype and it’s almost inevitable that some form of Dinosaur based deck will become a mainstay of the format.
Finally, we come to another deck that sprouted from the 5-0 league decklists: UG Pummeler.
Taking inspiration from Keyo98’s list,I saw a lot of potential in this energy list and have been working on it over the last few days. Although it doesn’t use many new cards, this is an archetype that has been largely undiscovered up until now. The new cards that we have gained certainly improve the deck, even though they are, on the face of it, just some pretty mediocre pump spells. The shift from the RG version of the deck allows you to be more all-in on the Electrostatic Pummeler Combo, with access to more redundant copies of key cards (hexproof effects in Dive Down, trample effects in Crash the Ramparts and Pummelers 5-8 in Trophy Mage). Now, the deck is brutally efficient at executing an infect-style game plan against opposing midrange and aggressive decks. The control decks playing Fumigate and Settle the Wreckage – and to a lesser extent Hour of Devastation – present more of a problem but the sideboard aims to address many of the issues that this deck has against wrath effects as Spell Pierce and Nissa, Vital Force afford you the opportunity to play into them without too much concern. Aethersphere Harvester is a great include in the sideboard as it can be tutored up against mono red over Electrostatic Pummeler whenever necessary. The original decklist played 4 Woodweaver’s Puzzleknot main and only played Longtusk Cub in the sideboard but Puzzleknot was underperforming for me in any matchups other than the red matchup (where Cub is also pretty good). As well as this, without Cub, the deck can sometimes run out of steam after a Pummeler or two have been killed. Generally, you will be left with a tonne of energy in your reserve, meaning that Cub will be a huge threat, unlike Puzzleknot, which could possibly gain you 6 life… I’m uncertain if this deck will become one of the top performers in the format but I have been impressed by it so far and had a lot of fun while play it too! If you like creature based combo decks, give this one a spin.
At the moment, this is where I’m starting off with Standard. Testing my favourite new archetypes with the bar being set at having a serviceable Ramunap Red matchup. In my next article we’ll be taking a look at the new limited format in the lead up to the Grand Prix in Liverpool.
I hope you enjoyed this article, feel free to comment below with any questions or thoughts you have of your own!
