Decks

Standard B01: Does Crime Pay?

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

My go-to decks in Standard B01 currently are a Red Prowess deck and a Selesnya Enchantment deck. The former is something I picked up a while back based on the meta. The latter is one that I have been playing for a while and enjoy playing.

It’s time for a little variety. While I do play a few other decks in other formats, I decided to build a new one focused on the new Commit a Crime mechanic introduced in Outlaws of Thunder Junction for Standard B01.

Commit a crime is well represented across Blue, Black, Red and Green. It’s no big surprise that there is only one White card using the mechanic. For my first build, I decided to go with a mono-Black build focused around Tinybones, Vadmir, New Blood, Kaervek, the Punisher and Gisa, the Hellraiser.

Kaervek, the Punisher
Gisa, the Hellraiser

From there, I added a few additional cards that should complement these nicely. Among these are Tinybones, the Pickpocket, Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor and Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal. I also threw in Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (which is almost an auto-include in Black decks these days).

Tinybones, the Pickpocket
Gix, Yawgmoth -Praetor
Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal

From there, I filled out the deck with cards to go and commit crimes. It’s the usual mix of removal spells and others that target my opponent.

Deck

  • 2 Tinybones Joins Up (OTJ) 108
  • 2 Tinybones, the Pickpocket (OTJ) 109
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 4 Deep-Cavern Bat (LCI) 102
  • 3 Vadmir, New Blood (OTJ) 113
  • 2 Kaervek, the Punisher (OTJ) 92
  • 2 Gisa, the Hellraiser (OTJ) 89
  • 3 Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor (BRO) 95
  • 2 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal (LCI) 88
  • 3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (DMU) 107
  • 2 Gix’s Command (BRO) 97
  • 2 Infernal Grasp (MID) 107
  • 3 Bitter Triumph (LCI) 91
  • 2 March of Wretched Sorrow (NEO) 111
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97

Lands

  • 2 Demolition Field (BRO) 260
  • 2 Mirrex (ONE) 254
  • 2 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (NEO) 278
  • 18 Swamp (MH3) 315

I have played 10 games in Standard Play to get a sense of how the deck works. I won 7 times (70% win rate) so far. A good start but it’s time to take it to Ranked and see how it fares against the top decks in the meta.

In the meantime, a few observations from those first 10 games:

  • The deck feels a little top-heavy with 9 cards costing 4 or more mana. I may lighten it up a bit, perhaps with Preacher of the Schism.
  • Aclazotz is a great card. It is one of those that needs to be removed quickly or it can put the game away. I don’t like playing against it but I sure do like watch it resolve.
  • I may add one or two more Instant or Sorcery spells and cut the corresponding number of creatures (21 at the moment).
  • I might look to make it a Dimir deck to give me a few spell options. On the creature side, perhaps Lazav, Familiar Stranger or Nimble Brigand. Both cost 3 mana and could help with my first point above.

Anyone else playing a Commit a Crime deck? How is it going ?

Five cards looking for a Commander deck

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

I use my local LGS website’s wish list feature to keep track of cards that I’m interested in. Everything from cards that I want for an existing deck, think are neat enough to build around or even both, to ones that might be a good gift for one of they boys (maybe they made a mention in passing at the dinner table for example) might end up on that list.

After my last post about Modern Horizons 3 cards that could fit into decks, I had a look at my list and it occurred to me that some of them might fit into Commander decks.

Steel Seraph

I wanted to play Steel Seraph as soon as I saw it during previews during Brothers’ War. The Prototype mechanic is neat – Similar to Kicker but offering essentially what is a downgrade option instead of an upgrade. Much like Kicker, offering a lower mana cost to get a less powerful version of the card opens up a number of options during game play. Do you go for the cheaper mana cost and benefit earlier or do you wait until later in the game? With Prototype, the ideal is when you have a way to pull the card out of the graveyard as it returns in its full-powered version.

Paying to have a 3/3 earlier in the game is not great value but it can help smooth out game play and has decent evasion. The full version is not cheap either but is definitely worth experimenting with. I love Steel Seraph’s flexibility, offering the choice of Flying, Vigilance or lifelink at the beginning of combat on my turn opens up options. Flying is a good offensive trick, Vigilance gives you the ability to attack and still defend while lifelink is useful when you’re taking a beating. And here you have all three on one card!

I think this one is headed into my Kaalia of the Vast Commander deck. Probably at the expense of a demon or dragon as this deck continues to morph more into an Angels deck every time I make a change.

Ocelot Pride

Ocelot Pride

This one is a new addition to my wish list after the Modern Horizons 3 previews. A 1/1 Cat for that adds First Strike, lifelink, Ascend and the ability to crank out 1/1 white Cat creature tokens whenever you gain life during your turn cannot be bad.

The price as it stands certainly proves that. At CA$30 for the cheapest variant (as I write this ahead of next week’s release), I’ll likely sit on this and see if it comes down in price. Considering the card was selling for CA$40 a bit earlier, I think there is room for it to come down further and then slide into a deck.

As for what deck, I don’t have a tokens deck so this may be a card asking me to build one. Maybe Darien, King of Kjeldor. Not sure mono-white would last long in our house though; the boys would quickly go after it if only to put me on the back foot. And the cost to bring it back would quickly become unaffordable. How about Neyali, Suns’ Vanguard instead? Giving your attacking tokens double strike sounds like something fun to me. And a bit of card replenishment is not bad either.

Neyali, Suns' Vanguard
Grand Abolisher
Animar, Soul of Elements

Grand Abolisher

When I first saw this card, I immediately thought it was perfect for Commander, especially with the decks that the boys love to play. Disrupting their plans is a strategy that I have oft thought about. This card would certainly do that, if only during my turn. Maybe I should pair it up with an Esper Sentinel.

This feels like a cool card in search of a deck for me to play it in. One thing it has going for it is that it is a Cleric.

All I know is that I want this card. But it will stay on the wish list until I think of a deck that will welcome it with open arms.

Kurbis, Harvest Celebrant

Kurbis has been on my wish list for a while. I can’t quite remember how it ended up there but I suspect it had something to do with +1/+1 counters. Giving itself some counters upon entering the battlefield is okay but it’s the second ability that stands out. Removing a +1/+1 counter to prevent damage to another creature with a +1/+1 counter on it is a useful little ability.

Revisiting the card for this post, I thought at first that it might be a good fit into my Animar, Soul of Elements deck but it will likely fit better in my Atraxa deck where it could protect the creatures around it. Giving it some further thought, it might be better off in a different deck altogether. Maybe in the same deck as Ocelot Pride?

Envoy of the Ancestors

This is another new addition to my wish list. It caught my eye given it is a Cleric. For , you get a 2/3 creature with Outlast . Combine that with its ability to give modified creatures lifelink and you have a pretty strong candidate for any deck that relies on counters on Equipments and Auras.

It might be a good fit into my Atraxa deck. Or maybe it is time to build a Commander deck built around Clerics. Wait a second! Grand Abolisher is a Cleric too! Hey, I already have two cards for my new Cleric Commander deck…

Kurbis, Harvest Celebrant
Envoy of the Ancestors
Basking Broodscale

Bonus card: Basking Dreadscale

There is a lot of early interest in this card. While Adapt is not quite as potent as Outlast given that it can only really be used once, Basking Broodscale’s second ability, namely creating a 0/1 colorless Eldrazi Spawn creature token every time a counter goes on plays nicely with mechanics like Proliferate.

So, we have yet another card that could fit nicely into a +1/+1 counter deck even though that’s not what is driving the current interest in the card.

The key takeaway today seems to be that I need to build a Cleric Typal deck as well as one for +1/+1 counters. And I probably need to clean my wish list a bit as well…

Exploring Modern Horizons 3 Singles for Commander Decks

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Modern Horizons 3 is just around the corner with pre-release events starting June 6th. I have been keeping an eye on the previews despite this being one of those sets that I will skip. While Maro would say that this is “not be the product for you,” I simply say that it’s prohibitively expensive. A pre-release event at my LGS would set me back CA$70 while a Play Booster box is on sale for CA$399.99. Too rich for my blood or that of the boys. We might get a few packs but I suspect that we will hold off until Bloomburrow comes out.

So, back to the previews. I am looking to see what singles I could pick and drop into a few of my Commander decks.

First up, Ruhan of the Fomori. I have not made any modifications to this deck in a while. One card in particular stands out in Modern Horizons 3 that I will look to slot into it is Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury. Paying for a 6/6 is not a bad cost for a card that immediately gets sacrificed. Why, you ask? For the additional Escape cost (along with five cards to exile), you get a sorcery speed Lightning Helix each time Phlage enters the battlefield or attacks.

Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury
Lightning Helix

Unfortunately, it’s the only Giant in Ruhan’s colours (and only one of two Giants in the whole set).

I’ve seen recommendations to add Lavaspur Boots from Outlaws of Thunder Junction but I’m on the fence on that one. It’s a cheap equipment but not sure what I would pull out to slot it in. Let’s see what happens.

Next up, Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice, which I played with against the boys earlier this week (won one and lost one). Nothing leaps out at me at first glance but I really should look to get a Bristly Bill, Spine Sower, into the deck. Sure, it will have a target on its back as soon as it enters but its ability to double +1/+1 counters on each creature I control is pretty sweet albeit expensive.

Bristly Bill, Spine -Sower

Modern Horizons 3 is more generous when it comes to elves than giants. There are five in total, including the new Eladamri, Korvecdal. I want to try to see if the card draw outweighs the disadvantages (like not having any removal protection and being susceptible to so many removal threats). An addition to the deck that could easily become a quick exit.

I’m not much of a Blue player. If anything, it is a colour that I will splash but I do have a Talrand, Sky Summoner deck that I like to pull out every once in a while to try to frustrate the boys. It is not well tuned and has not done well in the past but it has won a few times.

When it comes to Talrand, I wish Christian had told me that he was going to sell his Swan Song as I would have picked it up from him for this deck. With Modern Horizons 3, I may look to add Strix Serenade as a variant of that card (or maybe I pick up both). While the swan counters Enchantments, Instants, and Sorceries, Strix Serenade instead counters Artifacts, Creatures, and Planeswalkers. A 2/2 bird can be a more-than-fair tradeoff depending on what is getting countered.

The other card I would like to get for Talrand is Harbinger of the Seas. The thinking here is simply to slow my opponents down by messing with their mana base.

I will need to dust off a few other decks to see how they could benefit from new Modern Horizons 3 cards (or price drops due to reprints). For now, I will update my deck lists and post them on the site when I get all these new cards. Some of these are not cheap so it may be a while yet.


Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Typal in Outlaws of Thunder Junction

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

This will be a very short installment in our Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Typal adventure. While with a new set comes the promise of new cards and hopefully a strong deck, this latest set fails to deliver. Why? you ask. Well, simply put, there are no Clerics in Thunder Junction. Nary a one! Not even one! But it still finds room for squirrels? Don’t believe me? Have a look at Scryfall and see for yourself.

I’ll take a look at other cards that could slot into the deck to work alongside the clerics. Maybe I should look at the new Saddle mechanic. Can you imagine the fear when a Cleric mounted on a Bounding Felidar, a Bridled Bighorn or a Caustic Bronco comes riding at their opponent?

More seriously, I think I may look at the new Commit a Crime mechanic and see what options there might be.

For now, here is my unchanged Orzhov Cleric Typal deck:

  • 3 Infernal Grasp (MID) 107
  • 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
  • 2 Valorous Stance (VOW) 42
  • 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
  • 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
  • 2 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 4 Lunarch Veteran (MID) 27
  • 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14
  • 2 Markov Purifier (VOW) 241
  • 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
  • 2 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
  • 2 Sanguine Savior (MKM) 230
  • 3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113
  • 2 Roaming Throne (LCI) 258
  • 2 Annex Sentry (ONE) 2
  • 8 Plains (THB) 250
  • 6 Swamp (THB) 252
  • 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
  • 3 Shattered Sanctum (VOW) 264
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (NEO) 278
  • 2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire (NEO) 268
  • 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269

Sideboard:

  • 2 Farewell (NEO) 13
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 2 Chaplain of Alms (MID) 13
  • 1 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 1 Intercessor’s Arrest (NEO) 20
  • 2 Skrelv, Defector Mite (ONE) 33
  • 2 Fateful Absence (MID) 18
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97

Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Typal in Murders at Karlov Manor

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Welcome to the latest installment in our Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Typal adventure. A new set means the potential for new Cleric cards for my deck and changes to our deck. Or not. The new set is not as generous with Clerics as Lost Caverns of Ixalan was. No luck finding 10 new clerics; there are only five clerics to be found in Murders at Karlov Manor. Two of them are reprints: Twilight Prophet and Vizier of Many Faces.

Without further ado, here are the Clerics of Murder at Karlov Manor:

Taking a closer look at which might be a good fit for our Orzhov deck, we can immediately eliminate Vizier of Many Faces, a Blue Cleric.

Agency Coroner is an expensive card more suited for Sacrifice decks than ours. A 3/6 with no other upside is not worth it. Pass.

Sanguine Savior, a Common that costs Black pip has more potential. Disguise gives us a bit of flexibility with what is essentially a simple 2/1 with flying and lifelink. If the game gives us a bit of time, we can have it enter as a Mysterious Creature and reveal it later, potentially giving us another lifelinker for a turn. It is susceptible to removal unfortunately. It’s still worth giving it a try.

Twilight Prophet is a card that first appeared in Rivals of Ixalan. With the city’s blessing, it fits nicely into our lifelink engine and can also ping our opponent. All before it swoops in for hopefully a bit more damage. Unfortunately, it is also very susceptible to removal.

Unyielding Gatekeeper is another Cleric capable of Disguise. Revealing its true identity allows you to exile a creature. If it’s one of yours, you get to blink it. Otherwise, your opponent gets a 2/2 white and blue Detective creature token in exchange for their exiled card. This might be worth trying if we take out a removal spell but the slower speed suggests it would not be a good move.

For now, I’m going to slot in a couple of Sanguine Saviors, replacing two Liliana of the Veil. Here is the updated deck.

  • 3 Infernal Grasp (MID) 107
  • 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
  • 2 Valorous Stance (VOW) 42
  • 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
  • 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
  • 2 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 4 Lunarch Veteran (MID) 27
  • 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14
  • 2 Markov Purifier (VOW) 241
  • 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
  • 2 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
  • 2 Sanguine Savior (MKM) 230
  • 3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113
  • 2 Roaming Throne (LCI) 258
  • 2 Annex Sentry (ONE) 2
  • 8 Plains (THB) 250
  • 6 Swamp (THB) 252
  • 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
  • 3 Shattered Sanctum (VOW) 264
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (NEO) 278
  • 2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire (NEO) 268
  • 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269

Sideboard:

  • 2 Farewell (NEO) 13
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 2 Chaplain of Alms (MID) 13
  • 1 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 1 Intercessor’s Arrest (NEO) 20
  • 2 Skrelv, Defector Mite (ONE) 33
  • 2 Fateful Absence (MID) 18
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97

When I slept on Preacher of the Schism

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

This is not a new tale but an oft-told one that bears regular reminders. If only to myself. Let me set the stage.

For whatever reason, I’ve been enjoying building and playing with a Clerics typal deck for some time. With every new set, I take a close look at what new cards I can use in the deck. The last update to my standard B01 Clerics Typal deck came with the release of Caverns of Ixalan late last year. Among the cards that I added to the deck were Roaming Throne and Preacher of the Schism.

I pulled the former as my promo during pre-release and immediately recognized its value (the card’s value has borne that out as well – one of the few times I got it right). And I knew immediately that it was headed into my Clerics deck. I was not quite as sure about Preacher of the Schism. The 2/4 body is a decent stat for Black pip, I wasn’t quite as sure about the overall card. I liked it, thought it would fit well, and added it to my deck, knowing that I could always pull it later if my gut instinct turned out to be wrong.

Well, I added it to my Arena deck but procrastinated on getting it for my physical deck. I suspect that at this point you know where this is going. I just never saw what was coming. With Standard being re-emphasized by Wizards and a certain Rakdos deck doing well recently, the card has started to rise in price.

A few months back, it was going for around CA$1.00 to CA$1.50. As of late January, it now sells for between CA$4.00 and CA$6.00. And that’s when you can find it. It has been consistently sold out at my favourite LGSs for weeks now. If it does suddenly appear available, it tends to be the foil versions, a version I try to avoid.

I still want the card for my deck. If anything, playing with it as confirmed that it deserves a spot in the deck. So, now I’m left to see when I can buy it. As I wait, I’m left with a dilemma: Do I get it at the new higher price or do I wait for it to come down? The upcoming Murders at Karlov Manor set could help dry up demand for it and drive the price back down. Then again, it might also drive it up further [Mental note here to go check the new set now that it has been fully spoiled]. I fully expect it will drop in price when the set rotates out of Standard but then I won’t need it anymore anyways.

Let’s hope I learned my lesson this time. But knowing myself, I may be re-reading this post in the future…

Exploring Explore in Explorer

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

I’ve been a big fan of the Explore mechanic ever since it was first revealed in Ixalan back in 2017 (as well as the whole set as I like the lore – What’s not to like about dinosaurs, merfolk, vampires and pirates?). Needless to say, I was pretty happy when we returned to this plane a few months back, and even more so when I learned that Explore was making a comeback.

I decided pretty much then and there that I would try to make a deck leveraging the mechanic. Not only did it mean the return of some cool cards like Wildgrowth Walker and Jadelight Ranger, but that there new ones to experiment with as well. Of those, Nicanzil, Current Conductor, feels like the strongest addition.

I finally got around to building that deck. Here is its first iteration. I built it in about 15 minutes.

Deck:

  • 2 Nicanzil, Current Conductor (LCI)
  • 4 Jadelight Ranger (RIX)
  • 4 Wildgrowth Walker (XLN)
  • 4 Cancel (M21)
  • 4 Pathfinding Axejaw (LCI)
  • 2 Path of Discovery (RIX)
  • 2 Merfolk Branchwalker (XLN)
  • 3 Over the Edge (LCI)
  • 2 Jadelight Spelunker (LCI)
  • 2 Twists and Turns (LCI)
  • 1 Mist-Cloaked Herald (RIX)
  • 2 Opt (STA)
  • 2 Brineborn Cutthroat (M20)
  • 2 Essence Scatter (DMU)
  • 2 Hadana’s Climb (RIX)
  • 8 Forest (THB)
  • 6 Island (THB)
  • 2 Temple of Mystery (M21)
  • 2 Dreamroot Cascade (VOW)
  • 4 Barkchannel Pathway (KHM)

Ten Explorer Play B01 games in, it’s clear that I will need to tweak it to make it a bit more competitive. As it stands, the deck stands at 3-7. It clearly suffers from a lack of removal and Cancel is just to expensive in this deck. The other change worth taking a look at would be to add some Black to the deck to open up removal but also more Explore cards.

More to come as I continue to build this deck out.

Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Tribal in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan

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While I was enjoying some vacation back October, Wizards of the Coast announced some significant product changes, namely the new Play Boosters. It followed that news up with what I consider to be possibly the most significant Universes Beyond announcement, its new collaboration with Marvel. More on those in the near future but today is all about the new Lost Caverns of Ixalan set and what it means for my Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Tribal deck.

Unlike recent sets which contained few clerics (and fewer good ones), the new set comes with 10 Clerics, including two reprints. Best of all, 9 of those are in Orzhov colours. The last is a Blue Cleric. And that’s not all, there are some good cards that will complement the deck well.

Let’s first take a look at the new Clerics:

Confirming how much of a tribal set Lost Caverns of Ixalan is (like the previous Ixalan sets), all of the Clerics are also vampires (except for the blue Didact Echo). As I looked through the cards, it also quickly became obvious that they are more focused on Vampire Tribal than Cleric Tribal.

Acolyte of Aclazotz does not leap out as a must-add to my deck. Mine is not a Sacrifice deck and the benefits of losing a creature to gain one life and have my opponent lose one is just not there.

Clavileño, First of the Blessed would have been a far more interesting card if it targeted Clerics instead of Vampires. This is something for a future Vampires tribal deck rather than something for this deck.

Elenda’s Hierophant is a more interesting card. The deck features enough Lifegain to help buff this creature relatively quickly. It also offers a nice little benefit when it dies. At 4 CMC, it may just be too pricy an inclusion, especially as there is another 4 CMC card that I think is more potent. More on that shortly.

The appeal of Master of Dark Rites is its mana-fixing ability. But it again comes at the cost of sacrificing a creature, something that again does not align with the deck. It may be something that I throw in the deck to see how it fares.

I do like Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle but this is not the deck for him. If only it said Clerics instead of Vampires.

Preacher of the Schism will definitely get a test in my deck. The 2/4 body is robust enough to attack or block and both triggered abilities will be beneficial. The card draw will certainly help as the deck can quickly deplete itself in some situations.

Redemption Choir is not a bad card but I’m not sure what it would replace given especially if I have to also make room for Preacher of the Schism. I’ll not completely rule it out but it might be an experiment at best as I think that there are stronger options.

Sanguine Evangelist does not offer enough deck synergy for me to consider it as an addition to the deck. Pass.

Twilight Prophet was a great card in Rivals of Ixalan and remains one in the right deck. I’m not sure that this is the deck for it but I suspect that I will at least try it and see.

Beyond the Cleric cards, I also want to see if there is room in the deck for Roaming Throne. Its ability “If a triggered ability of another creature you control of the chosen type triggers, it triggers an additional time.” should play nicely in the deck.

The other big addition to the deck is also not a Cleric but a land. Cavern of Souls is back in Standard and is pretty much an auto-include in any tribal deck.

All in all, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan looks to be a great set for Clerics. A good selection of new cards to play with. Here is what the deck looks like now:

  • 3 Infernal Grasp (MID) 107
  • 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
  • 2 Valorous Stance (VOW) 42
  • 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
  • 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
  • 2 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 4 Lunarch Veteran (MID) 27
  • 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14
  • 2 Markov Purifier (VOW) 241
  • 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
  • 2 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97
  • 3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113
  • 2 Roaming Throne (LCI) 258
  • 2 Annex Sentry (ONE) 2
  • 8 Plains (THB) 250
  • 6 Swamp (THB) 252
  • 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
  • 3 Shattered Sanctum (VOW) 264
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (NEO) 278
  • 2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire (NEO) 268
  • 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269

Sideboard:

  • 2 Farewell (NEO) 13
  • 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 2 Chaplain of Alms (MID) 13
  • 1 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 1 Intercessor’s Arrest (NEO) 20
  • 2 Skrelv, Defector Mite (ONE) 33
  • 2 Fateful Absence (MID) 18

Revisiting a good Boros Exile Synergy deck

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

There was a period of time back in 2021 where Mono-White was a strong contender in B01 Arena with a deck that relied heavily on the Exile mechanic to control your opponent. I played the the deck quite a bit as it was fun to play and did quite well. It had a nice mana curve with Stonebinder’s Familiar able to kick things off on turn one, followed by Sungold Sentinel and then a number of options depending on the board state. 

Stonebinder's Familiar [STX]
Brutal Cathar
Brutal Cathar

Standard rotation came and the deck faded into obscurity. Almost. I still remember enjoying playing with this deck and have since tried a few things to make it relevant in Explorer B01. It has since morphed into a Boros deck that leverages Exile to keep my opponent on the back foot. I dusted the deck off today and took it for a spin.

Sadly, it did not fare very well. As it stands, its heydays are well and truly behind it. But I’m still toying with different cards to see if we can bring some of those glory days back. To be honest, I can’t recall why I moved it from mono-white to Boros but the additional colour does give some additional options.

The Wandering Emperor

Here is what the deck looks like right now with a 5-7 record in Explorer Play.

Deck
2 Ixalan’s Binding (XLN) 17
4 Stonebinder’s Familiar (STX) 31
4 Sungold Sentinel (MID) 37
4 Brutal Cathar (MID) 7
4 Kumano Faces Kakkazan (NEO) 152
2 The Wandering Emperor (NEO) 42
2 Robber of the Rich (ELD) 138
2 Reckless Impulse (VOW) 174
4 Obliterating Bolt (BRO) 145
2 Borrowed Time (MID) 6
2 Ossification (ONE) 26
2 Elspeth’s Smite (MOM) 13
2 Mentor of the Meek (M19) 27
8 Mountain (SIR) 288
10 Plains (SIR) 279
4 Needleverge Pathway (ZNR) 263
2 Sundown Pass (VOW) 266

Sideboard
2 Expel (STX) 18
2 Seal from Existence (MOM) 35
2 Lay Down Arms (BRO) 11
2 Nahiri’s Resolve (MAT) 37

I’ll keep everyone posted on any major breakthroughs with the deck!

Orzhov Cleric Tribal in Wilds of Eldraine

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

It’s once again time to take a look at how the latest set will help me improve my Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Tribal deck. Wilds of Eldraine has been fully spoiled and Pre-Release weekend is only days away. Unfortunately, this is going to be a short post as this latest set is not Cleric friendly. Even if I expand my search to include the supplementary Wilds of Eldraine Commander Decks and Wilds of Eldraine Enchanting Tales, there are only two Clerics to be found!

Starfield Mystic

Starfield Mystic is a reprint from Core 2020 that will unfortunately not make its way into my Standard B01 Orzhov Cleric Tribal deck if only because it is not Standard-legal as it is from the Commander set.

Woodland Acolyte is an Adventure card that will also not be invited into my deck. In this case, the first big reason is that the Adventure requires a Green pip pip, something an Orzhov deck does not offer. Setting aside the adventure for a moment, the creature side of the card is no less uninviting. I’m not going to cut any 3 mana cards for this one.

So, no changes to the deck at this time. It will stay like this until The Lost Caverns of Ixalan hopefully gives us a better slate of clerics:

  • 3 Infernal Grasp (MID) 107
  • 2 Anointed Peacekeeper (DMU) 2
  • 2 Fateful Absence (MID) 18
  • 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93
  • 9 Plains (THB) 250
  • 7 Swamp (THB) 252
  • 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106
  • 2 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 3 Shattered Sanctum (VOW) 264
  • 4 Lunarch Veteran (MID) 27
  • 2 Scoured Barrens (NEO) 274
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (NEO) 278
  • 2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire (NEO) 268
  • 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14
  • 4 Markov Purifier (VOW) 241
  • 2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198
  • 2 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27
  • 2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97
  • 3 Metropolis Reformer (MAT) 0004
  • 2 Annex Sentry (ONE) 2

Sideboard:

  • 2 Farewell (NEO) 13
  • 1 Cut Down (DMU) 89
  • 2 Chaplain of Alms (MID) 13
  • 1 Voice of the Blessed (VOW) 44
  • 1 Intercessor’s Arrest (NEO) 20

Sadly, Wilds of Eldraine is going to be remembered as a big disappointment for Clerics!