There is a lot to catch up on since my last post. So let’s dive without further ado.
Edge of Eternities was the first pre-release that I missed in a very long time. Another weekend-long commitment just made it impossible to catch any of the events (it was still a good weekend!). In the meantime, Christian could not make it because of work commitments and other social events. It was down to Noah to defend the family honour. He did so at a Two-headed Giant event where he and his friend went 3-0.
Edge of Eternities was also the last pre-release that we might have been able to attend together as Noah headed off to university out of town at the end of August. I am proud of him for choosing this path forward but I will admit to being sad, knowing that pre-releases that all three of us could attend will now be fewer and farther apart.
The Spider-Man pre-release was upon us quickly after that. Noah skipped his while Christian again missed out due to work commitments. It was up to me this time so I signed up for a Sunday morning event at my LGS. It is still strange to be there without the boys and weirder to attend an unusually quiet pre-release (Sunday morning effect or uninspiring set? Not sure).
I cracked my packs and laid out my cards as I normally do: By colour and separated into creatures and other spells. I also keep my Rares and Mythics separate to see what might be worth building around.
While I pulled no Mythics in my pool, I found that I had enough arachnids to build a spider-loving Gruul deck. I did not think it was a particularly powerful deck but it seemed to have good synergy. Spider-Punk certainly promised to be fun.
In my first game, I got off a good start by winning my first match. I lost the second. In the third, things started evenly but a mana flood sealed my fate as I could no longer keep up with the growing board across from me. Nonetheless, a fun start to the day.
My second game started with a loss. I managed to win the second after my opponent milled down to four cards but it was still too close for comfort. The third was sealed in my favour by the simple fact that my opponent drew nothing but white mana while holding only black spells. That is not a fun way to lose!
My third game reminded me that not all decks need to be built around spiders despite the name of the set. My opponent built a fun deck full of villains and nary a spider. And I found out the hard way that when you pair The Clone Saga with Mysterio, Master of Illusion, you can crank out a lot of 3/3 tokens! And why not throw in a Vulture, Scheming Scavenger to all of them flying? Two quick games and it was a wrap.
When I got home, Christian asked how I did. “1 and 2,” I told him. “Ah, your usual then!” he responded with a smirk!
Is it me or are new sets coming out faster? I just finished enhancing my B01 Standard Orzhov Cleric Deck with the Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy set cards (granted I was late doing so) and here we are with Edge of Eternities just having come around the corner. Previews and pre-releases have wrapped up so it’s time to take a look at new improvements are possible with the new cards.
With Edge of Eternities also comes rotation. With a number of sets dropping out of Standard, I will lose a number of key cards. The question will be what can we rebuild and how will it affect the effectiveness of the deck. It already was not a Tier 1 deck by a long stretch and I expect that rotation will have a significant impact.
Here is the deck that I’ve been playing in recent days. The cards in red will no longer be valid as of August 1st (or July 29th on Arena). 20 cards in the main deck alone! I don’t have a good feeling about this!
Deck 2 Go for the Throat (BRO) 102 3 Evolved Sleeper (DMU) 93 8 Plains (THB) 250 6 Swamp (THB) 252 3 Shadow-Rite Priest (DMU) 106 1 The Fair Basilica (ONE) 252 3 Scoured Barrens (IKO) 254 1 The Dross Pits (ONE) 251 1 Valgavoth’s Lair (DSK) 271 2 Loran’s Escape (BRO) 14 3 Essence Channeler (BLB) 12 3 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198 3 Phyrexian Missionary (DMU) 27 2 Authority of the Consuls (FDN) 137 3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269 3 Rosa, Resolute White Mage (FIN) 555 2 Cut Down (DMU) 89 2 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244 2 Minwu, White Mage (FIN) 26 3 Aerith Gainsborough (FIN) 4 2 Sheltered by Ghosts (DSK) 30
Three cards in particular will be tough to replace: Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim, Phyrexian Missionary and Shadow-Rite Priest.
But before we all declare that all is doom and gloom, let’s see what space-faring Clerics we have in Edge of Eternities. There are six in total and five of those could work in our Orzhov deck. That’s not a bad start.
The first, Alpharael, Dreaming Acolyte, will simply not work because of its Dimir colours. Moving right along.
Alpharael, Stonechosen, could be a pretty potent card but would require more emphasis in the deck on the new Warp mechanic. It is not a cheap card though, costing . Looking at the other clerics in the set, none use the mechanic so the only way this would trigger is if a nonland permanent left the battlefield this turn. While possible, I think that this may not trigger often enough to be very effective. But with the deck being so depleted, maybe I will try it and see.
Elegy Acolyte might be a better fit. It is cheaper by a one pip and better fits into the current lifelink focus of the deck. In this case, Void provides an additional 2/2 colorless Robot artifact creature token that could then become the nonland permanents needed to trigger Void effects. Maybe I’ll start with this one in the deck and see how it performs. If it does, I could then try out Alpharael, Stonechosen as well. Then again, there are a few cards I had set aside that I might put into the deck first.
I might add a few copies of Lightless Evangel into the deck if only because it is relatively cheap and can help buff up other clerics around it. But the current deck is not built around sacrificing so there may be little value there. I’ll hold off for now and maybe revisit later.
I’ll start with a few copies of Sunstar Chaplain, to help with the depleted ranks of my deck. Buffing cards up is never a bad thing and the additional ability to tap a target artifact or creature by removing a +1/+1 counter could be an interesting strategy. It is a better fit than the previous cards.
The last new Cleric is Umbral Collar Zealot. It is a cheap creature that plays well with a sacrifice strategy. I’m not sure that this something meant for the deck but I may again not have much of a choice. Sacrificing another creature or artifact to surveil does not sound does not sound particularly appealing. Let’s start instead with some older Clerics and again revisit as needed.
Removal has been updated with a few Murder and Get Lost cards. I don’t have much in terms of combat tricks for now but will see if adjustments are needed.
Lastly, I’ve replaced two lands with the new Planet Lands. Not sure how they will really function in the deck but what have I got to lose at this point?
Deck
3 Murder (J25) 467
2 Bitter Triumph (LXI) 91
2 Sanguine Savior (MKM) 230
4 Essence Channeler (BLB) 12
2 Grand Abolisher (BIG) 2
2 Authority of the Consuls (FDN) 137
3 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113
3 Rosa, Resolute White Mage (FIN) 555
3 Starscape Cleric (BLB) 116
2 Minwu, White Mage (FIN) 26
3 Aerith Gainsborough (FIN) 4
2 Sheltered by Ghosts (DSK) 30
3 Sunstar Chaplain (EOE) 40
2 Get Lost (LCI) 14
8 Plains (THB) 250
6 Swamp (THB) 252
1 Susur Secundi, Void Altar (EOE) 259
1 Adagia, Windswept Bastion (EOE) 250
3 Scoured Barrens (IKO) 254
1 Valgavoth’s Lair (DSK) 271
2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269
2 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244
Sideboard
1 Pest Control (BIG) 22
1 The Witch’s Vanity (WOE) 119
1 Starscape Cleric (BLB) 116
1 Krumar Initiate (TDM) 84
1 Sanguine Evangelist (LCI) 34
1 Zoraline, Cosmos Caller (BLB) 242
1 Virtue of Persistence (WOE) 115
1 Moonrise Cleric (BLB) 226
1 Roaming Throne (LCI) 258
More to come on the sideboard once I’ve had a chance to take this first version of the new deck out for a spin and I start to make adjustments.
Family Magic 
You must be logged in to post a comment.