Meta Game Check
with Samuel Wells
Hello! once again to this special spoiler season metagame check. As I teased last week, the
card that I see as poised to takeover in m15 is Chord of Calling.
This should come to no surprise to people who have seen this card in action. Unlike eternal
formats, Chord will not be used to find the missing combo pieces in the deck. What Chord does provide is the ability to reliably set up some very powerful engines. I will discuss two current Tier 1.5 standard decks that have the potential to blow up with the new tools coming out in the core set.
The first deck that I see getting a boost is the green based devotion decks. This deck, when it is going off, looks stronger than any other strategy in the format. It hits harder than Jund Monsters and can outpace UW control for cards. What this deck was missing was the consistency to have all of the pieces. Chord may be what this deck was missing, it grabs nylea when you’re trying to close out the game, it grabs Polukranos (which is as good as any piece of removal), and it lets you play bullets to be able to handle any situation.
Chord is not the only card in M15 that I see giving a boost to this deck. The other obvious card that pushes the deck over the top is Nissa, Worldwaker. She provides insanely explosivesstarts and synergizes with Nykthos. This synergy is what reallydrew me to the deck.
The final card that I see adding some value to this deck is
Genesis Hydra. Being able to add another mana sink that also
gives card advantage really gives the deck potential.
This deck has several directions that it can be taken. Namely splashes for any of the colors, as you have seen in other of our articles. There is a GB version that we have discussed at BSB that is trying to abuse the new Garruk. Our version there also is an Eidolon of blossoms strategy. This is another shell of a deck that I really like with the Chord reprint, but I will discuss that later.
A green black devotion/eidolon strategy has a lot of potential and I would be looking to this deck also get a lot of play immediately after release. Please check out Magic Mondays to see more about this deck. This was a major concern for me as I was working on this list, but ultimately I went for the most streamlined version of the deck.
As it is, here is my list.
Main Deck:
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Voyaging Satyr
4 BurningTree Emissary
4 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Genesis Hydra
3 Nylea, God of the Hunt
3 Arbor Colossus
|
2 Chord of Calling
3 Nissa, Worldwaker
4 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Mutavault
20 Forests
Sideboard:
4 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Unravel Into Aether
3 Setessan Tactics
2 Courser of Kruphix
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Hydra Broodmaster
2 Primeval Bounty
|
This deck has the most explosive start of any deck that I can think of in standard now. There is
the threat of casting both planeswalkers and dumping your hand on TURN TWO in this deck. If
that isn’t big game, I don’t know what is.
So anyone who has seen the green based Nykthos decks in action know the core of the deck.
You play out mana accelerant dudes and ramp into Garruk. Pretty simple. So I won't cover this
part any longer.
What I do want to focus on are the new cards in the deck and what role they play. Like the top of
my article suggests, Chord of Calling is a pretty big one for the deck.hand. So being able to tutor for the relevant cards is huge for the deck. Chord will often be going for a Nylea just to give the board trampleand pump them for lethal. There are also some bullets that are in the sideboard that are worth tutoring for. Both Hydra Broodmother and Scavenging ooze provide a mana sink and pose threats to different strategies. I would also like to include a sylvan primordial in the 75 somewhere to give a response to O-ring type effects or planeswalker which this deck can look weak to.
That all being said, this is not an ideal Chord deck, the convoke is not particularly relevant due to the lack of little dudes that aren't already tapping for mana, BTE being the notable exception. And the biggest threats in this deck are planeswalkers who cannot be tutored out.
The next new card I want to talk about is Nissa, Worldwaker and oh boy she looks like a house
in this strategy. Her second plus one becomes the core of the strategy of the deck. We have
been shown in modern how powerful being able to untap Nykthos actually is with Garruk
Wildspeaker. She will be able to do a pretty good impression of him in this standard environment.
**Edit by Chaz, Nissa only untaps Forests, so this doesn't work out fully**
that isn’t big game, I don’t know what is.
So anyone who has seen the green based Nykthos decks in action know the core of the deck.
You play out mana accelerant dudes and ramp into Garruk. Pretty simple. So I won't cover this
part any longer.
What I do want to focus on are the new cards in the deck and what role they play. Like the top of
my article suggests, Chord of Calling is a pretty big one for the deck.hand. So being able to tutor for the relevant cards is huge for the deck. Chord will often be going for a Nylea just to give the board trampleand pump them for lethal. There are also some bullets that are in the sideboard that are worth tutoring for. Both Hydra Broodmother and Scavenging ooze provide a mana sink and pose threats to different strategies. I would also like to include a sylvan primordial in the 75 somewhere to give a response to O-ring type effects or planeswalker which this deck can look weak to.
That all being said, this is not an ideal Chord deck, the convoke is not particularly relevant due to the lack of little dudes that aren't already tapping for mana, BTE being the notable exception. And the biggest threats in this deck are planeswalkers who cannot be tutored out.
The next new card I want to talk about is Nissa, Worldwaker and oh boy she looks like a house
in this strategy. Her second plus one becomes the core of the strategy of the deck. We have
been shown in modern how powerful being able to untap Nykthos actually is with Garruk
Wildspeaker. She will be able to do a pretty good impression of him in this standard environment.
**Edit by Chaz, Nissa only untaps Forests, so this doesn't work out fully**
You can still go:
T1: Mystic
T2: BTE BTE BTE, Activate Nykthos into Garruk/Nissa shenanigans.
She is part of the dump your hand on turn two start.
Turn 1; Forest into evish mystic.
She is part of the dump your hand on turn two start.
Turn 1; Forest into evish mystic.
Turn 2; Using mystic and the forest play BTE
into BTE into BTE, with the mana floating play Nykthos and activate.
into BTE into BTE, with the mana floating play Nykthos and activate.
Play Nissa with the mana use her untap ability and activate Nykthos again then you get to
Garruk and plus him up.
Garruk and plus him up.
At that point the game is *sort of* over.
Unlikely, I know. But this is a possibility in the deck. That’s all I need to love this deck. But back
to Nissa, she is what puts this deck into overdrive. Nykthos even on slow draws really is what lets you push advantages and get ahead on board. Beyond the un-tapping ability, Nissa presents other possibilities. Her first plus one will be underrated and is big in this deck to help prevent flooding out. That is a big risk in this deck having 25 lands and 10 mana dudes. And of course her ultimate wins games or forces the opponent to have a board-wipe. She is the biggest addition to this deck.
The final new card that I put in this deck is Genesis Hydra. This is a card that has not received a
lot of love this spoiler season. This is most likely due to the fact that people do not see the card
having a home or thinking it will not be a high impact card. I think if there is a home for it, it will be in this deck. He gets to find pretty much any card you want off the top and leaves you with a big body. Sometimes that's what this deck is missing. This include is a bit more speculation but
holds enough potential to warrant the two slots.
There are a couple older includes in the sideboard that also seem off but I think are very strong.
These being Primeval Bounty and Hydra Broodmaster. Primeval bounty an enchantment that
has been criminally underplayed since the release of Theros. People forgot how dominant this
card was last summer. This 6 mana enchantment is well set up to attack on another level
against the black one for one removal decks. This match up continually poses a challenge.
Adding a card that gives all subsequent plays more value helps in the late game.
The final card that I think needs explaining is the one of Hydra Broodmaster. This card has seen
no play whatsoever. It provides one final over the top threat in match ups where both players are
just jamming threats and it is a damage race. Hydra Broodmaster seems to be the best at doing this when you have infinite mana, as this deck is prone to do.
So now that I showed off a deck that chord was mediocre in. I wanted to highlight a deck that chord was an all-star and key to its success. I decided to do this with a GW constellation deck that is very reliant on creating an unstoppable value engine and grinding an opponent into the
ground. I have seen other eidolon of blossom decks utilize nythos and the devotion engine. I find that this dilutes the deck too much and you can get a hand that is half the devotion strategy andhalf the constellation strategy.
Another consideration that I had was the color splash. Both black and white have been adopted
by players. I prefer white for the power of the individual cards and am willing to give up cards like Doomwake Giant and Brain Maggot for cards with higher individual power. This is not the first time that we discussed GW constellation at BSB, on an old Magic Monday we teased a GW token/constellation deck. Since then Chord of Calling has been spoiled and that let for a bit of a transformation of the deck.
Without further ado, here is the list.
Lo and behold, here is a deck that is able to board into any number of bullets for just about any matchup. Adding white gives you more hate for any number of strategies than mono green or even green black. That is why I love the GW constellation deck to be built as a grindy permanent control list.
So the bullets are the best reason to why Chord works in the deck, but there is another why
white looks so good. This deck has the creature base to help with the convoke cost. Looking at
this deck there are many creatures that will just sit out on the board not attacking, and
sometimes not blocking, having them tap for mana essentially with Chord gives them more
power. There is also a tolen sub-theme which helps with convoke as well. These two reasons
really make Chord shine to me.
Now I will go over the engine briefly and discuss some of the Chord targets. The engine is very
simply Eidolon of Blossoms and enchantments, duh. But there going further than that, cards like
Mana Bloom really ties the deck together and become your Underworld Connections in GW.
Which is very sexy. There is also Heliod to serve a similar purpose, but with the added bonus of threatening to win the game. We have to do that eventually I guess.
In the main deck Chord will often be cast after successfully clogging up the board to set up the
engine, either Eidolon or Heliod. Chord will not easily be grabbing the win cons from the deck.
But the way you win with this deck is incidental after successfully grinding out the game. Winning with an assortment of random 1/1s and 2/2s will be very common. That being said I do have one target in the main deck that is fixing to be much larger than a 2/2. That is eidolon of countless battles. This may seem weird until you really observe the rest of the deck, besides chord and the deck is entirely enchantment and creatures, many of whom are token producers. So he will be a large fellow. He will be the late game chord target of choice.
Post board, there becomes a variety of silver bullets than can be grabbed. Some that threaten
gotcha moments. Cards like Revoker with a walker on the stack or Spirit of the Labyrinth in
response to Sphinx's Revelation seem to be very nice blow outs. That's what the sideboard is
fixing to do. Besides that, there are cards to sure up random weak match ups for the deck and to handle hard to deal with cards.
Overall, I really like this deck and I am fixing to be messing with this deck so long it is viable in
standard. The beauty of this deck is that with Chord it will be able to adapt to a changing meta
while keeping a very powerful engine at the center. Look for variations of this deck running
around standard for this summer and into Khans.
M15's release seems to give the boost to two very exciting green decks with the addition of
Chord of Calling. Please leave a comment down below asking me about issues you may be
having with your particular meta or asking how to beat a specific boogie man of the format and I
may make a list for you next week.
Thanks everyone!
----------
Join our community!
Facebook at: BoltSnapBolt group, request membership and follow guidelines, would love to have new fresh members!
Hit me up personally @Vbrews on Twitter, I use that for deck-brewing and anything magic related, my Twitch stream also broadcasts on there!
Follow @Boltsnapbolt
Any/all questions related to blog/podcast email us at Boltsnapbolt@outlook.com
to Nissa, she is what puts this deck into overdrive. Nykthos even on slow draws really is what lets you push advantages and get ahead on board. Beyond the un-tapping ability, Nissa presents other possibilities. Her first plus one will be underrated and is big in this deck to help prevent flooding out. That is a big risk in this deck having 25 lands and 10 mana dudes. And of course her ultimate wins games or forces the opponent to have a board-wipe. She is the biggest addition to this deck.
The final new card that I put in this deck is Genesis Hydra. This is a card that has not received a
lot of love this spoiler season. This is most likely due to the fact that people do not see the card
having a home or thinking it will not be a high impact card. I think if there is a home for it, it will be in this deck. He gets to find pretty much any card you want off the top and leaves you with a big body. Sometimes that's what this deck is missing. This include is a bit more speculation but
holds enough potential to warrant the two slots.
There are a couple older includes in the sideboard that also seem off but I think are very strong.
These being Primeval Bounty and Hydra Broodmaster. Primeval bounty an enchantment that
has been criminally underplayed since the release of Theros. People forgot how dominant this
card was last summer. This 6 mana enchantment is well set up to attack on another level
against the black one for one removal decks. This match up continually poses a challenge.
Adding a card that gives all subsequent plays more value helps in the late game.
The final card that I think needs explaining is the one of Hydra Broodmaster. This card has seen
no play whatsoever. It provides one final over the top threat in match ups where both players are
just jamming threats and it is a damage race. Hydra Broodmaster seems to be the best at doing this when you have infinite mana, as this deck is prone to do.
So now that I showed off a deck that chord was mediocre in. I wanted to highlight a deck that chord was an all-star and key to its success. I decided to do this with a GW constellation deck that is very reliant on creating an unstoppable value engine and grinding an opponent into the
ground. I have seen other eidolon of blossom decks utilize nythos and the devotion engine. I find that this dilutes the deck too much and you can get a hand that is half the devotion strategy andhalf the constellation strategy.
Another consideration that I had was the color splash. Both black and white have been adopted
by players. I prefer white for the power of the individual cards and am willing to give up cards like Doomwake Giant and Brain Maggot for cards with higher individual power. This is not the first time that we discussed GW constellation at BSB, on an old Magic Monday we teased a GW token/constellation deck. Since then Chord of Calling has been spoiled and that let for a bit of a transformation of the deck.
Without further ado, here is the list.
--------------------GW Constellation--------------------
GW Constellation:
4 Eidolon of Blossom
4 Mana Bloom
4 Courser Of Kruphix
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 NyxFleece Ram
2 Eidolon of Countless Battles
2 Voice of Resurgence
|
4 Chord Of Calling
1 Heliod, God of the Sun
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Primeval Bounty
2 Spirit Bonds
4 Banishing Light
4 Temple Of Plenty
4 Temple Garden
3 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Mana Confluence
7 Forest
5 Plains
Sideboard:
2 Blind Obedience
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Primeval Bounty
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Restock
1 Dictate Of Heliod
2 Banisher Priest
2 Deicide
|
Lo and behold, here is a deck that is able to board into any number of bullets for just about any matchup. Adding white gives you more hate for any number of strategies than mono green or even green black. That is why I love the GW constellation deck to be built as a grindy permanent control list.
So the bullets are the best reason to why Chord works in the deck, but there is another why
white looks so good. This deck has the creature base to help with the convoke cost. Looking at
this deck there are many creatures that will just sit out on the board not attacking, and
sometimes not blocking, having them tap for mana essentially with Chord gives them more
power. There is also a tolen sub-theme which helps with convoke as well. These two reasons
really make Chord shine to me.
Now I will go over the engine briefly and discuss some of the Chord targets. The engine is very
simply Eidolon of Blossoms and enchantments, duh. But there going further than that, cards like
Mana Bloom really ties the deck together and become your Underworld Connections in GW.
Which is very sexy. There is also Heliod to serve a similar purpose, but with the added bonus of threatening to win the game. We have to do that eventually I guess.
In the main deck Chord will often be cast after successfully clogging up the board to set up the
engine, either Eidolon or Heliod. Chord will not easily be grabbing the win cons from the deck.
But the way you win with this deck is incidental after successfully grinding out the game. Winning with an assortment of random 1/1s and 2/2s will be very common. That being said I do have one target in the main deck that is fixing to be much larger than a 2/2. That is eidolon of countless battles. This may seem weird until you really observe the rest of the deck, besides chord and the deck is entirely enchantment and creatures, many of whom are token producers. So he will be a large fellow. He will be the late game chord target of choice.
Post board, there becomes a variety of silver bullets than can be grabbed. Some that threaten
gotcha moments. Cards like Revoker with a walker on the stack or Spirit of the Labyrinth in
response to Sphinx's Revelation seem to be very nice blow outs. That's what the sideboard is
fixing to do. Besides that, there are cards to sure up random weak match ups for the deck and to handle hard to deal with cards.
Overall, I really like this deck and I am fixing to be messing with this deck so long it is viable in
standard. The beauty of this deck is that with Chord it will be able to adapt to a changing meta
while keeping a very powerful engine at the center. Look for variations of this deck running
around standard for this summer and into Khans.
M15's release seems to give the boost to two very exciting green decks with the addition of
Chord of Calling. Please leave a comment down below asking me about issues you may be
having with your particular meta or asking how to beat a specific boogie man of the format and I
may make a list for you next week.
Until then, I am Samuel Wells, and this is the Metagame Check.
Thanks everyone!
----------
Join our community!
Facebook at: BoltSnapBolt group, request membership and follow guidelines, would love to have new fresh members!
Hit me up personally @Vbrews on Twitter, I use that for deck-brewing and anything magic related, my Twitch stream also broadcasts on there!
Follow @Boltsnapbolt
Any/all questions related to blog/podcast email us at Boltsnapbolt@outlook.com
Nissa can only untap Forests so she is not nearly as good as you make her to be. Still good tho
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right. It was an oversight on my editing, and I mentioned it to Samuel.
DeleteNykthos is a forest apparently.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I edited that out. It indeed is NOT a forest!
Delete