The Monday Mulligan #5: Can Red Decks Win?

I will post the Gatherling entry for the event (which I would have edited to include at least all decknames and colors), so you can browse the meta yourselves. The play-offs and metagame paragraphs will list the archetypes that were played (aggro, control, etc.) and how many. A deck that played in the finals will appear in the quarter-, semi- and finals part as well as the metagame part.

Gatherling Metagame Breakdown

Play-offs:
Finals - Control (1), Aggro-Control (1)
Semi-Finals - Control (2), Aggro-Control (1), Mid-Range (1)
Quarter-Finals - Control (3), Aggro-Control (2),Mid-Range (1), Aggro (2)

Metagame:
Aggro - 5 (one with a possible "combo" finish)
Control: - 9 (three with a possible combo finish)
Aggro-Control: - 3
Mid-range: - 1

People who get the "Sad Smily of the Week" for not entering their decklists are: ChronicHeaves and stiffdiddypinky. Better your life next time. (Only regular attendees can be "nominated".)

Discussion:
There is no way of stopping the storm, is there? For the seventh time, Storm Control takes the top spot in a standard event. It even beat Grimdrifter (a notoriously bad matchup) in the quarter-finals, before taking the trophy over UR Illusions.

For the last event of the season, we see that the meta has become a bit stale. The aggro deck consist of primarily WW, which can't seem to get past the t8 threshold, with some Sliver and random other aggro thrown in. The control camp is divided between two lists: Storm Control (three today) and Grimdrifter variants (five today, including one "redless" Kingdrifter). stiffdiddypinkys Dreamspore Rock failed against New Tricks and UR Illusions and didn't make play-offs.

About Illusions: this is the real thing people; both people playing it made play-offs, one even the finals. The Storm Control matchup is not that good, so to consistantly beat the best deck in the format, MD Martyrs (2-3) might be necessary.

A new kind of deck made the semi-finals: Fat Madness. This deck, by new player NormanSpawnie, combines only two madness outlets (the snowless Skred, Lightning Axe, and Gathan Raiders) with only a few quality madness spells, Brain Gorgers (which I think is a mistake), Gorgon Recluse and Ichor Slick. The deck is rounded out with fat (Aurochs Herd and Ohran Yeti) and more removal. It is a bit rought, but shows promise. Again, storm is the bane of this deck too.

Now you surely want to know what to play in next weeks World's Championships? Well for that I point you to kehmesis excellent Lorwyn Standard overview, but read on for some tech on Kingdrifter and RDW.

01 - icarodx (4,429) - (5)
02 - kehmesis (3,871) - (4)
03 - RaiserUK (3,617) - (8)
04 - KingRitz (3,148) - (3)
05 - ChronicHeaves (2,907) - (7)
05 - 53N531 (2,907) - (7)

The only change is kehmesis, who gains a spot over RaiserUK with his end-of-season win.

Morningtide: Blue

CardName: Dewdrop Spy
Cost: 1UU
Type: Creature - Faerie Rogue
Pow/Tgh: 2/2
Rules Text: Flash Flying When Dewdrop Spy comes into play, look at the top card of target player's library.

Information is nice, but I don't know if it is worth the cost. A flashy 2/2 flyer for is not bad for blue, but you can get Pestermite for the same cost, which has a somewhat more usefull ability. On the other hand, it is a nice combat trick, for three mana you can kill a x/2 creature and gain some intell on the opponents draw. It isn't a build-around-me card, but it might fit in a dedicated Faerie or Rogue deck.

CardName: Disperse
Cost: 1U
Type: Instant
Pow/Tgh: /
Rules Text: Return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand.

There aren't enough non-creature, non-land permanents played to play this over Unsummon.

CardName: Distant Melody
Cost: 3U
Type: Sorcery
Pow/Tgh: /
Rules Text: Choose a creature type. Draw a card for each permanent you control of that type.

This was Morningtides first hyped card on these boards. Many people were excited of turning their army (3+) of Goblin(s) (tokens), Merfolk, etc. into a fresh grip of cards. If there is one format this card might make a splash, it is PDC. Because we don't have to fear the Wrath, we can expect to reap the rewards of playing multiple creatures. I can see this work in either blue Kithkin or Merfolk (both have Bannerets), with a really low curve to drop at least three creatures by turn three (prefarably an one drop, Banneret, three one/two drops), so your turn four Melody draws at least three. The problem is going to four mana while trying to drop lots of small creatures, you want both much and little lands.

CardName: Fencer Clique
Cost: 2UU
Type: Creature - Faerie Soldier
Pow/Tgh: 3/2
Rules Text: Flying U: Put Fencer Clique on top of its owner's library.

A nice unkillable evasive win-condition for , meaning it will only be played in heavy blue control decks. But there are better win-conditions (EE with counter protection, Chilling Shade), who hit harder. The problem is that it replaces your draw when you save it, this equals carddisadvantage. Something you want to avoid in CA based control decks. It is a solid finisher for Faerie Teachings, if that deck ever comes together well. Just remember to Teachings before you save it, else it will be shuffled away.

CardName: Floodchaser
Cost: 5U
Type: Creature - Elemental
Pow/Tgh: 0/0
Rules Text: Floodchaser comes into play with six +1/+1 counters on it. Floodchaser can't attack unless defending player controls an Island. U, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Floodchaser: Target land becomes an Island until end of turn.

Wow, a 6/6 for , that should be good right? It can attack only if an opponent controls an Island, which is pretty much every deck in standard. Even if they don't have any, there are multiple good (Merfolk) spells to give your opponent acces to blue mana, including itself. A Merfolk aggro-control deck might use this as its top end trump.

CardName: Ink Dissolver
Cost: 1U
Type: Creature - Merfolk Wizard
Pow/Tgh: 2/1
Rules Text: Kinship - At the beginning of your upkeep, you may look at the top card of your library. If it shares a creature type with Ink Dissolver, you may reveal it. If you do, each opponent puts the top three cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.

There aren't enough mill cards to make this even remotely playable. Mill isn't playable in non-PDC, and pauper isn't much different.

CardName: Latchkey Faerie
Cost: 3U
Type: Creature - Faerie Rogue
Pow/Tgh: 3/1
Rules Text: Flying Prowl 2U (You may play this for its prowl cost if you dealt combat damage to a player this turn with a Faerie or Rogue.) When Latchkey Faerie comes into play, if its prowl cost was paid, draw a card.

I talked about this card a little when considering the Rogues in black, so go back and read that if you want to know. All I want to say is that a cantripping 3/1 flyer (thus one that doesn't die to Shambler/Martyr) for is incredibly powerfull. But triggering its Prowl means you need to play Faeries/Rogues, preferably aggro(-control). There might not be enough power in Prowl and Rogues to play U-based aggro over something like WW or RDW. I might see it competing with Illusions as the aggro-control deck of choice. This might even be the deck to have a spot for Distant Melody.

CardName: Merrow Witsniper
Cost: U
Type: Creature - Merfolk Rogue
Pow/Tgh: 1/1
Rules Text: When Merrow Witsniper comes into play, target player puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard.

It is an one drop Merfolk and Rogue, but it's textbox could be blank and we wouldn't know the difference.

CardName: Mothdust Changeling
Cost: U
Type: Creature - Shapeshifter
Pow/Tgh: 1/1
Rules Text: Changeling (This card is every creature type at all times.) Tap an untapped creature you control: Mothdust Changeling gains flying until end of turn.

Yeah, an evasive one drop Merfolk! As long as you keep dropping creatures, you can tap your fresly cast ones to give this flying, turning it into a Flying Men/'Folk. It will also activate the numerous "When this becomes tapped" abilities of the 'Folk, such as Morningtides Schoolmaster.

CardName: Negate
Cost: 1U
Type: Instant
Pow/Tgh: /
Rules Text: Counter target noncreature spell.

A sideboard card, but a really nice one. Remove Soul is about a hundred times better than this, but I like the simplicity and ellegance of this spell. Gets the Sypher Design Stamp of Approval.

CardName: Stonybrook Banneret
Cost: 1U
Type: Creature - Merfolk Wizard
Pow/Tgh: 1/1
Rules Text: Islandwalk Merfolk spells and Wizard spells you play cost 1 less to play.

All the Bannerets are playable, this one too. Islandwalk is a really nice ability to have in our Mulldrifter dominated metagame, making this and Merfolk an untapped potential. Will the Morningtide commons push Magics oldest tribe into the playable territory? I surely hope so.

CardName: Stream of Unconsciousness
Cost: U
Type: Tribal Instant - Wizard
Pow/Tgh: /
Rules Text: Target creature gets -4/-0 until end of turn. If you control a Wizard, draw a card.

Meh, a cantripping fog for a single creature. Not worth it, play spells that help you win instead.

This week the mic is passed to Kingritz, MPDC's 4th seeded player for next weeks World's (if he can attend) with two finals placings out of a lousy three attendences. Though he hasn't participated in MPDC in a long time, I know I am interested in his answers.

Who are you if you're not playing PDC and where are you from?
My name is Anthony Ritz. I'm a young lawyer, less than a year out of Georgetown Law, and I'm currently job searching trying to get into management consulting. I'm from Stone Mountain, Georgia (an eastern suburb of Atlanta), but I'm looking to move to the San Francisco area soon.

What is your favorite PDC format? Standard, FutEx, Classic, Block,etc.?
I really enjoy both the Standard and Future Extended formats. Right now Future Extended is a bit more vibrant and diverse, and quite balanced, so I'll call that my favorite. Block is fun for a bit but feels awfully restrictive to me, and some blocks are more fun than others. I'm sitting out Classic lately. Of course I have to pump Alternate formats, which I love, and which are featured in Alt PDC (which I co-host).

What do you most enjoy about playing Magic?
This is a hard question. If I had to pick just one thing... I guess it would have to be the remarkable depth and complexity of choice in the game. I love how many modular moving parts there are, and I love working
to combine them in novel, successful, creative ways. Of course I love the competition, the acclaim, and the community too... Magic is just a great game.

Your favorite card (non PDC)?
Gatherling tells me that Steamcore Weird is my favorite card. Izzet Chronarch, Pallid Mycoderm, Momentary Blink, Ninja of the Deep Hours... I can't help but appreciate the cards that have brought me so much success... but Steamcore Weird just seems to find its way into my decks over and over, so I'll agree with Gatherling on this one.

Your favorite standard PDC card?
For standard, I hate that it's almost too strong, and I hate that it's got a blue flashback, but I have to say Momentary Blink. Blink enables so many diverse creative strategies, and it's nice to see a white card on the top of the heap for a change.

As the creator (and namesake) of Kingdrifter you've probably tested it alot. Why do you think it is such a good deck, maby even (as some people claim) the best deck in the format?
The theory I wanted to test was based on my observation that every single mana-fixer in the current Standard environment is a five-color fixer, and that the vast majority of the power cards have "easy" mana requirements. My theory was that people who hadn't yet adjusted from the Ravnica bounceland-dominated old Standard environment were failing to splash as much as would be optimal, and that the current mana options allowed for a control deck to be remarkably "greedy" (Spikeboym must be rolling over in his grave right now)(I know, he's not dead).

Well, Kingdrifter started as UWBg, for Sprout Swarm and Essence Warden, took on more green for Civic Wayfinder, but then reversed course to UWBr. I switched from Green to Red as my fourth color because the deck was too tempo-negative against aggro and had trouble handling some large fliers like Ephemeron.

In its current incarnation, Kingdrifter succeeds because it is the control deck that does the most to truly optimize its mana base. This enables Kingdrifter to run just about all of the best cards in the format (Mulldrifter, Momentary Blink, Skred, Mystical Teachings, Grim Harvest, and on and on). In turn, this makes Kingdrifter a strategically dominant choice in almost every control mirror. Kingdrifter runs (or can run) every good card its opponent has, plus several more. Against aggro, Kingdrifter has a bit of a tougher time, but it still has a number of early chumps -- including Blinking, Harvesting Aven Riftwatchers -- backed by efficient removal, and close to ten more removal spells in the sideboard.

Do you think Morningtide will make a big impact on standard? What cards are you excited about? Will the rock-paper-scissors state (Grim-Storm-WW) of the meta be shaken up?
Morningtide really helps aggro, obviously, and it has some interesting combo tools. I've only looked at it a little bit, but right now I see next to nothing in the set for control decks generally. The Banneret Cycle is clearly huge for the tribes it covers, and I could see almost every Banneret seeing play. I always loved the IPA Familiars, so these make me happy.

Besides Bannerets, White Weenie gains a number of good tools. Maybe it finally makes the move to a Kithkin Tribal base. Bombardier is a real pain on control, and the Serra Kithkin is pretty solid. The trick will be working out the three-drop slot, where you have to be careful not to go overboard. Of course, White Weenie also got a huge new nemesis in Lys Alana Bowmaster, which is pretty nasty.

The Winnower Patrol is solid too. Maybe we finally see an Elf deck succeed in standard with those two and perhaps Earthbrawn. Let's see what else: Negate is only really fun as a sideboard card against other control, and I'm going to go against the grain and say Festercreep is pretty weak. If Nausea were legal, nobody would ever ever play this, but as it is decks without access to red will be sideboarding these guys.

Shard Volley doesn't impress me either. It's certainly no Fireblast. Mothdust Changeling is a respectable one-drop for Illusions and Merfolk. Nothing else really impresses me too much, so I'm afraid we'll be seeing a lot more Grimdrifter and Storm going forward, and probably White Weenie in some form will continue to compete for the title of "best aggro" along with Elves and RDW. Sticks and Stones, Goblins, and Elementals are all on the verge of making it and get little boosts.

Thanks for your time, any final words?
Thanks for the great articles.

Previous interviews:
kehmesis
RaiserUK
53N531/Sensei
icarodx

Red Deck Wins, as piloted by karakusk at SPDC 4.03

Creatures
4 Emberwilde Augur
4 Gathan Raiders
4 Inner-Flame Acolyte
4 Keldon Halberdier
4 Keldon Marauders

Spells
4 Grapeshot
4 Incinerate
4 Rift Bolt
4 Tarfire
2 Shock

Lands
18 Mountain
4 Terramorphic Expanse

SIDEBOARD
4 Hurly-Burly
4 Plunder
4 Prodigal Pyromancer
3 Smash

Discussion:
RDW, the forgotten aggro deck. Mostly overshadowed by WW this season because that could fight through blinked Riftwatchers, while RDW can't. But without Blinkdrifter as a viable strategy these days, RDWs main antagonist is gone. Why should it be good now?

For once, it combines three things Storm Control hates: multiple cheap threats to put the pressure on, almost endless reach in at least twelve burn spells and a maindeckable answer to Warrens (Martyr). The aformentioned WW also doesn't like to face this. Between Martyrs, Grapeshots and the plenthora of removal RDW goes all control on the weeners asses, winning on the back of an almost unkillable (for WW) Keldon Halberdier and burn to the face.

As a Grimdrifter player myself I can attest I'd rather face WW than RDW, because I can't put that much pressure early and my aggro defense is removal based, meaning you can die to burn relativaly easily. You need to get to the mid-late game and start looping Gutless Ghoul activations to remain safe. With acces to Ghouls and Tendrils, Grim should probably have the best RDW matchup between the three top decks from this season. Kingdrifter should have an even better matchup, because it is currently the best deck that blinks (and Harvests) Riftwatchers for fun and profit.

Looking at this (old) list, a couple of things could be changed. This sideboard looks a bit random: Plunder comes down way too late and Smash doesn't have targets in the meta today. Hurly-Burly or Martyr is a tough call. The first can't be Remove Souled, while the second destroys WW. I'd go for the Martyr personally because it is more wildly usefull. If the Storm player keeps up he either stormed for a little amount of goblins (meaning you aren't on a tight clock) or he/you is/are winning anyways (being in burn range or having an attacking EE you can't deal with). An Empty the Warrens transformational sideboard might be a nice way to fill those slots. Changing much of the main deck might dilute your focus. Two last possible additions I want to mention are Adder-Staff Boggart and Karplusan Wolverine, which provide a solid 2/1 or 3/2 for that fixes your draw and a possible two for one against aggressive in the Wolverine.

Previous decks:
Storm Control
New Tricks and Grimdrifter
Use UR Illusion
GW Changelings

"Sadly" Morningtide is coming out next Monday, meaning my review series won't be completed before its release. Expect the red review somewhere between Wednesday and Friday.

Joins us next week at MPDC World's Championship, Lorwyn Edition. Even if you aren't invited; some very interesting games are coming our way, which should be thrilling to watch. A perfect way to learn from the best of the best.