The Grinding Stone – Standard Post M12
Hello! Welcome to the second edition of “The Grinding Stone.” This week I will be going over the post M12 Standard format. While it will be short lived, the format will be relevant for the upcoming Starcitygames.com open events and US Nationals. Comprising of the Zendikar block, Scars block, M11 and M12, the New Standard is shaping up to be quite interesting.
With Jace and Stoneforge banned, the format really feels fresh. There is still the Splinter Twin/Exarch combo looming, and while the old bad guy Valakut will be making a comeback, there is still quite a lot of design space. Many creatures and strategies that were completely neutered by Jace have been given a new life. Titans are good again. Cards like Consecrated Sphinx and Wurmcoil Engine rise in value as there is no “Jace Test” anymore. There is also another reason these creatures will be standing out, but we will get to that in a bit.
First, I want to go through a list of cards in M12 that I think will have an immediate impact on the format:
Grim Lavamancer
Solemn Simulacrum
Chandra, the Firebrand
Ponder
I know what you’re thinking: “WTF It’s not that big!”. Sadly, I still think Valakut and Twin put a bit of a stranglehold on the format. My list of cards to use after the Innistrad rotation is pretty huge, and will be an entire article of its own.
With M11 staying in, Mono red is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Lavamancer will be at its best during this current format (unless something is printed in Innistrad to replace the functionality of the fetch lands), and is poised to be a very powerful and popular deck.
Mono Red
4x Goblin Guide
4x Grim Lavamancer
4x Ember Hauler
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Incinerate
4x Stagger Shock
4x Searing Blaze
4x Flame Slash
4x Arc Trail
4x Shrine of Burning Rage
4x Arid Mesa
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Teetering Peaks
8x Mountain
SB:
4x Dismember
3x Act of Aggression
4x Kiln Fiend
4x Vulshok Refugee
This is a pretty stock Mono Red list, except I have cut Spikeshot Elder. He always was the worst card in the deck, and just having more burn definitely feels better. The sideboard is a thing of beauty. Patrick Sullivan knows his red decks, and when hes sleeving up Dismember you know its the real deal for Red. This card is the other reason I see the Titans and other 6 toughness creatures picking up value. While the “Jace Test” might be gone, the “Dismember Test” is still here. Nice Baneslayer. Nice Baloth. Nice Firewalker. Nice Deceiver Exarch. Dismember is already seeing play in Legacy. Its here to stay, and will be a benchmark in standard for a long time. Here’s another strategy I feel can only get better.
Exarch Pod
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Fauna Shaman
4x Lotus Cobra
4x Deceiver Exarch
3x Birthing Pod
4x Splinter Twin
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Spellskite
1x Acidic Slime
1x Manic Vandal
3x Vengevine
1x Sphinx of Lost Truths
1x Sylvan Ranger
1x Inferno Titan
1x Sea Gate Oracle
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Urabrask, the Hidden
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Scalding Tarn
1x Evolving Wilds
3x Copperline Gorge
3x Raging Ravine
4x Forest
3x Mountain
2x Island
Sideboard
3x Dismember
3x Spellskite
2x Acidic Slime
4x Obstinate Baloth
1x Act of Aggression
2x Garruk, Primal Hunter
Unfortunately, I still think that Valakut puts a HUGE strain on any mid-range type strategy like this, and it is pretty soft to straight UR Twin. My friend Jojo Naseef has been championing this list and is still working on it. I think that as the format rotates and we lose Zendikar, Birthing Pod could end up being a major player. Next up is Pyromancer Ascension with a transformational sideboard.
4x Pyromancer Ascension
4x See Beyond
4x Preordain
4x Ponder
4x Mana Leak
2x Forsee
2x Call to Mind
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Incinerate
2x Jace Beleren
4x Into the Roil
3x Halimar Depths
4x Scalding Tarn
8x Island
7x Mountain
Sideboard
4x Pyroclasm
2x Spell Pierce
1x Jace Beleren
4x Deceiver Exarch
4x Splinter Twin
This deck sure is fun to play and a lot of people won’t see the Exarch/Twin combo coming after side-boarding Having Ponder along with Preordain means you have A LOT of dig. You get to see so many cards its quite likely you will hit your Ascension. Just make sure to save them for when you know what you are looking for (unless you need land ASAP). Being able to Ponder/Preordain on turn 3 and then play your Ascension is pretty sweet. I feel that straight U/R Twin is probably better, and I plan on getting into that next week!
Now lets talk about Tezzeret. Sadly, the thing he was best at is no longer relevant; punching Jace in the head. Now, however, I think might be his time to shine!
4x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
4x Tumble Magnet
2x Jace Beleren
4x Everflowing Chalice
4x Torpor Orb
3x Sphere of the Suns
3x Dismember
2x Go for the Throat
2x Doomblade
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Surgical Extraction
4x Darkslick Shores
4x Creeping Tarpit
4x Drowned Catacombs
3x Tectonic Edge
2x Inkmoth Nexus
4x Island
4x Swamp
SB:
3x Memoricide
2x Disfigure
2x Duress
1x Jace Beleren
4x Spellskite
3x Solemn Simulacrum
I really see Tezzeret getting better after the Innistrad rotation along with Solemn Simulacrum. With Primeval Titans romping all over the place and a Billion Exarchs attacking you on Turn 4, tapping out for Tezzeret or Jens just doesn’t seem that effective. The Torpor Orbs are some tech from GP Singapore from before the banning. While it doesn’t stop Ms. Broken-mystic from grabbing Baneslayer Germs, it still turns off half of Primeval Titan and stops the Exarch combo.
I’ve deliberately left Valakut and UR Splinter Twin out of this article, as I plan on going over them next week (or maybe even later this week). I wanted to lump them together, as they are definitely perceived as public enemy numbers 1 and 2.
Feel free to email me any questions, suggestions, or just to say hi: vanmeter.chris@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @richardamore.
Thanks!
CVM
Posted on July 6, 2011, in Articles, The Grinding Stone and tagged deck, Magic the Gathering, MTG, MTGO, solemn simulacrum, standard, tezzeret. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
Great article chris. Keep them coming!