Welcome back to Stripped Out, where I take a precon and remove all the off theme cards and move the deck forward. This time I'm looking at one of the new horror themed decks out of Duskmourn. These preconstructed decks seem to be getting more powerful and competetive in their strategies. I've also noticed a willingness to repeat themes sooner and sooner. Take energy for example. We got a Jeskai version for Fallout and turned around and got one with Modern Horizons III. It was barely a year ago we got an Abzan enchantments deck. Today we swap out Green for Blue and explore the strategy in Esper.
The Miracle Worker deck is full of “enchantments matter” cards. There are cost reducers and draw engines in full force. Aminatou, Veil Piercer brings a lot to the deck. The redefinition of Miracle makes the strategy more broad but still centers it on enchantments. But all that falls apart with the actual Miracle cards. Those are instants and sorceries after all. The deck is rocking Black and Blue. A lot of cards here draw me cards or move cards into my graveyard. I think the deck can set itself up well with a classic card that defined a strategy: Laboratory Maniac. I need to get through my whole deck in short order and I don't think Aminatou will speed this plan along. Instead I'm looking at the alternative commander to headline the deck.
The Master of Keys will reward me heavily and push this strategy even faster. The more mana I put into the X the more I get to fill up my graveyard. Double fast actually. It also makes Master of Keys a sizable and evasive threat on the battlefield. I see the deck playing out in 2 stages. Turn A, Cast the Master and pay as much as I can into X. Turn B Attack with The Master then bounce it back to hand. Replay it the same turn, since bounce spells can be cheap, or advance your board state another way then start the cycle back up on the next turn. You're going to want to hit the same opponent every turn and drive a commander damage kill so choose wisely. In these colors I have access to Crystal Shard and Essence Reliquary in these colors. These permanents stick around on the field and allow me to bounce the Master to my hand for little to no cost.
With playing Master of Keys over and over cards are going to accumulate in the graveyard. That isn't good or bad on it's own, but it does provide an opportunity. Use the graveyard. Delve would be a good addition to the deck since those discarded cards would fuel powerful spells for cheap. However, if I mill Delve spells they just sit in the graveyard doing nothing. I want to protect myself against the downside that comes from Master of Keys. I want to play the cards in the yard. The best way to do this is with Flashback. If it's milled, the card is still playable once. If it gets drawn though, the card is playable twice. This is the bulk of my add ins to the deck. I think you'll like them.
Deep Analysis is a classic draw spell that I plan to include. Mana the first time and life the second are manageable costs. In the event The Master of Keys dies I added Morgue Theft to the deck. It's a better rate than Unburial Rites to cast from hand and I only have to worry about 1 color of mana. So I'm not as afraid to let my commander go to the graveyard. Faithful Mending is great for my plan. It gains me life and I get to draw 2 cards. Having to discard 2 isn't ideal, but Flashback makes that cost more manageable. Artful Dodge plays into the aggression I need with my commander threatening lethal damage. Increasing Confusion is a perfect fit here. Mill and then double up on milling is great. The card is good the first time and great the second. I have 2 Legends to round out the Flashback strategy: Dralnu, Lich Lord and Lier, Disciple of the Drowned. Dralnu is great as it can give all my instants and sorceries flashback. This isn't just great for spells that don't have Flashback but for those where the mana cost is less than the Flashback cost. It's cards advantage and cost reduction all at once. Lier is even better. I don't have to tap the creature and I don't have to worry about anything being countered. Strictly Better.
Since I'm looking to mill myself I'm going to include Jace, Wielder of Mysteries too. The redundancy is key. It being a Planeswalker just means it will be harder to remove than a creature. I find the ultimate humorous. It speeds up the plan by 1 card. Do I see that playing a role in winning? No way. But why not? The only other way to win like this is Thassa's Oracle. The card comes with a lot of baggage. People will see it and hate you out of the game for the fear of losing to the combo. Are there a lot of permanents in the deck with Blue pips? Not a ton. Does the chance to win overshadow the potential hate? Yes. Just be prepared.
Now that the end goal is in mind, let's get back to the deck as it stands. What is the deck set up to do? It's getting pulled in a couple directions. There seem to be a couple Demons/Horrors/Nightmares in the deck that play well together. It's more like they play well with Ancient Cellarspawn. A lot of enchantment builds play into cost reduction and Cellerspawn uses that strategy to do damage to opponents. But I don't really need that for those 3 creature types. I'm removing some of those creatures like Demon of Fate's Design and Dream Eater. I love a good 5, 6, or 7 drop in my deck, but these are too expensive with compared to their effect with where I'm taking the deck.
Some of the enchantment support is still really good in this version. Mesa Enchantress is a great way to profit from casting my commander. Cost reduction is better than a mana rock in a lot of ways, so I'm following the example set by Starfield Mystic and including Starnheim Courser. Moon-Blessed Cleric will find me a critical enchantment like Doomwake Giant or Sphere of Safety. Removal or protection delivered to the top of my library.
I decided to keep all the room cards in the deck. I used them to great effect in the prerelease and that was the tipping point for me. Some are a one and done effect while other sit there and accrue value. Bottomless Pool is an easy way to bounce my commander and Locker Room will let me draw more cards when he successfully attacks. Cramped Vents is flexible removal where I don't feel as bad for using it on a small creature. Access Maze is a scaled down Bolas's Citadel. Even at once per turn it's a powerful effect. Dusty Parlor is going to make Master of Keys even more of a threat and really turn on a commander damage kill for one opponent. The other half, Secret Arcade can go infinite with Ondu Spiritdancer. It needs a little more to make it game ending, but not much.
Miracle used to be limited to a small number of cards. Aminatou extends the ability to all enchantments I would draw first in a turn. I'm moving away from this much free casting, or at least reduced casting. There are less than 5 Miracle cards in the deck, which is weird considering the deck name. I'm cutting them all. A card like Terminus is a slightly expensive board wipe. Miracle it and the cost is minimal. I'm not looking to put cards on the bottom of my deck though. That is the exact opposite effect I want when I'm trying to mill myself. The only combat I'm focused on is with the commander, so Entreat the Angels doesn't really have a home. That many angels are not going to survive the turn cycle. A board wipe is bound to happen and I would rather pay X with Master of Keys than the other.
The deck has some draw spells that happen to reorder my library as well. Preordain, Ponder, Brainstorm are all cheap ways to draw. I don't care about the miracle stuff any more, but a simple cheap draw will help me find relevant cards and I can mill away cards that don't fit the current situation. I do still have Verge Rangers, so putting a land on the top of my library is a great way to play cards not in hand. I'm using similar logic for One With The Multiverse. I want to move through my library quickly and these cards will help me move past any cards I can't play. It turns out I'm keeping 1 miracle card, Metamorphosis Fanatic. He is so much more economical with the Miracle Cost, so these same spells will save me there.
As far as other odds and ends in the deck, I kept most of the ramp and removal. Time Wipe keeps The Master of Keys safe from itself which positions me well for the next turn. Signets and Mindstone are pretty standard at this point. I bolster that with Pearl Medallion and Oketra's Monument. I went with white because of the multitude of enchantments and creatures that would benefit from the reduction. I could easily see swapping them out with any of the 3 colors. No pairing required. I did cut the land count by one, as seems standard at this point and Sol Ring. 37 is too much for me and cutting one opened up a spell slot. Overall I cut all 3 pain lands: Adarkar Wastes, Caves of Koilos, and Underground River. I went and added in Command Beacon, to enable me to dodge commander tax if The Master eats too much removal, and Sanctum of Eternity, as a more survival and repeatable bounce option.
Here's where the deck stands now
Ancient Cellarspawn Thassa's Oracle Sanctum of Eternity
Starfield Mystic Laboratory Maniac Command Beacon
Auramancer Jace, Weilder of Mysteries Arcane Sanctum
Burnished Hart Crystal Shard Ash Barrens
Mesa Enchantress Essence Reliquary Azorious Chancery
Moon-Blessed Cleric Whitemane Lion Bojuka Bog
Verge Rangers Stone Cloaker Command Tower
Phenomenon Investigators Oketra's Monument Dimir Aqueduct
Solemn Simulacrum Pearl Medallion Evolving Wilds
Doomwake Giant Morgue Theft Halimar Depths
Ondu Spiritdancer Artful Dodge Hall of Heliod's Generosity
Soaring Lightbringer Deep Analysis Obscura Storefront
Athreos, Shroud-Veiled Dralnu, Lich Lord Tained Field
Fear of Sleep Paralysis Lier, Disciple of the Drowned Tainted Isle
Metamorphosis Fanatic Faithful Mending Temple of Deceit
Brainstorm Increasing Confusion Temple of Enlightenment
Otherworldly Gaze Dread Return Temple of Silence
Ponder Starnheim Courser Terramorphic Expanse
Portent Arcane Signet Thriving Heath
Swords to Plowshares Commander's Sphere Thriving Isle
Arcane Denial Orzhov Signet Thriving Moor
Read the Bones Azorious Signet Island X4
Return to Dust Mindstone Plains X5
Utter End Ink Shield Swamp X5
Time Wipe Animatou's Augury Redress Fate
Bottomless Pool//Locker Room Cast Out The Eldest Reborn
Secret Arcade//Dusty Parlor Life Insurance Sphere of Safety
Cramped Vents//Access Maze Mirrormade Spirit Sister's Call
Extravagant Replication One with the Multiverse
Overall I removed 17 of the 63 non land cards in the original deck. That's a keep rate of 73%. The deck is wide open to more customization. I could easily expand the reanimator package with Rite of the Moth and Unburial Rites to protect Laboratory Maniac and Thassa's Oracle. Or I could go heavier on the self mill options with something like Balustrade Spy. I lowered my land count and have plenty of ways to bounce the vampire.
What do you think? Should I have been more aggressive with my cuts? Or do you prefer to save money with your precon upgrades since there was such an upfront cost?
Either way, if you're looking to pick up a precon use my Mana Pool link or TCGPlayer link. It goes a long way.
Commenti