For players hoping that The Lost Caverns of Ixalan would bring massive change to Standard, up to this point, this has unfortunately not been the case. Midrange decks featuring
Wedding Announcement
Wedding Announcement
At the beginning of your end step, put an invitation counter on this enchantment. If you attacked with two or more creatures this turn, draw a card. Otherwise, create a 1/1 white Human creature token. Then if this enchantment has three or more invitation counters on it, transform it.
and multi-color
Leyline Binding
Leyline Binding
Flash
Domain — This spell costs {1} less to cast for each basic land type among lands you control.
When this enchantment enters, exile target nonland permanent an opponent controls until this enchantment leaves the battlefield.
ramp decks still dominate the metagame at large. That’s not to say that the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan isn’t having an impact. It’s just that most of the new cards are being used as upgrades for well-established archetypes rather than sparking innovation.
Cavern of Souls
Cavern of Souls
As this land enters, choose a creature type.
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast a creature spell of the chosen type, and that spell can't be countered.
was a great addition to the multi-color ramp decks, as it helps make sure your big payoffs like
Archangel of Wrath
Archangel of Wrath
Kicker {B} and/or {R} (You may pay an additional {B} and/or {R} as you cast this spell.)
Flying, lifelink
When this creature enters, if it was kicked, it deals 2 damage to any target.
When this creature enters, if it was kicked twice, it deals 2 damage to any target.
and
Atraxa, Grand Unifier
Atraxa, Grand Unifier
Flying, vigilance, deathtouch, lifelink
When Atraxa enters, reveal the top ten cards of your library. For each card type, you may put a card of that type from among the revealed cards into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. (Artifact, battle, creature, enchantment, instant, land, planeswalker, and sorcery are card types.)
will resolve. For Azorius-based midrange decks,
Subterranean Schooner
Subterranean Schooner
Whenever this Vehicle attacks, target creature that crewed it this turn explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
Crew 1
is an excellent aggressive value-engine that is tough to remove. These cards weren’t exactly revolutionary within the format, but certainly have a big impact nonetheless.
That being said, not everyone is content sitting back and simply playing the best performing decks from last season. In one of yesterday’s Magic Online Standard Last Chance events, one player took it upon themselves to play a pretty unique Simic Artifacts deck and put up a great performance. This archetype was largely made possible by the emergence of a new
Ensoul Artifact
Ensoul Artifact
Enchant artifact
Enchanted artifact is a creature with base power and toughness 5/5 in addition to its other types.
variant to Standard. It may be just an uncommon, but don’t let that fool you. It’s extremely powerful and even has some built-in protection that Ensoul Artifact doesn’t have.
Excellent Payoffs
The new Lost Caverns of Ixalan card that provides the biggest reward for keeping an Artifact-focused gameplan is none other than
Zoetic Glyph
Zoetic Glyph
Enchant artifact
Enchanted artifact is a Golem creature with base power and toughness 5/4 in addition to its other types.
When this Aura is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, discover 3.
. Zoetic Glyph, much like Ensoul Artifact, is an Aura that turns an Artifact you control into a five-power Creature. Zoetic Glyph does cost three mana to cast, not two, which is a big deal in terms of efficiency. Fortunately, Zoetic Glyph makes up for it in a unique way.
The downside of cards like Ensoul Artifact historically have been that, if the Artifact you Enchanted dies, you lose both the Artifact and the Aura in the process. In this sense, Ensoul Artifact, much like most Auras in existence, are a bit vulnerable to opposing removal spells. There’s a reason that many of the most successful Auras-based decks in the past have focused on utilizing threats with Hexproof or Indestructible to help avoid getting blown out. After all, Ensoul Artifact and
Darksteel Citadel
Darksteel Citadel
Indestructible
{T}: Add {C}.
often showed up in the same decks.
Zoetic Glyph, however, gives you a bonus when the Artifact you are Enchanting is put into your graveyard. Getting to Discover 3 is a big deal. You get to cast whatever card you exile for free, including potentially another Zoetic Glyph, which will likely add pressure to the board immediately. Sure, Zoetic Glyph is still vulnerable to Artifact removal, such as
Boseiju, Who Endures
Boseiju, Who Endures
{T}: Add {G}.
Channel — {1}{G}, Discard this card: Destroy target artifact, enchantment, or nonbasic land an opponent controls. That player may search their library for a land card with a basic land type, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. This ability costs {1} less to activate for each legendary creature you control.
, but there’s no reason to fear traditional removal spells anymore.
This deck creates a lot of non-Creature Artifacts, such as Map tokens, that are excellent targets for Zoetic Glyph. These tokens make
Disruption Protocol
Disruption Protocol
As an additional cost to cast this spell, tap an untapped artifact you control or pay {1}.
Counter target spell.
a reliable two-mana Counterspell as well, which is a nice bonus. Additionally, this deck plays a playset of
Teething Wurmlet
Teething Wurmlet
This creature has deathtouch as long as you control three or more artifacts.
Whenever an artifact you control enters, you gain 1 life. If this is the first time this ability has resolved this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
, which can grow rather rapidly alongside Artifact token producers. Let’s take a closer look at these Artifact token makers that hold the strategy together.
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Token Generation
Now that we’ve gone over the main payoffs for creating Artifact tokens, it’s time to look at the various Creatures that keep this archetype intact.
First up, we have
Spyglass Siren
Spyglass Siren
Flying
When this creature enters, create a Map token. (It's an artifact with "{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
. Spyglass Siren is a naturally efficient card that creates a Map token, perfect for Zoetic Glyph or Disruption Protocol.
Tough Cookie
Tough Cookie
When this creature enters, create a Food token. (It's an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
{2}{G}: Until end of turn, target noncreature artifact you control becomes a 4/4 artifact creature.
{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this creature: You gain 3 life.
is a two-mana card that makes an Artifact token, but it has the added upside of being able to convert your non-Creature Artifacts into attackers or blockers on command.
Finally, we have
Sentinel of the Nameless City
Sentinel of the Nameless City
Vigilance
Whenever this creature enters or attacks, create a Map token. (It's an artifact with "{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
. Sentinel is a great card on its own that can continue to create a slew of Map tokens if your opponent can’t remove it right away. What’s nice is that these Map tokens, while synergistic in the deck, are always available to be used as intended. Getting to Explore at minimal cost to generate card advantage or grow your attackers is great.
These tokens, as well as Zoetic Glyph, also work very well with
Gingerbrute
Gingerbrute
Haste (This creature can attack and {T} as soon as it comes under your control.)
{1}: This creature can't be blocked this turn except by creatures with haste.
{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this creature: You gain 3 life.
. Gingerbrute is a difficult card to block, and in matchups where your opponent doesn’t have a ton of removal, continuously growing Gingerbrute can win the game on its own.
Unsurprisingly, many of the Creatures in this deck are relatively small and cheap themselves. This deck relies on synergy and efficiency, but some cards certainly lack raw power, especially in combat. Fortunately,
Subterranean Schooner
Subterranean Schooner
Whenever this Vehicle attacks, target creature that crewed it this turn explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
Crew 1
is a fantastic card to pair with cheap one-drop Creatures. Not only is Schooner an aggressive attacker, but it also lets your Gingerbrutes and Spyglass Sirens that crew it Explore. Having the chance to grow your evasive one-drops this way can be quite strong.
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An Intriguing Position
This archetype may be relatively new and underexplored, but it has some nice things going for it in the current metagame. Midrange decks, primarily Esper, and multi-color ramp decks currently make up a large portion of the Standard metagame. This deck has a decent chance against both archetypes. Against Esper midrange, your threats are surprisingly strong against removal.
A large percentage of your Creatures generate value when they enter the battlefield and Zoetic Glyph generates value when the Enchanted Artifact is removed. Not to mention, Esper midrange can have a tough time answering large Artifact threats.
Go for the Throat
Go for the Throat
Destroy target nonartifact creature.
and
Cut Down
Cut Down
Destroy target creature with total power and toughness 5 or less.
fail to answer Zoetic Glyph or Subterranean Schooner, two of your biggest threats. Meanwhile, Disruption Protocol can help make sure
Raffine, Scheming Seer
Raffine, Scheming Seer
Flying, ward {1}
Whenever you attack, target attacking creature connives X, where X is the number of attacking creatures. (Draw X cards, then discard X cards. Put a +1/+1 counter on that creature for each nonland card discarded this way.)
or
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Deathtouch
Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life.
Whenever an opponent draws a card, they lose 2 life.
don’t take over the game.
Against ramp decks, your mix of efficient Creatures, early pressure, and interaction can be quite effective.
Sunfall
Sunfall
Exile all creatures. Incubate X, where X is the number of creatures exiled this way. (Create an Incubator token with X +1/+1 counters on it and "{2}: Transform this token." It transforms into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature.)
, one of the ramp deck’s best catchup mechanisms, doesn’t answer non-Creature Artifacts. As a result, Subterranean Schooner or a sandbagged copy of Zoetic Glyph can help you deal the last points of damage if you don’t have Disruption Protocol in hand.
This strategy is definitely not foolproof, though.
Leyline Binding
Leyline Binding
Flash
Domain — This spell costs {1} less to cast for each basic land type among lands you control.
When this enchantment enters, exile target nonland permanent an opponent controls until this enchantment leaves the battlefield.
can make it tough to stick a copy of Zoetic Glyph in the first place, especially on the draw.
One of the decks that went undefeated in one of yesterday’s Magic Online Standard Last Chance events, Rakdos Ramp, plays three copies of
Brotherhood’s End
Brotherhood’s End
Choose one —
• Brotherhood's End deals 3 damage to each creature and each planeswalker.
• Destroy all artifacts with mana value 3 or less.
in the maindeck, which is a brutal card to see for a deck filled with Artifacts with mana value three or less. Still, this Simic Artifact aggro strategy has game against a lot of the top tier decks, making it a great choice for anyone looking to play something a little outside the norm.
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