It’s no surprise that power creep has played a real role in shaping Constructed formats in recent years. So many cards generate a great deal of value when they enter the battlefield at an efficient rate. It’s truly astonishing the sheer number of three-drops even in Standard that can completely take over the game if not answered immediately. Cards like Raffine, Scheming Seer put a ton of pressure on the opponent to have removal.
Some three-drops, like
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter.)
I — Create a 2/2 red Goblin Shaman creature token with "Whenever this token attacks, create a Treasure token."
II — You may discard up to two cards. If you do, draw that many cards.
III — Exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield transformed under your control.
and
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.
, are very tough to interact with profitably once they resolve. Fable was so strong that it ultimately got banned in Standard. In this day and age, Creatures generally need to be incredibly efficient or have solid enters-the-battlefield effects to see consistent play, especially in non-rotating formats.
With that in mind, there are some Outlaws of Thunder Junction spoilers that definitely meet the mark. We already covered one card that fits the “incredibly efficient” mold. Today, we are going to focus on a three-drop with a very relevant triggered ability. While it is certainly narrower than cards like Fable, it should have immediate implications for Standard, and may even see some play elsewhere.
An Aggressive Slant
The card in question that rightfully is receiving a lot of hype is Aven Interrupter. For three mana, you get a nice piece of disruption stapled to a 2/2 Flier. This card is a bit reminiscent of both Elite Spellbinder and
Spell Queller
Spell Queller
Flash
Flying
When this creature enters, exile target spell with mana value 4 or less.
When this creature leaves the battlefield, the exiled card's owner may cast that card without paying its mana cost.
. It specifically interacts with spells on the stack, but in this case, the opponent that cast the spell has to exile it and cast it on a future turn.
The downside, of course, is that because the spell is Plotted, the opponent can cast it on a future turn without paying its mana cost. If Aven Interrupter is still in play, they will need to pay two mana to cast it, not zero, though this isn’t a huge price to pay.
So, what makes Aven Interrupter so strong? Well, there are a number of ways to abuse it. First, let’s cover the simplest route: being aggressive.
In Standard, board wipes and flashy bombs play a huge role for many decks. For instance, Domain ramp decks rely on setting up their mana in the early turns, then using cards like Sunfall to catch back up. From there, bombs such as
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.)
can end the game in short order.
For hyperaggressive strategies like Boros Convoke, your best course of action is to come out of the gates early and race. Outside of Urabrask’s Forge, you have little recourse against a resolved Sunfall. Aven Interrupter changes this whole dynamic. Obviously, the opponent can recast Sunfall the next turn, but this is irrelevant if they don’t get another turn.
It’s very reasonable to build out a big board of Creatures, hold up three mana once they have Sunfall mana at the ready, and use Aven Interrupter as a tempo play. You can even find Interrupter off of Knight-Errant of Eos if you use three or more Creatures to Convoke it. Not to mention, unlike traditional forms of counter magic, Interrupter gets around
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.
. As such, even an uncounterable
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.
might not save your opponent.
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Unique Interactions
Getting to use Aven Interrupter as a pseudo-Time Walk in specific matchups is likely good enough to make sure the card sees play in Standard Convoke decks. However, there are a decent number of powerful interactions that should help raise its stock.
First, when a spell becomes Plotted, it can only be cast at Sorcery speed. As such, if you nab a piece of counter magic with this, the card will likely remain exiled for the rest of the game.
Additionally, there are a number of potent cards that you can target that do little to nothing when actually cast with no mana input. For instance, spells with X in their mana cost, such as Worldsoul’s Rage, are excellent cards to disrupt. Similarly, if you exile
Memory Deluge
Memory Deluge
Look at the top X cards of your library, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast this spell. Put two of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Flashback {5}{U}{U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
, when the opponent goes to cast it without paying its mana cost on a future turn, they won’t get to look at any cards – as long as the bird has already died, that is.
Lastly, if your opponent makes a copy of a spell (with Reenact the Crime for example), you can exile it and the opponent won’t be able to recast it. All of these interactions are important to keep in mind, and we’ve only scratched the surface so far.
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Maximizing the Final Clause
Beyond Aven Interrupter’s ability to delay a spell on the stack, its final ability is nothing to scoff at. Obviously, it makes Plotted cards cost two more to cast. For some strategies, though, casting cards from graveyards or from exile is essential. Take Quintorius combo in Pioneer, for example. As long as Aven Interrupter remains in play, every card your opponent Discovers into costs two more to cast, making it pretty much impossible to execute a combo with Spark Double and the like.
In a similar vein, Aven Interrupter is very strong against
Bring to Light
Bring to Light
Converge — Search your library for a creature, instant, or sorcery card with mana value less than or equal to the number of colors of mana spent to cast this spell, exile that card, then shuffle. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost.
. Against Lotus Field combo, it can mess with
Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
Spells can't be countered.
Each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard has flashback. The flashback cost is equal to that card's mana cost.
. There are a decent number of decks where the final clause on Aven Interrupter can be surprisingly powerful.
You can also use Aven Interrupter in conjunction with cards like Invasion of Gobakhan or Elite Spellbinder to make it even harder for the opponent to cast exiled spells in a reasonable time frame. As you can tell, Aven Interrupter has a lot more utility that it may seem at first glance, and we’re excited to see all that it can do when Outlaws of Thunder Junction releases.
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