It’s now been over a month since the latest ban announcement that massively altered Standard, and it’s safe to say that the format has seen a big uptick in diversity. Every week, it feels like a new brew is popping up and putting up meaningful results.
Well, this clearly hasn’t stopped, as an unusual Azorius combo deck just boasted a 5-0 Magic Online League finish out of nowhere. Centered around a Lorwyn God and a Marvel Hero, this deck can pull off some extremely powerful draws.
Executing the Combo
At a baseline, what makes this deck piloted by Magic Online user SolarPotato so frightening is its combo potential. With the right setup, it’s possible to cement an insurmountable advantage as early as turn four. To get things started, you need to find a copy of Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn and two copies of Arachne, Psionic Weaver.
Once Eirdu and one copy of Arachne are in play, you’re able to tap Arachne to Convoke out the second copy, returning the first to your hand via Web-Slinging. This puts you back in the same spot, letting you repeat the process over and over.
While this line technically does nothing on its own, adding Dour-Port Mage lets you draw your entire deck. Alternatively, jamming Aunt May enables you to gain infinite life, which most Standard decks can’t beat.
Since this combo relies on a clunky five-drop to get going, some form of acceleration is essential to the deck’s success. Luckily, both Springleaf Drum and Momo, Friendly Flier help you cast Eirdu a turn earlier than usual.
The only downside is that you won’t always draw your combo pieces in a timely manner, but this deck makes up for that issue by presenting a decent backup plan. Like more traditional Azorius Momo shells, this strategy leverages Starfield Shepherd
Starfield ShepherdFlying
When this creature enters, search your library for a basic Plains card or a creature card with mana value 1 or less, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Warp {1}{W} (You may cast this card from your hand for its warp cost. Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.), which can tutor up Nurturing Pixie to keep the value train rolling.
With access to so many fliers, you even get to utilize Steamcore Scholar as a card draw engine. Alongside Dour-Port Mage’s activated ability, you should have no problem grinding your opponent into dust, while simultaneously digging for your combo pieces to end the game.
A Mixed Bag
Overall, Azorius Combo has a number of advantages over Azorius Momo, but also presents some notable weaknesses. Naturally, your biggest edge comes in matchups where your combo excels, and you don’t otherwise have time to durdle. While Mono-Green Landfall can use Mightform Harmonizer
Mightform HarmonizerLandfall — Whenever a land you control enters, double the power of target creature you control until end of turn.
Warp {2}{G} (You may cast this card from your hand for its warp cost. Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.) to go over the top of your small fliers, infinite life serves as the ultimate trump card. Your combos also make it much easier to race Sunderflock
SunderflockThis spell costs {X} less to cast, where X is the greatest mana value among Elementals you control.
Flying
When this creature enters, if you cast it, return all non-Elemental creatures to their owners' hands. out of Izzet Spellementals, especially since Eirdu is an Elemental.
Beyond the impact Arachne and Eirdu bring as combo pieces, they also shine individually in certain matchups. Against Azorius Control, for example, making your opponent’s disruptive suite cost more is hugely beneficial. On the other end of the spectrum, Eirdu dominates against red aggro as a massive body with Lifelink.
Unfortunately, though, using a bunch of slots for these tools does come at a cost. Against decks like Dimir Midrange that have access to lots of removal, you really notice the loss of elite grindy elements like Quantum Riddler. There are also matchups like Dimir Excruciator where gaining infinite life or drawing a boatload of cards won’t guarantee a win, since you’re still at risk of getting Milled out.
With high variance from matchup to matchup, it’s a bit hard to predict how well this deck will continue to do in the future. Regardless, it’s nice to see such a unique strategy get put on the map, and we look forward to seeing if it breaks out in a meaningful way.
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