Standard

Woop-Woop, That’s the Sound of da Polis

Between a new Standard format, new Limited format, and debut of the post-ban Modern format at the Pro Tour last week, there is a lot of Magic to talk about… Or is there? Things didn’t actually change too drastically. Standard archetypes stayed the same; two of the packs in the draft are still Theros; and Modern saw an increase in Zoo decks. Twin, UWR, Pod, and Affinity seemed to remain the most successful decks in Modern.

My first chance to play Born of the Gods Standard was in the Super Sunday Series Championship at Wizards of the Coast’s headquarters just outside of Seattle, Washington. The field consisted of 39 Sunday side-event winners from around the world (one from each Grand Prix), elite players representing twenty different countries, and pros like Owen Turtenwald, Reid Duke, and Makihito Mihara. It gave the tournament a feeling of what I imagined a mini-Pro Tour would be like. The event was also extremely well run, so thanks to Alan Hochman, Wizards, and everyone else who made the Super Sunday Series such an awesome time.

closing

I, unfortunately, didn’t do well in the tournament, but Canada’s own Andy Robdrup took third place with a BW Midrange list that he was nice enough to ship me prior to the event. I tried it myself but wasn’t confident at piloting the deck and ended back on Saito’s UW Control list. (If you want to know what my record in the tournament was, see [card]Moss Monster[/card].)

The whole experience, however, was amazing. I got to hang out with some of Canada’s finest, and one awesome dude from Indonesia. It was impressive watching Andy absolutely demolish the Swiss to make top eight, and then narrowly fall to eventual winner Owen Turtenwald. Nice work, FRIEND.

There was a ton of hype surrounding Brimaz, King of Oreskos; Bile Blight; Drown in Sorrow; Xenagos, God of Revels; and [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card], but I’m going to go so far as to say that the best card in Born of the Gods is [card]Ephara, God of the Polis[/card].

[deck title=UWr Devotion – Alex Bianchi]
[Lands]
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Steam Vents
4 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Triumph
2 Azorius Guildgate
2 Plains
2 Mountain
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Precinct Captain
4 Boros Reckoner
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Ephara, God of the Polis
2 Heliod, God of the Sun
[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
2 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
[/Planeswalkers]
[Spells]
4 Chained to the Rocks
2 Mizzium Mortars
1 Blind Obedience
4 Detention Sphere
2 Spear of Heliod
1 Assemble the Legion
3 Sphinx’s Revelation
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Archangel of Thune
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Revoke Existence
1 Wear // Tear
1 Gideon, Champion of Justice
1 Assemble the Legion
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

This update on a GerryT creation tries to push the power of devotion to white while utilizing the amazing synergy between Ephara and [card]Heliod, God of the Sun[/card].

If you’re looking for a more aggressive, white-based Ephara deck, a solid plan can be built around [card]Soldier of the Pantheon[/card], [card]Precinct Captain[/card], Brimaz, [card]Lyev Skyknight[/card], [card]Spear of Heliod[/card], [card]Detention Sphere[/card], and [card]Brave the Elements[/card]. I’m not sure how aggressive or controlling this deck wants to be, but Mihara took this direction with his Esper Humans list and found even more synergy with Ephara, [card]Whip of Erebos[/card], and [card]Obzedat, Ghost Council[/card].

[deck title=Esper Midrange – Makihito Mihara]
[Lands]
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Godless Shrine
3 Watery Grave
4 Temple of Silence
4 Temple of Enlightenment
3 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Mutavault
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Precinct Captain
2 Imposing Sovereign
4 Lyev Skyknight
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Ephara, God of the Polis
1 Heliod, God of the Sun
3 Obzedat, Ghost Council
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
2 Ultimate Price
2 Far // Away
4 Detention Sphere
2 Spear of Heliod
1 Whip of Erebos
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
3 Thoughtseize
2 Dark Betrayal
3 Doom Blade
3 Glare of Heresy
1 Notion Thief
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

If you’ve been watching Michael Jacob’s stream lately, you’ve seen him playing [card]Ephara, God of the Polis[/card] in Mono-Blue Devotion. It might actually be the best home for Ephara, and I have recently started playing this list myself.

[deck title=Uw Devotion – DarkestMage]
[Lands]
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Enlightenment
10 Island
4 Mutavault
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Cloudfin Raptor
4 Judge’s Familiar
4 Frostburn Weird
4 Tidebinder Mage
4 Nightveil Specter
4 Thassa, God of the Sea
4 Master of Waves
3 Ephara, God of the Polis
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Rapid Hybridization
4 Detention Sphere
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
1 Rapid Hybridization
3 Glare of Heresy
2 Revoke Existence
3 Negate
2 Gainsay
3 Domestication
2 Bident of Thassa
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

I like how this list is positioned against RG Monsters, and I believe that the UW Control matchup is much improved with the additions of [card]Glare of Heresy[/card] and [card]Ephara, God of the Polis[/card]. If those two decks continue to dominate the format like they did at SCG St. Louis last week, I want to be the one casting the blue gods.

While my plans for competing at SCG Somerset were stifled by the winter storm, I’m looking forward to PTQing for the next couple weeks, the end of the Standard season before it switches over to Limited. That segues perfectly into Grand Prix Montreal, which I will be attending in the hopes of making my first Limited GP Day 2. Wish me luck, and hope to see you there!

Alex Bianchi
@Gemmanite

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