When Ben Stark won Pro Tour Paris in February, many people were surprised at just how powerful [card]Stoneforge Mystic[/card] was in his control deck. For the longest time, Mystic was a card that could be easily had for about five dollars. Now, Mystic is hovering at about 23 dollars; a jump that very few expected. While Mystic may be an extremely good card, its worth is not solely based on its power level, although it exceeds 9000. As it was printed in Worldwake, a small set of 145 cards, there were fewer copies of this card going around. With it being harder to find Worldwake packs; Mystic gains value.
Fast forward to Mirrodin Besieged, a set with 155 cards and a potential bomb planeswalker; being [card]Tezzeret Agent of Bolas[/card]. After looking through the set and getting over the “OH MY GOD I WANT TO BREAK TEZZERET IN STANDARD” vibe that every magic player and his brother was getting, I started to look for cards that were lost in the midst of a badass looking dude with dreads. As I sifted away from large swords, flying [card]Mutavault[/card]s, and a troll who did not have a troll face (first time), I was blinded by a white light coming from a dude who was holding some sort of batman symbol-sword. When I approached him I asked, “What is your purpose?”
He answered, “KILL JUND.” As I fainted out of fear for my life, the [card]Mirran Crusader[/card] stood above me, slaying the deck I once played. The forgotten hero of Mirrodin Besieged was ready to prove his status as a staple in white decks everywhere!
Before I show examples of decks that Crusader would fit well in, the card itself must be examined and praised.
To start off, [card]Mirran Crusader[/card] is a 2/2 double strike for three, which is already pretty good given it can do some damage to decks like Kuldotha Red and Mono Red. When you add protection from black and green to the mix, things start to become interesting in multiple formats. Having the ability to evade and beat for huge damage and not be subject to [card]Doom Blade[/card] and [card]Go for the Throat[/card] is extremely relevant. In standard, Crusader can be great against U/B control, Elves, Eldrazi Green and even Valakut in terms of type 2 decks. As for extended; Crusader is extremely useful in the Faeries, Jund, Naya, Elves, Doran, Mono Red, and Bant matchups.
Here’s a breakdown on how [card]Mirran Crusader[/card] fares in each major extended matchup
Jund
[card]Mirran Crusader[/card] cannot be blocked by any Jund creature, period. The only card that can take Crusader down in this matchup is Lightning Bolt so if the Jund player doesn’t draw a Bolt, he’s kinda screwed.
Valakut
The same applies for Crusader in this matchup only the Valakut player also has [card]Volcanic Fallout[/card] to take out the Crusaders. Without the removal, the Valakut player has to watch out!
Naya
Naya is a matchup where the faster a [card]Mirran Crusader[/card] can come out with an exalted creature or an Elspeth, the better. Late game Crusader becomes less valuable due to him recurring Vengevines and beating with more creatures than you can generally block.
Mono Red/Boros
Crusader isn’t the best card in this matchup, it can hold its own thanks to double strike, but is generally bolted and does not end up being a game-breaking card.
Faeries
Since Crusader is protection from black, the Faeries player has to play around it. Luckily for the Faeries player, Mutavault can block the Crusader late-game when the player with a Crusader may think the game is over; their overconfidence is their weakness… THEIR FAITH IN THEIR FRIENDS IS THEIRS.
Bant Stoneforge
Against the new force that is Bant Stoneforge, [card]Mirran Crusader[/card] can be excellent as the majority of the Bant player’s creatures are green (with a few exceptions). Since the Bant deck runs Path to Exile, however, your Crusader may not last long.
5 Color Control
[card]Mirran Crusader[/card] is, unfortunately, not a huge factor in this matchup by itself. If Crusader is handed a mighty sword or even given a boost by a friendly Elspeth, Crusader can still prove to be an extremely valuable ally.
Now that we know that Crusader can be the nuts, let’s show some potential applications of this card. Since we are currently in extended PTQ season, here’s the deck that I believe is a great choice to bring to your local PTQ!
[deck title=Crusader! Naya]
[Lands]
2 Wooded Bastion
3 Raging Ravine
2 Stirring Wildwood
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Copperline Gorge
1 Arid Mesa
4 Forest
2 Mountain
2 Plains
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
3 Mirran Crusader
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Birds of Paradise
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Fauna Shaman
4 Vengevine
4 Cunning Sparkmage
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
2 Qasali Pridemage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Body and Mind
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1Basilisk Collar
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Path to Exile
2 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Great Sable Stag
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
2 Tunnel Ignus
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
This classic Naya deck just got about 9000 (maybe even over 9000?) times stronger thanks to [card]Mirran Crusader[/card]. Before that last PTQ, I was strongly considering playing Naya, but I was underwhelmed with the Jund and Doran matchups that seemed extremely difficult to win; Mono Red also seemed really annoying. However, with the addition of Crusader, these matchups feel a lot better. Crusader also interacts well with swords due to its double strike. Elspeth allows Crusader to be a 10 power bomb if it cannot be dealt with. [card]Thrun, the Last Troll[/card] is another nice addition to the sideboard.
While new additions like Crusader and Thrun are the talk of the town, the main reason Naya is so good against control is still because of our lovable creature from the grave; [card]Vengevine[/card]. To demonstrate just how good Vengevine is against control, here is a typical conversation between [card]Vengevine[/card] and a [card]Cryptic Command[/card]:
[card]Vengevine[/card]: RAWR I’M BIG AND ANGRY AND STUFF!
[card]Cryptic Command[/card]: Uhhh that’s cool and all, but you don’t hit the field. Have fun being in the graveyard!
[card]Vengevine[/card]: For now…..
Naya player casts a [card]Birds of Paradise[/card], the second creature of the turn.
[card]Vengevine[/card]: I’m BAAAAACCCCKKKKKKK!
[card]Cryptic Command[/card]: Ohhhh craapppppppp.
Finally, you may have been surprised to see [card]Linvala, Keeper of Silence[/card] in the mainboard. While Linvala may look unimpressive on paper, it is a card that is absolutely necessary against the majority of aggro and midrange matchups. Having a Linvala on the board completely negates the effects of [card]Birds of Paradise[/card], [card]Noble Hierarch[/card], [card]Qasali Pridemage[/card], [card]Fauna Shaman[/card], [card]Cunning Sparkmage[/card], [card]Stoneforge Mystic[/card], [card]Knight of the Reliquary[/card], [card]Putrid Leech[/card], [card]Devoted Druid[/card], [card]Necrotic Ooze[/card] (when necessary), etc. With all of these staples with activated abilities, shouldn’t playing Linvala be an obvious choice?
With Naya builds going more and more aggro, [card]Knight of the Reliquary[/card] seems to be left in the dust (funny, there isn’t a land called dust, that’s surprising.) While less and less people believe that Knight is necessary in this speedy aggro deck, more and more people like Knight in this Bant Aggro deck that features four [card]Mirran Crusaders[/card]!
[deck title=Crusader! Bant]
[Lands]
2 Seachrome Coast
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Tectonic Edge
2 Verdant Catacombs
4 Razorverge Thicket
1 Mystic Gate
2 Celestial Colonnade
3 Forest
2 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Murmuring Bosk
1 Sejiri Steppe
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Mirran Crusader
3 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Qasali Pridemage
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Bant Charm
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Path to Exile
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Behemoth Sledge
3 Mana Leak
1 Sword of Body and Mind
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
2 Path to Exile
4 Great Sable Stag
3 Unified Will
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
3 Runed Halo
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
This is the deck that has allowed [card]Mirran Crusader[/card] to break out as in most games Crusader is the win condition. This tempo deck has won two of the post Mirrodin Besieged PTQs and had consistently top eight-ed the others, making it one of the top decks in the format. The goal of this deck is to get a [card]Mirran Crusader[/card] equipped with a Sword and wreck face while having enough disruption cards to get there. Cards like [card]Bant Charm[/card], [card]Mana Leak[/card], and [card]Path to Exile[/card] do the majority of the work disrupting the opponent while [card]Qasali Pridemage[/card] is there to take care of those pesky Swords, [card]Prismatic Omen[/card]s, [card]Oblivion Ring[/card]s, and [card]Bitterblossom[/card]s your opponent may use.
Well, after analysing the potential decks that [card]Mirran Crusader[/card] has found a niche in, I believe it is fairly evident that we are experiencing a shift in the Extended format. Before Mirrodin Besieged, the format was extremely wide open; so many decks had a chance to excel. Now with the release of Mirrodin Besieged, I believe that three types of decks now dominate the format: Valakut decks, Faeries (although it’s not a type of deck), and Stoneforge Mystic decks and where you find a [card]Stoneforge Mystic[/card], a [card]Mirran Crusader[/card] won’t be too far behind.
Have a great Crusade through the PTQ season (See what I did there?)
Jake “Professor M” Meszaros