I don’t know what exactly draws me to guildgates. It could be the fantastic art, the unique design of cards that care about playing inferior lands in your deck, or the memory of their debut in Return to Ravnica. Either way, I love guildgates! So naturally, when my good friend and teammate Will Pulliam suggested I put 19 guildgates in my deck for SCG Baltimore, I snapped the opportunity off.
Leading up to the tournament, Will and I spent a lot of time testing the deck to get a feel for how it needed to be tuned for our expected metagame. We ended up settling on this list:
Nexus of Gates
| Creatures (4) 4 Hydroid Krasis Spells (30) 4 Growth Spiral 4 Circuitous Route 4 Guild Summit 3 Wilderness Reclamation 4 Gates Ablaze 4 Nexus of Fate 2 Lava Coil 2 Chemister’s Insight 3 Expansion // Explosion | Lands (26) 4 Plaza of Harmony 4 Simic Guildgate 4 Selesnya Guildgate 4 Gruul Guildgate 4 Izzet Guildgate 3 Azorius Guildgate 1 Breeding Pool 1 Island 1 Forest Sideboard (15) 4 Gatebreake Ram 3 Archway Angel 2 Carnage Tyrant 4 Negate 2 Lava Coil |
There is a lot going on here, so let’s dive into the core of the deck.
The Gates
What better place to start than with the gates themselves? The “guildgates matter” cards printed in the Guilds of Ravnica block are absurd! They are undercosted for their effects and allow you to do crazy fun stuff in competitive games of Standard! The best of the bunch, Guild Summit, is easily the most powerful in your deck. The card is both Horn of Greed and Stroke of Genius later in the game! It isn’t even legendary and snowballs out of control in multiples.
Gates Ablaze is not to be undersold either. This card is frequently a three-mana Wrath of God that does not kill your Gatebreaker Rams. Speaking of Gatebreaker Ram, that card is also undercosted for how large it is, and one or two Rams can hold off entire teams of creatures while still attacking!
Archway Angel is the ultimate ace-in-the-hole against aggressive decks. Those were getting a bit less popular in Baltimore, but aggro is still around for sure. Angel can almost win on its own since it gains a nigh insurmountable amount of life when it enters the battlefield.
The Acceleration
Growth Spiral was a fantastic pickup from Ravnica Allegiance that had a lot of hype around it for Nexus strategies during the spoiler season. It’s even more important for this deck over other Nexus decks though, because of Guild Summit. Being able to power out a Guild Summit and start drawing cards is very powerful in a deck that plays little early interaction and needs to get an engine going.
To this end, Circuitous Route fits naturally in this deck. Explosive Vegetation is usually a good card to have in Standard for any kind of ramp strategy, and this deck is no exception. But this iteration can grab out dual lands that already come in tapped anyway, so it is clearly much better than even Explosive Vegetation would be in this manifestation of Standard ramp decks. And if you have Guild Summit in play, you get to draw two cards.
The Combo
This is the “Nexus” part of Nexus of Gates. Being able to ramp out a lot of lands naturally makes the card Wilderness Reclamation better. The more lands you have, the more mana it makes. The more mana it makes, the more damage you can do with the Explosion half of Expansion // Explosion.
Taking extra turns off Nexus of Fate to draw more cards with Guild Summit synergizes well with the Wilderness Reclamation package, since it lets you get a few more lands in play for a lethal Explosion while maintaining a critical mass of powerful instants to cast at end of turn. These three cards have been played in various Wilderness Reclamation strategies in Standard since week one; but unlike the other Nexus decks, we are a much less devoted combo deck and more of a ramp deck that has a combo payoff.
The Help
Hydroid Krasis doesn’t really fit with any of the other core strategies, but is a very good ramp payoff that can double up as a win condition with consecutive Nexus of Fate. Overall Krasis represents the glue that helps the deck stabilize while still being a payoff for having a pile of lands in play.
There are at least two flex slots in the list, which are the Lava Coils in this version. We were very worried about aggressive decks and Drakes decks, and having Lava Coil to slow these decks down seemed important. Since our deck was less of a combo deck and more of a ramp deck, we shaved on a Wilderness Reclamation and an Expansion // Explosion to make room for two Chemister’s Insights. Chemister’s Insight made early Wilderness Reclamations better and was a better card to have after sideboard where we typically cut high numbers of Reclamations and Expansions.
The Plan
This deck operates fundamentally like Tron in Modern. Our plan is to make our land drops early then use our mana advantage to play powerful spells that go over the top of everything our opponents are doing. We win after casting Guild Summits, Krasis, and/or Explosions for large amounts to get way ahead on cards and set up a big combo turn with Nexus of Fate to finish our opponent off.
This deck loses is by missing its land drops. Much like Tron, our deck mulligans well, so mulligan aggressively. To this end, I mulligan any seven card hand that has less than three lands in it. Our deck needs to make all its land drops, and keeping two land hands does not favor doing so. In sideboard games, we get to take out most of the combo pieces our opponents will be bringing in hate for, and transform into a “midrange” deck that wins with large Krasis and Gatebreaker Rams. Since many decks cut their creature removal against Nexus decks, being able to sideboard into efficient, large creatures can catch your opponent unaware—and without removal to kill these creatures they will die quickly!
SCG Baltimore
I piloted the Standard seat at the Team Open. Put simply, the deck felt broken. I finished my match during seven of the nine rounds on day one, and won them all. My team did not make the cut however, so I played the deck in the Standard Classic. I drew into top 8 at 6-1-1, where I was defeated in the semifinals by the eventual winner in three close games. This puts my personal record on the weekend as 14-2 in completed matches. That is an insane record!
The deck felt extremely powerful, and many of the matchups I had thought were unfavorable ended up being much better. That led me to a number of changes. Lava Coil did not feel necessary against Drakes or aggro decks, so I planned to cut it for Spell Pierce heading into SCG Dallas. Early interaction is good against Esper Control and other Nexus decks, which I expected to be very popular the next week.
The remaining changes were simply cutting cards that underperformed for better cards. Chemister’s Insight was consistently the worst thing I could do with four mana, and Carnage Tyrant in the sideboard was narrow and underpowered. I decided to go back up to four copies of both Wilderness Reclamation and Expansion // Explosion for consistency, then replaced Carnage Tyrant with Niv-Mizzet, Parun in the sideboard. Niv is much more flexible with an even higher ceiling against Esper Control, and is a powerhouse against Mono Blue Aggro which had a lot of hype around it going into SCG Dallas. I settled on this list for the tournament.
SCG Dallas
After barely making it to the tournament on time, I didn’t lose a match until round nine, finishing 8-1 on the day. My day two match to make top 8 against Juan Leyva was on camera, but I ended up on the losing end. While 11-4 is not as impressive as the previous weekend, and the fact the deck was now a known archetype definitely had an impact on its power level, the deck still felt fantastic!
My four losses came against two archetypes: Azorius Aggro and Simic Nexus. It is these matchups I am looking to shore up going forward. Spell Pierce overperformed, and I was very happy with how that metagame call worked out. The Niv-Mizzets were powerful, but after the tournament I’m convinced they might be too much of a strain on the manabase and are bad to draw early. The more I played with Lava Coil the more underwhelmed I am with the card. I want something either cheaper and more flexible, or something more expensive and powerful. Lava Coil sits awkwardly between those two spots.
Going Forward
Looking ahead to MF Memphis, I expect the metagame to look very similar to what we saw do well in Dallas. White weenie and Mono Blue Aggro will stay popular, and I think I want Shock over Lava Coil since they can be used faster and buy us time to draw to our powerful top end.
I also want to cut Niv-Mizzet for Frilled Mystic, which is much better against other Nexus strategies while still being good against control. The Mystic is much easier on the mana as well. I would also go back down to three copies of Wilderness Reclamation to add a 27th land to make our opening hands better across the board.
If I were to play in the Grand Prix at Maic Fest Memphis this weekend, I would register the following:
Nexus of Gates, for this weekend
| Creatures (4) 4 Hydroid Krasis Spells (29) 4 Guild Summit 4 Gates Ablaze 4 Circuitous Route 4 Growth Spiral 4 Nexus of Fate 3 Wilderness Reclamation 4 Expansion // Explosion 2 Spell Pierce | Lands (27) 4 Simic Guildgate 4 Gruul Guildgate 4 Izzet Guildgate 4 Selesnya Guildgate 3 Azorius Guildgate 4 Plaza of Harmony 2 Breeding Pool 1 Forest 1 Island Sideboard (15) 2 Shock 4 Negate 4 Gatebreaker Ram 2 Frilled Mystic 3 Archway Angel |
Sideboard Guide
Note: Always shuffle all fifteen sideboard cards into your deck and remove fifteen, even if you make no changes.
Sultai—Favorable
-4 Expansion // Explosion
-3 Wilderness Reclamation
-1 Nexus of Fate
+4 Gatebreaker Ram
+2 Shock
+2 Negate
Because Sultai still has a lot of answers in their deck for creatures game two, it’s not unreasonable to board back into the combo going into game three to hopefully blank removal spells that may come back in. I would board like this taking that approach.
-1 Selesnya Guildgate
-1 Expansion // Explosion
+2 Negate
This matchup is a lot about just buying as much time as you possibly can because our card advantage engines are much more powerful than theirs. Gates Ablaze is important to hold off pressure, but Vivien Reid is actually the single best card they have against us in their maindeck. After sideboarding, Thief of Sanity is the card we are most scared of, but not all Sultai lists play the card in high numbers.
Esper Control—Favorable
-2 Gates Ablaze
-3 Wilderness Reclamation
-4 Circuitous Route
-3 Nexus of Fate
+4 Gatebreaker Ram
+4 Negate
+2 Shock
+2 Frilled Mystic
This matchup is very good for us game one, but it gets harder after sideboarding because of Thief of Sanity. An uncontested Thief can keep up on cards with multiple Guild Summits on card advantage, so we leave in some number of Gates Ablaze as extra answers to Thief. Outside of Thief draws you are still favored in the post-board games. Remember to try and hold up Expansion on turn two on the play to copy a Thought Erasure.
Nexus of Fate Decks—Unfavored (The mirror is Even)
-4 Gates Ablaze
-4 Hydroid Krasis
-2 Circuitous Route
+4 Gatebreaker Ram
+4 Negate
+2 Frilled Mystic
We have the same plan against all the Nexus decks: board into control just like they do and play a control mirror. Tapping out in your main phase is extremely bad in this matchup because you can immediately die out of nowhere. For that reason, Gatebreaker Rams should be played only on turn three on the play or any turn you can hold up two mana after playing Ram.
Mono Red—Even
-3 Wilderness Reclamation
-4 Expansion // Explosion
-2 Nexus of Fate
+4 Gatebreaker Ram
+3 Archway Angel
+2 Shock
The maindeck games are unfavorable but still winnable. Plaza of Harmony, Gates Ablaze, and Hydroid Krasis are the cards you need to win. After sideboarding, we improve much more than they do. Archway Angel is basically a six mana instant win most of the time, and Ram can race them without much help.
Drakes—Very Favorable
-3 WildernessReclamation
-4 Expansion // Explosion
-1 Nexus of Fate
+4 Gatebreaker Ram
+4 Negate
This was a matchup that I was initially very concerned would be tough, and it ended up being one of our best matchups. The way the games seem to play out, Krasis is an absolute powerhouse, their removal doesn’t ever kill anything, and Gates Ablaze doesn’t have much trouble killing Drakes even if they have Dive Down. Gatebreaker Ram is virtually unkillable at all points in the game and can easily race a single Drake or sometimes two!
White Aggro—Unfavorable
-3 Wilderness Reclamation
-4 Expansion // Explosion
-2 Nexus of Fate
+4 Gatebreaker Ram
+3 Archway Angel
+2 Shock
This matchup is noticeably harder than the Red matchup simply because it puts more pressure on us to have Gates Ablaze early, followed by a quick kill. Back all that up with counterspells and cards like Adanto Vanguard that provide insurance against our sweepers, and you have to get pretty lucky to win this one.
Ram is an absolute all-star because the white deck has no reach and Ram checks Vanguard very well. Angel also checks Vanguard and hopefully will give enough time to find Ram and start attacking. The scariest cards out of this deck are always Adanto Vanguard and Benalish Marshal, particularly together, since it is such a resilient and aggressive start.
Mono Blue—Favorable
-3 Wilderness Reclamation
-4 Nexus of Fate
-2 Circuitous Route
-1 Expansion // Explosion
+4 Gatebreaker Ram
+4 Negate
+2 Shock
This matchup I was terrified of as well, and each time I beat it I considered myself lucky. After Dallas though, I am 5-0 across the two weekends against the deck and am now sure the matchup is favorable. The key is realizing that the cards that matter most in the maindeck games are the four Wizard’s Retort. Curious Obsession isn’t nearly as scary as it seems—letting them draw three or four extra cards is often fine.
Resolving Gates Ablaze then playing a large Krasis is almost always lights out, and is at least as much card advantage as an early Obsession. It is well worth it to wait a turn to cast your Gates Ablaze around Spell Pierce even if it means taking another hit from a creature with an Obsession on it.
Post sideboard, Gatebreaker Ram is great against them as it almost always wins the race and forces them to overextend into Gates Ablaze. It is important to be wary of Merfolk Trickster and the possibility of Entrancing Melody as the primary answers to Ram.
Esper Midrange—Very Favorable
-4 Expansion // Explosion
-3 Wilderness Reclamation
-2 Nexus of Fate
+4 Gatebreaker Ram
+2 Shock
+1 Frilled Mystic
+2 Negate
This deck has fallen off a bit, I think because it is underpowered, but this matchup is very good for us. This matchup plays out a lot like Sultai does, but without Vivien Reid to worry about. They never play counterspells in their maindeck, so don’t play around it as soon as you identify it’s midrange. Frilled Mystic is better against this deck than against Sultai, because the creature is much more likely to be able to be relevant in combat. Also, Esper is clunkier than Sultai since they lack Llanowar Elves. Gates Ablaze is still very effective and the same gameplan we use for Sultai works even better here.
There you have it! The complete guide to Nexus of Gates and how it should look going forward in Standard. If you are planning on attending Grand Prix Memphis or any Standard tournament in the coming weeks, I highly recommend you give this deck a try. Not only is Nexus of Gates powerful, but it is easily some of the most fun I have had playing a standard deck ever! Thanks for reading!