Mythic Championship VII begins today in California, featuring Standard on Arena. This event will feature the new Magic Premier League members, Twitch Rivals competitors, and all the Worlds players. The format is a freshly new Standard following the banning of Oko, Thief of Crowns, Once Upon a Time, and Veil of Summer.
In this new Standard metgaame, competitors have many options that seem viable. This article highlights three of the competitors’ decks. These three should give you a good idea what you’ll see during coverage this weekend.
Chris Kvartek's Golgari Adventure
| Creatures (33) 4 Lovestruck Beast 4 Edgewall Innkeeper 4 Foulmire Knight 4 Paradise Druid 4 Murderous Rider 3 Questing Beast 2 Order of Midnight 4 Rotting Regisaur 4 Vivien, Arkbow Ranger Spells (3) 3 The Great Henge | Lands (24) 4 Temple of Malady 4 Overgrown Tomb 6 Swamp 8 Forest 2 Fabled Passage Sideboard (15) 3 Duress 2 Noxious Grasp 2 Casualties of War 2 Epic Downfall 3 Thrashing Brontodon 2 Shifting Ceratops 1 Kraul Harpooner |
I am a little biased here because Chris is my friend. Normally he chooses decks further off the beaten path, but not this time. Golgari Adventure is a popular deck, but Chris puts his own spin on it as usual.
The addition of Rotting Regisaur to the starting sixty is something we haven’t seen much. The Fires of Invention decks play four copies of Deafening Clarion, so Reggie goes over the top of that very well. Rotting Regisaur also works well with The Great Henge and Vivian, Arkbow Ranger.
The Great Henge returns to lists as a powerful artifact that no longer fears becoming an Elk. Following the ban of Oko, Thief of Crowns, powerful artifacts become playable again. And it works well with the Regisaur tech.
Liz Rice's Jund Fires
| Creatures (17) 4 Cavalier of Flame 4 Questing Beast 2 Beanstalk Giant 3 Bonecrusher Giant 2 Thrashing Brontodon 2 Biogenic Ooze Planeswalkers (2) 2 Ugin, the Ineffable Spells (15) 2 Assassin’s Trophy 3 Bond of Flourishing 3 Cry of the Carnarium 3 Casualties of War 4 Fires of Invention | Lands (26) 4 Overgrown Tomb 4 Blood Crypt 4 Temple of Malady 3 Fabled Passage 4 Stomping Ground 2 Forest 3 Mountain 2 Castle Locthwain Sideboard (15) 3 Return to Nature 3 Duress 3 Shifting Ceratops 2 Epic Downfall 1 Murderous Rider 1 Chandra, Awakened Inferno 2 Ritual of Soot |
Liz brings her take on Fires of Invention to battle—and I love it. Fires of Invention was known to be one of the best decks during the Oko days, and it retains its power after the bans. This Jund deck hits me in all the right ways.
I have played a bit of the Jeskai Fires deck, and I have noticed and felt it can be really clunky since it is full of expensive mana costs. Liz’s list ramps with Beanstalk Giant while fixing mana too. Biogenic Ooze provides a fantastic mana sink.
Ben Stark's Azorius Control
| Creatures (7) 3 Gadwick, the Wizened 4 Brazen Borrower Planeswalkers (4) 4 Teferi, Time Raveler Spells (22) 3 Aether Gust 4 Opt 3 Planar Cleansing 2 Time Wipe 3 Dovin’s Veto 4 Absorb 2 Chemister’s Insight 1 Finale of Revelation | Lands (27) 4 Tranquil Cove 2 Castle Ardenvale 4 Hallowed Fountain 4 Plains 3 Castle Vantress 8 Island 2 Fabled Passage Sideboard (15) 4 Mystical Dispute 3 Devout Decree 1 Time Wipe 1 Planar Cleansing 1 Dovin’s Veto 3 Glass Casket 2 Giant Killer |
I am a big Hallowed Fountain fan and can see this deck having a monster weekend. We all know that Oko, Thief of Crowns dominated the three-mana planeswalker ranks in Standard until it was banned. Let us not forget about Teferi, Time Raveler, who can return to the spotlight again. Teferi wrests tempo away from Flash decks, and the Adventure decks make Teferi-enabled instant-speed sweepers compelling.
The inclusion of Time Wipe alongside Planar Cleansing works well with Gadwick, the Wizened. The larger sweeper perhaps pushes permanent-based removal like Glass Casket to the sideboard.
After looking at some lists that seemed to have improved with Oko leaving—what are you interested in seeing at Mythic Championship VII? Who are you rooting for to win it all?
Zack is a SCG grinder with one ultimate goal: getting to the Players Championship. Based out of NYC, you can find him in other cities every weekend trying to hit that goal. When he isn’t traveling he streams. Follow his journey on Twitter!