Why is this Deck?
As Magic: the Gathering players, we all approach the game from different perspectives. Many folks using this tool will likely use it for a competitive edge as they prepare for an upcoming event. MTG Arena is definitely a great tool to help towards that goal, but it’s also an amazing place to experiment with cards and create truly bizarre experimental piles for fun. As a janky brewer, I aspire to craft fun experiences around cards that aren’t necessarily as competitive as the options you often see gracing these lists, and today we’re looking at Hit the Mother Lode to see if we can do just that.
Hit the Mother Lode is an odd card because it lets you free cast a card with mana value ten or less, but it itself costs seven mana – not a great rate for cheating big spells onto the stack. The other benefit the card offers is a significant number of treasure tokens all at once. Trying to find a build-around angle with these two disparate rewards in mind, I decided to focus on the treasures.
We Have Treasures. Now What?
Once we’ve hit the mother lode and have a pile of treasure in play, we need a way to convert that into damage to our opponent. Enter Stimulus Package. Stimulus Package allows us to transform our treasures into 1/1 Citizen tokens that can turn sideways. I know an army of four-to-seven 1/1s isn’t mind-blowing by any means, but we’ll hopefully be able to grind our opponents down so it’s enough. Additionally, a 1-of Devilish Valet offers up additional punching power because it sees every citizen enter with the Stimulus Package activations. If we can get the Devilish Valet online first, then Hit the Mother Lode into a Stimulus Package, you can imagine the damage that will follow.
Alternative Strategies
With a gameplan as fragile as this one, we absolutely need to have at least a plan-B, if not plans C, D, and F. Admittedly, this is a weak point for this current build as the control elements necessary to survive late into the game necessitate a fair number of deck slots. We’re not without hope, however, because Chimil, the Inner Sun and Chandra, Hope’s Beacon are both here to give us card and mana advantage into the late game. Chimil’s repeated discover triggers draw cards at the very least if not casting combo pieces or removal, and Chandra represents a shocking amount of damage while also doubling any late-game Hit the Mother Lodes we happen to draw into. If she goes unchecked, she can also simply burn our opponent out, though that’s a bit difficult to execute without help.
Beseech the Mirror is also included because of how on-rails our gameplan actually is. By bargaining a treasure or mana rock, we can free cast Stimulus Package and, therefore, ramp into the late game or we can simply use it as a Diabolic Tutor and put Hit the Mother Lode into our hand for future turns.
Matchups and Sideboarding
Current Standard is fast and relatively hostile to brews due to the high power level, but it’s gotten better as multiple archetypes vie for dominance.
Domain
The domain matchup is a sticky situation because Up the Beanstalk and Leyline Binding present such a powerful shell that provide massive card advantage while stripping us of key combo and ramp pieces. We run removal like Tear Asunder in the sideboard specifically to destroy these threats. We also have Duress in the main with optional copies in the sideboard because they’re effective in stripping these resources from hand before they become a problem. The End is also excellent on Atraxa, Grand Unifier.
Esper Tempo/Aggro
Whether it’s Esper Legends, Esper Aggro, or Esper Tempo, we all know the Esper decks that attack you early while holding up removal always topping out at Raffine, Scheming Seer and often Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. These decks rely on getting cheap creatures down early to put their opponents on the back foot and we’re going to try to stop it. Cut Down is critical for dealing with Deep Cavern Bats, Dennick, Pious Apprentice, or Raffine herself as long as we can hit it early. Also, Brotherhood’s End can be very valuable in cleaning up the tokens and small creatures the deck leads off with. If Raffine, Scheming Seer is able to get off a strong Connive X, our chances of winning reduce dramatically, so do whatever it takes to prevent that in the early game.
Mono Red
Whenever you’re battling Mono Red, early interaction is key. Reducing or outright removing Chandra, Hope’s Beacon and Chimil, the Inner Sun during sideboarding are often correct to get your curve low enough to be competitive. If you don’t survive long enough to resolve a Stimulus Package, it won’t matter how good your top end is. Mulligan and sideboard with this in mind. Molten Collapse is amazing because it can deal with Kumano Faces Kakkazan even before flipping into a creature and, in some cases, can be a clean two-for-one. In this matchup, don’t be afraid to chump block with your citizen tokens. Yes, they’re the win condition, but this matchup will always have us on defense.
Also, make sure you bring in every Brotherhood’s End you can get your hands on.
Standout Card
In building this deck, I struggled to find the right support package that balanced flexible interaction with card draw. We had ramp figured out with The Celestus, Stimulus Package, and The Irencrag, but removal and card draw were lacking. Enter Riveteers Charm. The first two modes on this card fit the bill perfectly and helped by giving us a clean answer to large threats like Sheoldred or Raffine while also giving us a chance to see additional cards while we’re digging for our combo pieces. The final mode of exiling a graveyard proved valuable in a few random matches when I went up against the Helping Hand Monastery Mentor decks or the Wail of the Forgotten/Squirming Emergence decks. Given that these strategies rely solely on the graveyard, that mode became the strongest card in the deck, worthy of tutoring it with Beseech the Mirror, making it our best sideboard card that was already in the main deck.
Final Thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised at how well this package supports late-game grindy matchups that present a difficult puzzle for opponents to solve. With clever and creative play, this brew has an opportunity to create some fun moments you won’t soon forget. I look forward to sharing more janky brews with you in the future. Stay tuned!
To see the deck in action: VS Big Red
