Pro Tour Aetherdrift has concluded, and it was no surprise that Domain is still the best deck in the format. It is too powerful, and the high amount of mana availability simply provides too much value for other decks to consistently have a chance against it. Matt Nass was able to secure the win in the mirror match, as Domain Overlords were the most popular deck in the top 8.
Since we have a new set that just came out, that calls for innovation and some overall spice. The deck that we will examine today isn't exactly a new concept in the meta, but it certainly is something that nobody previously has had the stones to enter as a list in a Pro Tour Event. There were a couple of well-known pro players with this list, including Javier Dominguez, who has been known for having some unique decks in the competitive circuit. Although Javier didn't do as well as we normally see this past weekend, Christoffer Larsen nearly made the top 8 with this list. The deck went 9-1 in Constructed, and it's safe to say that it was one of the top performers on that side of things. Had Larsen maybe won one more match in Limited, he would likely have been in the top 8. It goes without saying that this deck has a spot in the current meta, and probably has some legs in Standard. It was something that was rather unexpected in the event, sure, but the high roll of the combo within the deck is undeniable. Even without the combo that the deck has, outside of that, it is simply a Golgari Midrange Shell. Those decks always carry a competitive win rate, so everyone has to keep it on the radar either way. We will take a look at the deck, and then I'll go over the combo, then see if we can figure out why the deck is seeing a resurgence.
Obliterator is an incredibly fun card. Everyone wants it to have a home in some format, because there are few things more satisfying than watching your opponent sit there trying to figure out which land(s) they are going to keep, or deciding if they want to keep playing after they were just forced to sacrifice all of their permanents. We historically think of this interaction happening during combat. What makes this deck fun is that it can happen during combat, or with a simple one - mana fight spell. Something else that is noteworthy is the fact that this deck plays only 23 lands. My best explanation for it is that the spell that allows you to fight for one mana also allows you to get any basic land from the deck for the same price. I think that this almost treats it as having 27 lands, and in turn helps figure out what cards to remove in order to squeeze in the extra spell. Let's take a look at the relevant cards, then we will see why it's back and better than before.
Obliterator Combo and Relevant Cards
Obliterator is the main attraction of the deck. Without the big boy, it is basically just Golgari Midrange. It is very wholesome to see an all-time favorite Phyrexian creature finally get some love and recognition, and it is pretty cool that he is one of the most powerful combos in Standard at this time. His ability forces the opponent to sacrifice a bunch of permanents for as little as one mana. If it doesn't lead to an instant concession, it will at least put you ahead in almost any matchup. If we look at how Obliterator made its way into the deck, it looks like they simply moved Unholy Annex to the sideboard, and then brought him into the main deck. I imagine the sideboard suffers a bit from this, but in the event that the combo isn't a good option, this like-for-like swap allows us to easily pivot back to Midrange as needed.
This is the other piece of the combo - and albeit not as flashy - that allows for us to maximize the power from Obliterator. The fact that it also helps us find a land makes it something that we can easily squeeze into a deck that historically ran 25 or 26 lands. These lists run 23, and it's because Bushwhack can tutor us a land for one mana. The nice part is that while it does act as a removal spell, it is comforting to know that it can help us hit land drops. We also have cards like Sentinel of the Nameless City to explore with map tokens, and hopefully find more lands as needed. If that doesn't work, we have a few draw engines such as Preacher of the Schism, and Mosswood Dreadknight. If you still feel as if you aren't drawing enough cards, we have four copies of Unholy Annex waiting in the board.
Why is this Combo Coming Back?
There are a couple of reasons that this combo is seeing more play lately. The first is that Standard has progressively turned into a battle of who can have the most permanents and get the most value from them. Not all games are this way, as control decks still are a thing, but generally speaking, any attrition-based matchup will see this power struggle. If we can leave our opponent with no permanents, then we simply win the vast majority of those matchups.
The second relevant reason, and I hope this doesn't appear to be too simple, but it really is relevant: A better mana base. We got the finished cycle of the verge lands, and Wastewood Verge is a great option for allowing us to play two colors while meeting the demanding cost of Obliterator. It had been a bit of an issue previously to cast this card on curve, and guarantee that we always have black mana in our first four mana sources. There simply weren't enough two - color green and black lands, and we just got another one that makes our lives easier. It might seem silly that it simply comes down to a higher likelihood of casting the spell that we want to cast, but you do have to cast the spells to win the game ultimately, and a good mana base ensures that you don't have trouble doing that.
The last reason I believe this is good is also due to the fact that the rest of the deck is a midrange shell. I believe that allows us to not be all-in on the combo, and still play a game of Magic when we don't draw into our high roll.
I hope this deck tech was fun for you. I know that I had a great time watching the deck in action over the weekend while I was in Chicago. It was a great time, and I will never complain about Obliterator having a strong performance competitively!
