Jacob Brown: Grixis Energy Primer
Standard is finally in the place we all hoped it would be. The format is full interactive, powerful cards that have bred diversity. Numerous decks have appeared and posted tournament results, such as Red Green Energy, Mardu Vehicles, Mono-Red, Blue Black Control, Blue White Approach, the list goes on and on.
Thankfully, no decks have been dominant in the format. Just about every deck has play against every other deck in some way. However, one deck currently appears to be the “best deck.” I use the phrase “best deck” here in the same way that I would when talking about Grixis Delver in Legacy. The deck is consistent, powerful and has a high win rate. However, the deck can be interacted with and attacked with enough to not be dominant. Grixis Energy is the best deck in standard, and here is why you should play it:
The Deck
Grixis Energy plays out similarly in this format to how it did pre-bannings: cheap interaction combined with powerful threats. At the core this deck is a midrange deck, the goal being to use Harnessed Lightning, Magma Spray, Fatal Push, Abrade and Whirler Virtuoso to stabilize the board and then take over the game with The Scarab God, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, or Liliana, Death’s Majesty. Here is my current 75:
The deck is pretty straight forward. It’s got a ton of ways to interact, some solid threats and gets to play the energy package. Most of the deck is set in stone, though numbers on cards are commonly varied.
I wasn’t a big fan of Glimmer of Genius initially but in testing it’s been a really good way to pull ahead against all the midrange decks in the format. The deck’s biggest weakness is the mana. Any three color deck is going to be hard in standard right now, especially one that is trying to play Chandra on 4, Liliana on 5 and Gearhulk on 6. A way to diminish this is to cut Chandra and a couple of red sources, but I’m pretty sure Chandra is too good not to play.
Notably not in the 75 is Glorybringer. I was initially very high on Glorybringer, but after testing with and without it I’m pretty sure that it’s not supposed to be in the deck. For one, it’s another card that costs double red. Secondly, the card doesn’t line up well in Standard right now. In midrange and control matchups it’s never going to attack. The card is extremely medium against the aggro decks. Glorybringer is certainly powerful, but I don’t think it’s nearly as good as Liliana in this list.
The sideboard is very much geared for control decks. Search For Azcanta, Dreamstealer, Nicol Bolas and The Scarab God are all good ways to get ahead, while Negate and Duress provide cheap interaction. Magma Spray and Abrade are good against all of the small red aggressive decks, earning them the final sideboard slots.
Good Matchups
Grixis is favored against the aggressive and midrange decks of the format.
Mono-Red: This matchup is the one of the main reasons to play Grixis. I’ve never seen the Grixis player lose this matchup to anything other than their mana. Grixis is extremely good at killing the early creatures. and Essence Scatter are great at protecting you from Hazoret. Whirler Virtuoso blocks their creatures and Torrential Gearhulk almost always ends the game when it enters play. The card to be weary of is Chandra. If not removed Chandra can run away with the game, but that can be said for any planeswalker. My advice when playing this matchup is to use Vraska’s Contempt conservatively and to turn the corner as quickly as possible.
Green Red Energy: Green Red Energy is a great matchup, as they are trying to do the same thing as Grixis, but they’re not as good in the late game. After you kill all their threats The Scarab God will usually run away with the game. If not, Liliana and Chandra can make quick work of the deck.
Mardu Vehicles: The Mardu matchup is extremely similar to Mono-Red. Hazoret and Chandra demand Vraska’s Contempt. Magma Spray should be used pretty sparingly, as getting a Scrapheap Scrounger is usually at least a 2-for-1. Unlicensed Disintegration can make it hard to win with The Scarab God, so Planeswalkers are usually the plan for ending the game.
Green Black Constrictor: Green Black Constrictor is annoying, but the deck can be dismantled by most Grixis draws. The problem card is Blossoming Defense. Main-phasing removal spells when they are tapped out is almost always correct, as defense not only counters the kill spell, but makes their creatures larger. The deck also usually plays 2-3 Vraska’s Contempt, so it will usually take a couple of threats to go the distance.
Sultai Energy: Sulati Energy plays similarly to Green Black, in that Blossoming Defense and Vraska’s Contempt can be tricky. In addition to playing around those two, they have copies of The Scarab God of their own, in addition to Nissa, Steward of Elements, making Vraska’s Contempt a key card on both sides.
Bad Matchups
Grixis Energy struggles against the devoted control decks in the format.
Blue Black X Control: Blue Black X is a tough matchup. Game 1 is difficult, but not impossible. If Glint-Sleeve Siphoner can draw a couple of cards or a planeswalker sticks g1 can be won before they feel safe deploying a threat. However, most game 1’s their answers will line up very well against your threats and you’ll die to The Scarab God with copies of Fatal Push and Magma Spray left in your hand. Games 2 & 3 are much more manageable, but still not great. Duress and Negate are good from the board, but they almost certainly bring theirs in too. The best thing to do post board is resolve a turn two Search for Azcanta and ride the powerful enchantment to victory. If not, threat backed by Negate can win games as well.
Blue White X Approach: Approach is much more rough than Blue Black X Control. In game 1 against Blue Black X, Grixis has tools to destroy/delay the control deck’s win conditions. The same cannot be said against Blue White. After the first Approach is cast, Grixis goes into panic mode and will almost always lose to the seven mana sorcery. The two ways to win game 1 are to keep a turn 2 Glint Sleeve Siphoner on the board or to ulimate Chandra. The post board games aren’t quite as bad, if not slightly favorable. Negate and Duress can keep them from finding the Second Sun, or can be used to protect threats. Blue White will usually board in alternate win conditions, so be aware of that in post-board games.
Sideboard
Mono-Red:
Out: 2 Glimmer of Genius, 1 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
In: 2 Abrade, 1 Magma Spray
Mardu Vehicles:
Out: 2 Glimmer of Genius, 2 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
In: 2 Abrade, 1 Magma Spray, 1 The Scarab God
Green Black Constrictor:
Out: 2 Magma Spray, 4 Whirler Virtuoso
In:1 The Scarab God, 2 Abrade, 1 Nicol Bolas, God-Pharoah, 2 Search for Azcanta
Green Red Energy:
Out: 4 Whirler Virtuoso
In: 2 Abrade, 1 The Scarab God, 1 Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
Sultai Energy:
Out: 4 Whirler Virtuoso
In: 2 Abrade, 1 The Scarab God, 1 Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
Blue Black X Control:
Out: 2 Fatal Push, 2 Magma Spray, 2 Abrade, 4 Harnessed Lightning, 2 Whirler Virtuoso
In: 4 Negate, 2 Duress, 2 Search for Azcanta, 1 The Scarab God, 2 Dreamstealer, 1 Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
Blue White X Approach:
Out: 2 Fatal Push, 2 Magma Spray, 2 Abrade, 4 Harnessed Lightning, 2 Whirler Virtuoso
In: 4 Negate, 2 Duress, 2 Search for Azcanta, 1 The Scarab God, 2 Dreamstealer, 1 Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
Wrapping it Up
Overall, I think Grixis Energy is a solid midrange deck, and will continue to be a great choice until rotation. Feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions or complaints on Facebook or @AzureJake on Twitter.
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