Deck of the Week: Temur Marvel
One of the interesting things about the early days of a new Standard season is seeing successful decks that don’t draw very much from the new set.
Consider this week’s Deck of the Week.
Temur Marvel — or Naya, Bant, B/G or 4-color — was a big player a few months ago, then fell off the radar for the most part after Emrakul, the Promised End was banned.
Aetherworks Marvel is pretty good when it lets you cast a 13/13 flying Mindslaver for free. In fact, it was good enough that a decent chunk of the Magic community argued in favor of Marvel being banned instead of Emrakul.
Although Marvel’s not quite as good now, cheating in overpowered spells and creatures has a long history of being successful in Magic, so it’s not surprising that the legendary artifact is once again making some rumblings. Don’t be surprised to see some flavor of Marvel showing up in big numbers at this week’s Pro Tour.
First, a list, from a recent Standard daily on MTGO. Note that there are a total of six Amonkhet cards in the 75:
Temur Marvel, by RICKINHO, 5-0, MTGO Standard Constructed League
Let’s break it down.
Aetherworks Marvel
Is Aetherworks Marvel. Next.
Creatures
There are plenty of situations where hitting Ulamog off of an early Marvel activation is even more devastating than Emrakul was. If you spin the wheel on turn 4 and get to exile two of your opponent’s lands, you’re probably winning the game.
Even in the late game, Ulamog is still a colossal beating. Being able to exile two permanents on a casting trigger is ridiculous, and oh by the way, Ulamog is indestructible and exiles 20 cards from your opponent’s library upon attacking. Of course, the big difference with Ulamog is that you have to pay 10 mana to hardcast it regardless of circumstances, so there’s that.
Big dumb Eldrazi aside,
the best Marvel decks have a value-oriented backup plan, and this one is no different. Rogue Refiner helps fuel Marvel, is a 3/2 body and replaces itself when it enters the battlefield. Whirler Virtuoso also fuels Marvel, is a 2/3 body, and can create an army of Thopters if left unchecked. Much like the Saheeli decks of last season, this one can win without ever drawing a Marvel by simply grinding out wins with a bunch of 1/1 fliers. Servant of the Conduit is mostly here for its acceleration and energy producing capabilities, but it’s still a 2/2, which sometimes comes in handy.
Planeswalkers
Chandra is pretty great overall, and she fills a need for this deck by offering flexibility. She’s card advantage or a Shock when needed, can help accelerate into casting an Ulamog if you’re having to do it the hard way, and serves as another removal spell to help you survive long enough to start activating Marvel. In previous versions of the deck she also helped with reaching delirium, but this build doesn’t play Ishkanah, so that’s not a concern.
Chandra’s ultimate also comes into play in this deck. Five damage every time you cast a spell is nothing to sneeze at, and between Refiner, Servant and Virtuoso, you can turtle up behind a bunch of chump blockers and keep ticking up Chandra until it’s Lava Axe time. It’s entirely possible to cast Chandra, ping your opponent for two a turn for three turns, then ultimate her and dump your hand for lethal. She’s also a reasonable hit off of a turn 4 Aetherworks Marvel activation, because free planeswalkers are generally good.
Energy production, removal, acceleration and survival
Although Ulamog is backbreaking,
hitting a Nissa’s Renewal off of an early Marvel activation might just be the most demoralizing thing this deck can do, especially in aggro matchups. Three mana and seven life for free is filthy, and an early Renewal can put you in a position to hardcast an Ulamog way ahead of curve if you have one stuck in your hand.
Attune with Aether is a good-to-great card in any energy deck, and it’s fantastic here. The deck only runs 23 lands, so being able to ensure early land drops and get energy for only one mana is a big part of making the deck work. Woodweaver’s Puzzleknot is a remarkably efficient energy generator and life gain mechanism.
Harnessed Lightning is still one of the better removal spells floating around, and it scales pretty well in a deck that cranks out as much energy as this one does. Sweltering Suns is the only Amonkhet card that makes the maindeck, and as a sweeper that can also be cycled away, it, much like Chandra, adds some much-needed flexibility. Baral’s Expertise is an interesting addition, because the only cards in the maindeck that can’t be cast off of it are Ulamog and Nissa’s Renewal. Casting a Baral’s Expertise and getting a free Chandra — or Aetherworks Marvel — seems pretty good.
Mana
Aether Hub is a mandatory four-of, of course. The rest of the manabase is pretty standard, but one interesting choice is two Lumbering Falls. While it’s a U/G dual, it also turns into a 3/3 with hexproof, which makes it a great way to grind out wins against control decks.
Sideboard
Glimmer of Genius, Negate and Dispel are all pretty standard ways to fight control decks. The other Amonkhet cards make their appearance here to fill a couple different roles. Three Prowling Serpopard allows the deck to switch gears into a grindy midrange deck, especially when combined with Tireless Tracker. Making creature spells uncounterable is a pretty good extra piece of text on a 4/3 for three. Manglehorn also pops up as a one-of, because being able to destroy pesky artifacts and cause vehicles to enter play tapped is handy in a format where a two-drop 4/4 that is only sometimes a creature is running rampant.
Wrapping Up
Free spells are dangerous, and always have been. A card that makes any spell in the deck effectively free is extremely dangerous, and Marvel has been a threat since the day it was printed.
But, going all-in on one plan has its downsides, especially when you don’t have a six- or seven-mana Emrakul as a back-up plan. Thanks to some value creatures from Kaladesh block and a smattering of new cards, Aetherworks Marvel builds may have found the plan B they’ve been looking for to be viable again.
Deck of the Week is a breakdown of an interesting deck from the previous week in Magic. Email questions, comments and deck suggestions to claughman@gmail.com.
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