Pro Tour Outlaws of Thunder Junction is now in the books, and the new cards have been available on MTG Arena and Magic Online for roughly two weeks at this point. As such, we’ve been able to get a good sense for what the best cards in the set are for Constructed play. Cards like
Slickshot Show-Off
Slickshot Show-Off
Flying, haste
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
Plot {1}{R} (You may pay {1}{R} and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Plot only as a sorcery.)
and
Simulacrum Synthesizer
Simulacrum Synthesizer
When this artifact enters, scry 2.
Whenever another artifact you control with mana value 3 or greater enters, create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control."
, for instance, have more than lived up to the hype they received during spoiler season.
One card that seemed to be slept on early on, though, is
Pillage the Bog
Pillage the Bog
Look at the top X cards of your library, where X is twice the number of lands you control. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Plot {1}{B}{G} (You may pay {1}{B}{G} and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Plot only as a sorcery.)
. There’s nothing inherently broken about Pillage the Bog, but the consistency it provides is invaluable. Over time, the card has started to emerge in a multitude of archetypes in Standard, Pioneer, and Modern. Pillage the Bog is one of the most underrated cards from the whole set and has encouraged multi-format innovation. Let’s take a closer look at what archetypes best maximize the powerful Sorcery.
Jund Lands in Standard
First, we have a breakout deck from the Pro Tour. This deck is quite similar to Temur Lands in its goals. Thanks to the cycle of common Streets of New Capenna Lands, such as
Maestros Theater
Maestros Theater
When this land enters, sacrifice it. When you do, search your library for a basic Island, Swamp, or Mountain card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle and you gain 1 life.
, both decks get access to a large number of Lands that naturally go to the graveyard.
This helps enable
Aftermath Analyst
Aftermath Analyst
When this creature enters, mill three cards. (Put the top three cards of your library into your graveyard.)
{3}{G}, Sacrifice this creature: Return all land cards from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
,
Splendid Reclamation
Splendid Reclamation
Return all land cards from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
, and
Worldsoul’s Rage
Worldsoul’s Rage
Worldsoul's Rage deals X damage to any target. Put up to X land cards from your hand and/or graveyard onto the battlefield tapped.
as incredible sources of ramp. If you have
Nissa, Resurgent Animist
Nissa, Resurgent Animist
Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, add one mana of any color. Then if this is the second time this ability has resolved this turn, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal an Elf or Elemental card. Put that card into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
or
Spelunking
Spelunking
When this enchantment enters, draw a card, then you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield. If you put a Cave onto the battlefield this way, you gain 4 life.
Lands you control enter untapped.
in play at the time, you’ll even have a bunch of mana to spend the same turn.
Where the Jund deck differentiates itself from Temur is with the inclusion of two major black powerhouses.
Pitiless Carnage
Pitiless Carnage
Sacrifice any number of permanents you control, then draw that many cards.
Plot {1}{B}{B} (You may pay {1}{B}{B} and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Plot only as a sorcery.)
definitely has the highest ceiling, contributing to crazy Splendid Reclamation turns. However, Pillage the Bog’s role cannot be overstated.
In the early game, Pillage the Bog functions similarly to
Impulse
Impulse
Look at the top four cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
. However, unlike Impulse, Pillage the Bog scales incredibly well into the late game. The more Lands you have in play, the closer Pillage the Bog comes to
Demonic Tutor
Demonic Tutor
Search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, then shuffle.
. As such, this deck definitely gives Pillage the Bog the most potential.
One of the general weaknesses of these Land-focused strategies is that the majority of the cards in the deck are either Lands themselves or ramp elements. Similar to
Memory Deluge
Memory Deluge
Look at the top X cards of your library, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast this spell. Put two of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Flashback {5}{U}{U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
out of Temur Lands, Pillage the Bog helps ensure that you can find the necessary resources to close the game once you have a ton of mana. But, the fact that Pillage the Bog doubles as a turn-two play to dig for your ramp enablers makes it much more flexible.
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Niv to Light in Pioneer
In Pioneer, Pillage the Bog has made a name for itself in Niv to Light shells. Niv to Light has existed in Pioneer for quite a while but has only recently become one of the major pillars of the format. When
Lightning Helix
Lightning Helix
Lightning Helix deals 3 damage to any target and you gain 3 life.
was added to Pioneer in Murders at Karlov Manor, this deck drew some extra attention. After all, Lightning Helix is a solid removal spell early in the game. The life buffer is a huge deal for a deck that is trying to get to five mana to cast
Bring to Light
Bring to Light
Converge — Search your library for a creature, instant, or sorcery card with mana value less than or equal to the number of colors of mana spent to cast this spell, exile that card, then shuffle. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost.
.
On top of that, Lightning Helix is a multi-colored card for
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Flying
When Niv-Mizzet enters, reveal the top ten cards of your library. For each color pair, choose a card that's exactly those colors from among them. Put the chosen cards into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
to grab. As such, Lightning Helix became a Niv to Light staple. Now, with Pillage the Bog in the mix, the deck has skyrocketed even further in popularity.
Like Lightning Helix, Pillage the Bog is a great card to hit off Niv-Mizzet Reborn. With Lightning Helix and
Vanishing Verse
Vanishing Verse
Exile target monocolored permanent.
cementing themselves as the primary two-mana removal spells in the deck,
Abrupt Decay
Abrupt Decay
This spell can't be countered.
Destroy target nonland permanent with mana value 3 or less.
fell out of favor. Now, Pillage the Bog is here to fill the Golgari void and make Niv Mizzet Reborn a more consistent bomb.
The main reason Pillage the Bog is such an incredible addition to the deck, though, is that it greatly increases the frequency of games you can find Bring to Light. Bring to Light is the glue that holds this deck together. It can find Niv Mizzet as a win condition,
Sunfall
Sunfall
Exile all creatures. Incubate X, where X is the number of creatures exiled this way. (Create an Incubator token with X +1/+1 counters on it and "{2}: Transform this token." It transforms into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature.)
to stabilize the board or hate pieces like
Unmoored Ego
Unmoored Ego
Choose a card name. Search target opponent's graveyard, hand, and library for up to four cards with that name and exile them. That player shuffles, then draws a card for each card exiled from their hand this way.
. Pillage the Bog makes it much more likely you’ll have access to your potent one-ofs in different matchups.
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Golgari Scam in Modern
While Pillage the Bog has primarily shown up in Standard and Pioneer, its sheer efficiency has encouraged players to give the card a shot in Modern as well. In a recent Magic Online Modern Challenge, a unique Golgari Scam list put up a strong performance utilizing a full playset of Pillage the Bog. This deck features the typical Scam package of
Grief
Grief
Menace
When this creature enters, target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card.
Evoke—Exile a black card from your hand.
and
Not Dead After All
Not Dead After All
Until end of turn, target creature you control gains "When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control, then create a Wicked Role token attached to it." (Enchanted creature gets +1/+1. When this token is put into a graveyard, each opponent loses 1 life.)
, but intriguingly also showcases the combo of
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
+1: Target creature you control gains deathtouch and lifelink until end of turn. If it's a Vampire, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
+1: You may sacrifice a Vampire. When you do, Sorin deals 3 damage to any target and you gain 3 life.
−3: You may put a Vampire creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.
and
Vein Ripper
Vein Ripper
Flying
Ward—Sacrifice a creature.
Whenever a creature dies, target opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.
.
Interestingly, Vein Ripper is the only Vampire present in this deck to pair with Sorin. Normally, this would lead to major issues of inconsistency. Fortunately, both Grief and Pillage the Bog do a decent job minimizing the likelihood that one of these cards will rot in your hand all game. First of all, both Sorin and Vein Ripper can be pitched to Grief early in the game if you don’t think they will be useful. Secondly, Pillage the Bog can dig pretty deep for whichever piece of the combo you’re missing.
It doesn’t take much to make Pillage the Bog an elite source of card selection. It can help smooth out your draws early. It’s an amazing topdeck late. It’s nice to see the card finally getting the respect it deserves.
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