Generally when new Magic: The Gathering decks emerge, it’s because of a new card, or cards, from a recent expansion. We’ve seen plenty of this over the past week, with Aetherdrift empowering typal decks in Standard and combos in Pauper. On the other hand, sometimes new decks just need a bit more time to be discovered. This week one such MTG deck has come to light, in the form of an unusual Golgari Self-Mill brew.
This deck runs no new Aetherdrift cards whatsoever. That said, it plays cards so obscure and neglected until now that they may as well be new. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, the deck also seems to be doing genuinely well. Early results are encouraging, at the very least. While there are certainly obstacles in its way, this deck could well be a new contender in Aetherdrift Standard.
Golgari Self-Mill In MTG Standard
This Golgari Self-Mill deck comes to us via MTG player Viacheslav Zakurenko, also known as HiddenMYCOPKA. They shared the list in a Twitter post yesterday, noting that it has led them to a “10:0 trophy” in a Standard League. That is to say, a 5-0 League win with no losses whatsoever. That’s an impressive result by anyone’s standards.
As the name suggests, this is a deck all about putting your own cards in the graveyard to fuel a range of synergies. Chief among these are two nigh-forgotten uncommons from past sets: Hollow Marauder, and Huskburster Swarm. Both are overcosted creatures that get cheaper to cast as you fill your ‘yard. Marauder has a potent enters effect that strips a card from your opponent’s hand and very likely draws you one. Huskburster is just a big body, but it has the advantage of being discounted by your cards in exile too. As we’ll get into later, this is a very important point.
Supporting these heavy hitters is a wide suite of self-mill. Overlord of the Balemurk is the clear standout, milling cards, recurring cards, and presenting a big threat later on. It also ties in beautifully with Up the Beanstalk, another modern Magic: The Gathering classic that’s a crucial card in the list. Casting Balemurk with Impending still counts as casting a “spell with mana value 5 or greater,” so Beanstalk will still draw you a card. The same logic applies to both Marauder and Huskburster, giving you a constant source of card advantage throughout the game. Other self-mill pieces, like Gnawing Vermin and Rubblebelt Maverick, support this core package well.
Curioser And Curioser
That’s the basic idea behind Golgari Self-Mill, and it’s a simple one by MTG standards. You mill cards, you reap the rewards. What’s fascinating about the deck is how many obscure pieces from the past it manages to include, and how well they all seem to fit together.
Take Overwhelming Remorse, for example. This is a card that has mostly been relegated to Magic: The Gathering bulk boxes since The Brothers’ War, but here it finds a place to shine. With how many creatures you’re milling into your graveyard, this is an easy answer to any creature or planeswalker for one to two mana. It also costs five initially, which means it’s another enabler for Up the Beanstalk.
Zakurenko’s list also gives Season of Loss some time in the spotlight. Burning your opponent for each creature in your ‘yard is a potent effect and one that can easily end games later on. The other modes here, the card draw and edict effect, are both valuable options too.
The offbeat hits don’t end there. This deck is also a chance for Urborg Lhurgoyf to finally see some real play, as a creature that scales up throughout the game and can also do some milling itself. This is probably the only place you’ll ever see Blanchwood Prowler, too, outside of certain Dredge decks in Pauper.
Overall Zakurenko’s take on Golgari Self-Mill feels incredibly fresh, despite featuring no new cards in the traditional sense. It also seems to be a real force to be reckoned with, if that crushing 5-0 finish is a sign of things to come. Of course, if this success continues, Standard has plenty of defense mechanisms it can deploy against strategies like this.
A Hostile Environment
Currently, Standard is positively overflowing with great graveyard hate options. So much so that some of the best aren’t even seeing play. Ghost Vacuum and Rest in Peace are so powerful and ubiquitous that Leyline of the Void, powerful as it is, is nowhere to be seen.
These cards aren’t just theoretical obstacles, either. Ghost Vacuum is actually the most-played card in Standard right now according to MTG Goldfish, showing up in around 37% of decks. Rest in Peace isn’t far behind at number four, with a 31% play rate. With the recent success of Ketramose, the New Dawn, you can expect to see even more of these potent exile effects going forward.
It goes without saying that both of these MTG cards make it very difficult for Golgari Self-Mill to secure a win. Without a stocked graveyard your spells are full-price and your synergies are largely offline. Huskburster Swarm does still function as intended, but it can’t win you games on its own. It’s still just a big creature vulnerable to Go for the Throat, after all, the second-most played card in Standard.
That said, Zakurenko’s unbeaten League run suggests that Self-Mill still has a fighting chance despite all this. They went up against two Gruul Delirium lists, Gruul Aggro, Domain, and Dimir Midrange, and won every single game. Clearly, the Up the Beanstalk Engine is doing a lot of work here since it’s a part of the deck that doesn’t totally rely on the graveyard to drive tempo.
There’s more for this deck to explore in Aetherdrift, but as things stand it seems like a fantastic pick for current Standard. It’s a great budget option too, Overlord of the Balemurk aside.