With every new Magic: The Gathering set comes several deck archetypes that don’t quite make it. The unfortunate reality of the game is that decks stuffed with the most efficient threats often outperform those that rely on specific synergy, meaning most decks pushed in a set are simply “too cute” to really work. Bird Typal, a deck pushed both by Bloomburrow and Final Fantasy, falls firmly into this category. Or at least it did, until a Bant Birds list crushed an MTG Standard event earlier this week.
While Sazh’s Chocobo has made a name for itself in Landfall decks, this is the first real instance of a dedicated Bird list doing well in Standard. It’s also a perfect example of the deck, running all of the synergy pieces you’d expect and many you wouldn’t. It may well prove “too cute” for a Standard dominated by Vivi Cauldron, but the fact that it’s seeing tournament play at all is hugely encouraging.
Bant Birds In MTG Standard
In Monday’s MTG Online Standard Challenge, Adrikmtg took the Bant Birds list above to a top-eight finish. That’s good going for any deck, but especially a typal list like this.
The core of Adrikmtg’s list is the Chocobo package from Final Fantasy. Sazh’s Chocobo is a cheap Bird that gets out of hand very quickly thanks to that Landfall ability. It’s your ideal turn one play, and despite offering no direct Bird synergy, it may just be the best card in the deck on average.
Further up the curve, Traveling Chocobo and Bartz and Boko really get the typal train going. In a Bird Typal deck, Traveling Chocobo is a Future Sight and Panharmonicon for three mana, with a 3/2 body thrown in for good measure. This can double up on Sazh’s Chocobo triggers, Bartz and Boko can kill two creatures, and Valley Questcaller can Scry multiple times. Heck, Aven Interrupter can win a counterspell war by Plotting two cards.
Speaking of the Affinity payoff, Bartz and Boko is the big ‘turn the corner’ card here. With three Birds in play, it costs just two mana to cast, and will likely let you remove an opposing creature or two on entry. This is fantastic for breaking parity, or even just for sniping some pesky utility creatures. It is rough when you’re behind, but the trade-off is well worth it in this deck.
These are the cards that really give Bird Typal its fighting chance. They play wonderfully with each other, too. Getting double counters on Sazh’s Chocobo and double bites from Bartz and Boko can totally swing games in your favor.
Putting In Wark
Of course, it’s not all about the Chocobos. Adrikmtg’s Bant Birds goes much deeper on the type than that, really digging into what MTG Standard has to offer.
Foundations gave us a reprint of Healer’s Hawk: an unremarkable card in general, but a great fit here. Having another one-drop to get things going early is ideal, and really helps with early Bartz and Boko plays. It also plays nicely with some of the deck’s other synergy pieces, which care about you having Birds in play.
From Bloomburrow, the deck takes Valley Questcaller, Dazzling Denial, and Mockingbird. While Questcaller isn’t a Bird itself, it is a cheap Bird lord that offers card selection to boot. It turns Healer’s Hawk into a legitimate threat, and Sazh’s Chocobo into even more of one.
Mockingbird, however, might be the secret star of this deck. It leads to some crazy lines of play, specifically when partnered with Valley Questcaller. Going turn one Sazh’s Chocobo into a turn two Questcaller, only to copy it with Mockingbird on 3 can create a massive board state. You’ll have two 3/4 Questcallers, and all of your other creatures will get +2/+2, turning the Chocobo into a 5/6 with three landfall triggers. Copying Travelling Chocobo can also lead to some ridiculous sequences if you have the time to pull them off. Mockingbird sees play in aggressive decks where it has little to no synergy thanks to solely being a Flying threat on curve. The card is way better here.
Dazzling Denial is one of the best counterspells in Standard with a Bird out, so naturally Adrikmtg runs the full playset to leverage that. It adds some much-needed interactivity to the deck, which is supported by three Aven Interrupter. In a format where resolving an Agatha’s Soul Cauldron can end the game, this is a necessary evil.
Sidequest: Raise a Chocobo is another great Final Fantasy piece, and one that gives the deck an aggressive go-wide option. Flipping it is pretty easy, and once you do, you get to ramp and buff your board ready for a push. I do wonder if this card is a bit too win-more for the strategy, however. It can’t be played via Travelling Chocobo’s Future Sight ability, and will more often than not be a poor on-rate creature unless you have a board state that would win the game anyway.
Bushwhack and Get Lost round out Adrikmtg’s list, providing solid on-color removal. Bushwhack can also get you lands in a pinch, which is more relevant than usual here due to all your Landfall effects.
Ready To Take Flight?
Overall, Adrikmtg’s Bant Birds is a very streamlined list, with more internal synergy than most decks in MTG Standard. A top-eight Challenge result is great news, too, but it doesn’t guarantee the deck a spot in top-tier Standard.
Vivi Cauldron is far and away the best deck in the format right now, by a problematic margin. Heck, in the Challenge where Bant Birds made the top eight, four different Cauldron lists claimed all four top spots. If Birds is really going to take flight in the format, this is the main obstacle in its path.
On the plus side, Birds is actually pretty capable of contesting Cauldron on the board early. Overpowered title cards aside, one of the biggest issues with Vivi Cauldron is that it can just function as an efficient Aggro deck a lot of the time, with cards like Marauding Mako. Birds can come down quickly with their one-drop suite, and can even outscale Mako with Sazh’s Chocobo in some games. This gives it a fighting chance if you can force Cauldron to play a fair game.
Unfortunately, Birds lacks the tools to really make that happen. It’s low on interaction in general, with only a few pieces of creature removal in there. Dazzling Denial and Get Lost are broader answers, but neither one is ideal. Denial forces you to play reactively, which puts you behind, while Get Lost offers your opponent counter synergy, which Vivi Cauldron can definitely exploit.
Cauldron isn’t a great matchup for Bant Birds right now. While this is the case, as cool a deck as it is, it’s unlikely to top the meta any time soon.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!