One of the most interesting card types Wizards decided to focus on again in MTG Avatar is definitely Shrines. These enchantments reward you heavily for getting as many of them in play as possible. The problem with Shrines over the years, however, is that they’re too clunky for the most part to make a competitive splash.
Yet, this week, a unique shell built around a new Shrine-themed Commander from Avatar Jumpstart managed to win a Duel Commander event out of nowhere! This legend is a huge step up from other Shrine Commanders of the past.
Building Around Hei Bai, Forest Guardian
Unlike many casual Shrine decks that we’re used to seeing, this archetype actually functions as a heavy control deck, using Shrines as a subtheme. In fact, only five total Shrines show up in this archetype. While this may seem odd at first glance, it makes a lot of sense when you factor in the strength of your Commander.
Hei Bai, Forest Guardian isn’t your average Shrine payoff. Despite giving you access to cards of all colors, this Bear Spirit only costs four mana to cast and immediately generates value when it enters. The only downside to its enters ability is that you don’t get to choose exactly what Shrine you want to put in play. Because you’re essentially Cascading into a random Shrine, it’s in your best interest to give yourself the highest odds of hitting an elite one.
Unsurprisingly, the best Shrine you can reveal is Sanctum of All. Every turn that Sanctum of All stays in play, you’ll get to tutor up any of your other Shrines and generate extra value from the ones already in play. Obviously, your chances of hitting Sanctum off of Hei Bai are pretty low, but your other Shrines are far from shabby.
Both Honden of Seeing Winds and Sanctum of Calm Waters pull their weight even with few other Shrines around. The card advantage provides inevitability, something control decks of all shapes and sizes are looking for. Speaking of inevitability, Honden of Infinite Rage gives you a solid way to end games without even having to enter combat. Plus, in a format ruled by Cloud, Midgar Mercenary shells that feature a boatload of one-toughness creatures, this Shrine threatens to mow down creature after creature as the game progresses.
The fact that Hei Bai puts these Shrines directly into play means you don’t have to worry about overpaying for enchantments that don’t impact the board immediately. The 4/4 body also still helps protect you from opposing attacks, which is essential in a 20-life, one-versus-one environment.
Suite of Interaction
Once you find a window to land Hei Bai and get a Shrine on the battlefield, you need plenty of ways to keep your head above water and prolong the game. After all, the longer the game goes, the more value your Shrines will generate. As such, this deck utilizes a whopping 44 instants and sorceries, nearly all fill some sort of interactive role.
The most important pieces of disruption are your cheap kill spells. From Dismember to Swords to Plowshares, you have more than enough ways at your disposal to draw out the game against aggro decks. You’ll also find a high quantity of board wipes, which go a long way towards letting you stabilize. Once you manage to get some Shrines online, your opponent will likely feel the pressure to jam more resources to the board in hopes of closing the game out, which only makes your Wrath effects that much scarier.
Of course, not every deck’s game plan is to attack with creatures. Versus midrange and combo decks, you’ll need to rely more on your counter magic. As you might expect, traditional tools like Counterspell and Dovin’s Veto make an appearance, but you also get to make use of some slightly more niche options, such as Evasive Action, since you have the full color palette to work with. Additionally, temporary counterspell effects, including Reprieve and Remand, get better in this deck since just delaying opposing plays will let you get more value from your Shrines in the interim.
Even though your Shrines do the heavy lifting in the card advantage department, this deck still features some high-end spell options. Recent additions like Consult the Star Charts and Rakshasa’s Bargain are just too good to ignore and excel in any grindy matchup.
Versatility
Given this strategy’s versatile range of interaction, you have a competitive chance in nearly every matchup. If your opponent sits across from you and has Cloud or Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful in the Command Zone, you know you’ll need to lean more on your early removal. By contrast, if your opponent is on Kefka, Court Mage, your slew of counter magic coupled with your card-drawing Shrines, will work to give you an edge.
This flexibility goes a long way in making Hei Bai such a good choice, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some weaknesses worth mentioning. By far, this deck’s biggest flaw is its ability to apply pressure of its own. With only seven creatures in the 99, most of which are puny, actually connecting in combat is very difficult. This means that if your opponent is able to claim the Initiative or the Monarch, they may be able to overtake you on resources.
This makes the Aragorn, King of Gondor matchup tough. As good as Hei Bai is at pulling you ahead, if you ever tap out for it, your opponent can simply kill it, then slam Aragorn from the Command Zone, and you’re in a world of trouble. Furthermore, without a good way to get on board quickly against Lier, Disciple of the Drowned decks, you’re forced to try to win counter wars to have a chance. The second High Tide resolves, things can go south real fast.
Nonetheless, this deck presents a robust game plan that isn’t easy for many decks to mess with. Most decks don’t come equipped with a large density of enchantment removal sources, which only makes competing against Five-Color Shrines even harder. If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to break out Sanctum of All in a competitive setting, Hei Bai is here to deliver.
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