In general, when most players think of board wipes in Magic, they’re minds go to cards like Wrath of God that have a very simple effect. For archetypes that don’t play many creatures of their own, especially control shells that need ways to stabilize, board wipes can be a godsend.
Interestingly, though, not all board wipes serve the same role. One particular black option from MTG Avatar is more situational than a traditional Wrath, but in the right matchup, it can lead to an absolute blowout.
Day of Black Sun as Anti-Aggro Tech
On the surface, Day of Black Sun may look a little too expensive to rely on. After all, in order for you to be able to kill bigger threats on the opponent’s side, you’ll need to invest a ton of extra mana into this card to get your money’s worth. On the flip side, though, because you get to control the value of X, you can use this to your advantage by landing big creatures of your own that won’t get swept away.
With this in mind, Day of Black Sun has emerged as a strong option for a variety of black decks in Standard. The most common place to find this card is definitely in the sideboards of Dimir Midrange decklists as a tool against small creature decks. Simic Aggro, for instance, can easily create a wide board state thanks to Jackal, Genius Geneticist. With Pawpatch Recruit in the mix, typical single-target removal spells won’t always cut it.
Luckily, nearly every threat out of Simic besides Ourorboid costs two or less mana, so Day of Black Sun still cleans up nearly everything you need to. At the same time, any bigger threat you cast previously, including Enduring Curiosity, will remain untouched. With Simic Aggro super prevalent and other archetypes like Mono-Red Aggro and Five-Color Allies still putting up results, having a way to stay afloat is super important.
For archetypes that feature enough ramp elements and big threats to ramp into, Day of Black Sun can even serve as a strong maindeck option. A sweet Golgari Graveyard deck incorporating Shared Roots that just finished top 16 in the 231-player Standard Showcase this past weekend, for example, utilized a full playset in the maindeck. This deck has a much easier time building up enough mana quickly to make this sorcery a consistent board wipe when necessary. Plus, being able to jam Overlord of the Balemurk, then follow up with Day of the Black Sun should put you in a commanding position.
An Important Clause
In addition to its versatility in its casting cost, Day of Black Sun provides even more value for ramp and control decks by forcing all creatures within range to lose all abilities. Having a strong method of ensuring that opposing Glimmers don’t come back as enchantments is a big deal. Some strategies, like Boros Aggro, rely on Enduring Innocence as a way to out-grind you, and Day of Black Sun puts a stop to that.
Of course, Day of Black Sun stops death triggers of any kind, which can make a huge difference against Mosswood Dreadknight out of Golgari Midrange. Even Indestructible threats like Tyvar, the Pummeler, which commonly shows up in Simic Aggro decklists, aren’t immune to this spell. It’s hard to go wrong with Day of Black Sun, so it’s no wonder the card continues to pop up more in more.
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