MTG Star Trek cards have now come to Magic Online, and it didn’t take long for players to brew around the new cards. The Naked Time, which received a ton of hype in particular, has already given rise to multiple unique archetypes.
Izzet Looting is one of the coolest of the bunch, boasting multiple Standard League 5-0s in the span of 24 hours!
Looting and Beating Down
This Izzet deck uses efficient threats to immediately put the opponent on the back foot. Creatures like
Tiger-Seal
Tiger-Seal
Vigilance
At the beginning of your upkeep, tap this creature.
Whenever you draw your second card each turn, untap this creature.
and
Duelist of the Mind
Duelist of the Mind
Flying, vigilance
Duelist of the Mind's power is equal to the number of cards you've drawn this turn.
Whenever you commit a crime, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card. This ability triggers only once each turn.
, despite not making much noise over the last year, can both apply a lot of pressure.
The key to making these cards work is consistently drawing your second card during your turn, which looting executes.
Pompous Battlemage
Pompous Battlemage
Prowess
This creature enters prepared. (While it's prepared, you may cast a copy of its spell. Doing so unprepares it.)
,
Fear of Missing Out
Fear of Missing Out
When this creature enters, discard a card, then draw a card.
Delirium — Whenever this creature attacks for the first time each turn, if there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, untap target creature. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.
, and
Seasoned Cryomancer
Seasoned Cryomancer
When this creature enters, draw two cards, then discard two cards. When you discard one or more nonland cards this way, tap up to that many target creatures and put a stun counter on each of them.
{3}{U}{U}, Exile this card from your graveyard: Draw two cards.
all add to the board while also making it trivial to untap Tiger-Seal and grow Duelist.
Winternight Stories
Winternight Stories
Draw three cards. Then discard two cards unless you discard a creature card.
Harmonize {4}{U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its harmonize cost. You may tap a creature you control to reduce that cost by {X}, where X is its power. Then exile this spell.)
then lets you take further advantage of all these discard outlets, giving you something to cast from your graveyard for value. Of course, hard-casting the sorcery to buff Duelist pre-combat can still be quite impactful.
Given this deck’s emphasis on cheap creatures, it’s also a natural fit for
The Naked Time
The Naked Time
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)
I — Search your library for a basic Mountain card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
II — Whenever a creature you control enters this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on it and it gains haste until end of turn.
III — Sacrifice a land.
. After taking a turn off to ramp, following up with multiple Hasty, buffed beaters puts a ton of pressure on the opponent. If you’re ever able to cast two Delirious FOMOs after Chapter II goes off, you may just win the game on the spot!
The Naked Time also synergizes perfectly with
Quantum Riddler
Quantum Riddler
Flying
When this creature enters, draw a card.
As long as you have one or fewer cards in hand, if you would draw one or more cards, you draw that many cards plus one instead.
Warp {1}{U}
, since you can Warp it and get a big hit in on the cheap. The extra land the Saga provides then gives you a good chance of hard-casting the five-drop the following turn. While you will inevitably lose the land to Chapter III, you can still float mana with it during that turn’s main phase.
Notably, this deck has one way around Chapter III: sacrifice the enchantment to
Torch the Tower
Torch the Tower
Bargain (You may sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token as you cast this spell.)
Torch the Tower deals 2 damage to target creature or planeswalker. If this spell was bargained, instead it deals 3 damage to that permanent and you scry 1.
If a permanent dealt damage by Torch the Tower would die this turn, exile it instead.
. All you have to do is stop during your upkeep and Bargain The Naked Time away before its final trigger would go on the stack.
Plenty of Potential
While it’s still extremely early in the MTG Star Trek Standard format, this Izzet Looting deck does have numerous noteworthy strengths. Its biggest strength is its ability to both apply pressure and pull ahead on resources, which gives the deck elite versatility.
When facing down decks like Landfall that are light on removal, The Naked Time helps you tempo out the opponent.
Into the Flood Maw
Into the Flood Maw
Gift a tapped Fish (You may promise an opponent a gift as you cast this spell. If you do, they create a tapped 1/1 blue Fish creature token before its other effects.)
Return target creature an opponent controls to its owner's hand. If the gift was promised, instead return target nonland permanent an opponent controls to its owner's hand.
helps the cause by keeping
Mightform Harmonizer
Mightform Harmonizer
Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, double the power of target creature you control until end of turn.
Warp {2}{G} (You may cast this card from your hand for its warp cost. Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.)
in check, or by bouncing an Earthbent land to set the opponent back.
At the same time, the card advantage Winternight Stories and Quantum Riddler provide gives you a great chance to out-grind Dimir Midrange. With Torch the Tower in the mix, you even have a clean answer to
Enduring Curiosity
Enduring Curiosity
Flash
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
When Enduring Curiosity dies, if it was a creature, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control. It's an enchantment. (It's not a creature.)
.
The combination of early pressure and card advantage also makes your control matchup very strong throughout the game. Plus, The Naked Time’s Haste-granting chapter makes sweepers much less concerning.
Unfortunately, The Naked Time doesn’t solve everything, since cards like
Authority of the Consuls
Authority of the Consuls
Creatures your opponents control enter tapped.
Whenever a creature an opponent controls enters, you gain 1 life.
do a good job neutralizing chapter II’s effect. Racing
Eddymurk Crab
Eddymurk Crab
Flash
This spell costs {1} less to cast for each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard.
This creature enters tapped if it's not your turn.
When this creature enters, tap up to two target creatures.
+
Sunderflock
Sunderflock
This spell costs {X} less to cast, where X is the greatest mana value among Elementals you control.
Flying
When this creature enters, if you cast it, return all non-Elemental creatures to their owners' hands.
out of Izzet Spellementals is still quite difficult, too, even with your best draws.
You also don’t have a ton in the way of removal, which can make it hard to break up Lifegain’s insane synergies. Once that deck starts rebuilding with an unchecked
Moseo, Vein’s New Dean
Moseo, Vein’s New Dean
Flying
When Moseo enters, create a 1/1 black and green Pest creature token with "Whenever this token attacks, you gain 1 life."
Infusion — At the beginning of your end step, if you gained life this turn, return up to one target creature card with mana value X or less from your graveyard to the battlefield, where X is the amount of life you gained this turn.
, it’s lights out.
In this sense, Izzet Looting does have some weak points, but it still puts the power of The Naked Time on full display. Combined with the Boros Pixie deck that’s everywhere at the World Championship, it’s safe to say that The Naked Time is quickly taking Standard by storm.
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