Since the release of MTG TMNT, multiple formats have experienced some surprising metagame shifts. Despite the fact that this set is quite small, various archetypes like Modern Lifegain and Pauper White Weenies have experienced a resurgence thanks to the new tools.
Now, it appears that the printing of an unsuspecting common Food artifact has even given rise to a new combo deck. It’s still early, but this strategy is quickly gaining traction and looks quite powerful.
Executing the Combo
The main goal behind this Simic deck is to assemble a three-card combo that attacks for infinite damage. The centerpiece of this is undoubtedly Devoted Druid, a unique two-mana creature whose untap ability lends itself to a boatload of infinite combos.
Yet, despite Devoted Druid’s massive combo potential, it hasn’t made much noise in Pauper up to this point, thanks to the lack of combo pieces in the format. Now, however, the arrival of Guac & Marshmallow Pizza into the format has changed everything.
Once you land a non-summoning sick Devoted Druid, if you can find both Guac & Marshmallow Pizza and Banishing Knack, you’re all set up to win the game. Once you have Banishing Knack on Devoted Druid, tap it and use the mana to cast Guac & Marshmallow Pizza. The buff and the untap will allow Devoted Druid to bounce Guac & Marshmallow Pizza back to your hand, while making additional untaps virtually free. You can repeat this process as many times as you wish, creating infinite mana and an infinitely large Devoted Druid
Obviously, if the opponent has no blockers, you can just attack with Devoted Druid for lethal. On top of that, though, because Devoted Druid can now net you infinite mana, you can also recast Guac & Marshmallow Pizza over and over to make your other creatures lethal. As a result, the minuscule tokens generated by Khalni Garden and Malevolent Rumble play a pivotal role in this deck’s success.
Resiliency and Consistency
While this deck is capable of winning games extremely fast, what really gives it an edge is how well-suited it is to protect its combo pieces. If you’re not under huge amounts of pressure early, it’s sometimes in your best interest to hold Devoted Druid until you can protect it. Cards like Tamiyo’s Safekeeping and Dispel help ensure that you can untap with Devoted Druid so you can combo off. Notably, even Guac & Marshmallow Pizza can save Devoted Druid from Lightning Bolt and other burn spells, making it an essential piece of the puzzle.
In addition to being quite resilient, this deck is also built to help you find your combo pieces in short order. Malevolent Rumble does a great job digging for both Devoted Druid and Guac & Marshmallow Pizza. Cantrips like Ponder and Preordain then work to find Banishing Knack, putting the whole combo together.
Beyond just traditional cantrips, this deck even incorporates some card draw elements that excel in grindy games. Perilous Research is a great two-mana card draw spell that’s easily enabled by Malevolent Rumble, Khlani Garden, and Cryogen Relic. Add Lorien Revealed into the mix as a flexible but powerful late-game option, and you should have no issue rebuilding in the face of disruption.
A Versatile Approach
All of these pieces make the deck extremely flexible, allowing you to adjust your angle of attack depending on the matchup. Against opposing fast combo decks like Spy Combo, having the potential to win quickly is super important. At the same time, though, beating a layer of interaction out of Golgari Gardens shells is very possible by assembling a wall of efficient protection spells. Even this deck’s matchups against Mono-Red Rally and Mono-Red Madness are better than you might expect with Blue Elemental Blast and Weather the Storm backup.
This isn’t to say that Simic Druid Combo is foolproof, as it’s not always easy to piece together the combo versus the mono-blue decks. Both Mono-Blue Terror and Mono-Blue Faeries are capable of backing up waves of pressure with counter magic, which can be tough to fight through. The Faeries matchup is especially rough, since Spellstutter Sprite is immune to Dispel.
Nonetheless, the Pauper metagame is quite diverse, and Simic Druid Combo has a solid gameplan against a wide range of archetypes. More players are starting to find success with this deck, showcasing that it may be more than just a flash in the pan. Don’t be shocked if Devoted Druid continues to pop up more and more in tournaments moving forward.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew!