This weekend, in addition to all the announcements taking place at MagicCon Las Vegas, we also got to witness the World Championship. The top performing players from around the globe were competing for cash and glory.
This massive Standard event showcased a pretty wide range of archetypes. From Gruul Prowess to Dimir Demons, the metagame was incredibly diverse.
On top of that, there were also some really unique and innovative strategies featured. One of the coolest decks registered by nine players was none other than Temur Prowess. This deck is very different from your typical Gruul beatdown deck, and even features an infinite combo!
This deck may not have made top eight of the event, but multiple players did post decent records with it over the weekend. Temur Prowess has already begun flexing its muscles in Magic Online Challenges, too, so we felt it deserved to be highlighted. To start, we need to focus on the main synergies that give the deck its power.
Valley Floodcaller at the Helm
- Mana Value: 2U
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- MTG Sets: Bloomburrow
- Text: Flash. You may cast noncreature spells as though they had flash. Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, Birds, Frogs, Otters, and Rats you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. Untap them.
The primary objective of this deck is to combine the power of Valley Floodcaller and Enduring Vitality. Valley Floodcaller is a powerful card that lets you untap all creatures of specific types every time you cast a noncreature spell. They also grow in the process.
Well, what if all of your creatures could tap for mana? Because Valley Floodcaller itself is an Otter, with Enduring Vitality out, you can tap Valley Floodcaller to cast a one-mana noncreature spell, untap it, and repeat the process.
This synergy is surprisingly resilient. Even if Enduring Vitality dies, it comes back as an enchantment that still gives your other creatures the ability to tap for mana. In the case of Valley Floodcaller, because it has Flash, you can wait until the coast is clear to jam it.
Things get even crazier when you have access to Stormchaser’s Talent. Right away, you get a 1/1 Otter when Stormchaser’s Talent enters to benefit from Valley Floodcaller’s ability. Eventually, you can level it up and start flooding the board with Otters.
Notably, if you have enough Otters in play, you can actually go infinite with Stormchaser’s Talent and This Town Ain’t Big Enough. Start by casting Stormchaser’s Talent, floating mana with your Otters and letting them untap. Then, cast This Town Ain’t Big Enough, bouncing Stormchaser’s Talent to your hand for two mana.
Replay Stormchaser’s Talent, and level it up to level 2. In doing so, you can return This Town Ain’t big Enough from your graveyard to your hand. As long as you have enough Otters in play to keep making mana each time you cast a noncreature spell, you can loop the enchantment and the instant over and over to make infinitely large Otters to attack with.
Valley Floodcaller, Stormchaser’s Talent, and Thundertrap Trainer all add to your Otter count. Funnily enough, Valley Floodcaller also untaps Rats, making Song of Totentanz a real threat. You can make a bunch of Rats that all tap for mana right away and go nuts. The world is your oyster as long as Valley Floodcaller sticks around.
Cheap Noncreature Spells
- Mana Value: G
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Murders at Karlov Manor
- Card Text: As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may collect evidence 8. (Exile cards with total mana value 8 or greater from your graveyard.) Search your library for a basic land card. If evidence was collected, instead search your library for a creature or land card. Reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Given how important Valley Floodcaller is to this deck’s gameplan, this deck utilizes a boatload of cheap noncreature spells, many of which dig for the potent Otter. For instance, Analyze the Pollen can search for Valley Floodcaller later in the game.
Torch the Tower is a solid removal spell early to help prevent you from getting run over by Gruul Prowess. Bushwhack acts as a cheap way to help you hit your land drops. After you have Valley Floodcaller+Enduring Vitality going, you can then use it as a fight spell to clear away a blocker.
You don’t always have to combo to win the game. Sometimes, simply casting a few noncreature spells and swinging with a handful of Otters will get the job done.
According to one of the pilots of the deck this weekend, Temur Prowess can assume the role of an aggro deck, a control deck, a combo deck, or a midrange deck depending on the matchup and situation. This deck’s flexibility is a big advantage, so make sure you know how you want to approach things as you play.
An Interesting Position
- Mana Value: 1R
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- MTG Set: Bloomburrow
- Card Text: Haste. Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.) Valiant– Whenever Emberheart Challenger becomes the target of a spell or ability you control for the first time each turn, exile the top card of your library. Until end of turn, you may play that card.
Interestingly, despite the fact that this deck is quite versatile, the overall win rate data from the World Championship suggests that this deck’s matchups may be more polarized than expected. This deck had very close to a 50% win rate but managed to go 6-1 versus Dimir midrange.
At the same time, the archetype only boasted two wins in nine matches against Gruul Prowess. This does make some sense, as the red aggro decks present a quick clock and can remove Valley Floodcaller at instant speed on the cheap.
Gruul Prowess was the most played deck, so seeing Temur Prowess fail to make top eight isn’t too shocking. However, Dimir variants may pick up in popularity after four Dimir decks made top eight. So, perhaps there’s room for this deck to grow as the metagame evolves.
At the end of the day, it’s cool to see such a wide variety of decks make their presences felt on the biggest stage. Temur Prowess is a very difficult deck to play, but if you’re up for the challenge, definitely give it a shot.
