Few Magic: The Gathering mechanics have had a tougher time of it in recent years than Max Speed. Players panned this Aetherdrift addition when it was announced, and it hasn’t made much of an impact in terms of gameplay either. That said, it’s not too late for things to turn around. In an MTG Online Standard Challenge over the weekend, a Mono-Black deck running a Max Speed mechanic put up surprisingly solid results.
Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, that Max Speed only really works if you dedicate a lot of slots to it, this deck crushed it with just four total Max Speed cards. Perhaps this shift in thinking is what the mechanic needs to really succeed in Standard. In any case, it’s great to see these cards given a second chance in the new post-Tarkir metagame.
Mono-Black Max Speed MTG
The brave soul willing to take Max Speed out on the Mono-Black road this week was MTG player cool95. Running a modified Demons list with a small Max Speed package attached, they came second in Sunday’s 104-player MTGO Standard Challenge.
For the most part, this deck is Mono-Black business as usual. You curve out efficient threats like Deep-Cavern Bat and Preacher of the Schism, and close things out with Sheoldred. What Max Speed adds is a new top end for the deck, and a way to push for explosive topdeck wins in the mid to late game.
The former comes in the form of The Speed Demon. Most agreed this was the best of the Max Speed cards during preview season, and it’s proving that assertion right with its performance here. The fact that it can draw you cards regardless of your prior Speed progress is fantastic. It’s also just an efficient threat that can take on Sheoldred and Beza effectively, which is big in current Standard.
The latter is provided by Amonkhet Raceway, which definitely flew under the radar when compared to Muraganda Raceway’s pseudo-Ancient Tomb effect. The advantages of this card here are twofold. First of all, it’s a solid turn one play in a deck that’s very light on one drops. Second, it gives you a lot of momentum later on, allowing your Sheoldreds and Speed Demons to smash right in.
Amonkhet Raceway gets even better when you consider the deck’s final new card, Qarsi Revenant. While not a Max Speed piece by any means, this card can turn any of your creatures into Lifelinking threats, made even scarier by Raceway’s Haste. This is particularly good on The Speed Demon, to counteract the life loss from its ability.
A Worthy Evolution?
The additions Max Speed brings to classic Mono-Black are certainly interesting, and clearly good enough to get real results in an MTG tournament. The question now is whether this package will stick around, or simply be a fun gimmick for one event only.
Overall, I think the former is more likely. The opportunity cost to including Max Speed in the deck is low, and the potential upside is huge. The deck as it is lacks consistent draw outside of Unholy Annex and Preacher, so getting a huge mid-game draw boost from The Speed Demon is a big advantage. The fact that the card plays perfectly with Annex is nice icing on the cake.
Amonkhet Raceway is also a safe addition, helping with the consistency of the package while not really detracting from anything else the deck is doing. One of the big advantages of playing Mono-Color is that you can afford to run colorless utility lands like this. In fact, there’s probably an argument for throwing in a Muraganda Raceway or two as well, to fuel all those extra cards drawn by The Speed Demon.
For now, it looks like the simple four-card Max Speed package might be catching on. Following cool95’s second place finish over the weekend, Slatorade split the Standard Challenge yesterday with a near-identical list. If this keeps up, we may see Max Speed become a key part of Standard Mono-Black decks going forward.
That sounds like a grandiose claim for a mechanic that really only saw use in one niche deck before now, but the data supports such an argument. Turns out Max Speed, as on real-world roads, is best in small doses.