This weekend, many players attended SCG Con Orlando to jam lots of Standard games. From the main event to Regional Championship Qualifiers on the side, there were lots of competitive tournaments for players to join. Unsurprisingly, Izzet Cauldron was as dominant as ever across the events, showcasing just how brutal the Standard environment is to other strategies.
Interestingly, though, one player actually managed to win a Qualifier event, going undefeated with a unique mono-black aggro shell. This deck even features a Skeleton package that provides extra grinding power against removal. Seeing a brew have success like this out of nowhere is awesome, and we felt it deserved to be highlighted.
Staying Aggressive
The goal behind this deck is to get on board early. That way, you can apply pressure while using removal and discard spells to keep your opponent off-balance.
In the one-drop slot, creatures like Cecil, Dark Knight and Forsaken Miner each attack for two damage. Cecil is naturally difficult to block profitably thanks to its stat line and Deathtouch. Meanwhile, Forsaken Miner is trivial to bring back to the battlefield in the event it dies given your density of ways to commit crimes.
At two mana, Sunset Saboteur hits hard. Obviously, buffing your opponent’s creatures is costly every time you attack. However, if you have removal at the ready, you can mitigate the downside by simply killing whatever creature you’re forced to enlarge. Between Bitter Triumph, Tragic Trajectory, Strategic Betrayal, and beyond, you have plenty of ways to slow your opponent down.
This deck is so aggressively slanted that you’ll even find a few copies of Rot-Curse Rakshasa in the decklist. You’ll get one big hit in, and then you can use its Renew ability to let your other threats attack past problematic blockers.
Skeleton Package
Like mono-black aggro Pioneer decks of old, though, part of what gives this deck an advantage is how well your cards play in attrition battles. Forsaken Miner is recursive. Sunset Saboteur has a Ward ability making it frustrating for the opponent to remove. From there, Dark Confidant and Tinybones, the Pickpocket can generate value as long as they stick around.
To bolster both your assertive and grindy gameplans, Corpses of the Lost goes a long way. Corpses of the Lost is a huge piece of the puzzle that gives the deck a ton of staying power.
By itself, this enchantment nets you a 3/2 with Haste for three mana. This is a bit below the curve, but you’ll usually be able to get more bang for your buck out of the enchantment. First of all, buffing all of your other Skeletons is a big deal. Any copies of Forsaken Miner or Tinybones you draw later in the game will be able to attack immediately and hit for extra damage. Case of the Stashed Skeleton gets better as well, as the token you create when it enters will be more threatening.
If any of your creatures get blocked down in combat, you’ll be given the option to return Corpses of the Lost to your hand at the beginning of your end step so you can continue pumping out Skeleton tokens. You can even set up Descended by attacking with Rot-Curse Rakshasa, which will go to the graveyard at the end of combat via Decayed.
Corpses of the Lost also works perfectly in multiples. The extra stat bonus is great, and as games go long, triggering Descended becomes more problematic for your opponent.
Interesting Metagame Position
Mono-black Skeletons is undoubtedly an off-the-wall strategy, but it actually attacks the metagame pretty well. At this point, the metagame is dominated by Izzet Cauldron. There are a few other decks like mono-red and Dimir midrange you should expect to play against, too, though no deck comes close in representation to Izzet Cauldron.
Because of this, many Izzet players are focused on the mirror match. There are less copies of Torch the Tower to worry about, as Abrade and Into the Flood Maw have become more common options in the maindeck. This means that your copies of Forsaken Miner are more likely to keep coming back from the graveyard, and the gameplan of coming out of the gates quickly can put your Izzet opponent on the backfoot.
On top of that, both Strategic Betrayal and Intimidation Tactics serve as excellent tools to keep Agatha’s Soul Cauldron in check. You do need to be weary of your Izzet opponent using Sunset Saboteur’s Ward ability as a way to discard Vivi Ornitier on command, and Intimidation Tactics can make that less of an issue by stripping your opponent of Cauldron beforehand.
Moving past Izzet Cauldron, Forsaken Miner and the rest of your Skeleton package improve your Dimir midrange matchup significantly. Unfortunately, many of your creatures aren’t the best blockers (Forsaken Miner literally can’t block), so you’re pretty reliant on your removal spells to keep pace with mono-red. A fast start from mono-red backed up by big Hasty threats like Nova Hellkite may be tough to beat.
The good news is that you aren’t vulnerable to Sunspine Lynx. Sideboard cards like Qarsi Revenant make the matchup more manageable as well.
Izzet Cauldron is a force to be reckoned with. Regardless, it’s nice seeing players still try to adapt in cool ways. Mono-black aggro is no joke, so don’t be shocked if you see more Skeletons overperforming in events in the future.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!