Going into this weekend, the best players from across the globe worked hard to prepare for the Magic World Championship. With the Standard format being so fresh, any advantage in deckbuilding and metagaming could go a long way towards individual success.
Now, as the event continues to unfold, we’ve gotten to see some really unique card choices thrive in this high stakes environment. Many of these forgotten or underappreciated tools are capable of swinging matchups in your favor, and it’s nice to see them finally get some love.
Gwen Stacy//Ghost-Spider
While the main story of the World Championship has been the breakout of Izzet Lessons, that wasn’t the only archetype featuring blue and red to have success. Jeskai Control had a strong day showing in the hands of Jennifer-Rose Holloway, who piloted a list featuring some cool inclusions.
When looking at the decklist, no card stands out more than Gwen Stacy, a card that has seen minimal Standard play up to this point. Thanks to its synergy with Shiko, Paragon of the Way, however, it has a lot of appeal in Jeskai Control. By resolving Shiko with Gwen in your graveyard, you can cast the Ghost-Spider half via Shiko’s trigger for free, immediately bashing for four damage. Even without major synergies to maximize Ghost-Spider’s triggered abilities, simply presenting two enormous fliers will be enough to close out many games.
What’s nice about this synergy is that it helps you turn the corner out of nowhere. It’s pretty easy to cast Gwen Stacy early in the game, get some value, and then either trade her off or chump block to keep your life total high. Then, later on, pairing Ghost-Spider with some copies of Lightning Helix quickly puts your opponent on the backfoot. It’s easy to see why Jennifer referred to the archetype as “Jeskai Burn.”
The Unagi of Kyoshi Island
In a format where Izzet decks continue to reign supreme, one piece of tech from the World Championship that could easily garner more attention moving forward is The Unagi of Kyoshi Island. This Serpent is a bit mana-intensive for Standard, but the payoff is extremely high.
First of all, most Izzet decks don’t play a ton of creatures or artifacts, so paying the Ward cost to get this card off the board isn’t easy. Once in play, any copies of Abandon Attachments or Quantum Riddler your opponent wants to cast will only pull you further ahead on resources. As a beefy body with Flash, this creature does a solid job both as a surprise blocker and as a threatening attacker.
Between all of this upside, The Unagi of Kyoshi Island has utility in the sideboard of a variety of different blue archetypes. Temur Otters shells are built to play this bad boy ahead of schedule with Badgermole Cub and Enduring Vitality, but some players even found success with it in Izzet Lessons decks that feature no acceleration. Don’t be surprised if The Unagi of Kyoshi Island continues to pick up steam.
Absolute Virtue
Keeping the trend of exciting legends to make an impact in sideboards at the World Championship going, Absolute Virtue’s presence definitely caught me by surprise. Eight mana plays of any kind are typically too expensive to see Standard play, and Absolute Virtue has no built in protection whatsoever. Yet, in the current Standard metagame, Absolute Virtue can singlehandedly win games.
This legend made an appearance in a handful of Bant Airbending decklists as a one-of sideboard option. Thanks to the Fetch Quest half of Bramble Familiar, there are plenty of games where you’ll be able to cheat Absolute Virtue into play. Plus, with Badgermole Cub and a multitude of mana dorks in the mix, hard casting it or tutoring for it with Nature’s Rhythm isn’t an unrealistic feat.
Given that Simic Aggro generally plays very few ways if any to get this card off the board, there’s a good chance Absolute Virtue will buy you as much time as you need to set up a win. Absolute Virtue’s applications may be narrow, but its inclusion just goes to show that you can’t write off even the most innocuous-looking cards.
Slagstorm
While far less flashy, Slagstorm actually showed up in a high density of Izzet sideboards this weekend. Superior three-mana mini board wipes like Brotherhood’s End are no longer in Standard, and given that Slagstorm appeared in MTG Foundations, it’s easy to forget the card is even Standard legal.
Just the first mode alone makes Slagstorm a worthy consideration, given how well it lines up against Simic Aggro. Between Jackal, Genius Geneticist and Pawpatch Recruit, it’s easy for Simic Aggro to go wide in the face of single target removal. Having access to a strong catchup mechanism that cleanly deals with Surrak, Elusive Hunter is a huge boon. As the Standard metagame continues to evolve, make sure to keep your eye out for any other underrated gems that could be poised for a breakout.
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