The Swiss rounds of Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven have finally concluded, and already there are some surprising results. While Izzet Prowess was certainly the deck to beat coming into the weekend, it failed to put a player into the top eight. The archetype clearly had a target on its back, and preparing for the matchup was a priority.
With this in mind, some players turned to unique brews in hopes of fending off the Izzet menace. One of these decks brought by three players of TeamMainPhase actually boasted a 60% win rate during the event, with all three players making day two. Dubbed Mardu Discard, this archetype features multiple new upgrades that help give the deck its edge.
Explosive, Consistent, and Versatile
At a baseline, Mardu Discard has a lot in common with Rakdos Discard decks pre-Strixhaven. A big piece of the puzzle still lies with Marauding Mako and Moonshadow, which are aggressive one-drops that both grow each time you discard a card. When paired with Iron-Shield Elf, these one-mana creatures can threaten to grow huge at a moment’s notice.
Now, thanks to the release of two white Secrets of Strixhaven cards, maximizing Marauding Mako and Moonshadow has become even easier. Hardened Academic, for instance, offers the same mass discard upside as Iron-Shield Elf, adding some much-needed redundancy to the deck’s game plan. Then, once you have an enormous creature ready to connect in combat, Practiced Offense threatens to end the game by giving your beefy one-drop Double Strike.
This added level of explosiveness is enough to strike fear in your opponent’s eyes, but notably, this deck is still capable of playing longer games. When necessary, rather than going all-in and getting blown out by removal, simply discarding Bloodghast and pecking away with your creatures can be enough to win. Cool But Rude also excels against decks with lots of removal. Simply Leveling up the enchantment once can help you win games without you ever needing to connect in combat.
Beating the Top Dogs
Having this flexible approach gives Mardu Discard a real shot to beat many different top-tier decks in the format. Obviously, having a strong plan versus Izzet is essential, and this deck has a lot of pluses in the matchup. While Boomerang Basics is something to watch out for, it’s a sorcery, so you don’t have to worry about getting blown out when going for a kill. There’s a reason Mardu Discard’s top performer boasted a 5-1 record versus Prowess variants.
Similarly, this deck’s speed comes in handy versus Landfall, a deck with minimal disruption of its own. With Landfall variants making up half of the Pro Tour top eight, Mardu Discard’s appeal could end up growing.
At the same time, though, Mardu Discard is hardly dead against interactive decks like Jeskai Control thanks to its wave of grindy elements. Fighting through disruption only gets easier after sideboarding due to Voice of Victory‘s static ability.
Ultimately, while Mardu Discard failed to make the top eight, its impressive showing should not be ignored. It’ll be interesting to see how the Standard metagame continues to evolve, but don’t be shocked if this deck’s stock continues to rise.
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