Since the release of Secrets of Strixhaven, the Standard metagame has unsurprisingly experienced some major shifts. While different variants of Izzet have collectively dominated right out of the gates, other archetypes have received some much-needed bolstering, like Golgari Midrange. By incorporating two high-powered four-drops, this deck has improved both its closing speed and its grinding power.
Old Ramp, New Payoffs
Like many existing Golgari Midrange Standard shells, a lot of the power behind this decklist lies with its elite ramp elements. Llanowar Elves and Badgermole Cub are still the best cards in the business at accelerating you towards your bigger plays. What has changed, however, are the cards some players are looking to ramp into.
While Ouroboroid is still a great finisher option, Tragedy Feaster adds a unique dynamic to this deck. Both creatures pressure the opponent well, but Tragedy Feaster’s massive toughness helps it dodge damage-based removal. Additionally, this creature’s Ward ability makes bouncing it or tapping it with Eddymurk Crab a costly maneuver.
The downside, of course, is that you’ll have to continue sacrificing permanents if you can’t trigger Infusion every turn. Luckily, because Tragedy Feaster is a demon, the presence of Unholy Annex makes this a trivial task. This one-two punch threatens to end games extremely quickly, further pressuring your opponent to remove Tragedy Feaster.
Notably, Professor Dellian Fel‘s first ability reliably triggers Infusion, too, while also circumventing the life loss from Unholy Annex if you don’t control a demon. At the same time, his second ability naturally excels in grindy games, and his third ability helps keep him alive in the face of big bombs. If that weren’t enough, you can even threaten his ultimate on your subsequent turn, making all future copies significantly scarier. Presenting all of this upside on an efficient Planeswalker is no joke. It’s no wonder this card is making waves in Pioneer as well.
Supporting Cast
With the addition of a game-altering Planeswalker to this archetype, it’s never been more important to keep the opponent’s board clear in the early turns. This is why this decklist is chock full of cheap removal spells like Requiting Hex and Shoot the Sheriff.
Importantly, Witherbloom Command also fills this role and is quite an underrated new addition to the deck. Besides just answering small creatures, this Instant tags problematic noncreature permanents. Plus, using the first mode in attrition battles or the second mode post-Planeswalker ultimate can be quite strong.
In the event your opponent creates a wide battlefield of creatures in short order, this deck even features Vicious Rivalry as a catch-up mechanism. Once again, Professor Dellian Fel’s life gain ability comes in clutch in helping you pay this Sorcery’s additional cost without falling too far behind.
On the flip side, however, as essential as it is to keep the board clear so your win conditions can take over, it’s equally as important to ensure your big plays resolve. This is where cheap discard spells like Duress come into play. While this decklist is slanted towards creature interaction, the extra copies of Duress and Cruelclaw’s Heist in the sideboard play a pivotal role against control decks.
A Flexible Gameplan
Overall, a big part of what makes Golgari Midrange so intriguing in Standard is that the new additions all help improve this deck’s position versus Izzet. Tragedy Feaster outsizes Eddymurk Crab and is too big for even Broadside Barrage to kill. Alternatively, if your opponent is holding up for Get Out, you can sidestep that with Professor Dellian Fel, swinging the game in your favor. Add on the fact that Witherbloom Charm answers Slickshot Show-Off and Stormchaser’s Talent, and you’ve got a solid game plan.
Given how dominant Izzet decks are in Standard currently, Golgari Midrange is a decent metacall. Yet, thanks to the deck’s versatile game plan, Golgari Midrange still has game against other decks. Versus Ouroboroid decks, your wealth of removal spells gives you a great chance to dominate the late game without getting run over. On the other end of the spectrum, against Jeskai Control, curving a discard spell into Professor Dellian Fel or Unholy Annex helps you bury your opponent in card advantage.
Obviously, this isn’t to say that Golgari Midrange doesn’t have its fair share of weaknesses. Game-wrecking spells like Sapling Nursery out of Mono-Green Landfall, for example, can go over the top of your incremental advantages. Similarly, while your card advantage engine shines versus Jeskai Control, a well-timed Jeskai Revelation can be problematic. Even in these spots, though, the pressure Tragedy Feaster puts on gives you a shot to win before these bombs land.
Ultimately, it’s still quite early in Secrets of Strixhaven Standard, so there’s still a lot of room for innovation. with this in mind, we’ll just have to wait and see how the metagame evolves and develops over the coming weeks nad months.
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