Back when Faithless Looting was unbanned, there was a lot of initial hype surrounding the Izzet Phoenix archetype that was once by far the strongest thing to be doing in Modern. There was also some hope that Looting could revitalize Dredge, which has died off over the last few years. Ironically, neither strategy resurfaced in a big way.
However, what happens when we combine the grindy elements of Dredge with the explosive potential of Arclight Phoenix? We get a really sweet build that just boasted a 5-0 Magic Online Modern League run! For those who enjoy off-the-wall graveyard decks, look no further.
Dredge Package
At a baseline, this build has a lot in common with traditional Dredge shells. Your goal is to get a card with Dredge into the graveyard, then utilize card draw effects to turbo-Mill yourself.
In the Dredge slots, Stinkweed Imp and Golgari Thug are your options that Mill you the fastest. A full playset of Life From the Loam then makes an appearance alongside a couple copies of Darkblast.
While their Dredge number is smaller than that of Golgari Thug, both cards have a lot more utility. Darkblast keeps small creatures in check, while Life from the Loam acts as a way to buyback lands and thus strengthen Faithless Looting and Conflagrate. Pairing Life from the Loam with Boseiju, Who Endures is a great way to keep artifact decks in check and blow up your Belcher opponent’s mana sources.
Once you get your Dredge engine rolling, Faithless Looting and Cathartic Reunion accelerate the Milling process. Milling over copies of Creeping Chill puts your opponent under pressure and buys you extra time.
You’ll also find four copies of Burning Inquiry, which serve a similar purpose as Looting and Reunion. Burning Inquiry is a bit of a high variance inclusion compared to other options, but considering how graveyard-oriented this deck is, it pulls its weight. Plus, once you factor in the Arclight Phoenix package, it’s best to maximize your spell efficiency to enable big turns.
Arclight Phoenix Package
Where this deck takes a sharp turn is in the creature section. Many Dredge decks make use of Silversmote Ghoul and Narcomoeba alongside Prized Amalgam. As you continue to Dredge, hitting Narcomoeba or Milling over Creeping Chill with Ghouls in your graveyard will enable you to add pressure to the board without investing any mana. Resurrecting Narcomoeba or Ghoul then triggers any copies of Prized Amalgam in your graveyard to return to play at the beginning of your next end step.
These creatures provide inevitability and make it easy to grind through removal. Yet, here, none of them make an appearance. Instead, four copies of Arclight Phoenix show up.
Arclight Phoenix is a very interesting inclusion. It synergizes with Faithless Looting and Burning Inquiry, and as you continue to Dredge, you’re bound to end up with copies of Arclight Phoenix in your graveyard. You just need access to more cheap spells so you can return those Phoenixes to play on command.
Fortunately, Lava Dart works overtime in this department. Just like Darkblast, Lava Dart does an excellent job preventing Ocelot Pride or Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer from getting out of control. Then, later in the game, its free Flashback ability comes in handy to help bring back your Phoenixes.
Outside of Boseiju, every land in your deck is either a Mountain or fetches a Mountain. This means that even in the event you don’t naturally draw any copies of Lava Dart over the course of the game, you can always Flashback three copies from your graveyard in one turn and return all of your Phoenixes to play at no cost!
Sure, you’ve sacrificed three lands, but if your opponent is taking lethal damage from your Phoenixes, this won’t matter. Between Creeping Chill, Lava Dart, and Conflagrate, you have enough burn that a single attack with a bunch of Phoenixes will often end the game.
Metagame Considerations
This explosive endgame is part of what gives Phoenix Dredge an edge in the current metagame. As good as Prized Amalgam is, it’s slow at actually getting the game over with. By contrast, Arclight Phoenix has Flying and Haste, so bringing back multiple copies at once gives you a shot to win that same turn.
This is a big deal given how combo-heavy Modern has become. Belcher, Amulet Titan, and Ruby Storm all see plenty of play. Having a better shot at racing goes a long way in improving these matchups. On top of that, being able to run Lava Dart makes the Boros Energy matchup less concerning.
Of course, playing any Dredge variant does put you at risk against graveyard hate. This Phoenix variant is also softer to cards like High Noon, which traditional Dredge decks would fight through with no issue.
This deck is far from perfect and is unlikely to burst into the top tier anytime soon. Still, it has some redeeming qualities that give it a chance to compete against the best decks in the format. Both Dredge and Phoenix strategies have made very little noise this year, so seeing a shell that blends both ideas together showcase some resiliency is nice.
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