Since rotation, one archetype style that we haven’t seen a ton of in Standard is ramp. Considering that some of the elite multicolor payoffs like Leyline Binding rotated out of the format and Up the Beanstalk was banned, it makes some sense why this strategy would struggle.
Nonetheless, ramp decks still have some appeal. Being able to overwhelm your opponent with haymakers is a great way to go over the top of midrange decks.
Well, just a couple days ago, a really cool Temur ramp shell emerged that plays a lot of beefy threats. You’ll even find an enormous Hydra Avatar legend in the mix that will end games in a jiffy once it sticks. There’s a lot going on here, so why don’t we start by taking a look at the ramp elements that make casting your bombs possible.
Ramp and Interaction
During the first handful of turns, your goals as a Temur ramp player are pretty simple. You want to accelerate towards your big threats while also keeping your head above water. For this reason, you’ll find a healthy mix of ramp cards and interaction to stave off early pressure.
Two of your strongest ramp pieces come in the three-mana slot. Summon: Fenrir is up first and does everything you want. Its first chapter pulls you closer to casting your five-mana and six-mana spells. The second chapter isn’t anything special, but if you can cast another copy of Summon: Fenrir or hard-cast Overlord of the Hauntwoods, it’ll enter with a +1/+1 counter and set up chapter III nicely.
Speaking of Overlord of the Hauntwoods, this creature can also be cast for three mana via its Impending cost. If you don’t have Summon: Fenrir lined up, this is a great option to have.
From there, Esper Origins is a neat inclusion that provides a lot of value when you flash it back. As a 4/4 that likely draws you a card thanks to chapter I, Esper Origins already pulls its weight.
However, Temur ramp also makes decent use out of the mana production from chapter II. As we will see in the next section, there are some potent cards that cost between six and eight mana that get a lot better if you can cast them ahead of schedule.
As for disruption, Ill-Timed Explosion is definitely your best bet. Ill-Timed Explosion is a reliable board wipe, since you’re almost guaranteed to have something big to discard. In some games, you’ll even be able to set up a window where you land a big creature, then use Ill-Timed Explosion as a pseudo-Plague Wind. Against decks without many creatures, using this sorcery to draw two cards is perfectly fine, too.
You’ll also find a few copies of Into the Flood Maw and Scorching Dragonfire. Into the Flood Maw is a good tempo play that shines due to its efficiency. Scorching Dragonfire is a strong removal spell that cleanly answers Enduring Curiosity and Enduring Innocence as a bonus.
Payoffs
As you continue to keep your opponent off-balance and develop your mana, your main goal is to find a copy of Smuggler’s Surprise. Smuggler’s Surprise is the ultimate payoff. At six mana, you can always use this card to cheat in two fatties to take over the game with.
Your two best creatures to put on the battlefield are Ureni, the Song Unending and Progenitus. Progenitus is definitely the flashiest option, and one that has players hyped. Thanks to the “Protection from Everything” clause, removing or blocking Progenitus is essentially off the table. As a 10/10, good luck racing it!
Ureni is devastating in its own right, though, and is actually quite castable by contrast. The second chapter of Esper Origins will often set you up to cast the Dragon just fine.
Having the luxury of casting your bombs is part of what makes this archetype stronger than it may appear. Overlord of the Boilerbilges and Marang River Regent aren’t as game-breaking as Ureni and Progenitus, but they can still pull you super far ahead and aren’t difficult to cast.
If you don’t have any huge creatures in your hand to cheat into play with Smuggler’s Surprise, you can always use the first mode to dig for them. Sometimes, you’ll have eight mana to work with to make use of both of the first two modes together. The world is your oyster once you get your mana engine rolling.
The Midrange Killer
Where Temur ramp is at its best is in matchups where you aren’t under a ton of pressure. Against a deck like Dimir midrange, once you start resolving your top-end bombs, your opponent is in a lot of trouble. There are some fast starts involving Kaito-Bane of Nightmares that may be able to put you under duress, but in many cases, you’ll have enough time to ramp to your payoffs.
Your Sagas all generate value even in the event your opponent removes them right away. The same can be said for your Overlords. If Ureni ever hits the battlefield, you’ll decimate your opponent’s board. The Dragon even has Protection from black, making it immune to traditional removal spells from Dimir midrange.
Azorius control is another matchup where you’ll have time to craft your gameplan. Playing around counter magic isn’t always easy. However, the presence of Cavern of Souls helps a lot in that regard.
Where things get dicey is versus the red decks. Red aggro is obviously awkward. If you don’t draw Into the Flood Maw early, you risk getting run over. As good as Ill-Timed Explosion is as a catchup mechanism, it’s not the best versus hasty threats (especially Screaming Nemesis.)
The Izzet Cauldron matchup isn’t ideal, either, and this deck is EVERYWHERE. Izzet Cauldron threatens to attack early and often with Marauding Mako and Fear of Missing Out. If you’re lucky enough to remove these threats before they get out of control, you still have to deal with follow-ups like Tersa Lightshatter, which get scarier in conjunction with Proft’s Eidetic Memory.
We haven’t even brought up Agatha’s Soul Cauldron and Vivi Ornitier. This combination is outrageous, and you don’t have much in the way of instant speed removal to break things up.
In this sense, Temur ramp has its flaws. Perhaps if Izzet Cauldron gets nerfed in the near future (this is unlikely, but following the deck’s dominance at the Arena Championship, an emergency ban isn’t out of the question), ramp will have more time to shine. The core is certainly powerful, so make sure to keep it on your radar in case any metagame shifts make ramp more appealing.
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