Every now and again, a handful of cards that never really had a home have a breakout performance out of nowhere. Sometimes, forgotten cards become major players in a format after some synergistic pieces get released in a new set. Other times, it takes a player to bust out a unique brew to finally let these underrated cards have their time in the sun.
This past weekend, the ladder came to fruition. Magic Online player bobthedog put up a solid result in a Pioneer Challenge with a sweet Dimir control shell. This isn’t your typical control deck either. Instead, it’s looking to abuse Day’s Undoing.
Day’s Undoing is a weird card that was printed back in Magic Origins. It hasn’t really made its presence felt in the format, especially in recent months. Yet, this deck goes all in to try to maximize the strange sorcery. With some help, you can completely take over the game with it. You just need to have the right pieces around it.
Abusing Day’s Undoing
- Mana Value: 2U
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Card Type: Sorcery
- MTG Sets: Magic Origins, Commander Masters
- Card Text: Each player shuffles his or her hand and graveyard into his or her library, then draws seven cards. If it’s your turn, end the turn. (Exile all spells and abilities on the stack, including this card. Discard down to your maximum hand size. Damage wears off, and “this turn” and “until end of turn” effects end.)
Day’s Undoing is a very interesting card. On the surface, it looks really powerful. After all, it mimics the effects of Timetwister, which is a card so good it’s banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage. The problem comes with its final line of rules text: If it’s your turn, end the turn.
Generally, one of the best ways to utilize “Wheel” effects like this is to generate a mana advantage. From there, you can use your Wheel to refuel your hand and continue to cast more spells. Because Day’s Undoing ends the turn, your opponent gets to be the first player to get a crack at playing to the board with all their new resources.
There is, however, a way around this. If you can somehow cast Day’s Undoing on the opponent’s end step, you get to be the one to use all your new cards first. Luckily, Quicken does the trick. Once you get to four mana, this line of playing Quicken then jamming Day’s Undoing is one that’s available to you.
Where Day’s Undoing gets even more incredible is when you can pair it with a way to punish or prevent your opponent from drawing cards. Narset, Parter of Veils and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse fit the bill nicely.
With Narset in play, casting Day’s Undoing gives you an enormous resource advantage. The opponent will only get to draw one card off Day’s Undoing, while you draw seven. If you cast Day’s Undoing via Quicken during your opponent’s draw step, they instead draw zero cards and have nothing to play during their first main phase.
Sheoldred, by contrast, doesn’t directly prevent the opponent from drawing cards. Rather, Sheoldred forces them to straight up lose 14 life while you gain 14 life when Day’s Undoing resolves. Add in a few more Sheoldred triggers or a couple attacks with your man-lands and you’ll end the game in no time.
Control Elements
- Mana Value: B
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Type: Sorcery
- MTG Sets: Lorwyn, Theros, Iconic Masters, Double Masters, Time Spiral Remastered, Breaking News
- Card Text: Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life.
Having access to this style of combo finish is very useful, but only if you back it up with enough disruption to help set up your gameplan. In the one-mana slot, Thoughtseize and Fatal Push are as good as they come. Thoughtseize helps you clear a path to land Narset unscathed. Fatal Push then lets you protect Narset as well as your life total.
At two mana, Censor and Sheoldred’s Edict can further keep your opponent off-balance. Running a playset of Sheoldred’s Edict over other removal spells like Go for the Throat is a bit peculiar given the prevalence of go-wide creature decks, such as Selesnya Company, though they do come in clutch against Planeswalkers.
Rounding out the interaction in the maindeck, there are a couple board wipes. Deadly Cover-Up in particular does a great job sweeping away any problematic threats, letting you exile recursive creatures like Arclight Phoenix and banish the remaining copies in your opponent’s deck for good.
Importantly, these board wipes get even better thanks to Quicken. You don’t need to run the risk of dying to a Hasty beater from Rakdos Prowess after casting a board wipe on your turn. If you can buy time, you can guarantee that you untap with the battlefield empty.
Similarly, Quicken+Thoughtseize is a nice combination. Just wait for your opponent to go to their draw step. Then, you can nab any card you want, including the one they drew for turn. Thoughtseize is naturally a great card, but it works even better when your opponent doesn’t have the luxury of topdecking their way out of a bind when they untap.
A Surprising Metagame Position
- Mana Value: 7U
- Rarity: Common
- Card Type: Sorcery
- MTG Sets: Khans of Tarkir, Commander 2016, Commander Anthology Volume 2, Ultimate Masters, Time Spiral Remastered, Commander 2021, New Capenna Commander, Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander, Modern Horizons 3 Commander, Mystery Booster 2
- Card Text: Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for 1.) Draw three cards.
Overall, this deck has its strengths and weaknesses. While it doesn’t look like it will be in among the top echelon of decks anytime soon, there are some things to like about where it currently stands.
Against decks that are slow at playing to the board, the Narset+Day’s Undoing plan can be quite strong. Rakdos Demons is among the most played archetypes in Pioneer, and this strategy is well-positioned in the matchup. Narset helps shut down Unholy Annex, while your removal can keep beefy threats in check.
Narset is also a house against Izzet Phoenix. Cantrips, Treasure Cruise, and Artist’s Talent all get blanked by the Planeswalker.
The issue is that against decks like Selesnya Company that present a lot of creatures to the board, you really need your board wipes to have a shot. It can be really tough to find a window to actually stick Narset or Sheoldred.
Given how popular Rakdos Demons and Izzet Phoenix are, this deck definitely has some intriguing qualities. It’s nice to see Day’s Undoing getting some love after lying dormant for quite some time.
