Get To Know Your Metagame: Polymorph

Features

KrazyCaley

17 May 2010

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Core cards

Polymorph

Secondary cards

Everything else- most recent edition uses Emrakul, the Aeons Torn as the Polymorph goal, though you can also see Iona, Shield of Emeria, other Eldrazi, and various other huge nasty stuff. Besides the combo, the deck often uses counterspells and, if necessary, Vines of Vastwood and other protection. It is not uncommont to see Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and of course every Polymorph deck has an engine to make Polymorph targets, whether that's Wind Zendikon, Khalni Garden, Awakening Zone, or what have you.

How it works

Step 1- Have a non-creature card that somehow makes creatures- Wind Zendikon, Khalni Garden, etc.

Step 2- Cast Polymorph on the resulting token or zendikon or whatever.

Step 3- Oh look! The only creature to Polymorph to was Emrakul, the Aeons Torn! Well, gg.

How to beat it

This deck is a combo deck. Control decks beat combo decks. Control decks beat this deck. Anything that can counter Polymorph or destroy its target before it resolves will probably beat this deck, though you may have to plow through some counters from the other side.

Strangely enough, some aggro decks DO have good records against this deck. Vampires does fairly well because it can use Vampire Nighthawk to kill the big beater that comes out, though with Emrakul and his Annihiliator 6, that may be cold comfort nowadays. Vamps also usually have Vampire Hexmage mainboarded, which makes Jace a non-factor.

Polymorph is not really that serious a metagame contender because it's so easily taken apart. It's a one-trick pony, and if you stop the one trick, it has nothing else to fall back on. The problem is that if you can't stop the trick, it wins in extremely short order- there are few decks that can handle a turn 4 Iona, or a turn 4 Emrakul.

As a side note, beware if you run Jund or any other R/G-based deck. Increasingly, Sphinx of the Steel Wind is appearing in sideboards, though you think Emrakul would be a better option.

Good sideboard cards

Any counterspell and any instant speed removal. Duress works fairly well, as does Thought Hemorrhage and Sadistic Sacrament.

Tomorrow's Meta: Red Deck Wins