In a format that heavily emphasizes playing and sticking powerful creature threats and draining tons of life, there probably should be a deck to hose that kind of heavy-aggro strategy. In theory, this is that deck.
This is a mono white midrange deck with the express purpose of stabilizing in this meta. Against most aggro matchups, if we're able to resolve either a Depopulate on turn 4 or a The Eternal Wanderer on turn 6 we usually are able to begin the midgame with a massive advantage as we start resolving our turn 4-6 haymakers. But on turns 2-4 this deck begins to shine with its flexible array of card advantage, removal, and utility. In a format ruled by Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Phyrexian Obliterator, Rabble Rousing and many, many others, it's fairly vital we have a game plan for such explosive, aggressive, go-wide strategies.
Swooping Lookout is a great card to get out early, and quite honestly one of the best white one drops ever printed. 1/2 evasive flier for 1 that slots perfectly into our Getaway Car strategy later on, and defends against mites and other weak threats. It's also a constant evasive clock for the opponent, which will matter eventually.
Ambitious Farmhand
is the bread and butter of this deck. 1/1 for 2 that tutors us a basic plains. We can always use more mana fixing as we approach the midgame and start getting to The Eternal Wanderer mana. This creature can also crew Getaway Car, and if bounced can provide as many basic plains as the opponent is willing to allow. This will drain the land cards from our deck, thinning it out and increasing the likelihood of drawing more powerful cards in the mid to late game.
Fateful Absence is our tried and true removal against aggro. 2 mana and completely unconditional against creatures and planeswalkers. The downside, of course, is that they get the permenant ability to draw with the clue, but because that causes a tempo loss on the turn they make that play, it kind of evens out. Remember, if we can slow down the aggro deck by giving them card advantage and protecting yourself early we probably should.
Ossification is the other 2-mana removal spell we're able to rock in this deck. We should always have a basic plains to enchant between our Ambitious Farmhand
and Restoration of Eiganjo, and we can use this enchantment as our new and improved Journey to Nowhere to hose the more powerful creatures in aggro with our Oblivion Ring effect. The twist with this card is that we can reanimate it for free with Restoration of Eiganjo at the start of our turn with the second ability to pretty much cast a free removal spell at the start of our turn that can hit planeswalkers. Pretty much perfect fot this deck.
Tablet of Compleation now means that every color has access to ramp and card advantage in the current Standard, given enough time has passed. With us, we can slam this card turn 2 and have it able to generate the extra mana turn 4 or 5 to jam an Elspeth Resplendent or The Eternal Wanderer. Late game it straight up draws us cards and helps us defend against more controlling strategies. This can also be restored with Eiganjo, albeit tapped so we can't put oil counters on the turn it comes down.
Getaway Car is the breakout star of this deck. I honestly had no idea how to use this card when it was released, but over time I saw the light. Essentially this is a vehicle with amazing stats and the ability to bounce our own creatures, which can matter a ton in specific contexts. It also has haste, which can take a lot of decks completely by surprise to slam this turn 3, crew it, and swing for a fifth of their starting life total each following turn. It can also be used to bounce Ambitious Farmhand
and Architect of Restoration, guaranteeing us more value in the late game if we need it. Additionally, it's completely immune to sorcery speed removal and boardwipes, and with its cheap cost and haste can't be bounced or slowed down very easily. Nothing good may start in a getaway car, but this card is a pretty good finisher late game, especially on an empty board.
We can also use Kayla's Command to buff the car to be a 5/4 threat with haste and double strike. As it turns out, ten damage more or less out of nowhere can make a pretty big difference in terms of life totals.
Kayla's Command was another card that I knew I wanted to build around, but didn't understand what it was meant to be used for. This cards' strength comes from its flexability of course, and in mono white that can mean two of four different modes.
- Create a 2/2 artifact creature. Pretty self explanatory, this mode is good if stabilizing is the goal.
- Put a +1/+1 counter on a creature. It gains double strike until end of turn. People were super low on this because the command is a sorcery, but that really doesn't matter that much in a deck like this. The point of this mode is to turn 4 damage into 10, or 3 damage into 8 and put on the pressure.
- Get a free plains. Always nice, and necessary if we're meaning to ramp to 6 mana and jam The Eternal Wanderer and others.
- Gain 2, scry 2. Good against aggro because of the lifegain, and the scry is nice to make sure we don't get flooded out in terms of what we draw.
The Restoration of Eiganjo
is the glue that binds this deck together. All three modes are super relevant in this deck; we want the plains, we can recur a wide variety of permanents when we discard the card, and the 3/4 threat is universally good. Bouncing this with Getaway Car will start this process over again; other then that we want to use this card to stabilize as best we can.
Elspeth Resplendent is our first major threat in the midgame. Ideally we'd like to slam this turn 4, but typically we want to use her -3 to shed off value against mono black and aggro. If we already have a creature on the board, always consider granting those creatures lifelink and vigilance first to stabilize, and flying/first strike to push forwards and pressure the opponent's life total. Hilariously, Elspeth acts a little like a red herring in this deck, drawing out any potential attacks and planeswalker removal to check it the coast is clear to resolve this deck's most powerful card.
The Eternal Wanderer is, in my humble opinion, one of the most powerful 6 mana planeswalkers ever printed. She eviscerates aggro with her powerful threats and boardwipe, and forces your most powerful creature into single combat with one of their weakest. Let's break this card down:
- Passive: No more than one creature can attack The Eternal Wanderer each combat.
This line of text is absolutely insane, and a game changer in a lot of different ways unique to this card. This means that she has a constant, passive Crawlspace-esque effect that protects her from being overwhelmed by threats, which makes protecting her in combat a cakewalk. Only one threat can ever attack her at once, and if only one threat does turn itself sideways, we have our creature(s) to defend. Remember, they can only swing with one creature, but we can block with all of ours!
- +1: Exile up to one target artifact or creature. Return that card to the battlefield under its owner’s control at the beginning of that player’s next end step.
This is a nice ability to have, but not the reason we run this card in our deck. A blink effect that triggers ETB for us, and an oppressive way for us to displace their threats for the upcoming combat. The way this ability is worded, if the creature we exiled was owned by the opponent, they have to wait all the way until their next end step to get it back.
- 0: Create a 2/2 white Samurai creature token with double strike.
I probably don't need to say it, but spawning a 2/2 double striker every single turn is a pretty powerful strategy. Keep in mind we can grant Elspeth's +1 bonus to this token, potentially turning it into a 2/2 with flying and double strike, or a 2/2 with lifelink and double strike. We're pretty happy either way.
- 4: For each player, choose a creature that player controls. Each player sacrifices all creatures they control not chosen this way.
Bar none one of the most powerful boardwipe effects ever printed as you can choose both creatures that get to survive, unlike Divine Reckoning. The closest comparison I can really make is Tragic Arrogance, as we get to choose what survives in this wipe the same way. The main difference being that the Wanderer's -4 specifies creatures rather than all nonland permenants, which is fair for the cost. Essentially, in today's aggro world this is the haymaker we're always building towards. Her -4 can happen as she comes down immediately and simplifies the battlefield greatly in your favor. Of course, if the opponent has removal for the creature you chose to survive on your side, she dies to the backswing. This is essentially the opponent's main counterplay to this strategy of slamming Wanderer and causing a board wipe, which is fair.
Mirrex is bonkers. This is essentially a white mana source as it comes down the first turn and colorless every turn after, but the main reason we play this card is the mites. Making a 1/1 toxic mite for four mana every single turn on an empty board is no joke, and will eventually turn an empty board into an army. The mites can also crew Getaway Car!
Mishra's Factory is our other utility land. Manlands are just great generally, and our deck doesn't need that many white sources overall, so this seems to make sense to include just because we can. Crashing in or blocking for 2-4 every turn is pretty useful. Also the secret ability that buffs attacking Assembly-Worker creatures can be a neat combat trick if the opponent doesn't read the card (A good portion of them don't).
The Fair Basilica replaces some of our Plains because of its raw utility, but not too many. I want to make sure we don't run our of plains to tutor by the late game, so if the numbering seems strange that's why.
