The Big Picture
"You're not going to die. You might wish you're going to die, but you're not going to. You need to settle down a little."
- Phantom Thread
When I first saw the announcement of Pioneer, and noticed that it started with Return to Ravnica, I was practically giddy with excitement. Finally, I would have a use for the
Sphinx's Revelation
s and Supreme Verdictss that were the bane of my existence back in that Standard environment. The only issue was a win condition. I didn't want to just stall the game out by recurring
Elixir of Immortality
over and over. I wanted to actually close out the game in a reasonably time frame. In comes
Approach of the Second Sun
. I never played Amonkhet Standard, but seemed like a fun way to win the game that wouldn't need to take up more than 2 slots in the deck. As an added bonus, the life gain would help stall the game out long enough to actually draw it again, while the card combos very well with cards that I would already want to include simply by playing a U/W control deck.
Some choice interactions include:
Jace, Architect of Thought
: I can cast the first Approach for free with Jace, then either cast one in my hand or an opponent's DTT to win the game on the spot if I have enough mana.
Dig Through Time
: DTT just so happens to go through 7 cards, meaning I can get the Approach I just cast, and all for UU, assuming my graveyard hasn't been pre-emptively exiled at this point.
Sphinx's Revelation
: Rev can also dig pretty deep, and has the added bonus over DTT of getting more than 2 cards and gaining life to stall the game out even further.
Besides these specific interactions, I made sure to include a lot of cards I could cycle or scry with to get to Approach more quickly.
Despite all of that, I want to know what you think: Is this actually a good strategy, or should I find a less gimmicky win condition and make my deck stronger overall? I have some other options mainboard, outlined below, but Approach remains the default strategy.
Additional Win Conditions
Castle Ardenvale
/
Elspeth, Sun's Champion
- makes a bunch of 1/1's and pokes the enemy to death. I considered
Mutavault
, but this doesn't require me to protect it with counterspells, and also costs less money :). Elspeth's ult works on the soldiers made by the castle too.
Jace, Architect of Thought
- can get me the opponent's best card if allowed to ult, on top of casting Approach for free.
AEtherling
- in the sideboard for the control mirror. Might use
Pearl Lake Ancient
or something else that's uncounterable instead. If at all possible, I would even consider splashing green for
Mistcutter Hydra
.
The rest of the deck:
I am still trying to work out the details on my counterspell and removal package. For now, I am pretty happy with my choices, but as I said in the intro, I am not familiar with a lot of the cards that got released in the past 2-3 years. If you know of anything better that I can use, I would really appreciate it.
Removal
Supreme Verdict
- simply the best removal spell in the deck. I see no good reason not to use 4 of them.
Settle the Wreckage
- exiling is good against phoenixes, and the fact that it's an instant makes it good against
Collected Company
, but I think Verdict is better overall, which is why I don't run so many of these mainboard. I have more in the side for when I need to use
Nyx-Fleece Ram
or when destroying creatures is inadvisable.
Azorius Charm
- is always relevant, and flexible. I run 4 for these reasons.
Blessed Alliance
- Being able to cast this, escalated, after using
Supreme Verdict
or when the opponent tries to either play around
Settle the Wreckage
or decides not to attack with a low powered creature due to Jace's + ability feels extremely good. I only run 2 because it's best in the mid-late game when the opponent only has 1 creature and I've already cast a board wipe.
Detention Sphere
and
Cast Out
- I've never encountered enchantment removal with local players, so I think they are here to stay.
Other removal spells I am considering:
Seal Away
or
Last Breath
- Exiling is definitely better than putting a creature on top of a library, and each has the advantage of being able to take care of utility creatures that won't be attacking but may need to be tapped or have low power.
Countermagic
Absorb
- this deck's bread and butter counterspell. The life gain keeps me alive longer, and it takes care of anything, which is why I run 4 of them. I would also consider
Sinister Sabotage
, which has the advantage of feeding DTT and digging into my first or second
Approach of the Second Sun
. I would go with a 2-2 split if I ended up using it.
Censor
- extremely good early game and can be cheaply cycled when it's no longer relevant. Without running a full set to ensure I have a good chance of seeing one in the early game, it basically ends up being a mediocre
Opt
, which is why I run 4 of them. Plus, it will still be very good against decks that like to tap out every turn.
Dovin's Veto
- has the huge advantage of being cheap and pre-emptively getting around
Stubborn Denial
and other annoying counterspells when trying to keep a planeswalker from hitting the board. However it's more specialized than Absorb and Censor, so I only include 2.
Other counterspells I am considering:
Disallow
- having the option to counter triggers and activated abilities would be nice. I expect to use no more than 2,though I don't know what to cut
Syncopate
- useful early and late game, and can exile a phoenix so it's gone for good. Might replace
Censor
entirely if that ends up being cut.
Card Draw
The presence of cycling cards means I don't feel the need to include smaller card draw spells like
Divination
or
Opt
, increasing the density of answers to any threats my opponents try to throw at me. So I only have one dedicated card draw spell.
Sphinx's Revelation
- the premier card draw spell in U/W, in my opinion. I think 3 is plenty, since casting just 1 is likely enough to effectively win the game, and can draw into the next Rev if it doesn't.
Sideboard Choices
Nyx-Fleece Ram
- better than
Authority of the Consuls
for most aggressive decks due to the ability to block and persistent life gain. Might try to mix it up with Authority to play around the opponent siding spot removal in and out of their deck.
Hallowed Moonlight
- better than a simple counterspell against
Collected Company
and
Neoform
since it replaces itself and lets me bait the opponent into casting the aforementioned cards by leaving U sources tapped.
AEtherling
- I remember this being a powerhouse when it was in Standard. It seemed like the best choice for the control mirror, with it's ability to protect itself and close out games quickly.
Dovin's Veto
- another control mirror card, or any other blue deck really.
Sorcerous Spyglass
- 2 seems like the right amount. I still don't know if this or
Pithing Needle
is better, but I like being able to peek at the enemy's hand.
Settle the Wreckage
- instant speed mass removal for gods, phoenixes,
Collected Company
, and anything else for which destruction is problematic. Also plays well with
Nyx-Fleece Ram
sided in.
Sphinx's Revelation
- more card draw for a control mirror.
For Your Consideration
These are the cards I would like to include in the deck but simply haven't found space for yet. Any advice on what to cut for them will be appreciated.
Leyline of Sanctity
- This will be an essential sideboard if burn ever becomes a significant presence.
Teferi (both of them of course) - I just don't know what to cut or how many to use.
Teferi, Time Raveler
's + ability giving me instant speed wraths and the passive ability shutting down eot CoCo makes me think they are worth including mainboard, while
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
's ult will be a good enough win condition by itself to make me consider cutting
Approach of the Second Sun
. Cutting that card would, however, require other changes to the deck like cutting DTT and some of the cycling cards and instead running some combination of
Treasure Cruise
,
Pieces of the Puzzle
, or some other form of cheap card draw like
Secrets of the Golden City
. My biggest issue with that is that it carries an increased risk of matches dragging on and going to time instead of being closed out fairly quickly with Approach.
Narset, Parter of Veils
- the static ability is good for control mirrors, and the -2 sees more cards than Jace. But the lack of an ult, the ability to get lands, and a + ability that protects herself and lets me recur the card advantage ability made pick Jace for now. Would likely go in the sideboard if I decided to use it.
Reflector Mage
- Mostly for the troll factor. Without doing any playtesting, I think
Azorius Charm
is the better spot removal spell.
Spell Queller
- has good potential for the control mirror, and even snatches my current nemesis,
Collected Company
.
Secure the Wastes
- could make for a good secondary win condition when having tokens on the board is needed.
Brain in a Jar
- can cast Approach for free, among other things.
Fumigate
- the 5 CMC lets this dodge an opponent's Spell Queller, though it is a bit slow.
Gideon of the Trials
- a possible win-con as a 4/4 that also stalls out the game so I can cast Approach.
