Ascendancy Storm competitively viable? (Article/Discussion)
Standard forum
Posted on Oct. 4, 2014, 6 p.m. by MagicalHacker
So I'm gonna be honest. I'm a johnny-spike. I like to win with flair. Back during RTR-THS standard, there were LITERALLY ZERO COMBO DECK IN STANDARD. Before that, during INN-RTR, we had multiple combo decks, including my favorite: Human Reanimator. However, when Theros rolled around, I built a boring control deck that either won or killed itself each game (the latter happening much more frequently). Long story short, when I heard about "Ascendancy Storm" and how it too is four colors, I set to build the deck. (Now this is not a deck help post! I set up that too however: Just built an Ascendancy Storm deck (standard).)
So, for those of you intrigued, let's talk about the parts of the deck and what is the best number for each, the best examples for each, and the multiple underlying reasons behind each.
The Mana Dorks
So this is a very crucial part of the deck. I began with approximately 14 mana dorks in the deck, and found that it was slightly too much, so I brought it down to 12. Obviously, having a playset of Voyaging Satyr
and Sylvan Caryatid
are going to be vastly important. I started with 4 Elvish Mystic
but found that they led to some clogging of the combo because they could only produce 
. However, when I tried to get rid of all of them, I found that the combo became slower, so I left them at 2. Lastly, I could utilize either Kiora's Follower
or Rattleclaw Mystic
, but opted for 2 Kiora's Follower
because of the importance of casting Defiant Strike
in the deck.
In conclusion, here's the dorks I'm using:
The Cantrips
So there a lot of options for cantrips, and normally, I'd be too lazy to go through all of them, but... why the %*& not. Here are literally all the non-creature cards for 1 or 2 mana that draw a card upon entering or resolving:
In our colors, is a 1-drop, can even add an additional power... This card would be a 12-of if that wasn't cheating.
You know how I just said that we would run 12 of the previous card if it wasn't cheating? Yeah, this card would be a 20-of. It can be a mana dump for extra damage on a creature with Stratus Walk , AND it is the only 1-drop cantrip that can be found via a Commune with the Gods (we'll get into that after these cantrips).
No additional effect? :(
- fate fortold
Ditto.
Would be amazing... IF IT WERE IN OUR COLORS.
- scourge mark
This isn't even in our colors either!!@!@!@!! (Insert expletive of your choice here.)
Who cares if one land is a Transguild Promenade ?! Not enough, sorry.
We can't afford to lose a mana dork.
This can turn Elvish Mystic into making any color. It's great, but not a 4-of. Let's stick with 2.
Second win con? PERFECT.
Hey! More dig! Sweet, but don't want to clog up when digging with Commune with the Gods , so this is at 3.
However, there are more forms of dig! We have all sorts of things that look, scry, reveal, etc., so here are the best ones:
We got quite a few auras that cantrip, but more importantly, THIS GETS Jeskai Ascendancy .
We can't have 4, because we could get clogged, but it's perfect at 3.
Here's the final list of the cantrip cards:
- 4 Dragon Mantle
- 2 Karametra's Favor
- 4 Stratus Walk
- 3 Tormenting Voice
- 4 Defiant Strike
- 3 Dig Through Time
The Meat
DUH.
Make that Caryatid angry, BRO.
The Lands
It was tough to decide what to do with the lands, but I'm running out of time, so I'll just say that that you can't run too many pain lands or mana confluences because of how Kiora's Follower and Voyaging Satyr need them, you can't run too many fetchlands, because basics can't work in this deck since there isn't that much generic mana in the mana costs of stuff, and that a land coming into play tapped better be worth it, like it being able to tap for one of three colors:
This version is nowhere near as consistent as the Modern version, but I wish you GOD SPEED!
October 4, 2014 6:16 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #4
Tested it against my Esper control deck, and I can say with a sprig of confidence that your deck immediately folds to 1+ removal spell. If the opponent can keep your dorks down to just one even, your combo really doesn't work. Also, needless to say, but it folds to Thoughtseize .
So yeah, I wish you luck in the black and / or white matchups, but you shouldn't have too much trouble with, say, green devotion with no splash and monsters variants.
October 4, 2014 6:25 p.m.
It also folds to Eidolon of the Great Revel . There were two combo decks after INN-RTR: maze's end and the zhur ta druid + elite arcanist deck.
The trick with combo decks isnt so much the deck itself, but its pilot. Also, combo decks need survivability to last long enough to combo off.
I would go with more variety of value cards over jamming full playsets. Find out the answers to your local meta, and then start adding those in ones and twos on top of your core. As far as mana dorks. I think you should just run 8: 4 caryarid, 4 rattleclaw. The rest make it too clunky
October 4, 2014 7:12 p.m.
Dalektable says... #6
There was also the combo with Archangel of Thune and two other cards I don't remember that was pretty good. But the point is there wasn't a tier one, competitive and viable combo deck last season...and there still isn't. I'm sorry to say that in this decks current iteration it seems very clunky. I wish you god speed though, and support your attempting of making a standard combo deck.
For reference, here is a three-color iteration of the deck that seems more consistent.
October 4, 2014 7:44 p.m.
Im running a Jeskai Tokens deck with the ass-combo as a plan B potential win out of nowhere. Its less consistent when it comes to the combo but its more stable overall and wins from different angles. I can also sideboard into a pure mill combo or pure beatdown with tokens/pump depending on what Im playing against.
October 5, 2014 3:06 a.m.
Here is a deck that runs a similar combo to the one you describe that did fairly well (11th place) at a SCG Open. It seems like there is potential in the combo.
October 5, 2014 1:10 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #9
Yeah I did see that, and it's actually what made me consider Kiora's Follower , but there are some issues I have with the deck, namely, why no Defiant Strike , why no Voyaging Satyr , and why waste slots with the Retraction Helix combo when dealing absurd amounts of damage with Burning Anger wins without needing multiple pieces?
It did convince me when I was building the deck that Dig Through Time and Commune with the Gods are actually cards to think about, so it's good in that respect.
After looking at it again, I do think that I could take out the Elvish Mystic s for 2 Twinflame s and make the deck that much faster...
October 5, 2014 2:31 p.m.
I agree with you, My point was that a less streamlined version had some success in the competitive realm. The deck has potential to do well, we just need to find the optimal list and learn the ins and outs of piloting it.
What are your thoughts on Taigam's Scheming in this deck to aid Dig Through Time and ditch redundant combo pieces?
October 5, 2014 5:57 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #11
I absolutely hate the fact that it's just plain card disadvantage. On top of that, I've never had trouble casting Dig Through Time for exactly two mana, but you can pull it down to two or even one copies of Dig if you're worried about drawing it too often/early. It actually wouldn't be that bad of a move because of the function of Commune with the Gods , but I think Taigam's Scheming is a totally sucky card.
October 5, 2014 6:24 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #12
Oh, and I also wanted to say that I understand what you mean now. I definitely think his version could use a lot of work, like you said, but hopefully , either this first version I built or the second version I built is closer to the streamlined competitive decklist.
The two versions for reference:
DrFunk27 says... #2
Soooo this is NOT storm? lol Without Grapeshot you cannot have a standard storm deck. Interesting deck though. Just don't see it being competitive.
October 4, 2014 6:11 p.m.