Why does nobody run DRS in standard
Standard forum
Posted on Feb. 5, 2014, 9:42 a.m. by SkateandDestory
Ive wondered this for a while. I feel like theres a lot of places he could be squeezed in as a one drop such as mono black or green. More specifically a mono black splashing green for Abrupt Decay . Im going to try to run him in my standard jund deck this friday. In my experience in both casual and the one FNM standard event i went to he has been a total baller. He was actually a wincon for me against JUNK midrange. I feel at the VERY worst Deathrite Shaman in standard is a quick one drop that many decks dont put in that needs to be answered. So having my one drop eat Hero's Downfall before i drop fatties like Stormbreath Dragon and Desecration Demon doesn't seem like a bad back up plan. He also has some nice synergy with Pack Rat making the discarded cards valuable.
NobodyPicksBulbasaur says... #3
His main draw, in Legacy at least, is the ability to function at all points in the game while also hindering specific graveyard strategies. He can almost always tap for mana on turn 2, and most games go on long enough for his 2 damage pings to be absolutely critical to success.
In Standard, however, there are very few graveyard strategies. There will very rarely be a land in the graveyard on turn 2 when you need the extra mana the most, and you can't reasonably expect him to help shut down your opponent's deck. He's basically a 1/2 for 1 with an attached 2-damage clock.
In Legacy, most decks either win on the spot on turn 3 or they play drawn out games of card advantage, attrition, and tempo. As such, every card in the deck needs to have an impact on the early turns of the game. There is little incentive to run 5 and 6-cost spells that don't immediately win you the game. 1 and 2-drop spells are the backbone of almost every Legacy deck there is, and DRS is no exception. All of these cheap spells also tend to gather in the graveyard very quickly, giving fuel to the little shaman that could.
In Standard, however, players are rewarded for playing high-impact cards like Elspeth, Sun's Champion . There's little threat of losing immediately on turn 2 in Standard, so players don't need to hedge their bets on smaller spells. As a result, DRS gets outclassed very quickly in Standard. He simply can't compete with cards like Desecration Demon or Thassa, God of the Sea .
February 5, 2014 10:13 a.m.
Stygian333 says... #4
Conley Woods from Channel Fireball built a pretty cool BG Dredge deck that features Deathrite Shaman .
But the reason he sees more play in other formats is because of the fetch lands like Verdant Catacombs . These power him up into a turn one mana accelerator on par with Llanowar Elves and a late game value machine as he pings turn after turn, not ulike Grim Lavamancer . In standard, his first mana ability doesn't function except in Conley Woods Dredge deck, which fills your own Graveyard with lands and creatures, powering up the Deathrite Shaman to something like his modern / legacy equivalent as he both could make mana or swing life.
In standard, he's usually immediately handicapped into a kind of gradual utility card that works over time slowly instead of ramping into threats.
February 5, 2014 10:22 a.m.
He's a bit limited in standard at the moment, given that one of his abilities is useless. Also G/B doesn't fit into the meta very much. Mono-black doesn't need him and that's about all he could go into that's a tier 1 deck.
He is a great card, no-ones debating that but he doesn't have a place to fit into. I personally feel like his ability to ping damage from instants and sorceries in the garveyard really screws up esper control.
February 5, 2014 10:31 a.m.
I can't add to the discussion of "why legacy/modern but not standard", but I have had the same question that you posed. the only way I've seen him used is in decks that fill their own graveyards, but without good ways to cheat cards in consistently like Unburial Rites I think it's hard to get to the Tier 1 level. I've started playing around with utilizing Deathrite Shaman from the other angle, which is to use mill to fill your opponents graveyard and then capitalize on it with cards like Deathrite Shaman , Scavenging Ooze , Consuming Aberration , Wight of Precinct Six , etc. To be honest, that build is more in the concept stage and hasn't been refined yet. I've play tested it some and it can win, but that build still needs work to optimize consistency, flexibility, etc.
Here is a link to my current version of that build:
The nightmare begins Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 5 | 11 COMMENTS | 483 VIEWSFebruary 5, 2014 10:41 a.m.
DrS is just not as good in standard as he is (was) in modern and legacy. You need other cards to make him useful. He is rather slow for standard. Im hoping for something in journey that make DrS shine. Like they banned him in modern, which was where he was made to be, and he sucks in standard. Why couldnt they just let him shine..? :\
February 5, 2014 10:57 a.m.
He was actually absurdly strong in modern. He really shines in a format where the graveyard fills up quickly. In a format where it doesn't (standard) he doesn't shine so much. I also talk about esper control as a good matchup for him because they really pile instants and sorceries into the graveyard from an early stage.
February 5, 2014 11:02 a.m.
Mostly because its too expensive to be worth what it does in standard.
gufymike says... #2
Usually because there are better options for the builds with it. For example in mono-B you don't need him, it's that simple. He does lose value without fetches, cause you need to pitch to Pack Rat or similar to make full value, but as another thread pointed out, Pack Rat is usually a late game play anyways. You want the ramp early game, late game it's a noon-issue. There is a lack of reanimation, sure the mono-b decks use Whip of Erebos sometimes, though the whip's bigger use is the lifelink over the reanimation, if they use it. Though not going to knock reanimating gary, that's just fun. B/G is trying to be a thing, but no one has found an optimal build yet, because of the better options in mono-b and b/w humans and b/w good stuff. Though I have seen some b/g builds at a gp. It was mostly too slow with guildgates and no scry land for it (one other reason), but ran Reaper of the Wilds and drs in a mono-b shell.
February 5, 2014 10:11 a.m.