Will Aristocrats make a splash?
Standard forum
Posted on Feb. 13, 2015, 4:28 a.m. by ChrisHansonBiomancin
FRF has added some new toys to popular decks, but we have yet to see a unique new archetype enter the fold.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that an Aristocrats deck could soon make the leap. FRF brought some excellent bread-and-butter with Qarsi High Priest and Sultai Emissary. I see the basic Black frame looking something like this:
2-3x Black Cat (seriously)
Playing 2 colors is probably the way to go to make the deck fast enough. I see Red and Green being the best options. With Red, you'll do something like:
2-3x Collateral Damage
1-2x Underworld Cerberus
Tymaret is awesome here, serving as a sac outlet while giving the deck inevitability. I also like how Ashcloud owns the skies, since this deck will be able to stonewall most ground attacks.
With Green, we get Morph/Manifest synergies:
4x Rattleclaw Mystic3-4x Whisperwood Elemental2-3x Hooded Hydra3x Trail of Mystery
This strategy probably packs a little more punch thanks to Trail and Whisperwood, though it has to win thru combat unlike a Tymaret deck.
The reason I'm optimistic about this basic skeleton is that I've had some success at my LGS with a Rakdos build that I know is far from perfect. The deck hoses aggro with profitable trades and is a nightmare for non-Anger control decks due to removal-resistant creatures and Tymaret being an unstoppable s.o.b. Its weakest matchup seems to be Monsters due to trample. With some fine-tuning by someone more competitively inclined than myself, I could definitely see this concept making the rounds at major tournaments in the near future, and I'm not the only person at my store who thinks that.
Long story short, do you see this archetype being competitive, and if so, what will it look like?
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #4
I actually run 2 of Alesha and it's pretty solid. I'd post the list but don't think that's kosher.
February 13, 2015 5:25 a.m.
That's kosher, as long as the discussion stays general.
February 13, 2015 6:40 a.m.
Tymaret is the only reason to run the deck. The point of artistocrats is that whenever you sacrifice the opponent loses life. The only card capable of making that work in standard right now is Tymaret.
February 13, 2015 6:42 a.m.
If green tramplers are such a bad matchup, maybe Tymaret + Act of Treason could help take out their largest attacker while keeping with the gameplan of dealing damage. Only thing is paying 5 mana to remove a creature by using a 2 card interaction is rather silly.
February 13, 2015 7:06 a.m.
You should run white over green for butcher of the horde. You can play a Grindy matchup widdiling away at the opponent's life, and then slam down a butcher and put them on a very quick clock.
February 13, 2015 9:44 a.m.
Hjaltrohir says... #10
I would go red with Alesha, Who Smiles at Death and Tymaret, the Murder King along with Collateral Damage and Qarsi High Priest and Black Cat and Sultai Emissary for sac fodder. I do like that, it sounds fun.
February 13, 2015 11:58 a.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #11
Butcher of the Horde is nice because it doesn't cost anything to sac, tho it's a bit expensive and doesn't create external value like Qarsi High Priest or Tymaret, the Murder King (thus making it susceptible to 2-for-1's), plus it's easy to remove and doesn't have recursion.
Mardu definitely has good tools (Athreos, God of Passage, Mardu Ascendancy, and Gift of Immortality might actually be decent), but 3 colors may be too clunky since hitting t1 and t2 drops is probably vital.
Here's the list I've been playing: Tymaret's Mysterious Expendables
February 13, 2015 3:53 p.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #12
Just went 5-0 in matches (10-3 overall) with the list above to take first place at Game Day. Matchups were Mardu aggro (2-0), BUG control (2-1), Jeskai tokens (2-1), Mardu midrange (2-1), and RG aggro (2-0).
Ironically, one of my losses was to Ugin, the Spirit Dragon.
February 16, 2015 1:02 a.m.
Kalibroxin says... #13
I'm currently building a Golgari version of this, so it will have Hooded Hydra and Reaper of the Wilds. I also added Scuttling Doom Engine to have a little more reach, and Sylvan Caryatid for early defense and ramp.
February 20, 2015 1:22 p.m.
Gorgosaurusrex says... #14
There are no aristocrats in this deck. I would name it something different.
February 20, 2015 4:34 p.m.
There's nothing with affinity in affinity either. Names stick.
February 20, 2015 9:37 p.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #16
Tymaret is a king, so it's not like he's poor.
william26 says... #2
Looks interesting, but i dont see that many creatures or cards that actually benefit from dying. something like Blood Artist is missing.
February 13, 2015 5:18 a.m.