Introduction
Standard has been sort of Magic’s problem child during the last few weeks. Players were understandably less than thrilled about the 《Field of the Dead》 format, and things might have even gotten worse with the ban of 《Field of the Dead》, letting all the UGx Food decks run rampant, thereby creating an extremely inbred metagame where main deck hate cards such as 《Noxious Grasp》, 《Aether Gust》, and 《Veil of Summer》 are the norm.
While I understand people voicing their dissatisfaction with the current state of Standard, Magic players also have a tendency to complain about things first, without trying too hard to find alternative solutions to a format or practicing mirror matches. This isn’t meant to distract from the fact that 《Oko, Thief of Crowns》 (and possibly some of the other green cards) is clearly a design mistake, and will eventually be banned in Standard and potentially other formats. This also means that it’s going to be difficult to convince anyone to play something other than a Food deck, but if you are looking for a non-Oko option, then Black Red Unicycle is a deck that can keep up with public enemy number one.
My Testing Process and Decklist for the GP
When I began exploring the Standard format after the ban, I started out with 《Dance of the Manse》 decks, trying to combat the UG Food decks, I even built a 《Rampage of the Clans》 deck that was able to produce some busted draws, but ultimately these decks just fell short against UG Food, especially after sideboard.
At this point, I started investigating the sacrifice decks, an archetype that can be built in many different ways, all with their own pros and cons. Jund, Sultai, 4 Color, B/r, B/r splash green were all options we considered. I was surprised to discover that these decks could keep up with UG Food in the late game, something I wasn’t expecting.
The 4 Color Korvold deck continued to impress as long as you were able to cast your spells, and I spent a lot of time working on the mana base and sideboard. 《Korvold, Fae-Cursed King》 was immensely powerful, usually winning the game if you got to untap with it, and often dominating the board even when turned into an Elk. But ultimately, I felt like the deck wasn’t consistent enough, and sometimes your draws would fall apart if your mana creatures were interacted with. Here is my latest list that I considered for the GP:
- Andreas Ganz
- – 4C Korvold
- Test Deck
2 《Forest》
1 《Island》
1 《Mountain》
1 《Swamp》
4 《Breeding Pool》
4 《Overgrown Tomb》
3 《Blood Crypt》
2 《Stomping Ground》
4 《Fabled Passage》
-Land (22)- 4 《Gilded Goose》
3 《Cauldron Familiar》
3 《Paradise Druid》
4 《Mayhem Devil》
1 《Murderous Rider》
4 《Wicked Wolf》
2 《Korvold, Fae-Cursed King》
-Creature (21)-
1 《Island》
1 《Mountain》
1 《Swamp》
4 《Breeding Pool》
4 《Overgrown Tomb》
3 《Blood Crypt》
2 《Stomping Ground》
4 《Fabled Passage》
-Land (22)- 4 《Gilded Goose》
3 《Cauldron Familiar》
3 《Paradise Druid》
4 《Mayhem Devil》
1 《Murderous Rider》
4 《Wicked Wolf》
2 《Korvold, Fae-Cursed King》
-Creature (21)-
4 《Once Upon a Time》
2 《Angrath’s Rampage》
2 《Trail of Crumbs》
3 《Witch’s Oven》
4 《Oko, Thief of Crowns》
2 《Vraska, Golgari Queen》
-Spell (17)-
2 《Angrath’s Rampage》
2 《Trail of Crumbs》
3 《Witch’s Oven》
4 《Oko, Thief of Crowns》
2 《Vraska, Golgari Queen》
-Spell (17)-
4 《Duress》
3 《Veil of Summer》
3 《Noxious Grasp》
2 《Return to Nature》
2 《Scorching Dragonfire》
1 《Massacre Girl》
-Sideboard (15)-
3 《Veil of Summer》
3 《Noxious Grasp》
2 《Return to Nature》
2 《Scorching Dragonfire》
1 《Massacre Girl》
-Sideboard (15)-
4 Color Korvold had a pretty close matchup against UGx, since so many of your cards are identical and their 《Noxious Grasp》s are live against your deck. 《Once Upon a Time》 is not at its best in 4 Color Korvold, you don’t have 《Nissa, Who Shakes the World》 allowing you to easily spend two mana in the mid game, but it is still necessary to make the mana work.
Out of all the sacrifice decks, the Black Red build was the one I liked best. Many of its draws play out more smoothly compared to the 4 Color Korvold version, and not running green allows you to blank all the opposing main deck 《Noxious Grasp》s. In addition, I got the impression that the deck was still somewhat under the radar, meaning players weren’t too experienced in the matchup. I thought about splashing 《Korvold, Fae-Cursed King》 into Black Red, but didn’t like the idea of adding a green creature. The Black Red deck performed admirably against UGx, being able to win games out of nowhere and mount a comeback in desperate situations where many other decks would crumble. I decided to submit the following 75 for the GP:
- Andreas Ganz
- – B/r Unicycle
- GP Lyon 2019
- (Top 4)
10 《Swamp》
5 《Mountain》
4 《Blood Crypt》
4 《Fabled Passage》
2 《Castle Locthwain》
-Land (25)- 4 《Cauldron Familiar》
4 《Gutterbones》
4 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》
4 《Mayhem Devil》
4 《Midnight Reaper》
3 《Cavalier of Night》
-Creature (23)-
5 《Mountain》
4 《Blood Crypt》
4 《Fabled Passage》
2 《Castle Locthwain》
-Land (25)- 4 《Cauldron Familiar》
4 《Gutterbones》
4 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》
4 《Mayhem Devil》
4 《Midnight Reaper》
3 《Cavalier of Night》
-Creature (23)-
4 《Dreadhorde Butcher》
4 《Duress》
4 《Noxious Grasp》
2 《Embereth Shieldbreaker》
1 《Mask of Immolation》
-Sideboard (15)-
4 《Duress》
4 《Noxious Grasp》
2 《Embereth Shieldbreaker》
1 《Mask of Immolation》
-Sideboard (15)-
Just as a side note, the deck name comes from 《Mayhem Devil》’s artwork, one of my favorite cards in the deck, I especially like the flavor text. Other acceptable names are Aristocats and Snackrifice. 🙂
Card Choices
My list is based on Antonino De Rosa’s version with which he qualified for the MTG Arena MC, and which, I believe, was originally built by Jan-Moritz Merkel. I only made minor changes to the main deck and sideboard, removing 《Noxious Grasp》 from the main deck, the reasoning being that your UG matchup is already good enough, and not wanting to take the risk of having more dead cards in a slightly more diverse Grand Prix metagame compared to a MTG Arena MCQ or MC.
The most difficult decision was removing 《Chandra, Acolyte of Flame》 from the deck. Chandra synergizes nicely with many of your cards, such as 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》 and 《Mayhem Devil》, but only if you can reliably cast her. Unfortunately, the mana base can’t support a double red three drop, even if you consider Chandra to be a four drop, the mana is still not good enough, and skewing the mana base more towards red will make you not have enough black sources for your one drops and 《Cavalier of Night》.
Mainboard
Sacrifice Outlets
4
4
The sacrifice outlets act as enablers for the rest of your deck. 《Witch’s Oven》 comboes with 《Cauldron Familiar》, providing a constant stream of chump blockers while at the same time slowly draining your opponent. Both sacrifice outlets allow you to dispose of opposing creatures that you take control of with 《Claim the Firstborn》. Ideally you would have another cheap and repetitive sacrifice outlet, but there aren’t any good options available.
Sacrifice Fodder
4
4
These one mana creatures make sure your three mana payoff cards and your sacrifice outlets perform to their full potential, providing bodies for 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》. I added the fourth copy of 《Gutterbones》, as the deck functions much better when you can curve out with creatures.
Payoff
4
4
The three drops escalate quickly in combination with your sacrifice outlets and your early drops, drawing you lots of cards in the case of 《Midnight Reaper》, or controlling the board with 《Mayhem Devil》.
Removal
4
4
3
《Claim the Firstborn》 lets you pressure planeswalkers, while at the same time dealing with opposing creatures. It is especially strong against 《Nissa, Who Shakes the World》, allowing you to gain control of an animated land, then attack Nissa to hopefully remove her, and get rid of the land with one of your sacrifice outlets. In some scenarios you can take control of a big 《Hydroid Krasis》 and outright kill your opponent.
《Angrath’s Rampage》 is a versatile removal spell that deals with 《Gilded Goose》 and 《Paradise Druid》 or the various planeswalkers out of UG Food. If you get really lucky you can remove 《Witch’s Oven》 with it.
《Cavalier of Night》 acts as a mix between a finisher, removal spell, and a sacrifice outlet. I added a third copy, since it constantly overperformed and I always wanted to draw one. The dream scenario is to 《Claim the Firstborn》 a creature, then play a 《Cavalier of Night》, sacrificing the opposing creature and destroying an additional creature.
Manabase
10
5
4
4
2
I really want to play three or four 《Castle Locthwain》, it’s an extremely powerful land, and playing more copies might seem like a small cost. Unfortunately, I don’t think you should add more, as you want to have 14 untapped black sources. Having too many tapped lands can be problematic, even just the 4 《Fabled Passage》 mess up your curve from time to time.
You really can’t afford to miss your third land drop, which is why I added a 25th land. The deck is also capable of drawing lots of extra cards and can make good use of its mana in the late game.
Sideboard
4
4
4
2
1
The sideboard is pretty straightforward and most cards should be self-explanatory. 《Dreadhorde Butcher》 is sort of a filler card, providing a fast clock and allowing you to board out your removal spells in matchups where they are dead cards. 《Rotting Regisaur》 could play a similar role, while not walking into 《Flame Sweep》 and 《Lava Coil》, but that would also mean adding more three drops.
Cards I’m Not Playing
Here are some of the cards I have tried or considered:
《Rankle, Master of Pranks》
《Rankle, Master of Pranks》 is a solid addition and I’ve played lists with up to three Rankle. The Master of Pranks allows you to pressure planeswalkers and functions as an additional sacrifice outlet on turn 4 or on turn 5 for 《Claim the Firstborn》. I could definitely see running one or two copies of Rankle.
《God-Eternal Bontu》
《God-Eternal Bontu》 is an alternative to 《Cavalier of Night》 for the five drop slot. While the God-Eternal can be much better in the right spot, allowing you to draw lots of cards and turn your whole board into a 《Fireball》, I think it is just slightly worse than Cavalier on average, as it doesn’t always allow you to catch up when you have fallen behind on the board.
《Chandra, Acolyte of Flame》
《Chandra, Acolyte of Flame》 is a great card in the deck, but as I have explained previously, I don’t think the mana base can support her in the current configuration. Chandra is especially strong in post-board games, where you can “flashback” 《Duress》 and 《Noxious Grasp》.
《Spark Harvest》
《Spark Harvest》 acts as a removal / sacrifice outlet split card that you can add as a one-of in a removal slot. While it is mana efficient, I don’t like it’s unreliability in the early game.
《Judith, the Scourge Diva》
《Judith, the Scourge Diva》 can function as an additional, albeit slightly weaker, version of 《Mayhem Devil》. The curve is already quite heavy on the three drops, but Judith is a card I could see running as a one-of.
《Lazotep Reaver》, 《Orzhov Enforcer》 and 《Stormfist Crusader》
《Lazotep Reaver》, 《Orzhov Enforcer》 and 《Stormfist Crusader》 are some of the options to fill out your curve. Many of your cards reach their full potential when you manage to curve out with creatures, so having additional two drops can be valuable.
Tips and Tricks
I’ve made multiple mistakes over the course of the tournament, as the deck is quite tricky to play, you will have to make many micro-decisions and correct sequencing is crucial.
-Targeting Yourself
Both 《Angrath’s Rampage》 and 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》 can target yourself. This can be relevant if it allows you to get additional 《Mayhem Devil》 triggers.
In the case of 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》 there are more scenarios where you should consider targeting yourself. If you expect your opponent to be holding 《Veil of Summer》, it can be optimal to target both players with 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》, this way you at least get to draw a card and add (B)(B) to your mana pool even if they have 《Veil of Summer》.
In some fringe scenarios against 《Veil of Summer》 it can be correct to not target anyone with 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》. You need to be fairly certain that your opponent is holding up 《Veil of Summer》 and then assess the cost of sacrificing a third creature and losing two life.
If you manage to steal an opposing 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》 you can get rid of it by targeting yourself.
–《Cry of the Carnarium》
Against decks with 《Cry of the Carnarium》 it can be correct to sacrifice 《Cauldron Familiar》 on your turn, in order to prevent it from getting exiled.
-Land Sequencing
You normally want to slowroll 《Fabled Passage》 to get a 《Mayhem Devil》 trigger on a later turn. At the same time you need to make sure you can curve out. If there’s a chance you will miss your fourth land drop it can be better to play 《Fabled Passage》 on turn 1 or turn 2 in order to not miss your three drop.
Against opposing 《Mayhem Devil》 decks you sometimes want to play your 《Fabled Passage》 as early as possible, to avoid giving them a trigger later on.
-Casting 《Claim the Firstborn》 on Your Own Creatures
In some matchups 《Claim the Firstborn》 can be close to a brick and its best use is often to give your three mana creature or a 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》 haste.
–《Cavalier of Night》 Tricks
You can put the first trigger on the stack, then sacrifice the Cavalier to 《Witch’s Oven》 to get back a 《Mayhem Devil》 or 《Midnight Reaper》 and then resolve the trigger, sacrificing a 《Cauldron Familiar》 or 《Gutterbones》 (or if you don’t have any other creatures you can sacrifice the creature you just got back), this will allow you to get a trigger from the three drop that you brought back. The way the first Cavalier trigger works is that you don’t have to choose a target until you decide to sacrifice a creature.
–《Witch’s Oven》 and 《Cavalier of Night》
Don’t forget that you get 2 food tokens when you incinerate a 《Cavalier of Night》 in your 《Witch’s Oven》.
–《Cauldron Familiar》 Activations
If you have multiple food tokens and control 《Mayhem Devil》 while 《Cauldron Familiar》 is in the graveyard, you can sacrifice a food to 《Cauldron Familiar》, keep priority and sacrifice as many additional food tokens as you want, in order to get more 《Mayhem Devil》 triggers.
Updating the Deck
All the cards in the main deck are small pieces of a puzzle, so I would avoid making any drastic changes. If you want to try different main deck cards such as 《Rankle, Master of Pranks》, then I think the cards you can consider trimming are the fourth copy of 《Angrath’s Rampage》 and 《Claim the Firstborn》, but apart from that, I like pretty much all the slots.
However, I do think my sideboard was far from perfect and needs to be improved. The UGx matchup is already somewhat favorable, and finding cards to cut when sideboarding is difficult, which is why I think you don’t need the full playset of 《Noxious Grasp》.
I also want to make better use of the 《Dreadhorde Butcher》 slots, while they are serviceable, they play right into Temur Reclamation’s sideboard plan of having more removal such as 《Shock》 and 《Lava Coil》. I think these slots might be better used on additional discard spells and 《Theater of Horrors》.
Lastly, in case the mirror match becomes more popular, having access to cards that deal with 《Mayhem Devil》 and 《Midnight Reaper》 is important, which is why I want to add 《Scorching Dragonfire》 (or potentially 《Epic Downfall》).
Here is what an updated sideboard could look like:
4
3
2
2
2
2
Matchups & Sideboarding
With Black Red Sacrifice being a highly synergistic deck, you want to avoid sideboarding too many cards in order to keep the deck functional. I am going to list two different sideboard plans, the first one will be how I sideboarded at the GP, and the second one how I can imagine sideboarding with the updated sideboard. Please keep in mind that the new sideboard hasn’t been tested extensively.
UGx Food
Sideboarding with My GP List
Against UGx Food (On the Play with GP List)
Out
In
Against UGx Food (On the Draw with GP List)
Out
In
Sideboarding with My Updated List
Against UGx Food (On the Play with Updated List)
Out
In
Against UGx Food (On the Draw with Updated List)
Out
In
Your sacrifice outlets can be shut down by 《Oko, Thief of Crowns》 and 《Wicked Wolf》, which is why 《Claim the Firstborn》, while still being a good card, is not as reliable of a removal spell as 《Noxious Grasp》. Though it is relevant that 《Claim the Firstborn》 is not affected by 《Veil of Summer》, which is a card you have to be aware of and play around when possible.
In the beginning, I sideboarded out one 《Priest of Forgotten Gods》 on the draw, as it can be awkward against 《Wicked Wolf》, but I now believe that the card is simply too good and is worth the risk of losing it to 《Wicked Wolf》. Just try to not play a Priest into an obvious 《Wicked Wolf》 if you have any other plays.
Prioritize killing planeswalkers over dealing damage to your opponent and don’t be afraid to have games go long against UGx, you will often be able to win in the late game.
Temur Reclamation
Sideboarding with My GP List
Against Temur Reclamation (with GP List)
Out
In
Sideboarding with My Updated List
Against Temur Reclamation (with Updated List)
Out
In
I considered Temur Reclamation to be an unfavorable matchup, but I somehow managed to defeat the deck three times during the GP. Pre-board you are running lots of dead cards and it’s difficult to pressure them in any meaningful way.
Post-board you get to bring in 《Duress》 and 《Dreadhorde Butcher》 to disrupt them and have a faster clock. But even 《Dreadhorde Butcher》 is not that great, as it plays right into 《Shock》, 《Lava Coil》, and 《Flame Sweep》 on the draw. This is the reason why I prefer a sideboard with 《Drill Bit》, if you manage to discard their 《Wilderness Reclamation》 you can often win in the late game, draining them out with 《Witch’s Oven》, 《Cauldron Familiar》 and 《Mayhem Devil》, as they are forced to play a control role and can’t “combo kill” you quickly.
Some builds of Temur Reclamation have a creature based sideboard plan with cards such as 《Biogenic Ooze》, so you need to pay attention to how they sideboard and adapt accordingly.
Black Red Sacrifice
Sideboarding with My GP List
Against Black Red Sacrifice (with GP List)
Out
In
Sideboarding with My Updated List
Against Black Red Sacrifice (with Updated List)
Out
In
The 《Mayhem Devil》 mirror match can be really intricate and is among the more complicated matchups, where it can make a difference if you are the active or non-active player when you have to choose targets for your triggers. A non-active player’s triggers always resolve first so be careful when you sacrifice something on your own turn. In the quarterfinals against Julian Felix Flury with 4 Color Korvold we had some of the biggest stacks I have ever seen, where something around 20 triggers with targets and other effects were going on the stack, and we needed a judge just to keep track of the stack and make sure everything resolved correctly.
Try not to expose 《Witch’s Oven》 to 《Angrath’s Rampage》 and slow roll it where necessary. It’s possible that you want to bring in two 《Theater of Horrors》 which is something that needs further testing.
4C Korvold
Sideboarding with My GP List
Against 4C Korvold (with GP List)
Out
In
Sideboarding with My Updated List
Against 4C Korvold (with Updated List)
Out
In
《Angrath’s Rampage》 can be awkward against opposing 《Cauldron Familiar》, at the same time it helps you deal with 《Oko, Thief of Crowns》 or messes up your opponent’s color fixing if you manage to remove a 《Gilded Goose》 or 《Paradise Druid》. 《Claim the Firstborn》 is great when you get 《Mayhem Devil》 from your opponent, but it can be unreliable if they disable your sacrifice outlets.
《Dance of the Manse》
Sideboarding with My GP List
Against 《Dance of the Manse》 (with GP List)
Out
In
Sideboarding with My Updated List
Against 《Dance of the Manse》 (with Updated List)
Out
In
This is a matchup where 《Dreadhorde Butcher》 might be slightly better than the discard spells, as it can deal a lot of early damage and then some more when they 《Kaya’s Wrath》 to stabilize.
Try to set up board states where you can minimize the impact of 《Doom Foretold》 and don’t overextend into 《Kaya’s Wrath》. After sideboard, as long as you manage to discard their 《Dance of the Manse》, you can easily win in the mid to late game, similarly to the Temur Reclamation matchup.
UW Control
Sideboarding with My GP List
Against UW Control (with GP List)
Out
In
Sideboarding with My Updated List
Against UW Control (with Updated List)
Out
In
Again you have quite a few cards that are close to bricks in the main deck. If they are running 《Brazen Borrower》, you can sometimes find a target for 《Claim the Firstborn》.
I believe this matchup to be quite favorable. UW will be forced to close out the game quickly once they have stabilized, otherwise they risk being drained out by 《Cauldron Familiar》. Black Red can win in the late game with 《Castle Locthwain》, 《Midnight Reaper》, 《Gutterbones》, 《Cauldron Familiar》 and 《Cavalier of Night》, all providing card advantage and recursive threats.
While you can kill 《Teferi, Time Raveler》 with 《Angrath’s Rampage》, I think it is better to be proactive, and Teferi isn’t that great against you anyway. 《Drill Bit》 can discard Adventure cards such as 《Realm-Cloaked Giant》 where 《Duress》 won’t work.
GB Adventures
Sideboarding with My GP List
Against GB Adventures (with GP List)
Out
In
Sideboarding with My Updated List
Against GB Adventures (with Updated List)
Out
In
You can adjust the number of 《Noxious Grasp》 depending on their version, as they don’t have that many targets. Both 《Angrath’s Rampage》 and 《Claim the Firstborn》 can vary wildly in value, GB Adventures does have lots of disposable creatures to sacrifice to 《Angrath’s Rampage》, but at the same time you can lose a game to 《Liliana, Dreadhorde General》 or deal with a 《Sorcerous Spyglass》 shutting down 《Witch’s Oven》.
GW Adventures
Sideboarding with My GP List
Against GW Adventures (with GP List)
Out
In
Sideboarding with My Updated List
Against GW Adventures (with Updated List)
Out
In
I don’t think you want to bring in 《Theater of Horrors》 in this matchup, against 《March of the Multitudes》 and 《Venerated Loxodon》 you don’t want the games to last too long. It’s better to try and control the board early to prevent them from having one of their explosive Loxodon draws, and then close the door in the midgame with 《Mayhem Devil》 and 《Cavalier of Night》.
Jeskai Fires
Sideboarding with My GP List
Against Jeskai Fires (with GP List)
Out
In
Sideboarding with My Updated List
Against Jeskai Fires (with Updated List)
Out
In
This matchup is similar to Temur Reclamation, with the difference being that their deck is still pretty functional even when you make them discard their namesake card, as they can just hardcast Cavaliers and 《Kenrith, the Returned King》. You want to make sure not to overextend into 《Deafening Clarion》 or at least have 《Midnight Reaper》 to recover afterwards.
The Future of Black Red Sacrifice
There is a banned and restricted announcement coming up on November 18th, and I expect one or multiple cards from the UGx shell to be added to the banned list. At this point it is quite difficult to predict the position of Black Red Sacrifice if that happens. There is a chance that the deck will be slightly worse positioned if more non-Oko decks see play. But at the same time some of Black Red Sacrifice’s more difficult matchups, such as Temur Reclamation and Jeskai Fires, are seeing play because they supposedly have a good UGx matchup, making it close to impossible to predict the Standard landscape after a potential ban.
Black Red Sacrifice is a powerful and highly synergistic deck that has game against most matchups, and I wouldn’t be too worried about Standard changing in a way that suddenly makes the deck unplayable.
Thank you for reading and let me know if you have any questions.
Andreas Ganz (Twitter)
