Is This a Good Time to Run Temur Reclamation now?
Hi everyone =)
The answer to this question may vary a lot depending on who you are asking. Temur Reclamation has little middle ground and people tend to either hate it or love it. As a person that enjoys cheating on mana and drawing absurd amounts of cards, I am a proud member of the latter group.
But let’s examine how this Standard metagame has been evolving.
World Championship XXVI Metagame
(Image Copyright: magic.gg)
DreamHack Arena Open Tournament Metagame
One week after World Championship XXVI we had the very first DreamHack Arena Open Tournament, that featured this metagame:
| Archetype | Number of Decks | % of Decks |
|---|---|---|
| Azorius Control | 27 | 28.7% |
| Jeskai Fires | 20 | 21.3% |
| Mono Red Aggro | 15 | 15.9% |
| Simic Ramp | 4 | 4.3% |
| Jund Sacrifice | 4 | 4.3% |
| Temur Adventures | 3 | 3.2% |
| Temur Reclamation | 3 | 3.2% |
| Others < 2 Copies | 18 | 19.1% |
The big winner of this event was Aaron Gertler with his Temur Adventures, the very same deck he used on Arena ladder to climb up to the #1 Mythic player at that time.
- Aaron Gertler
- – Temur Adventures
- DreamHack Arena Open Tournament
- (Champion)
6 《Forest》
4 《Island》
2 《Mountain》
4 《Breeding Pool》
4 《Stomping Ground》
3 《Steam Vents》
2 《Temple of Abandon》
1 《Temple of Epiphany》
1 《Temple of Mystery》
-Land (27)- 4 《Edgewall Innkeeper》
4 《Fae of Wishes》
4 《Bonecrusher Giant》
4 《Brazen Borrower》
4 《Lovestruck Beast》
4 《Beanstalk Giant》
-Creature (24)-
4 《Island》
2 《Mountain》
4 《Breeding Pool》
4 《Stomping Ground》
3 《Steam Vents》
2 《Temple of Abandon》
1 《Temple of Epiphany》
1 《Temple of Mystery》
-Land (27)- 4 《Edgewall Innkeeper》
4 《Fae of Wishes》
4 《Bonecrusher Giant》
4 《Brazen Borrower》
4 《Lovestruck Beast》
4 《Beanstalk Giant》
-Creature (24)-
3 《Aether Gust》
1 《Mystic Repeal》
1 《Disdainful Stroke》
1 《Domri’s Ambush》
1 《Fling》
1 《Negate》
1 《Return to Nature》
1 《Once and Future》
1 《Storm’s Wrath》
1 《Escape to the Wilds》
1 《Shadowspear》
1 《Sorcerous Spyglass》
1 《Chandra, Awakened Inferno》
-Sideboard (15)-
1 《Mystic Repeal》
1 《Disdainful Stroke》
1 《Domri’s Ambush》
1 《Fling》
1 《Negate》
1 《Return to Nature》
1 《Once and Future》
1 《Storm’s Wrath》
1 《Escape to the Wilds》
1 《Shadowspear》
1 《Sorcerous Spyglass》
1 《Chandra, Awakened Inferno》
-Sideboard (15)-
Mythic Point Challenge – The New Decks on the Block
Almost two weeks ago we had the first Mythic Point Challenge. For those of you who are not familiar with this tournament, it’s a new thing in which qualified players compete for Mythic Points. You can play until you reach 10 wins or 3 losses, and then, depending on the amounts of wins you achieved is the number of Mythic Points that you earn.
This was the first important Arena tournament of the year in the race to Magic Pro League (MPL) and Rivals for the next season, so it was a big thing with a lot of stakes on the line.
The week leading to this event featured some minor changes since the last 2 tournaments we recently went though. Some new decks started to appear:
I didn’t have the time to prepare as I would have wanted to for this event since I stayed and extra week on Hawaii after Worlds (no complaints here), so I only had some days to decide what to play.
I ended up playing Bant Mid-Ramp, a deck a good friend of mine from Argentina (petomartinez on MTGO / @MartinezPeto on Twitter) used to win the Standard Challenge the weekend prior to the event.
- Matias Leveratto
- – Bant Mid-Ramp
- Mythic Point Challenge
- (List from petomartinez)
5 《Forest》
1 《Island》
1 《Plains》
4 《Breeding Pool》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Temple Garden》
1 《Fabled Passage》
4 《Temple of Mystery》
3 《Temple of Enlightenment》
2 《Temple of Plenty》
-Land (29)- 3 《Arboreal Grazer》
4 《Hydroid Krasis》
3 《Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath》
3 《Dream Trawler》
-Creature (13)-
1 《Island》
1 《Plains》
4 《Breeding Pool》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Temple Garden》
1 《Fabled Passage》
4 《Temple of Mystery》
3 《Temple of Enlightenment》
2 《Temple of Plenty》
-Land (29)- 3 《Arboreal Grazer》
4 《Hydroid Krasis》
3 《Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath》
3 《Dream Trawler》
-Creature (13)-
4 《Growth Spiral》
3 《Shatter the Sky》
3 《Elspeth Conquers Death》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Nissa, Who Shakes the World》
-Spell (18)-
3 《Shatter the Sky》
3 《Elspeth Conquers Death》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Nissa, Who Shakes the World》
-Spell (18)-
4 《Devout Decree》
4 《Mystical Dispute》
3 《Aether Gust》
2 《Lovestruck Beast》
2 《Dovin’s Veto》
-Sideboard (15)-
4 《Mystical Dispute》
3 《Aether Gust》
2 《Lovestruck Beast》
2 《Dovin’s Veto》
-Sideboard (15)-
I only got to 5 wins before finding my third loss. Those were the machups I faced:
| Round | Opponent Deck | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Mono Red | Loss |
| Round 2 | Mono Red | Win |
| Round 3 | Temur Adventures | Win |
| Round 4 | Rakdos Sacrifice | Win |
| Round 5 | Mono Red | Win |
| Round 6 | Temur Adventures | Loss |
| Round 7 | Temur Adventures | Win |
| Round 8 | Bant Mid-Ramp | Loss |
It’s a pity we don’t have the data for this event metagame and the opportunity to see which decks ended up posting good results. So this is mainly speculation and I will share my thoughts on how the metagame might shift for the Mythic Invitational Qualifier on this weekend.
Time for Reclamation
I predict that Azorius Control and Mono Red are going to lose some scene since they have a really hard time facing the new bogeyman, Temur Adventures. And decks like Jund and Rakdos Sacrifice will gain some popularity for the opposite reason.
So to resume the question I am trying to help answer today, it might be a very good time to sleeve up our dear Reclamation.
Mono Red was probably the hardest match up for this deck, especially in closed decklist tournaments. Game 1 is very hard and then it’s a lot better postboard, so most of the time you are playing a decider game 3 On The Draw and anything can happen.
Azorius Control is also not an easy one, but I have to admit that I do like to play this match up.
So these two decks losing popularity and, as stated before, Temur Adventures, Jund and Rakos Sacrifice being more played (all decks that don’t have an easy time facing Reclamation) might turn out to be a good thing for Reclamation players.
I don’t forget about Jeskai Fires and Bant Mid-Ramp. I imagine these two decks will be played in a decent amount, and are not as good as I would like for Temur Reclamation, but with the right sideboard cards and plan, it could be enough to give at least one decent game.
Decklist
Here is the list I am currrently working on:
- Matias Leveratto
- – Temur Reclamation
- Test Deck
2 《Island》
2 《Mountain》
1 《Forest》
4 《Breeding Pool》
4 《Steam Vents》
4 《Stomping Ground》
2 《Fabled Passage》
3 《Temple of Epiphany》
2 《Temple of Mystery》
1 《Temple of Abandon》
2 《Castle Vantress》
-Land (27)- 4 《Brazen Borrower》
3 《Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath》
-Creature (7)-
2 《Mountain》
1 《Forest》
4 《Breeding Pool》
4 《Steam Vents》
4 《Stomping Ground》
2 《Fabled Passage》
3 《Temple of Epiphany》
2 《Temple of Mystery》
1 《Temple of Abandon》
2 《Castle Vantress》
-Land (27)- 4 《Brazen Borrower》
3 《Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath》
-Creature (7)-
4 《Opt》
4 《Growth Spiral》
2 《Aether Gust》
1 《Thassa’s Intervention》
2 《Mystical Dispute》
3 《Storm’s Wrath》
2 《Chemister’s Insight》
4 《Expansion/Explosion》
4 《Wilderness Reclamation》
-Spell (26)-
4 《Growth Spiral》
2 《Aether Gust》
1 《Thassa’s Intervention》
2 《Mystical Dispute》
3 《Storm’s Wrath》
2 《Chemister’s Insight》
4 《Expansion/Explosion》
4 《Wilderness Reclamation》
-Spell (26)-
4 《Scorching Dragonfire》
2 《Nightpack Ambusher》
2 《Fry》
2 《Negate》
2 《Mystical Dispute》
1 《Aether Gust》
1 《Chandra’s Pyrohelix》
1 《Return to Nature》
-Sideboard (15)-
2 《Nightpack Ambusher》
2 《Fry》
2 《Negate》
2 《Mystical Dispute》
1 《Aether Gust》
1 《Chandra’s Pyrohelix》
1 《Return to Nature》
-Sideboard (15)-
Card Choices
The Non-Negotiable Slots
4
Not playing the full 4 《Opt》 at Worlds was a mistake (I only run 2 and 3 《Omen of the Sea》). It turns out that speed difference was a huge deal and the fact that it also works well with 《Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath》 is really important.
Flex slots:
3
I am still trying to find the correct number of 《Storm’s Wrath》 (3 or 4). I do not settle on this one, so I will keep testing and see how it works.
2
It seems like a good time to run 2 《Aether Gust》 in the maindeck. It not only helps in most of your matches, but it also makes some slots for the sideboard.
2
《Mystical Dispute》 also helps freeing some sideboard slots. When you are playing against blue it is amazing, and if not, it tends to do some random work that more often than not will help. I am running only one other counter-spell (1x 《Thassa’s Intervention》) but it is important to have some more to help close out games.
2
1
《Chemister’s Insight》 and 《Thassa’s Intervention》 fight for the same slots. I have been running this configuration and felt very happy with this split.
Without further ado.
Sideboard Guide
Before jumping into the way I tend to sideboard in every different match-up and I want to remind you that this should not be set in stone. There are different ways to approach each match, and this is a base configuration that I feel comfortable with and might not be the exact same case for you, so use it as a starting point =)
I also sometimes sideboard differently depending on what cards I am seeing and the way my opponent plays the match.
Azorius Control
Against Azorius Control
Out
In
Mono Red
Against Mono Red
Out
In
Temur Adventures
Against Temur Adventures
Out
In
Rakdos Sacrifice
Against Rakdos Sacrifice
Out
In
Mirror
Against Mirror
Out
In
Bant Mid-Ramp
Against Bant Mid-Ramp
Out
In
Jeskai Fires
Against Jeskai Fires
Out
In
(I’m not sure here since they have very different sideborad plans so you might have to adjust.)
Conclusion
Thanks everyone for reading. I hope you find this usefull, and feel free to contact me on Twitter (@levunga) if you have some doubts or want to exchange opinions. Good luck and see you next time =)
