Introduction
Hello everyone, how is it going? This time I want to tell you why I end up playing Jund Sacrifice in League Weekend #4, and how was the process led me to make that decision.
Before we dive into that, I would like to remind you that to win at magic, you don’t just have to play well (and be a little lucky haha), that is only one aspect of the game in which we can improve, but there are others that we also have to pay close attention to.
If you want to do well in an event, I recommend to:
All of the above matters. For example, we can play the entire tournament perfectly, and still lose for not having read the metagame well and failing in the choice of the deck. Or we may have prepared a lot, but by not being properly hydrated and rested on the day of the tournament, we make silly mistakes.
The idea of this article is to focus a bit on one of these aspects and it is the choice of the deck, using as an example my choice for the last League Weekend.
Deck Selection
Deck selection is not always about choosing the best deck in the format, but rather the best deck for that event/weekend, which may or may not coincide with the best deck.
What do I mean by this? Most of the time there is not going to be a big difference between the power level of the decks and then the metagame is going to be more dynamic. When a deck begins to establish itself as the “best” or most played one, new strategies that have a favorable matchup or decks tuned to face a new threat will appear, and in this way, the metagame will be shifting week by week. Sometimes a new deck will be so powerful that it can’t be displaced, but I don’t think we’ve reached that point yet in this Standard format.
For this event, the first deck I started testing was Rakdos Sacrifice. Kaldheim brought new cards that fit perfectly with the idea of the deck, and since it is a strategy that I enjoyed a lot in the past, it seemed to me that it could be a good choice.
Rakdos Sacrifice
How it started:
Click to Wide
In the beginning, Rakdos was very well positioned in the metagame having a favorable or even matchup against all the other decks played at that time. It quickly began to gain popularity, and some Jund versions began to appear. The main difference was being able to have 《Korvold, Fae-Cursed King》 on the maindeck, a very powerful card in the mirror match and 《Klothys, God of Destiny》 on the sideboard. Thanks to the new Pathways a solid mana base was possible.
But suddenly everything changed when the Sultai Ultimatum appeared. This new deck was very powerful, and it quickly became Standard’s strongest deck. Unfortunately, there was nothing to do for the Rakdos / Jund. Despite trying to modify the list and its plans, I could not find a version that has a decent chance against Sultai.
At this point, I knew that the only chance I could play Rakdos / Jund in League Weekend was if more aggressive strategies like Mono Red, Mono White, or even the new Naya Combo managed to push away Sultai from the metagame. So I had to start testing other decks, knowing that there was also the possibility that the metagame could change, and in that case, I would consider Rakdos / Jund again.
And that was exactly what happened. Rogues started to show up, and aggressive strategies were played a lot the week before I had to compete in Rivals League Weekend, making it very difficult to choose to play Sultai Ultimatum. That’s when I decided to risk having few players sign up Sultai and chose to play Jund knowing that against most of the other decks it was a solid choice.
I think it was a good call for that particular weekend. Maybe a week before or even a week after Jund doesn’t end up the best choice, but I do think it was right for that time. This shows us that when it comes to choosing the deck, there are many factors to take into account and it is all a matter of timing. Within the decks that you like, it is important to keep track of how the metagame is evolving, and then pick the deck more suited for the event.
The same thing happens with the 75 (95) that we registered. It´s key to tune our deck for the metagame that we expect, and sometimes it will be okay to just increase the number of cards against a specific deck/strategy (if we believe that it will be heavily played), even if this means that we will not be prepared against others decks (that we assume will not be that popular).
Jund Sacrifice
With all this in mind, this is the deck I played:
Click to Wide
It was difficult for me to decide to play this deck, as my entire testing team was going to play Naya Combo (except for Sebastian Pozzo who chose Cycling). But I trusted my instinct that there was going to be little Sultai Ultimatum and the metagame had become more creature-centric, which made Jund a great choice.
Some Sideboard Choices
2 《Tormod’s Crypt》
This card has a very strong impact vs Cycling, which is one of the worst matchups. You are not fast enough to pressure them, so games tend to end when they manage to 《Zenith Flare》 you. Having two copies of these cards gives you a lot of time.
《Korvold, Fae-Cursed King》 is very good against them, and I lean towards this card instead of 《Soul-Guide Lantern》 since you are rarely going to want to draw with 《Soul-Guide Lantern》 and many times that mana can be the difference between winning and losing.
1 《Mogis’s Favor》
I fell in love from the first time I played it. It’s very versatile, it works well against Rogues, it is useful to have 《Lovestruck Beast》 in check, kills 《Edgewall Innkeeper》, solid versus Mono Red and shines against Mono White, especially to deal with 《Seasoned Hallowblade》. Escaping this card is cheap, so expect multiple uses.
2 《Duress》 / 1 《Agonizing Remorse》 Split
The idea of having at least 1x 《Agonizing Remorse》 was to be able to use it in matches where the 《Duress》 was not a good option. Mainly vs Naya Combo.
1 《Nighthawk Scavenger》
The latest addition to the deck. I tried this card and I really liked it, as it was useful in several games. Very good against Cycling, as it is a threat that grows fast as they fill the graveyard and the lives you gain take you out of range from the 《Zenith Flare》. It is also great aggressive strategies and decent against Naya Combo.
The Event
All in all, I think it was the right call for me for that weekend. Most of the matches I had on the past Rival’s League Weekend were favorable. I ended up going 4-2 on Saturday and 2-2 on Sunday for a final 6-4. It was super important for me to have a result like this one, so I can have a decent chance to fight relegation.
Day 1
| Player | Deck | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander Hayne | Dimir Rogues | 2-1 |
| Bernardo Santos | Gruul Adventures | 2-1 |
| Austin Bursavich | Dimir Rogues | 2-0 |
| Riku Kumagai | Temur Adventures | 2-1 |
| Matthieru Avignon | Mono White Aggro | 1-2 |
| Joel Larsson | Mono Red Aggro | 0-2 |
Day 2
| Player | Deck | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Simon Gortzen | Mono Red Aggro | 0-2 |
| Louis Samuel Deltour | Mono White Aggro | 2-1 |
| Mike Sigrist | Mono White Aggro | 2-1 |
| Shintaro Ishimura | Sultai Rogues | 1-2 |
Rogues and Mono White are excellent matchups for the Jund Sacrifice and Mono Red is even, but sadly I was on the draw both times not being able to deal with my opponents very aggressive draws. I think that if some things had happened differently, I could easily have ended up with a record of 7-3 according to the matchups I had, but 6-4 it’s fine and I am happy with the result.
Moving Foward
It is still uncertain if this deck will be a good choice for the time being. There are a lot of new decks appearing. Naya combo-less more focus on go-wide strategies are all over the place using cards like 《Toski, Bearer of Secrets》, 《Felidar Retreat》 and 《Jaspera Sentinel》. More midrange decks appearing might as well make Sultai Ultimatum playable again which is bad news for Jund lovers.
Some cards to consider if we decide to play this deck:
I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Thanks for doing so and do not hesitate to ask or suggest something to me. Stay safe Till next time =)
