Innistrad: Crimson Vow: 5 First Impressions (Part 1 of 2)

Magic sets keep coming—a little too fast, if you ask me—but we’ve got a Crimson Vow to explore. So, after my usual grinding of the Bof1 standard ladder to get a feel for the set in a competitive format, here are my thoughts.

Impression #1: Alrund Epiphany Still Slaps

I mean, of course it does. The ability to chain extra turns is so powerful decks are still basing entire strategies around it. The newest versions of these lists’ leans harder on creatures, one of which is another entry in this article, but that changes little. Mirror matches are interesting because of how furious disruption can be before a lock happens, but, for the average deck, it’s almost not worth playing things out once it starts. Just concede and move on with your life. The best tech I’ve seen to slow this strategy down is one of the other most popular decks in Crimson Vow standard…

Impression 2: Mono-White Keeps Working

I’m always impressed by the newest versions of mono-white aggro. Far from the dull mono-red plans of before, this deck has layers. It’s essentially a way, way dulled-down version of DT. The main cards I think sell this deck as viable are Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Reidane, God of the Worthy. They both do one important thing: slow down when the opponent can cast a board wipe or take another turn. A properly timed The Meathook Massacre will ruin most aggro decks, so preventing that from happening too soon is so important. I’m even a fan of Paladin Class for a similar reason—stopping them from using removal on your turn is really relevant—and it can make creature attacks more devastating when you go for the kill. If you want to play aggro, this is the best option, though there are a few others…

(Come back on Monday for my continuing thoughts on Innistrad: Crimson Vow!)

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