We are back on our regularly scheduled day of Neat-Decking and I’m happy to report that some new innovation has come from Duskmourn cards. While some of this innovation was certainly theorized before the set’s official release, it is nice to see it actually in practice. 

Standard

It’s always a good week of Neat Decking when I have a Standard list to talk about, and it is a list that is effectively Duskmourn Block Constructed. MTGO user Sebasgo1 was able to 5-0 with this Azorius Enchantments list, where 36 of the 60 total cards in the main deck are brand new to Standard, and that breakdown gets funnier when you realize that 32 of the 38 non-lands in the deck are new. Part of what I like about Standard is that it’s the format where stuff like this can happen. I think on paper putting all of these pieces together makes a lot of sense and it’s cool to see it played out in actuality as well. 

Pioneer 

Once again, the majority of the decks I have this week are from Pioneer, and I’m starting with one that features a combo that could be played in Standard as well. Newcomer Duskmourn card Unstoppable Slasher combos with Lost Caverns of Ixalan card Bloodletter of Aclazotz to set your opponent’s life total to zero with one attack. It helps that Slasher is a really sticky card, being able to fight through a lot of non-exile removal. I also like the inclusion of the new Unholy Annex/Ritual Chamber Room card that can help pressure your opponent with Bloodletter as well.  This deck is also blowing up right before the Pioneer RC, as it, to me anyway, is the spiritual successor to Sorin and Vein Ripper, despite playing pretty differently.

DoomWake is back on the list this week on the back of a really cool RG Aggro deck that is also using a ton of new cards, including Fear of Missing Out, Omnivorous Flytrap, Wildfire Wickerfolk, and Patchwork Beastie. I like how all these cards work together, as all of them but Flytrap help give you two types for Delirium, which each of these cards cares about. Inti and, unfortunately, Fable, are also here to help you filter and accrue card advantage. I really enjoy how Break Out works with Flytrap as well, giving it haste to double up triggers right off the rip. 

Hey, I’ve been waiting to talk about one of my friends on Neat Decking, and my podcast co-host KarnageKardsENT, AKA Jesse, has given me the opportunity to do just that, thanks to him finding some success in a Challenge with a really cool UW Flash Deck. 

Now because I know Jesse, I have some insider notes on this list. He said that all the one-ofs in the list were because he was trying to figure out what cards were good. I also know that he started off the Challenge 4-0, before losing to Phoenix three consecutive times. After talking to him a bit, we came to the consensus that High Noon is a worthwhile consideration for this deck, as it helps to turn off Ledger Shredder, which is the card Jesse said he lost to out of Phoenix the most. 

As for the list itself, it takes a lot of notes from the Spirits gameplan, but instead of the typal synergy, opts to play stronger individual cards like Faerie Mastermind and Malcolm. Enduring Curiosity is also a cool inclusion, helping to generate card advantage and even being able to recur itself as an enchantment after it dies. I think there’s something to work with here and if the Phoenix matchup can be smoothed out, I see a lot of potential here. 

Modern

My first of two Modern decks here is actually similar to DoomWake’s Pioneer RG aggro deck in a sense. Blind_Kitty is doing the Jund thing where they play a lot of value creatures and try to beat your face in off the strength of them. Every creature in this list cares about putting cards in your bin and every other card in the deck is focused on putting those cards in the bin to power up your creatures. Blind_Kitty even does my favorite thing that Modern Delirium decks often do, which is play 4x Tarfire. I like that there is still a place for decks like this in Modern and I hope Blind_Kitty continues to find some success with it. 

And for my last deck, I’m going to use one of my exceptions and include a list with The One Ring in it, because I’m a sucker for the WR Boom/Bust decks, like Mankeke was able to 5-0 with. I don’t know why I love these so much but I very much shamelessly do. I think I’m partial to this one a lot more, because despite The One Ring being what it is, I love the card Mana Tithe so much that I’m willing to overlook The One Ring. Aven Interruptor does some lifting here as well, and Obsidian Charmaw is one of my absolute favorite cards from any of the Modern Horizons sets. So, the verdict is, if you want to end up on Neat Decking with The One Ring registered in your deck, make sure to balance it out with some Mana Tithes. Then it’ll be considered. 

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And that’ll do it once again for this week’s rendition of Neat-Decking. I’m a little disappointed that I’m not finding more spice from Duskmourn cards but I know it can sometimes take the brewers a little bit to deliver, so I’m holding out hope that we’ll have more cool stuff next week. 

If anyone has any suggestions on that or wants to offer up decks I missed, please find me in thegathering.gg’s discord @adolce95. Other than that, I’m looking forward to sharing more lists next week!