Smashing Helms

Ariel of Wizardden.com writing today because I feel it's time I share my most recent creation. This past weekend we had two local preliminary PPTQs where I took this deck to the top. A heavy burn sideboard barely beat me out on the first day in the finals and local player Matt Englebart got revenge for his narrow defeat the day before in the semis before going onto the take down the Sunday event with Abzan. I am pleased to present to you my Mardu Control featuring Zurgo Helmsmasher.

Threats (12)

4x Zurgo Helmsmasher

4x Goblin Rabblemaster

3x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

1x Wingmate Roc

Other Spells (22)

3x Anger of the Gods

4x End Hostilities

2x Fated Retribution

4x Magma Jet

2x Crackling Doom

2x Hero's Downfall

2x Mardu Charm

1x Utter End

1x Whip of Erebos

1x Ajani's Presence

Land (26)

4x Nomad Outpost

4x Temple of Triumph

3x Temple of Malice

2x Temple of Silence

3x Bloodstained Mire

1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1x Wind-Scarred Crag

3x Plains

3x Mountain

2x Swamp

Sideboard

1x Ashcloud Phoenix

1x Anger of the Gods

1x Deflecting Palm

2x Nyx-Fleece Ram

2x Crackling Doom

1x Erebos, God of the Dead

2x Erase

2x Gods Willing

3x Hushwing Gryff

So the first thing you're likely to notice looking at this list is that it is extremely light on threats compared to most decks in the format. This is where Zurgo Helmsmasher comes in. Seven points of damage can immediately drop your opponent's life total from a comfortable 13 or so down to one combat from death. Goblin Rabblemaster, Magma Jet, and various other damage, often self inflicted, generally has the opponent at or below that sweet spot of 14 life. Everything else in the deck is just meant to run your opponent out of threats so you can strike hard and fast as soon as their draws fail them in the mid or late game. Knowing the game plan, lets break down exactly what makes this deck tick.

26 land is a lot for a non-blue deck, but you want to see every drop till you have five mana and get to your seventh land in a timely manor. This higher land count makes the deck super resilient to mulligans which is very important in longer events. The MVP award goes to Magma Jet for two very important reasons. Two damage deals with most early threats or mana dorks allowing you to use your better spells on more important things. Sure the same can be said about Lightning Strike, however Strike lacks the scry effect. Scrying two lets you set up your early draws so you can hit your lands when you need them or send them away so you can get down to your spells when you're set on mana. You'll also notice this deck runs zero pain lands and nearly the full allotment of scry lands. Being a control deck with nearly no life gain you simply can't afford the pain. Scrylands late game ensure you draw live spells more often than most other decks.

I must thank Nick Crabbs and the Japanese player he met in Denver for this deck idea. When Nick told me about a deck he saw with Zurgo and wrath I knew it was what I needed to break through this meta of who can have the bigger stick. Despite my list ending up much more control oriented the core concept is still there. Both main threats are immune to your End Hostilities, which allows you to wrath the board and keep swinging. These days most decks have moved to higher threat counts and lower removal. Many of my opponents this past weekend were shocked and confused at how I could possibly still have removal in hand after killing everything they played.

Going foward with this deck the one-of's and Fated Retribution would be the first to look at for changes. Whip of Erebos is nice but gets hated on by default so it's best not to rely on it here. Fated Retribution is great too but unless planeswalkers are prevailant extra Crackling Dooms are just as good for dealing with Mufasa and Bad Breath Dragon. Ajani's Presence might seem out of place here, but it stems from the origional iteration of this deck where you gain advantage by protecting your threats from removal including your own. You'll notice the sideboard also has some protection spells. On the play bringing in that protection lets your smash your opponent hard and fast when their set up for the long haul.

Despite this deck's clear weakness to excessive amounts of direct damage, I made a good call for the local meta and took advantage of common weaknesses as well as sheer shock value. There are many directions to take this idea based on what fits your meta. Fate Reforged is right around the corner and Soulfire Grand Master is top of my list for additions. These new cards will likely totally change the deck, but I'm excited to see where they take me. Thank you for joining me once again at Wizardden.com and keep looking for future deck techs.