It has been too long since the Magic the Gathering community has named a deck after a common breakfast food. I know Cephalid Breakfast still exists in Legacy, but it has become way too commonplace to name decks after the color-associated Ravnican Guild, Alaren Shard, or Tarkirin Wedge.
What happened to the Full English Breakfast? Why have people forgotten about Cheerios, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, or Raisin Bran? As a community, we have stripped all the fun out of naming our decks, and it is time to bring it back.
I will admit, I am guilty of this atrocity as well; however, I am taking steps to correct myself. My first attempt at this is a deck I have recently grown to love, and some of you may know it as the new ‘Rona combo’ deck in Pioneer. If you have not heard of this deck yet, you can find my article on it here.
This ‘Rona combo’ deck is relatively new to the format since Rona, Herald of Invasion, was just introduced in March of the Machine. Therefore, the deck is not entirely figured out yet, and many people, including myself, have been trying different versions of it.
I was not the initial creator of the deck; however, since I have my own version of the deck that I have not seen anywhere else, I am taking it upon myself to name this deck, as ‘Rona Combo’ just isn’t a good name for a deck.
So why Flapjacks? What does a delicious breakfast cake have to do with comboing off on turn three and milling out your opponent? Part of the combo includes bouncing your Mox Amber back to your hand, recasting it, and repeating this infinite times.
When you demonstrate this combo in paper Magic, it appears that you are picking up your Mox and putting it back down over and over again, sort of like you would if you were flipping a pancake. Therefore; Flapjacks.
While I’ve had a blast explaining the funny new name to this deck, that is not the purpose of this article. I have recently been grinding Flapjacks at local RCQs, and I have discovered a lot about what does and doesn’t work in this deck. Today I will review what cards should NOT be in the deck versus the cards I currently play with.
Cards That Have Not Impressed Me
Let’s start this section out with the most disputed take; Jegantha. Before I get into why this card should not be in the 75, let me just say I understand why people have chosen to play it. It is alluring to be able to start every game with an eighth card in your hand, especially when it is not terribly difficult to deal with the negative condition it comes with. Many people have pointed out that it can be very handy to have a free 5/5 creature when you run out of gas, and it can be a secondary wincon if your combo gets turned off.
While all these points are valid, I don’t believe that Jegantha is what the deck wants. With Jegantha in your deck, you can play Treasure Cruise, a very powerful card that can sometimes just be an Ancestral Recall. However, and I know it may sound funny to hear this, I don’t think Treasure Cruise is powerful enough for this deck.
Drawing three cards for one mana may sound great, and I can see why people would be happy to play this card, but it’s often not enough to win you the game. For many decks, drawing three cards is fantastic because you’re just trying to gain card advantage over your opponent.
However, this is a combo deck. We’re not trying to get card advantage; we’re trying to find our pieces. There are too many times I’ve cast this card and found two or three lands on top, which has lost me the game. While Treasure Cruise and Jegantha are powerful cards, I don’t think they are correct for this deck.
Another card that seems perfect for this deck but underperforms is Ledger Shredder. At first glance, it looks like this card is everything the deck wants. At face value, it’s a 1/3 flier that can survive a Stomp from your opponent’s Bonecrusher Giant, and it can quickly grow in size to be a potential blocker. Its ability seems perfect in this deck; you have a lot of cheap spells that can trigger it, and it can find your combo pieces and fill your graveyard. In a worst-case scenario, maybe it can attack your opponent enough times for lethal damage.
While it seems like the perfect card on paper, it’s a different story when it comes to real life. This past weekend I played at an RCQ with four copies of Ledger Shredder in my deck, and I highly regretted it. Usually, they only triggered on the turn I played it, when I would cast Shredder and follow it up with a Mox Amber or Consider. My opponent’s easily played around playing two spells in a turn, and most of the time, it posed no threat to my opponent.
There were way too many games where my opponent and I would get into a top-deck battle, and drawing a Ledger Shredder in the late game was just a death sentence. Too often was Ledger Shredder simply a 1/3 flier for two mana, with no hopes of it ever triggering.
I agree with many people; in theory, Ledger Shredder should be a great addition to this deck. However, experience has shown otherwise, and I don’t believe that Shredder is what this deck needs to succeed.
Cards that have impressed me
I will start this section with the card that is better than Jegantha and Treasure Cruise for this deck; Dig Through Time. I have found that when I cut Jegantha and Treasure Cruise from my deck and added Dig Through Time, my win rate skyrocketed. This combo deck is trying to find specific pieces to win the game, and Dig Through Time does just that.
The difference between drawing three cards with Treasure Cruise and looking at seven cards and choosing the best two with Dig Through Time is absolutely massive, and I can’t stress this enough. Drawing three cards ‘might’ find you a combo piece, but the likelihood of finding at least one and probably two of your combo pieces with Dig is way higher.
I had an incredible game at an RCQ on Sunday against Control, where I was able to cast three Dig Through Times in a single turn, each of them finding another Dig Through Time and disruption or a combo piece, and then the following turn I recast Dig Through Time from my graveyard with Jace.
In two turns, I effectively was able to look at the top 28 cards of my deck and put the best eight cards in my hand. While I ultimately lost the match against a fantastic competitor, it was a very close matchup. If I had played Treasure Cruise instead of Dig Through Time, I would have drawn three cards and then lost the game the next turn.
While Dig Through Time has the drawback of requiring two blue mana, this has never become an issue for me. I have always had enough mana to pay for it, and there have always been plenty of cards in my graveyard to delve. I would happily cut Jegantha from this deck to play Dig Through Time, and I don’t think it’s even close. I’m not trying to play a 5/5 for eight mana. I’m trying to win the game.
Now let’s get into the fun part of the article, where I showcase the two cards that everyone should be playing in their Flapjacks decks. At the RCQ this past Saturday, I played with four Ledger Shredders and got absolutely destroyed by Rakdos. I returned home that night and did some major brainstorming since I knew something had to change.
The first significant change I made is a card that I’m surprised I have not seen yet in any lists. Shark Typhoon does everything you want it to do in this deck and more. When I first tested it, I didn’t even realize just how powerful this card was in Flapjacks.
At its minimum, Shark Typhoon can be cycled for two mana, drawing you a new card and putting a card into your graveyard. While this may not appear like much, sometimes it’s exactly what you need. And it only gets better from there.
I played two copies of Shark Typhoon at an RCQ on Sunday, and they overperformed by a large margin. Multiple times I was able to make a shark at instant speed, draw a card, and eat my opponent’s attacker. Against the Control player I mentioned earlier, I was able to make a shark, block their shark and kill it, and then attack and kill their Wandering Emperor. While a top-decked Ledger Shredder is a 1/3 flier for two mana, Shark Typhoon can end up being a 5/5 flier that also draws you a card. Huge difference.
But wait; there’s more! Shark Typhoon is also an additional combo piece! The easiest way to combo off with Shark Typhoon is to make a million mana with Rona and then create a 1,000,000/1,000,000 flying shark token, but this token can easily be Fatal Pushed, so I don’t recommend this. Also, the other way is way more fun.
Instead of cycling Shark Typhoon, you cast Shark Typoon as an enchantment and then continue your combo and cast Tyvar a million times, making one million 3/3 flying shark tokens. They might be able to push one of them, but there will still be 999,999 flying sharks coming at their face the next turn.
While you may think this way of winning is fanciful, I won my first match on Sunday precisely with this combo. My Mono-White opponent had gotten me to three life and had a board full of humans ready to kill me on their next turn. I had the combo, but my opponent had a Rest in Peace in play, preventing me from finding my Diligent Excavator with Tyvar.
So, what did I do? I made a million mana with Rona, cast Shark Typhoon, recast Tyvar a million times, made an army of flying sharks, and then passed the turn. My opponent stared in disbelief for a few moments, looked at their hand, looked at my life total, and then conceded the game and the match.
Shark Typhoon is so good in this deck, I am amazed that I have not seen any other decks play it yet. It can be defensive and offensive, draw you a card and fill your graveyard, and combo off through graveyard hate. It is everything this deck needs.
After playing on Saturday, I also noticed that the games that I had Tyvar were massively different than the games that I didn’t have him. If I played a Rona or Jace on turn two and they killed it, it felt so good to play Tyvar on turn three, get back that creature, fill up the graveyard, and potentially flip Jace or combo off with Rona.
However, in the games where I didn’t have Tyvar and they killed my creature, it almost felt like I couldn’t win. I would hopelessly start having to top-deck, hoping I drew a Tyvar or a new two-drop creature. I left the RCQ on Saturday, wishing I could play more than four copies of Tyvar in my deck.
Saturday night, I was elated to find out that there was another planeswalker that filled Tyvar’s role and was potentially better in some cases. Like Shark Typhoon, I am astonished that no one has tried to play Tamiyo, Collector of Tales in Flapjacks.
Tamiyo does almost everything Tyvar does, but sometimes better. Tyvar can be very helpful for finding your Ronas for the combo, but Tamiyo can find you anything. Missing a Mox Amber or Retraction Helix? Just tick up Tamiyo and name it.
Tamiyo’s plus-one ability has many advantages compared to Tyvar’s minus-two ability. Most of the time, you will tick down Tyvar to one loyalty, and your opponent will easily kill him. However, Tamiyo ticks up to six loyalty on the turn you play her, making her much harder to kill. Dealing six damage to a planeswalker is no easy task, and if they manage to deal six damage to her, you have saved yourself six life and most likely found a combo piece and filled your graveyard. That’s a trade I’m always willing to make.
Sometimes, you have already found your combo piece, but it’s in your graveyard, milled by Tyvar’s ability. Sometimes you can recast Retraction Helix with Jace, but what if you’re missing a Mox Amber? Tamiyo easily fixes that with her minus-three ability.
While Tamiyo’s abilities are powerful enablers for this deck, like Shark Typhoon, she can also be a vital piece of the combo. She fills the same role as Tyvar in your combo, only better! You can recast her as many times as needed, ticking up her plus one until you find your combo piece. If you’re worried about milling yourself, you can start to name Dig Through Time, which will find your combo pieces in a much safer way.
Buckle up; we’re not even close to being done with Tamiyo. Let’s say your opponent has cast a Rest in Peace or a Leyline of the Void, and you can’t use Tyvar to dig through your deck to find your Diligent Excavator. With Tamiyo, graveyard hate is no longer a problem!
Because of how her plus one is worded, you reveal the top four cards of your library and put one in your hand before those cards go into the graveyard. This plays very well around any graveyard hate your opponent may be using.
Tamiyo also works very well with our other new card, Shark Typhoon! Let’s say your opponent exiles all your copies of Diligent Excavator from your deck with a card such as The Stone Brain or Unmoored Ego. With Tamiyo, you can combo off and name Shark Typhoon until you find it, cast Shark Typhoon, and then recast Tamiyo a million times with Rona to make a million 4/4 flying sharks.
But wait, there’s still more! What if I told you that you can draw your entire deck if you combo off with Tamiyo? It’s true! If you combo off with Tamiyo, you can use her plus one ability until you’ve milled your entire deck and then repeatedly use her minus three ability to return every single card from your graveyard to your hand.
Of course, you may not want to do this since it may result in you dying the next turn from having no cards left in your library. I have yet to find a reason to do this since you usually just win the game, but it’s good to know you have this ability if it ever becomes necessary to use it. It’s much more reasonable to use this and fill your hand with copies of the combo and disruption pieces so you can go off again on the next turn if your combo fails, but it’s unlikely.
The very last thing I want to mention about Tamiyo is her super secret ability; spells and abilities your opponent’s control can’t cause you to discard cards or sacrifice permanents. This ability may not always come up, but when it does, it’s great.
In the final round of the RCQ on Sunday, I played against a Rakdos opponent and had Tamiyo in play. My opponent drew their card for the turn, played Liliana of the Veil, and ticked her up, saying, “Discard.” I said it resolves, and my opponent gave me a look of confusion as I proceeded not to discard a card. I simply pointed to my Tamiyo, and my opponent quickly realized that all of Liliana’s abilities did absolutely nothing against me now. They couldn’t make me discard, sacrifice creatures, or sacrifice permanents.
Final Thoughts
While I am confident that Shark Typhoon and Tamiyo deserve a spot in this deck, I have not nailed down how many I want in the 75. On Sunday, I played two of each in the main, but I’m unsure if I should have three Shark Typhoons in the main and a Tamiyo in the sideboard. I will be testing this combination this week in preparation for my next RCQ.
At the RCQ on Saturday, I ended with a measly 1-3 record, winning against Rakdos but then losing against two Rakdos and a Bring to Light player. While I had learned a lot, I was not happy with how Flapjacks performed, and I wasn’t impressed with Ledger Shredder, which I had just recently added.
On Sunday, I brought a new version of Flapjacks that now had the Shark Typhoon and Tamiyo, and the change was incredible. I easily won my first three matches, winning with three different combos. I beat Mono-White with a million 3/3 flying sharks, GW Angels by milling them with Diligent Excavator, and Mono-Green Devotion with a Cankerbloom combo.
In game two of the Mono-Green matchup, I got to demonstrate how resilient this deck is against hate from the sideboard. I’ve heard many people say Flapjacks is bad against Mono-Green, since Karn, the Great Creator shuts down the deck.
Well, that exact thing happened to me. In our second game, my opponent played a Karn and shut down my Mox Amber, then fetched a Pithing Needle from the sideboard and named Rona. The next turn, he fetched The Stone Brain and exiled my one copy of Diligent Excavator. I won on the next turn.
On his end step, I started by using Otawara to bounce the Karn back to his hand, freeing my Mox Amber. I then used Cankerbloom to destroy his Pithing Needle, freeing my Rona. I could then combo off; however, I no longer had my Diligent Excavator to win the game.
Instead, I repeatedly sacrificed the Cankerbloom to proliferate a million times, getting it back repeatedly with Tyvar. This allowed me to put a million loyalty counters on Jace, which I then ultimated and cast Mox Amber a million times to mill out my opponent. Even after exiling a combo piece and with two hate pieces on the board, I was still able to push through and win the game. That is the power of this deck.
Some matchups with this deck are heavily favored, such as decks with no interaction, like Angels, Mono-White, and Mono-Green. Meanwhile, some matchups are heavily unfavored and filled with interaction, such as Rakdos and Boats. Flapjacks also seems to have a good matchup against other combo decks like Greasefang and Lotus Field since it can usually combo off before either deck can kill you.
Flapjacks is far from perfect, but I firmly believe that with some tinkering, it can be a tier-one deck, possibly even the most powerful deck. It is highly resilient to kill spells and sideboard hate cards and can combo off from seemingly nowhere. It gets to run powerful cards like Thoughtseize, Dig Through Time, and Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, and there are many games where you have two planeswalkers on turn three and can cast a Dig Through Time on turn four.
I do not often fall in love with a deck, but this is one of those times. I will continue to update it as I gain experience, and I will make sure to update you all with the results. If you have any input or suggestions about the deck, feel free to contact me, I love talking about it (if you can’t already tell)!
You can also find the decklist here.
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