Pioneer Showcase Challenge 1st Place (198 Players)
Deck Overview:
Mono-Blue Spirits is a tempo-style deck in pioneer centered around efficient flying threats, cheap counterspells, and Curious Obsession. Outside of Brazen Borrower, every creature in the deck is a spirit, which allows you to maximize the power of Rattlechains, Mausoleum Wanderer, Shacklegeist, and Supreme Phantom. Outside of Ascendant Spirit, every creature flies inherently, which means that creatures with Curious Obsession attached to them are highly likely to connect quickly and often. While starts with Curious Obsession are often the most powerful, the deck has many different angles it can take depending on the matchup, and knowing how to approach each matchup is extremely important.
Why I Chose the Deck:
For the showcase this weekend, I really wanted to play a deck that could reliably beat both green devotion and Winota. Mono-Blue Spirits often had the reputation as some people’s pet decks, or even just a meme whose best draws had the capabilities of leading to success, but little more. However, Mono-Blue Spirits had recently top 8’d back-to-back challenges, winning one. Still, the deck remained relatively unpopular, but I decided to give the deck a chance, and I’m glad I did. With the popularity of green devotion and Winota, quick aggressive decks like mono-red, while still around, were becoming less prevalent. The green decks became very focused on just accumulating mana and trying to resolve a couple of game-breaking spells like storm the festival to close out the game. With its quick ability to tempo opponents out in the air backed up by a couple of counterspells, I was beating both devotion and Winota consistently, and the deck felt powerful enough to have game in other matchups. Surprisingly, during the Showcase, I didn’t play against Winota or green devotion until top 8, two of my best matchups, and still managed to 7-1 the swiss. The deck is tough to play both with and against, but this really helps add percentage points in your favor if you are prepared.
Card Choices:
4 Ascendant Spirit, 4 Mausoleum Wanderer, 4 Spectral Sailor:
It’s essential to have access to good one-drops to maximize Curious Obsession and Geistlight Snare, and these are the best of the bunch
4 Shacklegeist, 4 Rattlechains:
These cards add additional synergies to the deck that really pull their weight. Being able to interact by tapping down the opponent’s big blockers like Cavalier of Thorns or protecting another creature from a Rending Volley is often the difference between winning and losing.
4 Supreme Phantom:
Excellent spirit payoff and an amazing threat in racing situations.
3 Brazen Borrower:
A catch-all card that is both a decent flier and interaction for hard-to-handle cards in game one, such as Thing in the Ice, Ledger Shredder, Greasefang, and Winota. Its flexibility makes it a decent game one card, even if it is a little clunky.
3 Lofty Denial, 4 Geistlight Snare:
Counterspells are essential for a tempo strategy, especially one built around Curious Obsession. Snare is the best of the best. With the power of Winota and Storm the Festival, which often win the game when they resolve, I opted for additional flexible countermagic. Lofty Denial is often seen in the sideboard, and moving it into the maindeck makes room for some additional powerful sideboard cards.
4 Curious Obsession:
Usually the best card in the deck. The card advantage gained allows you to keep putting pressure on your opponent, and the start of a turn-one creature, turn-two obsession with snare backup can be challenging for many decks to beat.
18 snow-covered islands, 4 faceless havens:
Snow lands are needed for Ascendant Spirit.
Sideboard:
4 Witness Protection:
Deals with Eidolon of the Great Revel, Voice of Resurgence, Ledger Shredder, and other difficult to interact with cards for a mono-blue deck. Its ability to slow Llanowar Elves decks down while simultaneously reducing the cost of Geistlight Snare is big game.
3 Aether Gust:
Additional hate for Winota, green devotion, and red aggro. Despite the opponent being able to put a card on top of their library, this deck is fast enough where a simple “Time Walk” style effect is good enough, and this card also deals with permanents that managed to hit the board.
4 Mystical Disputes:
Essential in any blue matchup, especially with them likely boarding in multiple disputes as well.
3 Dive Down:
Efficient protection against quick removal that allows for starts such as turn-one creature, turn-two obsession, plus Dive Down with no fear of one-mana removal blowing you out. Also boosts toughness when blocking in racing scenarios and protects your creatures against uncounterable removal like Rending Volley.
1 Otawara, Soaring City:
It should be in the maindeck over a Snow-Covered Island honestly. I originally had the 4th haven here instead, but I switched them quickly before the tournament to have an additional threat versus Rakdos Midrange and Izzet Control. I would probably add an Unlicensed Hearse or March of Swirling Mists in its place.
Matchups:
Winota: Good Matchup
The game plan is to tempo them out and leave counterspells for powerful cards like Winota and Esika’s Chariot. They can’t block fliers, and their interaction is limited.
How I sideboard:
In: +4 Witness Protection, +3 Aether Gust
Out: -4 Ascendant Spirit, -3 Brazen Borrower
While it looks weird to cut a 1-drop, Ascendant Spirit not inherently having flying makes it a significant vulnerability in a race. Witness Protection is big game versus Voice of Resurgence, but even putting it on a Llanowar Elves often makes a good time walk impression. Gust is usually better than borrower here since you don’t want cards like Voice of Resurgence or Esika’s Chariot to hit the table at all.
Green Devotion: Great Matchup
A similar game plan to Winota. The matchup is even better since you don’t have to fear starts with Voice of Resurgence.
Sideboard: Same as Winota
Izzet: Rough Matchup
Try to continue to put pressure on your opponent and focus less on going all-in on one threat. Your flash threats are excellent here, sometimes allowing you to beat a flipped Thing in the Ice.
Sideboard:
In: +4 Mystical Dispute, +3 Dive Down
Out: -4 Shacklegeist, -3 Lofty Denial
Lofty Denial needs a flier to stick to be worth it, and given the mass amounts of removal post-board, dive down becomes more efficient and more reliable against cards like Rending Volley and makes it easier to stick Curious Obsessions. Shacklegeist’s ability is usually irrelevant, and two-toughness sorcery speed makes it a bit of a liability. Dispute is excellent, especially with opponent bringing in disputes of their own. Sometimes it’s correct to skip a turn one play on the draw just to hold up dispute for Thing In The Ice. Note: Izzet does have different forms. If you see Ledger Shredder, consider adding Witness Protection too.
Rakdos Midrange: Close to even
Grindy matchup. Try to avoid mulliganing for specific hands; Thoughtseize and Fatal Push means a lot of the early turns are just trading resources anyway.
Sideboard:
In: +3 Dive Down
Out: -3 Lofty Denial
Thoughtseize and removal often makes Lofty Denial easy for opponents to play around. However, it is good against Kalitas, so I could definitely be wrong cutting it over something like Shacklegeist.
Red Aggro: Bad Matchup
Winning this match usually requires racing game one, which relies on Supreme Phantom's help. Ascendant Spirit can get large, but it's tough to beat turn-two eidolon on the draw.
Sideboard:
In: +3 Aether Gust, +4 Witness Protection, +3 Dive Down
Out: -3 Brazen Borrower, -3 Lofty Denial, -4 Shacklegeist
This matchup gets better post-board. Witness is necessary against eidolon, both slowing them down and reducing the cost of snare. Aether Gust is more reliable than borrower, especially since borrower doesn’t block in the matchup. Dive Down is suitable as a protection spell and a toughness booster in blocking scenarios. Shacklegeist, despite being able to tap down Bonecrusher Giant and Rampaging Ferocidion, usually trades down on mana for Play with Fire or Wild Slash.
UW Control: Good Matchup
Tempo, flash threats, and counterspells make the matchup decent, but Supreme Verdict can still be a pain. Be aware of the potential for Shark Typhoon to blow you out, and play accordingly.
Sideboard:
In: +4 Mystical Dispute
Out: -4 Shacklegeist
If UW becomes more popular, consider adding phase-out cards to the sideboard, like Slip Out the Back.
Lotus Field: Great Matchup
Quick clock plus 1-2 counterspells are often good enough. Most of my losses in game one come from not knowing the matchup and not having a counterspell.
Sideboard:
In: +4 Mystical Dispute, +3 Aether Gust
Out: -4 Shacklegeist -3 Brazen Borrower
Aether Gust isn’t amazing, but it tags Sylvan Scrying early and Emergent Ultimatum late, which is good enough.
Conclusion
Overall, this deck has greatly impressed me by overperforming and exceeding my expectations. I expect to see more of this deck in the future; however, if you are keen on trying to beat the deck, cheap removal and pressure is an excellent recipe to do so. But remember, the deck has a lot of utility and more power than expected on the surface.
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