How to be a Cat (Saheeli Primer)
Standard forum
Posted on Jan. 24, 2017, 2:26 p.m. by Zaueski
Everyone is talking about it. Your deck has to answer it. So let's look at it a little bit closer and see what really makes this deck tick.
The combo is really simple and can be executed using only two cards. I'm sure you all have seen it, but just in case, it works like this: Saheeli Rai uses her -2 to copy Felidar Guardian. Felidar Guardian's copy enters the battlefield and you use its ETB effect to blink Saheeli Rai resetting her to a new planeswalker with 3 loyalty again. Then you can rinse and repeat till your opponent is dead.
Okay so now that we know how it works, there's actually a lot of diversity into how this deck can look. As far as I have been able to observe there are three archetypes for this deck currently and each one runs wildly different to the others aside from the 8 copies of the combo cards. First off we have 4C Saheeli which took 2 of the Top 8 Slots in SCG Columbus.
Robert Graves' 4C Saheeli (Top 8 SCG Columbus)
Standard
SCORE: 1 | 64 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
Here we can see a strong reliance on the color fixing of green to make the deck work. Which is typical of these 4-Color Saheeli decks, I don't believe I've seen anyone try to splash Black yet. The deck has a strong energy sub-theme to fuel the Energy beatdown plan of Harnessed Lightning and Whirler Virtuoso. It also gets him a lot of cards off of Shielded Aether Thief should that situation arise, but most importantly, it gives him continual mana-fixing with Aether Hub and Servant of the Conduit. In the sideboard we see Dispel which can usually be found somewhere in the 75 of almost every Saheeli deck. Tireless Tracker helps a lot in many situations in addition to providing an additional Wincon from the board. Since the deck is 4 colors it has a lot of answers and it's biggest enemy is inconsistency in the early game.
Next we have a new archetype for this deck: Control. Jeskai Control was already rather powerful with its spectacular showing at Pro Tour Kaladesh coming in second place. So naturally the thought then turns to playing that deck and slotting the combo pieces in. The biggest problem with that line of thought is simply a matter of Balance. The previous wincon in that deck was Torrential Gearhulks flashing back counters and draw spells. However, with the meta-game having undergone a complete shift from the bannings, new decks have started rising to the top. B/G Counters has been running rampant ever since Reflector Mage got banned. So with a new meta, control has to reconfigure itself to adapt to the new Standard. Luckily, SCG Columbus also gave us a Control deck in the week one tournament which almost never happens. Being a control deck in the week one tournament means that there is some serious power here and I expect this version to be the strongest as we move forward through standard.
Dan Fournier's Jeskai Saheeli (Top 8 SCG Columbus)
Standard
43 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
Here we see mostly typical control with plenty of draw and counters, however what's surprising is the inclusion of Revolutionary Rebuff. U/B Improvise looked to be a very promising deck and at first glance the Rebuff seems bad in a Standard with a lot of artifacts. However, when you dig a little deeper in most decks we're seeing a shift away from artifact aggro as B/G Counters takes the spotlight. Even in the artifact heavy decks, all of their wincons such as Herald of Anguish, Tezzeret the Schemer, and Tezzeret's Touch are all non-artifact wincons and so Rebuff is rather good against the upcoming field. Only having 1 Radiant Flames in the mainboard maximizes the effect of Torrential Gearhulk, and when the board wipes are necessary they can all be brought in out of the sideboard so as to keep the effectiveness of Torrential Gearhulk at its peak.
The last major archetype is Tempo. The tempo game looks to stall and bounce and blink their way to being able to win on a single turn by playing both cards when the opponent's shields are down. There wasn't a build in the Top 8 so this archetype still has the most variance and can end up being close to the previous archetype but it has a clearer focus on creatures.
Saheeli Twin
Standard*
1 VIEW
Saheeli Twin
Standard*
SCORE: 5 | 22 COMMENTS | 410 VIEWS
Here are a couple lists I've drawn up to illustrate this last build. It relies heavily on creatures with tempo abilities. Bouncing creatures to reset the counters, hiding spells under Spell Queller, and Shielded Aether Thief doubles as a surprise blocker and an eventual draw source. This build suffers the most from the Reflector Mage ban although it definitely affects all of the archetypes. It has the best backup wincon of being a straight midrange deck with a lot of value creatures that can disrupt and beat face to your heart's content.
The Strengths: This deck is really strong because it can win out of nowhere, once six lands are on the field the opponent has to play as if every draw you make can let you win the game. The deck has an insane amount of inevitability. Jeskai was already good colors for a lot of different options for Tempo and Control decks
The Weaknesses: Despite it's inevitability, WotC did a relatively good job of making sure every color has a way to disrupt the deck. Green has Commencement of Festivities, Blue has counterspells, Red has Shock, Black has hand-attack, Grasp of Darkness, and a revolted Fatal Push, and white has Thalia, Heretic Cathar, Authority of the Consuls, and Stasis Snare. So most decks don't have to go out of their way to include an answer, but they lose their ability to tap out for their big plays once the Sahelli Twin deck reaches the critical amount of lands because they have to hold up answers.
The Responses: Jeskai of course has a lot of answers to the answers of other decks. Blue is in their colors so many Saheeli Twin shells have started packing Dispel into their lists to stop Shock, Fatal Push, Grasp of Darkness, counterspells, and Commencement of Festivities. Red and white are also effective at killing problematic creatures like Thalia, Heretic Cathar, in those colors they have Declaration in Stone, Shock, and Harnessed Lightning to deal with the opponents creatures. Nahiri, the Harbinger takes care of enchantments, creatures, and artifacts in addition to providing a filter effect. Blue gives the deck a ton of filtering power and some of the best blockers in standard currently with Shielded Aether Thief and Torrential Gearhulk. Blue also gives counter spells or if you pick the creature route it gives you access to Spell Queller.
So whether or not you're personally a fan of the deck, it's undeniable that this will be a huge contender in the upcoming Standard. Whether you play it or play against it, you will encounter this deck. Let me know what your thoughts on the deck are, whether its a new build or some good sideboard tech or the best way to combat the mirror.
lol... it's funny that people don't expect these decks to be prepared for Authority of the Consuls. Whether it's mainboard counters or Fragmentize in the sideboard they're not gonna be completely blind to the fact the card exist, and then your talking about having to run 4 copies if your plan is to play it early enough before they have counter magic up with any kind of consistency. Authority of the Consuls might slow them up, but it does not stop any version of the deck from actually winning the game.
jamesfiek says... #2
Authority of the Consuls gg get rekt m8
January 24, 2017 2:57 p.m.