Pattern Recognition #217 - WU Aggro

Features Opinion Pattern Recognition

berryjon

4 November 2021

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Hello everyone! This is Pattern Recognition, TappedOut.Net's longest running article series as written by myself, berryjon. I am something of an Old Fogey who has been around the block quite a few times where Magic is concerned, as as such, I use this series to talk about the various aspects of this game, be it deck design, card construction, mechanics chat, in-universe characters and history. Or whatever happens to cross my mind this week. Please, feel free to dissent in the comments below the article, add suggestions or just plain correct me! I am a Smart Ass, so I can take it.

Sooooooo... Apparently I'm doing this thing now. Where I look at deck archetypes and explain how they work. Thankfully, unlike last time, I actually know what I'm doing with this. Mostly. I've build the deck in Standard and in Commander, so the theory is relatively sound, even if the execution leaves a bit to be developed.

So, let's talk, as the name of the article implies, Aggro.

And my spell check needs to stop thinking that I'm trying to name the horse from Shadow of the Colossus.

Anyway, Aggro is very much the opposite of Control. In terms of Tempo, in terms of deck construction and a lot of other options, it's very much antithetical to the whole desires of Control. For example, the Modern format is described as a "4 Turn Format" because by that point, either the Aggro player will be ready to close out their victory, or the Control player will have stabilized and is ready to win. In these sorts of decks, the core of the deck itself is efficient creatures, those that can do as much damage in as short a time as possible, as well as non-creature sources of damage to either close out the game or allow creatures to push through on the board.

There is a reason why the vast majority of Aggro decks have at their core, and that reason is Haste. From Raging Goblin to Glorybringer and Goldspan Dragon, the ability of a creature to swing on the turn it comes into play, to do damage or even something else, is a huge thing to account for. After that, is a large proponent of Aggro, what with their big creatures and their good mana acceleration. After that, we get for their creature support and very nice small creatures, then and really aren't known for their Aggro aspect.

Unless we're talking Fairies.

Anyhow, what does this have to do with and how they build their version of an Aggressive deck?

Well, the answer lay in the creatures themselves. You see, lacking the speed of 's Haste, or the sheer power of 's Trample and the huge numbers involved on cheaply costed creatures, needs to look at alternative methods to get through to their opponents life totals. And to do that, we look at what binds these two colours together. And do do that, let's look at the Colour Pie Article from Mark Rosewater a couple of weeks ago.

I'll bore you the fine details, but in the end, there are three things that they are both considered 'Primary' in, aside from Ward and Scry which everyone is Primary in. First, they are both friendly to Artifacts. That's nice, but not Aggro oriented. Second, they are both really good at Flickering, exiling then returning a card to play. Also very nice, and a key component of Brago, King Eternal decks. Trust me, there's a reason why this guy is the only commander more popular than Control Central, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV. And it ain't because of his hair.

No, what binds these two colours together is Flying.

And now the lights come on in your eyes.

Flying is an Evasion ability, where creatures with it cannot be blocked except by creatures with Flying themselves, or creatures with Reach. Because of this, it is also an ability found in , and in on the higher-end of creatures like Dragons, but not on lower-cost creatures. doesn't get Fliers, but does get dedicated anti-flying cards, like creatures with Reach, or Plummet. And look Hornet Queen was an exception, not the rule. Don't judge a whole colour by one or two cards. Unless it's and everyone named Jace Beleren. Then you can judge.

But anyway, Flying. As the core of this deck archetype, it behooves us to understand the nature of what we're doing with this, and while yes, that includes knowing our drawbacks, it also includes knowing our strengths.

The first is that we have a frankly hilarious width and breadth of options for our creatures. When I said that was for Flying, I wasn't kidding. There are currently Sixty One Creatures that have or can gain Flying in these colours that only have a Mana Value of One.

Compare that to a mere 37 creatures with the same mana value that have Haste or grant it.

And from there, the numbers just go up. Of all the creature based Keywords in the game, it is probably the single most prevalent in the game, meaning that if we want to focus on Flying Tribal, our first look shouldn't be the creatures themselves, but those that benefit, or gain benefit from creatures with Flying.

Let's start with something simple, Empyrean Eagle. This creature was one of the mainstays of the Standard Rotation Flying deck on Arena over a year ago, then we can add in Favorable Winds, Jubilant Skybonder, Rally of Wings, and Thunderclap Wyvern.

And here we see the first hidden strength of this archetype. The sheer, utter, ridiculous numbers of Anthem effects in both colours make for a surprisingly effective strategy. Now, sure, is the colour of the Anthem, as it's Glorious Anthem that provides the name for the effect, and one of my first articles was about them and their evolution over time. But even gets into the act with Sprite Noble, or Windstorm Drake. Or cards that depend on creatures with Flying, like Winged Words or even more hilariously, Deluge.

Of all the keywords in the game, I think it's First Strike that gets anywhere near the same support, but don't quote me on that. My Gatherer-fu is weak in that regard, but this is something I will stand by until proven otherwise. Because I can.

But Flying is very solid and very dependable. We have here the core of an Aggro deck. Cheap Fliers that get bigger as time goes on thanks to Anthem effects to stay relevant, and protected by the fact that is still a Control archetype, and while we are focusing on Flying our way to victory, creatures that are Trapped in the Tower can be safely ignored.

In practice, this deck focuses on their creatures being evasive, meaning you have less to worry about trading attackers for defenders. Thankfully, is also the colour of Vigilance, and it's coming to as well, which means that Serra Sphinx is now in colour!

Look, anyone who seriously thinks that you can get a 4/4 Flying and Vigilant creature for needs to seriously reconsider their understanding of the colour pie. It's not just the pieces that matter, but also the combinations. Look at the whole, not the individual parts.

Sorry about that. It's still a sore subject. Moving on!

So an Aggro deck has plenty of options for early plays, and as they transition out of Healer's Hawk and Pteramander into Cloudkin Seer and Empyrean Eagle. From there, move to Anthem effects, such as Glorious Anthem, Favorable Winds or the like. Then cap out with game enders like Angel of Invention, or set up a Divine Visitation before you drop Dovescape so you get all the Angels and your opponents just get Birds. Or just use your Iridescent Angel to get past the last blockers and removal to end the game.

The thing is, when you look at Aggro, you can't think of it like you would Aggro. You lack the sheer damage potential to really ruin someone's day. To that end, you have to be ready to go for broke in the mid-game, rather than closing it out in the first couple turns. Sure, it would be nice, but no matter how I slice it, has some absolutely devastating finishers with Storm Herd being lower to the bottom, but still viable. And on theme. Thus, think of it not as a massive race you need to run from start to finish as fast as you can, but something that you jog along, slowly out-valuing your opponents because hey, you're still . Control is in your veins, and no deck archetype exists in a vacuum. And even Aggro decks will have some small amounts of Combo or Control in them, even if it's just Pacifism or the like.

And one you realize the truth of the matter, that you can build any deck archetype in any colour(s), the game really, truly opens up into something much greater and more fun.

In fact, I think I'm going to build one for Commander. Yes, by Treasure Deck is hella fun, but variety, you know?

Join me next week when I talk about one last deck archtype, and make it a video too! Then I think I'll mix it up a bit after that, but I'm not sure how yet.

Until then please consider donating to my Pattern Recognition Patreon. Yeah, I have a job, but more income is always better. I still have plans to do a audio Pattern Recognition at some point, or perhaps a Twitch stream. And you can bribe your way to the front of the line to have your questions, comments and observations answered!