One of the first decks I ever had success with at FNM is still on this site from my OG TappedOut days: Simic Elfhoof? Believe it (Top 4 FNM). The goal of the deck was basically just to play a bunch of mana-producing Elves to set the table for an insta-win courtesy of Craterhoof Behemoth, with card advantage engines like Garruk, Caller of Beasts to keep the bodies coming and find Craterhoof.
Flash forward almost a decade (I broke my hip typing this), and we have a very similar duo in Standard. Jetmir, Nexus of Revels isn't quite as good as Craterhoof, but he is an insta-win if you get to 9 creatures, and Vivien on the Hunt is basically just a better version of that old Garruk (which itself was an insanely good Standard card in its day). All we need now are the mana dorks to make it all work, and while the dorks now might not be Innistrad-block-Elves level - when one drop mana dorks were plentiful and deemed not-too-OP-for-Standard - there are still some fine options that bring some new elements to the table.
This deck can actually hang with control thanks to the draw power, but it certainly is a lot less fun since you just have to abandon the 9-creature plan and chip away instead.
Like Jetmir, it's currently a little on the fat side with 65 cards since I'm just experimenting with things. Lmk if you have any diet recommendations to get to a healthier 60 or other ideas for the deck.
THE WIN CON
Jetmir, Nexus of Revels is basically just there at the end. In fact, since this is a B01 deck, it makes sense to conceal him and let your opponent wonder WTF you're trying to do with all those mana dorks, so a crafty opponent doesn't catch on and ruin your day with instant-speed removal after you attack. That's the drawback compared to Craterhoof, whose trigger was basically unstoppable, but Jetmir also costs half as much.
However, against control Jetmir can be used to boost a group of weenies at an opportune moment, while the vigilance lets dorks both attack and tap for mana each turn.
DORKS
Jaspera Sentinel kicks things off, with plenty of cheap bodies around to pair with for a fast start.
The two-drop slot is absolutely loaded, with 8 treasure-producing creatures and 8 traditional mana dorks.
Prosperous Innkeeper helps with early ramp and gains tons of life over time, which is important since this deck doesn't really interact with the opponent much and lifegain can help to buy time until we hit 9. Gala Greeters is a jack of all trades, making a treasure every turn while also chipping in life gain and becoming a solid board presence.
On the traditional dork side there's Reclusive Taxidermist, chosen for its any-color ability and late-game relevance, alongside Tangled Florahedron
which helps increase the creature count for Vivien.
Circle of Dreams Druid is the 2022 version of Elvish Archdruid and basically must be killed before it does stupid things.
NEED MORE CREATURES
While Craterhoof's drawback was obviously the high cost, Jetmir needs more bodies to get the job done, so there are a few tricks up this deck's sleeve to make that happen.
Torens, Fist of the Angels doubles the creature output as well as the draws from Rite of Harmony.
Join the Dance is the definition of efficiency in multiple ways - it's 2 mana for 2 creatures, and a total of 4 creatures in one card (aka almost-halfway-to-Jetmir) when adding in the flashback.
Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer is two creatures in one card and the first of two ways this deck has to tutor Jetmir straight to the battlefield. If Jetmir is already in hand, Rocco can be used earlier to get Torens or CoD Druid to speed up the process to 9, or perhaps an Innkeeper to get some lifegain going in a pinch.
KEEP THE BODIES COMING
With a goal of 9 creatures and only 7 cards in an opening hand of Magic, draw power is obviously going to be key, especially to stand a chance against those killjoy types who actually interact with their opponent's deck. Kill their joy by making them wonder whether it's worth killing something that didn't really even cost you a card.
Rite of Harmony is a cheap way to draw a fistful of cards alongside all the ramp, cheap creatures, and tokens, then do it all over again even more ridiculously with the flashback.
Vivien on the Hunt is in her element in this deck. The +2 can be used to turn a 3-drop into Jetmir for the insta-win, or to turn one of the plentiful 2-drops into a heavier hitter like Torens or CoD Druid.
That said, her main use is the +1, which is a better version of the ability the old Garruk used to bury people in card advantage back in the day, and will average 2.5 creatures per turn given the creature count. Outside of other Vivien copies and low number of lands, the only other noncreature cards all have flashback, so this deck is pretty much as optimized as it gets for the +1.
But hey, sometimes you just say f the synergies, f the deckbuilding, I wanna make it rain rhinos, so that's why the -1 is there. The rhino is in fact a creature, which is some level of synergy with this deck I suppose.
LANDS MAKE MANA TOO
Since this deck wants to get an ambitious amount of creatures, most of which are cheap and produce mana themselves, the land count is on the low side even counting Tangled Florahedron, probably 21 once I get it cut down to 60. You really only need 3 or 4 lands to get going, and even 2 can work. The low land count also helps Vivien churn out creatures.
You may also notice that the lands are extremely green-heavy. There are a few reasons for that. First, red is only found on 2 cards that are both finisher types, so since those cards need dorks to be useful anyways, we're relying on dorks and treasures for red mana outside of the Cragcrown Pathway
. White is more prevalent than red especially in the earlier part of the game for Rite and Join the Dance, which is why Overgrown Farmland is included as the only land that can possibly enter tapped. The rest are basic forests to ensure that we can get off to fast starts with untapped lands and pay for CoD Druid.
