Elves of the Swarm (Budget)
Standard
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Jeskai —Oct. 22, 2015
Jeskai as either normal colors or including black is the new menace in Standard. It also happens to be the best deck in Standard and a nightmare matchup. By far the hardest matchup for this deck. Jeskai has all the answers. It starts with Mantis Rider. Turn 3 and turn 4 Riders are very hard to beat. Rider and Hangarback Walker completely clog the battlefield from attacking with any elves.
If Jace, Vryn's Prodigy Flip flips, which can happen as early as turn 4 with all the fetch lands Jeskai is using, then Jace becomes a huge problem because he can begin to -2/-0 your attackers and start flashing back Fiery Impulse which kills just about any elf in this deck or Jeskai Charm which can give creatures lifelink which completely shuts down this deck's Shaman of the Pack strategy.
The removal spells that Jeskai are using are very good vs this deck. Fiery Impluse can kill a turn 1 Gnarlroot Trapper or any other creature that isn't pumped or a Skyrider Elf. Silkwrap can exile any creature except Sylvan Messenger and Tajuru Warcaller, this includes Skyrider and Drana, Liberator of Malakir. Valorous Stance can kill any Skyrider that has 4 or more counters, any creature pumped up by Warcaller including Warcaller herself and Drana after she has damaged the opponent one time.
The heart of Jeskai is Mantis Rider. Any game where your opponent draws a Rider becomes a much harder game to win. Rider is a huge road block for this deck. Because it not only clogs the battlefield from attacking with elves, but you also can't chump block it because it has flying. It is the combination of flying and vigilance that make Rider such a hard creature to deal with.
Rider completely blanks Drana. Drana can't attack if there is a Rider on the other side of battlefield unless she is pumped by Warcaller.
You want to overwhelm the battlefield with elves in this matchup. Jeskai's plan is to one for one your creatures with their removal spells. The more creatures you can stick on the battlefield the better and this starts with Gnarlroot Trapper. Even though Trapper dies to Fiery Impulse it is still a very important creature to have in this matchup and it forces your opponent to have an Impulse or another removal spell to deal with Trapper. With a Trapper on the battlefield all your other elves can attack freely into any creatures the Jeskai player has which includes Mantis Rider.
Sylvan Messenger is another very important card to draw in this matchup because Messenger allows you to stay ahead in cards. Once the Jeskai player empties their hand they are relying on Jace and either Treasure Cruise or Dig Through Time to draw more cards. Messenger is potentially faster; an early Messenger can give this deck a great boost.
Shaman of the Pack is your win condition, but more times than not Tajuru Warcaller is the best elf to draw. Warcaller can pump your team enough to attack through most all of Jeskai's creatures including Rider.
Mantis Rider and Hangarback Walker are the cards to target to remove in this matchup; having sideboard answers for them is very important. Complete Disregard can exile all creatures that most Jeskai decks are using, this includes Jace, Rider and Walker but also Soulfire Grand Master, Seeker of the Way, Dragonmaster Outcast, Wingmate Roc etc. Some Jeskai decks are using Ojutai's Command to get back these 2 casting cost creatures; Disregard stops this plan.
Self-Inflicted Wound is a 2 mana answer to kill a Rider and get around a Walker which can also kill a Seeker, Grandmaster or Wingmate.
In this matchup you really need to draw an answer to a Rider. That is why it is important have to access to both Wound and Disregard.
Jeskai players are relying on Treasure Cruise or Dig Through Time to draw more cards after emptying their hand. Countering the first of these draw spells becomes a very important in this matchup. Disdainful Stroke counters both Cruise and Dig. Stroke can give this deck just enough time to find and get more elves onto the battlefield.
Some Jeskai decks are also using Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and/or Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker and/or Sorin, Solemn Visitor or all of them, Stroke counters all of these Planeswalkers. If any of these Planeswalkers resolve it can be a big problem for this deck to handle.
The Jeskai matchup is just about unwinnable; the Jeskai player has a tremendous advantage from the start. If Jeskai becomes an even bigger part of the Standard meta then it's now, it's very possible that I will stop playing this deck until Oath of the Gatewatch or I will have to completely reconfigure how this deck can work and also beat Jeskai. To be continued...