Current Rank: Plat 2.
Good morning/evening/morrow my lovely readers! Been a long time since I had a chance to brew! But we are back with more Simic Shenanigans!™ A decade after UG CoCo Walk we plan to hop to the top with our favorite amphibious friends!
First off - this deck is still in its early phases - I plan to make updates as I play more. Early testing is a blast, but until I grind some FNM and RCQ's, I cant call this the final form.
The base strategy should seem pretty simple - Step 1: Cast frogs, Step 2: Bounce Frogs, Step 3: Win.
Going through the above steps, we will start with the most logical point. Step 2:
Bounce Spells!
Most of our frogs are better when bouncing, or seeing others bounce. As such, understanding the ways we achieve this will give better context for the rest of the cards in the list.
Splash Portal - Our most efficient source of getting LTB and ETB triggers off our frogs. 1 mana and triggers both Enters and Leaves with no additional mana is already worth playing. Add in the fact that it draws us a card every time and it is an INSANE cantrip. As much as I wish it were an instant, I understand why it can't be. (everyone would be on frogs if it were xD)
Run Away Together - 2 mana to set our opponents back and trigger our LTB effects. Instant speed can blow out combat steps and always leave our opponents guessing. Having to recast our frog may not be as good as a flicker, but if ours only costs 1 or 2 mana, we are getting a head on tempo to start, and we will out value them as the game goes long - we just need to get there. As the great philosopher Jon Bon Jovi once said, "Stayin' Aliveeeee!"
Clement, the Worrywort - Manaramp and enables multiple bounces a turn. Himself entering gives you one free bounce, and the fact he cares about entering frogs instead of casting means our Splash Portals do even more work with him around. Make sure you tap whatever frog is being bounced before the trigger resolves to get that extra mana. Late game, this engine can close out the games incredibly quick (in terms of turns, not time xD)
Dour Port-Mage -Finally, last but not least, the possibly strongest card in the deck. 2 mana to instant speed save our frogs from removal or damage on a block, trigger our payoffs, and be a payoff itself. DPM does it all! Just for example, some basic math: Dour Port-Mage + Pond Prophet + Splash Portal = Ancestral Recall. No mater what you are doing, you are going to want a DPM on the field. You may find yourself discarding cards to handsize in the games you get multiple DPM, but you will find games without are certainly tougher.
Bounce targets!
Now that we understand how we plan to get our frogs hopping, lets explore why we would want to in the first place.
Sunshower Druid - This card was the inspiration for the deck. I meann look at her! This little frog is so happy, and why shouldn't she be?! 1 mana 1/3 that gains a life, OR 0/2 that buffs another creature. Versatile. Solid turn 1. Solid turn 10. And a WONDERFUL bounce target. Since it is only 1 mana to recast, you will find yourself Run Away Togethering with her a lot. Plus, that life gain will make up for any early blocks you couldn't afford to make.
Pond Prophet - Your standard Elvish Visionary but obviously better because, again, look at him! Frog > Elf any day. But in all seriousness, a 2 mana cantrip with repeatable value is great. being double hybrid and a frog means any land in your deck can cast him. I will remind you here, be careful where you place your counters, as a 1/1 seems small and is a good one to buff, but if you bounce Pond Prophet a lot - those counters will be gone each time. And trust me, you will want to bounce him a lot.
Clifftop Lookout - I spy with my little eye, a value frog that will provide all the mana we need. It only takes 2 or 3 triggers from Clifftop Lookout before mana stops being a problem. We have an INCREDIBLE amount of card draw, and it is imperative that we be able to cast those spells. This card gets us there. Plus, a nice reach body is a good place to wear counters once we are done using that spyglass.
Dreamdew Entrancer - Our largest boi, and one we wont bounce a lot, but he does pack a powerful set of utility. Lockdown an opponents threat for 3 turns to stabalize or go agressive. Or let one of our Pond Prophets or Sunshower Druids take a nap before being bounced awake for even more value and card draw. But hitting him with a Splash Portal to avoid the recast feels very nice.
Bounce Payoffs!
We already touched on one of these with Dour Port-Mage, so don't forget to include that value down here as well. But there are other cards that will help us close out games from bouncing our favorite frogs.
Three Tree Scribe - A 2 mana 2/3 is already a great defensive creature for our longer game plan. Add in the fact that the counters can go wherever we need to spread the love really helps. Do our opponents remove The Scribe? The creature that gets it's counters? What if we have a run away together? As innocuous as this creature looks, they give us a large variety of choice, and makes it even harder for our opponent to know what to do. The counters really add up, and allow us to win from going wide OR from going tall.
Jackal, Genius Geneticist - This scientist is also a lover of frogs. When he is on the field, we should take note of his power when considering who/what to bounce. Sunshower Druid can get the show going, but if we lack our favorite 1 drop, we can always put a counter on Jackal from Three Tree Scribe to kickstart the value. We can always bounce Jackal as well to reset to 1 for more cloning fun. Doubling our frogs with proper sequencing will allow us to really take over the game - just remember, bouncing tokens kills them, but still gives us our Three Tree Scribe and Dour Port-Mage triggers!
Interaction!
We already know about Run Away Together and Dreamdew Entrancer. But leaving our friend Polliwallop out of the write up would be unfair. a 1 mana instant speed double punch effect is incredibly potent. We have a lot of interaction with the other two cards mentioned, but neither of them really solve a passive ability. it is INCREDIBLY important to save the Frog Throat Punch for emergencies and otherwise unsolvable problems ONLY. Until standard gets some form of Eternal Witness, we can't afford to punch willy nilly.
Lands!
Our lands are pretty self explanitory. Breeding Pool and Willowrush Verge for dual lands that ETB untapped, Forest and Island as reliable basics, Cavern of Souls for frog typal uncounterability.
Some lands deserve a bit more discussion though. Oakhollow Village is great late game when we have lots of mana. We might have 2 or 3 frogs enter (remember, Splash Portal counts as entering!), and we should have the mana at that point to activate Oakhollow Village. The other one of note is Secluded Courtyard. It's able to pay for the colored mana on our Dour Port-Mage and Lilysplash Mentor activated abilities as well as the creatures themselves!
Sideboard!
The sideboard is definitely still a WIP, and will need some updates (especially after the Nov 10 banning) - but here are my thoughts on the inclusions:
An Offer You Can't Refuse - Boardwipes can be KILLER if you over commit. Against the control matchup, 2 extra treasures won't add too much, and keeping just 1 mana available to protect the board is a small price to pay. Has other utility against enchantments/artifacts/walkers/etc, but without experiencing too much of the meta game yet, it is easy to include this extremely versatile card.
Dauntless Scrapbot - Bounceable graveyard removal! The lander token is nice upside, but lets keep Vivi out of our opponents yard.
Reclamation Sage - Again, lets keep the cauldron off the field. Much like An Offer You Can't Refuse, the versatility of this card, especially in an upcoming unknown post-ban metagame, can not be ignored. In experience, the card is also increidibly good against Simulacrum Synthesizer decks, enchantment/artifact based control decks, etc. Being able to bounce it lets us really shut down the opponent. Pro tip: If you can hold off until you have a Dour Port-Mage online, your artifact/enchantment based opponent will likely be unable to win. Oh, and don't forget - Ward counters abilities too if you don't have the ability to pay the cost!
Polliwallop - For those decks that get just a little bit bigger than us and fly over our creatures. A good ol' froggy throat punch can go a long way.
