A Pirate Tribal deck updated with some of the new support from the Rivals of Ixalan set.
While still not as strong as i'd like the deck is fun to pilot and the evasion included in the new set for the tribe has helped Beckett's trigger become slightly easier to pull off.
The main aim of the deck is to ensure that our fine men of low moral fiber can take advantage of the evasion in the deck and breach our opponents defenses, boarding their field and making off with the delicious booty at the end of the turn. due to the way the effect of Admiral Beckett Brass is triggered this is a very creature heavy deck.
Levitation (and Cover of Darkness in the sideboard at the moment due to high numbers of black players in my meta) offer global evasion, same with Open Into Wonder, Rogue's Passage, Thassa, God of the Sea and Deadeye Navigator for more single target instances. Whispersilk Cloak and Kindred Charge also go a long way to ensuring we get our Beckett triggers off easier.
Notable creature interactions inside this deck include Mimic Vat and any of Storm Fleet Arsonist, Hostage Taker and Dire Fleet Poisoner. Forerunner of the Coalition can recover a spent Timestream Navigator to enable yet more shenanigans. Ruthless Knave and Captivating Crew with Training Grounds makes for mana efficient removal, with Arcane Adaptation on the field too, your new crew member also helps trigger Brass' ability before they walk the plank!Rivals also gave us some new creatures with inbuilt evasion (finally) with the likes of Storm Fleet Sprinter, Slippery Scoundrel and Warkite Marauder, all of which have an easier time piercing defences.
Being a creature heavy deck brings with it the problem of field destruction, luckily we are running with black in the deck so we have access to Palace Siege and March of the Drowned which can recur our fallen mateys as well as calling on Angrath, Minotaur Pirate to amass the fleets once more! Deadeye Navigator can save itself and it's soul-bonded scallywag for a total of 4 mana and then anything else that would be useful on tap can be put unded the Mimic Vat for antics.
Boardwipes also serve an additional end to us late game if our pirates alone are not going to be enough to win, hence why we run three of our own in Blasphemous Act, Kindred Dominance and of course Cyclonic Rift, though only the first two will help towards Revel in Riches. Pitiless Plunderer acts as insurance should we get board wiped or we are forced to use blasphemous, replacing our creatures with mana essentially. It is worth noting that Mechanized Production works as an alternative to Revel in this deck considering we can also name the Gold created by Curse of Opulence
Disruption is quite few and far between in this deck with removal pieces limited, we have virtually no interaction with enchantments short of bouncing them with Cyclonic Rift or pilfering them. Propaganda taxes opponent's mana to swing at our field and Dissipation Field taxes them further for connecting, with the additional cheeky bonus of bouncing enchantments or Planeswalkers that deal small damage over turns. Vraska's Contempt, Fatal Push and the above Ruthless Knave + Captivating Crew combo serve as our spot removal. Fatal Push is interesting here because of it's interaction with Treasure, if we pay for anything this turn with Treasure, including itself, it's Revolt trigger will occur. Blatant Thievery, can give us four more new recruits through Arcane Adaptation or just new defenders to block with, while reducing our opponent's fields slightly. Disallow, Desertion, Spell Swindle and Cryptic Command serve as our counterspells with Spell Swindle being able to set us up for a surprise Revel in Riches win if used on something big the turn before ours.
The deck uses a mixture of Treasure and Gold generation to ramp mana as well as limited use of the explore mechanic. though Mana Echoes is a standout performer as you amass mana while building your board.
Our win conditions are simple, we either win through combat damage, stealing a players permanents a little at a time while building our board to the point where we have all of their answers, or we win through Treasure or Gold accumulation with Revel in Riches or Mechanized Production. we also have the good old staple Insurrection to throw a board wide mutiny if we need to win using their own scurvy creatures!
Our land package is pretty standard affair for Grixis. Command Tower, Path of Ancestry, Reflecting Pool and Crumbling Necropolis give us access to all the colours we need, we also run the shock lands Watery Grave and Blood Crypt. Tainted Peak and Tainted Isle allow for very easy colour fixing and if we need any specific basics there is also Evolving Wilds and some of the check and vivid lands. Halimar Depths assists us with stacking the deck with what we need early.For utility, we have a Ghost Quarter and a Field of Ruin in the deck to deal with any pesky little Homeward Path or Maze of Ith type shenanigans we come across. Rogue's Passage enables our Beckett triggers when we need that little extra push. Arcane Lighthouse allows us to target annoying creatures or permanents on the field for us to take and Command Beacon helps us get our commander out in the late game if the tax has gotten too high.
