Hola!
I have been following spoiler season searching for something new to do in Standard, and the Snow mechanic got me interested. Initially, I dismissed it as something unreliable and that would force me to run bad cards just to stay on theme, but I think we have reached a critical mass of interesting things that could lead to a workable Dimir Snow archetype. In particular, I'm talking about things like Ascendant Spirit, Narfi, Betrayer King, Faceless Haven, Graven Lore and Blood on the Snow.
The first thing I want to address is the Jorn in the room. I just don't think a three-color manabase is feasible and there aren't enough things standard snow wants in green. Maybe running Jorn just for its backside (heh) would be good enough, but I'm not convinced. For now, it has a couple spots on the sideboard.
In general, I think the Dimir Snow deck has potential as a grindy Midrange list for the following reasons:
- Recursion and powerful manlands with Narfi and the Haven. Remarkably, Narfi's reanimation is instant speed, so it can avoid being exiled by Cling to Dust.
- Early threats that scale well into the late game with the Spirit and Avalanche Caller.
- Several options for card selection/advantage in Graven Lore, Frost Augur, Pilfering Hawk, and even Teferi, Master of Time.
- The Shipwreck Dowser + Blood on the Snow loop destroys any creature based deck.
I'm of the opinion that a successful list needs to take advantage of Narfi and the Blood-Dowser loop. Self mill is then necessary, to put these pieces into our graveyard. The best self mill available in standard is, arguably, Mire Triton and Tymaret Calls the Dead, which benefit from Narfi's lord ability. Teferi and Liliana are able to discard the pieces that end up in our hand, and can be recurred with Blood on the Snow. I don't know if the Spirit still fits the shell, but it is a decent threat so I'm keeping it for now. Sprinkle this core with some removal to your liking.
The sideboard then would need artifact and enchantment removal for hate pieces, Ravenform and Feed the Swarm, along with Shadows' Verdict for rogues and Kroxas, being able to shift into a more draw-go deck with counters too. Priest of the Haunted Edge looks good against anything creature, being able to block for ages and then trade for something powerful. So, what do you think? Is this worth the Snow? Is Spirit still needed? Am I just crazy?
Thanks for reading!
