Standard: Is Grixis Midrange Still an Option?

In Fable of the Mirror-Breaker's time, Grixis Midrange dominated Standard completely, and became one of the best decks that has ever set foot in this format. However, as time went on, new sets and new bans came along, and this deck became even more unpopular, weak, and obsolete. After all of this, it almost disappeared from Standard for good.

Without Invoke Despair, Reckoner Bankbuster, and the Fable, it lost its backbone. Other versions have even tried to keep this archetype alive, but the rise of other archetypes and Standard's natural flow have made the metagame inhospitable to Grixis, which, bit by bit, disappeared.

Recently, I decided to work on this deck to try and make it more updated, and also to check if it is still a viable option. Despite everything that went on, its colors got some new pieces, and still have some old friends, which seemed a good sign to me.

So, after studying Standard's current metagame, I reached a version that I believe to be quite efficient. The list that I have played is the following:

As it doesn't have the same power as before, this deck now needs more threats that can hit the main meta contenders head on.

Deep-Cavern Bat and Geological Appraiser are the best cards I added to this list because they are efficient threats and are also a mix of the best Grixis can offer us: disruption and value.

Faerie Mastermind also works with this same reasoning: it is an aggressive attacker that can be cast at instant speed and creates extra value.

Graveyard Trespasser is essential nowadays, particularly with the rise of Temur Lands Control, which uses the graveyard quite heavily.

Tishana's Tidebinder and Ertai Resurrected put a lot of pressure on the board, and can interact with your opponent really well in several matchups.

Bloodtithe Harvester and Corpse Appraiser, which were in the old version, are still a must. Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal complete our list of creatures, and are a few of the threats we added.

Besides powerful creatures, this deck needs powerful interactions - and the Grixis combination has, at its disposal, an excellent selection of them.

Long Goodbye is a recent addition from MKM that is incredibly useful to deal with creatures like Raffine, Scheming Seer, one of the most important creatures in one of the most important decks in the current format.

Cut Down and Go For the Throat are our last removals. Furthermore, Make Disappear and Negate are still viable options for this list.

Grixis plays more proactively than other Midrange decks in Standard, and needs to do so precisely because its plan is to win by pressuring their opponent while you save your interactions to deal with their threats or protect your main pieces.

Our starting hand is always vital to us, considering earlier turns are always full of important plays and attrition, be it against aggro decks that put on pressure quickly, or slower decks that are full of interactions, like Grixis itself.

Here's an example of what an ideal starting hand should look like:

Vs. Esper Midrange

Esper Midrange was Grixis' main competitor in the Fable/Invoke/Bankbuster era, but what before was favorable to Grixis is now a complex matchup.

Virtue of Loyalty and Wedding Announcement are incredibly complicated to deal with. Additionally, your opponent will have other threats, like The Wandering Emperor, and will play quite similar to you.

Geological Appraiser can be quite strong if resolved, and it is important to deal with Raffine, Scheming Seer right away, as it can steal the game from you instantly.

In

Out

Vs. Dimir Midrange

This matchup is almost a mirror match. Both these decks play alike and have similar or the same tools, but I consider Grixis slightly superior, if you know how to sequence your actions correctly.

Be careful with your opponent's small threats because they pile on fast and can set a lethal clock on you.

Preacher of the Schism and Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor are too problematic to stay alive.

In

Out

Vs. Boros Convoke

I find this matchup to be more balanced. However, Boros has a few very explosive turns, so be careful and prioritize hands that have a lot of interactions.

Deep-Cavern Bat is quite critical on earlier turns, and Brotherhood's End is this match's best card.

In

Out

Vs. Domain Ramp

This game is slightly favorable to Grixis. Domain is incredibly powerful, but it has very cadenced early turns, and plays with a lot of tap lands. So, our plan in this matchup will be to play aggressively and chip away at our opponent's resources as much as we can with our bats while we answer the rest of their plays with counters.

Be careful with their global removals and keep attacking until you run them out of answers.

Geological Appraiser is one of the best creatures you have for this matchup.

In

Out

Vs. Temur Lands Control

Temur Lands has gotten some footing in Standard, and it is a deck that surprises players who aren't used to it, but I consider this matchup to be slightly favorable to Grixis, particularly in game 2.

On game 1, you'll need to focus on Deep-Cavern Bat and Graveyard Trespasser, disrupt your opponent's game plan, and always play around Worldsoul's Rage and Ill-Timed Explosion.

On game 2, bring all your graveyard hate, discards, counters, and follow the same game plan as game 1.

In

Out

I got good results with Grixis so far, and I feel very satisfied with this build. There are other cards we can add that could give this deck other strategy lines, but I feel I have found a good balance for this archetype, and I hope I can keep on upgrading this list more and more.

In general, this deck still seems an interesting, consistent option for Standard, and it might become even better after Outlaws of Thunder Junction is released, considering its previews have been fascinating so far. I'll probably talk about Grixis again soon, most likely in my Standard OTJ review.

Leave your questions, feedback, and suggestions in our comment section; I'll try to answer all.

See you next time!