Standard Deck Guide - Temur Ramp with Kaldheim

Hello, my name is Thiago, better known as NileDeath by the world of Magic. I've been a Magic player since Eldraine and since then I'm on the competitive scene. Today I'll bring you the tech deck of the deck I've been playing with since the last wave of bannings (Omnath, Locus of Creation, Escape to the Wilds and Lucky Clover).

First of all, let's take a look at the list to start the discussion.

The idea of the deck is to control the game until we have the 7 mana for Genesis Ultimatum or 8 mana to cast Ugin, the spirit dragon which are the main cards of the deck. With removals, counterspells and tempo plays, it is possible to interact when necessary and ramp lands, if there are no major threats at the table or when we have counterspells to avoid strong plYA. We will see later the function of each card in the deck.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have been in love with this deck since I started playing with it and I always try to update it and improve it for the competitive scenario. I consider this deck good to play at the beginning of a new metagame because, although it is difficult to judge what the best responses for a reactive deck to use while the metagame is being formed, we have good generic responses on the 75 cards in the list.

At the same time, we have good threats, like Vorinclex, Monstruous Rider, Bonecrusher Giant, Beanstalk Giant and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, who keeps cleaning the board when he enters and requires immediate responses. A subtlety of this version is to use 3 copies of Dragon Spirit instead of 4 because I believe that the other additions, especially Battle of Frost and Fire, play a complementary role in controlling the game and winning after a few turns.

Another point is that, not being a deck targeted in the metagame, it brings the element of surprise in the first weeks.

We want to interact on a 1 to 1 basis at the beginning of the game to contain threats that can pressure the table or spells that develop the opponent's game very well and, at the same time, ramp up to make land drops and conjure Genesis Ultimatum or Ugin to win the game.

This is where we see the finesse of the deck because it is necessary to judge when it is necessary to interact and when it is necessary to develop the game itself with the ramps. Normally, the first ramp with Cultivate or Beanstalk Giant is necessary to double spells in subsequent turns or enable the plays that win the game. As we reach the seventh mana for the Ultimatum or eighth mana to cast Ugin, that is the priority. There will be times when using two or three interactions instead of the Ultimatum will be necessary if the table has not been sufficiently controlled.

In a metagame still in formation due to the release of Kaldheim, cards with generic habilities are preferable over cards that fulfill a single role, even more in a reactive deck like this version of the Temur Ramp.

4x Bonecrusher Giant - In addition to a removal for small creatures, it can serve to pressure the opponent's life and at the same time is a good and cheap blocker that can trade with almost any creature up to cost 4.

1x Soul Sear - The copy of this card on the main deck serves to contain larger creatures without the need to expose Bonecrusher or allows us to make an exchange with some creature and remove another in the same turn. The two copies on the side serve to contain aggressive decks, dealing with almost any creature, with the exception of Egon. With the appearance of more decks with Korvold in the first steps of the new set, the card can serve to remove him, in case the opponent conjures him on the curve without having more sources of sacrifice on the table. Goldspan Dragon is another problematic creature that can be removed as soon as it enters the field, generating little value for the opponent.

2x Battle of Frost and Fire - We added this card to the deck because it is a global removal in the first chapter. It synergizes with Bonecrusher Giant since the 4 damage is on all non-giant creatures and planeswalkers. The second chapter serves to fix the top of the deck and prepare our heavy plays that win the game. The third part of the saga serves card advantage and "set" even more spells that close the game.

2x Shatterskull Smashing - The versatility of this spell-land fits the deck perfectly. In the initial turns, it is a guaranteed land drop and, when the game progresses, it serves to remove larger creatures and / or planeswalkers. Because you need to pay 3 life to enter untapped, two copies seems like the right number, as we don't want to lose a lot of life against aggressive decks to guarantee interactions in early turns.

1x Wilt - All the lists I've seen so far use enchantments on the main deck (the new sagas, Shark Typhoon, Tymaret Calls the Dead, Akroan War, Trail of Crumbs among others), then this copy among the 60 serves to remove some saga that develops the game or some artifact of Eldraine that wins the game (The Great Henge or Embercleave). The other copy on the sideboard follows the same idea.

2x Jwari Disruption - Again, the versatility of this spell-land makes us use some copies on the deck. A few months ago, I used 4 copies, but I realized over time that 2 or 3 is a more suitable quantity. The spell is very good against basically any deck because it breaks the opponent's curve or prevents doubling spells in one turn. Having land drops guaranteed, I prefer to use the spell face of this card. Otherwise, prioritize the land drop.

2x Into the Roil - I consider this tempo play to be underestimated, because, for two manas, a permanent returns to the hand and for four manas, additionally draws a card. It is good against aggressive decks to delay an Embercleave or a creature that generates a lot of pressure alone, such as Questing Beast, Torbran, Egon, Lovestruck Beast and Korvold, or delay enchantment decks that take time to double, like Doom Foretold archetypes.

2x Ravenform - The addition of this card to the deck is to deal with very problematic creatures, where the other answers are not enough. In the early days of Kaldheim, the field is full of Rakdos and Jund with Egon and Korvold, creatures that bypass almost any removal of the Temur. These are the main targets, but it serves any other creatures that are difficult to deal with. In addition, you can remove The Great Henge or Embercleave.

2x - Saw It Coming - Before Kaldheim, the list used 2 copies of Negate on the main deck. However, this new counterspell is better for countering any spell including creatures like Egon, Korvold or Vorinclex, strong cards against which we do not have so many interactions. The foretell ability is useful for giving the opponent less information and reducing the cost of the spell by 1 colorless.

4x Cultivate - Currently the Standard's best three-mana ramp. There is no reason not to use 4 copies on a deck whose purpose is to ramp to conjure high cost spells that win the game.

2x Migration Path - It's a great ramp that normally allows us to cast the Ultimatum or even Ugin in the next round of casting for that ramp. The cycling ability gives the card versatility, as it can increase the chances of not losing land drop in 2/3 turns or buy a card in the late game, when we no longer need to ramp.

1x Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider - The Phyrexian creature enters the deck as a new threat to close the match. While it exchanges with almost any creature, if revealed in an Ultimatum along with Ugin, it allows the planeswalker to use -10 as soon as he enters the field and avoids cards like Scavenging Ooze, Korvold, Fae-Cursed King , planeswalkers and sagas of the opponents to act against you.

1x Waking The Trolls - I thought about using two copies of this card, but when testing at Early Access, I opted for a single copy to make room and put a Vorinclex on the deck. The saga of trolls is good when we managed to cast it in turn 5 to try to get the opponent in mana screw or reveal in the Ultimatum. The problem is that it is slow and takes 2 turns until the third chapter works and makes a small army of 4/4 trolls with Trample.

4x Beanstalk Giant - The giant with adventure that ramps is indispensable because it fulfills its role of enabling the main plays earlier in the game and is a threat in the late game. TheAdventure side is very interesting since it seeks a basic land on the deck and puts it in an untapped field, that is, it allows us to ramp a land and spend the shift with an interaction in case we have 5 lands in the field, unlike Cultivate, which put a basic land tapped and another in hand.

4x Genesis Ultimatum - As stated at the beginning of the article, this card together with Ugin are the main threats of the deck. Looking at the top 5 cards in the deck and placing up to 5 permanents among them on the field is really strong and often wins the game automatically. Here we always try to reveal a Ugin to clean the table and other permanent ones, like Beanstalk Giant, Vorinclex and Waking The Trolls to compose a table and “turn the key”. Due to the construction of the deck, the Ultimatum sometimes reveals 2 or 3 lands and 2 or 3 spells. This is not necessarily bad! The card advantage generated by the Ultimatum can win us the match, if our life have not been under much pressure.

3x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - Also known as Ugin, which wins games. I decided to remove a copy in the Kaldheim version of that Temur Ramp because the deck is a little less dependent on the planeswalker to win. It is still the main card to reveal in an Ultimatum or conjure, but we have the Izzet saga to clean the board, the Troll saga to apply pressure against slow decks and Vorinclex. Dragon Spirit is good against any deck, whether aggro, midrange, or control: it will reset the table and demand an immediate response every time.

2x Disdainful Stroke - Although Saw It Coming is perhaps the best counterspell of the moment, Disdainful Stroke has the advantage of always costing 2 and countering any high cost spell. This means that, with 4 lands on the table, we can ram manap with the Beanstalk Giant and pass open in the interaction or increase the chance of having the interaction in the turn that we use the Ultimatum. Later, it may be that Saw It Coming is showing a better counter, but we need more tests to judge.

2x Fire Prophecy - It remains a good removal against aggressive decks and deals with almost any creature until turn 3, in addition to being able to "cycle" your hand, if there is any card with little use at the moment. For this reason, it can be a “not dead” card in hand in the late game (it is interesting to keep at least one piece of land in hand for this situation).

1x Wilt - As discussed earlier, many decks are using enchantments and / or artifacts. Therefore, a second copy on the side as a precaution.

2x Soul-Guide Lantern - I have noticed that many decks with graveyard interactions are seeing play in the current format. So, the Lantern seems the best answer for its versatility to exile a main threat when it enters, such as Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger or Woe Strider, exile the opponent's entire graveyard, if necessary, or draw a card for 2 colorless mana (1 to cast the artifact, another to draw the card).

2x Mystical Dispute - The best conditional counter against blue decks cannot be missing in the sideboard. They are playing some lists of Izzet flash, Temur legends and Azorius, be it Flyers or Blink. If you increase the number of blue decks, I recommend increasing the copies of that card on the side.

2x Soul Sear - Against decks with many creatures, this removal works very well, dealing with almost any problem other than late game.

2x Ox of Agonas - Considering that some Dimir Rogues still hover over the metagame and black decks with discards and removals, the famous Ox is useful to make a threat when we conjure from the graveyard paying the Escape cost and serves to generate card advantage.

2x Shark Typhoon - This card is simply magnificent against slow decks, serving in the Early game to draw more cards, as a threat in the late game when cycling the card on the opponent's end step or even as an enchantment of 6 mana. Against mid / control decks, it is one of the best cards to have on the sideboard.

I hope you enjoyed it and this explanation of the deck is useful for you to get good results with it.

See you soon!