Standard - Gruul Prowess Leyline: Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Now that the World Championship is over, and Javier Dominguez has become a two-time World Champion, we have a lot of Standard data to analyze, including Gruul Prowess, one of the most popular decks in the format. Only one person made it to top 8 at Worlds with it.

However, the best thing about this is that three players decided to play a version of it centered around Leyline of Resonance.

Today, we'll explore this Leyline version, see how it performed in this competition, and discuss how it works. We'll also see how good it is against other meta decks and show you how to build its sideboard!

Before we start, let's see the lists of the best-performing players who brought this archetype.

Jean-Emannuel Depraz

Depraz decided to bring a list that can play for value with Questing Druid, and a game plan that relies less on explosive starts.

Overprotect is this list's biggest surprise. It is an "aggressive" protection that can help you finish matches or make sure your creatures stay on the board.

This list has a plan B, uses a higher curve, and value-based cards. Ideally, you'll play aggressively and try to finish matches quickly, but keep in mind you'll have to rely on the Leyline to set up an impactful sequence on the first few turns.

Brian Boss

On the other side, Brian decided to bring a more direct option. Monastery Swiftspear is more of a turn-1 card, and shows how this list clearly intends to dictate the rhythm of the game.

Snakeskin Veil is a key piece to protect your creatures, as you don't need a lot of mana to use it against removals like Anoint with Affliction.

Another clear example of how aggressive this list wants to be is Giant Growth, which puts more pressure on your opponents.

Witch's Mark is a viable option if you want to dig through your deck. It activates Prowess, Valiant, and Slickshot Show-Off. It also lets you discard excess lands and look for action at the same time.

If we only take a look at how these lists performed in the Standard phase of this tournament, Brian Boss got fourth place with 19 points, which is 79.17% of total disputed points. Depraz got 18 points, which is 75% of total disputed points.

This deck had a 70% win rate. It won 75% of the time against its cousin, Gruul Prowess Inkeeper, and 66.6% of the time against Golgari Midrange. These results were obtained from 4 and 3 matches, respectively.

It might not have been very popular, and many players might have specifically targeted it, but it still put 2 out of its 3 players among the top 8 performances, a very significant achievement.

So why aren't more players using this strategy?

High Risk, High Reward

Approximately 40% - that's how likely you are to draw an opening hand with at least one copy of Leyline of Resonance.

And, even if you don't start the game with this enchantment, you can still develop a pressure-based game plan with Heartfire Hero, Emberheart Challenger, and Slickshot Show-Off with Monstrous Rage and Turn Inside Out connecting damage.

However, when your Leyline is in play, everything can explode out of nowhere.

One of this deck's biggest issues is having enough gas at all times, and that's why this enchantment is great in it. A hand with 2 combat tricks becomes a hand with 4 - so, you'll give up one slot in your opening hand, but all your combat tricks will become 2.

And that's why this deck can make a difference: if you start the game with a permanent in play, you'll double all your spells and deal even more damage.

However, it's not that simple. The fact you need to play proactively means your opponent will have time to remove your creatures before you can make the most out of your spells. This power has a cost.

Playing the Deck

The key to this deck is the mulligan: look for an aggressive hand, preferably with the Leyline.

You need at least 2 creatures and Might of the Meek, which, despite not very aggressive, is excellent to recover from a mulligan. For instance, you can use it to develop a game plan with an Emberheart Challenger.

Another strategy is using Slickshot Show-Off with plot when you have enough protection to connect damage.

Glissa Sunslayer is one of this deck's biggest issues because, besides the fact we'll have to rely on Slickshot to deal damage, it can destroy our Leyline and delay our game plan considerably.

Try to keep blockers that can deal damage, if possible, with Turn Inside Out to preserve your board and buff Heartfire Hero and Cacophony Scamp.

In this part, we'll take Brian Boss' list as an example and see how it fares against the most relevant decks, but, in theory, this applies to any variation of this archetype.

We'll also go through these matchups considering archetypes and not decks so we can give you more information.

Midrange

Midrange is the most common matchup right now, and the majority of these decks are a combination of black and another color. The most common are Golgari (with green), or Dimir (with blue). The Dimir variation, in particular, uses more Demons, but all matchups will play out the same way.

Look for tools that make you more resilient against spot removals. Questing Druid will be essential to create card advantage, and Urabrask's Forge gives you a board every turn. You can also sacrifice its token to create value with Turn Inside Out.

Monastery Swiftspear is not the most effective card in this matchup, as it is an easy target to Cut Down.

Taking advantage of Giant Growth will be harder, as your opponent's removals are better.

Witch's Mark is less efficient than Druid, so we'll swap them.

Against Demons, bringing up Pawpatch Formation is interesting to deal with Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber, or with any big creatures you need to remove.

Against Golgari Midrange, you'll need Slickshot Show-Off to dodge Glissa Sunslayer.

Side In

Demons

Side Out

Demons

Aggro

In this race, removals are fundamental. You'll need Torch the Tower and Obliterating Bolt, particularly as they exile creatures and thus prevent Heartfire Hero and Cacophony Scamp from dealing damage.

The goal is to boost your game plan and finish the match before your opponent can. Prioritize Monastery Swiftspear, Emberheart Challenger, and Slickshot Show-Off to make the most out of your removals and buff your creatures.

Against Convoke decks, you can replace Torch the Tower for Lithomantic Barrage.

Side In

Side Out

Domain Overlord Ramp

Domain is the main ramp deck in the format. In this matchup, we'll need to be resilient to deal with our opponent's spot removals.

Snakeskin Veil is key to make sure we aren't hit with a 2-for-1 deal when our opponent tries to remove something.

Questing Druid is a way to get the gas we need to keep putting pressure.

We must prioritize Slickshot Show-Off's plot so we can make the most out of our mana whenever we can, and this way connect as much damage as we can.

Urabrask's Forge is excellent in the midgame, as it keeps putting pressure by disrupting our opponent's game plan.

Pawpatch Formation is a great option to protect ourselves from Leyline Binding, Glass Casket, or Temporary Lockdown.

You can add Rockface Village instead of a mountain and thus activate Heartfire Hero or Emberheart Challenger's abilities.

Side In

Side Out

Azorius Tempo

In this matchup, what matters is how aggressive we are, and we need to finish it before our opponent can set up. Lithomantic Barrage, Obliterating Bolt, and Pawpatch Formation will be our options to deal with our opponent and keep dealing damage.

Slickshot Show-Off is an excellent way to dodge the creatures Abhorrent Oculus puts in play with Manifest Dread.

Leyline of Resonance is essential. It puts a lot of pressure on our opponent.

Spells that return our creatures to our hand are terrible for our game plan, as are removals. So, we must be very careful when we use our combat tricks.

Sheltered By Ghosts is extremely difficult to deal with and can give them a lot of life, so keep an eye out for it.

Side In

Side Out

Gruul Prowess Leyline's opening line is almost unfairly too strong.

On the other side, it struggles with variance. You need to calculate its proportions very accurately to not draw too many or not enough lands, creatures, or combat tricks. You should also practice with it often to understand which hands you must keep and which you should mulligan. Knowing how to order your spells is also important, and, despite seeming easy to pilot, the fact you'll have to calculate your damage and mana often can be exhausting.

Nonetheless, the pressure Leyline of Resonance puts on the board is so great that your opponent will likely make a mistake more frequently - they might miscalculate their mana or damage, and this might cost them the game.

My opinion is that, with Leylines in play, this deck is very powerful and can decide the game on a single turn, but, without this enchantment, it is a bit weaker than other aggro decks. This doesn't mean it is weak overall.

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below!

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!