Discard‑based decks are one of the primordial and historic strategies in Magic, motivated since 1994 by the release of The Rack in Antiquities. At the time, support or even deckbuilding refinement to make it work did not exist, but several new cards were released during the second half of the 1990s, such as Duress, Cabal Therapy, and Ravenous Rats, making it easier to empty the opponent's hand before they would have liked.From that point on, The Rack became the pillar of discard‑based decks, appearing even in Modern before the wave of power creep from the first Modern Horizons. Today, the artifact no longer holds the same appeal, but it could return to its glory days in Premodern, where the core that originally constituted its archetype remains relevant in the competitive environment.The DecklistMaindeckWe have already established that this is a discard‑based deck, but merely emptying the opponent's hand does not win games. The Rack does, punishing the opponent each turn their hand is empty.Cursed Scroll adds damage to close out games, since we often enter topdeck wars and can always use the card we just drew for its ability before playing it, while also keeping the board clear of smaller threats.Mishra's Factory takes advantage of empty boards to deal damage through traditional combat or to hold off the opponent's clock by blocking their creatures.Our ideal start includes Dark Ritual and some combination of targeted spells and Ravenous Rats or Bottomless Pit on turn one, which forces random discards each turn. There are cases where it creates "non‑games" by removing key cards or lands from the opponent, but it can also backfire. That is a risk we are willing to take.The targeted discard package includes the classics Duress and Cabal Therapy, complemented by Ravenous Rats, which we can sacrifice after its ETB to remove another resource from the opponent's hand.Funeral Charm can force the opponent to discard the card they just drew during their draw step if their hand is empty, preventing them from playing it in their main phase. It also works as spot removal early in the game.We try to run as few creatures as possible, letting us maximize Innocent Blood as one‑mana removal. We can try to save it for larger threats while Cursed Scroll, Smother, and Funeral Charm handle smaller or cheaper problems, but we do not always have that luxury.SideboardReanimator is a competitive and very popular deck in Premodern — especially in Leagues — and discarding cards helps its game plan. We need graveyard hate to "compensate" for this issue, and a full set of Tormod's Crypt seems like the best option.We could swap two copies for Phyrexian Furnace if we want less broadness and more flexibility.Gloom delays the most impactful plays from decks like Replenish, Enchantress, and Azorius Control, and Dystopia answers white or green permanents each turn if we can keep it on board long enough.Perish comes in against Elves and some Madness or Gruul Aggro variants that run Call of the Herd and Wild Mongrel / Basking Rootwalla.Engineered Plague is the best answer in the format against Goblins and other archetypes with many creatures sharing the same type, such as Elves, or Soldiers, Humans, or Rebels in White Weenie/Azorius Aggro lists.Sideboard GuideMono Blue StiflenoughtINOUTMono Black MidrangeINOUTAzorius ControlINOUTGoblinsINOUTElvesINOUTEnchantressINOUTGruul MadnessINOUTReanimatorINOUTWrapping UpThat's all for today!If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!Thanks for reading!
Sign in and join the conversation
— Comments 0
, Reactions 1
Be the first to comment