The Pioneer Challenges of January's second quarter had the surprise of a new emerging archetype: Simic Oculus is a Tempo deck focused on getting Abhorrent Oculus into play as early as possible and protecting it at all costs with low-cost spells, taking full advantage of efficient two-mana creatures with Neoform to increase its consistency.
Reminiscent of the classic Delver decks, Simic Oculus has been performing increasingly well in events, and in this article, we delve deeper into its list and present a guide to the main matchups of the current Metagame!
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The Decklist
This is the standard Simic Oculus list that has been performing well in Challenges recently. Some changes can and will probably be made as the Metagame develops, but not only is this version the most consistent, it is also the perfect gateway to understanding the archetype and how it behaves.
We need to remember Simic Oculus is a Tempo deck. Mana efficiency is absolutely everything for it, and this variant reminds me a bit of the old Death’s Shadow lists, where everything costs one or two mana - but with the difference that your payoff cares about cards in the graveyard instead of your life total.
Maindeck
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Our win condition.
Abhorrent Oculus is an efficient four-turn clock that also doubles as a source of board pressure by always manifesting a card from the top. Our goal involves getting it on the board early and protecting it at all costs while it attacks in the air.
Neoform are copies 5-8 of Abhorrent Oculus that bypass its casting cost in exchange for another creature. We will hardly use it to search for anything other than an Oculus.
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To search for Oculus with Neoform, we need creatures with a mana value two and useful abilities. All of them have an ETB effect that helps to find Neoform, or put cards in the graveyard for Abhorrent Oculus.
Augur of Bolas, Thundertrap Trainer and Fallaji Archaeologist dig deep and can also find protection spells for Abhorrent Oculus, in addition to being decent blockers against Aggro.
Satyr Wayfinder is the worst of them, and a card I'm considering whether we really need it in the list. Feeding the graveyard for Oculus is important, but there are better cards that can be tried in this slot.
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Once Oculus comes into play, we must protect it at all costs.
Energy Flux doubles in this list because, in addition to "countering" opponent's removals, it also allows us to reuse our creatures' ETBs, which help us dig for Neoform to find our win condition.
Stubborn Denial is a Force Spike for noncreature spells (which is surprisingly useful in this Metagame) and turns into Negate when Oculus is in play.
Tyvar’s Stand provides protection against most sweepers, removals, and even works as a pump and combat trick if needed.
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With almost no cantrips and only 18 lands, this deck needs to find ways to find them with cards that have other uses besides manafixing.
Bushwhack is a classic of the Horror lists in Standard and operates as removal in addition to finding basic lands. Traverse the Ulvenwald can, on some occasions, find Abhorrent Oculus and serve as extra copies of it.
This easy manafixing makes me wonder if adding a third color would be viable, possibly for cheap removal and Thoughtseize, or
for cheap reanimation effects and good sideboard pieces.
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The mana in the list is pretty straightforward: four copies of all the dual lands that enter untapped in Pioneer, along with one-ofs from Channel Lands to have more interaction during the game, and combined with enough basic lands for Bushwhack and Traverse the Ulvenwald.
Sideboard
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Spell Pierce is a cheap answer against removals and archetypes that actively use their mana for high-cost cards and/or that seek to sequence several spells in a single turn.
Negate and Disdainful Stroke are more definitive answers against archetypes where games tend to stretch, or where we need to respond to specific cards like Bring to Light or Leyline Binding.
Test of Talents is a decent answer against Lotus Combo, and also works against Treasure Cruise on Izzet Phoenix, while Mystical Dispute also fits into these matchups and deals with Azorius Control and Niv-to-Light or Four-Color Zur.
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Natural State deals with almost all the artifacts and enchantments that are a problem in Pioneer today: Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Unholy Annex, Up the Beanstalk, Fear of Missing Out and Artist’s Talent.
It’s not good against Enigmatic Incarnation or Overlords, but we have other cards for this matchup like Pawpatch Formation, which in addition to dealing with enchantments, can flying creatures like Archfiend of the Dross.
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Unable to Scream is the best “removal” we have in blue today because it invalidates the opponent's creature and turns it into a 0/2 with no abilities for . Essential for dealing with larger creatures and blockers.
Into the Flood Maw is a good answer against Aggro that also works against targeted hate, or for dealing with tokens and other troublesome permanents. It's one of my least favorite cards in the list, but we lack more efficient options in this color combination.
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Ghost Vacuum is the traditional graveyard hate we have in the format and the best option for one mana available in the colors. Since our creatures (except Oculus) have low power, and we prioritize cost efficiency, it is a better option than Unlicensed Hearse.
Sideboard Guide
Rakdos Demons
IN
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OUT
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Izzet Phoenix
IN
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OUT
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Selesnya Company
IN
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OUT
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Rakdos Prowess
IN
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OUT
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Nykthos Ramp
IN
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OUT
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Wrapping Up
That’s all for today!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!
Thanks for reading!
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