Pioneer: Golgari Food - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Let me start this article with a confession: I hate playing with or against Sacrifice decks.

It’s not that I think they’re broken or that they deserve to be banned, I just find them unpleasant on digital platforms like Magic Online or MTGArena because there are no shortcuts to their micro-interactions, so games go on for much longer than they should.

Decks like Jund Sacrifice are a good example of “killing with a spoon” in Magic. Sure, when two or more pieces start to stack, what used to be one damage per turn becomes three; the same as a Delver of Secrets flailing around in the air while counterspells and removals hold the game, but on digital platforms, the time consumed by those three damage is much longer than a single combat phase. So when Golgari Food won a Regional Championship last weekend, I couldn't help but be interested in it for two reasons: it has a combo-kill that theoretically accelerates the process of winning games, and its game plan is almost entirely dedicated to it, forgoing Mayhem Devil and the like in favor of doing one thing and doing it very well.

In my games, it was clear that Golgari Food is very strong. Its current version is consistent and, despite its passivity to some specific hate, it can respond to the Metagame as well as any of the archetypes at the top of the format today.

In this article, I'll dive into the current version of the archetype and present a Sideboard guide for the main Pioneer matchups in late 2024!

This is the same decklist that Marc Tobiasch used to win the Lille Regional Championship on November 10th. I usually enjoy playing around with numbers and trying things out before writing a guide, but none of the changes felt necessary in the current Metagame, and the card numbers make it clear that every piece is there for a reason and requires consistency.

Even Vraska, Golgari Queen, which is theoretically a flexible slot, works very well as a one-of. And let's face it: Marc won a 546-player tournament with this deck - each of the choices here feels right for the week we're in, and changes will be needed as other decks adapt to Golgari Food.

Maindeck

Our combo and the reason to play Golgari Food.

Ygra, Eater of All turns all creatures into Food, including Cauldron Familiar. Since we can sacrifice a Food to return Cauldron Familiar to the battlefield, it is possible to start an infinite loop with two copies of it - one will be sacrificed to return the other from the graveyard and repeat the process - and, with their ETBs, deal infinite damage to the opponent.

In addition to being combo pieces, both cards are decent on their own. Cauldron Familiar is known to slow down any deck with its chump blocks and ETB alongside Witch’s Oven while Ygra has a decent body for its cost and an ability that protects it from removal on an empty board or, at least, ensures that the opponent will pay a huge price to deal with it.

If we have Cauldron Familiar, it’s only natural that Witch’s Oven also enters the list due to its interactions. It also interacts well with Ygra, Eater of All and other cards we have in the list, such as Deadly Dispute and Gilded Goose.

Scavenger’s Talent is another core piece of the list: with it, we have enough resources to stay in the game for longer while we feed our graveyard so that all the pieces of the combo are there - the point where we use its third ability to bring Ygra, Eater of All back and start the loop.

Cache Grab feeds our graveyard for Scavenger’s Talent and Traverse the Ulvenwald, which has a micro-interaction with Vinereap Mentor and helps us set up the combo by putting Cauldron Familiar in the graveyard while we search for Ygra with it or with Traverse.

Traverse the Ulvenwald actually has a double function in this list: it helps us find the pieces of the combo while also reducing the number of lands in the deck, in addition to finding Boseiju, Who Endures or Cavern of Souls to deal with counterspells or some hate like Rest in Peace.

Gilded Goose is our other way of maintaining mana consistency with only 19 lands, in addition to putting a Food token into play and serving to hold the game for a few turns if necessary.

Vinereap Mentor also puts two permanents on the board for a low cost, its body trades relatively well in combat, and it also interacts with Cache Grab. It will rarely be our target for Traverse the Ulvenwald or Scavenger’s Talent, but it helps us to keep the consistency.

Fatal Push is the best removal in the format today, and Golgari Food benefits from it more than other strategies due to the ease of sacrificing permanents, making it a way to deal with both low-cost cards like Slickshot Show-Off and larger creatures like Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Archfiend of the Dross.

Deadly Dispute benefits from the number of permanents we put into play, interacts with Fatal Push, and provides a necessary card advantage for a list that doesn't have many ways to draw cards.

Vraska, Golgari Queen complements Deadly Dispute, but also wins due to its versatility: it destroys troublesome permanents and grows fast enough to do so at least twice. Its ultimate isn't as impactful in a list with few creatures like this, but it can win games occasionally.

Traverse the Ulvenwald and Cache Grab allow for more versatility in our land selection. In addition to the best options available in the colors for generating mana, we have three copies of Boseiju, Who Endures to deal with hate or with key enchantments and artifacts in some strategies, such as Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber or Artist's Talent.

Cavern of Souls protects Ygra, Eater of All from counterspells in Control games or against Spirits. Takenuma, Abandoned Mire feeds the graveyard while helping us recover Vraska, Golgari Queen or Ygra, Eater of All.

Sideboard

Abrupt Decay enters the Sideboard as another removal in games where we need to be more interactive and also deals with Rest in Peace and Unlicensed Hearse, the two main answers against graveyards in the current Metagame.

Pawpatch Formation has been growing in Pioneer by dealing with the token created by Unholy Annex, Arclight Phoenix, Archfiend of the Dross, among other cards while having other utilities, such as dealing with enchantments and cycling itself into its owner's hand with a bonus of a Food token.

Thoughtseize comes into play in games where we need to protect the combo from removal and/or play more midrange. We can also use it against other combo decks like Lotus Field or Izzet Creativity.

Leyline of the Void is our definitive answer against graveyards. I'm leaning towards using Unlicensed Hearse in this slot. However, Leyline permanently deals with graveyards while it's in play, and decks like Izzet Phoenix have a hard time answering it without Into the Flood Maw or Brazen Borrower, where Unlicensed Hearse is an easy target against Abrade.

Jegantha, the Wellspring is our Companion and makes the list basically because we don't have any deckbuilding concessions that prevent its use. There are times when a 5/5 that dodges Fatal Push is what we need to hold the game for a few turns, or to advance a clock while holding the opponent's with our life gain.

NOTE: I really think this deck is very difficult to Sideboard, so I tend to tweak numbers and reduce one or two copies to keep its core functional while adding answers as needed. However, the more non-permanent cards are in, the less I want Cache Grab, especially in matchups where paying two mana to mill four cards isn't enough

Izzet Phoenix

IN

OUT

Rakdos Prowess

IN

OUT

Rakdos Demons / Rakdos Midrange

IN

OUT

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Selesnya Company

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!