Standard: Dimir Self-Bounce - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

After a long absence since the banning of This Town Ain’t Big Enough and Hopeless Nightmare, Dimir Bounce returns to the Standard menu with the release of Boomerang Basics in Avatar: The Last Airbender, which offered the archetype another efficient tool to return cards to the hand and reuse them to generate value.

This is the core list that has been most used in Magic Online Leagues and Challenges. There is also a variant with more creatures and without Entity Tracker, but this seems too close to Dimir Midrange while ultimately being, currently, a worse deck by trying to mix two distinct mechanics.

By using only eight creatures besides Stormchaser's Talent, we adopt a more Control stance in most games; however, explosive sequencing is possible with a combination of Stormchaser's Talent and Boomerang Basics, allowing us to play two tokens with Prowess as early as turn two and then use our removal spells to keep the board clear while pressuring the opponent. The same result can be achieved, with a one-turn delay in exchange for two extra power, using Fear of Isolation.

On the other end of the spectrum, Entity Tracker is our key card, guaranteeing an extra draw with all the enchantments we play. The card advantage package is also complemented by Stock Up and the new The Legend of Kuruk, which also doubles as another win condition.

Maindeck

The Bounce package. Everything we play can be returned with one of these cards.

Fear of Isolation is a classic of this strategy and offers a decent body in the early turns while reusing any of our permanents, even guaranteeing the "land of the turn" if we lose a land drop.

Boomerang Basics was the new card from Avatar that motivated the return of the archetype. It doesn't have the same flexibility as This Town Ain't Big Enough, but it compensates by costing less mana to use and guaranteeing a cantrip in addition to the other effects of our cards. It can be used with Stormchaser's Talent in the late-game for extra draws, but it doesn't guarantee the same locking potential as the banned card.

Get Out's main function is to respond to troublesome creatures or enchantments, especially cards like Ouroboroid or Enduring Curiosity, but the bounce mode is relevant in many matches and ensures it's never a useless card in your hand.

The value. Each of these cards offers an advantage when it enters the battlefield and are our main bounce targets.

Grim Bauble and Nowhere to Run are effective removal spells, with Bauble becoming more necessary to deal with Badgermole Cub on turn two, or a mana dork on turn one.

Tinybones Joins Up is the option we have in place of Hopeless Nightmare, currently banned, and allows us to discard cards from our opponent's hand whenever we reuse the enchantment, exhausting their resources. It's a common Side-out because the current Metagame doesn't seem to favor this type of effect in Games 2 and 3.

The Legend of Kuruk provides another source of card advantage for two turns, and once transformed, it puts tokens into play for each spell we cast, with the bonus of them not being easily blocked. The Waterbending ability is irrelevant, since if you have 20 mana and creatures to pay the cost, you're probably already winning the game.

Entity Tracker provides a decent body with Flash that offers extra draws for each enchantment we play. Since most of the deck consists of enchantments, it becomes our best source of card advantage.

Stock Up is essential for any slower archetype in Standard today and offers a way to find the necessary cards among the top five, whether it's a land for the turn or more removal and win conditions.

More removal.

Unable to Scream deals with Badgermole Cub and Enduring Curiosity for one mana while triggering Entity Tracker.

Shoot the Sheriff resolves most creatures in the format today and interacts at instant speed with Ouroboroid before it dominates the game with the first wave of +1/+1 counters.

Twelve dual lands with a copy of Multiversal Passage for flexibility seems like the right number. Despite the need for consistency for Gloomlake Verge, a 2-2 split between Restless Reef and Undercity Sewers to have another threat for long games.

Sideboard

Board wipe, sweepers, call them what you will. They can all be used in matches against Aggro, but each has its own particularity.

Zero Point Ballad is excellent at dealing with the opponent's board on turn three and is another answer to Simic Aggro's more explosive turns both on the play and on the draw.

Day of Black Sun is a bit more versatile and less punishing, but at the cost of one more mana. It works against Aggro but also functions as an effective sweeper against some Midrange decks.

Devious Cover-Up deals unconditionally with creatures for five mana, and its Evidence cost allows it to also be used to remove combo pieces. Good against Bant Airbending.

Duress and Intimidation Tactics are spot discards that come in, respectively, against Control decks and in the Bounce mirror match, or against aggressive archetypes where we need an extra mana "removal". Tactics also works against Reanimator.

Oildeep Gearhulk is a versatile creature that comes in mainly in games against Midrange and in Red Aggro matches now that Screaming Nemesis doesn't lock life gain.

The extra copy of Shoot the Sheriff guarantees an instant-speed response against Ouroboroid or in games where the opponent's plan is a bit slower. It's possible to swap Unable to Scream in the main deck for it if we prefer less conditional instant-speed responses instead of meta calls.

Strategic Betrayal complements our graveyard hate package while also working in Jeskai Control games, where dealing with a dragon and removing the possibility of Shiko, Paragon of the Way generating value in the ETB is important.

Soul-Guide Lantern is our graveyard hate pick because we're in an environment where Reanimator cares more about bringing everything back with Bringer of the Last Gift rather than using Yuna, Hope of Spira, so having a one-shot effect that removes all cards at once seems better.

Nashi, Searcher in the Dark enters in matches where we need more value while the opponent has few blockers, guaranteeing the potential for extra card advantage in each combat.

Simic Aggro

IN

OUT

Dimir Midrange

IN

OUT

Jeskai Control

IN

OUT

Izzet Looting

IN

OUT

Mono Red Aggro

IN

OUT

Reanimator

IN

OUT

Gruul Leyline

IN

OUT

Bant Airbending

IN

OUT

Dimir Bounce

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

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Thank you for reading!