Welcome Brew Crew. First some introductions, my name is Ryan Archer and I am a member of Team RIW. I’ve been playing Magic for a long time, but recently focused on my goal of making the Pro Tour. When Dragon’s Maze was released, it introduced some of my favorite Standard cards: Advent of the Wurm and Voice of Resurgence. I really liked the power level of both of these cards and was surprised that no one was as excited about them as I was. I began my journey towards creating the deck that I am now playing GW Aggro.
voice

Why Brainstorm Brewery? Well, probably like most of you reading this, I am also interested in MTG Finance. I have been working for RIW Hobbies for almost ten years now and as such, have seen the cyclical rising and falling of Standard card prices, the slow rise of eternal-playable card prices, and the crazy spikes from EDH cards. I have always been involved in MTG finance but it wasn’t until I tuned into the Brainstorm Brewery podcast that the fire was ignited. I have been making money on Magic more now than ever, and I have these guys to thank.
I read Scion of Vitu-Ghazi and I immediately thought the guy was the Nutter Butters. I thought to myself, “I am going to go deep on this guy and am going to make a lot of money.” I got in cheap enough that even if it didn’t hit big I wouldn’t lose much. No one was playing it, so I decided I would brew a deck that did and then surely the price would go up. All I would have to do is win a few events, with a deck that no one’s seen, playing a card no one thought was good, and that would be enough. Well, I accomplished the first part but the price on Scion still hasn’t budged. It’s time to keep trying.
Why should you care about what I have to say about this GW Deck? On several occasions I have been called the GW master (I said it about myself – still counts). I also have been tearing up the Constructed scene here in Michigan. I won the Professional Events Services-sponsored Michigan states tournament. I also came in second and third at the Michigan TCG states one week later.
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That’s right, I got to be state champion for a whole week. With all the states tournaments next year we should take all the winners and make them play out a top eight to see who the real state champion is. Most recently, I took the GW deck to a third-place finish at the SCG Open in Indy.
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All right, enough of the sick brags (though making second and third at the same tournament kind of warrants them). It’s time for the real reason you’re here. Let’s discuss the deck list I played at the Open.
I primarily expected a lot of Mono Black, Mono Blue, and Esper Control decks. This GW deck has a pretty good game against Mono Black and Esper, along with any aggro or midrange deck that don’t play Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Mono Blue is an okay matchup but if they ever play Master of Waves, you cannot win. Also, Thassa, God of the Sea is a huge beating to play against.
For this article, I don’t want to do a tournament report. Because the deck is fairly unknown, I feel it is better to go over the card choices and explain the numbers and why certain cards made the cut.
I was fortunate enough not to have to play against Mono Blue all day. I had a bit of bad luck in some of the matches I lost, but that’s Magic. It’s very difficult to not run into bad luck when you play twelve matches.
Onto the card choices:
4 Experiment One
Against certain decks it’s very important to put a lot of pressure on them from the beginning. Experiment One does a good job at attacking early while still growing and being relevant in the late game. His regenerate ability is especially good against removal from Mono Black and Supreme Verdict because you have no shortage of creatures to start growing him again.
3 Fleecemane Lion
Like I said, early pressure is important and the lion has decent stats. I think his monstrosity ability is just okay, because he either gets outclassed by larger monsters, or their decks have sacrifice cards like Far // Away or Devour Flesh. He also doesn’t match up well against Blood Baron of Vizkopa.
4 Voice of Resurgence
I don’t know what else to tell you about this card you haven’t heard already. It is awesome. Good against every deck. Some of the removal in this format targets attacking creatures, which can be very awkward when staring down a Voice. The token gets huge and can be populated. Do not sideboard this card out.
2 Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
LOL wut? Don’t laugh, this card is great. It can break open midrange mirrors by populating two wurms a turn. It is also a good top deck against Mono Black or Esper when they have spent all their resources to kill your team and you’re both low on cards. Play this and kill them with an army of centaurs. Guildmage is better later in the game so only two are necessary.
4 Loxodon Smiters
I’ve seen some recent lists move away from this guy but I don’t understand why. A 4/4 for three is great. Sometimes your blue opponent will pass the turn with mana up hoping to counter your spell and you play this guy. Frown town for your opponent. He smashes in for a lot and is a great blocker against the aggro decks. I have yet to make my opponent target him with a Thoughtseize but I’m going to keep trying.
4 Boon Satyr
Alright! The card I was most excited about from Theros. This card has been an all-star. It has flash against Esper decks. It makes combat math a nightmare for your midrange opponent. You have not lived until you bestow Boon Satyr onto your wurm token. There’s one more trick but I’m saving it to mention with Scion.
1 Banisher Priest
I have to admit I don’t love this guy, but he does fill a role. That role? Kill Master of Waves. Sure, he can do other things, like make your opponents waste their removal on him. But you really need to kill the blue menace. I made space for one in the main to help out the Mono Blue match (he can also eat a devoted Thassa). He wasn’t bad in the GR matchup either, so there is that. I would not play more in the main because he is so bad against Esper.
4 Advent of the Wurm
If I have to explain to you why a 5/5, for four mana, at instant speed, that has trample, should be in your GW deck, you’re playing the wrong game. I would rather populate the wurm than an elemental in most cases, just to let you know. Also of note, he is only green which means he wins fights with Blood Baron.
1 Polukranos, World Eater
Come on, this guy eats worlds, how could you not love him? He passes the Blood Baron test and also kills Master of Waves. Basically a 5/5 for four in this deck but he earns his keep.
3 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
Oh boy, strap yourself in. I have a lot to say about this guy. But first, a short story of the time I met Ryan Bushard:
It’s July 2013. M14 just came out. I’m playing in the SCG Classic in Lansing. I’m playing a pre-rotation version of the GW deck. Basically the same deck, because not much rotated. Round four, I play against someone whose friend is next to him wearing a Brainstorm Brewery Shirt. I tell him I like that podcast and he says Ryan is here if you want to meet him. I say naw, trying not to seem too eager. I finish the tournament in the top eight but before it’s announced I run into the same guy who is with Ryan. I shake Ryan’s hand and explain that I really like the show and that it got me into speculating. He asks what cards I’m looking at and I explain that I went deep on Scion of Vitu-Ghazi. He smiles and explains to me that the card could be a good choice because the casual crowd could like it one day. He is obviously trying to be nice, but I can tell he doesn’t approve. I smile and explain that I just made top eight with three copies in the main deck. He stares at me blankly before smiling and congratulating me. Later on, Ryan Tweeted “just bought 174 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi #mistake?” I laughed to myself reading it, and on the next Brainstorm Brewery podcast Jason’s pick of the week was Advent of the Wurm and Ryan’s was Scion of Vitu-Ghazi. Just wanted to let you know, Ryan, that I am still working on making this a profitable spec.
Okay, back to Scion. Let me first explain why the other choices for five drops are bad. The answer is: all the one-for-one removal that is getting played right now. Both Kalonian Hydra and Archangel of Thune do nothing when immediately targeted by a Doom Blade. I need a little more resistance from my five drop.
So Scion, with nothing on the board, is a five-mana 4/4 that makes two birds. That’s six power for five mana spread across three bodies and two of those bodies have evasion. When they Doom Blade, you’re still left with two guys. Some sweet plays that Scion enables:
Against midrange decks you can live the dream and cast turn-four Advent, untap, cast turn-five Scion. That’s fifteen power when you had none. Their one-for-one removal is not so good now, huh?
That same play is also good enough to seal away most games against aggro decks.
The three creatures power up an elemental token from out of nowhere and Scion can make more elementals.
The birds are great creatures to feed to a Desecration Demon.
The birds can fly over a stalled ground board state.
The birds are really good at attacking planeswalkers.
The birds can be suited up with Boon Satyr to take huge chunks out of your opponents life (or planeswalkers).
Your opponent can’t play an Elspeth, Sun’s Champion and -3 to kill all your creatures because the birds survive and kill Elspeth.
The birds can block your opponents flying creatures.
The birds can fly over Blood Baron.
bird
Caw!
I’m making a case for the birds because if you ever populate something bigger you’re probably winning already and you don’t need me to tell you that’s good. By the way, all of these situations have happened to me while playing, and yes, they did feel great.
4 Selesnya Charm
This charm does everything. Sometimes it’s an early attacker that can be populated. Sometimes it’s a combat trick that your opponent must respect (which can allow you to get some free attacks in). Most of the time it’s a removal spell for the cards you can’t deal with, the big ones. I’ve removed huge Revenant Hunters, Polukranos, World Eater in response to monstrosity, Desecration Demons, and it’s also a great answer to the gods.
2 Rootborn Defenses
A nice answer to removal, but mostly just there to beat Supreme Verdict. If you can save your team from a Verdict and make your opponent waste his turn you have probably already won. I do sometimes cast it just to make a wurm.
G/W Aggro
Land (24)
9 Forest
7 Plains
4 Temple Garden
4 Selesnya Guildgate
Creatures (26)
4 Experiment One
3 Fleecemane Lion
4 Voice of Resurgence
1 Banisher Priest
4 Boon Satyr
4 Loxodon Smiter
1 Polukranos, the World Eater
3 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
2 Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
Spells (10)
4 Advent of the Wurm
4 Selesnya Charm
2 Rootbound Defenses
Sideboard (15)
2 Pithing Needle
2 Banisher Priest
3 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
2 Unflinching Courage
1 Brave the Elements
1 Druid’s Deliverance
1 Gods Willing
1 Last Breath
1 Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice
This article has already gone long, so in my next article I will cover the sideboard and any changes I would make to the deck. In Constructed Magic, formats are constantly shifting so you should be adapting your deck to beat what decks you expect. Just be sure to not change so much that your deck is not accomplishing its original goals.
Please let me know what you think in the comments and make suggestions of any future topic you would like me to cover. I’m a tournament player first and a financier second, so I can discuss a wide range of decks across multiple formats. I like the idea of reviewing some format or deck and then giving feelings on the financial opportunities from a tournament player’s perspective. Let me know if that’s something that interests you. Thanks for reading.













Welcome back disciples of Vitu-Ghazi! Today we are going to take an in-depth look into sideboarding strategies with the green/white deck that I played at the SCG open. If you haven’t read my previous article where I broke down all of the card choices for the deck, you can find it here. I also want to discuss some of the cards that are difficult for the GW deck to beat. And lastly, I received some questions after the last article, so we can cover that, too. Ready? Let’s go.
Thoughts on Sideboarding
Sideboarding is an often-overlooked topic in the game of Magic. I find this very strange because you will play just as many, if not more, sideboarded games as maindeck in any given tournament. Players will often do a lot of playtesting with their decks before boarding and not bother testing the sideboard games. Again, this is a mistake because sideboard games are very different. Control decks generally become a lot better because they are able to sideboard out all the dead cards against you and board in cards that are especially good against you. Decks with fewer colors, i.e. the mono color decks, tend to have fewer options when it comes to sideboarding, so they not be as strong as a two-color deck could be. Aggro decks usually don’t have powerful cards to board against each deck because they stick with their initial strategy of just killing you fast.
Another mistake I see a lot is when people over sideboard. You don’t want to be sideboarding so much that you are no longer accomplishing the deck’s initial goal. Let’s look at aggro again. Maybe you’re a mono red player that is playing against Esper Control. You want to bring in four Burning Earth, which is good, and then you decide that you should bring in four Skullcrack to prevent them from gaining life with their Sphinx’s Revelation. Ok, maybe? Then you see your Mizzium Mortars and decide you need that to kill their Blood Baron because you can’t win if they play it. You end up boarding in so many non-creature spells that you have to board out some creatures and now you are not fast enough to kill them before they start playing powerful spells. Obviously, this example is a little far-fetched but you get the idea.
Before going through my sideboard guide, I also want to explain that sideboarding is a strategy that should not be set in stone. I will deviate from this guide in a tournament depending on what I see from an opponent. You should use this guide as an example and not the rule. For reference here is the deck I played at the open:
G/W Aggro
Land (24)
9 Forest
7 Plains
4 Temple Garden
4 Selesnya Guildgate
Creatures (26)
4 Experiment One
3 Fleecemane Lion
4 Voice of Resurgence
1 Banisher Priest
4 Boon Satyr
4 Loxodon Smiter
1 Polukranos, the World Eater
3 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
2 Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
Spells (10)
4 Advent of the Wurm
4 Selesnya Charm
2 Rootbound Defenses
Sideboard (15)
2 Pithing Needle
2 Banisher Priest
3 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
2 Unflinching Courage
1 Brave the Elements
1 Druid’s Deliverance
1 Gods Willing
1 Last Breath
1 Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice
Matchups
First up:
Mono Black Devotion
Game one is usually very easy for GW aggro. They play a lot of creatures that don’t really worry you. They attacked with a 2/3 flier? So what? They played a 2/4 and drained some life? Don’t care. They played a giant 6/6 flier demon? Snack on this bird for a second while I kill your master.
The best way to win against mono black is to put a lot of pressure on the board quickly. As long as you can pressure them early, even if they spend their turn to kill a guy you are still attacking them for damage. That adds up and you can finish them off with your big threats. Eventually they run out of removal and they have to play their mediocre creatures.
I found that the only way for mono black to keep up is with an exceptional hand with a lot of removal followed up by an Underworld Connections. The enchantment is a great way for mono black to be able to handle our creatures and still have enough gas left over to finish out the game. They need to be able to kill our early threats though, because if they don’t, tapping out on turn three to do nothing is usually good game.
Sideboarding:
- 2 Rootborn Defenses, – 2 Experiment One
Against the midrange decks I tend to take out Experiment One because it usually gets outclassed fairly quickly. Also, your plan is to take over the game through populating. I also take out Rootborn Defenses because it costs too much to try to “get” mono black.
+ 1 Gods Willing + 1 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi +1 Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice +1 Brave the Elements
Again, your plan is to overwhelm them through population. We bring in some cheap protection spells to protect our early aggression or our populating cards.
The matchup gets a lot tougher after board but still probably favorable. They bring in cards like Lifebane Zombie, Pack Rat, and more removal.
Some things to keep in mind:
- If they play Lifebane Zombie early, they now have a seven-turn clock to kill you. You need to play aggressively to outrace it.
- If they play Lifebane Zombie and your only creature is Loxodon Smiter, they have to take it.
- Turn-two Pack Rat is a reality. It can be beaten but it is difficult. If you’re worried, you can bring in Pithing Needle.
- Try to keep a mana up to protect your important populate creatures by casting Gods Willing or Brave the Elements.
Mono Red
There are a few different mono-red decks out there. There’s a fairly fast deck with a curve that stops at four with Fanatic of Mogis, and then there is the devotion-style deck that plays some bigger spells like Stormbreath Dragon. Both of these matchups play out similarly. GW’s creatures are too big and aggressively costed for mono red to smash through. They may have a Firefist Striker to get through but that’s usually not enough. Usually, the only way they can win is with Fanatic of Mogis, so make sure to pay attention to the number of red symbols on your opponent’s side of the field.
Sideboarding
- 1 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi, -2 Rootborn Defenses, -2 Boon Satyr
Scion comes out because it is a little slow. I don’t take them all out because I like the fact that the card turns the tide very quickly and lets you start attacking while leaving back three fresh blockers. Rootborn Defenses is just not needed. I don’t really like Boon Satyr in matches where there are a lot of creatures. In this case he doesn’t block anything and survive.
+1 Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice, + 1 Last Breath, + 2 Unflinching Courage, + 1 Druid’s Deliverance
The goal after board is to try to gain as much life as possible. Last Breath can help to take out problematic creatures like Firefist Striker. Druid’s Deliverance is just to not die and sometimes make a two-mana wurm. The fog is sometimes relevant against Stormbreath Dragon.
Post board I feel confident about the matchup. The plan is the same except now you have a way to get out of Mogis range.
Some things to consider:
- The deck has zero ways to interact with Stormbreath Dragon at the moment. We can race it and gain life. If the card starts seeing more play we might want to play something like Arbor Colossus.
- Druid’s Deliverance only stops combat damage to the player. Feel free to block and destroy their team.
- Last Breath can be used on your own creatures to gain some life in a pinch.
Mono Blue
Luckily, I did not have to play against mono blue at the open. I feel that this matchup is not that great. When the deck was gaining popularity I changed the maindeck of GW to include a Banisher Priest and a Polukranos, World Eater. The sole reason was to be able to deal with Master of Waves. This matchup is really swingy because they play a bunch of stuff we don’t care about, Thassa, God of the Sea, and Master of Waves. GW cannot beat a resolved Master of Waves. You have to kill it or you will lose. Thassa also makes it so attacking is not a good option because of her indestructibility. Mono blue can usually block and Thassa will kill one attacker. You can Selesnya Charm Thassa, though. The matchup usually comes down to how many of the above cards they draw.
Sideboarding:
- 4 Experiment One -2 Rootborn Defenses
Again, Experiment One comes out because Frostburn Weird blocks it. Rootborn Defenses doesn’t do anything
+1 Last Breath, +2 Banisher Priests, +3 Mistcutter Hydra
The Last Breath is strictly to kill Master of Waves. Do not play it to kill anything else. Banisher Priests deal with Master or Thassa. Mistcutter Hydra is to break through their wall of creatures and deal the final points of damage.
From what I’ve seen, mono blue doesn’t really board in anything particularly relevant, maybe Jace, Architect of Thought to stop all your creatures.
Some things to consider:
- I’ll warn you again, kill Master of Waves or you will lose.
- Mono blue has access to Cyclonic Rift, which is very effective if you are going the populate route to try to break through.
- Judge’s Familiar can be sacrificed to counter an Advent of the Wurm. Don’t forget about that little guy.

Esper Control
I believe Esper control is a good matchup for GW. You have maindeck Rootborn Defenses and lots of flash creatures. The ideal hand for GW would be early aggression, especially Voice of Resurgence, followed up with flash creatures and a Rootborn Defenses. You need to play guys early and leave up mana for Rootborn in case of Supreme Verdict. When they do not cast Verdict you can flash down another threat. You’re not so worried about the one-for-one removal. The plan is to apply so much pressure that they have to waste a Sphinx’s Revelation early, maybe for one or two, looking for an answer. If they cast a big Revelation, it’s usually tough to come back.
Sideboarding
- 1 Banisher Priest, -4 Selesnya Charm, -1 Loxodon Smiter
Banisher Priest doesn’t kill anything, neither does Charm. A 2/2 with flash is not good enough. Smiter is just a little too slow.
+ 3 Mistcutter Hydra, + 1 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi, + 2 Pithing Needle
Scion is just another big threat that cannot be one-for-one’d. In this matchup I rarely try to populate out of fear of Verdict but usually the birds left behind do some work. Pithing Needle is mainly for Elspeth, Sun’s Champion. It is very difficult to beat it, but don’t be afraid to put one down naming Jace, Architect of Thought if you need to. Mistcutter Hydra, while not as good as it is against straight UW Control, is very good after they cast a Verdict. It is also a lot of quick damage when you end-of-turn cast an Advent of the Wurm, untap and cast Mistcutter Hydra, attack for a lot.
Post-board games get better for Esper but GW should still be favored. Don’t be afraid to mulligan if your hand doesn’t look like it’s fast or resilient enough. It’s tough to win through a Blood Baron of Vizkopa but it is not impossible. You should know that they usually would not cast Baron with the intent to Verdict so you can play out more creatures than you normally would. Birds plus Boon Satyr fly over Blood Baron quite nicely.
Some things to consider:
- I’ve seen more Esper lists moving Blood Baron to the main. This does not help out the matchup.
- It’s very tough to win after they cast Sphinx’s Revelation for four or more. Try to be fast enough that they need to cast it earlier.
- If they ever cast Supreme Verdict and you have an available Rootborn Defenses, you’ve probably just won the game. It’s that good.
GR Devotion
The GR devotion matchup is only as difficult as the number of planeswalkers they have. The rest of their deck matches up fairly poorly against our deck because they have small, stupid mana guys and we have 3/3 creatures. We have the ability to go big with wurm tokens and populate, which is especially good on Scion of Vitu-Ghazi. Our Selesnya Charm hits all of their important guys, especially Polukranos. Some lists run the Dragon but the latest SCG open-winning list did not. The main problem is Garruk, Caller of Beasts. It’s tough to attack through their guys to kill him and once he starts +1′ing you’re usually too far behind.
Sideboarding:
- 2 Rootborn Defenses, – 4 Experiment One, -1 Boon Satyr
Very similar to other midrange decks, Experiment One gets outclassed too quickly, and the other cards just aren’t that good.
+ 2 Banisher Priest, + 2 Pithing Needle, + 1 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi, +1 Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice, + 1 Brave the Elements
The Banisher Priests are there to remove the big monsters. Oftentimes GR will have some mana guys and then play one big threat. You want to have a way of removing their blocker to keep applying pressure. Don’t think that it will stay gone for good because GR can definitely kill a 2/2. It’s more of a tempo play or a way to get at their planeswalkers. Pithing Needle is there to name Garruk but can also name other planeswalkers, or can name creatures to stop monstrous. Scion and Trostani are to go big and Brave the Elements is a way to break through or dodge removal. GR devotion will bring in Wasteland Viper as a way of doing tricks with Polukranos. It’s good against us.
Some things to consider:
- Domri Rade plus a large creature can kill anything on your side of the field. I made the mistake once of thinking that my Trostani was safe from Mizzium Mortars. Then he Domri fought it with Ruric Thar.
- Arbor Colossus may not seem like much but he can favorably block every guy on our team.
- Killing their creatures lowers their devotion. Often times GR devotion won’t block when other decks would. You can use this to attack more aggressively.
Q&A
Last week I received the question, “Why no Trostani?” I’m assuming he meant in the main. Well the reason is that the core of the deck is an aggro deck. You want to be aggressive against a lot of decks. By applying a fast clock you make your opponent react to you. Trostani, while being a very good card, is not so good for the aggressive plan. Trostani is at its best against decks without one-for-one removal or Supreme Verdict. So if you expect a lot of GR, junk, or aggro decks, Trostani would be fine for the maindeck. For the open, I expected a lot of mono black and Esper decks so I moved her to the sideboard.
Let Me Know Your Thoughts
Well there you go – a deep dive into the matches and sideboarding of GW. There is a lot to cover so I probably missed some. If you have a matchup you would like me to discuss, leave a question in the comments. You can also comment on what you thought about each sideboarding decision or on what you think could change in the decklist. Currently, I am trying to find room for one Elspeth, Sun’s Champion in the 75 to deal with dragons and Blood Barons. I will respond to each and every comment below so let me know. Thanks for reading.