As much as I love the Jund deck (and judging by the number of comments Mike got for posting the decklist, it sounds like most of you are fans as well) I can’t keep myself from building and trying out new decks.

We have been talking a lot in the office about the Painter’s Servant and Chaotic Backlash. Chaotic Backlash seems like a reasonable sideboard card to have considering that three of the five top decks in the format are planning on resolving a Spectral Procession on turn 3. Combined with Painter’s Servant (naming White, of course), it is pretty easy to dome any deck for lethal by turn 5. I have been alluding to this deck on Twitter recently, and as promised, I am posting two lists that we have been working with.

Backlash “Beats”
4 Aunties Hovel
4 Graven Cairns
4 Sulfurous Springs
3 Savage Lands
7 Mountain
3 Swamp

4 Anathemancer
4 Goblin Outlander
4 Painter’s Servant
4 Stillmoon Cavalier

2 Lilianna Vess

3 Profane Command
3 Chaotic Backlash
4 Volcanic Fallout
3 Thoughtseize
4 Terminate

This is a straight BR build of the deck that we first brewed up earlier this week. Aside from the Servant/Backlash combo, this deck can also play the control game very well by dropping a Servant on white and then clogging up the board with an Outlander and Cavalier. With Servant in play, your Fallouts are now White, so they deal no damage to your pro-White army. Once you get ahead on the board, you can usually win a race by poking in for 2 a turn, then finishing the game with a Backlash/Anathemancer/Profane Command-returning-Anathemancer etc.

This deck was playing very well against the variety of token decks and 5c, but had a pretty terrible matchup against Elves. Fallout can be terrible in this matchup if they get a heavy Vanquisher draw, and we really have no good answer to Chameleon Colossus. We pondered all sorts of sideboard cards (Threaten, Flame Javelin, Banefire) but none of that was making us very happy. What we really wanted was Wrath of God and Path to Exile, and that meant adding another color.

Lark Lash
1 Mountain
2 Plains
3 Swamp
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Graven Cairns
1 Vivid Crag
2 Rugged Prairie
3 Vivid Marsh
1 Battlefield Forge
2 Vivid Meadow
1 Fetid Heath
1 Cave of Koilos
2 Sulfurous Springs

4 Anathemancer
4 Goblin Outlander
4 Stillmoon Cavalier
4 Painter’s Servant
3 Reveillark

2 Lilianna Vess

3 Chaotic Backlash
4 Path to Exile
4 Volcanic Fallout
3 Thoughtseize

SB (Tentative)
1 Thoughtseize
3 Ajani Vengeant
2 Thought Hemorrhage
4 Wrath of God
2 Whispmare
3 Runed Halo

Matt Ferrando built this version of the deck yesterday after we tested the Elf matchup with the BR build. Lark replaces Profane Command since they have virtually the same function in the deck, and Path replaces the surprising inadequate Terminates. Lark gives the deck more resilience and the potential for even more exciting/back breaking plays. Evoke Lark, return 2 Anathemancer, (your opponent has disconnected).

BDM tested this deck out on the Magic Online Beta last night and was crushing pretty solidly. Unfortunately we have not had a chance to revisit the Elf matchup, which is a high priority since that will likely be a popular deck for Regionals next week.

So which deck will I play? I have to say I am very tempted by this Backlash deck. Assuming the Elf matchup has improved, I will definitely play it (assuming I can get the cards of course). If not, Jund Ramp is still an excellent deck and I would not be disappointed to be dropping dragons at Regionals either.

With only a week until the tournament I encourage anyone who is interested to test the deck out and post comments!

~WillPoP