This past Saturday’s Win Condition Cup Qualifier saw the continued dominance of Oko, Thief of Crowns in the results and the overall metagame. 42% of the events deck played Oko. With three versions of the deck making it into the Top 4 in the event.
Congratulations to Jeremy Edmondson for taking his Simic Oko deck to 1st place. Jeremy added a new twist to the deck with the addition of Feasting Troll King. The big advantage that Troll King adds to the deck is that it has vigilance and trample. These abilities make it a formidable threat on your turn and makes it a key defender on your opponents turn. In addition, it creates three food tokens when you cast it that can be used to make into 3/3 elks, gain life, or bring back Feasting Troll King back to the battlefield from your graveyard. He is vulnerable to an opponent’s Oko making him into a 3/3 elk, but when he survives for a turn the upside provides excellent value. Here’s Jeremy’s deck.
Simic Oko, Jeremy Edmondson 1st Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier, November 2, 2019
| CREATURES (18) 4 Arboreal Grazer 4 Hydroid Krasis 4 Wicked Wolf 2 Paradise Druid 4 Gilded Goose PLANESWALKERS (7) 3 Nissa, Who Shakes the World 4 Oko, Thief of Crowns INSTANT (6) 2 Disdainful Stroke 4 Once Upon a Time LAND (29) 5 Island 4 Temple of Mystery 4 Feasting Troll King 4 Castle Garenbrig 8 Forest 4 Breeding Pool SIDBOARD (15) 2 Mystical Dispute 2 Negate 2 Aether Gust 1 Thrashing Brontodon 2 Questing Beast 1 Return to Nature 3 Shifting Ceratops 2 Veil of Summer |
The only non-Oko deck to make it into the Top 4 was Connor Waytyshyn’s Golgari Adventures deck. Connor used a list that played mostly the metagame version of the deck with the addition of a copy of Reaper of Night and a copy of the Great Henge. Reaper of Night is a 4/5 specter that gains flying if your opponent has two or fewer cards in hand. Giving the deck a late game evasive threat that can put away an opponent that can not interact with flying creatures.
The Great Henge is a powerful addition to the deck. It provides mana ramp with life gain and gives each creature that enters the battlefield a +1/+1 counter. This is very helpful against Oko because even when one of your creatures is turned into an elk it retains the counter, so you will have a 4/4 elk that is bigger than most of the creatures that Oko has on his side. Below is Connor’s full deck list.
Golgari Adventures, Connor Waytyshyn 2nd Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier, November 2, 2019
| CREATURES (27) 4 Smitten Swordmaster 4 Edgewall Innkeeper 4 Lovestruck Beast 4 Order of Midnight 1 Reaper of Night 2 Questing Beast 4 Foulmire Knight 4 Murderous Rider ARTIFACTS (4) 3 Lucky Clover 1 The Great Henge INSTANTS (6) 2 Assassin’s Trophy 4 Once Upon a Time SORCERIES (1) 1 Find / Finality LAND (22) 4 Temple of Malady 6 Swamp 6 Forest 1 Fabled Passage 4 Overgrown Tomb 1 Castle Locthwain SIDEBOARD (15) 2 Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage 1 Epic Downfall 1 The Elderspell 2 Thrashing Brontodon 4 Noxious Grasp 3 Duress 2 Veil of Summer |
Daryl Neiswenter brought Bant Oko. His version of Oko used the core shell for the deck with two key main deck inclusions. The first is Mass Manipulation. What it allows you to do is take control of your opponent’s creatures or planeswalkers. Taking your opponent’s Oko, Nissa, and a couple of creatures usually turns the game in your favor. The other utility card in the main deck is Time Wipe. I have personally used Time Wipe more lately because of its ability to wipe the board while protecting one of your creatures. In Oko mirror matches, the battlefield tends to get crowded with creatures, so a timely board wipe can turn the game in your favor.
BANT OKO, Daryl Neiswenter, 3-4 Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier, November 2, 2019
| CREATURES (13) 3 Arboreal Grazer 2 Deputy of Detention 4 Gilded Goose 4 Hydroid Krasis PLANESWALKERS (12) 4 Nissa, Who Shakes the World 4 Oko, Thief of Crowns 4 Teferi, Time Raveler INSTANTS (4) 4 Growth Spiral SORCERIES (4) 2 Mass Manipulation 2 Time Wipe LAND (27) 4 Forest 4 Temple Garden 1 Plains 4 Temple of Mystery 4 Breeding Pool 1 Castle Vantress 3 Fabled Passage 4 Hallowed Fountain 2 Island SIDEBOARD (15) 2 Shifting Ceratops 2 Lovestruck Beast 2 Narset, Parter of Veils 1 Prison Realm 1 Realm-Cloaked Giant 1 The Wanderer 3 Veil of Summer 2 Aether Gust 1 Negate |
The final Top 4 deck is Simic Flash with Oko by James Hames. Simic Flash has been around since Core Set 2020 arrived. Nightpack Ambusher is the key to the deck. Once Ambusher is on the board, it creates a 2/2 wolf token each time your do not cast a spell on your turn. The addition of Oko increases the overall power level of the deck and gives you the ability to act on your turn, while casting cards on your opponent’s turn to prevent them from playing their cards. The overall strategy of the deck does provide problems for opponent’s playing Oko because it can prevent Oko decks from playing their key cards. If Oko does not get banned it will be interesting to see if Simic Flash with its own Oko has the power to compete at the highest levels against Oko and friends. Below is James’ deck.
SIMIC FLASH OKO, James Hames, 3-4 Place Win Condition Cup Qualifier, November 2, 2019
| CREATURES (18) 4 Gilded Goose 4 Frilled Mystic 4 Brineborn Cutthroat 3 Nightpack Ambusher 3 Spectral Sailor INSTANT (15) 4 Mystical Dispute 4 Once Upon a Time 4 Quench 3 Sinister Sabotage PLANESWALKERS (4) 4 Oko, Thief of Crowns LAND (23) 6 Island 4 Breeding Pool 7 Forest 4 Temple of Mystery 2 Fabled Passage SIDEBOARD (15) 2 Wildborn Preserver 2 Veil of Summer 2 Wicked Wolf 2 Negate 3 Aether Gust 4 Shifting Ceratops |
Until next time. Good luck finding your win condition!