Sometimes, you don’t need a flashy combo or a convoluted strategy to win — you just need to play the best cards. Enter our brew this week, UR Ring, a deck that doesn’t rely on a specific win condition or complicated synergies. Instead, it focuses on raw power, playing the highest-quality cards from the UR color pair to simply outvalue the competition.
Plum here, and I know…I know….I know. This doesn’t look like Jank… and it’s not. You see me play and talk about a lot of ham sandwiches in these articles — decks that pull off convoluted combos or break the expectations of the color pie. But in reality, my main goal is to inspire and help people think outside the box. Sometimes that means taking a look at preexisting shells or packages and fine-tuning them to create something new. In this case, we’re taking two of the strongest packages in the format — Energy and Chorus — and smashing them together to take full advantage of both. Throw in some Rings and the Power 9 and we’re good to go!
The idea behind UR Ring is simple: we’re combining two incredibly powerful ability packages, Energy and Chorus, to outvalue our opponents through sheer card quality and synergy.
Let’s break it down.
We start with the Energy package, which includes Tune the Narrative, Aether Hub, Aether Spike, and Galvanic Discharge. Aether Hub helps us fix our mana and generates Energy, while Aether Spike gives us cheap interaction that is often comparable to good ‘ol Counterspell. Tune the Narrative powers both Discharge and Aether Spike while keeping our hand filled, while also setting up Discharge to deal 4+ damage for only 1 mana in the late game.
But here’s where things get interesting: we combine all of that with Ribald Shanty and Hymn to the Ages, two powerful cards from the Chorus package. These cards see paly in the format already in both UR Wizards and Jeskai control. Ribald Shanty not only works as early interaction, but also has the potential to deal massive damage as we build up Intensity, making it an incredibly efficient tool in the late game. The fact that it also boosts the Intensity of Hymn as the game goes on makes this two card “combo” potent and scalable.
By combining Energy and Chorus, we get a deck that’s flexible and efficient.
I filled in the rest of this list with good cards. Tamiyo, Ring, Oracle, and Narset are all incredibly powerful on their own, but when combined with efficient removal and draw from the packages mentioned above, they become even more potent.
The One Ring – No explanation needed here. This card is a powerhouse. It’s a massive card advantage engine, providing you with so many options and the protection you need to execute your game plan. The fact that it protects you from everything until your next turn is incredibly versatile, making it useful against aggro, control, and combo strategies alike. It gives you the breathing room to stabilize and set up your plays without worrying about losing your resources.
Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student – Tamiyo isn’t just a pretty face. As a solid blocker, she helps keep aggressive threats in check, and she provides card advantage by creating Clue tokens that let you dig deeper into your deck. In a deck like this, where recursion and value are the keys to success, her flip is where the magic really happens. Once she flips — which, thanks to the synergy with Hymn to the Ages, happens fairly easily — she gains the ability to buy back our Chorus spells, turning their Intensity into an absolute powerhouse. This lets you ramp up the value on your spells, potentially dealing massive damage or controlling the board with ease.
Oracle of the Alpha – The Power Nine are called the Power Nine for a reason — these cards define what it means to have access to raw power in Magic. [card name=”Oracle of the Alpha”] fits squarely into that category. This card is our main win condition, letting us loop powerful effects like Time Walks or even Timetwisters to control the flow of the game. Getting to a point where you can cast multipleTime Walks in a single turn or reshuffle the graveyard with Timetwister (especially with Narset, Parter of Veils out) often signals the game’s end. This card is pure inevitability, and with it, you can grind your opponent down to nothing while you set yourself up for victory.
Narset, Parter of Veils – Narset is an absolute all-star. Not only does she dig deeper into your deck, finding the cards that matter most, but she also gives your opponent something to worry about besides you. Her static ability is a powerful tool against decks that rely on drawing multiple cards per turn, and it’s especially strong against other Ring decks, as they’re often relying on card draw to fuel their engines. Her -2 ability combos wonderfully with Timetwister, letting you empty your opponent’s hand while you reload yours. This keeps your opponent on the back foot, trying to figure out how to keep up with your card advantage, while you keep the pressure on and continue to play your most powerful spells.
Together, these cards are a cohesive package of powerful synergies that allow you to control the game, lock out opponents, and ultimately win through overwhelming card advantage and recursion.
We were able to make it to Mythic relatively quickly (take that with a grain of salt, because I most definitely have the MMR of someone who plays Jank 24/7) playing against a variety of decks on the ladder. You can check out the video above of my stream and listen to me talk through some plays and matchups as we go.
Aether Spike is one of the unsung heroes of this deck, especially when it comes to dealing with tough matchups like combo and colorless ramp decks. These archetypes don’t really care about Shanty or Discharge, and the lack of opportunities to cast them means our Energy and Intensity production gets slowed way down. It’s much harder to hit that critical mass of Power 9 cards before the opponent can take over. In short,Aether Spike isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have against some of our toughest matchups. It’s also why we play a counter-heavy sideboard.
Closing Thoughts
Sometimes, It’s Okay Not to Reinvent the Wheel
In Magic: The Gathering, there’s this constant pressure to reinvent the wheel — to create something completely new, something no one’s seen before. And don’t get me wrong, I’m all about that creative brewing spirit. But sometimes, it’s just as effective — if not more so — to take a step back and build on what’s already strong.
Not every brew has to be something completely unique or way out of left field. In fact, often the most powerful decks are the ones that take existing cards, packages, and strategies that already work, and simply make them better by finding the right synergies. In the case of UR Ring, we didn’t try to create something entirely novel. Instead, we took two incredibly strong sets of cards — Energy and Chorus — and jammed them together in a way that no one else has really done before. While these cards have been seen in decks like Jeskai Control, we’ve fused them in a new way, creating something that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
By pairing powerful cards that already have established synergy, we’ve crafted a deck that doesn’t rely on one singular game plan or crazy combos — it’s just a powerhouse of value. And that’s a lesson I think every brewer should remember: sometimes, the best decks aren’t the ones that break the mold. Sometimes they’re the ones that optimize what already works, whether it’s by mixing two powerful packages or simply finding the right way to put them together.
It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that every new deck has to be a radical departure from the norm, but UR Ring proves that sometimes, the right combination of cards is all you need to create a deck that’s capable of outvaluing the competition.
Thanks for reading.
As always feel free to comment and leave any questions you have below! Make sure to come back next week for even more Fun & Jank!
If you want to see these decks in action, come hang out with me on stream where we test, refine, and have a ton of fun together!
Happy Brewing!
Premium
Enjoy our content? Wish to support our work? Join our Premium community, get access to exclusive content, remove all advertisements, and more!
No ads: Browse the entire website ad-free, both display and video.
Exclusive Content: Instant access to all exclusive articles only for Premium members, at your fingertips.
Support: All your contributions get directly reinvested into the website to increase your viewing experience!
Discord: Join our Discord server, claim your Premium role and gain access to exclusive channels where you can learn in real time!
Special offer: For a limited time, use coupon code L95WR9JOWV to get 50% off the Annual plan!
Plum is the creator of the Jank Tank.
He started playing at the ripe old age of 12 and immediately fell in love with the infinite possibilities that deck building could lead to.
He truly understands that jank is a mindset, and spends most of his free time brewing and concocting new and exciting deck lists to help inspire and promote creativity within the MTG community.
