The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Early Access Streamer Event – Standard Meta Impressions and Decklists for Day 1

I had the pleasure of getting Early Access to The Lost Caverns of Ixalan on Arena thanks to the Streamer Event. I could play Limited and Constructed as much as I wanted!

I opted for Standard to test out the waters before the release.

Today, I want to share with you a couple of conclusions and decklists after being the first person to actually play with the cards!

Tempo is Dead?

One of the decks I wanted to test out was Mono Blue Tempo – a deck historically known for being very lean and full to the brim with countermagic.

Right off the bat I have to say that there were two cards that I found pretty impressive.

This flashy flyer overperformed hard. It offered early chip damage but it couldn’t be disrespected for long, since the chorus counters amassed very fast.

On the fourth attack, I could just play Haughty Djinn, Tolarian Terror or Flow of Knowledge completely for free – solidifying my position.

It was particularly useful since my plan was to keep holding up countermagic and remove anything from the stack that I didn’t like. I did not usually have time to further deploy my own cards while countering my opponent’s.

Another card that I liked was Out of Air. In this Mono Blue deck, costing UU is a non-issue. Therefore, playing Essence Scatter which can always act as Counterspell was very useful.

Deckbuilding-wise, I put it into the ‘anti-creature spells’ slot, treating it as the aforementioned Essence Scatter. The fact that it can sometimes be a catch-all is pure upside.

I doubt there are going to be decks that can accommodate it other than Blue Tempo since it has a restrictive cost and necessitates very specific play patterns.

Let’s get to the issue at hand though – Cavern of Souls!

Me – Turn one Island, go.

Opponent – Turn one Copperline Gorge.

Me – Turn two Island, hold up Make Disappear.

Opponent – Cavern of Souls naming Dinosaur, play uncounterable Belligerent Yearling.

Me – <concedes>

I felt so defeated at that moment since my entire deck was invalidated in the blink of an eye. I knew I could never keep up with anything my opponent does when half of my spells are unusable.

The presence of Cavern might push away all the countermagic-based strategies and they’ll either vanish or adapt in some capacity.

For example, Mono Blue players might become Dimir Tempo pilots where you keep the flash flying theme but put a much bigger emphasis on removal.

Ramp Is the Name of the Game

With Cavern of Souls promoting creatures, there is one particular creature type that is happy to get out of the gates – Dinosaurs.

I’ve talked about Dinosaurs a good bit, expecting them to be at least somewhat of a viable player in the metagame. Much to my surprise, most games I played in Early Access where against Dinos! It’s clear that I wasn’t the only Dino fan.

A huge reason to venture into Dinosaurs is having access to an actual turn-one ramp. Lorekeeper gets you ahead of curve with a three-drop as soon as turn two.

These were the two most powerful threes I could pump out. Pugnacious Hammerskull in particular overdelivered hard. When deployed early against any aggressive deck, I felt like I couldn’t lose since it takes a ton of effort for a red strategy to get through a 6/6 threat.

While it does have a downside, you can wait it out on the defense and then choose the perfect moment to strike back.

Raptor played a big role as well. It allows a clean curve of deploying Raptor and the following turn playing a land, getting the trigger mana, and slamming Etali, Primal Conqueror.

This sequence is also tough to disrupt since Raptor has Ward and that potential Etali is put on the stack which cannot be countered.

The original ramp decks are here to stay as well and Cavern of Souls is also a great addition to them.

Historically, Disdainful Stroke has been the best sideboard answer to these big decks but it is no more.

Titan of Industry will just get slammed onto the battlefield with confidence – as it will always resolve. The alternative is battling it with removal but it’s going to be hardly effective.

Sorry, Cut Down

If we follow the logic there, decks will become bigger and badder. They don’t necessarily have to be Dinosaurs, as I expect Glimpse the Core to be shoved into multiple different shells.

This card enables the play pattern of turn two Glimpse into turn three four-drop of choice – be it Hulking Raptor, The Wandering Emperor or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse.

With that in mind, I think Cut Down is going to be at an all-time low. It won’t disrupt early since this ramp method uses a spell and it won’t disrupt late, as it is an inherent by-design blind spot of the card.

We will see how the situation shakes out but it does seem like it’s better to put them back into the binder.

I’ll be on the Play

Ramp puts you ahead of schedule but if done on the play this effect is further exacerbated.

If you’re on the play, your turn two Pugnacious Hammerskull will probably be staring at the opponent’s single land.

There is going to be a huge disparity between what’s done on the play or draw.

The same goes for Glimpse the Core. You get a Sheoldred, the Apocalypse on your turn three that’s looking at the opponent’s embarrassing two-drop.

Pure Aggression

Let’s summarise a few points here.

1. Cut Down is going to see less play.
2. Decks are going to play longer games where they ramp to a payoff.
3. Being on the play is important.

Let me show you the way I’d like to tackle it.

My choice to attack a metagame with these qualities would be Mono White that’s a bit heavy on removal.

I want to take advantage of the fact that there is less Cut Down floating around and punish all the go-long decks.

However, you don’t want to walk into a 6/6 creature on turn three and be unable to win. That’s why I ditched Mono Red as a contender.

Therefore, with four Brutal Cathar and a couple more hard removal like Get Lost or Ossification you can actually break through!

More Decklists

On Day 1 I want to be casting Glimpse the Core or punishing people for casting it. That’s my plan! If you are after more brews from streamers during the event, check it out below!