Archetype Discussion: Bant Spells
An increasingly common and well known bastion of cube archetype design is 
/ Spells-matter. The decks sees constructed play in just about every constructed format to some degree, and Wizards seems to be open to supporting it, if the Jeskai clan is anything to go by. A strategy based (very roughly speaking) on gaining advantage through the casting of efficient instants and sorceries backed by token generation and powerful creature anchors. The big question being posed has origins in decks that have been cropping up recently, both in my own and others' CubeTutor decklists (see below).
/ Spells-matter. The decks sees constructed play in just about every constructed format to some degree, and Wizards seems to be open to supporting it, if the Jeskai clan is anything to go by. A strategy based (very roughly speaking) on gaining advantage through the casting of efficient instants and sorceries backed by token generation and powerful creature anchors. The big question being posed has origins in decks that have been cropping up recently, both in my own and others' CubeTutor decklists (see below).
What if Bant is also an effective and powerful "spells" deck? How would one make it work?
First things first, what is the basis of how this deck was envisioned? Generally, I haven't thought about it as "Bant", but as color pairs bolstered by the third color. This strategy has helped me section out distinct sectors of cards that contribute to the decks overall goal:
+ , Azorius blink/Skies/Control + Green + , Simic tempo + White + , Selesnya ramp/tokens + BlueThis triad of concepts helped me define where I wanted to be, that it's a color pair using tools of a third color, with various flavors of the three above combining to form the deck we are looking for. What could each single color bring to the (theoretically) solidly defined strategy of the pair, and end up all working towards a common design? My overall archetype summary so far is:
A spell deck focused more on tokens and creature growth, mana ramp and recursion. The "Big" spells deck with access to various creature tool chests. More combat-based than control-based.A grandiose summary, I'll admit . But the basic concept is solid, I dare say. First some of the spells that I think make the concept solidly unique, the defining traits of the deck as a whole. Many of the cards are cards we already run, or could, which is a good sign as far as I'm concerned. In no particular order (yet):
. But the basic concept is solid, I dare say. First some of the spells that I think make the concept solidly unique, the defining traits of the deck as a whole. Many of the cards are cards we already run, or could, which is a good sign as far as I'm concerned. In no particular order (yet):
These are just representations of the cards important to the deck. Below I go through the distinct categories of spells that contribute to the archetype. The overall goal of what is laid out above is big, impactful creature based spells, with plentiful recursion and card advantage. Again, what can each pair gain by joining forces with the third? What can the pair bring? Below I break down how the color pairs unique offerings work together:
Selesnya: Spell-based token generation
GW brings tokens. Big, impactful tokens. These tokens can form the basis of a beatdown deck, but are still fully implicit in what a spells deck is doing. Rather than casting more controlling spells, using GW means we can be the power deck, the solidly forward-tempo deck in the matchup. There are definitely blue effects that can join in on the fun, first to mind being talrand's invocation
Simic: Creature-based card advantage engine
Creature-based CA? In a spells deck? Absolutely yes, in my opinion. From the decks below, I think this is one of the most unique angles that Bant Spells brings to the deck. Because of the heavier focus on combat green/white brings, we can more effectively utilize this creature toolbox of card advantage. We find additional support in different environments in cards like eidolon of blossoms and armorcraft judge, etc.
Azorius: Spells-matter backbone
A very important part of the deck, of course. This help gives the deck it's spells flavoring. Monastery mentor riding on the back of the other spells in the deck is brutal, and cards like seeker and nobilis drive the tempo and race in your favor. This package probably won't differ from the jeskai or versions of the deck, and I'm perfectly ahppy with that. In a cube, each major building block of an archetype should have applications in other places. The tokens listed above, for instance, play perfectly fine in a Dedicated ramp/midrange deck.
versions of the deck, and I'm perfectly ahppy with that. In a cube, each major building block of an archetype should have applications in other places. The tokens listed above, for instance, play perfectly fine in a Dedicated ramp/midrange deck.
Selesnya: Auras and combat tricks
A revelation for this deck, especially from decks I saw Grillo drafting, one of the most ubiquitous and underrated green spell categories, combat tricks. When figuring out what green really wants to contribute, this is the diamond in the rough. White offers it's trademark aura's to back up this end of the strategy. Cards like Eidolon of countless Battles play well with token generation, and can make an important roleplayer like Jhessian Thief much more impactful. Things I see benefit from incorporating combat tools into the equation:
: The card advantage engine can more easily find a foothold and start reliably connecting. A 2/2 Edric is meh. A 3/2 flying Edric, or a 4/4 trample Edric (instant Speed), is much more impressive, and will power out draw triggers.: Buffing Monks with multiple castings of Travel Preparations, or hitting big in the sky with a Niblis of Frost, will quickly bring the heat to Villian.
Green: Recursion!
Recursion really sets the green angle apart from the red angle, imo. One of the truly unique angles over red is the power to recur things. Being able to reuse key spells is sweet, and being able to reset an important creature is even sweeter.
Other things that colors bring to the table that a two-color deck was missing:
White: powerful removal. UG is notorious for running on a knife's edge because of lack of good removal, and white backs UG up handily by offering the most diverse spread of powerful removal in the game. This lets the "UG" deck take a breather and focus more on resource generation and set-up. We can take our suite of elves that is needed in UG to grab the tempo lead, and replace it with more utility effects, like Mother of Runes and Dakra Mystic. White also brings us protection spells, like Valorous Stance, to keep our board in the game long enough to close things out.
Blue: Card advantage is nice. Card advantage on the back of the big GW decks is insane. Casting a Stroke of Genius off of a Mirari's Wake seems strong. We can also double down on protection by stocking a couple key counterspells to sandbag for things like boardwipes and unmanageable threats.
Green/White: Creature toolboxes! Toss in a primal command, Recruiter of the Guard, and Chord of Calling, and we've got a solid axis for finding and setting up our much-needed creature base. Recruiter for Monastery Mentor, Chord for Sower of Temptation off of Secure the Wastes tokens for Maximum Value.
Additonally: sweet things that came to mind as I was dreaming this up
This is a sweet little spell. I realized it's even nice in the Red version for getting the likes of jeskai ascendancy. What do I want to do with it here? I think it can backup an enchantment based finisher:
Playing out a Primeval bounty and riding the slower pace the Azorius cards give you = awesome. Being able to hinge into a controlling deck, using a powerful enchanment to pull ahead, seems like a very cool and unique option.
Ramping it out is even more terrifiying-sounding than playing it on the long game. It can even hit targets we've got in this deck like Advent of the Wurm and Become Immense
The land engine slots beautifully into this deck! At least the green half, and it can be paired with things like Looters, to turn a land-engine into a card-engine.
Strategy
We are definitely playing the tempo game, but we are going for the beatdown. This is a progressive deck, not a reactive one. There can still be reacitve pieces of course, but we need to power out our card advantage enablers, start pumping out tokens, and riding a steadily growing board to victory. Efficient targeted removal clears the path and turns combat in your favor, seconded by combat tricks that push through damage and nullify good blocks.
Decks
Below are some decks that have recently appeared, the genesis of the whole thought process. Each one, I think, brings a section of what I'm talking about to the table. And of course, while drafting IRL, having a deck that can function off even a couple individual concepts of the whole archetype is so, so key.
UGW spells from CubeTutor.com
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Bant Tempo from CubeTutor.com
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Bant +1/+1 tempo synergy from CubeTutor.com
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Conclusion
Still a work in progress, I think, but green can definitely offer a solid compliment to spells-based decks. I think it's an important angle to consider, as I've definitely seen people struggle with what this section of the color pie really... does. I know I still need to work on my GW section, and maybe this will help. I'm hoping with some discussion we can really nail down even further what is truly need to make this deck work, what unique spells can come to the table.
Thanks so much for reading!
