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Main » Articles » Kaldheim Presents: The Top Eight Right Out the Gate

Kaldheim Presents: The Top Eight Right Out the Gate

Michael Flores
Posted on February 2, 2021
 Reddit

Table of Contents:

  1. Goldspan Dragon

  2. Goldspan Dragon

  3. Goldspan Dragon

  4. Goldspan Dragon

  5. Goldspan Dragon

  6. Ascendant Spirit

  7. Search for Glory

  8. Binding the Old Gods

You may have noticed (a little tongue in cheek maybe) that the first five - five! - breakouts from this first week weekend of Standard play are all Goldspan Dragon.

It's difficult to exaggerate this point: Never before has there been a creature - a fair creature anyway - that has had so wide a palette of contributions, so immediate a set of dance partners. This card is already kicking butt in control, enabling combos, cementing the middle of the metagame (like you do), and beating down with enviable speed. The closest analogue to the wide cross-archetype adoption this five casting cost fair creature is... Lighting Bolt?

Really?

Really.

I think LSV summarized it nicely in a recent Tweet:

The Five Faces of Goldspan Dragon 1: Izzet Control

On that note, let's start with the Izzet deck that NATHANSTEUER used to win the first Standard Challenge with Kaldheim:

Izzet Control | KHM Standard | NATHANSTEUER, 1st Place MTGO Standard Challenge 1/31/2021

This strategy seems to be the most popular initial combination of cards and colors, no doubt inspired by the aforementioned LSV. Goldspan Dragon here is largely a very good card. It's not particularly anything but a 4/4 hasty flyer for five mana. It's a valuable (and value-generating) member of the team, but it's not crazily synergistic in one direction or another. [Just wait until we add a color to Izzet in a moment.]

I will ask you to look at one card from the sideboard:

Mystical Dispute

Under normal circumstances, the 1 mana-ness of Mystical Dispute could mix like peanut butter and chocolate with Goldspan Dragon. When Goldspan Dragon turns sideways into The Red Zone you get the option for a Treasure's single mana, even if you just tapped out for the precipitating Goldspan Dragon. If the opponent wants to risk a big spell into your [nearly] tapped out board position, 1 mana Mystical Dispute can catch them.

That's "normal" circumstances. Goldspan Dragon doesn't just make Treasure, though; it makes Treasure that taps for two. So even if you "tapped out" for this burly 5-drop, you may immediately have a lot of interplay options.

Negate.

Saw it Coming (provided it was pre-loaded).

Disdainful Stroke in many situations.

Other cards in future builds for problems we haven't even anticipated yet.

Anything that is two mana that can spit in the opponent's cereal is up for grabs provided you have your Goldspan Dragon in play.

We mentioned adding a color a moment ago. How about...

The Five Faces of Goldspan Dragon II: Temur Ramp

Temur Ramp | KHM Standard| HEROTSUKAI, 2nd Place MTGO Standard Challenge 1/31/2021

Finishing only one spot in the Standard Challenge behind NATHANSTEUER, HEROTSUKAI's take on Goldspan Dragon was not as popular... But it was hella ambitious.

Set aside that adding Green for Beanstalk Giant or Cultivate already gives you a faster Goldspan Dragon. Rumbling on turn four (and starting to rack up triggers) is obviously more advantageous than playing at regular speed.

Instead, assume you've got five mana for Goldspan Dragon already... Because more-or-less have to in order to have resolved it.

Five plus one Goldspan Dragon attack (trigger) gives you access to seven mana the next turn. A land drop gives you eight. Another attack nine. Both a land drop and an attack ten. Ten! At this point seven mana seems positively achievable.

And you know what costs seven mana?

Genesis Ultimatum

I love how Goldspan Dragon works with Genesis Ultimatum coming and going! Not only can it help accelerate you into a Genesis Ultimatum, it can follow up after the big spell. Genesis Ultimatum into Goldspan Dragon? Hasty and evasive - and mana-producing - attackers off your seven cost bomb? Yes, please! (In Temur, at least).

You know what's better than seven?

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Crazy eight, am I right?

Speaking of "eight" ... This Top 8 is going to keep rolling by removing Blue in the same way we just re-added White.

The Five Faces of Goldspan Dragon III: Gruul Midrange

Gruul Midrange | KHM Standard | MAROLANZI, 24th Place MTGO Standard Challenge 1/31/2021

Full disclosure: I don't think Gruul is the best home for Goldspan Dragon. Yet at the same time it's actually one of the most obvious ones. I mean, when was the last time Gruul didn't have some kind of potentially value-producing mid-range monster? A hasty 4/4 if not 5/5 flyer? Over the years they've packed everything from Stormbreath Dragon to Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker at the five. Though reminiscent of some of Gruul's favorite fives, Goldspan Dragon isn't just a another 4/4 take at rr3.

Remember, this card has synergy both going and coming.

Imagine you already have The Great Henge on the battlefield. All that jazz is obviously going to be helpful with a hasty 5-drop. Goldspan Dragon - with its immediate impact - is an outstanding beneficiary of a The Great Henge buff. But what if you don't have one yet? Goldspan Dragon is not quite as perfectly on curve as Lovestruck Beast... But four power is still a little helpful for getting out The Great Henge. Nine? Your worst-case scenario reduces that to five... And even with attack / Treasure shenanigans, you already had five if you have Goldspan Dragon. Rock and roll.

At some point, Embercleave becomes positively cheap.

Want in on a crazy secret?

Gruul isn't even one of the more synergistic Goldspan Dragon attack decks! Consider:

The Five Faces of Goldspan Dragon IV: Boros

Boros | KHM Standard | THEO_JUNG, 4th Place MTGO Standard Challenge 1/31/2021

Shepherd of the Flock

Two points on this: Goldspan Dragon gets a more focused line of defense for just one mana. This is less relevant if you're stuck sacrificing Treasure to defend your Goldspan Dragon, but plenty nice if you have six or more to start. I love how cards like Shepherd of the Flock can still work if you left your Goldspan Dragon back to block. If their removal targets, Goldspan Dragon gets a trigger, and that trigger is worth more than enough mana to invoke Shepherd of the Flock's opposite number, Usher to Safety.

Subtle bit of awesome here? Usher to Safety - your card - also targets. And you know what that means.

A half-tick away from Boros is our final face of Goldspan Dragon...

The Five Faces of Goldspan Dragon V: Mono-Red Magda

Mone-Red Magda | KHM Stanfard | ELYALLO, 30th Place MTGO Standard Challenge 1/31/2021

How great is it that Goldspan Dragon is... An actual Dragon? You know, like for Magda?

Between Rimrock Knight and Torbran, Thane of Red Fell, ELYALLO's Mono-Red actually plays with a decent number of Dwarves for the Magda synergies... And of course multiple Goldspan Dragons in the midgame can both be a realistic expectation and compound the production of Treasures for fun and profit.

Goldspan Dragon is clearly ridiculous... But hopefully in a way that is very different (and less abusive) than the dominant (and sometimes mana-producing) Legends of the last couple of sets. Here, as with Boros, we see a beatdown implementation... But the fact that the five is contributing to mid-range, Ramp, and Control at the same time is absolutely flabbergasting to me.

VI. Ascendant Spirit

Back in 1995 or so, someone (I presume Brian Weissman) made a bargain with the forces of the universe. He would play with Blue Counterspells and draw extra cards with Braingeyser or Jayemdae Tome. This bargain would be one of great power, influence, and possibility... But in return, his deck would be exceedingly slow, with the card drawing engines being quite mana intensive themselves, and the beatdown being, you know, 4/4 creatures for five.

Presumably KELMASTERP simply didn't get the memo.

Mono-Blue Snow | KHM Standard| KELMASTERP, 3rd Place MTGO Standard Challenge 1/31/2021

There is an absolute ton going on here.

First of all, this deck starts off on one. One!

Ascendant Spirit is the flashy half of the new set pair, but Frost Augur is, I think, the hidden gem.

Frost Augur

A 1/2 [blocker] for one mana? I mean, I guess it can attack, too. How about that activated ability? In addition to being quite nearly fifty percent Snow lands, there are other Snow permanents. If you've got the spare Snow, Frost Augur is likely to draw you an extra card.

When Aggro-Control is good, it is quite often the best deck in the metagame. Think Faeries. Think certain versions of ug. This deck has cheap counterspells, a ton of potential, and.... Ascendant Spirit.

What can I say about Ascendant Spirit? I recommend if it's across The Red Zone from you, you kill it. This is a heck of a Figure of Destiny update. But it's not only a Figure of Destiny Update... You can activate that third ability more than once.

You're welcome.

VII. Search for Glory

If there is one Kaldheim cards I'm glad to see getting some action early, it's Search for Glory. To me, this card is very "Akroma's Vengeance" ... Meaning you can get a big Wrath out of it, or you can cycle it for a land for three mana. Because this is 2021, you can get more than just a Wrath, so that's also cool.

Big White | KHM Standard | 5th Place GONITO, MTGO Standard Challenge 1/31/2021

First off, let's recognize the double-digit number of Snow lands in GONITO'S deck list. When you play Search for Glory, you're gaining as much as three life... No matter which mode! Love it.

Now Search for Glory can get three kinds of things:

  1. Snow permanents

  2. Sagas

  3. Legendary cards

Snow is easy. If you want a land... Search for Glory can get you a land.

If you're a little loose on mana? It can get you The Birth of Meletis... Which is going to get you a land and more life. You might not want to go this route if you have to block and chump with Solemn Simulacrum the next turn, but The Birth of Meletis is probably better than a Snow-Covered Plains on turn 12.

Finally, Legendary cards includes Ugin, the Spirit Dragon... So, Wraths are set for.

I did want to call out some aspects of GONITO's deck that aren't Kaldheim-centric.

Skyclave Relic

For six mana you can put yourself at ten the next turn. So not only do the spell sides of Modal Double-Faced lands Emeria's Call and Ondu Inversion become much more palatable... Ondu Inversion itself edges into the asymmetrical range. You don't keep one permanent when you cast that normally prohibitive eight... You keep three!

Finally:

VIII: Binding the Old Gods

It's nice that this card is Black and Green, which are the colors of The Rock... Because this card is "The Rock" of cards if ever one has graced Standard play. Taking on all comers from many directions, Binding the Old Gods has already been seen in...

  1. An Abzan Tazri deck,

  2. Sultai Yorion,

  3. Four-color Doom Foretold

  4. The Rock

How crazy is it that it's not even clear that Doom Foretold is the best - or maybe even second-best - multicolored four-mana enchantment in the, ahem, Doom Foretold decks?

LOVE

MIKE

TAGS articles, standard, constructed, analysis, decklist, michael flores, khm standard, 02022021

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