Unlocking the Vault #5: Green-White Hate Primer

Classic gets a bad rap as a format that doesn’t allow for true aggro to be competitive. This is true in a sense. If one were to build an aggro deck similar to the way one would do so for Standard, it would not be very well-equipped to succeed in Classic. Despite the wealth of options for beating down your opponent, serious Classic decks can usually manage such an onslaught for the first few turns of the game before they impose their will on their opponent. In order for creature-based strategies to work in Classic, they must be able to disrupt the opponent’s game plan while commencing the beat down.

Enter: GW Hate decks. GW Hate evolved as a metagame deck designed to attack the format’s most successful strategies/decks and gradually beat down the opponent. The overarching strategy is to deny the opponent resources with creatures and spells mana denial spells.

With Oath of Druids and Workshop decks occupying a significant portion of the metagame, there is room for a deck like GW Hate to step in and make an impact in the format. It also causes splash damage against most types of blue decks, as it can disrupt Vault-Key, tutoring, and storm.

What makes the GW deck viable are the “hate bears” that are commonly found in white and green (moreso in white than green, though). Hate bears are typically 2-casting cost creatures that provide a global effect that disrupts the opponent’s game plan along with a 2/2 or 2/1 body. Other decks such as the three or four-color Fish decks try a similar “aggro” approach with 2- and 3-casting cost creatures, but instead of using creatures as the main form of disruption, Fish decks opt for spells to provide their disruption. There is some overlap in creatures such as Qasali Pridemage and possibly Gaddock Teeg, but for the most part the decks have different strategies. GW decks have the benefit of more consistency in their manabase and don’t have to resort to sub-optimal creatures such as Birds of Paradise and/or Noble Hierarch, though Noble Hierarch does have a place in some builds of GW. While both of those creatures would provide some help in the Workshop matchup to fight off strip effects and spheres, they don’t on their own provide any proactive disruption against the opponent.

Aether Vial, Null Rod, Neither?

In Classic, aggro decks typically are based upon the powerful effects of Aether Vial or Null Rod. These two strategies provide the engine on which these aggro decks function, allowing them to compete with the “unfair” decks in the format. Because of their anti-synergy, these cards are usually not found together, though it’s possible to side one into the other to great effect.

Aether Vial is very effective to fight through sphere effects, Chalice of the Void set at two counters, and counter magic. It can also provide a surprise factor to drop a hate bear onto the battlefield at instant speed as a blocker or to further disrupt the opponent. Where it is weak is in the speed with which it takes to get going. Vial is a progressively weaker play each turn after Turn 1. Additionally, it’s at a significant disadvantage to Mental Misstep, which more and more is becoming a staple in blue-based control decks. Vial is one of the few, if not the only, 1-casting cost cards in the GW deck, making Vial a prime target to be Misstepped. Vial is best utilized in a Workshop-infested meta, as it becomes an attractive option to put your creatures into play by circumventing sphere and strip effects.

Null Rod has a strong game against a large portion of the Classic metagame. Many strategies in the format involve artifact mana acceleration or combos such as Time Vault-Voltaic Key. An early Rod can shut down some decks for several turns, which will allow you to develop your own board position.

The problem with both Vial and Rod are that they do nothing to help advance your board position by themselves on the turn that you play them. They do not beat down, so your clock is not advancing. It’s questionable if either is the best option in GW, where each turn your opponent takes is another opportunity to find the answers they need to get him or her back into the game. In my testing I’ve found that while there were times where I would have liked Vial in my deck, it would either be win-more or it probably wouldn’t have made much difference in the outcome anyway. Of the two, my personal preference is for Null Rod, though I can’t fault anyone for using Vial.

Building the Manabase

The manabase for GW decks is quite consistent. Since you have only two color requirements, you can play the maximum of each land and not worry about being color-screwed. The best GW lands for the deck are as follows, in order from best to worst:

Savannah
Windswept Heath
Horizon Canopy
Razorverge Thicket
Basic Forest/Plains
Sunpetal Grove

Savannah is the most efficient dual land available and needs no introduction. Windswept Heath, while being a good option to slow down strip effects and provide deck thinning, is not as useful if you are running Leonin Arbiter. Horizon Canopy is a great option as a dual land despite the damage when tapped for mana. The ability to cycle in the late game more than outweighs the loss of life in the early game. Razorverge Ticket for all intents and purposes is a Savannah as GW will typically not have more than three lands in play, and even in the event that it does, there probably won’t be enough threats left in your hand to need it come into play untapped. Sun Petal Grove is a distant final option for budget concerns.

Additionally, Wasteland, Strip Mine, and Ghost Quarter are also quite effective in GW Hate decks. One last non-basic land to speak of is Karakas. Karakas is often the only answer GW has to Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Thus packing two or three main deck is advisable, depending on the state of the metagame. Karakas is legendary, so running any more than three could be detrimental, given the greater liklihood of drawing it in multiples.

Hate Bears

Similar to my MUD Primer, I’m going to take some time to discuss each of the hate bears available to GW decks, outlining their strengths and weaknesses.

Qasali Pridemage — Pridemage is perhaps the best creature GW decks have at their disposal. Destroying Oath of Druids, any number of targets in MUD decks, and other artifacts such as Vault-Key can be quite effective. Exalted is also an underrated ability, as it can help win the attrition war against the mirror match and other creature-based decks. In that vein, don’t forget to cast this guy in your first main phase so that you can give the exalted bonus to one of your creatures in the combat step.

Elvish Spirit Guide — Without access to Moxen and Black Lotus, ESG is often the best acceleration available to the GW deck. The upside to ESG is that its mana ability can’t be countered like Lotus Petal and is not subject to sphere effects. Playing a hate bear on Turn 1 is the best play the deck can make (besides a Turn 1 Vial if you build your deck that way). Late game, ESG is an effective 2/2 to help put you over the top. It’s advised to play the full set of four in all GW decks and to use them liberally when presented with the opportunity.

Gaddock Teeg — Teeg can be a significant roadblock against many cards. Teeg stops Chalice of the Void, Tendrils of Agony, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Tezzeret the Seeker, Dread Return, Force of Will, Gush, among others. Unfortunately his upside is limited by the fact that he is Legendary. Thus, running any more than three copies is inadvisable.

Kataki, Wars Wage — Kataki is probably the last card MUD decks want to see played against them. MUD decks have a limited ability to pay for the upkeep costs of their artifacts, especially when one of the best solutions causes them to lose 2 life (Ancient Tomb) each time it’s activated. Unless they have a commanding board presence already, Kataki can steal games for the GW pilot. Kataki unfortunately does not have much impact outside of MUD decks and can even hinder your own cards, including Aether Vial, Null Rod, and possibly Phyrexian Revoker. Speaking of which…

Phyrexian Revoker — I’ve written a lot about this guy in previous articles, so I won’t rehash them here. As a hate bear, Revoker can certainly play a pivotal role in GW Hate decks.

Ethersworn Canonist — Canonist is perhaps GW’s best and only defense against storm combo and Gush decks. While it can slow down your own deck, GW Hate typically will play only one colored spell each turn regardless, meaning the slowdown is worth the trade-off. Canonist also has excellent synergy with Vial, but is anti-synergistic with Kataki.

Leonin Arbiter — Blue decks like to be as efficient as possible, running as many different cards that they can and as few copies of each card as they can. Thus Tutors and Tinker play a pivotal role in blue-based decks, and Arbiter is an effective way to slow them down by a couple of turns. Blue decks also run a bunch of fetch lands, and a Turn 1 or 2 Arbiter can be backbreaking if they topdeck fetch lands after the Arbiter has hit the board. The effect is not permanent, but if you can disrupt their mana well enough, it can be several turns before they can recover. Unlike many of the hate bears, Arbiter is better in multiples since the opponent has to pay for each Arbiter on the battlefield in order to search his or her library. The Arbiter is nothing more than a Runeclaw Bear against all MUD decks other than those with Kuldotha Forgemaster. Also, beware that it shuts off your own fetch lands, so running them with the Arbiter is not ideal.

Aven Mindcensor — Similar to Leonin Arbiter, the Mindcensor is an effective foil to Blue decks. The subtle differences between the two cards do allow them to be run together. Mindcensor has evasion, which cannot be underestimated in a format virtually devoid of fliers. Mindcensor also allows GW to run cards like Green Sun’s Zenith and fetch lands.

Leonin Relic Warder — Similar to Qasali Pridemage, Relic Warder is an effective answer to virtually the same cards, though a blue player dropping Time Vault[/card[ and [card]Voltaic Key on the same turn makes the upside to Qasali slightly better. Nonetheless, there will often be a target available for the Relic Warder and even if there is not (as in the case of the mirror match), you can still cast it, as its ETB ability is a “may” ability.

Grand Abolisher — Time will tell if this hate bear makes an impact on Classic. The Abolisher looks the part of a quality hate bear, but my personal opinion is that the card does not advance your board position enough to justify a spot in GW decks. In a way, it plays a similar role to Vial in that it prevents your hate bears from being countered. Abolisher doesn’t have quite the same reach as the other hate bears available, and really only works against blue-based control decks. Thus it’s best left in the sideboard, perhaps to be brought in to replace Kataki when playing against blue decks.

Scavenging Ooze — As a sideboard card against graveyard decks, Ooze can be an effective answer to slowing them down. The ooze can also help in the mirror match, as it can shrink Tarmogoyf and get bigger/gain life in the process. In my testing, though, it works great against Hermit Druid decks, but straight Dredge is often too fast for this guy. If the Dredge deck gets Bazaar of Baghdad down on Turn 1 and drops two dredgers into the graveyard, it’s too much for even a Turn 1 Ooze on the play. You’d need Ooze, ESG, two green-producing lands, and to be on the play in order to benefit. Thus my recommendation is to play the typical artifact solutions for Dredge decks to go along with Leyline of the Void.

War Priest of Thune — A marginal creature which is only truly effective against one card, Oath of Druids. Sure, it could take out things like Fastbond, Necropotence, Yawgmoth’s Bargain, etc., but realistically the game should be over as soon as those cards hit the battlefield. The War Priest could be a sideboard option if that’s the kind of hate bear you’re looking for, but Pridemage and Relic-Warder are far better options.

True Believer — An Ivory Mask on legs, this can be a powerful option in a meta overrun with Oath decks. It’s also effective against storm and targeted discard such as Thoughtseize. Further, True Believer causes splash damage against such things as Jace’s fateseal ability, Gifts Ungiven, and Intuition. Blue decks typically do not have creature removal, thus limiting their win conditions to Tinker and perhaps Tezzeret the Seeker.

Glowrider — Glowrider works well with the creature-based strategy that GW decks employ, as usually fewer than eight of your cards will be nonland, noncreature spells. It does have a rather fragile body at 2/1, and at 3-casting cost it can be a little difficult to get into play, but it’s a great option for storm decks together with Canonist.

Managara of Corondor — If you are running Karakas, Mangara is a viable option since Karakas turns it into a repeatable Vindicate that exiles the card instead. Even still, the speed with which Classic decks function limits its usefulness, and this little combo (as well as Mangara) is probably best left to Legacy.

Removal

GW does not have much room in the deck for noncreature spells, but spot removal like Path to Exile should find a home in most decks. The synergy with Arbiter and Mindcensor makes the upside of Path quite impressive. Aside from Emrakul, most Oath targets crumble to Path and troublesome creatures like Grim Lavamancer, Lodestone Golem, Wurmcoil Engine, and Hermit Druid make excellent targets. Having access to spot removal in the mirror match can be the difference in winning and losing.

Additionally, having access to green mana opens the door for Nature’s Claim as additional hate for Oath and Shop decks.

Elephant in the Room

Nearly each card in GW hate is fairly inexpensive, making the deck attractive to people looking to break into Classic on a budget. Unfortunately, there are a few cards that help put this deck over the top, and these cards are among the most expensive on MTGO. Topping the list are Tarmogoyf and Wasteland. Each card is excellent at what it does, and it shows in the secondary market values. Currently, playsets of both cards will run upwards of 400 Tix.

‘Goyf is just a huge monster and often exactly what GW needs to finish off the opponent. Mirror matches and other creature-based decks like Fish often come down to who has the most removal and the largest trump card, which is predictably Tarmogoyf. There are other options that are far cheaper, but do not offer the same power-level as ‘Goyf. Jotun Grunt is a serviceable beater to replace ‘Goyf, but his upkeep cost becomes prohibitive after two or three turns (he does cause some splash damage against Dredge decks, but still is not a foolproof option). Another cheap alternative to ‘Goyf is Skinshifter from M12, which may prove to be a better option than Jotun Grunt in the long run.

Wasteland has a decent facsimile in Ghost Quarter, but Ghost Quarter‘s drawback can be exploited by blue-based control decks, as well as other decks packing basic lands. With cards like Leonin Arbiter and Aven Mindcensor, Ghost Quarter becomes a near Strip Mine, but often the best time to have a strip effect is on Turn 1, and Ghost Quarter is not nearly as effective as Wasteland at that point. Additionally, Ghost Quarter and Wasteland work well in tandem to lock out an opponent’s mana.

Investing in these two cards is advisable, though not entirely required to win in Classic. They do make your life as a GW pilot much easier, though.

Matchups and Strategy

Workshop/MUD

There is perhaps no better deck for GW to prey on than Workshop. The sheer number of cards that foil Shop’s strategy in GW is remarkable. Teeg, Relic-Warder, Pridemage, Kataki, and even Revoker (for Metalworker, Steel Hellkite, and artifact acceleration) are all great against Workshop. Shop has to be on the play and have at least one to two spheres in order to have much of a chance against a well-prepared GW pilot.

In terms of which hate bears to play first, Kataki tops the list, followed closely by Teeg since Chalice set at two counters will ruin your day. After that, play your hate bears when you have the ability to do so, such as by using Relic-Warder to target a troublesome fatty like a Wurmcoil Engine or Lodestone Golem and Pridemage to knock off a pesky sphere.

Oath of Druids

The next best deck for GW to prey on is Oath. Both Arbiter and Mindcensor can have big game against Oath and are perhaps the first two creatures you should try to get on the board, followed closely by Pridemage and True Believer. After that, cards like Canonist and Revoker are your best bets, but make sure you save your Relic-Warders for Oath. A Sol Ring might be a tempting target, but you need to get rid of Oath at all costs since GW cannot win without creatures on the battlefield, which trigger Oath. Relic-Warders also work wonders for Tinker into Blightsteel Colossus, etc.

Fish and the Mirror

These are perhaps the most draw-dependent and coin flip-dependent matchups for the deck. Fish decks have a slight advantage in that they have both countermagic and card draw with access to hosers like Lavamancer and maybe even Lightning Bolt in the sideboard. When playing the mirror match, it’s much like playing with a deck full of Grizzly Bears. Being efficient with your available creatures and trading where necessary will determine the match until someone gets an unmolested ‘Goyf or other large creature onto the battlefield. It’s best to save your limited removal for those threats and hope to out-”top deck” your opponent to pull out the win.

Dredge

Pre-board, this is a pretty miserable matchup, and it doesn’t get a whole lot better in Games 2 and 3. As always, getting rid of Bazaar of Baghdad is imperative, so keeping an opening hand with a strip effect is advisable. Unfortunately, your hate bears have nearly zero effect on Dredge aside from Teeg stopping Dread Return. Your only hope is to get a timely Pridemage to blow up your own Canonist or Revoker to remove Bridge from Below from your opponent’s graveyard. As mentioned before, Jotun Grunt can be somewhat effective against Dredge as well if you decide to go with him instead of ‘Goyf.

Post-board, you’ll have some hate available to you, ideally seven or so cards. As an option, GW can run Wheel of Sun and Moon instead of Leyline of the Void, but it might not be fast enough against the explosiveness of Classic Dredge decks. I wish there were more that I could say about this matchup other than to hope to avoid it. It’s truly that bad.

Hermit Druid

While straight Dredge is nearly an auto-loss, there are some cards that can stop, or at least slow down, Hermit decks. Similar to straight Dredge, Teeg stops Dread Return while Revoker can prevent the activation of the Hermit. Arbiter and Mindcensor also limit the tutor effects that Hermit Druid decks pack, especially Wordly Tutor. Maindeck Path to Exile is also a suitable answer.

Post-board, you have access to all the cards listed above in addition to your standard Dredge hate. This is a matchup in which Scavenging Ooze excels since removing just one of the creatures from the Hermit Druid player’s graveyard after it has activated is game over.

Gush and Storm Combo

The best cards GW has access to for these decks is Ethersworn Canonist and Glowrider. Teeg is another effective card preventing Tendrils and Gush from rearing their ugly heads. True Believer is a fine answer, as well, from the sideboard to stop any discard effects and Tendrils. Beyond those, typical anti-blue strategies such as Arbiter and Mindcensor are effective here as well. Against Gush in particular, if you can’t find either Teeg or Canonist, Pridemage is your best proactive defense in removing Fastbond. Relic-Warder is too slow for this application, but will get the job done if the Gush player fizzles out.

Jacerator/Tezzerator

There are several avenues to attack this deck with GW. First and foremost, Teeg prevents both Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Tezzeret the Seeker from being played. Additionally, GW can attack the artifact acceleration with Kataki, Pridemage, and Relic-Warder. As with other blue-based control decks, Arbiter and Mindcensor work well to slow down tutors and fetch lands. Overall, getting Arbiter out on Turn 1 or Turn 2 is best followed by Teeg. Null Rod works wonders in this matchup.

Elves

I bring this up only because of how comical it is to play against Elves. There are only two cards that have any chance of stopping Elves and they are Ethersworn Canonist and Revoker naming Heritage Druid or Birchlore Rangers. Without those cards, there is no chance that GW Hate can ever beat Elves. Elves cannot be stopped via strip effects due to their mana abilities, and with Glimpse of Nature, they will outdraw and combo out the GW deck faster than you can say “Uncle”!

Dark Depths

Dark Depths is a deck that shows up from time to time, but GW has the tools to play against it. It’s advisable to hold back all strip effects for Dark Depths), and Revoker naming Vampire Hexmage might be enough to lock up the game so long as the opponent doesn’t draw into an answer like Darkblast or an edict while you have a lonely Revoker on the board. Additionally, True Believer is excellent versus their discard effects.

Here are three examples of GW decks, based upon the three strategies: Vial, Rod, and ‘neither’.

The beauty of GW is that it is adaptable based on trends in the metagame. If you need to add more threats against MUD, for example, you can take out some Arbiters or Mindcensors and throw in more Relic-Warders or another Kataki. The sideboard is also quite adaptable to increase your threat density post-board against certain decks (as well as having sufficient hate against graveyard decks).

Going Forward/Wrap-up

Directions to take the deck in the future? Perhaps replacing the four ‘Goyfs for a small Stoneforge Mystic package such as three Mystics and aBatterskull or a Sword of your choosing? Maybe Natural Order in the sideboard to search up Progenitus for mirror matches and the like? Does anyone have other ideas that may be worthwhile for investigating how improve GW? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Overall, GW is a strong contender in the Classic metagame. If you are looking for a well-rounded deck, you could do worse than ‘sleeving up’ GW in your next Classic Daily Event.

I’d like to give a shout out to FistAlpha for helping me test against the field and loaning me a card to finalize my testing (as well as anyone else from whom I have borrowed cards). FistAlpha also helped in addressing where to take the deck in the future.

enderfall
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