Premodern Dromar Control Deck Guide (2026)
Premodern Dromar Control is a white-blue-black aggro-control deck built around Meddling Mage, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Exalted Angel and Vindicate. It plays like The Solution with black instead of red: the Mage keeps the opponent's key card from being cast, Swords to Plowshares, Vindicate and Mana Leak handle other threats, and Shadowmage Infiltrator, which only black and artifact creatures can block, draws a card each time it deals combat damage to a player. It is rare on MTGTop8: 11 of about 8,200 lists since April (0.1 percent) are filed as Dromar Solution or Dromar Control, and three more as Finkula or Esper Solution. Its biggest results since then are Jacopo Izzo's win at Lega Empoli in May (36 players) and William Moore's top 16 at the New England Autumn Regional in October (80 players).
How the deck wins
- The deck attacks while it disrupts: Meddling Mage names the opponent's best card and attacks as a 2/2, and Mother of Runes, in about half the lists, gives a creature protection from the color of a removal spell in response. A few lists with Mother also play Mesmeric Fiend, which exiles a nonland card from the opponent's hand until the Fiend leaves the battlefield. The lists without Mother use those slots for Diabolic Edict, Dromar's Charm, Decree of Justice or Wrath of God.
- Shadowmage Infiltrator, in all but one list since April, draws the extra cards: against decks without black or artifact creatures it usually attacks unblocked and draws a card each turn, while black creatures, an animated Mishra's Factory and Masticore can block it.
- Beyond four Swords to Plowshares and two or three Vindicate, the lists differ: about half play one or two Diabolic Edict, about half Dromar's Charm, which counters a spell, gives a creature -2/-2 or gains you 5 life and needs {W}{U}{B}, and about a third one or two Wrath of God or Decree of Justice. A face-down Exalted Angel is a colorless 2/2 with mana value 0, so Smother and burn kill it unless you can turn it face up in response, and Snuff Out kills it either way.
Core cards
- 4 Meddling Mage
- 4 Swords to Plowshares
- 4 Duress
- 4 Mana Leak
- 3 Shadowmage Infiltrator
- 3 Exalted Angel
- 3 Vindicate
- 4 Impulse
- 2 Fact or Fiction
- 3 Mother of Runes
- 2 Diabolic Edict
- 4 Flooded Strand
- 4 Polluted Delta
- 4 Caves of Koilos
- 2 Adarkar Wastes
Key cards
- Meddling Mage: In all but one list since April, always four: as it enters you name a nonland card, and no player can cast spells with that name while the Mage is on the battlefield, so it works while you are tapped out. It does not stop copies already on the battlefield, activated abilities or cycling, it also stops your own copies, and removal ends the lock.
- Shadowmage Infiltrator: A 1/3 for {1}{U}{B} that lets you draw a card whenever it deals combat damage to a player, and fear means only black and artifact creatures can block it. Its mana value is 3, so Smother kills it, but Fire // Ice does not.
- Exalted Angel: In every list, usually three: cast it face down as a 2/2 for {3}, then turn it face up for {2}{W}{W} whenever you have priority, which does not use the stack, into a 4/5 flier that gains you life equal to any damage it deals, blocking included. Against red decks and Goblins the lifegain often decides the race, but burn kills it while it is face down, and Sulfuric Vortex stops the lifegain.
- Vindicate: In every list: destroys target permanent of any type, so it answers Oath of Druids, Cursed Scroll, The Rack or a key land, and Solitary Confinement once Sterling Grove, which gives their other enchantments shroud, is gone. It is white and black, so protection from either color stops it (Akroma, White Knight, Soltari Monk, or a creature that Mother of Runes protects), and as a sorcery it lets them activate Pernicious Deed or sacrifice Seal of Cleansing in response.
- Mother of Runes: In about half the lists, three copies: tap her to give a creature you control protection from a color, so Swords to Plowshares or Smother aimed at it does nothing. She cannot tap the turn she arrives, and protection does not help against Wrath of God, Pernicious Deed, Diabolic Edict or Engineered Plague, which do not target; Plague naming Cleric kills Mother herself.
- Swords to Plowshares: In all but one list, always four: for {W} it exiles target creature, and its controller gains life equal to its power, so it answers Phyrexian Dreadnought, an opposing Exalted Angel and Akroma. It cannot target Iridescent Angel, which has protection from every color.
- Duress: In most lists, four copies: it takes a noncreature, nonland card such as a counterspell or Wrath of God before you commit, and shows you their hand so your next Meddling Mage names the right card. Against creature decks it often finds nothing to take.
- Engineered Plague: In almost every sideboard, usually two: every creature of the chosen type gets -1/-1, so naming Goblin, Elf, Zombie, Cleric or Soldier for Decree of Justice tokens kills those with toughness 1 and shrinks the rest. It affects both players: naming Cleric also kills your own Mother of Runes, and naming Soldier your own Decree tokens.
Mulligan guide
Keep
- Any hand with two lands that cast Meddling Mage on turn two plus a second spell, since a turn-two Mage is strong against most of the format.
- Three lands plus Shadowmage Infiltrator plus a one-mana interaction spell, for a longer game.
- Two lands with Mother of Runes, Exalted Angel and a two-mana spell: the Angel needs a third land to be cast face down and {2}{W}{W} to turn face up, and by then Mother can protect it from Swords to Plowshares.
Ship
- One-landers: almost every spell needs a second land or a second color.
- Hands where one fetchland has to supply two of your colors when you also hold Vindicate and Infiltrator: Flooded Strand finds a Plains or an Island, Polluted Delta an Island or a Swamp, never both.
- Seven-card hands with no creature against Enchantress or Replenish, since counters alone rarely stop a combo deck that can wait for a window. Against Oath of Druids the opposite holds: their Oath triggers only while you control more creatures than they do.
Keep hands that cast their spells on curve, and count colors first: Meddling Mage needs white and blue, Shadowmage Infiltrator blue and black, Vindicate white and black, and Exalted Angel {W}{W} to turn face up.
Play tips and sequencing
- Naming with Meddling Mage, by matchup: Phyrexian Dreadnought against Stiflenought, Goblin Ringleader against Goblins, Solitary Confinement against Enchantress, Standstill or Wrath of God against Landstill, Survival of the Fittest against Elves, Cursed Scroll against Mono Black before boarding and Gloom after, Pernicious Deed against The Rock, Exhume against Reanimator, Wrath of God against Tron (the Mage cannot stop Decree of Justice from being cycled), Dark Supplicant or Rotlung Reanimator against Clerics, Aluren against the Aluren deck. The name applies to you too, so in lists with your own Wrath of God, name something else.
- Cast Exalted Angel face down when three mana is your best play, and turn it face up for {2}{W}{W} when they are tapped out or when the lifegain decides a race.
- Against Smother, turn the Angel face up in response: unmorphing does not use the stack, and a face-up Angel has mana value 6, out of Smother's reach. Against Swords to Plowshares that does not help, so cast it when Mother of Runes can tap to protect it or when they are tapped out.
- Aim Vindicate first at anything that wins the game if it stays, then at a repeating engine such as Cursed Scroll, and only then at a land. Do not aim it at Standstill: casting Vindicate makes them sacrifice Standstill and draw three cards before Vindicate resolves, and then Vindicate has no target. A basic land is rarely worth it, since you are usually the deck that attacks.
- Cast Duress on turn one against combo and control to see their hand and take a counter or a combo piece, and take it out against creature decks, where it often finds nothing.
- Against Landstill, expect their own Meddling Mage after boarding, in about eight of ten sideboards, usually naming Vindicate, and keep a Vindicate for Mishra's Factory.
Matchups
- Stiflenought (favorable): Meddling Mage naming Phyrexian Dreadnought, four Swords to Plowshares and sideboard Annul answer a deck whose whole plan is one creature that needs Stifle or Vision Charm to survive. Very limited data: 44 percent over 9 matches.
- Goblins (even): A turn-one Goblin Lackey can win before your three-color mana is ready, so spend Swords to Plowshares on the early Goblins. After boarding, Engineered Plague naming Goblin plus a flipped Exalted Angel wins the long game. No match data.
- Sligh (unfavorable): Adarkar Wastes and Caves of Koilos cost you 1 life each time they tap for colored mana and your fetchlands 1 life each, and Price of Progress deals 2 damage to you for each nonbasic land you control. Very limited data: 33 percent over 6 matches.
- Enchantress (even): Vindicate, Annul and a Mage on Solitary Confinement give you outs, but a resolved lock still beats you, and Sterling Grove finds the missing piece. No match data.
- Landstill (favorable): You are the proactive deck: Shadowmage Infiltrator draws a card each time it connects, Exalted Angel outclasses their manlands, Vindicate answers Mishra's Factory, and your Duress takes their counters before you commit. An animated Factory is an artifact creature and can block Infiltrator; Dromar's Charm kills it unless it taps to give itself +1/+1 in response, and Tsabo's Web after boarding keeps their Factories, Faerie Conclave and Dust Bowl from untapping. Expect Wrath of God and, after boarding, Meddling Mage naming Vindicate. No match data.
- Elves (even): Swords to Plowshares, Vindicate, Diabolic Edict and Dromar's Charm trade one for one, Exalted Angel gains you life against their attackers, and Meddling Mage named Survival of the Fittest stops them from casting it; a Survival that resolves first finds a new creature every turn. After boarding bring Engineered Plague naming Elf, which kills every Elf with toughness 1, and Perish; Masticore, which is colorless, survives both. No match data.
- Mono Black (even): Fear does not stop their black creatures from blocking Shadowmage Infiltrator, Duress and Cabal Therapy take your counters, and Smother kills Meddling Mage, a face-down Exalted Angel and Mother of Runes, though Mother survives it if she can tap to give herself protection from black. Vindicate answers Cursed Scroll, and a flipped Angel outclasses their creatures. Very limited data: 17 percent over 6 matches.
- UG Madness (even): Their threats are cheap and Circular Logic is a cheap counter of their own. Swords to Plowshares answers them one for one, but Dromar's Charm does little here: Wild Mongrel and Basking Rootwalla grow in response, and Aquamoeba and Arrogant Wurm survive -2/-2. Meddling Mage can name Arrogant Wurm, which also stops its madness cast, and a face-up Exalted Angel blocks Arrogant Wurm and survives. No match data.
- The Rock (even): Name Pernicious Deed with Meddling Mage: Vindicate on a Deed lets them activate it in response. Pernicious Deed punishes overcommitting and Recurring Nightmare grinds out a long game, so keep threats in hand. No match data.
- Reanimator (favorable): Duress, Meddling Mage on Exhume or Reanimate, Mana Leak and Dromar's Charm stop the spell, and Swords to Plowshares exiles what comes back. Vindicate and the Charm cannot target Akroma, Angel of Wrath, which has protection from black, but Diabolic Edict takes it when it is their only creature. Exhume also returns your dead Exalted Angel. After boarding bring Tormod's Crypt, in most of your sideboards, and expect Iridescent Angel, which only Wrath of God and Edict answer. No match data.
- Tron (even): Two control decks: Vindicate on an Urza land attacks their mana, Duress takes a counter, and Meddling Mage can name Wrath of God, though it cannot stop Decree of Justice from being cycled. Decree of Justice and Stroke of Genius give them a late game you cannot fully answer, so keep pressure on with Shadowmage Infiltrator and Exalted Angel. Masticore, an artifact creature, can block Shadowmage despite fear, and Swords to Plowshares answers the Angel. After boarding Engineered Plague naming Soldier kills their Decree tokens. No match data.
- The Solution (even): This is the sibling mirror, and both decks play Meddling Mage and Exalted Angel. You have Vindicate, Duress and Shadowmage Infiltrator, they have burn and Lightning Angel. After boarding, Engineered Plague naming Cleric kills their Mother of Runes, and Hydroblast destroys Lightning Angel. No match data.
- Clerics (favorable): Engineered Plague naming Cleric, in almost every sideboard, kills Dark Supplicant and Priest of Gix and makes their other Clerics 1/1s, though each Cleric that dies while Rotlung Reanimator is on the battlefield leaves a 2/2 Zombie. Before that, Swords to Plowshares, Vindicate and Dromar's Charm handle their creatures one at a time; keep Swords for Scion of Darkness, since Dark Supplicant's ability is not a spell and your counters cannot stop it. Name Dark Supplicant or Rotlung Reanimator with Meddling Mage. Exalted Angel outraces Cabal Archon's drain, but their Snuff Out kills it face up or face down and Smother face down, and their black creatures can block Shadowmage Infiltrator. Expect Gloom after boarding. No match data.
- Deadguy Ale (even to slightly favorable): Removal, Mana Leak, your own Exalted Angels, Shadowmage Infiltrator and Meddling Mage in almost every list give you the stronger late game, so they have to attack without overextending. Expect Duress to clear the way and Wasteland, in four of five of their lists, on your painlands and Dromar's Cavern. Dromar's Charm and Diabolic Edict handle Hypnotic Specter and Nantuko Shade, though Shade can grow in response to the Charm, and their black creatures can block Shadowmage Infiltrator. No match data.
- Aluren (even to slightly favorable): The combo needs Aluren itself, so counter it, take it with Duress or name it with Meddling Mage before they cast it: once it is on the battlefield they can loop at instant speed. Swords to Plowshares and Vindicate rarely catch Cavern Harpy, which returns to their hand for 1 life in response, but Engineered Plague naming Beast, in almost every one of your sideboards, kills Harpy as it enters and breaks the loop. Expect Xantid Swarm, in almost every Aluren sideboard, which stops you from casting spells in the turn it attacks, Compost against your black cards, and Man-o'-War or Chain of Vapor for Meddling Mage; when Chain of Vapor returns your Mage, you may sacrifice a land and copy it onto Aluren. No match data.
- Terrageddon (even): Meddling Mage, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Exalted Angel, Vindicate, Swords and counterspells make a grindy game, but three colors of painland and fetch mana are exactly what Wasteland, Rishadan Port and Armageddon punish. Shadowmage Infiltrator's fear gets past their green and white creatures, and only a Wild Mongrel turned black can block it, so race with it.
- MUD (even): No recent match data. Meddling Mage, counterspells, Vindicate and Seal of Cleansing fight the lock, but a three-color mana base is exactly what Winter Orb, Rishadan Port and Sphere of Resistance squeeze. Shadowmage Infiltrator's fear gets past Goblin Welder; their answers are Tangle Wire and Triskelion.
- Full English Breakfast (even to slightly favorable): Meddling Mage names their main line: Survival of the Fittest, Volrath's Shapeshifter, Hermit Druid or Unearth. Duress and Vindicate deal with Survival, Swords to Plowshares and Dromar's Charm with Hermit Druid, and Exalted Angel ends the game quickly; after boarding add Engineered Plague naming Druid, Annul and Tormod's Crypt. They switch plans when Mage names one, and bring Duress, Xantid Swarm, Swords to Plowshares and Ghitu Slinger, which kills the Mage. No match data.
- Stasis (even): Meddling Mage naming Stasis, Vindicate, Duress and counterspells, plus Annul, Seal of Cleansing and Cleansing Meditation after boarding. Fight over Stasis when they are tapped out, and protect the Mage from Fire. No match data.
- Replenish (favorable): Meddling Mage naming Replenish stops their combo until they remove it, backed by Counterspell, Mana Leak and Duress. Counter Swords to Plowshares aimed at the Mage, and counter Parallax Wave as it is cast or destroy it with Vindicate, since its activations are abilities your counters cannot touch. Exalted Angel is your clock. After boarding counter Defense Grid, and bring Annul and Tormod's Crypt. No match data.
- Oath of Druids (even): Vindicate, Swords to Plowshares, Mana Leak, Counterspell, Duress and Meddling Mage naming Oath of Druids all deal with Oath or Terravore, but your Exalted Angel and Mage turn their Oath on, and your painlands and fetch lands are easy targets for their Wasteland and Rishadan Port. No match data.
- Psychatog (even): Meddling Mage naming Psychatog or Accumulated Knowledge stops them from casting that card, and Swords to Plowshares and Vindicate kill a Psychatog that is already out. Their Smother answers your Mage, Shadowmage Infiltrator and a face-down Exalted Angel, so keep {2}{W}{W} open to turn the Angel face up in response, or give a creature protection from black with Mother of Runes. Cast Duress before you commit a threat. No match data.
- White Weenie (even): Shadowmage Infiltrator has fear, so their white creatures cannot block it, and Meddling Mage can name Armageddon. Vindicate and Duress trade one for one, but Soltari Monk and White Knight shrug off Vindicate, and their Armageddon hurts your three-color mana base. Engineered Plague from your sideboard, naming Cleric, kills Mother of Runes, Soltari Priest and Soltari Monk. No match data.
- BW Control (even): BW Control answers with sorceries, so Mana Leak on Wrath of God, Vindicate or Exalted Angel is your edge, but their Duress and Gerrard's Verdict, both in almost every list, go after your counters first; for Verdict you choose the two cards you discard. Meddling Mage can name Wrath of God unless you play it yourself. They act at instant speed with Decree of Justice cycled in your end step and Skeletal Scrying, their Swords to Plowshares answers your Angel, Eternal Dragon returns from their graveyard, and Dust Bowl attacks a three-color mana base. Shadowmage Infiltrator has fear, so their white creatures cannot block it, but Wrath of God takes it together with Mage and Mother of Runes. No match data.
- Gro-a-Tog (even): Their Counterspell, Foil and Daze meet your Duress, Mana Leak and Meddling Mage. Quirion Dryad gets a +1/+1 counter for each white, blue, black or red spell they cast, so Dromar's Charm kills it only early, while Swords to Plowshares and Vindicate answer it at any size. Their own Swords to Plowshares answers your creatures, and Fire // Ice kills Meddling Mage, Mother of Runes or a face-down Exalted Angel but not Shadowmage Infiltrator. Shadowmage draws cards past Dryad, though Psychatog, which is black, can block it. Their Armageddon, in about two of three lists, hurts your three-color mana. No match data.
- Pit Rack (even): The Rack deals you damage in your upkeep for each card fewer than three in your hand, and Bottomless Pit makes each player discard a card at random in their upkeep, so Vindicate either one, name The Rack with Meddling Mage, and use Shadowmage Infiltrator and Fact or Fiction to keep cards in hand. Their black creatures and an animated Mishra's Factory can block Shadowmage, and Smother, in almost every list, kills it, Meddling Mage, Mother of Runes or a face-down Exalted Angel, while Cursed Scroll and Funeral Charm kill the smaller ones. Their discard takes your counters, and Gloom after boarding taxes Swords, Vindicate, Meddling Mage and Dromar's Charm, though not a face-down Angel, which is colorless while you cast it. No match data.
- Rebels (even): Vindicate and Swords to Plowshares answer a searcher unless their Mother of Runes, in most of their lists, protects it, and the Rebels that Ramosian Sergeant or Lin Sivvi put onto the battlefield are not cast, so Mana Leak and Meddling Mage cannot stop them; kill the searchers early. Engineered Plague naming Rebel, in almost every sideboard, kills Ramosian Sergeant, Defiant Falcon and Nightwind Glider despite protection, and Wrath of God, in some lists, takes the rest. Duress takes Shared Triumph, Seal of Cleansing or, in their lists with blue, a counter. Exalted Angel is your best threat, though Whipcorder can tap it and Swords to Plowshares exiles it, so turn it face up when Mother of Runes can protect it. Shadowmage Infiltrator's fear gets past everything but an animated Mishra's Factory. No match data.
- Contamination (slightly unfavorable): Counter Contamination or name it with Meddling Mage: once it resolves, every land taps only for {B}, so Vindicate, Swords to Plowshares, Meddling Mage, Shadowmage Infiltrator and your counters cannot be cast, and a face-down Exalted Angel cannot be turned face up. Duress, Diabolic Edict, Engineered Plague, colorless artifacts such as Tormod's Crypt and Tsabo's Web, and a face-down Angel can still be cast, and a Seal of Cleansing already on the battlefield destroys Contamination without mana. They must sacrifice a creature in each of their upkeeps to keep it, and Nether Spirit returns from their graveyard while it is the only creature card there, unless your Swords to Plowshares exiled it earlier. Nether Spirit, Zombie tokens and Mishra's Factory can block Shadowmage Infiltrator; Smother, Innocent Blood and Powder Keg answer your creatures; and Rishadan Port and Wasteland attack your nonbasic lands. No match data.
- Turbo Lands (even): Vindicate answers Glacial Chasm, in some lists, which otherwise prevents all damage to them, though Sacred Ground, in one of six sideboards, returns it. Name Seismic Assault or Time Warp with Meddling Mage, take Exploration or Horn of Greed with Duress, and keep Mana Leak for Horn of Greed or Time Warp. Their Seismic Assault kills the Mage and Shadowmage Infiltrator, and Pyroblast, in some of their sideboards, destroys either; Mother of Runes can give the target protection from red. No match data.
- Fluctuator (favorable): Duress, Mana Leak and Meddling Mage can each stop Fluctuator or the kill, Songs of the Damned with Haunting Misery or Drain Life, and Vindicate destroys a Fluctuator on the battlefield. Annul, Phyrexian Furnace and Tormod's Crypt can come in after boarding, and every creature card you exile from their graveyard means one less black mana from Songs and one less damage from Haunting Misery. Their Expunge kills Meddling Mage or Exalted Angel, but not Shadowmage Infiltrator, which is black. After boarding, Gilded Light gives them shroud against Duress, and Misdirection can turn your Vindicate or Swords to Plowshares onto another target. No match data.
- RG Zoo (slightly unfavorable): Zoo attacks the life total your Caves of Koilos and fetchlands already spend: one-drops, burn and Elephant tokens from Call of the Herd. Swords to Plowshares, Vindicate and Meddling Mage handle single threats, and Exalted Angel turned face up wins the race. After boarding Perish destroys their green creatures, though Wild Mongrel survives if they discard a card to make it another color, and Hydroblast counters the burn; Circle of Protection: Red stops only the red half. Expect Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast for Shadowmage Infiltrator and Mana Leak. No match data.
- Zombies (slightly favorable): They swarm with one-mana 2/2s, so Swords to Plowshares, Vindicate and Diabolic Edict only trade one-for-one: in the lists that play Wrath of God, save it for two or more Zombies and expect Duress to take it. Blockers do not stop their drain, because Shepherd of Rot and a cycled Gempalm Polluter make you lose life without attacking, and your painlands and fetchlands add to it, so the lifegain from Exalted Angel matters. Their black creatures can block Shadowmage Infiltrator despite fear. After boarding, Engineered Plague naming Zombie kills Shepherd of Rot unless a lord is out and shrinks the rest of their team; expect Gloom on your white spells and Dystopia. No match data.
Sideboard guide
- vs Goblins, Elves, Clerics, Zombies, White Weenie, The Solution, Rebels, Full English Breakfast, Aluren and Decree of Justice decks: Engineered Plague. In almost every sideboard, usually two: name Goblin, Elf, Zombie, Cleric (Mother of Runes, Soltari Priest and Monk, Clerics), Rebel, Druid for Hermit Druid, Beast for Cavern Harpy, or Soldier for Decree of Justice tokens. Creatures of that type with toughness 1 die and the rest shrink, on both sides, so naming Cleric also kills your own Mother of Runes.
- vs Enchantress, Replenish, Stiflenought, Oath of Druids, Stasis, Full English Breakfast and Fluctuator: Annul. In about two of three sideboards since April, usually two: for {U} it counters an artifact or enchantment spell, such as Phyrexian Dreadnought, Solitary Confinement, Parallax Wave, Oath of Druids, Stasis, Survival of the Fittest or Fluctuator.
- vs Sligh, Goblins, RG Zoo and The Solution: Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Circle of Protection: Red. Hydroblast is in about seven of ten sideboards: it counters a red spell or destroys a red permanent, such as a burn spell, a Goblin or Lightning Angel. Circle of Protection: Red and Warmth, each in some lists, add protection against burn.
- vs Green creature decks: Elves, Oath, Terrageddon, The Rock, UG Madness and RG Zoo: Perish. In about a third of the sideboards since April: destroys every green creature, and you have none. Wild Mongrel (UG Madness, RG Zoo, Terrageddon) and Spiritmonger (The Rock) can change color in response and survive.
- vs Prison decks: Stasis, MUD, Contamination and Enchantress: Seal of Cleansing, Cleansing Meditation, Scour. Seal of Cleansing, in more than half the sideboards, destroys an artifact or enchantment without needing mana once it is on the battlefield. Cleansing Meditation destroys every enchantment, your own Engineered Plague and Seal included, unless you have threshold, which returns yours. Scour exiles an enchantment and every card with the same name from its controller's graveyard, hand and library.
- vs Reanimator, Replenish, Full English Breakfast, Fluctuator and other graveyard decks: Phyrexian Furnace, Tormod's Crypt. Graveyard hate for Reanimator, Recurring Nightmare and flashback. Tormod's Crypt costs no mana and exiles a player's whole graveyard at once; Phyrexian Furnace exiles one card at a time, or a chosen card when you sacrifice it, and then draws a card.
- vs Landstill, Goblins, Oath and The Rock: Tsabo's Web. In about seven of ten sideboards since April: it draws a card and stops Mishra's Factory, Rishadan Port, Treetop Village and Dust Bowl from untapping.
Budget and upgrades
Typical cost: $610–$1,590. The reference list (Slyker, fifth of 43 at an MTGO Premodern Challenge on September 8) costs about $1,590 with its sideboard at the Premodern-era printings tracked here. Four Polluted Delta and four Flooded Strand are about $990 of that, four Meddling Mage about $140 and three Exalted Angel about $100. Shadowmage Infiltrator costs about $5, Vindicate about $12 and Duress under $1.
- Cut the eight fetch lands for Salt Marsh, Coastal Tower, Dromar's Cavern and basics, and keep Caves of Koilos and Adarkar Wastes; Salt Marsh and Coastal Tower enter tapped. This alone saves about $980.
- Skip City of Brass, Gemstone Mine and Reflecting Pool, which a few lists play: the reference list uses none of them.
- Mother of Runes (about $13 each) is optional: the reference list plays none, and the lists without her since April use Diabolic Edict, Dromar's Charm or Decree of Justice in her place.
- In the sideboard, Annul, Hydroblast, Perish, Seal of Cleansing and Engineered Plague cost under $8 each; add Tsabo's Web (about $24 each) and Tormod's Crypt (about $31) last.
- That build costs about $610 with the full sideboard, or about $530 before Tsabo's Web and Tormod's Crypt.
Every deck that costs under $500 with reprints is on our budget decks page, priced from a real tournament list.
