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Alternative Energy

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For several months now, energy has asserted itself as the dominant strategy in Standard. In fact, the format has become so focused on energy that some people have started speculating about the banning of Attune with Aether as a way of making energy less accessible and making it harder for those three or more colored midrange decks to function effectively. However, while ug energy builds are certainly the stock decks, some players like LIOO1337 are exploring energy decks without access to Green:


Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
For many months now, ug has been the default energy base. Attune with Aether, Bristling Hydra, Servant of the Conduit, and Rogue Refiner are overbearingly ubiquitous. We've even seen these decks starting to become more inbred, looking for cards like The Scarab God and Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh to go over the top of one another. This build asks an interesting question: what if you just cut the aggressive elements in favor of going a little bigger?

Instead leaning of removal spells and Rogue Refiners to trade with opposing creatures, this build plays counterspells and removal spells backed up by Torrential Gearhulk and The Scarab God. Your energy core doesn't come from the likes of Rogue Refiner and Longtusk Cub, but rather Whirler Virtuoso, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner, and Torrential Gearhulk rebuying cards like Glimmer of Genius and Harnessed Lightning.

The idea here is that, by cutting Green, you get to play more copies of the cards that are good in the energy mirror. By increasing your curve, you get to play more powerful cards in midrange mirrors, and that's a pretty big advantage as long as you can dodge the more aggressive matchups in the format. So, while Attune with Aether-fueled energy variants may be the most popular deck in Standard, it may be that Attune with Aether isn't the one card that pushes the deck over the top, and it may even be that Grixis energy decks are better set up for attrition-based energy mirrors.


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