Welcome back to the GreenSunsZenith for a recap of what’s been happening for Maverick and Depths in February 2022. It’s great to see how active the Maverick discord has been over the past month and goes to show it doesn’t matter the tier of the archetype when the community is always a class act. a shorter read this month but hopefully still a nice catch-up for players who don’t keep a close finger on the pulse of Maverick’s performances.
Table of Contents:
1. New Card Considerations
2. Current Trends in Maverick
3. Green-White Maverick
4. Abzan Maverick
5. Punishing Maverick
6. BANT Maverick
7. 4C/ Yorion Maverick
8. Green-White Depths
9. Abzan Loam
10. Conclusions
11. Previous Editions of Maverick Monthly
1. New Card Considerations:
Lion Sash
Sash is a really nice inclusion for those running a Stoneforge Mystic package. It’s a cheap equipment that doesn’t worry if SFM doesn’t stick around and has the upside of being additional, incremental graveyard hate. It can also just run away with a game by itself if left unchecked. I don’t think it’s better than Scavenging Ooze as it cannot be found with Green Sun’s Zenith, so I would only be finding space for Sash alongside Stoneforge.
Boseiju, Who Endures
I don’t think Boseiju fits into Maverick as easily as some may seem. Our land-tutor package puts lands into play, not into hand. If you’re piloting a Life from the Loam deck (Lands) or running a Depths variant with Sylvan Scrying (Rainbow Depths), or even an Expedition Map (Cloudpost) then I can see why you might run 1-3 copies in your 75. It’s just a little awkward as Maverick players don’t really have the ability to tutor for it (Once Upon a Time is the closest ‘tutor’ that sees play). I do think however, it’s powerful enough to run a copy in your 75. Being an untapped G source and an uncounterable way to deal with annoying permanents like Back to Basics is just too good to pass up.
March of Otherworldly Light
March is a really powerful removal spell, but it’s hard to justify it over Prismatic Ending. Instant speed removal that’s also flexible is very nice, especially when it can answer an Urza’s Saga for 1 mana. But does Maverick really need another answer for Saga, or would you rather hit planeswalkers? It wouldn’t be surprising to see some of these in sideboards as players try them out, but I don’t think they’ll stick.
2. Current Trends in Maverick:
Gaddock Teeg
I recently published an article looking into the role Gaddock Teeg once filled in Legacy Maverick and if that role was still relevant. You can find and read it here:
Dark Depths variants on the rise
I think there’s still a strong section of the Maverick community who’ve moved towards Depths strategies due to their strong position in the current format. Moves like this are only going to improve your skills and knowledge of the format so it’s great to see so many ‘Maverick’ MTGO players getting solid results online with Depths. If you’re wanting to get into the deck, check out my 2022 primer.
3. Green-White Maverick:
Alright, let’s talk about the elephant angel in the room.
Haha so yeah…TROPHY WITH BANESLAYER🏆🤙
2-0 UR Delver
2-1 UWR Delver
2-1 Dredge
2-1 4C Titan
2-1 4C ControlIn all seriousness Shifting Ceratops > Baneslayer but damn is it cool to see her hit the field in 2022 🔥
Endurance MVP 🏅
VOD on YouTube soon! 🎙️#MTG #MTGLegacy pic.twitter.com/UpUxDJfY3B
— DougesOnTwitch🎥 (@DougesOnTwitch) February 12, 2022
Baneslayer Angel. I wanted to find a card that helped fight UR Delver and also slotted in as a game-winning card for Maverick. As I stated above in the Tweet (check out the Twitter thread for some pretty entertaining screenshots) I do think Shifting Ceratops plays a really nice role here and should be the go-to for a competitive player. She was fun while it lasted, and her first strike meant she couldn’t be dealt with a single Lightning Bolt after blocking a creature like DRC (unlike Shifting Ceratops).
4. Abzan Maverick:
DENSON | The 27th Legacy at Home, 10th Place | Abzan Maverick
The Wandering Emperor? Boseiju and Eiganjo? March of Otherworldly Light? Lion Sash & a SFM package? Tanuki Transplanter? Chain of Smog combo in the sideboard?! This deck has a bunch of new cards and the Chain combo in the board isn’t something I’ve come across. I’d love to here your thoughts on what matchups you’d side into the combo (comment below) as I’m a little unsure (combo decks that don’t run too much removal? Other midrange decks to have a ‘backdoor win’? Huge props to this player for trying out so many new cards and pulling out a nice result.
I think it’s smart to run Mother of Runes in this deck where you’ve also got a Stoneforge package including Kaldra Compleat. You’re able to make sure Kaldra gets into play and really pressure your opponent on having that T1 and T2 removal.
Prelate out of the board isn’t tech you usually see, but it seems relevant against Doomsday and Hullday decks on 3. If you’re a little ahead, it’s also quite nice on 1 vs UR Delver but do be weary of turning off a bunch of your own removal.
5. GWR (Punishing) Maverick:
StrasDaddy | Legacy League 5-0 | GWR Maverick
Mark has been putting up some great results recently with his post-Ragavan take on GWR Maverick. Punishing Fire, Stoneforge Mystic, Urza’s Saga – it’s all here. It’s great to see one of the true pioneers of Maverick testing out new builds and doing well with it. I think Lion Sash is a really smart inclusion to the Stoneforge Mystic package as another way to tax graveyard decks but also bolster your creatures into formidable threats. With 26 lands, this is one of the higher-count builds I’ve seen in recent years, but the Saga package is a great reason to go that route.
If you want to catch Mark’s stream, you can find him here on Twitch. I also took his list through a league which you can find here:
6. BANT Maverick:
Hundinggjornersen | Legacy League 5-0 | BANT Maverick
I believe Legacy is a format where you can essentially play 3 different types of decks.
-
- Decks that utilize Brainstorm
- Decks that hate on Brainstorm archetypes
- Decks that are faster than most Brainstorm archetypes
3 maindeck Hullbreacher gives me the feeling this is a player who wants to fight against the Brainstorm decks.
Baneslayer Angel too? You love to see it.
2 Uro is a really nice midrange plan and can really affect Delver’s clock which tends to also be in multiples of 3. You’re not going to see the single copy of Teferi too often, but it’s a great way to make sure:
- Your creatures aren’t be countered
- Your opponent doesn’t have a flash creature to turn an attack into a bad choice
- You can ‘get’ your opponent with an instant speed Green Sun’s or Prismatic Ending
Ghost Quarter has also taken the spot of Wasteland #4 in this build. Strong against the Abundant Growth Yorion decks and also lethal over time with Ramunap. It’s also a nice way to get around Pithing Needle on Wasteland against Post and Depths variants
Meddling Mage and Return to Nature don’t see too much play but their flexibility is very powerful. Mage against namesake decks like Doomsday, Show & Tell can be hyper-restrictive and still very disruptive when naming spells like Day’s Undoing, Lightning Bolt, Natural Order or threats like Kappa Cannoneer.
Small plug, but I’m a few subscribers away from surpassing 2K on YouTube! If you enjoy Legacy content then come be a part of my channel! Thanks for the support
Magthrok | Legacy League 5-0 | BANT Maverick
Mag has been doing very well with BANT recently. I really like this build with a very subtle splash – just the 2 maindeck Uro and 2 sideboard Flusterstorm. There’s something about Noble Hierarch being at her best in this deck that makes me really want to explore BANT more myself. The lone Jitte isn’t often seen these days, some versions used to play 2 copies if they weren’t including Stoneforge Mystic but I don’t mind it. Jitte can cause headaches in the fair matchups and against Delver can change combat math very quickly in your favour.
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7. 4C / Yorion Maverick:
Hundinggjornersen | Legacy League 5-0 | Dark BANT Maverick
This is a sweet list including Hullbreacher, Uro and Leovold alongside Kaya, Orzhov Usurper as 3CMC threats and disruption pieces.
Boseiju is also in the maindeck as a 1-of. There isn’t any way of putting Boseiju into hand (Life from the Loam, Witherbloom Command) but it’s good to see players still trying it out in Maverick.
Hexdrinker is a card I think a fair few players have been turned off since Prismatic Ending’s printing, but it can still slither it’s way to be a very troublesome and heavy-hitting threat if left untouched. Note this version doesn’t have room for Mother of Runes so you need to be patience when playing and ticking up Hexdrinker against a deck like UR Delver.
Interesting to see Choke in the board even though the deck plays a Tropical Island and Tundra. I assume here the pilot has come to the conclusion that Choke is still going to be more disruptive for your opponent than on their own strategy
7. Green-White Depths:
Not too much to report as there’s been a huge shift in the metagame from straight GW Depths to Naya. The splash is very easy to add into the deck and the benefit of access to blast effects is well worth the additional colour.
DNEELEY | Legacy Challenge 6th Place | GW Depths
However, if you want to go with the straight GW build then look no further than Dan’s build from his Top 8 finish in a Legacy Challenge. This is a great, stock 75 to build if you’re looking to get into the archetype.
Huge shout out to friend and GW ambassador Jono Yanik aka. Dreadnaught33 for taking down the Legacy Challenge a few weekends ago with Naya Depths! Incredible run only dropping 3 games throughout! I know there’s a lot of you, but to see players like Jono and Dan juggle family life and Legacy is really inspiring to see for someone who wants to juggle the same things one day.
9. Abzan Loam:
Moutch | Legacy League 5-0 | Abzan Loam
It’s always nice to see Loam decks like this in Legacy. I’m a huge fan of the archetype and even more of the Abzan colour combination.
Powering out a T1 Sylvan Library or Dark Confidant is a real nice play to pressure your opponent either to answer them or win before the card advantage matters.
4-0d the Legacy Prelim with this. Got a 5-0 and some 4-1s with this a few days ago as well. List feels solid overall. Might want 4th Waste/27th land/4th Mox and some SB cards could be moved around.
1) BRw Reanimator LWW
2) UR Saga LWW
3) Madness WW
4) Elves WW pic.twitter.com/HHhk2Pa3Wp— Matthew (@Ozymandias172) January 3, 2022
Matt Vook did some work on this deck at the start of the year and put up a solid result. Dan Neeley who Maverick fans may know as DNEELEY also took the list to a nice 5-0 finish after seeing Matts tweet.
One big omittance is Chalice of the Void. Chalice is in a really tough spot due to the amount of maindeck answers to the lock piece. If it’s not being hit by Force 6-8, it’s most likely being targeted by Prismatic Ending. This also allows you to rely on Swords to Plowshares as maindeck removal instead of old spells like Abrupt Decay or Liliana of the Veil.
Looking at Ozymandias17’s record with the deck since 20th of December 2021, he’s currently an impressive 15-2 with the deck.
11. Conclusions:
Maverick isn’t positioned well at the moment, as most would agree that if you’re wanting to play Knight of the Reliquary and Green Sun’s Zenith in a competitive tournament then Naya Depths is your best bet. HOWEVER, your local scene or online leagues are still showing great results across all Maverick archetypes. That’s probably the best thing about Maverick (community aside) is that there’s a flavour for everyone. Knowing your deck inside and out (and the metagame) can yield real results no matter the ‘positioning of the deck’.
Get your Green Sun’s on and just enjoy the format.
Take care, play fair.
Douges
12. Previous Editions of Maverick Monthly:
January 2022 – Maverick Monthly
February 2021 – Maverick Monthly
December 2020 – Maverick Monthly
October & November 2020 – Maverick Monthly
September 2020 – Maverick Monthly
August 2020 – Maverick Monthly
July 2020 – Maverick Monthly
June 2020 – Maverick Monthly
May 2020 – Maverick Monthly
April 2020 – Maverick Monthly
March 2020 – Maverick Monthly
January & February 2020 – Maverick Monthly
November & December 2019 – Maverick Monthly
October 2019 – Maverick Monthly
September 2019 – Maverick Monthly
August 2019 – Maverick Monthly
How are you going to miss the synergy between Scryb Ranger, Ramunap Excavator, Yavimaya, and Boseiju???? (I kid, but that does seem like a hilarious wombo combo to live out at some point.)
Haha I am still waiting for a screenshot for the first player who gets this online