Welcome back to Talking Kryptik! My name is Donald, and I’m on a mission to share my 30 years of TCG experience with you in hopes that you will pick up something that intrigues you and gets you to consider a new idea or play a new strategy.
Today I’d like to discuss some of the top cards that are seeing play in Kryptik's first set: Genesis. All of these cards have appeared in top 8 deck lists for every major tournament so far and I want to talk about why you should be considering them for your deck if you aren’t already playing them, but mostly what makes them so good!
Capital Punishment
Arguably the best removal spell in the game, Capital Punishment
will take care of any early game threats you may be facing. This card being hybrid black/white means it can easily slot in any deck running at least 1 of the 2 colors. Though it is common to see decks outside this color scheme splash a little of one or the other just to run such a powerful spell as this. The white/blue aggro style human deck will want to play Capital Punishment offensively to remove anything that may stand in their way of an early game beat down. Additionally, one of the biggest threats to this style deck is Moxie, which shuts down their low to the ground attacking strategy. Being only 2 soul energy, Moxie is a perfect Capital Punishment target for any aggro deck trying to get through. On the inverse, your later game strategy decks like white/black Ascendants and black/green Undead will also want to use Capital Punishment but defensively to ward off any aggro decks trying to win early with cards like Clio or Orpheus. Because of this, Capital Punishment becomes a strong auto include for about any deck!
Moxie
Whether you are running them in the main deck or bringing them in from the sideboard, Moxie
is necessary against those annoying low to the ground aggro decks. Double green casting cost is a tall ask for decks not firmly committed to green already, but if you are running in to issues against aggro, chances are you are playing green anyway. Although Moxie’s ability is symmetrical, meaning it shuts down your own 2 cost or less creatures from attacking as well, the idea here is that you will be able to delay the game long enough that it doesn’t matter. Moxie is a must kill for aggro and if they go several turns without being answer it, then they will have a tough time recovering. If you find that aggro is just too fast for you to be able to mount a proper offense, then Moxie is a must include for you!
Imara
A key card to making any control style deck function is Imara. Imara
allows you to get reusable value from all your spells. Whether you needed to play one early as a Soul Energy source or use that Capital Punishment more than 3 times, Imara is the value engine you need. Being mono green allows her to be played in Undead and Mystic strategies without effort and respectable stats for a card that has such a powerful effect. You will want to make sure you have plenty of sacrifice fodder to really get the true potential and remember that effect can trigger once per turn meaning on your opponent’s turns as well. Imara is a must answer for any deck that doesn’t want to get valued out quickly. Make sure you have that counter or removal ready on turn 4 if your opponent is playing green at all!
Davy
If you’re looking for a way to keep the Island clear of your opponent’s citizens then Davy is the card for you. Davy
can be used in 2 different style decks depending on what you’re looking to accomplish. For the aggro style deck, you can use Davy to keep the Island clear of blockers and ensure that your attacks are getting through. Slower control style decks can also utilize Davy to stop their opponent from getting several early hits in. A decent blocker himself, Davy has the unique ability of also triggering when he dies, allowing you to further disrupt your opponent’s game plan. While he can only hit targets are 2 soul energy or less, this will help control the board in a lot of situations.
Unholy Mess
The only true board wipe spell in Genesis, Unholy Mess will create just that for your opponent, a mess. The last thing an Island full of creatures wants to see is an Unholy Mess
to clear everything they have been building. This spell is back breaking for aggro strategies and midrange alike. The real key to using an Unholy Mess to perfection is to be able to recover quickly from a complete reset. Paired with some key Undead like Zillah or Corbin will make your opponent wonder what just happened. Sometimes the best option is to just wipe everything clean and start over!
Weiland
This little guy offers a ton of versatility for whatever situation you are facing. Being hybrid blue/white in his casting cost makes him able to slot into most decks easily. The ability to return any citizen to the owner’s hand can be used both offensively and defensively. Human aggro decks will want to utilize Weiland
to send the big threats on the opponent’s Island back to their hands. One other benefit of Weiland is that it can target your own creatures. Opponent wants to Mortal Blow your Dookraka, no problem. Use Weiland to return him to your hand before the spell resolves and give him a second chance at terrorizing your opponent. This versatility makes Weiland a strong consideration for any deck able to cast him!
While there are many more cards that are seeing some extensive play right now, these are my top considerations for cards you should be giving a try! If you are having trouble against a particular style of deck consider pushing your deck in a slightly different direction with one or more of these cards to try and get the edge over your opponent!
If you decide to pick up any of these cards, then head on over to the Kavdaens Market Singles Site and pick up some singles! Remember to use my code “TalkingKryptik” and save 10%!
Until next time, I’m Donald and this has been Talking Kryptik.