Every workday while the set is new, Insight is taking a quick look at another deck featuring cards from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. After almost two years of no additions, Orzhov Auras finally got another toy. Now it has eight two-drops that gain an extra card per Aura, and the results are predictably strong!
About two years ago, when Pioneer first established itself as a format, Orzhov Auras was one of the top decks, and rightfully so. Even before came in from the wilderness, the strategy was holding its own. Mainly it was just plain fast. Back then, it relied on to turn every Aura into a fresh card, and secondarily on . Aura decks in other formats have long enjoyed the benefit of two two-drops generating an extra card per Aura, pairing Sram with . Alas, the latter isn't part of Pioneer.
Everything changed now with entering the picture. For the better part of two years, the deck didn't get a meaningful improvement and remained looking basically the same. Now it received an upgrade that immediately catapulted it back into the conversation.
Despite the initial stats, the legendary Fox Advisor is no joke. It can fetch an Aura of not just lesser mana value than the one you played but also the same. Light-Paws seemingly gives players two options: Try implementing some fancy Auras, or just go with the usual five. People have already decided that the latter is the better choice. After all, with legal, how couldn't they? It makes extremely fast kills possible, and now you can easily tutor for it or find another to support it.
Also, with Light-Paws on the battlefield, you can target another creature with an Aura to improve two attackers in one go. This greatly increases the threat diversity, which is definitely a thing the deck was sometimes lacking. The rest of it functions exactly the same after all this time. You're ideally looking to start the game off with or one of your protective one-drops. Then you cast one of your now eight two-drops. Then you start chaining Auras and swing for loads of combat damage. Between , , and , there are many ways to protect your biggest threat.
As usual the deck focuses on its own game plan at the expense of interaction, storing all four copies of in the sideboard. This served Magic Online player MJ_23 well. They beat some pretty powerful archetypes on their way to the Challenge trophy, including Jund Sacrifice and Azorius . The following day, two similar Orzhov Auras decks appeared in the next Pioneer Challenge Top 8. It's obviously a strong deck that requires no major tinkering. Perfect if you were planning a return to Pioneer!
| Orzhov Auras by MJ_23, 1st at Pioneer Challenge, February 12 |
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| Main Deck | Sideboard |
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