Though we’ve seen the first version of this format’s “Geist of Saint Traft” deck, or “Restoration Angel” deck, we’ve yet to find that dominant, finished deck we all look back on. -Brad Nelson

Spoiled. That's the only way I can put it. Last weekend, we had no Grands Prix, but this weekend brought us one in Toronto and another in Brazil. There's a wealth of info in that and we'll sort it today. First off, here were the T8s:

Toronto T8:

• 3 Abzan Midrange (Elspeth maindecked)
• 2 Bant Megamorph
• 1 G/W Collected Company
• 1 Abzan Aggro
• 1 Mardu Dragons

Contrast that with the much more conventional Sao Paulo T8:

• 3 Esper Dragons
• 2 Abzan Aggro
• 1 R/G Dragons
• 1 R/G Devotion
• 1 Monored w/ Atarka's Command

Toronto's T8 is a brewer's paradise, Sao Paulo was a gauntlet from hell

I look at these two T8s and think that the guys from Toronto could get in a lot of good testing from the tuned lists of the Brazilian GP.

Which one was the more evolved GP? I'm inclined to say Toronto, based on the lack of Esper Dragons, Monored or things like Bant Heroic. Dragons were hated out all weekend, leaving zero copies of the marquee control deck in the final cut.

That's not to say that Sao Paulo was a let-down or less competitive or anything like that. It looks like what I'd expect to face down in the final rounds of a PTQ--tuned decks played by solid players. The Devotion deck was the only deviation from the norm and it's not an unexpected deck. People have been powering out Dragonlord Atarka as long as it's been legal.

Den Protector is turning the corner in Abzan Midrange

So much of the midgame and lategame with Abzan hinges around getting a little more card advantage. That's why they run a few Whips or pack Elspeth, Sun's Champion to get repeatable board effects.

Den Protector is a stalwart companion to the Rock-style deck, buying back removal even without a Deathmist Raptor around getting cute. I remember Eternal Witness in Extended Rock--you'd play a Thoughtseize and then get it back to slam the opponent again. Similar thing here, though Den Protector is much slower than Witness ever was.

Whether you're trading into Den Protector to hold is a decision based on whether you think Abzan will persist after the summer. The deck loses a great deal of its core, though it keeps Siege Rhino around. That, plus the Bant decks floating around (we'll get to them) mean that Den Protector can have a reasonably long life in Standard after Theros takes its Fleecemane Lions away.

Actions: Even after being hyped up, Den Protector is still up 11% over last week. There are modest gains to be had with the card. Remember that MTGO redemption for DTK starts this week, which should drop the prices on a lot of chase cards. My suggestion: wait two weeks to get your Den Protectors and, by that point, enough redemption will be going on to drop the prices.

Bant Megamorph is the next Dromoka's Command Deck

When the new command cycle was spoiled, Ojutai's Command was brought up as the most like our old friend Cryptic Command. The most playable one has got to be Dromoka's Command, though.

What a machine of unfairness that card is. It's typically a two-for-one and almost never blank.

The Bant Megamorph deck plays a strategy of Den Protector and Deathmist Raptor, creating a lot of value with cards like Courser of Kruphix. Combined with a few counterspells and Ojutai to round things out, the deck had two showings in the T8.

I like the emphasis on Den Protector doing solid card advantage work here, as a second Ojutai seems like such a pain to kill again. I still don't love Deathmist Raptor (who rose about 5% in the past week to $20). That said, this deck is solidly Khans-centric and will live past rotation.

The weakness of this deck is fliers. The objective is to fight with a Deathmist Raptor, but Hexproof often turns that off. There's an outside chance something like a Dragonlord Dromoka is playable here due to lifelink. It's a Baneslayer in the format at the moment. The Bant deck has Disdainful Stroke, Plummet and Glare of Heresy to fight fliers, so the sideboard recognizes its weakness to Ojutai.

Actions: I'm paying particular attention to the mana dudes in this deck. If it survives past Courser and Caryatid rotating (with the hope of Elvish Mystic staying around), then Rattleclaw Mystic is the natural replacement. It's $1.80 right now, so definitely above bulk. Rattleclaw is the best of a slim bunch and people are addicted to Carytids. If Birds of Paradise is in Magic: Origins this summer, Rattleclaw is a junk rare. If it's not, then Rattleclaw will still be an excellent mana accelerant going forward. Stick this on your calendar to revisit after Origins spoilers are complete.

Craig Wescoe's Got a new G/W Brew

Craig did what he does best by bringing a creature-centric Collected Company brew all the way to the T8.

His plan is simple: play the best 3-drops and find them with Company. While the Dragon decks sling cards like Haven of the Spirit Dragon to go long, he is content with Den Protector rebuying a Company and bringing a Deathmist Raptor back from beyond.

Craig's sideboard gives away his secret: he needs four Windstorm to tackle fliers. The deck looks extraordinarily soft to a Stormbreath Dragon, especially with a little bit of removal along the way to mop up his guys.

In the end, I don't expect this deck to change the metagame. Craig's decks often do best in his hands and sometimes are only correct for one or two events. It's nice to see some interest in Collected Company, though.

Mardu Dragons Looks Awesome

I'm on the hunt for new and interesting decks all the time, ones that have a certain cool quality that semi-casual players crave. Mardu Dragons is the top pick for me right now because it obviously has Dragons in it! It is also uniquely positioned to fight all these Dragons because it has so many Diabolic Edict effects.

In the next few weeks, we'll be asking ourselves whether we want to dragon-charge Silumgar's Scorn or Draconic Roar. This deck gives a fascinating chance for the latter. With so much cheap removal, the deck can handle the mono-red aggro decks better. Its Roars can kill Den Protectors and Raptors. It can go over the top very quickly. It even has Soulfire Grand Master for long-shot "oops recursive burn" plans.

Actions: It's no mistake that this deck got so far and I think Crackling Doom was the reason why. This $1 rare from Khans is deadly potent against all manner of Dragons and Siege Rhinos. Mardu has been looking for a shot and cards like Thunderbreak Regent and Roar are giving it that critical mass. This is also really important: the deck is Khans-centric, so it will retain most of its devastating elements after rotation. I'm calling Crackling Doom as a phenomenal and underpriced card and I'll be picking up a few sets myself.

Elspeth has a had a very good week

The on-again, off-again Planeswalker has put up great results at both Grands Prix. At PT: DTK, she made the jump into Abzan Midrange's maindeck. Last week, she was almost nowhere to be seen. She's in the maindecks or sideboards of a great deal of the format at this point. I attribute that to the grinding nature of the game right now. Den Protector and Haven are fueling long games and that makes a repeatable ability great. Further, Hero's Downfall is being trimmed out of decks for Foul-Tongue Invocation. It's absolutely the right card to stake your late game on for the next few weeks.

Actions: Elspeth is a Theros card and rotates soon. It's such a drag to see a staple card like this have a great week and then know that she'll be gone in a few months. It's not cheap to pick up by any stretch right now, either. My best advice is to trade yours away for good long-term value and don't pick one up that you're not willing to flip soon.

Quick Hits

Since GP: Sao Paulo was a much more traditional T8, I'll be including it in the Quick Hits section.

• PVDDR's Esper deck had Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver for the mirror, but Monastery Mentor was a 4x maindecked card in another Esper Dragons deck - and it gave PV fits to deal with. Ashiok proved up due to being hard to kill, but its financial lifespan is almost over.
• Stratus Dancer is playing a very minor role in Esper Dragons off the sideboard.
• This was Foul-Tongue Invocation's week. I was impressed that people would pay 2B for the effect, and it makes me look at Self-Inflicted Wound as a great standout sideboard piece of tech.
• Esper Dragons players should be praying for good mana in the next block. Temples and painlands will go, making an already-miserable manabase even worse.
• Nobody brought Mike Flores' 5c Dragons deck to the T8, which is a bummer. That deck looks cool.
• This was not a great week for Ugin, with only two copies floating around.

I'll see you again next week. If something happens, you'll read about it here.

-Doug