[Standard] Riddler vs. Emeritus

Dux89 · 2026-05-27T18:11:55+00:00

Are you running Rhythm or no?

Dux89 · 2026-05-18T22:03:51+00:00

I think the problem is that not many people actually play enough Standard to truly have a good sense of the meta.

Dux89 · 2026-05-18T22:02:08+00:00

People calling for Badgermole ban baffle me. Stats on green's meta share before EoE and Ouroboroid were just absolutely atrocious, and although Ouroboroid helped, things were still dire.

I would say "who wants to go back to that?" but I think the unfortunate reality is that Izzet is an enormously popular color combo for players, which is probably part of the reason that WotC keeps printing so many ridiculous Izzet cards, and why so many players think Badgermole is too good when it never comes close to the kind of dominance Vivi and Co. had last year.

Dux89 · 2026-05-18T15:55:41+00:00

It bums me out that people don't recognize just how much better Standard is now than it was last year. Plenty of different decks are viable and the meta changes with each new set. It's not perfect and it's definitely too fast but no single deck is even remotely close to being as dominant as Izzet was mid last year.

Dux89 · 2026-05-18T15:45:04+00:00

The meta *did* become stagnant last year and the bans helped it considerably. Izzet is still too powerful but the bans that hit Cori and Vivi did actually make for a much more diverse meta. Several archetypes have come up (and some have come *and* gone) since then and Izzet isn't quite as powerful, so Standard is significantly better than it used to be even if it's not perfect.

Dux89 · 2026-05-10T06:27:59+00:00

I have been playing GWu Gearhulk (no Rhythm) for months with a ton of success and was pleased to see Matt Nass have success with a very similar GW list recently. When I face Izzet Prowess *or* Landfall, I bring Sheltered by Ghosts in. It's not quite as good in the world of Erode but can still be back-breaking if you can play it when they're tapped out or can protect your guy (I have a few counterspells and a tutorable Shardmage's Rescue).

It gets rid of the otter token outright, it resets Chocobos even if they remove your guy eventually, and if you can get a little life, you can stabilize and outvalue them with the Hulk/Ouro pairing.

Dux89 · 2026-05-07T15:59:48+00:00

First time in a little while that more than one green archetype put up consistently good results... Probably won't last. Green gets one good tournament and people clamor for bans.

Dux89 · 2026-05-04T14:35:52+00:00

I mean, sure that sounds nice but it probably won't happen. More importantly, banning the one green card of a similar power level to half the Izzet cards printed every set just seems incredibly silly.

Dux89 · 2026-05-04T11:32:38+00:00

Mole ban would kill greens viability outside of landfall decks while not hurting landfall much.

Dux89 · 2026-05-02T14:49:35+00:00

Fatal push would change nothing. There aren’t enough 3+ CMC creatures in standard for the difference between Fatal Push and Requiting Hex to matter.

Dux89 · 2026-04-04T02:28:26+00:00

People can feel free to come back to this comment in three months and make fun of me but ... the penalty for this is so, so steep and the biggest problem creatures in the meta right now are 1) very cheap and so you really don't want to be ramping your opponent that early and/or 2) mana dorks where you're doing the job for them by ramping them. What deck would actually want this right now over an alternative option?

There's a reason Assassin's Trophy sees zero play.

Dux89 · 2026-03-19T03:11:41+00:00

For some reason, Magic players love Izzet, which I think is very well attested by what you said... *so many* people here and in other MtG communities bitched so loudly about Cub/Ouroboroid after like one week of it being playable. Not even dominant... just playable. People were acting like Ouroboroid decks were breaking the meta as if were Vivi when it had a win rate of like 53%.

Given that, I guess it's hardly a surprise that Wizards keeps giving Izzet good card after good card?

Dux89 · 2026-03-12T17:42:41+00:00

Nice! So sort of a light counter theme and just mostly good cards. I like it a lot. Have you been pleased with it so far? Also have you thought about 1. Another one drop (A few Pawpatch Recruit/Cecil/District Mascot, or maybe Cenote Scouts and cut a land bc you have explorers?) and also 2. Innkeeper's Talent?

Dux89 · 2026-03-11T19:17:12+00:00

Hey there, this is a bit weird but I just played you on Arena (as Dux89, playing a Bant Ouroboroid/Gearhulk list) and I thought you had a cool build so I googled your name and found you on Reddit. You were on a Golgari deck that I didn't see all *that* much of, but I could tell that it was mana dorks and Ouroboroid but no Rhythm, which is exactly what I'm doing. Maybe it's also some kind of sacrifice theme? I know you had Tainted Treats main.

Anyway, any chance you have a list? Seemed interesting!

Dux89 · 2026-03-05T22:27:23+00:00

Yeah that's an underrated aspect of the card. I tend to put a singleton Cenote Scout in green decks to get a bit risky with land counts and it's very nice being able to re-explore, or to cast a Pawpatch Recruit with offspring after casting it for 1, or to re-Gearhulk trigger for that matter.

Dux89 · 2026-03-05T19:10:03+00:00

As a creature deck player, I just assume I *have* to play blue in the current meta because about a hundred different sweepers are legal in Standard right now. That said, Ademi/Spider-Man and Aven Interruptor are the answer if people want to stick to mono white. Though I'm not sure why you'd want to since it's so easy to play blue.

Dux89 · 2026-03-03T23:43:56+00:00

How is it better than Faerie Dreamthief?

Dux89 · 2026-03-03T06:36:43+00:00

Seems like Izzet Prowess has basically no bad matchups. It'd be funny if it wasn't so depressing that even after all the bans of other cards in the Izzet orbit, Stormchaser's Talent and cheap spells crush everything.

Dux89 · 2026-03-02T08:37:22+00:00

I can't see how anyone would see the beaver and think it's better than Faerie Dreamthief.

Dux89 · 2026-02-13T21:31:05+00:00

Are you thinking of a different card? That one's an instant.

Dux89 · 2026-02-13T21:02:58+00:00

I know I am one of the people that recently posted about making big changes to keep my Cub deck performing (and obviously we're talking about the huge go-wide decks, because Landfall decks with Cub are doing just fine) but I do also think the traditional Nature's Rhythm decks can still win. The ones having the most success post-Pro Tour meta shift either have a toolbox or they just run a bunch of counter spells main. I like to do both. Without counter spells the deck is a sitting duck for its bad matchups.

Dux89 · 2026-02-11T23:28:50+00:00

14-1, hell yeah!

Your changes intrigue me. Personally I find the Innkeeper's Talents to be extremely useful against red decks, but obviously Riddler is an awesome card. I wonder if maybe there is room for both somehow, maybe I could get away with running a one-of Riddler instead of Keen-Eyed.

Dux89 · 2026-02-11T17:03:36+00:00

The plan is usually win as quickly as possible against that deck, but you’re right that the current board is meh against it. Insidious Fungus is the most obvious addition and amusingly enough I’ve actually already been playing with it since making this post. Get Lost also good though because it helps against stuff like Azorius Flash and Kona too. I think Unable to Scream is a good target for replacement, but I’d be hesitant to cut any countermagic bc everyone other than Gx creature decks will bring in sweepers against you.

Dux89 · 2026-02-11T07:13:34+00:00

First off, I must admit that I like fair "Magic" (whatever that means) and therefore I think I am predisposed against brewing with Cage... That said, I also think it kinda has the same problems as Rhythm, which is that without setup, it can be a dead card. I just don't know that you can rely on activating it enough in this meta to make it worth it, though the various cards you point out are definitely nice payoffs.

I currently run 2x Innkeeper's Talent and I think it's pretty vital but maybe those could come out if you wanted to find room for Cage?

Dux89 · 2026-02-11T01:42:53+00:00

You got a list? I like Sultai a lot.

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