I went to Gameday (or whatever WotC is calling Gameday now) and performed reasonably well. I played the same 75 without any changes since the last time I posted it and I ended the day 3-0-1 and then a loss in the final playoff for the playmat.
Round 1: W 2-1 against U/R Aggro
Opponent appeared to be on an extremely aggressive plan with those stupid 1-mana unblockable merfolk and the 1RU 2/2 haste unblockable pirates and a bunch of auras to pump them up. I kept a slow hand in game 2 before I fully realized what he was playing (he was stuck on lands game 1 so I didn't see much of his deck) and got run over. Other than that it was a pretty favorable match up. Fatal Push 2-for-1'd him when he tried to voltron up a cheap creature and Ravenous Chupacabra did it when he tried to voltron up a more expensive one. As long as you don't stumble on mana (or keep 5 land hands) there shouldn't be much to worry about.
Round 2: W 2-1 against B/R Pirates
This was the same deck from last week. Pretty straight forward aggro deck. A single Yahenni's Expertise basically swings the game in our favor no matter what. The only thing of note here was the fact that I keep forget Fiery Cannonade is a card and not playing around it. I attacked Vona into a 2/2 Rigging Runner and got blown out. Don't be like me. Thankfully my terrible play didn't cost me the match.
Round 3: D 1-1-1 against U/W Control
This was an unintentional draw after going to time. Game one I mulled to 4 and somehow won because the opponent kept a 1-lander with multiple Censors to cycle but still missed on lands for awhile. So that was a freebie. Game 2 took over 30 minutes and ended because I milled out. I had Lifecrafter's Bestiary and Arch of Orazca going to ensure I could keep drawing gas but I could never mount a serious offense through the seemingly infinite Fumigates and Settles. I think in retrospect I could have won this game but I made a loose play: I had a Liliana on 3 loyalty and opponent has one card in hand that they just drew on their last turn. I -3 to bring back a Thrashing Brontodon that would have freed a Vraska from under a Cast Out. Of course opponent drew Disallow. Womp womp. Game 3 starts with only a few minutes on the clock and we obviously can't finish it. Unintentional draw.
Round 4: W 2-0 via concession
I was paired down and opponent was a friend so he scooped. Good guy opponent.
Final: L 3-1 against U/W Control
This was the same deck I drew against earlier. Since this was the final it was an untimed best of 5 match. Game 1 and 2 were pre-sideboarded which was bad for me because I have basically no way to interact with a control deck. Game 3 I can finally sideboard and I get a win thanks to an unanswered Tendershoot Dryad. Game 4 opponent finds Approach of the Second Sun before I can mount a serious offense that doesn't get wiped away and that's that.
All in all a decent performance but it could have been better. At this point I'm just waiting for Dominaria to release because I think the deck gets significantly better.
Finally put an iteration of the deck together. Can't remember how to make lists though so will post up when I figure it out
Wondering what will we cut for the Llanowar elves when DOM drops? I have Gifted Aetherborn in the main, so that may be an option to cut for it.
Here's a quick guide to the most useful tags you can use on the site.
I also think Gifted Aetherborn is the odd man out once Dominaria releases. Double black on turn 2 is just not what we want to be doing when Llanowar Elves is around. I also think I'm going to trim a few Journey to Eternity.
What does everyone think of adding Muldrotha to this deck? It seems to me that it is a great value engine to add to all of our other values engines
Muldrotha, the Gravetide could be interesting. Ultimately, though, if you're going U/B why not just play The Scarab God? It really is problematic how format warping that card is.
Muldrotha is greater value in my opinion. You don't have to pay for its effect and you can return more cards to the battlefield. This gives your walkers recursion and gives protection to your journeys if people board in against them
And with eternity it is essentially the same casting cost as scarab
Well, Scarab really pidgeon holes you into only taking creatures. Multrotha gives you the opportunity to recur lands that are blown up or journeys that get fizzled.
It would be pretty sick to Field of Ruin-lock someone that's not playing enough basics, but I'm just personally not convinced Muldratha is worth it in this deck. I think you'd have to make some pretty significant changes to maximize his(hers?) value. I think there's a shell involving Song of Freyalise and Muldrotha, the Gravetide that could be interesting. Song helps accelerate out Muldrotha and then Muldrotha recurs Song to keep generating value and make your attacks basically unstoppable. There should probably be a Winding Constrictor in there somewhere too.
I just don't think Journey and Muldrotha go in the same deck as they're kinda fighting for the same niche.
It would be pretty sick to Field of Ruin-lock someone that's not playing enough basics, but I'm just personally not convinced Muldratha is worth it in this deck. I think you'd have to make some pretty significant changes to maximize his(hers?) value. I think there's a shell involving Song of Freyalise and Muldrotha, the Gravetide that could be interesting. Song helps accelerate out Muldrotha and then Muldrotha recurs Song to keep generating value and make your attacks basically unstoppable. There should probably be a Winding Constrictor in there somewhere too.
I just don't think Journey and Muldrotha go in the same deck as they're kinda fighting for the same niche.
Round 1: 2-0 vs Mono-Green
Pretty favorable match-up as long as they don't curve out perfectly. Turn 2 Steel Leaf Champion is no joke. But neither is a Turn 3 Ravenous Chupacabra using our own Llanowar Elf. Also, Mono-Green is, from what I've seen, basically unable to beat a Tendershoot Dryad. It's really kind of silly.
Round 2: 2-0 vs Mono-Green
I'm noticing a trend here. Second verse, same as the first. Their inability to interact in any meaninful way beyond 'play more creatures' means we get to just do whatever we want, and they can't possibly stop us from flipping a Journey to Eternity, at which point the game is essentially over. Ravenous Chupacabra every turn beats the deck that just wants to play beefy creatures. Who knew?
Round 3: 2-1 vs Mono-Green
Seriously though, three straight Mono-Green decks. Nothing new to say here. Tendershoot Dryad is still an unbeatable card for them. The one game I lost was because I took a bit too much damage during the initial rush then couldn't find an answer quickly enough to stop a Heart of Kiran that finished the job after I gummed up the ground.
Over all 3-0 6-1. I have no idea if everyone just really wanted to play with Llanowar Elves or something but my first impression of the new Standard is nothing but Mono-Green, which is something we are well positioned to take advantage of right now. The only change I'm currently considering is replacing a Yahenni, Undying Partisan with a Bontu the Glorified as a difficult to remove way to ensure I can cast Yawgmoth's Vile Offering, and the life drain is a slow but effective way to finish the game against decks playing Settle the Wreckage.
Oh my, it has certainly been awhile since this thread was updated! This past weekend I took this deck to my local Store Championship, playing the same list I last posted except with 2x Kitesail Freebooters in the sideboard replacing Shapers' Sanctuary and Lifecrafter's Bestiary. Here's the report, at least what I remember.
Round 1: W 2-0 against WU Approach
Opponent was a newer player playing the pre-bought Approach deck with a few changes. He also had mana problems both games, so they weren't really competitive. I played guys, turned them sideways, then he died. Not much to say here.
Round 2: W 2-1 against RB Aggro
The boogieman of the format right now. Managed to pull out game 1 on the draw when my opponent got slightly mana flooded and that proved to be the deciding factor as the difference between going first or second is pretty pronounced. Lost game 2 on the draw and won game 3 on the play. Also, dodging Goblin Chainwhirler in game 3 was pretty important because there was a turn or two there where a Chainwhirler would have been a 4-1 or something silly like that. It's not a terrible matchup but it isn't exactly favorable either.
Round 3: L 0-2 against WU God-Pharoh's Gift
This was a weird round. Game 1 I should have lost pretty easily, but all of my opponent's Angel of Invention happened to be in the last 15-ish card of their deck, so at a certain point my entire game plan shifted to trying to stall until they milled. Unfortunately even random 4/4s can be problematic when there are a bunch of them and I ended up dying with my opponent having about 4 cards left. Likewise, game 2 I probably should have won. I did a good job of managing the God-Pharaoh’s Gifts with a combination of Thrashing Brontodons and Broken Bonds. Eventually, I had Ajani Unyielding going with a Ravenous Chupacabra and Kitesail Freebooter (eating a Refurbish) against my opponent's topdecking with just a Sacred Cat in play. Instead of just upticking Ajani and outvaluing my opponent, I ended up ultimating Ajani (leaving him at 1 loyalty) and setting my opponent to 3 with a double attack. My opponent kills Ajani with the Sacred Cat (flavor fail, btw) and passing the turn. Then I foolishly attack for the kill right into a Settle the Wreckage and that was that. I think this is actually a favorable match up but some bad decisions and a bit of bad luck mean I fell to 2-1 overall.
Round 4: W 2-0 against W Knights & Angels
Opponent's deck appeared to have a bunch a History of Benalia and ways to make/pump knights, plus a few Lyra Dawnbringers for good measure. It can get a bit dicey if they get off to a good start but for the most part we match up well against their stuff. Brontodon in particular can block their 2/2 knights as well as blowing up a History of Benalia if need be, and Chupacabra beats Lyra. Wasn't a complicated match and lead to a fairly easy 2-0 win.
Round 5: Intentional Draw
Both myself and my opponent were a lock for Top 8 with a draw, so that's what we did.
Quarterfinals: L 1-2 against WUB Control
Unfortunately my first pairing in the Top 8 is against a deck with Approach of the Second Sun which in my opinion is one of our worst match ups. I noticed this a few weeks ago which is why I threw some Kitesail Freebooters into the sideboard as a way to interact with Approach, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. Game 1 my opponent found an Approach fairly early and there wasn't much I could do about it. Game 2 I resolved Lost Legacy and then cleaned up. Game 3 was close but I again couldn't find an answer to Approach.
After playing against Approach since it was released, I find it to be a painfully unfun card. Often, once it resolves the first time the game is essentially over and you have to just wait for the actual end. It is really problematic that it just invalidates the entire game while at the same time giving you a sizable life buffer to ensure you get to cast it again. I hope R&D shelves these kind of designs for awhile.
And now, since the full spoiler for Core 2019 is out, it is time to look ahead to potential additions for our deck. I'll put it in spoilers for anyone attempting to avoid spoilers ahead of the prerelease.
I think the most exciting card for this deck is Demon of Catastrophes. A large, undercosted flyer that can battle through both Glorybringer and Lyra Dawnbringer, and his "downside" can potentially be beneficial for us to flip a Journey. The dream is T1 Llanowar Elves, T2 Journey to Eternity on Elves, T3 Demon of Catastrophes sacrificing Elves flipping Journey. That's pretty darn powerful. Even if the stars don't align, just sacrificing an Elves or a Merfolk Branchwalker for a 6/6 flying trampler is still perfectly acceptable. I genuinely believe that the Demon will help push some version of this deck toward tier 1 or 1.5.
Infernal Reckoning - Potentially an interesting sideboard card for a few months while Kaladesh is still legal. Can eat every vehicle as well as getting rid of Scrapheap Scrounger permanently. Extremely cheap and efficent, but possibly too narrow. Really depends how prevalent Heart of Kiran and Scrounger are in a brave new world with Core 2019
Open the Graves - Doubtful this will make it, but it is something to think about. It can certainly grind, though.
Reassembling Skeleton - Similar to Open the Graves. Don't thing this has a place in the current build, but there might be some merit to moving toward a more Aristocrats-style deck featuring Skeletons and Open the Graves and Poison-Tip Archer. Something to keep in mind as a potential deck come the new release.
Vine Mare - Good sideboard card against control. Comes down faster than Carnage Tyrant and hits almost as hard. It can also sneak past The Scarab God as well as the zombies it makes, or zombies in general if that turns out to be a deck again because of Death Baron. Still loses to Settle the Wreckage, though.
Vivien Reid - 5 mana is a bit much, but she is pretty versatile and can help deal with Glorybringer, Vehicles or even miscellaneous enchantments like Cast Out or Sagas. Definitely worth a try I think.
Poison-Tip Archer - Again, 4 mana is a lot but this Archer does a lot. Blocks well, can stop most flyers, and adds some reach. Unfortunately, I think Demon of Catastrophes is just better in every way for our deck at the same 4-mana cost.
Meteor Golem - Seems to be a theme of overcosted cards, but destroying any nonland permanent is nothing to scoff at. However, I don't think that's significantly better than Ravenous Chupacabra. We already have a decent amount of artifact/enchantment hate, even more if Vivien works out, so the extra 3 mana of Meteor Golem doesn't seem like a good investment.
Overall I'm really excited to add Demon of Catastrophes, so much so that I traded for a full playset of the promo version that was handed out at the Store Championship. As to what to cut, I have no idea.
I am curious to know your thoughts on rotation. A lot of pieces such as fatal push and yahenni etc are gonna be lost when the format does roll. What do you think the new "finishers" or value cards will be to push through the wins?
I am curious to know your thoughts on rotation. A lot of pieces such as fatal push and yahenni etc are gonna be lost when the format does roll. What do you think the new "finishers" or value cards will be to push through the wins?
It's hard to say without knowing anything about the new Ravnica set that is going to cause the rotation. I think losing Yahenni is actually more concerning to me than Fatal Push is. I only play 2x Pushes as it is, and there's always Moment of Craving to fill a similar role if nothing good comes out of Ravnica. Losing a free sac outlet that is also a difficult to remove threat that can take over a game, however, is much more worrisome. Yahenni is really one of the cards that makes the deck tick, and I'm not sure there's a suitable replacement.
All in all, thought, a large portion of the deck survives rotation. I'm not too worried about the entire archetype falling apart post-rotation, but it might look a little different. As I said about Core 2019, though, I think Demon of Catastrophes is going to be a key player going forward. It's important to note that the Demon's drawback is an additional cost, not an ETB trigger, meaning using Atzal, Cave of Eternity to bring him back does not cause us to sacrifice. I'm quite high on the Demon.
Round 1: W 2-1 against U/R Aggro
Opponent appeared to be on an extremely aggressive plan with those stupid 1-mana unblockable merfolk and the 1RU 2/2 haste unblockable pirates and a bunch of auras to pump them up. I kept a slow hand in game 2 before I fully realized what he was playing (he was stuck on lands game 1 so I didn't see much of his deck) and got run over. Other than that it was a pretty favorable match up. Fatal Push 2-for-1'd him when he tried to voltron up a cheap creature and Ravenous Chupacabra did it when he tried to voltron up a more expensive one. As long as you don't stumble on mana (or keep 5 land hands) there shouldn't be much to worry about.
Round 2: W 2-1 against B/R Pirates
This was the same deck from last week. Pretty straight forward aggro deck. A single Yahenni's Expertise basically swings the game in our favor no matter what. The only thing of note here was the fact that I keep forget Fiery Cannonade is a card and not playing around it. I attacked Vona into a 2/2 Rigging Runner and got blown out. Don't be like me. Thankfully my terrible play didn't cost me the match.
Round 3: D 1-1-1 against U/W Control
This was an unintentional draw after going to time. Game one I mulled to 4 and somehow won because the opponent kept a 1-lander with multiple Censors to cycle but still missed on lands for awhile. So that was a freebie. Game 2 took over 30 minutes and ended because I milled out. I had Lifecrafter's Bestiary and Arch of Orazca going to ensure I could keep drawing gas but I could never mount a serious offense through the seemingly infinite Fumigates and Settles. I think in retrospect I could have won this game but I made a loose play: I had a Liliana on 3 loyalty and opponent has one card in hand that they just drew on their last turn. I -3 to bring back a Thrashing Brontodon that would have freed a Vraska from under a Cast Out. Of course opponent drew Disallow. Womp womp. Game 3 starts with only a few minutes on the clock and we obviously can't finish it. Unintentional draw.
Round 4: W 2-0 via concession
I was paired down and opponent was a friend so he scooped. Good guy opponent.
Final: L 3-1 against U/W Control
This was the same deck I drew against earlier. Since this was the final it was an untimed best of 5 match. Game 1 and 2 were pre-sideboarded which was bad for me because I have basically no way to interact with a control deck. Game 3 I can finally sideboard and I get a win thanks to an unanswered Tendershoot Dryad. Game 4 opponent finds Approach of the Second Sun before I can mount a serious offense that doesn't get wiped away and that's that.
All in all a decent performance but it could have been better. At this point I'm just waiting for Dominaria to release because I think the deck gets significantly better.
I also think Gifted Aetherborn is the odd man out once Dominaria releases. Double black on turn 2 is just not what we want to be doing when Llanowar Elves is around. I also think I'm going to trim a few Journey to Eternity.
And with eternity it is essentially the same casting cost as scarab
I just don't think Journey and Muldrotha go in the same deck as they're kinda fighting for the same niche.
Wait...Song of Freyalise and Muldrotha, the Gravetide can be a shell. I have been toying with an idea of using Rite of Belzenlok and Demonlord Belzenlok and this might be it. Being able to have the demon token or the demonlord to have Freyalise buff is the nuts. And being able to keep generating tokens, Vraska, Scheming Gorgon as a one of to ultimate to win games. Heck even as a one of 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded to sack the free cleric tokens. Too much? Maybe, but I would try this
1x Arch of Orazca
2x Field of Ruin
2x Sunpetal Grove
4x Woodland Cemetary
4x Blooming Marsh
1x Plains
6x Forest
4x Swamp
Creatures: 27
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Merfolk Branchwalker
4x Jadelight Ranger
3x Thrashing Brontodon
4x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
3x Ravenous Chupacabra
2x Tendershoot Dryad
1x Vona, Butcher of Magan
1x Noxious Gearhulk
1x Verdant Sun's Avatar
2x Fatal Push
2x Vraska's Contempt
Enchantments: 3
3x Journey to Eternity
Planeswaklers: 2
1x Liliana, Death's Majesty
1x Vraska, Relic Seeker
2x Shapers' Sanctuary
1x Arguel's Blood Fast
2x Broken Bond
1x Bontu's Last Reckoning
1x Lost Legacy
1x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
3x Yahenni's Expertise
1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
1x Yawgmoth's Vile Offering
1x Carnage Tyrant
1x Ajani Unyielding
Round 1: 2-0 vs Mono-Green
Pretty favorable match-up as long as they don't curve out perfectly. Turn 2 Steel Leaf Champion is no joke. But neither is a Turn 3 Ravenous Chupacabra using our own Llanowar Elf. Also, Mono-Green is, from what I've seen, basically unable to beat a Tendershoot Dryad. It's really kind of silly.
Round 2: 2-0 vs Mono-Green
I'm noticing a trend here. Second verse, same as the first. Their inability to interact in any meaninful way beyond 'play more creatures' means we get to just do whatever we want, and they can't possibly stop us from flipping a Journey to Eternity, at which point the game is essentially over. Ravenous Chupacabra every turn beats the deck that just wants to play beefy creatures. Who knew?
Round 3: 2-1 vs Mono-Green
Seriously though, three straight Mono-Green decks. Nothing new to say here. Tendershoot Dryad is still an unbeatable card for them. The one game I lost was because I took a bit too much damage during the initial rush then couldn't find an answer quickly enough to stop a Heart of Kiran that finished the job after I gummed up the ground.
Over all 3-0 6-1. I have no idea if everyone just really wanted to play with Llanowar Elves or something but my first impression of the new Standard is nothing but Mono-Green, which is something we are well positioned to take advantage of right now. The only change I'm currently considering is replacing a Yahenni, Undying Partisan with a Bontu the Glorified as a difficult to remove way to ensure I can cast Yawgmoth's Vile Offering, and the life drain is a slow but effective way to finish the game against decks playing Settle the Wreckage.
Anyone else do any Dominaria events?
It basically splashes white mainly for Hidden Stockpile (instead of running multiples of Yahenni) and a bit of removal (Ixalan's Binding/Seal Away) and SB Cataclysmic Gearhulk (seems unnecessary and WW as a splash color seems a bit tricky, same goes for Fumigate).
#Seekers' Squire is basically a budget concession which should be Jadelight Ranger.
# No Thrashing Brontodon seems wrong, it can easily replace some random 1x-ofs like: Dauntless Bodyguard, Arborback Stomper
and Torgaar, Famine Incarnate.
#I like the addition of Demonlord Belzenlok as a good finisher which also draws cards.
#Other potential value creature for a bigger white splash can be: Regal Caracal, Angel of Invention and Angel of Sanctions.
#I'd consider throwing in a copy of Rishkar, Peema Renegade in the deck for some ramping and later on looping it to put counter on creatures like a cheaper Verdurous Gearhulk (also an option).
Round 1: W 2-0 against WU Approach
Opponent was a newer player playing the pre-bought Approach deck with a few changes. He also had mana problems both games, so they weren't really competitive. I played guys, turned them sideways, then he died. Not much to say here.
Round 2: W 2-1 against RB Aggro
The boogieman of the format right now. Managed to pull out game 1 on the draw when my opponent got slightly mana flooded and that proved to be the deciding factor as the difference between going first or second is pretty pronounced. Lost game 2 on the draw and won game 3 on the play. Also, dodging Goblin Chainwhirler in game 3 was pretty important because there was a turn or two there where a Chainwhirler would have been a 4-1 or something silly like that. It's not a terrible matchup but it isn't exactly favorable either.
Round 3: L 0-2 against WU God-Pharoh's Gift
This was a weird round. Game 1 I should have lost pretty easily, but all of my opponent's Angel of Invention happened to be in the last 15-ish card of their deck, so at a certain point my entire game plan shifted to trying to stall until they milled. Unfortunately even random 4/4s can be problematic when there are a bunch of them and I ended up dying with my opponent having about 4 cards left. Likewise, game 2 I probably should have won. I did a good job of managing the God-Pharaoh’s Gifts with a combination of Thrashing Brontodons and Broken Bonds. Eventually, I had Ajani Unyielding going with a Ravenous Chupacabra and Kitesail Freebooter (eating a Refurbish) against my opponent's topdecking with just a Sacred Cat in play. Instead of just upticking Ajani and outvaluing my opponent, I ended up ultimating Ajani (leaving him at 1 loyalty) and setting my opponent to 3 with a double attack. My opponent kills Ajani with the Sacred Cat (flavor fail, btw) and passing the turn. Then I foolishly attack for the kill right into a Settle the Wreckage and that was that. I think this is actually a favorable match up but some bad decisions and a bit of bad luck mean I fell to 2-1 overall.
Round 4: W 2-0 against W Knights & Angels
Opponent's deck appeared to have a bunch a History of Benalia and ways to make/pump knights, plus a few Lyra Dawnbringers for good measure. It can get a bit dicey if they get off to a good start but for the most part we match up well against their stuff. Brontodon in particular can block their 2/2 knights as well as blowing up a History of Benalia if need be, and Chupacabra beats Lyra. Wasn't a complicated match and lead to a fairly easy 2-0 win.
Round 5: Intentional Draw
Both myself and my opponent were a lock for Top 8 with a draw, so that's what we did.
Quarterfinals: L 1-2 against WUB Control
Unfortunately my first pairing in the Top 8 is against a deck with Approach of the Second Sun which in my opinion is one of our worst match ups. I noticed this a few weeks ago which is why I threw some Kitesail Freebooters into the sideboard as a way to interact with Approach, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. Game 1 my opponent found an Approach fairly early and there wasn't much I could do about it. Game 2 I resolved Lost Legacy and then cleaned up. Game 3 was close but I again couldn't find an answer to Approach.
After playing against Approach since it was released, I find it to be a painfully unfun card. Often, once it resolves the first time the game is essentially over and you have to just wait for the actual end. It is really problematic that it just invalidates the entire game while at the same time giving you a sizable life buffer to ensure you get to cast it again. I hope R&D shelves these kind of designs for awhile.
And now, since the full spoiler for Core 2019 is out, it is time to look ahead to potential additions for our deck. I'll put it in spoilers for anyone attempting to avoid spoilers ahead of the prerelease.
Infernal Reckoning - Potentially an interesting sideboard card for a few months while Kaladesh is still legal. Can eat every vehicle as well as getting rid of Scrapheap Scrounger permanently. Extremely cheap and efficent, but possibly too narrow. Really depends how prevalent Heart of Kiran and Scrounger are in a brave new world with Core 2019
Open the Graves - Doubtful this will make it, but it is something to think about. It can certainly grind, though.
Reassembling Skeleton - Similar to Open the Graves. Don't thing this has a place in the current build, but there might be some merit to moving toward a more Aristocrats-style deck featuring Skeletons and Open the Graves and Poison-Tip Archer. Something to keep in mind as a potential deck come the new release.
Vine Mare - Good sideboard card against control. Comes down faster than Carnage Tyrant and hits almost as hard. It can also sneak past The Scarab God as well as the zombies it makes, or zombies in general if that turns out to be a deck again because of Death Baron. Still loses to Settle the Wreckage, though.
Vivien Reid - 5 mana is a bit much, but she is pretty versatile and can help deal with Glorybringer, Vehicles or even miscellaneous enchantments like Cast Out or Sagas. Definitely worth a try I think.
Poison-Tip Archer - Again, 4 mana is a lot but this Archer does a lot. Blocks well, can stop most flyers, and adds some reach. Unfortunately, I think Demon of Catastrophes is just better in every way for our deck at the same 4-mana cost.
Meteor Golem - Seems to be a theme of overcosted cards, but destroying any nonland permanent is nothing to scoff at. However, I don't think that's significantly better than Ravenous Chupacabra. We already have a decent amount of artifact/enchantment hate, even more if Vivien works out, so the extra 3 mana of Meteor Golem doesn't seem like a good investment.
Overall I'm really excited to add Demon of Catastrophes, so much so that I traded for a full playset of the promo version that was handed out at the Store Championship. As to what to cut, I have no idea.
All in all, thought, a large portion of the deck survives rotation. I'm not too worried about the entire archetype falling apart post-rotation, but it might look a little different. As I said about Core 2019, though, I think Demon of Catastrophes is going to be a key player going forward. It's important to note that the Demon's drawback is an additional cost, not an ETB trigger, meaning using Atzal, Cave of Eternity to bring him back does not cause us to sacrifice. I'm quite high on the Demon.