The Little Engine that Could: A Draw Engine for Standard
Draw Engines
Yawgmoth's Bargain. Squadron Hawk. Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Treasure Cruise.
A draw engine is probably the most powerful thing you can do in a game of Magic. Never running out of cards is an ability normally reserved for hard control decks running 8+ dedicated draw spells and relying on a multitude of answers to get to that point.
Of course, the most dangerous decks are the ones that can play agressively and still have their draw engine to win in the lategame; decks like U/R delver and Caw-Blade.
While there isn't anything nearly this powerful in Standard yet, I've found a powerful draw engine that has gone completely overlooked. With additions from Fate Reforged, it finally has a strong deck for itself.
Dig Through Time and Dakra Mystic
Let's look at these two cards on their own for a minute, and what they do together.
We all know Dig Through Time. It's likely the best draw spell in Standard due to the lack of cheap spells to fuel Treasure Cruise. Instant speed card advantage and card selection make it a powerful tool in Standard.
Dakra Mystic is a card that was mostly forgotten about after it did nothing in Standard upon release. It has seen no play, but the combination of a card quality advantage and fueling the graveyard is fairly unique in Standard right now.
Together, they become an insane engine that lets you go through your entire deck without ever running out of gas. Play Dakra Mystic, activate Dakra Mystic to fill the graveyard, cast Dig Through Time, get another Dig Through Time, rinse, repeat. When you don't have a Dig Through Time in hand, Dakra Mystic will keep cards flowing until you find one.
Of course, the engine alone isn't enough. You need a strong tempo shell that can apply pressure in the early game and still be relevant in the late game. Luckily for us, two cards from Fate Reforged help to make this possible.
Newcomers and the Decklist
Soulfire Grand Master and Monastery Mentor are exactly what the deck needs. Soulfire Grand Master is another source of card advantage that can both effectively race and do disguisting things with a Dissolve or a Dig Through Time and enough mana. Monastery Mentor, on the other hand, is a powerful haymaker that gets better with more spells and lands in play .
Here's my take on a decklist:
(No sideboard because the metagame will likely change with FRF released.)
There are some unusual choices in here in Void Snare and Dissolve. Void Snare is the best one-mana disruption option. This deck wants to play two spells a turn as often as possible. What's more, it can be a very efficient lock with Soulfire Grand Master against some decks — just don't try it against Siege Rhino. Dissolve plays much better here than in the current Jeskai shells as you want to leave up mana rather than triggering Seeker of the Way's prowess turn 3. It also answers the huge enter-the-battlefield creatures like Hornet Queen, Wingmate Roc, and Siege Rhino that Jeskai can't usually handle very well.
This new standard environment is shaping up to be very interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing if Dakra Mystic or any other suprising cards from Theros block can become relevant.
