Magical Study: A Take On Lorwyn/Shadowmoor Block: Kithkin! (Magic: The Gathering)

[Keoni]

Hi, for those of you who don't know who I am, my name is Keoni Davey, and I'm currently the #1 Constructed player in Hawaii. I'm going to write a series of articles to help YOU have the best shot at qualifying for this season. I have been playtesting this format for the past 3 months, so I am very experienced in LWR/SHM Block Constructed. If you wish to read my first article on Demigod Red, click here.

Lately, the format has been growing into more of a rock-paper-scissors format. If it weren't like that already, it is now, moreso than ever. Now, there's a new deck on the top. Kithkin has always been, in the eyes of many, tier 1.5. While it has constantly been a battle between toast and faeries, Kithkin has proven itself over the last month to be a top contender. The most recent statistics can be seen in Mike Flores' article, which can be found here. In addition to this, Kithkin has most recently taken home a Grand Prix title. The winning deck list, piloted by Hironobu Sugaya, can be found here. Like every other player, I myself have my own take on the Kithkin deck, and that list can be found here.

Now, you have access to 4 Kithkin deck lists. As you may have noticed, each list stands out differently in its own way. The biggest debate, by far, is whether to run Burrenton Forge-Tenders in the main deck. Before we move on to analyzing the provided deck lists, I would like to address the Burrenton Forge-Tender issue. Personally, I believe that Forge-Tenders don't belong anywhere near your main deck. Why? Cards we call "Silver Bullets", address specific purposes. Forge-Tender is one of these "Silver Bullets", which is specifically designed for the fight against Firespout. What deck(s) runs Firespout? Toast. This is exactly the problem. The decision to main deck Forge-Tenders is to specifically hate out one card, in one deck. Moreover, like Kithkin, there are varying lists of Toast. Not all Toast decks run Firespout main, opting for other spells. However, the main point here is that by main decking Forge-Tenders, you are making your deck stronger against one archetype, while making your deck significantly weaker against the rest field. Does this phrase sound familiar? It should. That's what a sideboard is for. Sure, it may be good against Demigod Red, but let's not forget you already destroy Demigod Red without it. When you are playing against some one that doesn't have Firespout (your opponent may have it in their deck, but not in hand), it does close to nothing.

Moving on, there are a ton of varying Kithkin lists. Now, as you may have noticed (if you looked at those lists), all of them had Burrenton Forge-Tenders somewhere in their list... except mine. You may ask, "Why is this?". Let me tell you! Reveillark is, in my opinion, better than Forge-Tender. Think of it... Even though Reveillark costs more mana, it is a better creature. Against Toast, it's a card that can kill them by itself. Sure, it won't save your entire board from a Firespout, but the thing is, it will bring the most important creatures you want back. Say they don't pay green for their Firespout (thus, not hitting Reveillark). They now have a 4/3 flying fatty to deal with. Another thing is that you won't necessarily want to rush out that Forge-Tender on turn 1, as it is vulnerable to other removal and doesn't do anything by itself.

That being said, you may have noticed some other interesting differences in my list. One you may have noticed, is the absence of Mutavaults. Through testing, I have lost more games than I have won due to Mutavaults. There have been games where I needed to cast two white-intensive spells on the same turn (such as Wizened Cenn and Spectral Procession). This has often been the case in my Kithkin list that doesn't include Unmake. With the addition of a full set of this trple-white removal spell, it makes even less sense to include mutavaults, as you may very well lose a game due to the inability to cast a white-intensive spell when you need to. In my eyes, the choice is to either run Mutavault or Unmake. However, I am a strong supporter or unmake due to the fact that it deals with creatures in ways other removal spells can't. Being instant speed is huge, as opposed to being limited to casting your removal at sorcery speed. The problem with sorcery speed removal is you are basically Time Walking yourself for one, or even a potential 2+ turns. Also, Unmake deals with persist creatures for good. If they're not in the graveyard, they can't persist! Creatures like Archon and Demigod cry when they get Unmake'd (or Unmade), as they rely on going to the graveyard (or being in it) to really shine. Additionally, as an argument against Mutavault, I have found that they have never really been as effective as they should be. I have definitely lost more games to Mutavault than I have won because I had it. Yes, I keep track of this in testing.

On to the main reason of this article: Why play Kithkin? I probably should have gotten to this part sooner, but most of you thinking about playing Kithkin already have a general idea as to why it's good. The main reason as to why Kithkin is good (and many people don't realize this), is that drop for drop, Kithkin has (arguably) the best creatures in the format, with the exception of the 4cc slot. Let's take a quick look at Kithkin's drops:

(Kithkin will be represented with a K, others will be with an O)
K1: Figure of Destiny, Goldmeadow Stalwart
O1: Figure of Destiny, Tattermunge Maniac, Intimidator Initiate
K2: Wizened Cenn, Knight of Meadowgrain
O2: Stigma Lasher, Vexing Shusher
K3: Spectral Procession
O3: Doran, Boggart Ram-Gang, Kitchen Finks, Scion of Oona, Ashenmoor Gouger
K4: Thistledown Liege, Ajani Goldmane
O4: Mistbind Clique, Sower
K5: Cloudgoat Ranger, Reveillark
O5: Archon of Justice, Demigod of Revenge, Mull Drifter, Shriekmaw

Let's take a look at these cards. As you can see, Kithkin alraedy has a 2/2 for one mana in its one drop slot. In addition, they also have Figure of Destiny. Demigod Red also has Figure of Destiny, however, Kithkin's Figure of Destiny is simply better. How can the same card be better? Simple: Kithkin utilizes Figure of Destiny more effectively than any other deck. Not only does their Figure of Destiny get pumped by Thistledown Liege, Wizened Cenn, Rustic Clachan, and Ajani Goldmane but also turns on Windbrisk Heights. Demigod Red has none of this. In the two drop slot, Kithkin has Wizened Cenn and Knight of Meadowgrain. Demigod Red has Stigma Lasher and Vexing Shusher. Wizened Cenn is a Grizzly Bear + Glorious Anthem. Knight of Meadowgrain is a Grizzley Bear with First Strike, Lifelink, and gets pumped by a bunch of other cards. Stigma Lasher and Vexing Shusher are... well... bears. Although one is a bear that can't be countered, so I guess it gets some brownie points there. At the three drop slot, Kithkin has Spectral Procession. Other decks have a whole range of cards. As it happens, Spectral Procession, in addition to turning on Windbrisk Heights by itself, is a brutal threat by itself. A turn 3 Spectral Procession often says "find an answer to this or lose"; not many decks can deal with this on turn 3. On the other end, you have Doran, Finks, Scion, etc. However, none of these, except perhaps Doran, can impact the board in the way Spectral does. Spectral can win the game by itself. Doran, to a certain extent, is dealt with easier than Spectral is. In addition, Doran is also legendary, and Doran-based decks themselves are overall weaker than Kithkin decks are. If you want to say scion, I'll be happy to tell you that Kithkin's Glorious Anthem costs only two mana. The four drop slot is where Kithkin are clearly beaten, but an important thing to remember is that Kithkin's for drops work towards the greater good. Everyone cringes when a Spectral is followed up by an Ajani. Similarly, Thistledown and Mirrorweave have come out of nowhere to win games enough to give it an honorable mention. On the five drop slot for Kithkin, we have Cloudgoat Ranger and (for some of us) Reveillark. For other decks, we have Archon of Justice, Demigod of Revenge, Shriekmaw, and Mull Drifter. Cloudgoat Ranger simply outclasses both Archon and Demigod, while making Mull Drifter and Shriekmaw look like a joke. Cloudgoat Ranger is card advantage in itself. It creatures three dudes, in addition to being a 3/3 itself, that your opponent has to deal with. Combine that with a pumper such as Wizened Cenn, Ajani, or Thistledown Liege, and you're looking at ten power worth of creatures for just 5 mana. Let's not forget to mention that, even if Cloudgoat Ranger dies, it leaves behind 3 guys for you to activate Windbrisk.

As you have noticed, I've made many references to the deck as a whole when talking about specific cards. Kithkin's greatest asset is that all of its cards work together. Each individual card makes the other better. By itself, a Wizened Cenn is just a bear. With a Stalwart, you have a 3/3 on turn 1. Kithkin makes the most out of each and every single one of its cards. The problem with other decks is that they must run inferior cards to be able to run their good cards. Doran, Talara's Battalion, Nettle Sentinel. In order to play or make these cards effective, you must run inferior cards, and thus make the deck weaker as a whole. Kithkin's cards, however, are all good cards. You don't have to run bad cards that do nothing (such as manamorphose) to make the deck tick. There are other reasons as to why Kithkin is a good deck. First, they can explode out of nowhere. Imagine turn 1 Stalwart, Turn 2 Cenn, Turn 3 Spectral, Turn 4 Mirrorweave, and all your opponent has is a Finks. Good. Game. Second, they are persistent. I've had games where I've wrathed away a Kithkin player's board completely three times, only to have them play a Spectral Procession or a Cloudgoat Ranger the following turn. It made me want to cry. Kithkin's individual cards have a habit of working together to beat the crap out of you early game, as well as beating the crap out of you by itself in the late game. I would also like to add that Reveillark is a nasty creature that no one wants to see on the opposite side of the board. Another thing to note is that, in addition to all of their creatures, all of Kithkin's non-basic lands accomplish something. Windbrisk Heights is a plains that provides a free card, Rustic Clachen is a pump spell when needed, and Mutavault (if you choose to run it) is an extra creature. Oftentimes Windbrisk Heights will cause opponents to misplay in fear of the card under there. However, it's also important to note that they should fear that card under there, as it can cause Kithkin to explode in their face and win. Kithkin is a "smart" aggro deck. Aggro decks are often straightforward and simple: Bash, Bash, Bash n' Burn. Kithkin, however, has many tricks up its many sleeves. Their tricky instants and flash creatures can cause Kithkin to pull a win out of nowhere. This causes opponents to play around Kithkin's many tricks, when sometimes there is no need to. Simply put, the decisions Kithkin causes opponents to make can often result in a win on its own.

Now you must think Kithkin is the greatest deck in the world, and, perhaps it is. However, there are weaknesses to it. As Dane noted in my other article, aggro decks are the hardest to pilot. In this format, the main reason is that you never want to be caught with your pants down, because if you do, you probably lose. Against Toast, sometimes it becomes extremely difficult to tell if you are not applying enough pressure, or if you aren't holding back enough. It's important to remember while playing this deck that being on the safe side is often better than getting caught with your pants down. However, if you are planning to run Kithkin, it's your lucky day as you only have to worry about getting caught with your pants down against Toast, as they pack most of the board sweepers in the format. It is good to note, however, that some decks have adopted board sweepers in their sideboard. An example of this is the winner of Grand Prix Manila himself put three Hallowed Burials in his sideboard. The thing to remember about board sweepers is this: If your opponent expects them, they are that less effective. Another weakness I would like to note is that sometimes you simply get outdrawn. Kithkin relies heavily on tempo. However, if your opponent can get ahead on tempo, you will often find yourself in a bad position. This can happen most often against Faeries, as Faeries itself can be very tempo-oriented. Generally, Kithkin isn't too worried about countermagic, although if it keeps you off your game early, things could start looked bad if you're going into turn 4 or 5 with your opponent still at 20. Then again, that's the same problem all aggro decks have. The key is to utilize and make your cards as efficient as possible.

To talk about Kithkin's matchups real fast, I would like to note that in this area, the biggest advantage for Kithkin is that it has no horrible matchups (as far as my knowledge goes). It's solid against everything, never going below 50/50. Another benefit is this deck simply destroys red-based aggro decks, and it can often out-tempo Faerie decks. Kithkin has a tendency to always keep the opponent on their back foot. Oftentimes Kithkin's opponent may have pressed the "reset" button or played a card that stabilized the board, only to have the Kithkin player drop a card and swing the game (once again) greatly in their favor. Kithkin is often extremely easy to pilot, as it's hard to screw up against Merfolk, Doran, and Demigod decks. The down side is that sometimes it's the hardest deck to play, beside Toast (and this usually occurs against Toast).

To wrap up this article, Kithkin is clearly the best aggro deck in the format (and perhaps the only "real" one). I must also mention that it is, in my opinion, the only one capable of producing convincing results. Kithkin is one of the cheapest decks to build, especially if you are cutting the Mutavaults (which I highly recommend you doing if you are planning to play Unmake). I would also like to remind you that Kithkin builds usually come down to preference. There is no such thing as the "best build period". Each different list has its own advantages and disadvantages. The list that I have posted (which you can see again by clicking here) is, in my opinion, the best list for me. However, if I tested more, I probably would make slight modifications to the sideboard. For my next article, I will be taking a look at toast, and how to play it. Hopefully I'll have the article up by Wednesday. In addition, I will be posting a sample decklist of various decks in the format, and oftentimes more than one version of the same deck. Hopefully this will give you different perspectives on a deck you may want to play, and how to adjust your deck accordingly. In the meantime, spread the word, and tell people to READ MY ARTICLE! :D If you have any questions, concerns, comments, see anything I've overlooked, or see any errors I have made, please let me know. Also, a lot of you great readers talk to me about how you've read my article(s). That being so, MAKE A POST! Show your support not only for my articles, but for Da-Planet and Magic as a whole! Thanks!

Keoni Davey
[e-mail]

PS: If you are trying to build a deck that is NOT RDW or Faeries, I will personally go out of my way to help you build it. I am willing to lend you cards, do not hesitate to ask. I can be reached through www.da-planet.com or through email (listed above).

On a side note, I know that I've bashed Demigod Red (aka RDW) pretty hard in my previous article. Yes, I hate the deck. Yes, it simply is inferior in almost every way to every deck in the format. However, I'm writing this little piece for those of you who feel as if they must play RDW or they will die. A big problem for RDW is the two drop slot. I honestly believe that running a full set of Vexing Shushers in the main deck is the way to go. Trust me on this one, decks with counterspells do not want to see them. You also may want to run Stigma Lasher as a punisher to persist creatures and lifegain. Also, try looking at Countryside Crusher. Yes, I know it has been called "crap" by some players more times than crap itself. However, the magical removal number in this format is 3. If you happen to untap with that crusher, and he happens to turn into a 4/4 or greater, he will be a problem for some decks. Don't forget that he will also make sure you draw gas. Yes, I know he stops you from getting Demigod mana, but look at it this way: Either he will be so PHAT that you will win without Demigod, or he will die and you will get your Demigod mana anyway, or you can wait until you have 5 lands and then drop him. Just because he's a 3 drop doesn't mean you have to play him on turn 3, and just because you don't draw him until turn 5 doesn't mean he will suck. Just a few things to think about.

[Keoni]

Haha yeah. The problem is that he doesn't fit what Kithkin want to do. Since the introduction of FoD, the 1 Drop slot is filled. For removal, people turn to Unmake and O-Ring.

[Charli Toratani]

yeah that's what i thought too. and it's usually extremely useful against other creature decks and the mirror. (remembering how Whipcorder felt like)

[Keoni]

Well it depends, Harrier isn't "aggressive" enough, however it's incredibly good late game against decks such as Toast.

[Charli Toratani]

i think people feared mono red so much that some people added the forge tenders...and yeah, it sounds really really bad to put it in maindeck. Heck, I would say that the Goldmeadow Harrier would be better maindeck.

...actually...wouldn't Goldmeadow Harrier be nicely annoying in mono white? I guess it won't make it that aggro though huh...

[Keoni]

Well the problem with is that against RDW, you don't need Forge-Tender as it is often a "win more" card. It is extremely useful against RDW, don't get me wrong, It's just that you don't need it to win. Against 5 color it does nothing on it's own. Stopping Firespout is an extremely powerful effect, however it's basically a 1/1 beater no matter how you look at it. If you get Austere Commanded or Hallowed Burial'd, no amount of Forge-Tenders will stop that.

You could consider putting Firespout in your Faeries deck, as some has done. The problem is that you have to commit to Vivid lands, and you simply cannot afford to have all of your lands come into play tapped. There are certain turns where you need all of your mana available. However, I'm sure you are able to change your Faeries build to be less aggro and tempo oriented, however I don't like bringing down the consistency of a Faerie deck because oftentimes it will outright win.

If you have other things you would like to point out, discuss, or make comments on, feel free.

The important thing to know about this format is that it's a format of preference. There are a billion different Toast lists, a billion different Faeries lists, and a billion different Kithkin lists. Each list is built on preference. I prefer not to run Forge-Tenders main (not at all in fact). However, some people prefer to run them main. Some people prefer to run 2 main. Some people prefer to keep them in the board. Some people prefer to keep Forge-Tenders AND Reveillark in the board. It all comes down to preference. Do what you think will give you the best shot at winning. That's why I don't run Forge-Tenders main. I think the overall loss against the field is not worth it.

Next article will be on Toast. Tomorrow I'll be posting up some sample decklists.

[Kristopher Dylan Andrews]

Not too shaby, Keoni. The writing I mean. I dare not comment on the strategery your dishing out. Well, ok, on the forget tenders, I think its not completely unreasonable to MD them, because they frequently shore up the game against 5color, RDW, and other decks that randomly have the spouts. I have even been told to get spouts in my Faeries. They don't hurt the mid-range matchups, so it seems to me that they cost the most in game one versus faeries. I'm convinced on everything else, but I am easy like that.

So, what do we do with a meta shifting towards kelpie and tokens (not from kithkin, just around them) for this late season PTQ? Once again I wish Incendiary Command was instant...

[Keoni]

Lol. You sir, are awesome :D

[Dru]

So it's far too early in the morning to leave a comment of content. But I read it. So there you go. Also, per your instructions, I've spread the word and told others to read your article. None of the people I've told play magic though. But still, they've been told. ;)