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WOE Domain Cascade Guide
About the Deck
Wilds of Eldraine has arrived and with it, a new deck has emerged that is significantly shaking up Standard : Domain Cascade. This is a blend of ramp and combo that in just the first week, achieved highly notable results in the Magic Online Challenges . Today, I'm going to discuss this decklist, delve into some card choices and provide a side guide against the format's tiers.
My current version of the deck
$399/161.44 Tix
Maindeck (60)
| Creature [14] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Cemetery Desecrator | $0.99 | |
| 3 Phyrexian Fleshgorger | $5.99 | |
| 1 Atraxa, Grand Unifier | $32.99 | |
| 2 Etali, Primal Conqueror | $17.99 | |
| 4 Bramble Familiar | $0.79 | |
| Instant [1] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 Go for the Throat | $1.49 | |
| Sorcery [12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Herd Migration | $0.49 | |
| 4 Invasion of Alara | $0.49 | |
| 4 Virtue of Persistence | $18.99 | |
| Enchantment [4] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Leyline Binding | $6.49 | |
| Planeswalker [2] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 Lukka, Bound to Ruin | $0.99 | |
| Land [27] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 Swamp | $0.01 | |
| 1 Forest | $0.01 | |
| 1 Mountain | $0.01 | |
| 1 Island | $0.01 | |
| 1 Plains | $0.01 | |
| 1 Haunted Ridge | $9.49 | |
| 1 Shipwreck Marsh | $7.49 | |
| 1 Stormcarved Coast | $3.99 | |
| 1 Boseiju, Who Endures | $49.99 | |
| 3 Jetmir's Garden | $21.99 | |
| 3 Raffine's Tower | $15.99 | |
| 3 Spara's Headquarters | $16.99 | |
| 1 Xander's Lounge | $15.99 | |
| 3 Ziatora's Proving Ground | $11.99 | |
| 4 Llanowar Wastes | $1.49 | |
| 1 Mirrex | $7.99 | |
| Sideboard [15] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 Parasitic Grasp | $0.35 | |
| 4 Mirrorshell Crab | $0.35 | |
| 1 Phyrexian Fleshgorger | $5.99 | |
| 1 Fade from History | $0.79 | |
| 1 Atraxa, Grand Unifier | $32.99 | |
| 2 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines | $27.99 | |
| 1 Thrun, Breaker of Silence | $0.49 | |
| 1 Lukka, Bound to Ruin | $0.99 | |
| 2 Kogla and Yidaro | $1.79 | |
| 1 Up the Beanstalk | $1.99 | |
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Similar Decks
Proxies
Archetype Analysis
Magic online format
Apprentice and MWS .dec
At first glance, the list might look like a Domain Ramp , but as we delve into some of the cards, we realize how vastly different these decks truly are.
Card choices
Invasion of Alara
The star of the deck and the major "cascade" engine of the list.
Breaking down the combo:
When cast Invasion, we cascade through the deck until we find two spells costing 4 or less mana. In this deck, we only have two cards with that mana cost - Go for the Throat and Bramble Familiar. One of the two will definitely be revealed, allowing us to take Go for the Throat in hand and cast the Familiar. However, we can choose to play the other side of the adventure card, Fetch Quest, which makes things even more interesting.
In this way, we mill 7 cards and can place one of the ETB creatures from the list into play, with Cemetery Desecrator, surprisingly, being the best of them. When it enters the battlefield, we exile another card from the graveyard (most of which cost 7 mana), and in doing so, we remove 7 counters from the Invasion itself. This allows us to now cast the spell side of the battle, Awaken the Maelstrom, where we can gain a card advantage, remove an opponent's permanent, copy one of our own, and as a bonus, we have the opportunity to put a Phyrexian Fleshgorger from our hand directly onto the battlefield.
The deck still has some other strong cards to play, such as Atraxa and Etali, or even Phyrexian Fleshgorger, which can be quite a headache for your opponent. Notably, it's a creature that can remove all counters from Invasion of Alara with just one attack.
Virtue of Persistence
This is a rather slow deck, so we need efficient and lightweight removals, and this one fits perfectly in the list. It takes out the majority of creatures early in the game, provides a significant life gain, and, above all, it's a powerful enchantment in the late game that you can bring back with Fetch Quest if nothing better is revealed.
Mirrorshell Crab
In certain matchups, we require more interaction with our opponent than removal, and this crab card is an impeccable fit for the deck. It's a solid "mana leak" that doesn't get caught in the cascade ability from Invasion of Alara, making it one of the best choices when playing against slower decks, especially versus control decks. The fact that it can nullify abilities also adds to its versatility. For instance, it can nullify a planeswalker emblem, or a Field of Ruin activation.
Playing the deck
The deck isn't too complicated to play: we need lands, some sort of interaction in the early turns, and of course, Invasion of Alara. It's crucial to remember that Bramble Familiar is a respectable mana dork, so if you're not anticipating any removal from your opponent and you're looking to speed up the Invasion, it's a good idea to play it on turn 2.
Example Hand #1
Keep it chill, we have all colors at our disposal, interaction in the early turns, and Lukka just makes it better. It's a great card to play on the 4th turn (or 3rd if we draw a Bramble Familiar), and it even accelerates our Etali. We just need to remember to hold onto the Mirrex as long as possible, because if we use it too soon, it could interfere with a potential Invasion of Alara. So ideally, we should aim to fetch the Plains on the 2nd turn (unless, of course, we draw a Triome or another land that produces white).
Example Hand #2
This hand has a few issues: not enough lands, which also come into play tapped, and no white mana for Leyline. Virtue technically provides us with a way to interact with the opponent if they come out more aggressively, and Bramble Familiar also gives us a chance to cast Invasion if we draw the right lands. Even a Cemetery Desecrator a turn early can remove a larger creature and still pose a significant threat. I don't like to mulligan hands that offer me at least one viable strategy to effectively execute my game plan, and this is one of those, so it's a keep.
Example Hand #3
We have a hand with an abundance of lands, but it's worth noting that these are Triomes, so even if we flood, we can utilize them to acquire additional cards. We have a strong early game interaction, and the prototype form of Fleshgorger can provide us with the necessary time to play the power cards of our deck. I'd suggest holding onto this hand.
Matchups & Sideboard guide
Esper Legends
Esper Legends is a predator of slow decks, so I don't regard it as a favorable matchup, even though it's not a particularly speedy deck itself. This, technically, gives us some time to address a series of threats. Builds with Thalia are highly threatening because we have plenty of non-creature spells. However, if Thalia is not in play, there's likely to be counterspells like Make Disappear, which also isn't ideal for our strategy. Raffine and Sheoldred, once again, take center stage here, so we can focus our Leylines on them if possible, along with our singleton Go for the Throat. Post sideboard, the situation doesn't improve much, but we have a few more ways to interact with the deck's key creatures.
Monored Aggro
This is a really fast deck that can take us out before we even have a chance to respond. That's why we need to keep a lighter hand, with some kind of interaction. Even a turn 3 Fleshgorger is pretty solid, as it cuts down on their clock thanks to its lifelink. Virtue of Persistence is our best card - it gets rid of creatures and gives us a breather with the 2 life gain. After sideboarding, we have more lightweight interactions that buy us enough time to play our best creatures.
UW Soldiers
Another matchup that's not too favorable, as it has even more counters than Esper Legends and a heavier clock with lords and flying creatures. Low-cost interactions are even more critical here and, beyond that, it's all about playing one bomb after another and letting the opponent figure out how to respond. Post-sideboard, we have some more interactions, but nothing that significantly improves the matchup.
Domain Ramp // Mirror
This could either be a marathon of a match, or it could be over in less than 5 minutes, depending on who resolves Invasion of Alara first and how beneficial it is. Flipping it with Cemetery Desecrator's help is crucial, as one of its spell side modes destroys a permanent, and taking out a land in a mirror is akin to taking a time walk against your opponent, which puts us at a great advantage. Consider mulliganing aggressively in Game 1, as we don't need a lot of interaction, but rather need to get our Invasion resolved as soon as possible. Post-sideboard games shift somewhat, as 4 Mirrorshell Crabs come in on both sides, which lengthens the games and makes them more grindy, where we generally want to make our land drops and play our bombs at the right time. We can make an exception for Mirrex here; it's so good in draw-go games that we don't need to hold it back to make the right color, but rather keep creating tokens on the pass, while nobody takes the initiative to try and resolve anything. Elesh Norn is phenomenal in this matchup and if you can get one resolved, it's very hard to lose the game, as it shuts down the opponent's deck and doubles your ETB effects.
Monowhite Midrange
A good match-up, they don't have enough tempo to outpace us, and many decks only have counters in their sideboard. However, some use Elesh Norn in their main deck, which can be quite troublesome. We generate a lot of value with the loops from Invasion of Alara, giving us a strong advantage in the game. Post-sideboard, we need to exercise caution if they splash blue due to counters, but again, it's nothing too concerning.
UB Midrange
This deck is a blend of Esper Legends and Soldiers: it's faster paced, with more effective counters. It even includes Liliana, which really packs a punch against our deck.
I suspect it might be one of the worst matchups, prompting me to consider whether we should incorporate some type of mass removal, like Sunfall or Farewell. Both cards are bad against decks heavy on counters, but we lack a game-changing card when faced with a board filled with creatures, leaving us to rely on resolving our bombs and hoping they hold the fort.
But speaking of the matchup, there's not much we can do. It's the same plan, hands with some form of interaction, and playing bomb after bomb until the counters run out. Post-side doesn't change much. This deck struggles a bit against quick decks with access to counterspells, which concerns me a bit, but it's one of those things you have to brush off when playing with a deck attempting such outrageous moves that generate significant advantage when resolved. Slower decks, yes, you can combat with the aid of Mirrorshell Crabs, but when the opponent has a good clock, they end up being too slow.
Esper Control
Despite the deck having numerous ways to counter and solve everything we attempt to do, it doesn't possess a particularly strong clock, often relying on tokens from The Wandering Emperor and Mirrex to win matches. It's a long game, without many secrets: we play our best cards and hope that at least one gets through. Post-sideboard, we have an interesting strategy with planeswalkers and creatures like Thrun, the Breaker of Silence.
GW Enchants
The deck can generate large creatures and flood the board quickly, so we don't have much time to play our best cards, but we do have solid interactions. Virtue of Persistence can take out most creatures early in the game. Concentrate your removal efforts on creatures that can get out of hand, like Jukkai Naturalist and Katilda. After sideboarding, Elesh Norn and Fade to History are the standout cards. With more interactions and impactful cards, the matchup tends to improve.
Final words
Domain Cascade has proven to be one of the most formidable decks to emerge recently. While it may be somewhat vulnerable against more aggressive decks with access to counters, it can certainly surprise in a sea of midranges and execute plays that leave you with a significant advantage in the game. Now, we just have to wait for the upcoming tournaments to see if it's here to stay. I'm willing to bet it is, but what about you?
Until next time!