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Standard GW Enchantments Deck and Sideboard Guide
Quick intro
GW Enchantments is a deck that's been producing some results for a while now in MTGO Challenges, having a good match against some of the major decks in Standard .
One of the keys to succeeding with this deck is knowing how to sideboard in certain matches, as well as knowing a couple of interesting tricks: double Katilda, placing triggers, etc. Today we're going to cover these topics and also some keep/mull decisions, to get you sharp with the deck.
Let’s delve into it!
My Current Version of the Deck
$309/115.68 Tix
Maindeck (60)
| Creature [23] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr | $2.79 | |
| 4 The Restoration of Eiganjo | $0.79 | |
| 4 Spirited Companion | $0.39 | |
| 4 Generous Visitor | $0.35 | |
| 4 Teachings of the Kirin | $0.49 | |
| 4 Jukai Naturalist | $0.35 | |
| Instant [1] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 Virtue of Loyalty | $15.99 | |
| Sorcery [4] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Commune with Spirits | $0.35 | |
| Enchantment [12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Hallowed Haunting | $18.99 | |
| 4 Wedding Announcement | $12.99 | |
| 4 Ossification | $0.69 | |
| Land [20] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Brushland | $3.99 | |
| 4 Plains | $0.01 | |
| 6 Forest | $0.01 | |
| 1 Boseiju, Who Endures | $49.99 | |
| 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire | $10.99 | |
| 4 Razorverge Thicket | $2.79 | |
| Sideboard [15] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 Vanquish the Horde | $5.49 | |
| 2 Circle of Confinement | $0.35 | |
| 1 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr | $2.79 | |
| 2 The Wandering Emperor | $27.99 | |
| 1 Knockout Blow | $0.35 | |
| 4 Destroy Evil | $1.99 | |
| 1 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines | $27.99 | |
| 2 Invasion of Gobakhan | $5.99 | |
| 1 Virtue of Loyalty | $15.99 | |
$44.25 Tix @cardhoarder
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Similar Decks
Proxies
Archetype Analysis
Magic online format
Apprentice and MWS .dec
This was the deck I ran last weekend, which I adapted from Gul_Dukat's grinder list with a few minor tweaks to suit my style. Unfortunately, I fell short in the final round and didn't manage to hit the top 8, but overall, I was pleased with how the deck performed.
Card Choices
Wedding Announcement
Looking at the latest decklists, I must admit, I was quite taken aback to see that on the whole, these decks were only running this card in the sideboard and not even a full set. I firmly believe that since the banning of Fable of the Mirror Breaker, Wedding Announcement has been one of the most critical cards in the format. To me, it made no sense not to play it in the main deck, especially in an enchantment deck. It creates a snowball effect that can either flood the board or draw cards, both of which are highly valuable in this type of deck. When you have multiples, it becomes extremely difficult to lose a match unless it's through a sweeper, as you can generate even more tokens, and they rapidly become even larger. If there's one piece of advice I'd give to anyone playing this deck, it's this: run Wedding Announcement in your main deck.
Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr
Katilda is an integral card for Spirits in Pioneer, and within this deck, she plays a pivotal role, acting as one of the main win conditions. Even if she's taken out, she remains a threat from the graveyard, potentially returning to enchant a creature and increasing her lethality. The fact that she's a legendary card makes running 4 copies a bit risky, but depending on the meta, I believe it's feasible to do so.+
Virtue of Loyalty
The deck has had a solid foundation for several sets now and didn't need many more additions to keep standing out. But the single inclusion from the Wilds of Eldraine set really dovetails with the game plan. Virtue is a potent pick for a turn-2 play (drawing out targets like Cut Down and freeing up other key cards), but it truly shines once you hit the 5-mana curve. Putting a counter on and untapping all your creatures allows for some strategic strikes while maintaining a solid defense against your opponent's attacks. This card plays a crucial role in grind matches, where it can give you a late-game advantage on stalled boards, amplifying your army's power and leaving your opponent with a significant problem to solve.
Playing the deck
The deck starts to work from the initial turns, and it's highly beneficial to cast Generous Visitor on turn 1 to begin pressuring the opponent early on. This enhances the strength of your creatures, allowing you to either build an army or one or two creatures with a combat advantage.
On turn 3, with Wedding creating tokens and Restoration of Eiganjo trading useless cards for resources in the graveyard, the grind strategy of the deck kicks in. Ideally, you'll want to resolve a Hallowed Haunting on turn 4, and from there, establish a formidable army of spirits. This deck has a relatively low land count, but we have cards that allow us to dig through the deck, searching for them when needed.
Mulliganing
Example Hand #1
It's a risky hand, but we have Commune with Spirits which can easily find us 2 mana and from there start to develop our game, especially if both Naturalists survive. I'd say it's more keepable on the draw than on the play, as we have an extra turn to find the land drops, but I believe I would keep it in both scenarios.
Example Hand #2
The lack of the second white mana can be somewhat punishing with Virtue and Katilda in hand, but we have a solid game start. It would be really detrimental to draw more green mana sources only, but we have plenty of good draws, including both 3 mana enchantments. Of course, a sequence of Hallowed Hauntings and/or Katildas could easily throw a wrench in our plans, but I believe it's a necessary risk, as this is a very playable hand.
Example Hand #3
Unlike the previous hand, this one lacks any source of white mana and we don't have a card like Commune with Spirits to fetch it. With a card requiring a double source of white mana, technically we're already mulliganed down to 6. It's an extremely risky hand, warranting a mulligan whether we're on the play or the draw.
Tips & Tricks
Tip #1: Black Decks
Sometimes, when you're up against a black deck, it's wise not to play Jukai Naturalist on turn 2 as it's an easy target for Cut Down. If you have the choice, opt for a spirited companion, which at least will cycle itself, and save your Jukai for the next turn, doubling down on your play with another 2-drop.
Tip #2: Legendary Trick
Katilda is indeed legendary, but her enchantment element doesn't share the same name, so we can enchant Katilda herself with her alternate version.
Tip #3: Restoration
The Restoration of Eiganjo can be utilized to double up a play in a turn, or even make more plays, if you have a Jukai Naturalist in the graveyard, it can be brought into play for free and reduce the cost of your other enchantments.
Tip #4: Enchantments Count
Hallowed Haunting generates spirit tokens, but these aren't considered enchantments. Therefore, you need 7 additional enchantments on the field for the clause that grants flying and vigilance to your creatures to be activated.
Tip #5: Triggers
Remember to properly place the triggers for Wedding Announcement and Virtue of Loyalty, this way, the invitation token will also receive the counter on the turn.
Matchups & Sideboard Guide
Esper Legends
This is a well-balanced match. We've managed to get quite a few creatures on the board and we have answers for key cards, like Raffine and Sheoldred. Depending on the version, our opponent can also flood the board with creatures using Wedding Announcement. Things are almost even, but the fact that they have more spot removals gives them a slight edge. After sideboarding, we try to balance out our removals and value-generating cards, removing some of the weaker cards in the process. However, this makes us more susceptible to mass removals, especially Glistening Deluge.
Golgari Midrange
The matchup is solid, even though they have enchantment removals in the main deck, overall, their creatures aren't really significant against us, despite Blossoming Tortoise being able to put a lot of man-lands into play. Wedding Announcement is crazy good against this type of deck, as well as Hallowed Haunting, which puts an actual army of spirits on the board.
Post sideboard, they bring in some really annoying cards, like Tranquil Frillback, as well as more mass removals in combination with discard spells, which makes the matchup more even, but I believe that the sheer power of some of our individual cards still gives us the upper hand in the game.
UW Soldiers
Good matchup, a big Jukai Naturalist can indeed cause a lot of problems. We need to be cautious of flyers, as the ground is our domain. Harbin's strategy with 5 soldiers is quite effective since we can't respond to it in the upcoming turn, so focus on removing soldiers when necessary.
Post-sideboard removal comes into play to help deal with certain cards, like Harbin itself.
Monored Aggro
Good matchup, we have many ways to gain life, with Katilda being absolutely insane against this deck, as well as Wedding Announcement, which rapidly populates the board with creatures.
Beware of flyers, especially Goddric, who can be a real hassle and a major problem card. The fact that Monored is no longer playing with Invasion of Tarkir is also a big plus for us, as the flipped battle is a nightmare for this type of deck.
Post-sideboard, we have more removals, with Circle of Confinement being particularly good against Bloodthirsty Adversary, as every other one the opponent plays, we gain 2 life. In addition to having The Wandering Emperor, which is very good against Monored.
If it's the version with Invasion of Tarkir, we also need a certain number of Destroy Evils to deal with the dragon.
Domain Ramp
Another matchup that isn't the best, but it's winnable depending on the number of sweepers we draw. We don't have a great clock and our opponent can quickly ramp up to Atraxa, which we don't have many answers for in our main deck. Post sideboard, we aim for a more control-oriented game, escalating battles to delay the opponent and bring out Elesh Norn, which effectively shuts down the deck and can only be removed with sweepers or Destroy Evil.
Final words
GW Enchantments is an aggressive deck, but it includes midrange elements that give it more versatility. I personally enjoy this aspect in the decks I play, such as the Mono Red Aggro deck which I discussed last week . Depending on the metagame you expect to encounter, it could be a fantastic choice for the upcoming tournaments.
Until next time!