Another Round: Refining Bravo for the Road to Nationals

Kano has not been making many appearances in Classic Constructed, and though I’m hesitant to do so, it does make sense to drop the extra Nullrune protection in favor of more sideboard cards in the main list. With these changes, the main deck, excluding equipment, grows to 73 cards, with up to 13 cards that can be removed in any given matchup. Of course, if Kano players start to emerge to exploit the lack of Nullrune in the format, it will be time to cut some cards from the main deck to have that protection plan in place.

To make room for more of those essential yellows and the new reds, Exude Confidence was cut from my list. While Exude Confidence remains a powerhouse of Guardian (especially in Blitz), removing additional blue cards and adding more yellows does create negative synergy. Exude Confidence does little to bolster our position in the game if we are already behind against Prism. 

Blessing of Deliverance (red) was cut to support more proactive life gain against Chane via Sigil of Solace (red). Of course, Blessing of Deliverance has tons of additional utility with being able to set up a 6 power Anothos swing, but in games down to the wire against Chane, the guaranteed gain of three life at instant speed can be essential. Sigil was primarily a tool used in Blitz when the extra life gain represented a much larger percentage of total health, but its merits cannot be overlooked against Chane.

Stonewall Confidence was a great tool against many go-tall decks of the format, but at only two cost, it simply did not support the strategy of the deck as it evolved. With the most recent changes, this defense-heavy card creates some negative synergy with the proactive gameplan we are trying to establish in the games where this card was previously a great choice.

I was enjoying Forged for War in many matchups, but ultimately it needed to be cut to support more offensive yellow tools in the deck, including the additional copies of Righteous Cleansing and Disable. This further supports our strategy to become a more proactive deck and lead the charge with some offensive attacks from the start, rather than just sitting back, blocking out, and thinning the deck so we can chain back to back Crippling Crushes in the late game.

Mangle is a card that I will miss greatly, and I am looking to find a way to reintroduce to this deck. It’s criminally undercosted at four resources, and its only real drawback is that it is a red pitch card. Unfortunately, it had no value against Prism other than raw numbers. Though it's an excellent addition against many other decks, it was cut to further streamline the matchup against Prism without sacrificing any other matchup.

Here's what Bravo's deck looks like after the adjustments noted above.

Taking a proactive approach against Prism is ideal for our strategy, otherwise the match is close to unwinnable. Against non-Prism decks, however, we play a standard, although more proactive, Guardian game plan as outlined in my Pro Series article published early last month.

Against aura Prism, if your opponent spends resources to drop a Spectra aura, start the turn by getting aggressive and coming in with Zealous Belting targeting them directly; if we use this attack to try to hit the Spectra aura, the go again text will not resolve. Don’t be afraid to Pummel this attack to push some damage through and break some Spectral Shields (even if your opponent has Merciful Retribution up and you will potentially take some damage when the shields pop, so long as you are healthy enough to not worry about the damage). After the Zealous Belting, use your hammer to clear out the Spectra auras.

1. Use large dominated attacks like Crippling Crush, Disable (Yellow), and Righteous Cleansing to put on the pressure and break shields.
2. Use Time Skippers on a turn to break two auras at once and keep Prism from snowballing value.
3. You can attack a Spectra aura with Rouse the Ancients without revealing cards for the additional cost. Even though this attack is zero power, it will trigger Spectra.
4. Hold a yellow card and aggressively use Show Time! to tutor up a second yellow if your opponent plays a Great Library of Solana.
5. Gain life wherever possible to help sustain against the endless pings for one damage that Prism will present if you cannot pop her Spectral Shields.
6. Put pressure on Prism early and often. By continuously pushing big damage through, you will make it hard for Prism to commit to playing her auras.

In other matchups, Zealous Belting can be used as a means to be more aggressive and swing for larger amounts of damage each and every turn while still allowing us to have the defensive and utility tools to sustain ourselves in the fight. 

These changes do not invalidate the strategy or considerations of my previous article, just represent the next iteration designed to handle the ever-changing meta as it relates to building a highly-competitive deck for Road to Nationals. As always, you will better your odds through practice and experience. Tailor this list even more to your local meta and what you expect to encounter at the Road to Nationals. Good luck out there!

When you're ready, continue on to the matchup guide linked below.

Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!