Glamour of the Fae: Standard Dimir Changelings

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Introduction

Lorwyn Eclipsed reveals the origin of the Faerie planeswalker Oko, and as if to redeem the reputation of a failed design, the design team made a new three-mana version of him. Although the two faces add up to five abilities in total, which looks rich, the power level seems to have been corrected too far… Is there any deck that can use him?

Card Analysis

Oko, Lorwyn Liege
Planeswalker – Oko
At the beginning of your first main phase, you may pay {G}. If you do, transform Oko.
+2: Up to one target creature becomes all creature types. (This effect doesn’t end.)
+1: Up to one target creature gets -2/-0 until your next turn.

Oko, Shadowmoor Scion
Planeswalker – Oko
At the beginning of your first main phase, you may pay {U}. If you do, transform Oko.

-1: Mill three cards. You may put a permanent card from among them into your hand.
-3: Create two 3/3 green Elk creature tokens.
-6: Choose a creature type. You get an emblem with “Creatures you control of the chosen type get +3/+3 and have vigilance and hexproof.”

At first glance, the new Oko, Lorwyn Liege // Oko, Shadowmoor Scion has five abilities to use, and to use the other face’s abilities you just pay to transform at the beginning of the first main phase. That sounds like just one extra transform action, no big deal? The problem is that on the turn he enters you can only use the front face’s abilities, and the front face’s two abilities have close to no impact on the board. If you are behind on board, slamming him down only gets him beaten to death for nothing.
Still, since we want to take on building around him, we naturally have to find a way out through the front face’s abilities, which means making “becomes all creature types” actually matter. The decklist is as follows:
Decklist

Basic Core: Mischievous Sneakling, Firdoch Core, Soulstone Sanctuary

Changelings, which have all creature types, are the core backbone of this deck. I trust many players have already noticed that a non-creature changeling that is hard to remove, like Firdoch Core, lets abilities that require controlling a specific tribe work at full efficiency reliably, and it can also become a decent 4/4 creature to attack and block, so naturally I picked it up too. Mischievous Sneakling is only a French vanilla creature, but having flash means it can fill in at instant speed, and it can also be used as a two-mana combat trick, jumping out to block and kill an attacking small creature. Soulstone Sanctuary is a backup hiding in a land, which likewise stands up when needed to fill in and beat people up.

Gifts of the Fae: Faerie Dreamthief, Flitterwing Nuisance, Ego Drain

Faeries are the descendants of Oona, Queen of the Fae in Lorwyn, and also the blue-black tribe of Wilds of Eldraine. Faeries are one of the best choices for the one-mana curve in blue-black. Here I use Faerie Dreamthief, which surveils on entering and can be recovered if removed, and the new set’s card-draw engine Flitterwing Nuisance as the foundation one-drops, so that the Faerie-exclusive discard spell Ego Drain can disrupt without costing extra card advantage.

Dragon Venom: Scavenger Regent // Exude Toxin, Disruptive Stormbrood // Petty Revenge, Caustic Exhale

Dragons are currently the tribe that represents Standard’s high end of the curve. Based on the color pair, this deck uses the Sultai clan’s Scavenger Regent // Exude Toxin and Disruptive Stormbrood // Petty Revenge. Besides being mid-sized fliers themselves, both have the omen ability, which can be used as a sweeper and as pinpoint removal respectively, and the sweep from Scavenger Regent goes around the Dragon type, so your own changelings can survive safely. I also added Caustic Exhale, which requires you to behold a Dragon, as one-mana removal to deal with annoying low-cost creatures.

Tandem Tactics: Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber

The rest are powerful cards that give bonuses to specific tribes. The blue-black midrange core card Kaito, Bane of Nightmares has an emblem that gives all Ninjas +1/+1, and there is Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber, a card-draw engine that needs a Demon on the battlefield to convert life loss on yourself into draining the opponent. Changelings help them perform better than when used alone.

The remaining slots are filled with the versatile Bitter Triumph and the graveyard hate card Strategic Betrayal, completing the deck.

Gameplay Demo

Although the decklist looks a bit odd, in essence it is just a blue-black midrange deck, and the overall play logic is not very different. Since compared with the traditional version it has the omen sweep of Scavenger Regent and better one-mana removal / discard, its answers are better than the traditional version in some situations, and occasionally it pulls off strange wild turns, adding a lot of fun the traditional version does not have.

Conclusion

This kind of deck is probably the stage for Oko, Lorwyn Liege, but is he a must-play? It feels like the help is very limited. Cut him? I feel like there is a need for him. He is great when board pressure is low, but in a losing game he mostly cannot save you. He is probably just that kind of awkward, half-useful presence. Perhaps his real way out is an Elk crime deck, teaming up with his other self Oko, the Ringleader: one commits crimes, the other loots, and together they make Elk. Actually, Standard’s Elk cards are surprisingly plentiful right now, so there may really be something there. Interested readers can give it a try.