Fervent Mastery: Standard Jeskai Shantotto

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

Before We Start

“Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, if at least four mana was spent to cast it…” is the red-blue theme of FINAL FANTASY Limited. Unlike mana-value triggers that can be cheated around, a trigger condition that requires mana actually spent seems to have little room to shine in an increasingly harsh Standard environment… Is that really so? Let me take on this possibility!

Card Analysis

For this four-mana noncreature spell theme, I chose the following two cards:

● Shantotto, Tactician Magician
Legendary Creature - Dwarf Wizard
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, Shantotto gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast that spell. If X is 4 or more, draw a card.

● The Emperor of Palamecia
Legendary Creature - Human Noble Wizard
{T}: Add {U} or {R}. Spend this mana only to cast noncreature spells.
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, if at least four mana was spent to cast it, put a +1/+1 counter on The Emperor of Palamecia. Then if there are three or more +1/+1 counters on it, transform it.
● The Lord Master of Hell
Legendary Creature - Demon Noble Wizard
Meteor - Whenever The Lord Master of Hell attacks, it deals X damage to each opponent, where X is the number of noncreature, nonland cards in your graveyard.

Shantotto, from FFXI, is a Tarutaru whose word choice has an air of nobility but whose temperament is quite fiery. She is the Federation’s chief elder and the strongest black mage. In the cutscene of the FF crossover fighting game Dissidia NT, she single-handedly breaks apart from the side the combined magic of the two witch bosses Cloud of Darkness and Ultimecia, so her strength speaks for itself. Although on the card she’s only an uncommon, as long as you meet the four-mana condition she draws cards, and she grows in power with the mana spent, so her destructive power goes without saying, making her suitable as the deck’s engine.
The other pick is the final boss of FFII, The Emperor of Palamecia, a mana dork that helps you jump mana quickly and supports you in slamming big spells. If he survives long enough, he can also transform into The Lord Master of Hell to finish the opponent. The decklist built around these two powerful mages is as follows:

Decklist

Since the ability checks the cost actually paid rather than mana value, we can pair it with spells that get effects by paying additional costs, such as kicked Burst Lightning and the spree cards Phantom Interference and Three Steps Ahead, covering both a low curve and ability triggers.

Next are the orthodox four-mana spells. In this slot I chose the instant-speed catch-all that can gain life, Prayer of Binding, and the sweep-plus-draw Ill-Timed Explosion. Prayer of Binding is also the main reason this deck splashes white, because the reach of pure red-blue answers is truly hopeless in the current Standard environment. As for the sweeper, the reason I used Ill-Timed Explosion is mainly that you can control the damage and save your own creatures depending on the situation, so I didn’t pick an indiscriminate sweeper like Day of Judgment. Also, considering the rampant red-based aggro, I put in four Lightning Helix to deal with it.

Finally, the finishers. I use Marang River Regent, which has an Omen that draws cards, Chandra, Hope’s Beacon, and Jeskai Revelation. Marang River Regent’s Omen is a reusable four-mana instant that draws cards, and the creature itself, a 6/7 flyer that bounces two nonland permanents on entering, also has a certain game-winning ability. Chandra, Hope’s Beacon, besides meeting the cost threshold herself, with her +2 making mana and copying the first instant or sorcery each turn, gives you a chance to chain expensive spells to grow Shantotto and draw cards, and paired with burn spells she may take the opponent out in one wave. Jeskai Revelation is the ultimate big play, with burn, draw, bounce, and prowess Monk tokens, and its combination with Chandra, Hope’s Beacon and Shantotto is simply wonderful.

Gameplay Demo

In the demo video, as soon as Shantotto holds the board she starts steadily earning resources while converting the mana spent on casting spells into power, and every punch lands solidly, often needing only two or three hits to send the opponent home. As for The Emperor, perhaps because jumping mana makes him feel threatening, he is more likely to eat removal first, so his role has become something like an escort for Shantotto.

Conclusion

The overall structure of this deck is, rather than control, closer to a control-leaning midrange approach centered on Enigma Drake and Crackling Drake. It suits players who like this kind of deck, or who want to play a red-blue-based deck without going aggro.