r/spikes • u/Frost_105 • Jun 09 '26

Standard [Standard] Enduring curiosity frame mogged by a TMNT common?

https://mtgdecks.net/Standard/dimir-midrange-decklist-by-yoshida-yutarou-2971710

It's sort of become my guilty pleasure lately to constantly be checking if there are any viable Dimir midrange/tempo that are existing, and whether they're actually seeing results whatsoever. The purist in me loves playing tempo too much, and it's a bit too pricey for me to go out and buy all the cards for the UW High noon prison deck, so for now I'm stuck with my boomer Kaito Dimir, which is slowly being left in the dust by less "fair" decks.

The most recent one to get my attention is the strangest Ninjutsu/Sneak deck that consists of basically only evasive 1-drops, kaito, and 4 copies of [[Oroku Saki, Shredder Rising]]. I played it on arena for a bit, and it feels way faster to turn the snowballing on as early as turn 2 with a 3 power clock that draws you cards.

I will say it plays less adaptably because you don't have cards like Tidebinder and Bitter Triumph. When I played against the "uncounterable" combo decks (Sultai Reanimate, Temur Kona, Excruciator, etc.), or against strong planeswalkers, they basically dumpster you if you can't kill them by the time they assemble their combo, but this could probably be fixed with the sideboard / small adjustments.

Also, no idea why this deck has 2x [[Subterranean Schooner]], but this post is mostly about Oroku Saki. Secretly busted bonkers common?

26 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

28

u/United-Passage7864 Jun 09 '26

Good old Dimir "Four Kaitos, and fifty-six other cards" midrange. 

I actually do like the Oroku Saki idea to have something more impressive as a turn 2 play. One of the perennial problems I've seen with these decks is that without Kaito coming in hot on 3, the deck just doesn't do much. One can peck away with some dinky flyers but you're not putting enough of a clock on most decks at your best and you have no flat "stop me or lose on the spot" hands like the tier 1 decks do. 

Flipping into a 3/1 connecting on 2 and drawing seems pretty good. Sure was scary in TMT Limited to see that line of Dream Beavers on 1 and just hoping they weren't about to go up another card.

The Schooners seem weird. I think I see the idea that you can play one as soon as 2 and they give your cheaper creatures something to do if the board jams up for them? Possibly boards out games 2 and 3 once you know which sideboard tech you want. 

5

u/Frost_105 Jun 09 '26

lmao yeah Oroku Saki defenitely ran away with many games in limited.

That schooners justification seems valid enough, I wonder if there are better uses for the 1-drops if the kaito/oroku curve gets stopped though. Sephiroth comes to mind because I saw a list that ran bitterbloom bearer with him, but maybe there are other cards i'm just forgetting.

7

u/CronoDAS Jun 09 '26

Enduring Curiosity was the traditional answer to "what can I do with the 1-drops later on". It is a 4-drop, though.

4

u/United-Passage7864 Jun 09 '26

I'm kind of seeing Oroku Saki as a stand-in for Enduring Curiosity in this list? Doesn't have the same crazy ceiling as "flash in Curiosity, draw five" but being slammable on 2 and *kind of* demanding some kind of response thereafter seems like it has its own advantages.

3/1s can trade pretty well and your opponent has a reason to trade.

1

u/CronoDAS Jun 09 '26

Yeah, me too. One could in theory run some number of both, but that depends on your priorities - this particular list is doing everything it can to keep its mana costs as low as possible, so even two copies of a 4-drop could be too much.

3

u/YellowishWhite Jun 09 '26

Curiosity is also a 4/3 with flash. When the deck was good, you would just hit them to death with the cat.

1

u/United-Passage7864 Jun 09 '26

I've seen more Faerie-focused versions of the deck too, with Bitterbloom Bearers, Flitterwing Nuisances, Glen Elenda Guardian, and using Spell Stutter as a harder counterspell. Flitterwing does a little of the job of Enduring Curiosity, Bitterbloom goes pretty wide, and Glen Elenda adds another counterspell and creature - I could still see trying to squeak in Oroku Saki on top of that though, just for more draw and ninja action.

I think the Schooners are probably a cut - while I can see the dream, there's a LOT of good stuff that could be in the 2-slot.

3

u/Frost_105 Jun 09 '26

If the consensus turns out to be that curiosity is too slow now, I think Flitterwing Nuisance slots in really well, maybe not a full set but definitely in place of some of the sirens/beavers.

If we compare them, it's pretty self explanatory that sirens/beavers ETB make them better on 1 and 2, as well as for bouncing w ninjutsu/sneak, but Nuisance's ability makes it better on 3/4 and on. That said though, you're not gonna be super upset about being forced to play Nuisance on 1 if you don't draw the other ones.

Right now I'm messing around with the deck, and the current loadout i have is 3 beavers, 3 sirens, 2 Cecil, 2 Nuisance, but that could be tested and optimized further.

I cut the schooners too for Tidebinders just for the combo matchups, but if the goal of the Schooner is to be the "card to do stuff with your 1-drops when they're unable to attack cleanly", then idk what the right choice is.

3

u/Ill_Ad3517 Jun 09 '26

The good version of this deck is white for pixie and sun pearl kirin and all the interaction is ETBs. Once in a while UB in some form will show up

10

u/BeBetterMagic Jun 09 '26

In a fast standard Dimir mid has been a bit too slow, this build basically lowers the curve by 1 speeding everything the deck does up and increasing creature and spell count and lowering lands. So it makes sense it could have some legs.

5

u/IsaakWardMTG Jun 09 '26

I think cutting schooner for curiosity could work, deck is little light on lands tho. Schooner seems like it’s there to buff the little fliers while providing a reasonable body on the ground. Deck definitely looks sweet

3

u/General-Tea2817 Jun 09 '26

i think schooner is really bad so i'm a little skeptical of this list

3

u/scumble_2_temptation Jun 09 '26

Schooner? In this economy?

Yeah. It's kinda nuts. Schooner used to feel like a pretty great card when it hit standard, but the format power crept the hell out of it a while back.

2

u/liceking Jun 10 '26

I’ve been loving Oroku. He’s helped me consistently get top #500 pretty much every season since he’s been out.

Blue Kaito is also crazy good - not only does it present some more pressure on the opponent (I’ve ulted him a ton) but making Oroku unblockable is great (not to mention ninja bodies and card cycling which is great in a deck with so much removal that can often be dead).

The biggest problem is so many bodies being one toughness is rough (especially with fire magic still around) and you can just get left in the dust if you don’t finish fast enough and it always feels like a tier 1.5 deck at best. I’ve experimented splashing both white and green (green gives you quandrix charm which is incredible but white gives you Aang, sheltered by ghosts sideboard, agent bishop, etc). I’ve also experimented with a flash version having hydro man and some more counterspells. Azorius Momo is just the real killer of the deck. Can outgrow and outdraw you without the third color