Can you see it coming? The day of reckoning is almost upon us, and you damn well better be ready. Regionals is only six days away, and you can bet your booty that it's going to be great times.

Standard has always been a local focus, as we don't have many Extended or Type 1 tournaments (thank god. I mean, I play both formats but too much of either can get boring fast). This means that competition at Regionals this year is probably going to be the stiffest ever, seeing as the level of play lately has risen and we're getting better turnouts for tournaments. If you're going to be playing at a large US Regionals, you had better know what you're doing.

The key to success at any constructed tournament is to be prepared. Know the metagame, know your opponents, and for god's sake know your own deck. No doubt many of you have put in countless hours like myself and many others into playtesting for Regionals. No doubt several decks have caught the eyes of the masses, creating a tiered system of deck quality.

Arguably at the top (or close to it) of the first tier is a deck you will most definitely see at Regionals. However, it can take many forms, all of which are apparently viable variants themselves. They may vary in color, in purpose or in player, but they all have one thing in common: The Bitch.

Braids, Cabal Minion is what I consider to be a sleeper card. That means it was overlooked when its set first came out (Odyssey), and since has risen to great importance. Most attribute the advent of Braids decks to one Brian Kibler and his article Top Notch Tech: Black in Standard. Brian created an aggro-Black deck splashing Red for Flametongue Kavu, and it took the Standard scene by storm. In the latest Grudge Match at Neutral Ground New York, three of the top four decks were based on Braids (including the winning deck, played by Eric Zeigler). It's clear that Braids has created quite a splash on the Type 2 scene.

The theory behind a Braids deck is fairly universal between all the builds. Play Braids when it gives you the advantage, and know when to keep her around and when to let her die. Most decks (namely control) cannot deal with the Bitch, as the majority of the permanents they play are lands. Press the mana advantage and try to play as many threats as possible, not only putting pressure on the opponent to deal with whatever you have coming their way, but also to fuel Braids, allowing you to prolong the mana denial and get you closer to winning. Other creatures in the deck are also dedicated to the destruction of control, those being Mesmeric Fiend, Phyrexian Rager, Ravenous Rats, Ichorid and Nantuko Shade. Those creatures either create card advantage or are very difficult to remove, all making for a nightmare matchup for control. All those creatures coupled with disruption in the form of Duress and creature removal for whatever finishers they have (namely Chainer's Edict) make for a match that's almost difficult to lose.

For the control matchup, Green gives a few good options. Pernicious Deed helps, but is somewhat ineffective against decks with few threats. Spiritmonger is slow, and unlikely to resolve. However, if it does, it ends the game quickly.

White provides a few better options than Green. Spectral Lynx is a hard to kill bear that can easily slip under countermagic and can sneak in a few points of damage before being removed. However, the main help comes in the form of Vindicate. Whether you destroy a land on your third turn to slow them down, bust up a Psychatog so you can smash through, or remove an annoying Moat or Circle of Protection, Vindicate is always useful in this matchup. It is the removal spell of choice in all Braids builds.

Red gives only one real useful card against control, but it's a good one. Urza's Rage can single-handedly dismantle a control player if they allow too much damage in the early game. Flametongues are usually dead and will be sided out, as will Terminates if they are played.

On the other side of the spectrum we have the beatdown matchup, which is a bit tougher than control. Different Braids builds have different ways of dealing with aggro, but I feel the best is in the form of Pernicious Deed. Black/Green Braids builds have the easiest matchups against aggro because of the amazing board-sweeping power of the Deed, and the almost impossible-to-kill fatty Spiritmonger.

White gives an amazing wall in Spectral Lynx, which only yesterday provided all 20 points of damage to a Red/Green deck. Coupled with Worship from the sideboard, it makes for a very annoying situation for the Red/Green player. Vindicate is also a good way to stop the bleeding and give you some breathing room.

Red gives the use of one of the best creatures in Type 2, the ubiquitous Flametongue Kavu, almost always acting as a two-for-one against aggro. Terminate and Urza's Rage are fine removal spells that ensure you stay alive long enough to take control and beat them down.

My personal favorite Braids variant is the one that has got me a bit of success lately, and that's Black/White. Here's my current version:

4 Mesmeric Fiend
4 Nantuko Shade
4 Spectral Lynx
4 Phyrexian Rager
3 Ichorid
2 Shambling Swarm
4 Braids, Cabal Minion

4 Vindicate
4 Chainer's Edict
4 Duress

4 Tainted Field
4 Caves of Koilos
15 Swamp

Sideboard:

4 Phyrexian Arena
3 Slay
3 Disenchant
2 Mortivore
2 Worship
1 Circle of Protection: Red

The deck is pretty uniform, except for a few choices. I chose to leave out Ravenous Rats because I feel in a metagame that's currently control-heavy, precision disruption is key in resolving a turn-four Braids against a control deck. I'm also not a fan of dropping a Rat and having them discard Violent Eruption/Basking Rootwalla/etc. Also, I've seen people playing Gerrard's Verdict, but I just don't like the card in this deck. For one, I don't think I have the White mana to support it along with Lynxes and Vindicates, and also for the reasons mentioned above for the Ravenous Rats. Madness is just too common.

The sideboard is primarily dedicated to beating R/G. The Slays are invaluable against Call of the Herds, Raging Kavus, Rootwallas, and other Green creatures. Mortivore is absolutely savage against Red/Green, providing you with a usually large regenerator. He basically acts as a Moat if they don't want to attack and an Abyss if they do. Be careful not to tap out when you play him in case your opponent happens to rip a Deed off the top (see bottom for explanation). Worship, along with the regenerating Lynxes and pumpable Shades in the maindeck, says "You do not die unless they draw amazingly well or you draw amazingly badly". As long as you can regenerate the Lynx or keep the Shade out of harm's way, you are invulnerable. On top of that, Red/Green has a tough time removing enchantments. Just save your Vindicates for any Elvish Lyrists that may pop up.

The rest of the sideboard is pretty normal. Phyrexian Arena is absolutely AMAZING against control, providing you with an unbelievably amount of card advantage if they don't remove it quickly. With all those cards, you'll easily be able to overwhelm them with threats and disruption. Disenchant is one of those cards that you side in because of cards you know your opponent will side in. Teferi's Moat, CoP Black and Compost all are great against this deck, and with only Vindicate as the spot removal in the deck (which also has to be spread across creatures and lands if need be), you'll need to rid yourself of those pesky enchantments as soon as possible, or you won't win the game.


That’s it for now. In my next article, I’ll talk about other decks you’ll most certainly see at Regionals. Until then, um, may you draw all the lands you need and not have difficulty getting an erection.