The Limited Archetypes of Aether Revolt
Back in the three-set block model, third sets had a rough time in limited. They were the “push the block mechanics to a weird place” sets, so often there was stuff going on that didn’t quite gel with the previous two sets.
Under the new two-block model, second sets found themselves in a similar place. R&D was dissatisfied with how drastically Oath of the Gatewatch and Eldritch Moon changed limited, so work was done on Aether Revolt to make it different, but less of a departure, from its previous set’s mechanics.
This means that if you read my article about the archetypes of Kaladesh, you’ll be finding similar play styles in today’s piece. While Aether Revolt features two new mechanics, revolt and improvise, the basic idea of each archetype is similar to last set. There are some subtle changes, however, so make sure to keep reading to find out how your favorite color combinations have adapted to the war-torn streets of Ghirapur!
Aethergeode Miner by Winona Nelson
In Kaladesh, White/Blue was all about blinking and bouncing your creatures to make reuse of their enter-the-battlefield abilities. This theme carries through to Aether Revolt, but with a few new twists.
First, this set is a bit more aggressive than last time. Without as many fabricate creatures, this is less about gumming up the board with Servos and more about being able to keep your revolt abilities “turned on.” Remember, revolt just cares about one of your permanents leaving the battlefield. If it’s exiled then returned, or bounced back to your hand, your revolt spells will be stronger!
White is going to focus more on the revolt effects, but Blue has some solid enter-the-battlefield abilities and other ways to bounce your own cards. You’ll want to find ways to slow your opponent’s assault while you chip away with fliers as well.
Key cards: Felidar Guardian, Illusionist’s Stratagem, Mobile Garrison
Blue/Black Improvise Control
Implement of Examination by Darek Zabrocki
This was an archetype that seemed underpowered last set, but now we can see the true potential of Blue/Black: the improvise ability. This mechanic allows you to use artifacts to help cast your spells, making them cheaper than normal.
Control is still Blue/Black’s goal, so improvise will be used for value and mana efficiency. Over a long game, those incremental advantages will add up. You’ll cast more spells, draw more cards, and use less mana than your opponents.
Improvise is an A + B mechanic, meaning you need two sets of cards to help it work. Obviously you’ll want cards with the improvise mechanic. Focus on removal, counterspells, and big creatures that can finish a game themselves. The other thing you’ll need are cheap artifacts to help power out your spells. Anything that makes Thopters or Servos is good. Puzzleknots and Implements can be cast early, used to cast improvise spells, and then sacrificed later for value.
Key cards: Reverse Engineer, Aether Poisoner, Pacification Array
Ravenous Intruder by Mathias Kollros
Very little has changed for Black/Red from Kaladesh to Aether Revolt. You still want to be all-in aggressive and control some artifacts along the way.
With less fabricate in Black, you’re going to want to value cheaper artifact creatures a little bit more. The addition of revolt means that the Black and Red cards that get value out of sacrificing articles are sexier too. You want to keep your game rolling forward, pushing as much damage through to your opponent as you can.
Improvise does show up in both these colors, giving it a bit of flexibility in longer games. This archetype can go a little bigger than last set, where it was better at creating Servo tokens to go wide.
Key cards: Night Market Aeronaut, Shock, Treasure Keeper
Red/Green Energy Beatdown
Outland Boar by Winona Nelson
Red/Green is probably the archetype that has changed the least. It’s still a beatdown deck that wants to cast beefy creatures and turn them sideways. Energy is the main mechanic it’s built around.
There are a number of ways to use energy in this block, and this is the archetype that wants to use it for pure offense. Focus on the aggressive energy creatures, not the defensive ones (Most of the defensive energy creatures are in Blue, so this isn’t as hard as you’d think.) More often than not, you’ll want to use your energy right away to keep up an aggressive game plan.
Having a good mana curve is going to go a long way in this archetype a bit more than others. Being able to cast a powerful two-drop, three-drop, four-drop is going to give you tremendous momentum in most matchups.
Key cards: Scrapper Champion, Aetherstream Leopard, Consulate Turret
Unbridled Growth by Ryan Pancoast
Revolt shows up strongest in Green/White, replacing fabricate from Kaladesh. Thus, this is probably the archetype with the biggest shift from the previous set.
Remember that revolt cares about your permanents leaving the battlefield. If you do pick up some fabricate cards, you’re more incentivized to create Servos now. Attacking with 1/1 Servos, even if they get gobbled up in combat, is a great way to trigger revolt. You can also sneak damage through if your opponent doesn’t block out of fear of turning on your revolt effects.
Anyway, look at White’s blinking effects to trigger revolt yourself. The best payoff cards are in Green, so don’t be worried if you’re not finding many ways to trigger revolt in Green. Also don’t be afraid to make attacks that end in obvious trades; your creatures dying in combat is good for revolt! Stay aggressive and generate value every turn.
Key cards: Scrounging Bandar, Airdrop Aeronauts, Renegade Map
Resourceful Return by Titus Lunter
This is another archetype that wasn’t very cohesive in Kaladesh but gets a ton of oomph in Aether Revolt. The idea is still to sacrifice cards and recur them, but now there’s a huge payoff in revolt.
Servos are very good in this archetype when you can get them, but feel free to sacrifice undersized creatures and cheap artifacts instead. White gets the most revolt cares, while Black is going to be the color doing the sacrificing here.
This is the grindiest archetype, which means a lot of its cards don’t appear powerful at first. Synergy and time reveal the ability to outlast the limited removal your opponents will be running. White and Black also have the most life gain, meaning you can afford to take a little more damage than most other decks.
Key cards: Aether Inspector, Vengeful Rebel, Filigree Crawler
Blue/Red Improvise/Energy Aggro
Maverick Thopterist by Zack Stella
I’m still not sure exactly what Blue/Red wants to be doing in limited. It’s plays with artifacts, energy, aggressive creatures, and defensive spells. It’s kind of fitting that the colors of creativity are the most wide-open in the format.
I do think Aether Revolt pushes this to a more aggressive archetype than not. It can hit hard early with Red creatures and use Blue spells to maintain an advantage on board. There are a lot of solid tempo plays as well, from bouncing permanents to tapping them down to altering combat with pump spells.
You can create Servos and Thopters, use them to cast your spells, and then sacrifice them when you’re done with them. Energy gets created and then dumped into other cards. Games can end quickly between burn spells and flying creatures.
Key cards: Aether Swooper, Aether Chaser, Servo Schematic
Black/Green +1/+1 Counters
Defiant Salvager by Volkan Baga
Black/Green loses the fabricate mechanic, but solidifies as the +1/+1 counter archetype (It already leaned that way in Kaladesh.) Big creatures plus powerful removal equals victory.
There are a bunch of ways to get +1/+1 counters on your creatures in Aether Revolt, but the main way is through revolt effects. Black’s sacrifice outlets and Green’s propensity for picking fights allow your mid-to-late-game creatures get powered up. This is still more of a midrange deck, after all.
That’s all I really have to say about that. This color pair is pretty simple.
Key cards: Ironclad Revolutionary, Ridgescale Tusker, Untethered Express
Renegade Wheelsmith by Darek Zabrocki
Vehicles were a big question mark heading into Kaladesh limited. How many to play? Which crew numbers were too high? How often to Vehicles die in combat? Out of combat?
Thankfully, we know the answers to those questions now. You really don’t want any more than four Vehicles in your limited deck, and more often than not you’re only going to have two or three. Anything with crew 4 or higher is very difficult to crew. The best Vehicles have crew 1 or crew 2. Vehicles die in combat way more than out of combat. Vehicles are also really good on defense, which many players forget when analyzing a board state.
With those things in mind, this archetype is really all about Vehicles. But it can run more than other decks due to how powerful they get with Pilots.
Outside of Vehicles, you want to focus on aggressive creatures and cheap removal. The faster the game ends, the better for Red/White.
Key cards: Frontline Rebel, Aeronaut Admiral, Crackdown Construct
Rogue Refiner by Victor Adame Minguez
This deck also doesn’t change much between Kaladesh and Aether Revolt. Green/Blue is the “go big” energy deck, looking to amass tons of energy and spend it on haymaker effects. The name of the game is amassing resources, and these colors can pair together to get the best of every world.
Green gives extra mana, lots of energy, and the biggest creatures. Blue gives extra time, lots of energy, and some of the best defensive cards in the format. While this archetype is capable of playing a more midrange game that can out-tempo the opponent, it’s best at going over the top of whatever the other player is going.
Big creatures, or small ones that can become big, simply out-muscle whatever stands in their way. Trading one creature for two (more more!) in combat is just another way this deck manages its resources.
Key cards: Peema Aether-Seer, Shielded Aether Thief, Reservoir Walker
Overall, Aether Revolt’s limited format seems like it will feel like Kaladesh’s. That is, there are a ton of things to do in each color pair. Even two decks with the same theme will play differently due to unique two-card interactions that can manifest. While mechanics lean towards certain colors, basically any color pair can make use of any mechanic at some point. Ghirapur may be in the throes of revolution, but the spirit of invention still burns bright.
If there’s one thing you can expect from Aether Revolt’s limited format, planeswalkers, it’s the unexpected.
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