Contagion Clasp and Other Spoilers

Concerning:

Contagion Clasp :: U/W Control decks… with Contagion Clasp :: Luminarch Ascension
DailyMTG :: Spoilers :: … and Contagion Clasp

Last week I wrote very briefly about Kurt Spiess’s U/W Proliferate deck.

And I mean very briefly.

To wit:

Main deck Luminarch Ascension is quite powerful against other control decks.

It turns out that that is true as you will see below (spoilers!)… But Kurt’s deck deserved more attention than the one line I gave it, probably. I actually caught more better notice of the deck listening to the Yo MTG Taps podcast care of Joey and Joe last week… and even though I noticed the main deck Luminarch Ascension, I managed to miss the entire Proliferate sub-theme provided by Contagion Clasp.

Contagion Clasp

I don’t want to do a lot of hardcore analysis of Kurt’s deck, as that is actually the topic of my Top Decks article this week (spoilers!), but I do want to say a bit about Contagion Clasp.

In addition to facilitating the Proliferate mechanic and potentially improving the performance of the deck’s many Planeswalkers, Contagion Clasp is actually an all right card on its own. It kind of fills the same purpose as Oust against creatures like Lotus Cobra or Plated Geopede (or if you’re really lucky, Top 10 card Joraga Treespeaker).

That’s not its job in this deck, not really… But it would be foolish to ignore the fact that Contagion Clasp does have some value as a monster fighter. Little monsters anyway.

Now of course there is the topic of that Luminarch Ascension. If you can get one counter on a Luminarch Ascension, Contagion Clasp can ramp it up to four counters even if you are getting attacked… That really helps to justify the card’s inclusion as a main deck threat, unusual for the often aggressive Standard meta.

Anyway, Kurt’s deck:

U/W Proliferate – Kurt Spiess

2 Contagion Clasp
3 Everflowing Chalice

2 Frost Titan
1 Into the Roil
2 Jace Beleren
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Mana Leak
2 Negate
4 Preordain

4 Condemn
2 Day of Judgment
2 Gideon Jura
3 Luminarch Ascension

1 Arid Mesa
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Glacial Fortress
5 Island
3 Plains
1 Scalding Tarn
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Tectonic Edge

sb:
3 Flashfreeze
1 Into the Roil
1 Negate
2 Spell Pierce
1 Volition Reins
3 Baneslayer Angel
2 Day of Judgment
1 Luminarch Ascension
1 Revoke Existence

Anyway — more spoilers for things to come — you can nab a sneak Peek at this week’s Top Decks, which includes the following videos, both starring Kurt’s U/W deck.

U/W Proliferate v. B/U Conley Style:

U/W Proliferate v. Genesis Wave:

That’s that!

LOVE
MIKE