Sacrifice in Historic: Including Sideboard Guide

What a week! 14 cards changed legality across almost every non-rotating format! In brief, my thoughts are that these changes are mostly good. I really wish Wilderness Reclamation hadn’t been banned in Pioneer. I think that being part of the format’s identity on Arena would have been good. Other than that, I think the light hand to Historic is good, but there is the Sacrifice problem. I am glad to see no Muxus or Cauldron Familiar ban. The economy of Arena is a mess, and investing in a Historic deck costs a lot of wildcards. My bias here is also real, I love Sacrifice and Goblins. Goblins is also a really wild card costly deck, and I think banning Muxus out of it would burn a lot of players. To me, Sacrifice decks are also some of the most beautiful, complex, and compelling games of Magic. I have put a lot of time in on this archetype, so I want to give my insights on Historic and this archetype as a whole, especially as I think the bans are great for sacrifice.

Before delving into the deck, I think a theoretical meta is helpful for understanding why Sacrifice as an archetype is so powerful. A brief “ranking”

1. Sacrifice
2. Goblins
3. Control
4. Auras

These strategies are the ones I expect to see iterated on the most in the weeks to come, and I think right now Sacrifice is great against both Goblins and Auras, and I think the sideboard can be tuned to beat control. While I can’t promise what meta is coming, I can show you data from pre-Uro ban.

This is compiled by MTG Data (@MTG_Data) on Twitter.

64.5% win rate from Jund, and that was with a fully powered Sultai Deck. This specifically beats Goblins, is even to favored against Gruul builds, and beats Rakdos Sacrifice in the head to head. While this data doesn’t have definitive numbers on Auras, I do think that matchup also likely favors Sacrifice.

All of this is to say, Jund Sacrifice is a solid deck. Now, why are these decks so good? To understand this, let’s look at the core of this deck, and the sacrifice archetype as a whole.

Honorable Mention

Jegantha as a companion in pre-board games is useful. While this card doesn’t swing games, having access to it is an important tool in some games. I also call this core to the deck because almost all version companion Jegantha as it is more or less free.

1. Cat/ Oven Combo

Cauldron Familiar and Witch’s Oven a tale as old as well 2019. These two cards are affectionately referred to as the Cat/Oven combo. This recursive 1/1 leads to draining loops, and an almost unlimited defensive body. The oven doesn’t normally net food from Cauldron Familiar, but sometimes Oven can be used to sacrifice other creatures in the face of removal.

1. Mayhem Devil

Mayhem Devil does a lot of important jobs in this deck, and with a live Cat/Oven combo you are pinging for two damage, on top of draining for one which can clear out 1/1s or kill a 2/2, and sometimes just deal damage to your opponent’s face. It’s also a good creature on rate, so sometimes it gets into the red zone to pressure your opponent even more.

1. Priest of Forgotten Gods

Priest allows you to get extra mana, draw cards, and deal with your opponents creatures. It also synergizes incredibly with your other key pieces. Sacrificing a second Cauldron Familiar you don’t need, and getting extra Mayhem Devil Triggers. Priest can be used to decimate opposing battle fields, and it can often be the difference between an opponent losing or getting another turn to stabilize. It also synergizes with the next key card: Woe Strider.

1. Woe Strider

Woe Strider does a few things

1. It creates turns where you can combo kill your opponent by sacrificing your whole board to it to get a ton of Mayhem Devil triggers.
2. It’s a recursive late game threat.
3. It creates goat tokens which can make extra food with Oven, or be fodder for your Priest of Forgotten Gods.
4. Oftentimes opponents need to answer Woe Strider immediately, and using removal on it always feels bad because of Escape.
5. In its worst case, you can get some scrying value.
6. Claim The First Born

Now, you may think “Florence. Noted Eldraine stan and Sacrifice lover, how much time will you spend talking about Claim the Firstborn’’ the answer: a lot. This card does almost everything you need in this deck. Let’s start with, what cards doesn’t this hit? In my mind, I can think of three important ones. Muxus, Krenko, and Yasharn. It’s inability to hit Muxus is a downside, but it hits almost every major creature in the format, and sometimes their Muxus whiffs and you can still win the game quickly. It can also steal early Skirk Prospectors and slow down Muxus. Yasharn is a bigger issue because it locks out Sacrifice HARD, but without Uro, I doubt Yasharn sees much play outside of a splash in UW control. In all other matchups, Claim is a house. Stealing your opponents suited up Hushbringer, or Kor Spirit Dancer is a huge tempo swing. In addition, you being able to sacrifice the cards you steal to Priest or Woe Strider is an incredibly powerful interaction.

Before delving into the different decks built around this core, I want to focus a bit on manabase configuration. Firstly, in jund builds the starting point is usually

4x Blood Crypt

4x Overgrown Tomb

4x Stomping Ground

4x Dragonskull Summit

1x Phyrexian Tower

Now, the questions after these lands are mostly about the new pathways. In Jund, Castle Locthwain is just awkward, and Fabled Passage doesn’t fit most builds. The other land some include is Blooming Marsh.

I won’t put each pathway here, but generally it’s a 2–3 card inclusion depending. In my mind, the mana base for Jund right now might want to cut 1 or 2 shocklands, if Gruul becomes popular.

In my mind the build of the manabase’s core should start with the aforementioned 17

4x Blood Crypt

4x Overgrown Tomb

4x Stomping Ground

4x Dragonskull Summit

1x Phyrexian Tower

Then include a split of 2x Blooming Marsh 2x Dark Bore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway and 2x Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway

I can see a world where more pathways make the cut, including the Rakdos one, but for now I am unsure how exactly these manabases should be built, and I think this will be an interesting question moving forward.

For Rakdos things are a bit more straightforward.

4x Blood Crypt

4x Blightstep Pathway // Searstep Pathway

4x Dragonskull

2x Castle Locthwain

3x Fabled Passage

4x Swamp

2x Mountain

For those of you new to Historic, you may think: All these core cards are Rakdos, why play a Jund manabase? The primary reason is to play Collected Company.

The second is for sideboard cards. The other potential reason is to build this as a more food centric deck. The Jund Food version of Sacrifice includes Gilded Goose, Trail of Crumbs and Korvold, Fae Cursed King.

Now, why might someone opt out of the green splash? There are a few reasons 1) Collected Company is inconsistent 2) SLIGHTLY worse mana base 3) Playing Rakdos opens up more flex slots, and sures up some sideboard plans, as there are more obvious cuts post board.

While I caknowledge how powerful Collected Company is, I think if maindeck Graffdigger’s Cage becomes a popular hate card, a potential shift in the way the deck is built is possible.

There are three primary sacrifice Variants. Jund Coco, Jund Food and Rakdos. Let’s discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Jund Coco

Upsides

1. Collected Company is a really powerful Magic card
2. The green splash opens up some powerful sideboard cards

Downsides

1. Cage is more back breaking
2. Collected Company misses sometimes
3. There is less flexibility in building this than in the Rakdos version

Jund Food

Upsides

1. Redundant late game draw engine in Trail of Crumbs.
2. Gilded Goose can help turn Cat/Oven loops back on.
3. Korvold is a powerful card

Downsides

1. Collected Company is bad in this version.
2. Less flexible building.
3. This build can be slower.

Rakdos

Upsides

1. Maindeck Chandra Torch of Defiance
2. This version has access to more hand disruption
3. It’s sideboard can be more flexible

Downsides

1. No Collected Company
2. No green cards in the sideboard

Choosing any particular build or another is a metagame call. I think the default will, and likely should be, Jund CoCo. Rakdos is likely better in an Azorius Control with a main deck cage world. To this end, I will give a quick decklist list overview.

We have our core 24 cards (Cat, Oven, Devil, Priest, Strider) and 23 to 24 lands. Let’s say 24 lands to make math easy. We need 12 more cards.

For Jund CoCo,

4 Collected Company and then 8 other cards we can hit off Collected Company. I would start with 3 Dreadhorne Butcher,

4 Midnight Reaper and

1 Scrapheap Scrounger

For Jund Food

4 Korvold, Fae Cursed King

4 Trail of Crumbs

4 Gilded Goose

For Rakdos

2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance.

4 Dreadhorne Butcher

3 Midnight Reaper

1 Scrapheap Scrounger

2 Thoughtseize

The Rakdos build is the one I can see changing the most. Switching out Chandra for Valki or more Thoughtseize is entirely reasonable, and again these shifts are meta calls.

Now, what about sideboards?

I generally start with 3 Witch’s Vengince, if I expect Goblins to be big which on the ladder I do. In comparison, if you are entering a tournament losing Witch’s Vengeance is likely a good decision.

Beyond this, I think it’s generally a mix of a few key cards with a few different purposes.

Korvold, Fae Cursed King

Korvold is a big finisher against control decks, and it dodges a lot of removal. It also helps you rebuild after a sweeper pretty quickly.

Noxious Grasp and Abrade

These are your removal cards. Abrade to deal with Cages, opposing Mayhem Devils, and any other 3 toughness or less creatures. It also deals with the opponent’s oven.

Leyline of The Void

Another mirror card. Resolving Leyline can be really powerful and shut down opposing sacrifice decks.

Klothys, God of Destiny

Klothys is good again in Mirrors against certain builds, and it helps shut down Rakdos Arcanist and push damage against control decks.

Other Sideboard Cards to consider

I want to be very clear, these deck lists are not wholly original and very much inspired by many other players like Ally Warfield, Luis Scott Vargas and Gabriel Nassif. I have played this deck a lot, so I have made some individual changes and adjustments, and my perspective on building this manabase.

Deck lists

Jund Coco

Companion

1 Jegantha, the Wellspring (IKO) 222

Deck

4 Blood Crypt (RNA) 245

4 Cauldron Familiar (ELD) 81

2 Darkbore Pathway (KHM) 254

4 Collected Company (AKR) 186

2 Blooming Marsh (KLR) 280

4 Woe Strider (THB) 123

4 Witch’s Oven (ELD) 237

4 Stomping Ground (RNA) 259

4 Priest of Forgotten Gods (RNA) 83

1 Phyrexian Tower (JMP) 493

4 Overgrown Tomb (GRN) 253

1 Scrapheap Scrounger (KLR) 268

4 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77

4 Mayhem Devil (WAR) 204

4 Dreadhorde Butcher (WAR) 194

4 Dragonskull Summit (XLN) 252

2 Cragcrown Pathway (ZNR) 261

4 Claim the Firstborn (ELD) 118

Sideboard

3 Leyline of the Void (M20) 107

2 Korvold, Fae-Cursed King (ELD) 329

2 Klothys, God of Destiny (THB) 220

1 Jegantha, the Wellspring (IKO) 222

3 Abrade (AKR) 136

2 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110

2 Witch’s Vengeance (ELD) 111

Jund Food

Companion

1 Jegantha, the Wellspring (IKO) 222

Deck

4 Blood Crypt (RNA) 245

4 Cauldron Familiar (ELD) 81

3 Darkbore Pathway (KHM) 254

4 Trail of Crumbs (ELD) 179

2 Blooming Marsh (KLR) 280

4 Woe Strider (THB) 123

4 Witch’s Oven (ELD) 237

4 Stomping Ground (RNA) 259

4 Priest of Forgotten Gods (RNA) 83

1 Phyrexian Tower (JMP) 493

4 Overgrown Tomb (GRN) 253

2 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77

4 Mayhem Devil (WAR) 204

4 Dragonskull Summit (XLN) 252

2 Cragcrown Pathway (ZNR) 261

4 Claim the Firstborn (ELD) 118

4 Gilded Goose (ELD) 160

2 Korvold, Fae-Cursed King (ELD) 329

Sideboard

2 Leyline of the Void (M20) 107

1 Korvold, Fae-Cursed King (ELD) 329

2 Klothys, God of Destiny (THB) 220

1 Jegantha, the Wellspring (IKO) 222

3 Abrade (AKR) 136

2 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110

2 Witch’s Vengeance (ELD) 111

2 Thoughtseize (AKR) 127

Rakdos Sacrifice

Deck

4 Blood Crypt (RNA) 245

4 Blightstep Pathway (KHM) 252

4 Dragonskull Summit (XLN) 252

1 Canyon Slough (AKR) 284

2 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244

2 Fabled Passage (M21) 246

2 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241

3 Swamp (ELD) 258

2 Mountain (RNA) 263

3 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77

4 Cauldron Familiar (ELD) 81

4 Witch’s Oven (ELD) 237

4 Mayhem Devil (WAR) 204

4 Priest of Forgotten Gods (RNA) 83

4 Woe Strider (THB) 123

4 Dreadhorde Butcher (WAR) 194

2 Thoughtseize (AKR) 127

1 Scrapheap Scrounger (KLR) 268

2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance (KLR) 117

4 Claim the Firstborn (ELD) 118

Sideboard

3 Witch’s Vengeance (ELD) 111

2 Thoughtseize (AKR) 127

2 Valki, God of Lies (KHM) 114

3 Abrade (AKR) 136

3 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110

2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance (KLR) 117

Tips, Tricks and Sideboard Guide

In my article last week, I said I recommended to a friend they play Sacrifice, and they did poorly with it. Now, to atone for that mistake, this is me giving you the information I neglected to give them.

Firstly, mulligan decisions.

These decks mulligan decently, and there are a few kinds of hands I would never keep (outside of basic mulligan heuristics).

1. Don’t keep a hand with Collected Company and little else
2. Don’t keep hands which can’t apply early pressure

There are some hands I think you sometimes need to keep that seem like obvious mulligans.

1. Cat, Oven, 5 lands. These hands are very on the edge and match-up dependent. On the play against a slow deck with lots of counters, I will keep this.
2. A hand with no one or two drop plays you sometimes should keep, if you have for example double Mayhem Devil. This is again a close decision, and I can’t fault anyone for mulliganing

Generally, my approach to mulligans with any sacrifice variant is

1. How aggressive is this?
2. How badly can my opponent potentially punish the start this has?

This is an aggressive deck, especially Rakdos versions. You should play it aggressively when you can. The lower your opponent’s life total gets, the harder it is for them to deal with a Cat/Oven loop draining them.

In terms of piloting and sequencing tricks

1. On the play, Cat then Oven if you don’t have a Dreadhorne Butcher. On the draw, always play the oven first.
2. If you are scared of removal, don’t play your Mayhem Devil into it. Woe Strider dying to removal is far lest costly.
3. Sweepers are plentiful in Historic, play around them when possible.
4. Sacrificing Cat on your opponent’s end step is generally correct. However, sacrificing your cat on your turn can help avoid Cry Of The Carnarium
5. Using Mayhem Devil triggers can be difficult. Make sure you count a lot and double check your math. DON’T deal with a board if you can just kill your opponent.
6. Claim The Firstborn is at its best when you have a way to sacrifice the creature. Especially when you can use it with Priest to destroy an opponent’s board.
7. Don’t be scared to board out “core” cards. Especially the Collected Company.
8. This deck has razor thin margins, and will sometimes win at 1 life. Especially in the mirror.
9. No one’s build of this is final. Change as the meta game develops, especially the sideboard.
10. Practice, practice,practice. This deck is intricate and learning it has been one of the most rewarding parts of Magic for me. I highly recommend it.
11. Lastly, Try weird lines. This deck has some unintuitive lines of play, try them. Sometimes they won’t work out, and sometimes they will. Regardless, you can learn a lot from strange lines.

The Sideboard Guide is based on your cards, so I will explain each card in each sideboard and when I think you should bring them in. This will be less match-up focused because Arena Ladder is wild.

1. Witch’s Vengeance — Bring this in against tribal decks, usually Goblins.
2. Abrade — Bring this in against Cages, the Mirror, and any creature heavy match-ups
3. Noxious Grasp — Bring this in against most control variants, an anytime you see a Yasharn or Nissa
4. Klothys, God of Destiny — Bring this in against the Mirror, or anytime your opponent is also relying on graveyard synergies. Without Uro, I am unsure how much mileage Klothys gets
5. Leyline of the Void — Bring this in against the Mirror

Cuts

1. Never cut all of your cat/oven pieces, but sometimes it is correct to cut a few Cauldron Familiars, especially if your opponent has a lot of hate cards
2. Don’t be scared to board out Collected Company almost entirely, especially if you bring in more spells and big creatures
3. Boarding out Mayhem Devil can sometimes be correct, if the match up is slow enough
4. Priest is weaker against control decks, and is usually my first cut in those match ups
5. Similarly, almost always board out Claim against control (unless they play Nissa, then keep in 2)
6. In food versions, board out Trail fairly aggressively, especially if you need to play quickly

A specific Match Up to Match Up Guide

Azorius Control

• +3 Abrade
• +2 Noxious grasp
• +2 Korvold, Fae Cursed King
• -4 Claim the First Born
• -4 Priest of Forgotten Gods

You can consider keeping in a few claims for tokens, but outside of that claim is just so bad against creatureless control decks. Noxious Grasp is for dealing with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. Abrade is to address Graffdigger’s Cage. Korvold is protection against sweepers and a rebuild tool.

Mirror

• +3 Abrade
• +2 Leyline of The Void
• +2 Klothys God of Destiny
• +3 Midnight Reaper
• -1 Scrapheap Scrounger
• -2 Dreadhorne Butcher
• -1 Cauldron Familiar

In the mirror victory depends on 1) Containing opposing Mayhem Devils 2) Shutting down your opponents engines. Klothys and Leyline make your opponent’s graveyard synergies weaker. Abrade allows you to kill their Mayhem Devils and deal with opposing Witch’s ovens.

Goblins

• +3 Witch’s Vengeance
• +3 Abrade
• -3 Midnight Reaper
• -3 Dreadhorne Butcher

This is a pretty obvious sideboard. Bring in your hate card in Witch’s Vengeance. Abrade kills your opponents’ lords which are their most dangerous cards. Midnight Reaper’s incidental damage is dangerous in this match up, and Dreadhore Butcher rarely gets good attacks.

Auras

• +3 Abrade
• +2 Noxious Grasp
• -3 Midnight Reaper
• -2 Dreadhorne Butcher

Keep hands with Claim and a way to sacrifice the creature you steal. Abrade can kill an early Kor Spirit Dancer, Sram or Hushbringer. Noxious Grasp is near catch all removal. I aggressively board out Midnight Reaper which may be wrong. You just don’t realistically out card advantage them, and you really need your life to get into a late game and kill their creatures. Dreadhorne Butcher again gets blocked pretty easily, so I trim 2.

Gruul

• 3 Abrade
• 2 Noxious Grasp
• 2 Korvold
• 2 Klothys, God of Destiny
• 4 Dreadhorne Butcher
• 2 Collected Company
• 3 Midnight Reaper

The Collected Company trims are mostly about not wanting to be the “worse” Collected Company deck. Removing their threats and sticking a Korvold is a means to catching up and stabilizing. Klothys helps keep your opponents Scavenging Oozes under control, and Abrade and Noxious Grasp are powerful removal spells.

I hope my guide can help you improve at playing one of my absolute favorite decks of all time. Good luck, and may Cauldron Familiar be your faithful familiar toward victory.