Jund Midrange Deck Guide
Cabezadebolo breaks down his build of Jund Midrange, explains its strengths and shares his sideboard guide.
Jund ‘Em Out
Hello everyone! Alessandro Carvallo here again, this time with a deck guide for Jund Midrange – a deck that has been getting top results since Standard rotated (and even before). It had highs and lows last rotation, with one of its main threats being The Meathook Massacre.
Now that Meathook massacre has been banned from the Standard format, Jund has become a top contender for a permanent S Tier slot.
Its Strengths
- Jund Midrange has a very consistent curve and its aggressive plan is very solid. Without high-quality sweeper spells, it is very difficult to deal with a midgame Jund Midrange boardstate.
- We have access to very powerful black spells like Infernal Grasp, Soul Transfer, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and a very complete sideboard plan, largely populated by more black cards.
- Unleash the Inferno is probably the best removal in the Standard format. This card is just a luxury that only decks running these three colors can afford.
- Jund Midrange doesn’t have terrible matchups against any deck – it’s a pretty stable deck that can fight and come out on top against any type of strategy in Standard right now.
Jund Midrange
Standard
7 mythic
36 rare
6 uncommon
11 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (1)
Creatures (14)
Artifacts (4)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (26)
60 Cards
$470.96
Sideboard
15 Cards
$25.03
Deck Breakdown
The Creatures
There are a few ways to Play Jund Midrange: a version more focused on four copies of Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and a smaller curve, and another version that allows you to play Soul of Windgrace and Titan of Industry.
The latter is the build I chose for my most recent Standard Challenge, landing in the top 16. I’m not totally sure if it’s the best build, but it is the one I am most comfortable piloting.
Soul of Windgrace and Titan of Industry are cards that tend to go hand in hand. Soul of Windgrace’s ability to play lands from the graveyard and create a ramp effect gives a lot of consistency to our plan to hard cast Titan of Industry. This build has to play more lands than usual to fuel its plan, but Soul of Windgrace allows you to filter your topdecks later on.
Titan of Industry is a very powerful card at this time. It is a brutal finisher that can help us make a comeback from very complicated boardstates. In a midrange format, which Standard still very much is, Titan really shines.
Briarbridge Tracker and Graveyard Trespasser are three drops that fight for inclusion in this deck. In my build, I like Tracker much more, since it makes Voltage Surge much better and the value of the clue that it gives you can make a difference in midrange pairings.
Interaction
The choice of removal hasn’t been very difficult for this deck. I mostly just run the best black-based removal in Standard.
The most difficult decision in the removal package in the deck was the choice between Voltage Surge and Cut Down. I really like both, but in a midrange game or long game, Voltage Surge is much more effective. I decided to go lean more into Voltage Surge for that reason. In a metagame with many copies of The Wandering Emperor, Voltage Surge comes at a premium.
Unleash the Inferno has been sensational for me. At this moment this card has greatly overperformed. It is a direct for-for-one, as we almost always aim at Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Wedding Announcement or Reckoner Bankbuster.
Other Tools
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker and Reckoner Bankbuster seem to be staples in the standard format, and very powerful cards that are useful in any situation. There is not much more to mention – only the number of copies of each one. Fable of the Mirror Breaker is almost necessary at four Copies and Reckoner Bankbuster has a certain variance in the number of copies; I play four.
Wren and seven is my proposal as a singleton in the deck. I decided on it over Workshop Warchief, since I feel that playing planeswalkers always gives you a certain advantage in the midgame that can influence the entire match.
Sideboard Guide
Esper Midrange
On the Draw
| In | Out |
| +4 Graveyard Trespasser | -4 Briarbridge Tracker |
| +2 Cut Down | -2 Titan of Industry |
| +1 Soul Transfer | -1 Voltage Surge |
| +1 Burn Down the House | -1 Duress |
On the Play
| In | Out |
| +3 Graveyard Trespasser | -4 Briarbridge Tracker |
| +2 Cut Down | -2 Titan of Industry |
| +1 Soul Transfer | -1 Voltage Surge |
| +1 Sorin the Mirthless | -1 Duress |
| +1 Cruelty of Gix |
Mono-Blue Tempo
| In | Out |
| +4 Graveyard Trespasser | -3 Unleash the Inferno |
| +2 Duress | -2 Titan of Industry |
| +1 Pilfer | -2 Soul of Windgrace |
| +1 Soul Transfer | -1 Wrenn and Seven |
Jund Mirror
On the Play
| In | Out |
| +2 Cruelty of Gix | -2 Bloodtithe Harvester |
| +1 Sorin, the Mirthless | -1 Duress |
| +1 Unleash the Inferno | -1 Voltage Surge |
On the Draw
| In | Out |
| +1 Burn Down the House | – Reckoner Bankbuster |
| +1 Unleash the Inferno | -1 Duress |
| +1 Soul Transfer |
Grixis Midrange
| In | Out |
| +4 Graveyard Trespasser | -2 Titan of Industry |
| +1 Sorin, the Mirthless | -1 Voltage Surge |
| -1 Wrenn and Seven | |
| -1 Unleash the Inferno |
Boros Invoke
| In | Out |
| +3 Graveyard Trespasser | -4 Reckoner Bankbuster |
| +2 Cruelty of Gix | -3 Voltage Surge |
| +1 Unleash the Inferno | -2 Infernal Grasp |
| +1 Soul Transfer | -1 Duress |
| +1 Burn Down the House | |
| +1 Sorin, the Mirthless |
