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Despite losing the all important tri-lands from Streets of New Capenna withMagic: The Gathering’slatest Standard rotation, Domain Ramp has managed to maintain its status as a premier metagame deck using only dual lands supported by Fabled Passage from Bloomburrow.
Domain ramp is a five-color deck that uses ramp spells to cast an early Atraxa, Grand Unifier and bury the opponent in card advantage from her enter the battlefield trigger. It functions thanks to a combination of board wipes and life gain spells that allow the deck to survive long enough to cast Atraxa and win the game from there. As long as control decks remain absent from the field, domain ramp will continue to be a powerful contender.
Sample Decklist
Here is a sample decklist for a Domain Ramp Standard Deck.
2 Cavern Of Souls
What Are The Key Cards?
The most important pieces of this deck all revolve aroundkeeping you alivelong enough to cast Atraxa, Grand Unifier. This creature is so powerful thatit will often win you the game all on its ownassuming you can cast it. It’s actually casting Atraxa that makes it such a difficult card to play due to its high mana cost and white, black, blue, and green mana requirements.
Temporary Lockdown / Sunfall
Mainboard sweepers aren’t all that common in most decks, however, they are absolutely necessary for Domain Ramp. Without these cards, Domain Ramp would fold like a lawn chair to any aggressive deck.
It also helps immensely thatboth of these sweepers exileopposing creatures as opposed to simply destroying them. The exile clause gets around recursive cards like Mosswood Dreadknight as well as effects that provide creatures with indestructible.
Keep in mind that Temporary Lockdown hits all nonland permanents, allowing you to answer cheap opposing enchantments, artifacts, and planeswalkers as well as creatures. Unfortunately, Temporary Lockdown will also remove your own Up The Beanstalk enchantments, so beware of its symmetrical effect.
Leyline Binding
Speaking of hitting any nonland permanent, this isthe removal spell that made Domain Rampa viable deck in the first place. If there’s one thing that this deck has proven, it’s that a removal spell that acts as a blanket answer for any card your opponent might threaten you with is well worth whatever deck building cost it might impose.
Sadly, the days of casting this enchantment on turn two or over. The loss of the New Capenna tri-lands prevents you from accessing the mana requirements necessary to cast Leyline Binding until turn three. Nonetheless, this is still one of the most important cards in the deck.
Leyline Binding’s true mana cost makes it work with Up The Beanstalk’s draw trigger.
Archangel Of Wrath
Board wipes are all fine and good, but the most aggressive decks with smart pilots behind them can still often beat sorcery speed sweepers. Archangel of Wrath prevents all of that aggressive nonsense thanks to lifelink and her kicker trigger.
Since the Archangel is the source of her kicker damage and she has lifelink,the damage her kicker costs deal also heal you.Alongside a single attack or block from the Archangel, this is typically enough life gain to stem the tide of anyaggressive deck.
Archangel of Wrath’s kicker can always target the opponent’s life total directly as well. This is a sneaky way to chip in for those precious few last points of damage.
Atraxa, Grand Unifier / Herd Migration
These are your late game payoffs for gaining access to additional mana early. Notably, both spells can also gain you life to help you recover from the damage you suffered in the early stages of the game. Atraxa’s use is pretty self-explanatory though it is important tokeep in mind that Atraxa is vulnerable to counterspells.
On the other hand, Herd Migration is typically only good for some additional life gain and land drops in the early to mid game. Hard casting Herd Migration will happen from time to time, but never count on it. It’s almost always the right answer touse extra mana in the early game to discard this card,gain some extra life, thin your deck of lands, and verify you continue ramping.
How To Play Domain Ramp
As we mentioned in the introduction, this deck is all about staying alive long enough to drop an Atraxa, Grand Unifier onto the battlefield. In the early game, cast whatever spells you may manage to cast while making certain youproperly sequence your landsto set up your turns in the midgame.
Proper land sequencing is a key part of playing Domain Ramp as making certain you have exactly the colors you need on the turn you need them is paramount to success. Forgetting to find the right colors for Archangel of Wrath’s kicker triggers is a particularly easy mistake to make.
As you enter the midgame, you’ll have to decide between focusing on ramp or casting yourboard wipesto answer opposing threats. While your life total is one of your least important resources in most decks, this is not the case for Domain Ramp. Alwayslean towards casting your board wipe if you can prevent a particularly damaging attack.After all, an opponent who reduces your life total low enough can always win with a direct damage spell like Lightning Strike or some other unforseen shenanigans outside of combat damage.
Archangel of Wrath is a particularly important card for stabilizing your life total. If you may afford to wait a turn or two so that she enters with kicker triggers, it’s worth the wait. You can’t count on the Archangel actually connecting with lifelink through combat as she’s one of the only targets for the removal spells your opponent has had in their hand all game.
In the late game, all that matters is resolving an Atraxa, Grand Unifier. Look for the earliest and safest opportunity to play her, and take your shot. Once Atraxa resolves, many opponents will immediately concede. As far as those who don’t,ensure to leverage the cards Atraxa finds for maximum value.If you do so, it’s incredibly unlikely your opponent’s deck will keep up.
Don’t forget that there are two copies of Cavern of Souls in the mainboard in case you happen to be against an opponent playing blue who may have counterspells. Only play Atraxa into a potential counterspell as a last resort.
How To Build A Domain Ramp Sideboard
Unlike most sideboards, Domain Ramp’s sideboard isbuilt more towards answering specific cardsversus answering different deck archetypes. Domain Ramp can afford to build its sideboard like this thanks to the deck’s inherent immense value and mainboard focus on defeating aggressive decks through board wipes and life gain.
All of that being said, there are a couple of slots spent towards answering deck archetypes.Nissa, Ascended Animistwill come in against any opposing control deck as she continues to manufacture late game threats that must be answered. Similarly, your final copy ofTemporary Lockdownwill come in against any highly aggressive opponent.
Cavern of SoulsandNegateare here if you happen to find yourself up against a blue opponent using counterspells.Obstinate Balothis your answer to any black deck playing Liliana of the Veil in the mainboard or sideboard as her discard trigger allows you to put the Baloth directly onto the battlefield for free to answer her.
If you find yourself against a deck with graveyard recursion or artifacts and enchantments key to the deck’s strategy,Tranquil Frillbacklets you fight back using its kicker ability. Finally,Tishana’s Tidebinderis your answer for the mirror as well as decks playing a powerful planeswalker. Seeing as Tidebinder doesn’t actually counter Atraxa, it’s the only card that answers her enter the battlefield trigger while still getting around Cavern of Souls.
