Notes & Combos

The new pack dropped, and even though my M1 climb is already completely done, I’ve been testing heavily with Lab's new toys and got requested to provide a reference list with them, so here I am. Went on a nice streak with this one (9) with a few 5s here and there around it, and the main reason is how it's adapting to the meta heavyweights right now. With the release of Forbidden Crown, both Radiant Typhoon Zoo and Sky Striker have gotten incredibly emboldened, meaning the ladder is getting even more saturated with agile, spell-needy decks. To completely respect that, I'm main-decking the full three copies of Solemn Accusation.

Honestly? It has felt good. It’s obviously a card that heavily depends on what everyone else is playing, but right now, with everyone trying to spam Rats, Rayes and just abuse the new pack’s offering (Endymion, opposing Solemn Accusations), running the full playset felt natural to shut down those engines and cards before the opponent can even stabilize with them.

Now, let's talk about the big one: Dominus Spark. I know most players conventionally consider this a three-of in Lab, but I'm only playing two copies. Seriously, let me explain why. It's a good hand trap (and just a good trap overall for us), but against Sky Striker and Radiant Typhoon Zoo, they just generally don’t trigger it on the axis you want them to. It can become pretty awkward to use as an actual HT on turn zero in those matchups, so clogging your hand with a third copy is often just a punt. Shifting it to a two-of gives us way better variance, streamlines our draws, and better ensures we don't end up with dead / middling cards against what's shaping up to be the two best decks in the format (or at the very least, firmly in contention for that title).

Others will jam three copies and perhaps I will too at some point depending on how August plays out; But that point is definitely not now. Two has been much more tempo efficient and I haven't looked back since trimming it down.