The deck’s game plan is simple: Curve out and get your opponent to ten poison counters as quickly as possible. Often, you’ll look to deal the first few poison counters with your creatures.

Then, you may either make blocking difficult for your opponent with The Seedcore and/or your bounce spells, proliferate your way to victory with Serum Snare or set up Venerated Rotpriest.

You should basically never keep a hand without a one-drop creature, as it’s too hard to build toxic momentum without one. On the draw, you should never keep a hand without a one-drop in any matchup. On the play, you might very seldom keep a hand without a one-drop if it includes Skrelv’s Hive and you’re against a deck like Dimir Control.

It’s important to have a hand with at least two creatures (or a Skrelv’s Hive) to play in the first two turns.

Relying on just one creature, even if it’s a Venerated Rotpriest, makes it too difficult to get across the line. When facing decks with Field of Ruin or Demolition Field, prioritize putting basic lands on the bottom when you mulligan.

Always keep in mind that you are playing a tempo deck.

The deck is essentially Azorius splashing green for Venerated Rotpriest. Skrelv’s Hive and Charge of the Mites are the only white cards that can’t be cast off The Seedcore in the maindeck, so be mindful of this when naming a color with Thran Portal.

Proper sequencing of your opening hand is critical; plan out the order in which you will play your lands and spells, and consider how each step will play out. Incorrect sequencing or naming the wrong color with Thran Portal can disrupt your mana base.

Against decks with a lot of removal spells, especially Cut Down, you want to prioritize your one-drops in the order of:

Crawling Chorus -> Venerated Rotpriest -> Skrelv, Defector Mite

Conversely, against decks with little removal spells, particularly those lacking one-mana removal, the optimal order is:

Skrelv, Defector Mite -> Venerated Rotpriest -> Crawling Chorus

If you have a Jawbone Duelist, it becomes more advantageous to play Skrelv, Defector Mite on turn one, especially against decks with minimal removal like Boros Convoke or Temur Analyst.

When you have March of Swirling Mist in hand, consider holding back Venerated Rotpriest to play it on a turn when you can also set up the combo. If you have two copies of Skrelv, Defector Mite, lead with one so you can play the other when the first one dies.

In situations where you suspect your opponent is holding up Cut Down, lead with Crawling Chorus to mitigate its impact.

Occasionally, your mana will dictate which one-drop you play. For instance, if your opening hand includes Seachrome Coast, Yavimaya Coast, two Venerated Rotpriests, and a Crawling Chorus, you would lead with Rotpriest on turn one to set up a double-cast on turn two.

Generally, it’s better to play two one-drop creatures on turn two rather than a two-drop creature.

However, depending on the matchup, especially when you’re on the draw, you might prefer to play a one-drop creature and hold up Spell Pierce or Fading Hope. Against decks with sweepers, opting for a two-drop over two one-drops can help you play around sweepers more effectively.

Jawbone Duelist shines against decks that are light on removal or when you lead with Skrelv, Defector Mite. It synergizes well with The Seedcore, making it a strong play on turn two if you have the land in hand.

In matchups where you need to tempo your opponent out quickly, playing Jawbone Duelist can be more advantageous. Post-board, Jawbone Duelist can also combo with Aspirant’s Ascent, providing another evasive angle of attack.

Typically, you want to play your fastlands as your first and second lands so that if you draw another one, you can play it on turn three.

However, sometimes this isn’t possible if you haven’t yet decided what color to name with Thran Portal. Ensuring you have each color source is the first priority, but after that, the second blue source is more important than a second white source because you’re more likely to double-cast two blue spells.

A second green source is generally unnecessary unless you’re concerned about Field of Ruin or you need to use The Seedcore as a pump spell.

Consider when to play The Seedcore.

It can fix your mana early, especially for Venerated Rotpriest, so you might not need to set Thran Portal to green. Conversely, you might want to “hide” The Seedcore to encourage your opponent to take a third poison counter, enabling you to corrupt them.

Make sure you minimize the damage from your painlands; remember that Thran Portal‘s damage is unavoidable. If possible, use The Seedcore for colored mana to avoid using your painlands.

Always leave untapped mana in a way that represents the most options possible, typically holding up blue sources and/or The Seedcore. This often means playing a land pre-combat. Hitting your land drops is also important, so you can cast a big March of Swirling Mist if you topdeck it.

An example of messing up my mana sequencing happened here. I played Thran Portal on turn two, named white, to cast Skrelv’s Hive. However, I should have played Mirrex instead and named blue with Portal on turn three. I have many more blue spells than white spells, and most of my white cards are creatures that I can cast off The Seedcore.

• Against other creature decks, setting up The Seedcore + Skrelv’s Hive is great for gaining a ton of life. With Jawbone Duelist, you gain six life.
• To play around Gix’s Command or Glistening Deluge, use The Seedcore to save your creature.
• Generally, play sorcery-speed spells on your second main phase and slow-roll The Seedcore to hide information. However, you can play them pre-combat if you have hit corrupt, or if Jawbone Duelist’s first strike damage will put them to three poison counters.
• Skrelv’s Hive + Mirrex is a powerful combination against midrange/control decks, producing two bodies per turn. Adding The Seedcore can make combat a nightmare for your opponent, as you can attack through creatures like Tidebinder Mage and Restless Anchorage.
• Against Preacher of the Schism, intentionally take damage from your painlands and Skrelv, Defector Mite to prevent them from making tokens with the vampire.

We have lethal here as we can March of Swirling Mist our two creatures (six poison), then on our turn, give Venerated Rotpriest protection from red and attack (eight poison). We can then play Fading Hope on our own creature (nine poison), and with it on the stack, Serum Snare our own creature (ten poison + proliferate).

We have lethal here. End of turn, cast March of Swirling Mist with X=4 (exiling our Augury), and target our three creatures (five poison) plus their Glissa Sunslayer (remove blocker). On our turn, attack with our creatures (eight poison), then Serum Snare one of our creatures (nine poison + proliferate). When we have March in hand, think carefully as we can put together wins out of nowhere like this.

Depending on their list, you may want to bring in Slaughter Singer, Spell Pierce or Aspirant’s Ascent, and cut Bring the Ending or Annex Sentry.

Slaughter Singer is good if they have multiple Pest Control, Spell Pierce is good if they have Wedding Announcement/Wandering Emperor/Virtue of Loyalty.

Aspirant’s Ascent is good if they have four Cut Downs, Bring the Ending is good if they have Gix’s Command, Annex Sentry is good if they don’t have four Cut Downs.

• The plan is simple: you want to out-tempo them if you can. Their card quality is higher, and you don’t want to let them snowball with Raffine, Scheming Seer. Use your bounce spells aggressively and keep the board clear.
• Pre-board, they don’t have big haymakers that punish us for playing a slow game, as long as they don’t have Raffine. Therefore, you can go wide if you need to, which beats both their creatures and spot removal. Skrelv’s Hive + Mirrex is perfect for this. However, if they have Raffine, you need to play more aggressively/tempo-orientated, or else they will kill you.
• Think carefully about what they do, as you can often figure out what they have. After the first few turns, you should have a good idea of what their hand looks like.
• Often you’ll opt to bounce the creature that is attacking and targeted by Raffine rather than Raffine itself to be more mana-efficient and avoid paying ward.
• Prioritize playing Crawling Chorus/Skrelv, Defector Mite over Venerated Rotpriest, and try to play the latter with a bounce spell for protection. However, on the draw, you may want to play Rotpriest on turn one as it can attack through Deep-Cavern Bat on turn two.

• Getting to three poison ASAP is key as turning on The Seedcore is crucial.
• Post-board, it gets harder because they have Pest Control. It’s difficult to play around it as it’s one-sided and only two mana. You can’t really afford to play around it because you then give them too much time to build a board. The best way to play around it is with Venerated Rotpriest + a bounce spell, so you can either bounce a blocker at the end of their turn to set up an attack, or bounce the Rotpriest in response to the sweeper. Alternatively, just play to the board and hope for the best.
• They have a difficult time killing Skrelv, Defector Mite as it doesn’t die to Go for the Throat.
• Against Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal, play your lands as you generally rather they draw a card than make a 1/1 (unless you’re in a spot where you lose if they draw a specific card).
• If they play Wedding Announcement, you can use Serum Snare to bounce it before they reach the end step and make a token. You can also proliferate on Wedding Announcement so they get fewer tokens.
• Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire and Otawara, Soaring City get around the protection from Skrelv as they are colorless.

• Pre-board is extremely tough, but post-board things get better. Doorkeeper Thrull and Aspirant’s Ascent are great in the matchup.
• Mulligan aggressively for a good hand. You need a hand with Skrelv, Defector Mite + Jawbone Duelist or Venerated Rotpriest + March of Swirling Mist to have a chance.
• We generally lose if they have a turn two Knight-Errant of Eos or a turn three Imodane’s Recruiter. If they don’t, try to set up a March of Swirling Mist (with or without Venerated Rotpriest). They can’t interact well with March (and to some extent Rotpriest), which is our main edge in this board-centric matchup.
• They hardly interact with Skrelv + Jawbone Duelist, but they are good at putting different colored creatures into play, making this less effective.

• Many of their significant plays involve tapping a large portion of their board (Knight, Warden, Recruiter). Use this opportunity to bounce/phase out their blockers and set up an attack, but be cautious of their counter-attack.
• Getting to three poison is key as turning on The Seedcore and Skrelv’s Hive is crucial.
• Post-board, Aspirant’s Ascent can set up big swings with Venerated Rotpriest or Jawbone Duelist and protects your creature from Case of the Gateway Express.
• The Seedcore can help play around End the Festivities.
• Gleeful Demolition can kill Skrelv, Defector Mite, and Annex Sentry, which comes up often.
• Case of the Gateway Express can kill Venerated Rotpriest without them getting a poison counter.

• Pressure them with two or three creatures while holding up a counterspell or March of Swirling Mist for their sweeper.
• Ignore Up the Beanstalk and Topiary Stomper. Hold your counters for Temporary Lockdown, Depopulate/Sunfall, Archangel of Wrath, Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Herd Migration.
• Bouncing Temporary Lockdown with Serum Snare at the end of your opponent’s turn to set up an attack is good. If you cast it with the trigger on the stack, you won’t lose your Mite tokens, but just make sure they can’t re-cast it straight away.
• Against the Ancient Cornucopia version, you can exile the namesake card with Annex Sentry.

• Hands with multiple one-drops are the best.
• Be cautious of The Wandering Emperor. Avoid attacking with Venerated Rotpriest into four open mana to prevent losing it without dealing poison counters.
• Use Serum Snare to set up a lethal attack by bouncing Temporary Lockdown.
• Fading Hope can bounce Restless Anchorage, Serum Snare cannot.

• The matchup plays out with both sides having draws that are difficult to beat. For Temur, Aftermath Analyst on turn two into Nissa, Resurgent Animist on turn three is hard to beat. For Toxic, any hand with creatures on turn one/two followed by well-timed blue interaction is strong.
• Toxic is slightly favored as you have more “good” draws, but when you both have average draws, Temur tends to be favored due to higher average card quality and less concern about flooding in longer games.

• Try to out-tempo them as hard as you can and prevent them from setting up.
• Bounce Nissa, Resurgent Animist in response to her first trigger to stop them from gaining additional mana or fetching an elemental creature.
• If choosing between bouncing Aftermath Analyst or Nissa, Resurgent Animist, you generally bounce Nissa as she can generate more value, while Analyst bringing back tapped lands is less effective.
• When using March of Swirling Mist to protect your creatures against Ill-Timed Explosion, make sure they discard with it first.

• Hold Skrelv’s Hive until your opponent has three poison counters, so you can start gaining life immediately. Your best bet is to set up Hive + The Seedcore to gain lots of life, so try to hit three poison counters as soon as possible.
• You can’t out-tempo them as their creatures are bad to bounce since they are all cheap and have haste.
• If they have a flipped Kumano Faces Kakkazan in play, your Crawling Chorus dying won’t give you a token.
• Mishra’s Foundry and tokens from Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance are colorless and can block through a Skrelv-protected creature.
• Post-board, you need to play around End the Festivities.

• Crawling Chorus, Skrelv’s Hive, and Mirrex are your best cards in the matchup. A resolved Skrelv’s Hive on turn two is basically unbeatable for them.
• Interfere with their Memory Deluge turn.
• Do not overextend into Deadly Cover-Up.

• Unlike the Esper Midrange  matchup, you can’t let the game go long, as you’ll lose to Slogurk, the Overslime + Channel lands or Inti, Seneschal of the Sun + Rona, Herald of Invasion.
• Take advantage of their clunkiness. Out-tempo them as hard as you can and hope they stumble due to their mana base.
• Use your bounce spells aggressively, since their creatures always block well. They will struggle to double-cast due to their mana base being poor.
• Getting to corrupt ASAP is key, as turning on The Seedcore is big.
• Often, you’ll deal the first six to eight poison counters via tempo, then finish by going wide or setting up Venerated Rotpriest.

• Post-board, you’ll need to play around Glistening Deluge. You’re happy to play Annex Sentry even if there’s nothing to exile to have a threat that doesn’t die to Glistening Deluge or Go for the Throat.
• Don’t use Serum Snare to bounce Slogurk, the Overslime if it can bounce itself, as you won’t get to proliferate.
• Boseiju, Who Endures is very good against us. It hits Skrelv’s Hive, The Seedcore, Annex Sentry, Skrelv, Defector Mite, Mirrex and it doesn’t trigger Venerated Rotpriest.

• Pre-board is straight forward – go wide against their spot removal and clunky creatures.
• Slow-roll your Venerated Rotpriest and try to play it with protection up.
• Use your bounce spells in such a way to maximize tempo on their creatures.
• If the board stalls, your best bet is to win via setting up a March of Swirling Mist.
• Post-board, be aware of their sweepers and play around them accordingly.
• You can use The Seedcore to grow your creatures out of Gix’s Command range.

• Venerated Rotpriest is the most important card in the matchup.
• The bounce spells aren’t very good, so it’s generally better to play to the board than to try to out-tempo them, since they don’t block well anyway.
• If they have Skrelv, Defector Mite, play different colored creatures so you can block.
• Slaughter Singer is good as it makes blocking difficult for them. The Seedcore and Aspirant’s Ascent are also both strong in the mirror, as they help you win in combat.

Till next time!

Zen Takahashi

@mtgzen on Twitter 

Zen Takahashi is a seasoned writer and mainstay on the Three for One Trading writing team. He is an avid Eternal player from Auckland, New Zealand and enjoys competing in local Legacy events and playing Old School over webcam with friends.

Previously, he was a Silver Pro for multiple years and his results included five Grand Prix Top 8s, a 27th place at Pro Tour Amonkhet, three consecutive online Regional PTQ wins, and he co-created the Modern Dredge deck.

Nowadays though, he primarily plays Legacy, his favorite format, but he also branches out into Pioneer and Modern.