Deck Tech Tuesday: Bant Rhythm — The Deck That Won Champions Cup Final Kyoto

The deck takes its name from Nature’s Rhythm — a Tarkir: Dragonstorm sorcery that reads {X}{G}{G}: Search your library for a creature card with mana value X or less, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. That alone would be worth the price of admission. But Nature’s Rhythm also has Harmonize — a new keyword that lets you recast the spell from your graveyard by tapping your own creatures to reduce the generic cost.

In practice, this means that once you’ve cast Nature’s Rhythm once, your board of mana creatures becomes a second casting of the spell. Tapping a Llanowar Elves or a Gene Pollinator reduces the Harmonize cost, letting you chain creature after creature onto the battlefield. This is the engine that makes the deck tick.

The deck runs a full playset of Llanowar Elves — the one-mana dork that has been warping Standard formats for decades. Alongside four copies of Badgermole Cub and four Gene Pollinator, the deck can regularly land a Nature’s Rhythm on turn two or three. The ramp creatures also double as Harmonize fuel, turning them from acceleration into tutoring mana as the game progresses.

Brightglass Gearhulk is a four-mana 4/4 with first strike and trample that, when it enters the battlefield, searches your library for up to two artifact, creature, or enchantment cards with mana value 1 or less and puts them into your hand. In Bant Rhythm, this mainly means fetching two copies of Llanowar Elves — instantly refilling your ramp package and setting up future Harmonize activations. Ma Noah included a single copy of Unable to Scream specifically to expand the options available when Gearhulk enters, giving the deck extra flexibility against problematic permanents.

The Blue splash is doing real work. Quantum Riddler — a 4/6 flying Sphinx at five mana — draws a card when it enters and then provides extra card draw whenever you’re running low. Its Warp ability lets you cast it from your hand for an alternate cost, giving the deck a surprise threat. Meanwhile, Mockingbird is a deceptively powerful clone effect: for {X}{U}, this 1/1 bird enters as a copy of any creature on the battlefield with mana value X or less. In a deck that routinely has multiple large creatures in play, Mockingbird clones a Craterhoof for a lethal swing or copies a Brightglass Gearhulk for yet another search trigger.

It all comes together when Craterhoof Behemoth hits the battlefield. The eight-mana 5/5 with haste gives every creature you control +X/+X and trample, where X equals the number of creatures you control. After a few turns of chaining Nature’s Rhythm triggers, you’re likely attacking with five to eight creatures, each of them suddenly enormous. Most opponents cannot survive a Craterhoof trigger. It’s one of Magic’s most satisfying “I win” moments — and Nature’s Rhythm ensures you can find it consistently.

Mainboard (60)

Creatures (25)

4 Llanowar Elves
4 Badgermole Cub
4 Gene Pollinator
4 Spider Manifestation
2 Brightglass Gearhulk
2 Ouroboroid
4 Quantum Riddler
1 Craterhoof Behemoth

Spells (12)

4 Nature’s Rhythm
4 Multiversal Passage
3 Seam Rip
1 Unable to Scream

Other (1)

1 Keen-Eyed Curator
3 Mockingbird

Lands (22)

4 Starting Town
4 Temple Garden
4 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hushwood Verge
1 Meltstrider’s Resolve
4 [Basic Forests / Fetches]

Sideboard (15)

3 Sage of the Skies
2 Oko, Lorwyn Liege
2 Spider-Sense
1 Beza, the Bounding Spring
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Unable to Scream
1 Soul-Guide Lantern
1 Focus Fire
2 Rest in Peace
1 Insidious Fungus

Key Matchup Tips

vs. Aggro (Momo White, Boros): Bring in Sage of the Skies for blocking and Beza to stabilize. Seam Rip in the main can handle early threats.

vs. Control: Oko, Lorwyn Liege provides a resilient threat that’s hard to answer at instant speed. Disdainful Stroke tags their sweepers and counterspells.

vs. Graveyard decks: Rest in Peace out of the board is your answer. Soul-Guide Lantern handles spot removal if they’re using the yard more selectively.