[card]Olivia Voldaren[/card] is one of my favorite creatures in the Magic: the Gathering Standard environment. I had a hunch that rotation would bring favorable conditions for Olivia to see competitive play, and that seems to have happened. Ten copies were played in four of the top 16 decks at StarCityGames Open Providence (SCGPROV) last weekend. I analyzed the cards played in those decks and found more evidence that Olivia’s time has arrived.

Turn-Four Must-Answer

[card]Olivia Voldaren[/card] enters the battlefield as an elite flying threat for four mana. Only forty-three cards played in the top 16 decks at SCGPROV are capable of killing or trading with Olivia in combat. Sixteen of those cards were vampires, [card]Falkenrath Aristocrat[/card] (11) and [card]Vampire Nighthawk[/card] (5), over whom Olivia has a certain sway.

If you untap with [card]Olivia Voldaren[/card] and have two red mana available, things can get out of hand quickly. Olivia can do one damage to another creature twice and grow to a 5/5 thanks to two +1/+1 counters, at which point only [card]Angel of Serenity[/card] (10) and Vampire Nighthhawk can win or trade in combat.

Olivia can be played on turn three with the help of Farseek or another mana accelerator, but she also shines in the late game when you can play her and use the 1R ability right away to add +1/+1 counters.

Control Role

[card]Olivia Voldaren[/card] is not only a win condition but also helps your deck with creature control. Both activated abilities are very strong. For 1R Olivia kills the following creatures played in the top 16 decks at SCGPROV (the number of copies played is in parentheses):

• [card]Gravecrawler[/card] (12)
• [card]Avacyn’s Pilgrim[/card] (12)
• [card]Arbor Elf[/card] (10)
• [card]Snapcaster Mage[/card] (10)
• Spirit tokens from [card]Lingering Souls[/card] (10) and [card]Midnight Haunting[/card] (2)
• [card]Thalia, Guardian of Thraben[/card] (8)
• [card]Blood Artist[/card] (8)
• [card]Rakdos Shred-Freak[/card] (6)
• [card]War Falcon[/card] (4)
• [card]Forge Devil[/card] (3)
• [card]Dryad Militant[/card] (3)
• [card]Lyev Skyknight[/card] (2)

Several other creatures start with one toughness but have abilities that make removing them from the battlefield more difficult, a big part of why they are played to begin with. [card]Falkenrath Aristocrat[/card] (11) and [card]Lotleth Troll[/card] (4) for example can remain on the battlefield despite taking damage. Their abilities require an additional investment of resources, either mana or a creature card to discard. Olvia Voldaren allows you to force your opponent to spend those resources, assuming they have them available, without the use of a removal card. [card]Stromkirk Noble[/card] (4) and [card]Champion of the Parish[/card] (4) also start with one toughness but can quickly grow out of range of a 1R bite from Olivia.

Olivia Voldaren’s second ability will be used far less frequently, but given enough mana, it is an effective way to deal with an opposing [card]Thragtusk[/card], [card]Geralf’s Messenger[/card], or [card]Huntmaster of the Fells[/card]. For 4BBR, spent over one or two turns, Olivia can turn your opponent’s scariest creatures into a vampire and then a valued comrade. If the creature is already a vampire, say a [card]Falkenrath Aristocrat[/card], [card]Vampire Nighthawk[/card], or [card]Stromkirk Noble[/card], successful recruitment costs only 3BB.

The Time Has Come

Olivia Voldaren’s time in Standard has come. Jund Midrange decks are already including Olivia in a small but powerful suite of creatures. Elliot Volchesky finished in third place in Providence had four copies in his deck.

[Deck title= “Jund Midrange by Elliot Volchesky”]
[Creatures]
*4 Huntmaster of the Fells
*4 Olivia Voldaren
*4 Thragtusk
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
*4 Pillar of Flame
*3 Bonfire of the Damned
*2 Abrupt Decay
*3 Dreadbore
*4 Farseek
*3 Rakdos’s Return
*2 Liliana of the Veil
*3 Rakdos Keyrune
[/Spells]
[Land]
*4 Blood Crypt
*4 Dragonskull Summit
*1 Forest
*1 Kessig Wolf Run
*1 Mountain
*4 Overgrown Tomb
*4 Rootbound Crag
*1 Swamp
*4 Woodland Cemetery
[/Land]
[Sideboard]
*2 Dead Weight
*2 Deathrite Shaman
*2 Duress
*2 Grafdigger’s Cage
*1 Underworld Connections
*2 Sever the Bloodline
*2 Thundermaw Hellkite
*1 Vraska the Unseen
*1 Staff of Nin
[/Sideboard]
[/Deck]

Elliot played only twelve creatures in this deck, but they are all powerful and can have a substantial impact on the board state. As discussed, [card]Olivia Voldaren[/card] has a big impact as an evasive threat that can become more dangerous over time and single handedly win games, all while helping to control the battlefield. Olivia works well with [card]Huntmaster of the Fells[/card] by providing an effective use of mana without casting spells, allowing the Ravager to come out to play.

As the format develops I think we will see more of Olivia, and in different decks. An aggressive Rakdos deck with Olivia at the top of the curve is one possibility. Another is a Grixis control deck where she can provide some mid-game power and stall for time to let a deck’s late game develop. Olivia could also once again play a role in a Reanimator deck that plays red for [card]Faithless Looting[/card] and black for [card]Griselbrand[/card].

Nick Vigabool (@MrVigabool)