Enter the Clamp: ElfClamp

Enter the Clamp Part One, a Look at the Peasant Format's ElfClamp

Introduction: Mirrodin block left an indelible stamp upon the Peasant Magic format when it introduced two extremely powerful cards, Isochron Scepter, and the dread Skullclamp. For now, we’ll stave off the ‘scepter discussion and focus on the ‘clamp, and its influence upon two of the most interesting, and perhaps powerful, decks in the format.

Two Peasant decks most empowered by the ‘clamp would be the appropriately named ElfClamp and KoboldClamp. Despite a shared inclusion of the ‘clamp, these builds are functionally different beasts. ElfClamp is a combo-aggro deck, while KoboldClamp is purely combo.

Let’s start the discussion off with an analysis of the ElfClamp archetype.

Unique in the format, ElfClamp is an aggro deck in which the chief combo augments its beatdown strategy. Similar to Foodchain Goblins, ElfClamp tries to flood the board with creatures, either through its chief combo enabler (the ‘clamp), or through mana acceleration. Once it combos off, it wins through drawing and playing Concordant Crossroads and through untapping its creatures with Vitalize. When on the kill turn, it can beat for hundreds of points of damage.

While ElfClamp benefits greatly from Skullclamp’s draw engine, it is not wholly reliant upon it. First and foremost, it is an aggressive beat-down deck that accelerates out massive Elf-synergy. As a secondary aspect, the ‘clamp is used to cycle into its key cards. The spine of the ElfClamp offense is Timberwatch Elf, which boosts attacking critters’ power into the realm of the lethal.

Here’s my version (which is heavily based on Chris Morling’s build) of ElfClamp:

// Lands
10 Forest
// Creatures
4 Birchlore Rangers
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Seeker of Skybreak
3 Timberwatch Elf
3 Wirewood Herald
1 Elvish Herder
4 Fyndhorn Elves
4 Multani's Acolyte
4 Priest of Titania
4 Quirion Ranger
// Enchantments
1 Concordant Crossroads
// Spells
4 Vitalize
4 Land Grant
// Artifacts
4 Skullclamp
2 Lotus Petal
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Avoid Fate
SB: 4 Elf Replica
SB: 4 Naturalize
SB: 1 Taunting Elf
SB: 1 Timberwatch Elf
SB: 1 Wirewood Herald

Card Changes: Some of the changes I’ve made are based on observations of Vintage decks—for instance, in Food Chain Goblins, removal cards oftentimes come packed in the sideboard, not main-decked. In that regard, rather than worrying about slowing or halting opponents, this build focuses on blistering speed. For the sake of making it faster, I’ve shifted Naturalize to the sideboard and emphasized elements that help get the combo off the ground more quickly. Of utmost importance are the addition of Concordant Crossroads (in the fifth uncommons slot) and 4 Vitalize, which almost breaks the deck.

Play Mechanics: ElfClamp has two strategies, pure beatdown and then combo, followed by beatdown. Both strategies use mana-Elves, and untap effects, to generate a mana surplus, which is either used to play more Elves, or ‘clamp through its library. In the first scenario, ElfClamp drops as many Elves as possible, hopefully getting a Priest of Titania (which generates enough mana to drop an entire hand) or a Timberwatch on the table before striking for lethal damage. In the second case, it puts a Skullclamp on the table and begins cycling through its creatures before killing with pumped beaters. An ElfClamp variant alternatively use Wild Mongrel combined with the ‘clamp, in which it draws tons of cards and then pitches them to the Mongrel—though, I should note that this is an inferior build because the Mongrel cannot be tutored for, and its creature type is not Elf, thus reducing the efficacy of Timberwatch Elf, Birchlore Ranger, Wirewood Herald and Priest of Titania. Anyway, variants aside, ElfClamp kills on the fourth or fifth turn.

Sideboard: The sideboard is probably debatable, but it includes Elf Replica, which kills enchantments—such as Engineered Plague, Arcane Laboratory and Pestilence. Additionally, not only can it be tutored for, the Replica beats through Circles of Protection and Prismatic Strands. Another crucial sideboard card is Avoid Fate, which negates opponents’ removal attempts. It is important to note that Avoid Fate also protects Skullclamp, which is a priceless advantage.

ElfClamp in the PEZ metagame: This newest build of ElfClamp is capable of pulling off wins against a somewhat wider array of decks within the PEZ field, including CofferKings, White Weenie, Red Burn—however, its sole advantage over other variants hinges upon its increased combo speed, rather than any major changes in deck interaction. While, the deck, pre-board, has become less interactive than before in the hopes that speed can trump opponents’ combo strategies, its post-board performance makes it a tremendous competitor against any well-crafted deck. Here’s a breakdown of its performance so far, against a small number of test decks:

BRU Consultation Affinity: ElfClamp has done well (50-50) against RUB Consultation Affinity builds—though whether it wins is heavily dependent on it drawing Skullclamp. RUBCA is probably the best aggro deck in the format, which speaks volumes about ElfClamp’s quality.

ProsTides: Oftentimes, this matchup goes to whichever deck played first and whether or not ElfClamp is able to get a Skullclamp into play. If both conditions are met, ElfClamp wins—and if not, it loses. While the odds are strictly in favor of ‘Tides, the Elf deck has an excellent chance of winning two out of three games, provided it can get the first game in its corner.

Overall Performance Rating and Potential in PEZ: Drawing strength from its speed and flexibility, ElfClamp is a great deck and it will only become stronger within the format, as the Elf creature type continues to receive support from Wizards. Its weakness against creature removal and lack of disruption against faster combo decks will more than likely hinder its performance within tournaments, as many top-tier decks sport powerful creature removal or are combo-based. It has been suggested that Surge of Zeal and/or Tinder Wall might be good additions, however, lacking a reliable color filtering engine, and Tinder Wall not being an Elf, I'm unsure of this proposition. If anyone has any additional comments, I would love to hear them.

Next Deck: Kobold Clamp.