Mox Pearls Before Archons

In response to a turn one Mox Pearl I often joke that my opponent is on Shops. I do not know when this started, but it happened a lot. Pearl, Shops, Sphere of Resistance. So it goes.

Mox Pearl is an interesting one. Jeskai wants it. Shops and any Tinker deck wants it. But other than that it gets the shaft. Looking at my price data, my Pearl was the cheapest.

Then along came a 3/3 Orc.

I watched Doomsday players from yesterday's challenge((1/1/2023)). I saw one match where discoverN's opening play was Force of Will on an Archon of Emeria. Their opponent had led on Mox Pearl and Ancient Tomb. discoverN lost the game. But from their turn one Gitaxian Probe, it was clear that countering the Mox Pearl could have won the game. Sure, finding a white source would have opened the Initiative player's hand. But everything was riding on that Pearl.

This is not to shame discoverN. Sphere of Resistance would have hurt. Countering the Mox wouldn't do much of anything if the opponent was on Shops. Games two and three the choice becomes clearer. But countering a turn one Pearl with no other information is now something to consider.

White Initiative has reached 25% of the meta. Doomsday does not need to change its sideboard much, however more copies Force of Negation might help slow down Initative. These also work well on the draw against Shops. Cut Down hits Archon, but Snuff Out might need some testing as well.

Then again, we might not need any new cards in Doomsday. We figure out the right lines, resolve Doomsday and win.

Turn one. Mox Pearl. Resolves?

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Best of luck to everyone playing this weekend!
Remember: Always Be Casting Doomsday.
And thanks! I love you.