<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe|P22|5" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://aurorefolny.com/">Aurore Folny</a></em></p>
<p>Competitive Commander is typically recognized as a tripartite format. Turbo ends games as quickly as it can. Midrange beats turbo by stalling things out into the midgame. Go too long, however, and stax comes in to snag victory from the jaws — or draws, these days — of defeat. It's a classic rock-paper-scissors. Sometimes, however, things get a little extra messy and a fourth contender pops in: cEDH players of the world, it's time to talk about slop.</p>
<h2>What is Slop?</h2>
<p>At its core, slop is what happens when midrange mutates into a deck more concerned with amassing resources than actually closing out the game. Whereas stax focuses on prolonging the game by slowing other players down, slop doesn't actually use any taxing effects or lock pieces; instead, slop slams as many passive engines in play as possible, slowing the game via decision paralysis. If a slop-player's opponents do anything, the slop player profits. Cast a spell? Draw a card. Draw a card? Make a Treasure.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhystic Study"></div></div>
<p>"But wait," I hear you say. "That's just midrange good stuff." Well, you'd be right, if it weren't for the fact that the endgame between these two strategies is markedly different. Classic midrange decks are still altogether proactive decks — tutoring up win conditionss, occasionally sniping an early chance to slam a combo if they can time a proper <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Borne Upon a Wind" href="#" target="_blank">Borne Upon a Wind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Slop, meanwhile, is so concerned with establishing the soft lock of passive engines that nearly all of its win attempts occur only after another player has tried — and failed — to win the game. More often than not, this final push by the slop deck can push a game into extra time (<em>assuming the match is played under tournament conditions</em>), meaning that — unlike midrange or even stax — slop is uniquely positioned to abuse the current structure of tournaments, frequently forcing draws.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Divine Intervention"></div></div>
<h2>Key Cards for Slop</h2>
<h3>Engines</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhystic Study"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mystic Remora"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Smothering Tithe"></div></div>
<p>Starting off with the cards that are ubiquitous to cEDH, you can bet that any and every slop deck is running as many passive engines as their colors allow. This of course means the standard fare like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystic Remora" href="#" target="_blank">Mystic Remora</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but it also means less-universal picks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faerie Mastermind" href="#" target="_blank">Faerie Mastermind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archivist of Oghma" href="#" target="_blank">Archivist of Oghma</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="King T&#039;Challa" href="#" target="_blank">King T&#039;Challa</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. The point here isn't that engine effects are unique to slop — far from it — rather, the sheer density of these effects is greater here than anywhere else.</p>
<h3>Clones</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flash Photography"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirrormade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Clever Impersonator"></div></div>
<p>Next up, ways to clone the engines that have already resolved. While I'd never go so far as to say that any deck is happy to see an opponent resolve a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, slop decks — like with their own engine package — run a critical mass of clone effects so as to ensure that whenever the first engine hits the board (their own or otherwise) they will be ready to copy it.</p>
<h3>Interaction</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Misdirection"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Commandeer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Angel&#039;s Grace"></div></div>
<p>Last but not least, the third substantial deckbuilding change slop takes in comparison to midrange, is its increasingly large pile of interaction. Even <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Disrupting Shoal" href="#" target="_blank">Disrupting Shoal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a rather limited-range free counterspell, is seeing pretty reliable play these days. The reason is simple: use up your early free interaction to push through an engine at all costs, then sit back and watch as the engines draw you the necessary free interaction to stop whoever tries to win before you.</p>
<h2>How Does Slop Win?</h2>
<h3>Faerie Mastermind Combo</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faerie Mastermind"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Smothering Tithe"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Copy Enchantment"></div></div>
<p>Since slop is an archetype and not a particular deck, the actual end-game packages can vary pretty wildly. Red slop decks will of course play <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Underworld Breach" href="#" target="_blank">Underworld Breach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, Dimir slop decks will run some sort of Tainted Fish (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> plus <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Consultation" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Consultation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>/<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tainted Pact" href="#" target="_blank">Tainted Pact</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), etc. However, slop's density of clone effects has granted it one unique combo that will show up in pretty much every Azorius buildout of the archetype: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faerie Mastermind" href="#" target="_blank">Faerie Mastermind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> combo.</p>
<p>This combo works as follows: with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faerie Mastermind" href="#" target="_blank">Faerie Mastermind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in play and two <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s, pay <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to force each player to draw a card. You'll have six total Tithe triggers (two per opposing card drawn), resulting in six Treasures being created. Sacrifice four Treasure to get the mana necessary to repeat the loop, causing each player to draw a card, then you'll get more Treasure, etc. The result is each player draws their deck, which is normally a risky situation, except for the fact that you're playing slop so you can cast an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Angel&#039;s Grace" href="#" target="_blank">Angel&#039;s Grace</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, preventing yourself from dying due to decking out.</p>
<h2>Example Slop Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="RogIshai cEDH Slop" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
*1 Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 An Offer You Can&#039;t Refuse
*1 Angel&#039;s Grace
*1 Borne Upon a Wind
*1 Brain Freeze
*1 Chain of Vapor
*1 Commandeer
*1 Deflecting Swat
*1 Dizzy Spell
*1 Enlightened Tutor
*1 Fierce Guardianship
*1 Flare of Duplication
*1 Flusterstorm
*1 Force of Negation
*1 Force of Will
*1 Gifts Ungiven
*1 Into the Flood Maw
*1 Intuition
*1 Louisoix&#039;s Sacrifice
*1 Mental Misstep
*1 Mindbreak Trap
*1 Misdirection
*1 Mystical Tutor
*1 Orim&#039;s Chant
*1 Pact of Negation
*1 Pyroblast
*1 Red Elemental Blast
*1 Redirect Lightning
*1 Silence
*1 Sink into Stupor // Soporific Springs
*1 Swan Song
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Flash Photography
*1 Gamble
*1 Idyllic Tutor
*1 Infernal Plunge
*1 Jeska&#039;s Will
*1 Rite of Flame
*1 Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation
*1 Wheel of Fortune
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Chrome Mox
*1 Grinding Station
*1 Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond
*1 Lotus Petal
*1 Mana Vault
*1 Mox Amber
*1 Mox Diamond
*1 Mox Opal
*1 Paradise Mantle
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Springleaf Drum
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Archivist of Oghma
*1 Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty
*1 Clever Impersonator
*1 Esper Sentinel
*1 Faerie Mastermind
*1 Hullbreaker Horror
*1 Mockingbird
*1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
*1 Ranger-Captain of Eos
*1 Simian Spirit Guide
*1 Storm-Kiln Artist
*1 Tataru Taru
*1 The Queen of Dale
*1 Valley Floodcaller
*1 Vivi Ornitier
*1 Voice of Victory
*1 Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Copy Enchantment
*1 Gleaming Splendor
*1 Mirrormade
*1 Mystic Remora
*1 Rhystic Study
*1 Smothering Tithe
*1 Underworld Breach
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Arid Mesa
*1 Bloodstained Mire
*1 City of Brass
*1 City of Traitors
*1 Command Tower
*1 Flooded Strand
*1 Gemstone Caverns
*1 Hallowed Fountain
*1 Mana Confluence
*1 Marsh Flats
*1 Misty Rainforest
*1 Otawara, Soaring City
*1 Plateau
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Sea of Clouds
*1 Starting Town
*1 Steam Vents
*1 Tarnished Citadel
*1 Tundra
*1 Volcanic Island
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>And that's slop, folks — the newest contender in the cEDH metagame. Will it become the new midrange, or is this just a hiccup in the otherwise usual swing of things,<em> à la</em> <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/semi-blue-and-the-value-of-interaction-in-cedh">Semi-Blue</a>? Only time will tell, but one thing's for certain: right now, slop's the meta.</p>


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cedh slop

It's Time to Talk About Slop in cEDH