Matchup Mulligan: Dimir ReScaminator

Keep

You don’t need [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]! Cast [[Lotus Petal]], [[Mox Opal]], and then [[Chrome Mox]]. With the Imprint trigger on the stack, cast [[Brainstorm]]. Put [[Echo of Eons]] as the top card. From there, finish resolving Imprint, play [[Commercial District]] and Surveil away the blue sorcery. On the next turn, Flashback [[Echo of Eons]].

Keep

Let’s get one thing clear about this matchup: you can’t beat everything! They have [[Grief]], [[Daze]], [[Wasteland]], [[Force of Will]], and sometimes [[Thoughtseize]] or [[Stifle]] (but less common). It’s crucial to discern what we can and can’t afford to lose to based on the hand; stay flexible and mulligan wisely.

With these seven cards, we’ve decided we lose to [[Force of Will]] but can beat everything else on the play. In game one situations, Dimir ReScaminator does not have main deck copies of [[Force of Negation]], so we can go all-in with a 60 percent chance of success!

Use [[Misty Rainforest]] to tutor [[Underground Sea]], cast [[Dark Ritual]], [[Dark Ritual]], [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Burning Wish]]), and then [[Beseech the Mirror]] floating . If [[Beseech the Mirror]] is countered, we’re a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] away from being back in this game. If [[Beseech the Mirror]] resolves, tutor [[Gaea’s Will]] and win the game!

Keep

You don’t need to be fast! Unlike Grixis Delver, Dimir ReScaminator is not a fast deck. Even with a first turn [[Grief]], there is no additional reach like [[Lightning Bolt]]. The closest thing is [[Orcish Bowmasters]], which can typically be played around. The biggest fear in the matchup is a fast [[Atraxa, Grand Unifier]] off of exactly [[Entomb]]. As mentioned in Hand No. 1, “You can’t beat everything!”

So slow and steady can win the race. It’s better to be slower on the draw as [[Daze]], [[Wasteland]], and [[Grief]] are reduced in effectiveness. The concern for most people would likely be a pair of [[Veil of Summer]] on the draw. Dimir ReScaminator is still a deck with [[Force of Will]] and [[Veil of Summer]] is often on double-duty against discard — it’s actually fine. Let’s make our land drops, tutor some Surveil lands, and not feel pressured to move before the situation calls for it. Be patience!

Mulligan

Don’t be afraid to mulligan! The opposing deck has a lot of interaction and mulliganing versus the discard deck can be scary but this hand loses hard to [[Wasteland]] and pretty much everything else. While [[Commercial District]] does help look for more mana, we can’t protect ourselves with this [[Veil of Summer]] or even Cycle it to draw another card.

Mulligan

“It’s discard proof, right?” Yeah, I guess so. You could try to find a payoff and a protection spell off of [[Undercity Sewers]] + [[Commercial District]] but it seems unlikely. It would almost be better to pray to draw [[Galvanic Relay]]. You’re roughly 43 percent each turn to draw an action spell, which is higher than before, but I would rather leverage the London Mulligan than play this hand out.

Keep

This is great, a consistent hand that can play a longer game. We even have [[Veil of Summer]] for [[Grief]] or [[Force of Will]]. I would likely play [[Bloodstained Mire]] and pass. You could cast [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Ponder]]) as well to play around [[Daze]] if we need to [[Veil of Summer]] on the first turn. Doing so would go down a resource and I would like to [[Brainstorm]] [[Chrome Mox]] back. If they have it all, cool, because losing a [[Ponder]] or [[Brainstorm]] to [[Grief]] plus [[Daze]] would be a fine trade. If an average circumstance happens, we get to [[Brainstorm]] plus [[Bloodstained Mire]] on the second turn.

Keep

“You can’t beat everything!” Having [[Galvanic Relay]] in hand will beat everything we’re concerned with except exactly [[Grief]] on the first turn. Take the chance! Even if the opponent has it, we can tutor [[Undercity Sewers]] or [[Commercial District]] off [[Bloodstained Mire]] to help find another action spell.

Mulligan

In post-board games, almost every Dimir ReScaminator deck sides in two copies of [[Force of Negation]]. This brings the odds to draw a free counterspell effect up to 55 percent. If they mulligan, the odds jump to 79 percent. I often say, “we wouldn’t take those odds at a casino, don’t do it here!” What’s the potential upside? Starting the game on a new seven-card hand with a [[Mox Opal]] in play? The risk is so high and the reward is built into the mulligan system. Don’t make bad decisions.

Keep

People look at any hand with [[Gaea’s Will]] and instantly want to mulligan. But in matchups without a fast clock, it’s perfectly acceptable to Suspend it on the first turn. In fact, this play is even better when you can [[Galvanic Relay]] leading up to it. Additionally, if we avoid [[Grief]], [[Veil of Summer]] can protect [[Gaea’s Will]] — I’m in. Not to mention, the Surveil lands from Murders at Karlov Manor really shine in these types of games.

Keep

This hand is deceptively good. We’re can hardcast [[Song of Creation]] on the play. If it resolves, we discard [[Echo of Eons]] end of turn. This sets up a lot of potential success on the second turn. If [[Song of Creation]] is countered, any discard spell puts [[Echo of Eons]] to the graveyard! Allow the opponent to do the work for us.

Share your answer in the comments below!

I’ll provide my answer in the next Matchup Mulligan. For now, make sure to leave a comment with your thoughts!