I just finished a semifinals run in the 2025 Dance Party League with, of all things, Naya Zoo. This was one of my most fun and expectedly strong League performances, so I wanted to document the event and share thoughts on the deck while it’s still fresh in my mind.

Background

When we started running local MS monthlies a few years ago, I wanted to build some new decks so that I wouldn’t be Sligh Player Number 4 and turn people off of the format. That started with Counter Rebels, and then Zoo. Ty Thomason is one of my favorite deck designers and played Zoo in a league a few years ago so I modified his list off his suggestions and tried it out as a fun back-pocket deck.

In my first outing I went 3-0 and was convinced Zoo was great. Over the next two months, I went 0-3 and 1-2. Fickle mage that I am, I wrote the deck off as cute and bad.

Late last year, I began selling off a large chunk of my collection to both pare down and fund a Timetwister. Naya Zoo was on the chopping block . . .

. . . and fortunately, I didn’t have any takers! So if I couldn’t get rid of the cards, that meant I needed to play them.

League Report

I hope this won’t be the only tournament report on this league, because the Top 8 was spicy and I’d love to get some other players’ perspectives.

Here’s the 75 I played:

Round 1: Andrew Webb - Parfait Oath

  • Round 1 of the league coincided with our monthly MS tournament in Austin. That night I played Counter Rebels to a crushing 1-3 finish, the only win being a bye! Immediately after Webb and I grabbed a table for our league match.
  • Game 1: I had no idea what Webb was on, but when he opened with Diamond + Land Tax I put him on his Tax Tog deck he’s pioneered. However, he quickly after assembled Land Tax and Ivory Tower, and I scooped. When it was apparent I couldn’t keep up with the life gain, I scooped.
  • Game 2: After two hands without lands I kept Savannah Lions, Seal of Cleansing x2, Land x2. As far as 5-card hands go against Parfait, you could do a lot worse. However, I drew 5 lands in a row while Webb got his engine assembled. It was late on a worknight at this point, so I conceded.
  • Vibe Check: An inauspicious start to the league! You never like to begin an event with a loss, but it’s especially psychologically hard in a 6-week league, where you know you’ll have to spend the next month trying to battle back.
  • Match Record: 0-2
  • League Record: 0-1

Round 2: Tim Baran – OathStill

  • Tim is based in the Midwest, so I set up my webcam in my garage. It was still cold in Austin and I had an oatmeal stout while we played.
  • Game 1: I fell into the trap of keeping 7 cards where the only land was a single Gemstone Mine: I was too excited by seeing multiple Lions and a Rancor. I quickly used up all the gem counters and didn’t draw another land, so didn’t cast more than 3 spells. Dumb aggro player!
  • Game 2: I led on a Lion and proceeded to draw 4 different Disenchant effects, removal for Tim’s manlands, and more threats. This was the first match showcasing what good Zoo hands are capable of: a blazingly fast clock with perfect spot answers.
  • Game 3: Tim mulled to 5, while I kept a hand with Jackal Pup, Plow, REB, and Wax/Wane. I continued drawing action, and he died pretty quickly.
  • Vibe Check: I felt pretty good coming out of this match – you’re always happy to beat Oath when you’re a creature deck. In the postboard games my deck served up exactly what I needed at the right moment – lots of timely Plows, Seals, and Wanes.
  • Match Record: 2-1
  • League Record: 1-1

Round 3: Rajah James - Yang Burn

  • It had been a while since Rajah and I played: he’s the Vintage Champ, so we’re usually on opposite ends of the standings! Earlier in the league Rajah mentioned he was on Burn, so I was nervous: the last time he played it he had an undefeated run in the swiss, and his list featured maindeck Cave In and Price of Progress against my deck’s 1-toughness creatures and 20 nonbasics.
  • Game 1: I lucked into a hand with 0 painlands that put 2 Lions on the board – already the best I can ask for. Rajah and I threw a Chain of Plasma back and forth, with me hitting him for 6. Unfortunately for him I had also drawn double Bolt, which killed him before he could kill me.
  • Game 2: I kept Fanatic, Lion, Rancor, Absolute Law, Bolt, and 2 Lands – quite strong against him. Rajah opened on Seal of Fire, which he burned on my turn 1 Fanatic. On turn 2 I made Absolute Law, then on turn 3 made a Pro-Red 4/1 Trampling Lion. This was already very scary, but I had also drawn 2 more Bolts in the meantime, so I had lethal very quickly.
  • Vibe Check: Going into the match I thought I was heavily unfavored, so a decisive win in 2 was invigorating. I felt bad for Rajah: not only were my draws absurdly good, he also never saw a Cave In or Price of progress.
  • Match Record: 2-0
  • League Record: 2-1

Round 4: Takuya Kawakubo - Esper Shadowmage

  • Our Japanese contingent probably has the best win-rate of all our players, and if I get paired against one of them I get nervous. Takuya’s no exception: he’s Top 8’d many of the leagues he’s joined. I wasn’t sure what to put him on – in the past he’s played Slivers and Bant Threshold, so I figured I should prioritize hands with Plow and hope for the best.
  • Game 1: I kept a 1-lander, but Takuya’s deck was slow midrange control and couldn’t punish me for it. Once I drew another land the game became threat after threat, and Takuya was stuck on the back foot.
  • Game 2: I kept Pup, Legionnaire, Winter Orb x2, and Land x3. Normally I don’t love keeping 3 lands in a 7 card hand, but I felt that Winter Orb was my best card in the matchup, so having redundancy was good. This worked out well: I drew lands, removal, and threats in the right order, and he could never get anything going.
  • Vibe Check: prior to this round I felt like my deck was overperforming against terrible pairings – being on a weenie deck with painlands, Oath and Burn sounded terrible. At this point, my mindset started to shift: Takuya’s deck is probably my absolute best matchup, but even the others weren’t as bad as I originally thought. The thing I realized at this point is that other than Rajah, no one’s decks were punishing my weaknesses (painlands, small creatures, Wastelandable manabase). Add to that that I kept drawing draw hot, and my confidence started to grow.
  • Match Record: 2-0
  • League Record: 3-1

Round 5: Patrick Vincent – Landstill

  • I’ve played more Magic against Pat than probably anyone else, which has included tons of Sligh vs Landstill. He’s gotten to be very adept at beating me with Landstill, so I was nervous for this match. On paper I should be favored – Winter Orb Aggro is objectively bad for UW Control – but I could picture all types of Powder Keg, Wrath, Plow, Angel, Humility, and Decree hands that would ruin me. We decided to play our match at the March monthly MS event, in which I went 0-2 drop on Rebels – it’s Round 1 all over again!
  • Game 1: I was on the play and kept 2 Lions, 2 lands, and 3 removal spells. This lined up perfectly: Pat kept a hand based off 2 Factory, and when I was able to kill both with Plow/Bolt, he could never really recover.
  • Game 2: I kept a hand with threats and Winter Orb x2. I resolved them and attacked him down to 4 life. He tapped out for an Exalted Angel, but I had a Fanatic and Bolt to finish him off before he could untap with it.
  • Vibe Check: The deck has drawn absurdly hot 8 games in a row, and I start to think there might be something here. I also learned that Patrick was experimenting with cutting Wastelands for Dust Bowls, contributing yet again to the meta not punishing my greed.
  • Match Record: 2-0
  • League Record: 4-1

Round 6: Lorien Elleman – Enchantress

  • Lorien’s another fearsome player who has won multiple leagues on different decks, so I didn’t know what to expect. It was also daylight savings, making everything feel wonky. I opened a Hopadillo and hoped for the best.
  • Game 1: Lorien led on a Wild Growth, so right away I knew what was up. I did Zoo stuff and got him near lethal, but he got his engine online and assembled Solitary Confinement + Sterling Grove. I needed at least 2 Wanes and had 0, so I scooped.
  • Game 2: I had a very fast start but Lorien kept a defensive hand that slowed me down a lot, throwing away Solitary Confinement as Fog and then assembling Humility + Squirrel Nest for blockers. However, Winter Orb slowed him down, so he had to use his one untap every turn on making squirrels, not casting spells. I also stuck 2 Rancors to threats, which thanks to layering still grants trample under Humility, so I could get damage in over the Squirrels.
  • Game 3: I mulled to 5, keeping Lion, Rancor, and Simoon. I was able to Simoon his Enchantress and then drew a timely Wane for his Solitary, so I got across the line without him going off.
  • Vibe Check: I had all the tools to beat Enchantress, but it still felt like with other draws I could have been completely steamrolled, so winning the match felt great. I was also about to leave for spring break in Paris, adding to the good energy.
  • Match Record: 2-1
  • League Record: 5-1

**Interim: Top 8 began playing out while I was in Paris. Lorien and I were paired up again for the quarterfinals, which I felt OK about – I knew I could win the matchup. On my side of the bracket Pete Simpson’s Zombie Infestation/Living Death deck defeated Kai on Mono U Stiflenaight. On the other side of the bracket, Webb (Parfait) defeated Mike Simpson (Goblins), while Matt Perlman’s Pink Tax Rack defeated Tweedy’s Mirari’s Wake Control.

Vibe Check: While I wasn’t sure what to think of my quarters and semis opponents (powerful, fast combo, but again not punishing my weaknesses), the finals was going to be sketchy for me either way: it would either be Parfait Oath, or Devastating Dreams Tax Rack. To win, I’d just need to draw well and my opponents to not draw well, which had been the story of the league so far!

Quarters: Lorien Elleman – Enchantress

  • I was back from Paris and Lorien was back from GaryCon, so we set up on a Monday night for our rematch. I cracked an Icy Boys and got ready to manifest some Disenchant effects.
  • Game 1: I kept 2 threats, 2 Rancors, a Wane, and 2 lands – probably the best hand I could ask for, and I was on the play! And that’s how it played out – I killed him incredibly quickly while disrupting him. Winning game 1 felt huge.
  • Game 2: I took out 2 Guildmage and 4 Plow, and brought in 2 Simoon and 4 Seal of Cleansing. I assembled a very aggressive board quickly. Lorien made a turn 2 Enchantress into turn 3 Earthcraft, but missed a land drop. I decided to use my Wane on his Earthcraft, figuring it would either limit his mana or prevent him comboing me out of nowhere. Unfortunately, he played a Solitary Confinement with cards to fuel it, shutting down my lethal board and letting him go off.
  • Game 3: My mull to 6 showed me Lion, Wane x 2, Orb, Simoon, and Land x2. I decided to bottom the Simoon rather than Orb and hope it would be the more effective card. On his turn 1 Lorien made a Forest into Exploration into Sanctum, then passed. I Waned the Exploration to make Sanctum tap for 0, which felt strong. On his turn Lorien made another enchantment, which I Waned again and then cast Orb. This was a good position to be in, except that I still only had 1 threat so the clock wasn’t fast. Eventually I drew more threats and got him down to 2, at which point he made a Solitary Confinement. We sweated for a few turns of him drawing off Enchantress and discarding to Solitary, but then I topdecked a Seal of Cleansing, killed Solitary, and attacked for lethal.
  • Vibe Check: 7 Disenchant effects. This deck has served me everything I want, right when I want it.
  • Match Record: 2-1
  • League Record: 6-1

Semis: Pete Simpson – Living Death Zombie Infestation

  • In the 24 hours between our matches I managed to psych myself out about Pete’s deck. Other than Waning a Zombie Infestation, in game 1 there isn’t much I can do against him. And postboard he has access to 4 removal spells, 4 Engineered Plague (solid on Cat), and 2 Dystopia. I made a margarita and reminded myself that if I drew hot and he drew poorly, I could get there.
  • Game 1: Pete was on the play and made a turn 2 Zombie Infestation, discarding Squee x2 and a Krovikan Horror – so much for him drawing poorly! For a few turns I sort of held him off and got in some damage with a Rancored Lion that a Guildmage was giving first strike, but I didn’t see a Wane and eventually he had too many Zombies.
  • Game 2: I cut 1 Guildmage, 2 Plow, and 3 Winter Orb (quite bad vs Lake of the Dead and Peat Bog) and brought in 3 Seal of Cleansing and 3 Tormod’s Crypt. Pete mulled to 4 – maybe him drawing poorly was on the menu! He kept a hand with double Phyrexian Arena to draw back in, but I had a Wane and a Seal for both.
  • Game 3: My 7 is Land x 2, Creature x3, Rancor, and Seal. I waffled on this – it’s fast and handles a weak Zombie Infestation, but is dead to the Laquatus/Living Death combo. After a minute I decided that I didn’t want to lose the league by keeping an inappropriate 7, and to tried to mull to a 6 with Tormod’s. Pete kept his 7 while my 6 was Pup x2, Rancor, and Land x4. I shipped that, and 5 showed me Plow x 2, Seal of Fire x 1, Seal of Cleansing, land x 3 – a hand that can’t win the game and is still dead to the combo. I mulled that, and kept a 4 of Mogg Fanatic, Bolt, Plow, City of Brass. Pete said Swamp go, then Peat Bog go, then Buried Alive for Laquatuses with another Peat Bog, then turn 4 Living Death. I was able to Bolt 1 Laquatus and Plow another, so I didn’t die to the combo, but I was still at 10 with no board against a 6/3. I died.
  • Vibe Check: my luck finally ran out! I wasn’t upset about the loss – I didn’t know what to expect out of the matchup, and after so many matches of my deck delivering the goods, it was bound to happen. Likewise, none of the hands I mulled in game 3 would have beaten what Pete did unless I topdecked a Crypt, so I didn’t really mull myself out of the game.
  • Match Record: 1-2
  • League Record: 6-2

Notes on the Deck

Naya has always been my favorite shard: I think because it lacks Blue and Black – classically the strongest, spikiest colors - only playing GRW has this great underdog feeling. That’s a terrible competitive reason to play a deck, but it was quite rewarding. Sometimes, it’s also just fun to put three 2/1s on the board and see what happens.

6-2 exceeded my expectations, and at times Zoo felt unbeatable, but really this is a meta deck and a lot of luck went into the performance. As I’ve said throughout this report, Zoo has a lot of weaknesses that are easy to exploit. It was extremely improbable that over eight rounds, it never once mattered how much damage my lands did to me or that my guys all die to every piece of removal in the format. This is not me telling you to avoid the deck, but I don’t think Zoo can/should become a big part of the meta.

The big takeaways and plans after the league are:

  • If your opponents can’t punish you, this deck is insane.
  • Wax/Wane and Seal of Cleansing were my MVPs. More broadly, the 12 Lions and all the spells were strong. Rancor is an incredible clock; Plow is always good; the burn is really flexible as both removal and clock; Winter Orbs are punishing against a lot of decks; and the SB cards were all relevant. Couple that with putting 4-6 power on the board by turn 2, and a lot of decks will struggle against your gameplan.
  • Legionnaire, Fanatic, and Guildmage underperformed. I don’t want to overthink this, though, because my matchups were entirely creatureless, and that’s very unlikely.
  • I’m not convinced this deck needs changes. However, the next time I play it I think I will turn the 2 Guildmages into 2 Incinerates – it’s a more flexible card that is live in every match. I am also thinking about replacing Legionnaire with another 2 drop: Wild Mongrel is probably the choice, though River Boa and Mogg Flunkies are fun ideas too.
  • Both Ty and Tweedy have mentioned the idea of adding a 3 drop. I could see a couple Call of the Herd or Anurid Brushhopper being good additions.
  • The Ice Age Pyroblast should really become a Fifth Edition Pyroblast to get more white borders in there.
  • When I register this deck again, I will keep a tracker for how many times I accidentally call Wax/Wane “Wear/Tear.”