Written by Mitchell F.

Premodern is such a diverse format. Of course, there are the tier decks — Phyrexian Dreadnought, Terravore strategies, and Fireblast that are sure to play at the top tables, but there remains plenty of room for rogue archetypes to flourish.

Strategies that feature a solid plan and a competent, practiced pilot can weather whatever the format throws at them. What’s more, there are competitive ways to attack the metagame from a new angle, or casting fun cards that don’t often see as much love.

Double, Double, Toil, & Trouble

Brewing has always been one of Magic: The Gathering’s (MTG) aspects that appeals to me most, whether it is my creation or someone else’s invention.

I Play Magic. Dec. 24, 2022

I came across this YouTube video a few years ago. Master Apothecary seemed fun to build around. It brought me back to my early days of preventing damage with Samite Healers and Alabaster Potions.

Mono [W] Clerics are relatively inexpensive, especially when opting for the later printings. I had seen the more aggressive Mono [B] lists, but those didn’t appeal to me in the same way.

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The more Death & Taxes (DnT) approach, with an “I win button” via Daru Spiritualist and Shaman en-Kor’s infinite life gain combination with Starlit Sanctum, sealed the deal. I bought the deck and played games with friends on weekends. Mono [W] Clerics felt competitive, more than a joke deck for fun.

A small local tournament was approaching. None of my other brews were working. I put stock [B] [W] Control aside to give Mono [W] Clerics a spin in the competitive arena.

Previous Clerics

Creatures (30)

4 Mother of Runes [W]
4 Weathered Wayfarer [W]
4 Beloved Chaplain [1] [W]
4 Daru Spiritualist [1] [W]
4 Shaman en-Kor [1] [W]
4 Soltari Priest [W] [W]
3 True Believer [W] [W]
3 Master Apothecary [W] [W] [W]

Instants & Sorceries (9)

4 Swords to Plowshares [W]
2 Abolish [1] [W] [W]
1 Reverent Mantra [3] [W]
2 Armageddon [3] [W]

Enchantments (2)

2 Shared Triumph [1] [W]

Lands (19)

12 Plains [W]
3 Starlit Sanctum
2 Secluded Steppe [W]
1 Kor Haven
1 Remote Farm [W] [W]

Sideboard

3 Glowrider [2] [W]
2 Tormod’s Crypt [0]
2 Cursed Scroll [1]
1 Worship [3] [W]
1 Wasteland
1 True Believer [W] [W]
1 Seal of Cleansing [1] [W]
1 Scour [2] [W] [W]
1 Parallax Wave [2] [W] [W]
1 Devoted Caretaker [W]
1 Aura of Silence [1] [W] [W]

Though I can’t Recall how the matches played out, across four rounds, my only loss was to Mono [U] Tide (0-2). This was before Parallax Tide was banned on Jan. 20, 2026.

The other matchups were Dream Halls (2-0), [U] [W] Landstill (2-1), two Sligh (4-1), and a [U] [W] Tron (2-1). There were lucky top decks and good matchups, but this cemented [W] Clerics wasn’t a flash in the pan. It has legs and is worth tuning. Here’s my current list:

Current Clerics

Creatures (29)

4 Mother of Runes [W]
4 Weathered Wayfarer [W]
4 Beloved Chaplain [1] [W]
4 Daru Spiritualist [1] [W]
4 Shaman en-Kor [1] [W]
4 Soltari Priest [W] [W]
3 True Believer [W] [W]
2 Master Apothecary [W] [W] [W]

Instants & Sorceries (8)

4 Swords to Plowshares [W]
2 Abolish [1] [W] [W]
2 Armageddon [3] [W]

Enchantments (3)

3 Shared Triumph [1] [W]

Lands (20)

13 Plains [W]
3 Starlit Sanctum
2 Secluded Steppe [W]
1 Wasteland
1 Remote Farm [W] [W]

Sideboard

3 Glowrider [2] [W]
2 Paladin en-Vec [1] [W] [W]
1 Cursed Scroll [1]
1 Worship [3] [W]
1 Kor Haven
1 Tormod’s Crypt [0]
1 Seal of Cleansing [1] [W]
1 Phyrexian Furnace [1]
1 Circle of Protection Black [1] [W]
1 Enlightened Tutor [W]
1 Reprisal [1] [W]
1 Aura of Silence [1] [W] [W]

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Why Play Clerics?

The deck feels like the kin of Legacy DnT. Sometimes, it can aggro opponents out. More often, it presents annoying threats that disrupt the opponent’s game plan, present an unblockable clock, or threaten an infinite life combo.

[W] Clerics can grind through removal via Weathered Wayfarer’s incremental advantage when the board is gummed up. Since Clerics hold the ground so well, holding back the infinite life combo pieces applies tension for the opponent to become more susceptible to Armageddon.

Weathered Wayfarer by Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt

Parallax Tide is no longer Premodern’s mass-land-destruction boogeyman. Various Terrageddon strategies have assumed that mantle, but Clerics leverage Armageddon just as well. While Armageddon doesn’t grow any of the clerics’ power, they are cheap threats that recover a winning position quickly.

[W] Clerics are naturally strong against Duress. The infinite life combo with Shaman en-Kor and Daru Spiritualist shuts the door against most of the format. True Believer brunt the decks that can beat infinite life.

This deck rarely struggles with its colors, but drawing multiple Starlit Sanctums can be awkward. Despite that, [W] Clerics do not typically falter due to missing a color or taking too much damage from Pain Lands.

Rogue decks like [W] Clerics also have brewer’s advantage. The opponent is unlikely to have a plan against it in game one and won’t have a sideboard plan prepared. Playing odd cards people don’t often see can lead to misplays you can exploit (e.g., Daru Spiritualist against damage-based removal).

My current list reflects choices for my local meta. There is plenty of space to tune to your needs. There are other playable Clerics not in my list, as well as other, more typical good white cards.

Clerics Core

Weathered Wayfarer, Mother of Runes, Daru Spiritualist, Shaman en-Kor, and Master Apothecary are the bread and butter.

The two combo creatures speak for themselves; the deck would be significantly less dynamic without the infinite life combo. Beyond the combo, Master Apothecary and Shared Triumph, a two-mana anthem, are the power-level draws to [W] Clerics. With a little setup, Master Apothecary can hold down the board and effectively lock out Burn.

Mother of Runes and Weathered Wayfarer are incredible one-drops. Mother of Runes protects threats and lock pieces so efficiently as to make the game entirely about her. Weathered Wayfarer can tutor Starlit Sanctum for the combo, utility lands to stunt the opponent, or pseudo card draw via cycling lands. It sets up Armageddon and then helps rebuild afterward. It can even thin the deck in longer games to improve draws. Weathered Wayfarer does the heavy lifting in any game that doesn’t revolve around combat.

The rest of the creature suite is straightforward. Beloved Chaplain locks up the ground against creatures and chips in. Soltari Priest is a reliable clock with protection from a relevant removal color — if black is more popular, Soltari Monk can fill the same role.

Finally, True Believer stops discard, edict effects, and Oath of Druids from triggering. Swords to Plowshares is the best creature removal spell in the format.

Abolish could be Seal of Cleansing or Disenchant. An in-hand Plains isn’t always available early. Since you always want two white sources on board as quickly as possible, there can be tension against deploying Plains. Abolish is a hedge against the fast Phyrexian Dreadnought draws to play around Daze. Weathered Wayfarer can tutor for a Plains to pitch to Abolish.

Sideboard Talk

The sideboard seems scattered, admittedly experimental. The idea is that the Enlightened Tutor serves as a virtual second or third copy. Glowrider is no Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, but it does a decent enough impression.

Paladin en-Vec is not a cleric, but in some ways, that is beneficial since every black sideboard has some copies of Engineered Plague. Shared Triumph offsets an Engineered Plague, but it is backbreaking when triumph isn’t shared.

The rest of the sideboard is typical, save for the Cursed Scroll and Kor Haven. Cursed Scroll taps into direct damage for games that drag out or recurring removal against other small creature strategies. Kor Haven buys time to find permanent solutions against Phyrexian caDreadnought, Terravore, and Psychatog.

Matchups

Sligh

[W] Clerics excel against Sligh. I barely sideboard for it.

Goblins

The Goblins matchup is strong aside from the busted Goblin Lackey draws.

Black

[W] Clerics struggle against flyers like Hypnotic Specter. I’ve seen lists run Exalted Angels to combat that issue. The current popularity of black and Hypnotic Specter is my rationale for Circle of Protection Black in the sideboard.

The Rock

Playing against the Rock can be a struggle, depending on how many Pernicious Deeds they have; even with four, it’s challenging but not unwinnable.

Enchantress

I haven’t had the opportunity to test against Enchantress, but I suspect it’s close. I’d expect Glowrider to pull its weight, but the matchup might require Serenity, Cleansing Meditation, or Nova Cleric.

Standstill

If I expected UW Standstill or other control, I would Consider adding an Armageddon to the sideboard.

Elves

The worst matchup, unfortunately, is Elves. They go wider faster, and mono- [W] lacks the removal to slow them down. The matchup is a race to the infinite life combo.

Other Card Considerations

Cards I haven’t tried yet but are on the shortlist are Mishra Factory, so Weathered Wayfarer can tutor a threat, and a Caves of Koilos to drain with Starlit Sanctum’s [B] ability slowly.

I am constantly tinkering with the deck. It is so much fun to play and think about. In another tournament or two, it might look different. I hope you Consider taking [W] Clerics for a spin and find the games as fun and interactive as I have.