Tier roguetempo

4C Threshold

Threshold Tempo

Featured list~$4342Liga Alicante 2026 - 3ª Jornada @ Alicante (Spain)

Overview

"4C Threshold is a blue-based tempo deck that backs cheap, oversized threshold creatures with hard counters and a Winter Orb soft lock. Nimble Mongoose and Werebear become huge once the graveyard fills, while Daze, Counterspell, Portent, and Gush protect them and refuel, and Fire // Ice handles small creatures and draws cards."

Game Plan

Stick a threshold creature like Nimble Mongoose or Werebear early, then ride Counterspell, Daze, and Winter Orb to lock the opponent out while the cheap threat closes the game.

Key Cards

Core engine & flex

Signature

Nimble Mongoose

$0.57

TCG MP CK

City of Brass

$31.89

TCG MP CK

Werebear

$0.37

TCG MP CK

Flooded Strand

$113.52

TCG MP CK

Mental Note

$8.71

TCG MP CK

Daze

$4.27

TCG MP CK

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Sample Decklists

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Liga Alicante 2026 - 3ª Jornada @ Alicante (Spain)

1st PlaceFeb 14, 2026

Mario Espinosa

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Mario Espinosa

TCG

Mainboard (60)

$4139

Creature (11)

$21.77

$2.902GW

$2.28G

$15.481G

$1.111G

Instant (21)

$86.12

4Accumulated Knowledge

$11.881U

$10.28UU

$8.541U

$0.181W

$6.691R1U

$15.694U

$8.71U

3Swords to Plowshares

$24.15W

Sorcery (6)

$30.94

2Armageddon

$29.223W

4Portent

$1.72U

Artifact (3)

$3368

3Mox Diamond

$33680

Land (19)

$632

$128

$454

$26.12

$23.28

$0.47

Sideboard (15)

$203

$2.63U

$0.181W

$15.482B

$8.88U

$103WU

$26.061

$1.021R

$33.292

$12.772

Est. Total$4342

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2025 CPS Monthly League 20.01

1st PlaceDec 29, 2025

Rain

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Rain

TCG

Mainboard (60)

$4134

Creature (11)

$8.11

3Mystic Enforcer

$4.352GW

4Nimble Mongoose

$2.28G

4Werebear

$1.481G

Instant (22)

$101

4Accumulated Knowledge

$11.881U

$10.28UU

$8.541U

$0.181W

$4.461R1U

$15.694U

$26.13U

3Swords to Plowshares

$24.15W

Sorcery (4)

$1.72

4Portent

$1.72U

Artifact (5)

$3394

3Mox Diamond

$33680

2Winter Orb

$25.542

Land (18)

$629

$128

$454

$26.12

$20.37

$0.47

Sideboard (15)

$324

$2.63U

$14.613W

$15.482B

$52.43R

$8.88U

$103WU

$48.073UU

$76.152

$0.511R

$2.620

Est. Total$4458

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Technoliga Valenciana @ Valencia (Spain)

1st PlaceAug 27, 2022

Aitor Cabezas

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Aitor Cabezas

TCG

Mainboard (60)

$4682

Creature (14)

$144

$137WU

$2.902GW

$2.28G

$1.481G

Instant (16)

$194

4Daze

$17.081U

4Mana Leak

$3.401U

4Stifle

$141U

4Swords to Plowshares

$32.20W

Sorcery (2)

$29.22

2Armageddon

$29.223W

Artifact (3)

$3368

3Mox Diamond

$33680

Enchantment (2)

$0.38

2Compulsion

$0.381U

Land (23)

$947

$31.89

$454

$0.91

$11.64

$1.41

$1.95

$223

$88.81

$134

Sideboard (15)

$196

2Cataclysm

$33.342WW

1Circle of Protection: Red

$0.221W

$10.412

$102W

$0.961W

$1.141W

$28.881G

$2.620

$12.772

$3.203W

Est. Total$4878

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Archetype Anatomy

Based on 26 decks with known dates2021-10-02 to 2026-05-26

Mana Base

Average21lands

Median21lands

Range18–24lands

Spells39.0avg non-land

Based on 26 decks (All-time)

core Cards(>80%)

Nimble Mongoose

100%

4.0x

Werebear

92%

3.8x

Flooded Strand

92%

3.7x

City of Brass

92%

2.5x

Swords to Plowshares

81%

3.8x

Mental Note

81%

3.4x

flex Cards(30-80%)

Mystic Enforcer

77%

2.1x

Yavimaya Coast

69%

3.6x

Daze

69%

3.3x

Mana Leak

65%

3.2x

Windswept Heath

58%

2.0x

Mox Diamond

54%

3.1x

Fire // Ice

54%

2.9x

Gemstone Mine

54%

2.6x

Armageddon

50%

2.1x

Wasteland

46%

3.2x

Counterspell

42%

2.8x

Portent

38%

3.9x

Accumulated Knowledge

35%

4.0x

Meddling Mage

35%

3.7x

Winter Orb

35%

1.8x

Sylvan Library

35%

1.2x

fringe Cards(<30%)

Stifle

23%

3.7x

Call of the Herd

23%

2.8x

Lightning Bolt

19%

4.0x

Wild Mongrel

19%

2.8x

Treva's Ruins

19%

1.0x

Phyrexian Dreadnought

15%

4.0x

Vision Charm

15%

4.0x

Gush

15%

3.3x

Wooded Foothills

15%

2.5x

Memory Lapse

12%

3.7x

Urza's Bauble

12%

3.7x

Undiscovered Paradise

12%

1.7x

Disenchant

12%

1.3x

Prohibit

12%

1.3x

Wonder

12%

1.3x

Ray of Revelation

12%

1.0x

Shivan Reef

12%

1.0x

3.0x

3.0x

3.0x

2.5x

2.0x

2.0x

1.5x

1.5x

1.5x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

4.0x

4.0x

4.0x

3.0x

3.0x

2.0x

2.0x

2.0x

2.0x

2.0x

2.0x

2.0x

2.0x

2.0x

2.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

Sideboard Anatomy

flex Sideboard Options(30-80%)

Hydroblast

70.3%

2.3x

Naturalize

52.3%

2.0x

Annul

51.8%

1.9x

Phyrexian Furnace

48.1%

1.9x

Pyroclasm

45.7%

2.0x

Tormod'S Crypt

40.2%

2.0x

Meddling Mage

39.8%

2.6x

Winter Orb

39.4%

1.8x

Blue Elemental Blast

39%

2.0x

Ray Of Revelation

32%

1.5x

Compost

31.2%

1.8x

fringe Sideboard Options(<30%)

Chill

28.8%

1.6x

Engineered Plague

28.6%

2.1x

Disenchant

24.5%

1.3x

Tranquil Domain

20.6%

1.0x

Worship

18.1%

1.4x

Armageddon

18%

1.1x

Pyroblast

16.7%

1.3x

Cursed Totem

16.6%

1.6x

Red Elemental Blast

15.5%

1.3x

Tsabo'S Web

12.6%

1.0x

Sylvan Library

11.2%

1.0x

Misdirection

7.4%

1.0x

Duress

6.7%

4.0x

Plaguebearer

6.7%

1.0x

Swords To Plowshares

6.7%

1.0x

Multani'S Presence

6.6%

1.0x

Propaganda

6.6%

2.0x

Rowen

6.6%

1.0x

Serene Heart

6.6%

1.0x

Deep Analysis

6.4%

1.0x

Hidden Gibbons

6.4%

3.0x

Firestorm

1.0x

Powder Keg

1.0x

Cataclysm

4.8%

1.4x

Seal Of Cleansing

4.8%

2.0x

Heroes' Reunion

4.5%

3.0x

Warmth

4.4%

1.3x

Armadillo Cloak

4.4%

2.0x

Wrath Of God

4.4%

3.0x

Circle Of Protection: Red

3.6%

1.0x

Disrupt

3.1%

1.0x

Stifle

3.1%

2.0x

Fact Or Fiction

2.9%

1.0x

Predict

2.4%

2.0x

Submerge

2.2%

2.0x

Enlightened Tutor

1.9%

3.0x

Planar Collapse

1.9%

1.0x

Slice And Dice

1.7%

2.0x

Miscalculation

1.7%

1.0x

Ravenous Baloth

1.7%

2.0x

Caller Of The Claw

1.5%

2.0x

Sylvan Safekeeper

1.5%

1.0x

Recent Events Featuring this Archetype

Premodern Challenge 32 Special (2026-05-26)

2026-05-26•Magic Online•64 Players

Highest Finish: 31th

VIEW EVENT

Premodern LeagueMay162026 (2026-05-16)

2026-05-16•Magic Online•12 Players

Highest Finish: 1st

VIEW EVENT

Monthly Event @ Sunshine Games (Tampa, Fl)

2026-05-16•Tampa, USA•16 Players

Highest Finish: 2nd

VIEW EVENT

Lobstercon 2026 - North American Championship - Duress Crew @ Cambridge (MA)

2026-05-01•Cambridge, USA•326 Players

Highest Finish: 33th

VIEW EVENT

FNM Lega PM Mana & Malto @ Comix cafè (Grosseto, Italy)

2026-04-03•Grosseto, Italy•30 Players

Highest Finish: 5th

VIEW EVENT

Quick Facts

Tierrogue

Styletempo

Meta Share0.1%

Avg Lands21

Est. Price~$4342

Colors

Deck Weaknesses

Winter Orb slows you down too, so a fumbled mana — lock can leave you unable to act.
Graveyard hate keeps Nimble Mongoose and Werebear small, blunting the clock.
Daze and a low land count mean stumbling draws can leave you without permission backup.
It is a fair tempo deck that can be ground out or raced if the soft lock does not land.

How to win with it

Mulligan ruthlessly for a hand with at least one of Nimble Mongoose or Werebear plus two or more graveyard-fillers like Portent or Mental Note: a keepable hand must be able to reach threshold (seven cards in your graveyard) by turn three, because a 3/3 Nimble Mongoose on turn two or a 4/4 Werebear on turn three is the entire early game plan; hands with creatures but no enablers, or enablers but no creatures, go back.
The dream draw is land plus Mox Diamond into Portent or Mental Note on turn one, then a land and Nimble Mongoose on turn two: once you hit seven cards in the graveyard the Mongoose is a 3/3 that can't be targeted by spells or abilities, so spend the early turns filling the bin and then race behind a creature nothing can interact with, making every Counterspell and Daze a clean time-walk over their removal.
Sequence your draw spells before committing Winter Orb: cast Mental Note to draw and bury two of your own cards toward threshold, use Portent to set up your next draw, and only deploy Winter Orb once you already have a creature attacking and untapped mana for Counterspell or Daze, because Winter Orb with no board is a symmetrical lock you lose on the draw.
Hold Daze for the opponent's first high-impact spell on turn two or three rather than spending it on a land drop or cantrip: Daze costs you a land back to your hand, so it should answer a removal spell or threat that would blank your Werebear or Nimble Mongoose; firing it early on low-value plays leaves you down a land while they simply replay theirs.
Fire // Ice is your Swiss Army knife: use the Ice half to tap a blocker or a mana source on their end step before you untap under Winter Orb and draw a card off it, and keep the Fire half to push the last two damage or kill a creature racing your Nimble Mongoose; do not burn Fire // Ice purely to draw when you are one card short of threshold, since that card may be exactly the seventh you needed in the graveyard.
When the fast clock stalls, shift to the grind: Mystic Enforcer is a 3/3 flier with protection from black that becomes a 5/5 at threshold, so resolve it with Swords to Plowshares already in hand to clear the path, slow them back down with Winter Orb, and let the Enforcer fly over for the kill while Mana Leak covers the turns Counterspell is out of reach.

How to beat it

Bring in graveyard hate like Tormod's Crypt to keep their threshold creatures small.
Play around Daze by waiting a turn or baiting it with a lesser spell before your key play.
Resolve a threat that dodges Fire // Ice and out-sizes their Mongoose to stabilize the board.
Attack their mana or remove Winter Orb so the soft lock does not strand you.
Apply pressure to force their counters reactively rather than letting them set up Winter Orb.

Last Updated: May 2026