Currently, the standard format is defined by just a few cards. Sure, there are rogue deck builders and decks that don’t use these, but the vast majority of tournament caliber decks utilize at least one of these staple cards:

Since I don’t own any Jaces or Titans and have no interest in playing ascension or RDW, that leaves me able to play Vengevines, Jund and rogue decks. I won’t go into Jund since I am not an expert on the subject and this is more of a rogue article, but I do have all the pieces for it. Last week I played a rogue deck revolving around Baneslayer Angel, Abyssal Persecutor and Momentous Fall. While this deck was fun and beat most other rogue strategies, it consistently lost to control decks and had a very difficult time against Titan Ramp. Granted on occasion it would dispatch the top decks in the format it was not favourable in most matches. Here is the deck:  

Momentous Fall

Threat after threat

Creatures 4 Baneslayer Angel 4 Abyssal Persecutor 4 Knight of the Reliquary 2 Fauna Shaman 3 Lotus Cobra 4 Birds of Paradise 1 Noble Hierarch 22 cards Other Spells 4 Maelstrom Pulse 4 Momentous Fall 4 Path to Exile 1 grim discovery 13 cards

Lands 4 verdant catacombs 4 Marsh Flats 4 Stirring Wildwood 1 sunpetal grove 3 forest 3 plains 3 swamp 1 Sejiri Steppe 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Tectonic Edge 25 cards Sideboard 3 day of judgment 1 consuming vapors 3 Qasali Pridemage 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 identity crisis 4 duress 15 cards

 

I decided to switch things up this past week and have been playing several new decks. One deck still revolves around Momentous Fall while another uses Phylactery Lich. The Momentous Fall deck would benefit significantly from having Primeval Titan but I decided to playtest it anyway since I had an ace in the hole for the control matchup. Here is the deck list for your reference:

Revenge

My first attempt at using Gaea's Revenge

Creatures 1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth 1 Ulamog, The Infinite Gyre 2 Gaea's Revenge 2 Pelakka Wurm 4 Obstinate Baloth 4 Leatherback Baloth 2 Noble Hierarch 2 Birds of Paradise 18 cards Other Spells 1 Eldrazi Conscription 4 All is Dust 4 Momentous Fall 4 Cultivate 4 Explore 17 cards

Lands 4 Khalni Garden 2 Tectonic Edge 1 Verdant Catacombs 1 Misty Rainforest 1 Eye of Ugin 4 Eldrazi Temple 12 Forest 25 cards Sideboard 3 Acidic Slime 2 Gaea's Revenge 4 Overgrown Battlement 1 Pelakka Wurm 3 Relic of Progenitus 2 Tectonic Edge 15 cards

I won’t go into details of the matches because it is more than I have time to cover in this article but I will give you a brief summary. In sum, the deck didn’t perform very well. Control still beat me up and Titan Ramp was still superior. The control matchup was disappointing, even when I managed to get out a (Gaea’s Revenge) the next turn was always followed by a Day of Judgment. Titan Ramp was just too quick. They always got a Primeval Titan into play, followed by an attack into lethal Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle damage. I’m playtesting a few variations of eldrazi decks that I will write about next week.

Now for the Lich deck. I had some help with this one from Kidsoldja.

Lich

My first attempt at using Phylactery Lich

Creatures 1 Sun Titan 3 Baneslayer Angel 4 Phylactery Lich 4 Gatekeeper of Malakir 4 Bloodghast 2 Stoneforge Mystic 18 cards Other Spells 4 Wall of Omens 1 Mind Shatter 1 Identity Crisis 1 Liliana Vess 2 Day of Judgment 1 Sword of Vengeance 2 Crystal Ball 4 Prophetic Prism 2 Basilisk Collar 18 cards

Lands 1 Tectonic Edge 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Sejiri Steppe 4 Marsh Flats 3 Evolving Wilds 9 Swamp 5 Plains 24 cards Sideboard 2 Day of Judgment 4 Duress 2 Jinxed Idol 2 Luminarch Ascension 3 Oblivion Ring 2 Pithing Needle 15 cards

            It was fun to play when it worked and I had some epic matches with it. I won against a cool artifact deck running all the non-basic colourless lands you could imagine and a Momentous fall deck piloted by Kidsoldja which involved him sacrificing a 9/9 Scute Mob at one point. The deck was mediocre at best in the tournament practice room though. It was clunky most of the time and the two main contenders (UW Control and Titan Ramp) always took it down barring mana problems on their part. At this point I’m quite frustrated and wonder if anything can take them down. The only trick I really have left in my bag is Vengevine. I also established that the only way to have a shot against Titan Ramp is to have protection from Valakut. One of the only answers currently in Standard is Leyline of Sanctity. I would go back and add a playset into the sideboard of my Lich deck but I am angry with the deck and want to move on at this point.

            The following deck has been performing well but the first game against Titan Ramp is still rough. Here is the deck list:

Vine Conscription

Three versatile packages in one

Creatures 3 Sovereigns of Lost Alara 2 Baneslayer Angel 4 Vengevine 4 Bloodbraid Elf 3 Rhox War Monk 3 Cunning Sparkmage 1 Stoneforge Mystic 4 Lotus Cobra 4 Fauna Shaman 3 Noble Hierarch 2 Birds of Paradise 33 cards Other Spells 2 Eldrazi Conscription 1 Basilisk Collar 3 cards

Lands 1 Sunpetal Grove 2 Rootbound Crag 3 Plains 1 Mountain 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Island 1 Glacial Fortress 6 Forest 2 Evolving Wilds 3 Arid Mesa 24 cards Sideboard 2 Oblivion Ring 3 Path to Exile 3 Qasali Pridemage 3 Relic of Progenitus 4 Leyline of Sanctity 15 cards

            It utilizes the mythic conscription package, the Fauna Shaman/Vengevine package, and the Cunning Sparkmage/Basilisk Collar package. I don’t really need to explain these as they have all been discussed in great detail by other writers. The important thing to note is that there are only three comes into play tapped lands in the whole deck. This keeps momentum and tempo on your side. I never had any problems producing the right colour mana. The list is fun to play, resilient and after sideboarding has a shot at beating any deck in the format. I may change the sideboard to include some number of Gaea's Revenge since getting to seven mana isn't very difficult for this deck and that would help finish off UW control.

            This has been a frustrating week for me. Breaking the standard format without two of the best cards in the format, Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Primeval Titan is difficult. It’s for this reason I tend to shy away from the standard format.  I will leave you with one last list that I have been toying with. This deck has been performing well for me but various blue/white control decks do tend to get the better of it. With the Leyline of Sanctity in the sideboard, Titan Ramp is not as much of a problem. Destructive Force might be problematic but I have yet to play against it and this deck consistently hits its land drops so recovery might not be impossible.

Here is the deck list:

Emeria

Threat After Recurring Threat 

Creatures 2 Sun Titan 4 Baneslayer Angel 2 Transcendent Master 4 Knight of the White Orchid 4 Wall of Omens 1 Student of Warfare 17 cards Other Spells 4 Day of Judgment 4 Oblivion Ring 1 Crystal Ball 4 Survival Cache 4 Path to Exile 17 cards

Lands 4 Emeria, the Sky Ruin 2 Marsh Flats 16 Plains 4 Tectonic Edge 26 cards Sideboard 1 Ajani Goldmane 1 Emeria Angel 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence 4 Kor Firewalker 3 Kor Sanctifiers 4 Leyline of Sanctity 1 War Priest of Thune 15 cards

            This deck aims to ramp to seven plains and beat your opponent down with Baneslayer Angel. It enjoys sweeping the board and I am considering running a Planar Cleansing in addition to the set of judgments. Once Emeria gets online it’s almost impossible to beat. Sun Titan is great at bringing back any Emerias that have been destroyed by the lovely tectonic edge. It has great matchups against RDW, Jund and even Vengevine doesn’t pose too much of a problem. The pre-board matchup against Pyromancer Ascension is a little rough but post-board with the leylines they can’t really do anything. Unfortunately I don't want to pick up Elspeths as they are about to rotate but I know she would fit right in and probably improve my matchup against UW control. The main threats to this deck are Leyline of the Void and Relic of Progenitus. If I see too many relics I may add some Pithing Needles to the sideboard. Leylines can be dealt with from the sideboard in the form of the sanctifiers and the War Priest of Thune.

             In summation, it is difficult to build a deck top tier deck without the most expensive cards. Not impossible, but difficult. The format would be wide open without a few key mythics and hopefully more people are able to innovate and come up with alternatives. I for one will keep experimenting. Next week I plan to further test these lists and hope you folks can help me generate some new ideas for them.

Thanks to the Editor: Quagmire11 

Special Thanks to Kidsoldja for some inspiration