Plainswalker83's picture
By: Plainswalker83, Plainswalker83
Oct 03 2014 12:00pm
0
Login to post comments
2617 views


If you were unable to play in this new standard format yet, let me tell you it is pretty sweet. Also it was actually enjoyable to watch coverage again. No more Thoughtseize into Pack Rat. No more Nightveil Specter into Thassa, God of the Sea I played Modern and Legacy on Saturday (No surprise there) so I did not make it to the SCG Open or watch the coverage that day but I did catch up on Monday and peruse the decklists. I will just give some quick overviews. Let's start with my least favorite and work our way up shall we :)

 

This was one of the many Green devotion decks on the weekend. This should come as no surprise to anyone. They lost only a few cards and gained so much more. I think the card choices are pretty self-explanatory. Get cards that are green or red and throw them in the deck. I know there were smart decisions made concerning numbers but it’s not hard to know what cards are amazing in green. The deck is solid just not my cup of tea and I would not want to play against any of the Green devotion strategies without a ton of removal. This list got third in the NJ SCG open though even without Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. There was also a Green Black list and a Mono green version, they were all strong and will have to be on the radar when you are planning on building for standard.  Next up is a Mardu Midrange Deck:

 

 
 
Creatures
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
10 cards

Other Spells
4 Butcher of the Horde
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Nomad Outpost
4 Crackling Doom
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Lightning Strike
1 Despise
4 Thoughtseize
13 cards
Lands
2 Mountain
2 Swamp
1 Battlefield Forge
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Mana Confluence
2 Temple of Malice
2 Temple of Silence
1 Temple of Triumph
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
21 cards

Goblin Rabblemaster

That's right the Goblin is back and in a bigger shell. I like this deck a lot, there is hand disruption, a ton of removal and some amazing threats. Khans is all over this deck and it is very impressive. Butcher of the Horde is absolutely bonkers and this shell can feed him to make him plenty happy. By happy I mean the lifelink vigilance haste  kind of happy. The other major players are the new walkers. Sarkhan was a 1 of in the GR Devo deck but here there are 2 along with his tag team partner Sorin. I am a big fan of these walkers and it seems to be a natural fit for both of them in this shell. The sideboard brings Elspeth, Sun's Champion to the party to add to the oppressiveness. I think it was a great week one choice and should continue to be strong as the meta develops.  Here is the Abzan list that won the open in Indy:

 
 
Creatures
1 Ashen Rider
4 Elvish Mystic
3 Hornet Queen
4 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Nyx Weaver
19 cards

Other Spells
2 Necropolis Fiend
4 Siege Rhino
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
1 Empty the Pits
4 Murderous Cut
2 Whip of Erebos
4 Commune with the Gods
6 cards
Lands
2 Forest
2 Plains
2 Swamp
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Temple of Malady
2 Temple of Plenty
3 Windswept Heath
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
20 cards

Whip of Erebos

I played Junk (errr Abzan) Reanimator in old standard and while this is not as powerful it is still very strong. It uses Satyr Wayfinder, Nyx Weaver, and Commune with the Gods to fill up the yard and Whip of Erebos to bring back some pretty sweet fatties. Let's look at some of the cool new choices to whip back. Siege Rhino a 4 mana 4/5 that drains and gains for 3, now that is value. Then there is Necropolis Fiend. When you are filling up your yard the delve is not unreasonable and him being a 4/5 flier is pretty great. When you add in that he had removal built in he is a great addition. There are two other great spells that Khans brought to this deck. Murderous Cut and Empty the pits. Two more delve cards both with a different purpose but both quite powerful. Cut is a really good removal spell. In this deck it can easily read pay 1 black destroy target creature. Then there is Empty the Pits. A delve spell that makes a ton of zombies just make sure your opponent does not have the Bile Blight

Here is the winner of SCG Jersey a sweet looking Jeskai Tempo deck.

 
 
Creatures
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 cards

Other Spells
4 Mantis Rider
3 Seeker of the Way
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
1 Mystic Monastery
2 Banishing Light
2 Dig Through Time
4 Jeskai Charm
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
2 Steam Augury
4 Stoke the Flames
17 cards
Lands
2 Island
3 Mountain
2 Plains
3 Battlefield Forge
2 Flooded Strand
3 Shivan Reef
4 Temple of Epiphany
4 Temple of Triumph
23 cards

Stoke the Flames


There were two versions of this deck in the top 8 and I like the other version a little better mostly because there are four Seeker of the Way. I am a big fan of this card. 1W for a 2/2 with prowess and when prowess triggers he gains lifelink. He works out well in this shell along with Goblin Rabblemaster and  the last creature a slightly lower powered Lightning Angel in Mantis Rider. This is the other version of the deck:

 
 
Creatures
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 cards

Other Spells
4 Mantis Rider
4 Seeker of the Way
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
4 Mystic Monastery
2 Gods Willing
4 Jeskai Charm
4 Lightning Strike
2 Magma Spray
4 Stoke the Flames
4 Titan's Strength
18 cards
Lands
1 Island
3 Mountain
3 Plains
3 Battlefield Forge
3 Flooded Strand
3 Shivan Reef
2 Temple of Epiphany
2 Temple of Triumph
20 cards

Stoke the Flames

Although this list didn't win, it did make top 8 and it is my favorite version of the deck. It is more aggressive and I like that. I think possibly a mix of the two lists is most likely correct though. They can both beat you with their walkers, their burn, or their creatures. Will this turn more into a counter burn deck in the future? I really don't know but I hope not because I like the direction it is going in now. There were also other Abzan midrange decks that placed highly and instead of the reanimator strategy they were more like Patrick Chapin's Pro Tour deck. They included Brimaz, King of Oreskos Fleecemane Lion and even had the Khan of the Abzan Houses  Anafenza the Foremost. Of course mono red made a showing and if you were able to watch the coverage there was a sweet game in which CVM lost to not one but two Harness by Forces. That was pretty sweet to watch and I am sure there will only be more plays like that in the future of this standard.

Going forward I would recommend building something you will enjoy and something with a lot of play. You don't want to invest in a big money cards and have deck flop. So be smart when investing. Honestly I think the green decks won't be too bad no matter what happens in the meta. I personally would like to play something like the Jeskai Tempo deck. I have also been in brew mode and trying to make certain archetypes good. I don't think that is correct but I did try a white weenie deck. (I know you are all shocked) It used heroic and some of the outlast. It was rough at first but I think with some tuning it could be viable. It might need a stronger heroic theme and only have some of the outlast guys like Abzan Falconer. He gives any guy with a counter on it flying. Khans also brought some sweet new heroic enablers like Defiant Strike. +1+0 and draw a card for 1 mana is pretty good. 

Heroic
 
Creatures
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Phalanx Leader
4 Fabled Hero
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
14 cards

Other Spells
4 Seeker of the Way
2 High Sentinels of Arashin
2 Abzan Falconers
4 Launch the Fleet
4 Defiant Strike
4 Gods Willing
4 Ajani's Presence
2 Feat of Resistance
12 cards
Lands
20 Plains
20 cards

Fabled Hero

This is a very rough list, but I wonder if something like this can be viable. There are a lot of heroic enablers and some solid creatures. I the High Sentinels of Arashin can be pretty sweet. Being a 3/4 flier for 4 is not bad but getting +1+1 for each other counter on your guys is pretty huge. You can also pay 4 and without tapping him put a counter on another one of your dudes. When all of your guys are pumped up either from Phalanx Leader or the Sentinel you can drop a Falconer and take to the skies for a sweet alpha strike. Chances are this just might not be good enough and you may need to go the route of swarm soldiers with anthems. Like using Raise the Alarm and Spear of Heliod or Obelisk of Urd. I will keep working and seeing if mono white has a place in this new standard, until then I hope you all enjoyed the overview. If you have any questions or comments let me know I would be glad to discuss things.