Standard

Restarting Standard with KTK

It’s been a while since I wrote an article for this website. Basically, since I’ve moved to the US, I have barely written anything about Magic. Why? Well, what do you read articles for? I always imagine it’s more than just killing time or entertainment. I hope you come to my articles hoping to get some insight into a deck or the current metagame, some tech, a crazy brew that you’d like to play—stuff like that. If you read it just to kill time, I think I’d feel offended. If you read it just for entertainment, I’d feel flattered, but you should consider reading an actual book or something. At the very least go (re)read Tim Aten or Jeff Cunningham’s old articles if you’re attached to the subject matter I provide. (And yes, that’s Jeff Cunningham, not his little brother Jackson, who top eighted the last Pro Tour in Portland.)

Anyway, I was making a point: you should read the words I put on your screen to gain some knowledge. That, however, makes it fairly difficult for me to write a lot. You see, there is so much info out there, with large websites like StarCityGames, ChannelFireball and TCGplayer all providing the same type of content I try to provide. What are the odds I will tell you something on Modern you haven’t already heard elsewhere from someone whose name you actually recognize, instead of clicking on it just because you confused my name with another writer on this same website?

To be fair to myself, I do have ideas that are worth putting out there every once in a while, but it usually flows from playing a lot of a specific format or deck, and only recently have I found a couple of stores I enjoy visiting here in the US. I get to play both Standard and Modern every week again, so I should have more to say about those formats again as well. These last few days, I’ve been staring at spoilers for the new set, so from here on out it’s all about KHAAAANS!

Let’s jump right into the action: I’m not the type of guy to give you a set review, because I don’t think those are very useful. I’ll at most look at a few cards in depth. Sure, LSV’s puns are amazing, but the only thing most ratings tell you is whether or not a card has potential. That can be useful, but I’d rather talk about when that potential comes to life. For example, a card like [card]Siege Rhino[/card] has a ton of potential: it has a body that’s above the curve (4/5 for four) and a useful enters-the-battlefield trigger, so you always get some value even if it immediately dies to a [card]Doom Blade[/card]/[card]Murderous Cut[/card].

So if I build an Abzan deck with creatures, I should probably play it, right?

[deck title= “Abzan” by Jay Lansdaal]

[Creatures]
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Courser of Kruphix
2 Polukranos, World Eater
3 Wingmate Roc

[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
3 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
[/Planeswalkers]
[Spells]
3 Thoughtseize
3 Abzan Charm
3 Hero’s Downfall
2 Silence the Believers
2 Utter End
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Forest
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Mana Confluence
2 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Temple of Malady
4 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Windswept Heath
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Thoughtseize
2 Last Breath
2 Glare of Heresy
3 Drown in Sorrow
3 Siege Rhino
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Arbor Colossus
2 Mistcutter Hydra
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Wait, why is it not in the starting 60? Well, guess what a 4/5 matches up pretty poorly against? That’s right: a 5/5. I’m afraid we will see a ton of Polukranos decks, which is an extension of the idea that we’ll see a ton of [card]Sylvan Caryatid[/card] plus [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card] decks. If that’s the case, I’d really rather not be playing 4/5s in the slot where I could be playing 5/5s or two 3/4 flyers for five.

The above deck is built after Chapin’s Pro Tour winning Block Constructed deck, with an updated manabase (fewer lands that enter tapped, less pain, and about the same amount of colored sources overall) and some hits from Khans of Tarkir incorporated.

The first inclusion is [card]Wingmate Roc[/card]. While this is not an aggressive deck per se, it is definitely attacking with creatures often, so [card]Wingmate Roc[/card] will do its best [card]Broodmate Dragon[/card] impression for a measly five mana. The reason I wanted to include it (besides its powerlevel) is that this deck really likes having a flyer. Since a lot of the block format revolved around Elspeth, keeping one in play or destroying your opponent’s Elspeth was very important. [card]Wingmate Roc[/card] and his buddy block a [card]Prognostic Sphinx[/card] and kill it while both surviving, and they are great at attacking an Elspeth too. Because they divide their six power over two attackers, they don’t get hit by Elspeth’s minus ability, which is another reason why a 4/5 Rhino might just be the wrong size.

[card]Abzan Charm[/card] and [card]Utter End[/card] are two fantastic new removal spells, killing just about everything you’d want to kill. They are both aimed at more powerful cards in general (paying four mana to exile a [card]Firedrinker Satyr[/card] might not be where you want to be), but your cheaper creatures should do a good job at stopping the early rush from getting to you, and you get help out of the sideboard too. [card]Last Breath[/card] is one of the few two-mana removal spells left in the format, and [card]Drown in Sorrow[/card]s is great in this deck, killing off all the Rabblemasters and their fellow Goblins while keeping all your creatures alive. You also see the Siege Rhinos here, because while they might not match up well with how I expect the format to shape up, they are great against a bunch of small dorks trying to kill you fast.

Next up on the list is a Jeskai deck:

[deck title= “Jeskai” by Jay Lansdaal]

[Planeswalkers]
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
[/Planeswalkers]
[Spells]
3 Last Breath
1 Suspension Field
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Banishing Light
4 Dissolve
2 Jeskai Banner
2 Jeskai Charm
3 End Hostilities
3 Jace’s Ingenuity
1 Fated Retribution
2 Dig Through Time
2 Mindswipe
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Battlefield Forge
3 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Nomad Monastery
2 Plains
4 Shivan Reef
4 Temple of Epiphany
4 Temple of Triumph
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Negate
3 Nyx Fleece Ram
3 Jeskai Elder
4 Mantis Rider
3 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Fated Retribution
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

At first, I tried to build a prowess deck. This proved to be very hard to get to a level where I thought like it could win an FNM, let alone something bigger. The problem with prowess is not only the tension of being a mechanic on creatures while wanting you to play as many non-creature spells as possible, as that’s been a problem before, as on [card]Delver of Secrets[/card]. But we can build a good Delver deck. The big problem is that Delver worked because of the abundance of good, cheap spells. If you get your [card]Jeskai Elder[/card] to a 3/4 by casting two spells, but they cost three mana each, your creature will be outclassed by way more powerful spells.

We do have cheap spells though, and most of them work in a heroic deck, so it’s possible you can build a Jeskai heroic deck with a few prowess creatures like the Elder that views prowess like a pseudo-heroic trigger. It didn’t excite me much as something to show off, so you get the above list instead.

(Quick aside: did they really have to make [card]Jeskai Elder[/card] one of the better Prowess creatures? I am just not looking forward to attacking people with my grandma. At that age, you deserve to rest and let the young ones get aggressive.)

The main question on every control player’s mind right now is, “Will [card]End Hostilities[/card] be good enough?” Opinions are divided, but I personally like it as long as you know what you are trying to get out of it. No, this is not the sweeper that can be your first play against a red aggressive deck like [card]Day of Judgment[/card] or [card]Supreme Verdict[/card] could be. It also doesn’t have to be. We have [card]Anger of the Gods[/card] and [card]Drown in Sorrow[/card] for that. In the Jeskai colors, we even have a bunch of cheap removal spells that can help bridge the gap to five mana, like [card]Last Breath[/card] and [card]Suspension Field[/card] (just don’t write this on your modern decklists when you mean [card]Suppression Field[/card] people). You can even play it on the fourth turn with the help of the new Banner cycle, which might actually be playable now that we have a bunch of good five-mana plays like Sarkhan, [card]Jace’s Ingenuity[/card] and [card]End Hostillities[/card] as options.

This deck, being completely creatureless, will also make it very easy for your opponent to sideboard incorrectly. They’ll board out anything that only hits creatures, and you send a bunch of flying pests and your grandma their way. I recommend keeping granny on the sidelines in non-control matchups, but she might be very good against control. This is one of those decks where I recommend shuffling in all your sideboard cards between every game, and take out fifteen cards depending on the deck, because it will make it incredibly hard for your opponent to sideboard correctly. Even if they’ve seen the list or the creatures in game two, who knows if you might be switching it up for game three?

What we also see in this deck is something that will feature prominently in the next deck, namely delve. [card]Dig Through Time[/card] doesn’t work well with delve itself, but it seems tailor made for a deck that doesn’t have other spells eating the resources in your graveyard and digs very deep to help find specific answers at instant speed. It is definitely no [card]Sphinx’s Revelation[/card], which puts you up a bunch of cards, but we have [card]Jace’s Ingenuity[/card] to replace that to some degree. This spell complements the Ingenuity, helping you find quality over the quantity the Ingenuity provides.

Then, a Sultai deck:

[deck title= “Sultai” by Jay Lansdaal]

[Creatures]
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Herald of Torment
4 Nighthowler
3 Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
4 Nemesis of Mortals
2 Necropolis Fiend
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Commune with the Gods
3 Scout the Borders
2 Sultai Charm
1 Murderous Cut
2 Treasure Cruise
[/Spells]
[Lands]
2 Forest
1 Island
2 Swamp
4 Llanowar Wastes
1 Opulent Palace
4 Polluted Delta
3 Wooded Foothills
4 Yavimaya Coast
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
4 Thoughtseize
1 Bile Blight
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Murderous Cut
2 Whip of Erebos
4 Mistcutter Hydra
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Based on the “Dredge” decks that were viable in the previous Standard format, this deck aims to fill up the graveyard for value. It can put giant creatures into play in the form of [card]Nighthowler[/card], [card]Nemesis of Mortals[/card] and [card]Necropolis Fiend[/card], all well before they should be cast normally. It can also fill up the board with 2/2 Zombies thanks to Sidisi, while refilling your hand with [card]Treasure Cruise[/card].

[card]Necropolis Fiend[/card] fills the spot of [card]Shadowborn Demon[/card] of the previous iteration of this deck, which is “giant beater that can kill something.” While I think it is a great card, you might want to be wary of using the ability too frivolously. As you can see, I only have five delve spells in this deck, and that is because delve is a complicated mechanic to balance with the graveyard shenanigans you want to take advantage of. Basically, you only want to remove lands and spells from your graveyard, while keeping all your creatures in there to power up your [card]Nighthowler[/card]s and [card]Nemesis of Mortals[/card]. That’s also why I have seven fetches in the deck despite only four of those actually fixing the manabase. Heck, I don’t even have enough lands to fetch, which Legacy has taught us can be totally fine if you don’t intend to hit 6 or 7 lands in play. With only five delve spells, they should all be absolute killers, while not hurting the rest of the deck too much.

Talking about killers, how does this Mardu deck look?

[deck title= “Mardu” by Jay Lansdaal]

[Creatures]
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Tormented Hero
4 Chief of the Edge
2 Seeker of the Way
1 Tymaret, the Murder King
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
3 Lightning Strike
1 Ride Down
3 Crackling Doom
2 Mardu Charm
2 Raiders’ Spoils
[/Spells]
[Lands]
1 Mountain
3 Plains
3 Swamp
3 Battlefield Forge
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
3 Mana Confluence
3 Nomad Outpost
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Magma Spray
3 Nyx-Fleece Ram
3 Thoughtseize
1 Ephemeral Shields
2 Banishing Light
2 Mardu Ascendancy
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

This deck showcases Sam Black’s favorite cards in the set: [card]Butcher of the Horde[/card] and [card]Bloodsoaked Champion[/card]. These two new cards work very well together, obviously because the Champ is a great sacrificial lamb for the Butcher, but you can even pull some neat tricks with both of them. You can sacrifice the Champion to give the Butcher vigilance, attack with the Butcher, then return the Champion during combat and sacrifice it again to give lifelink. Let’s see who can race that!

Other cards that work well with the Butcher are Brimaz and the Rabblemaster, providing plenty of fodder for the Butcher to chomp down on.

This deck also has a warrior theme, with [card]Raiders’ Spoils[/card] filling the role of [card]Bident of Thassa[/card] in last season’s MonoU deck, while also pumping your one-drops to the point where they can run into [card]Sylvan Caryatid[/card] without issues. If you combine it with a [card]Chief of the Edge[/card] (which pumps both the Champion and the [card]Tormented Hero[/card]), you can even trade with a [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card].

The other warriors in the deck are [card]Seeker of the Way[/card] and [card]Tymaret, the Murder King[/card]. Tymaret is there as an extra creature that can take advantage of all the tokens and [card]Bloodsoaked Champion[/card]s we have lying around, whereas Seeker can bash through Caryatids on its own if you cast a non-creature spell (casting a Raiders’ Spoils helps it survive combat with a Courser too), and it recoups some life from the damage that you’ll be taking from your lands. This is not a manabase for sissies-it will hurt. I’ve tried to build the deck as mainly black-white, splashing for some red for removal and the Butcher.

Speaking of removal, [card]Crackling Doom[/card] is awesome, doing exactly what you want to do with your removal anyway (killing the big dudes that are in the way), while dealing some extra damage. On top of that, it has sweet art! MARDU VORTHOS WIN!

Ahem, anyway, let’s [card]Ride Down[/card] onto the deck which that removal spell will be very good against:

[deck title= “Temur” by Jay Lansdaal]

[Creatures]
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
2 Courser of Kruphix
2 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Savage Knuckleblade
1 Ashcloud Phoenix
4 Polukranos, World Eater
3 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Sagu Mauler
[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
[/Planeswalkers]
[Spells]
1 Temur Ascendancy
3 Temur Charm
2 Crater’s Claws
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Forest
1 Mountain
3 Frontier Bivouac
3 Mana Confluence
3 Temple of Abandon
2 Temple of Epiphany
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Yavimaya Coast
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
3 Magma Spray
1 Negate
2 Setessan Tactics
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Temur Ascendancy
3 Nylea’s Disciple
2 Surrak Dragonclaw
1 Sagu Mauler
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

It’s interesting that Temur is a green deck in which I’m not sure I want [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card] and [card]Sylvan Caryatid[/card]. Now this might just be completely wrong, but I’d like to try [card]Rattleclaw Mystic[/card] in the Caryatid slot because I like the added dimension of having some morph cards in the deck. [card]Sagu Mauler[/card] in particular seems very good, but if people always know it’s exactly that, your morph guy won’t live very often. If it’s a [card]Rattleclaw Mystic[/card], though, they might waste a perfectly good removal spell on a manadork. [card]Ashcloud Phoenix[/card] serves to make it even harder to figure out what’s what.

Morph creatures do cost three, and I also want [card]Savage Knuckleblade[/card] and [card]Goblin Rabblemaster[/card] in the deck, which are two of the best three drops in the format (together with [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card]). This creates a glut at three, so I definitely want [card]Elvish Mystic[/card]s to start casting these things on turn two, and [card]Rattleclaw Mystic[/card] can help cast two three-drops on turn four (or turn three if you had an [card]Elvish Mystic[/card] to Morph it on turn two).

Still we have too many three drops probably, because I also really want a copy of [card]Temur Ascendancy[/card] and some [card]Temur Charm[/card]s. The charms are good with the Rattleclaw, as you can keep open two and have your opponent walk straight into your [card]Mana Leak[/card] with a morphed Rattleclaw. To create some space, we have to start cutting something, and I think it depends on whether you want to be more aggressive or defensive. If you want to attack, shave Coursers; if you want a more midrangy deck, cut the Rabblemasters. I currently have a split because I prefer the aggressive nature, but I’m wary of how much damage my manabase will deal me, and Courser helps there.

As for other new cards, [card]Crater’s Claws[/card] should be turned on most of the time in this deck, and at that point it’s a very versatile [card]Lightning Strike[/card]. Sarkhan also shows up here as elsewhere to complement the [card]Stormbreath Dragon[/card]s. I think those two cards will be seen in some sort of split fairly often in the new Standard, depending on what type of removal will be more common. For now I’d lean towards more Dragons to dodge Abzan and [card]Jeskai Charm[/card], both of which I expect to be very popular early on.

So, now that we have looked at all the clans, we can — Hey? Why are you leaving? Wait, I’m not done! This is just a look at the strategies possible when we focus on the new set. There are more sets in Standard! Dammit.

Well then, I guess look for more possible standard decks in my next article, where we look at some decks that focus on devotion, M15 artifact shenanigans, and the new black midrange decks that are bound to ruin everybody’s fun!

Khan’t stop, won’t stop,

Jay Lansdaal
iLansdaal on Twitter, no longer on MTGO – V4 was the end of me there

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