Article was submitted right before Grand Prix Albuquerque.

Lately, I’ve been so caught up with practicing Limited for the PTQ season and GP Toronto that I kind of stopped thinking about Standard for a while. I only just realized that there are Standard Grands Prixs happening around the world for three weeks in a row—Albuquerque, Vienna, and Dallas/Fort Worth—all of which have video coverage scheduled. I won’t be going to any of these Standard events, but I’ll certainly be watching from home.

What would I recommend to someone who is going to be battling in Standard?

I’ll start with the aggro deck:

[deck title=WR Aggro]
[Creatures]
4 Boros Elite
4 Dryad Militant
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
2 Azorius Arrester
4 Daring Skyjek
4 Precinct Captain
4 Frontline Medic
[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
3 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
[/Planeswalkers]
[Spells]
4 Brave the Elements
4 Boros Charm
1 Spear of Heliod
[/Spells]
[Lands]
10 Plains
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Mutavault
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Wear // Tear
2 Glare of Heresy
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Pacifism
3 Banisher Priest
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Burning Earth
1 Warleader’s Helix
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Cedric Phillips’s list is clean, simple, and effective—exactly how I like my aggro decks. Brave the Elements, Boros Charm, and Mutavault are all huge in beating control decks. I like maximizing the number of three-power creatures to be as aggressive as possible and to keep up pressure against a Jace, Architect of Thought. Ajani, Caller of the Pride, Frontline Medic, Azorius Arrester, and Brave the Elements all allow you to push through damage against opposing creature decks such as Green, Blue, and Red Devotion. Red aggressive decks are sure to be popular as well, but I like the white aggro deck a little more right now.

If control is more your speed, you are probably on Esper or UW. Another option to consider is the deck I’ve been playing for the past couple of weeks, a Shaheen Soorani Special, splashing red instead of black:

[deck title=UWR Control]
[Creatures]
1 Ætherling
[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
[/Planeswalkers]
[Spells]
4 Azorius Charm
1 Izzet Charm
2 Turn // Burn
4 Detention Sphere
3 Dissolve
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Warleader’s Helix
2 Assemble the Legion
1 Syncopate
3 Sphinx’s Revelation
[/Spells]
[Lands]
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
2 Temple of Mystery
3 Azorius Guildgate
4 Island
1 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
2 Pithing Needle
1 Wear // Tear
2 Gainsay
1 Magma Jet
2 Negate
2 Mizzium Mortars
1 Trading Post
1 Warleader’s Helix
3 Jace, Memory Adept
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

There’s nothing cute or fancy here, just a mix of good spells that rewards solid play and good decision-making. While Esper has Thoughtseize and Hero’s Downfall as flexible answers to most things in the format, I’d much rather have Warleader’s Helix in an aggressive metagame. Assemble the Legion has lost some of its appeal since mono-black decks have receded or started splashing for enchantment removal, but it’s still a difficult-to-answer game-one card.

Three copies of big Jace is the sideboard plan for the control mirror, which is a smart way to go. Memory Adept is cheaper than Ætherling, is a fast clock if left unanswered, and at the very least draws a card if he gets hit with Hero’s Downfall or Detention Sphere. Assemble the Legion has the advantage of avoiding Gainsay by not being Blue, but it can be rather ineffective against opposing Jaces and Elspeths.

Devotion decks haven’t changed much at all, as is their nature when they are locked into playing certain cards for the colored mana symbols. The most convincing archetype is probably Mono-Blue:

[deck title=Mono-Blue Devotion]
[Creatures]
4 Cloudfin Raptor
4 Judge’s Familiar
4 Frostburn Weird
4 Tidebinder Mage
4 Nightveil Specter
4 Thassa, God of the Sea
4 Master of Waves
[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
2 Jace, Architect of Thought
[/Planeswalkers]
[Spells]
1 Rapid Hybridization
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Bident of Thassa
[/Spells]
[Lands]
20 Island
4 Mutavault
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Dispel
2 Rapid Hybridization
1 Cyclonic Rift
4 Gainsay
1 Negate
1 Dissolve
2 Bident of Thassa
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Jace, Memory Adept
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

Sam Black’s latest list shows off an archetype that has been tuned to perfection. Again, five-mana Jace comes out of the sideboard as an anti-control threat that hits the board and finishes the game much faster than Ætherling. There are a few lists that splash a second color, but I don’t see much reason for doing so. Cutting any of the creatures weakens the deck’s aggressive plan entirely, and there isn’t much room to add extraneous spells or replace the few that can already get the job done.

One final deck idea that I’ve been thinking about is GBx Midrange. The Kingslayer—er, MODO-slayer—himself, Brian Kibler, has been championing a green-black deck that plays several well-positioned cards like Reaper of the Wilds, Abrupt Decay, and Golgari Charm. I haven’t been able to flesh out any thoughts beyond just wanting to play those cards, but Jund, Junk, and BUG Midrange all seem like reasonable directions to take.

The goal of a deck like this would be to blank opposing Doom Blades and Ultimate Prices by playing almost exclusively multicolored black creatures and non-creature permanents, such as planeswalkers. Reaper of the Wilds is the perfect example because he also naturally matches up well against Mizzium Mortars and Selesnya Charm, as well as being able to gain hexproof. Black gets Sin Collector, Blood Baron of Vizkopa, and Obzedat, Ghost Council. Red has Sire of Insanity, Underworld Cerberus, and Rakdos Keyrune. Blue has the under-appreciated Duskmantle Seer.

Jund would be my initial starting point, almost solely because of how much I liked Xenagos, the Reveler, while piloting Brad Nelson’s Naya Control deck. Jund also has access to Dreadbore and Rakdos’s Return. I’ve undergone zero testing, but consider a shell like this:

4 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Reaper of the Wilds
3-4 Underworld Cerberus
1-2 Sire of Insanity
3-4 Xenagos, the Reveler
0-1 Vraska the Unseen
2-4 Thoughtseize
3 Abrupt Decay
0-3 Mizzium Mortars
0-4 Dreadbore
0-3 Hero’s Downfall
2-3 Rakdos Keyrune
2 Rakdos’s Return
24-25 lands

I might even consider trying some spicier threats and card advantage engines such as Chandra, Pyromaster; Varolz, the Scar-Striped; Deadbridge Chant; or Primeval Bounty. Or maybe it’s better to be more aggressive with cards like Lotleth Troll and Dreg Mangler.

One question that needs answering is this—how good is Anger of the Gods? Should this deck be playing Anger in the maindeck, sideboard, or not at all? My initial thought is that two or three copies in the sideboard is the correct answer.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on a GBx Midrange deck or if you’ve been playing something similar yourself. And good luck to anyone playing a Standard tournament in the busy upcoming weeks!

Alex Bianchi
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