Author’s note: No decklists will contain Careful Consideration. Sorry in advance.
Ah yes, another week, another tournament that someone has to prepare for. However, this tournament is like none other so far this year. This weekend is the first StarCityGames.com Open Series featuring the Invitational of the year. Unlike many other people, I am currently undecided on what decks I would like to play in both Standard and Legacy, but I have researched quite a few decks. I have made some personal assessments of both formats that I would like to share with you so you can read what goes through someone else’s mind before a tournament (and not written in retrospect, which sometimes can influence how certain details are expressed).
I’d like to start with Standard, as it’s the format that I know better and the one that I feel like is harder for me to prepare for at this point in time. With all of the decks that have surfaced recently, I feel like there are enough good decks to match most people’s playing styles, and each one of them is pretty much powerful enough to win a tournament. Therefore, in my opinion, people can likely just pick an archetype that matches their style, play tight, and have decent results.
Instead of starting with the decklists/archetypes that I am considering, how about I talk about the decks that I would prefer not to play unless someone does a really good job of convincing me to join the dark side?
Delver of Secrets, in my opinion, is single-handedly defining this (and a few other) formats right now. Personally, I’ve never liked the card and will probably never like the card due to the “luck” that goes into flipping a Delver of Secrets. I’m one of those guys that in the many matches I play, I’m facing down a ton of 3/2 fliers before I know it, but when I try to do it, I’m stuck with a bunch of 1/1s. I feel like cards like this should have a more controllable and set quality (like how it’s fairly obvious how big a Wild Nacatl could get next turn). Don’t get me wrong; the card is very powerful, but it’s not the type of card that I enjoy being format defining. For this reason, I don’t really want to play a deck like Esper Spirits or a U/W Invisible Stalker deck.
As for the aggressive decks, my main fallback plan is the deck that I’ve mentioned quite a few times in articles in the past month: Zombies. This archetype has shown how powerful it truly is along with a lot of resiliency. The main problem I can foresee is that it can be very similar to old Standard Vampires, where the deck is amazing on the play and just alright or even terrible on the draw. The Zombies deck is good at attacking but just not that great at defending. Most of the decklists for Zombies these days are pretty streamlined in choices, but I admit that I’d probably rather play red for the burn than blue because I feel like the reach is very important.
Other decks I could consider are Mono Red, Tempered Steel, B/W Tokens, and Humans. The problem with Mono Red is that I feel like so many decks are already running a full compartment of Sword of War and Peace (or virtually that many in the case of the Delver deck’s ability to see a bunch of cards in a game) that it may not be worth the trouble. However, if I find a list that I can get behind, maybe burning people out of the game could be in my future.
The other three are all fine choices and ones that I’ve played on Magic Online at one point or another, but I just don’t feel like I’d enjoy playing them enough. Artifact aggro has never really been my thing. B/W Tokens appears to be a new fad on Magic Online, but it feels so much like a Block Constructed list. Correction: it used to be a Block Constructed list. Maybe if it was so unfair to have Lingering Souls and Intangible Virtue in Innistrad Block Constructed, then B/W Tokens may just be a powerful enough deck in Standard… I might have to reconsider B/W Tokens. I’d sooner play B/W Tokens than Humans because I’ve never liked playing a deck that is very reliant on curving out and whose performance is dramatically worse if you skip a beat (even starting on turn 1).
Is it time for some decklist considerations? I think so!
Creatures (24)
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 1 Acidic Slime
- 2 Thrun, the Last Troll
- 4 Strangleroot Geist
- 4 Huntmaster of the Fells
- 4 Hellrider
- 1 Vorapede
Lands (11)
Spells (25)
Yeah, yeah. R/G Aggro has been around for a while, but to be honest, I really love these types of decks. You know, the ones with little mana dorks that allow you to play your four-drops sooner and eventually even the one-drops are able to win the game via Swords and Kessig Wolf Run. Other than playing Ratchet Bomb or a few more Delver of Secrets on turn 2, I think playing a Sword on turn 2 is one of the most powerful things you can be doing right now. This is a strategy I’ll probably want to be doing this weekend. As for the decklist itself, the only card I may add is Phyrexian Metamorph, which would be able to act as legend removal and double up as another Hellrider. Man, I love that card!
The other green/x aggro deck I would consider is an old favorite of mine: G/W Tokens!
Creatures (22)
- 1 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Mirran Crusader
- 4 Hero of Bladehold
- 3 Blade Splicer
- 2 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
- 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (12)
Spells (20)
This list is a lot like my other incarnations of G/W Tokens before Dark Ascension. One of the cards I’d consider playing from the new set would be Strangleroot Geist (an addition I’ve seen quite a few times). My reasoning is it would give the deck a lot more resiliency to decks like U/B Control, and I heard Geists usually are Sword-compatible (and not just the Saint Traft ones).
The main card I would like to stress is the same card that I stressed right before the last StarCityGames.com Open Series featuring the Invitational. This man is known as Gideon Jura. Yup, it’s that time again. He is a threat that can single-handedly alter a game. It’s so easy to force your opponent who somehow failed to flip Delver of Secrets to attack with it into Gideon Jura. That Geist of Saint Traft has seen better days too. Combined with Garruk Relentless, this planeswalker duo can really pack a decent punch against aggressive strategies, and I highly recommend playing with Gideon Jura if your deck can support it.
Lastly, I would like to address the various Birthing Pod brews (both the Naya and four-color one). While Birthing Pod is a card that I’ve liked in general, personally I can’t handle all of the variance that occurs when playing that deck. If I had to choose a list to play, it would be Naya Pod, only because it seems to play a little bit more like Naya Aggro and just happens to have Birthing Pod in it. This is almost like how before Dark Ascension the only Pod deck I’d consider was Reid Duke Birthing Pod Wolf Run deck with white. Birthing Pod always seems like it’s a ton better when the deck doesn’t need it to operate.
Time for the control deck choices! Let’s start with the big man on campus: U/B Control. The current incarnation of U/B Control is one that I just don’t enjoy playing. It feels like if anyone else has a powerful start and you don’t have Mana Leak, you just lose the game. It’s so hard to deal with a Sword of Feast and Famine on turn 2 or even just a turn 3 Geist of Saint Traft. You need very specific answers to deal with very specific cards. On the bright side, you have arguably the best grindy late game when you get to that point in the match, but I find it a hard task to get to that point in the first place.
The control deck I’d consider the most would be an Esper variant much like the one that performed so well last weekend:
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (7)
Lands (20)
Spells (29)
The white addition allows you to play the reliable Day of Judgment, Lingering Souls, Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, and none other than Gideon Jura himself! The combo of Day of Judgment into Gideon Jura is usually game over for most aggressive decks barring Moorland Haunt with Honor of the Pures or Runechanter’s Pikes. Watching the StarCityGames.com Open Series: Sacramento coverage this past weekend really made me believe how important the white actually is.
The last Standard deck list I’d like to talk about is just a little brew that I’ll probably not end up playing (since it seems to not like to being up against Nihil Spellbomb although the sideboard has a plan for that), but it’s something worth sharing:
Creatures (14)
Lands (16)
Spells (30)
- 2 Mountain
- 4 Island
- 4 Ponder
- 4 Gitaxian Probe
- 4 Heartless Summoning
- 4 Desperate Ravings
- 4 Faithless Looting
- 4 Thought Scour
Sideboard
Now this looks fun! The deck simply tries to go all in on winning with the infinite combo of Havengul Lich, Heartless Summoning, Priest of Urabrask, and Perilous Myr. Without the Priest of Urabrask, you have that machine gun effect of pay one mana, deal two damage. Without the Perilous Myr, you have infinite red mana, which will surely let you play and flash back all of your Faithless Lootings and Desperate Ravings (assuming you have a blue mana for each one).
The transformational sideboard is really cute too; in the face of all of the sideboard graveyard hate, you just turn into the other Heartless Summoning deck. You know, the one with Myr Superior and Grand Architect. This deck just seems like a blast, and I’ll surely have to give it a spin on Magic Online as soon as possible.
Alright! That’s it for Standard, kthxbye… Oh wait, almost forgot about Legacy!
It’s no secret that I don’t really like Legacy all that much, but I’ve grown to tolerate playing certain decks in the format. Unfortunately, I’m very much at the mercy of the people that can lend me cards. Hey, loyal readers that are going to the StarCityGames.com Open Series: Baltimore featuring the Invitational, if you can lend me cards for a Legacy deck I’d be very grateful!
However, if I owned every card in Legacy and could build any deck I want, there would only be a few that I enjoy playing enough to register.
The first would be the one that I did well with at the last StarCityGames.com Open Series featuring the Invitational: Maverick. If I had to choose a list, it would be a lot like Danny Jordan’s list from the Grand Prix with three Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and three Scavenging Ooze. Who knows, maybe I’ll just play G/W in both formats! Watchwolf represent!
A deck I’ve always wanted to play is Aggro Loam:
Creatures (16)
Lands (24)
Spells (20)
- 4 Lightning Bolt
- 1 Forest
- 2 Mountain
- 2 Seismic Assault
- 4 Mox Diamond
- 2 Engineered Explosives
- 4 Life from the Loam
- 1 Maelstrom Pulse
Sideboard
Much like Maverick, Aggro Loam always seems to have a great matchup against any fair deck. You usually just end up doing more powerful things than them with a ton of card advantage via Life from the Loam. I’d probably opt to run a version with a Burning Wish package for a little bit more utility in the open format known as Legacy.
Perhaps the deck I’d like to play the most for pure fun value would be this amazing concoction:
Creatures (20)
Lands (16)
Spells (24)
Sideboard
This. Deck. Is. Awesome!
I wish I would’ve been able to watch the coverage of the SCG Legacy Open finals in Sacramento, but unfortunately lab reports need to get done sometime. Decks like these give me faith that people can truly play whatever they want in Legacy and get away with it if they tune it correctly. If someone were to hand me this 75, I’d surely register it in a heartbeat!
Lastly, I could see Ben Friedman convincing me to play a Stoneblade variant and maybe even Chris Kronenberger convincing me to play his Mono Blue concoction. Maybe I should consult with my local Legacy specialists Will Nehlsen and James Wohlmacher for more insight.
At this point, all I have to say is wish me luck and hopefully I can bring to you a respectable tournament report next week! Keep brewing!
Thanks for reading,
Jonathan “Watchwolf92” Sukenik