Ever since Return to Ravnica, Standard has been a rock/paper/scissors format that’s shifted from week to week, but G/W/B Reanimator seems to have broken that mold. It was a deck around the time of Grand Prix Atlantic City, but it seemed to disappear after that.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why?

Bant Hexproof

This deck showed up out of nowhere, crushed Grand Prix Atlantic City, and then disappeared. For the most part, decks adapted to fight it, but it was basically just a metagame choice. While testing for Pro Tour Gatecrash, I was always a little scared that people would figure out the deck was good again. Geist of Saint Traft is particularly devastating against the decks I was planning on playing.

Right now is the perfect time for it to return.

The Hexproof decks prey on midrange decks that focus on interacting with the board, and currently that’s a large part of the format. While the Hexproof decks have nearly unbeatable nut draws, there are times when you don’t draw enough pump effects or no hexproof creatures. If you can get past that feeling of helplessness, the deck is very good.

First, a sample decklist:

Bant Hexproof

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 03-31-2013

Standard

Creatures (18)

Lands (22)

Spells (20)

Sideboard

That’s the list I’ve been playing to minor success. I lost a decent amount at first, but that’s because you actually have to build the deck correctly and not butcher it during sideboarding. For example, I lost my first two matches to G/W/B Reanimator simply because I sided out the Gift of Orzhovas. They played a steady stream of life-gaining monsters and raced me.

I play Fencing Ace because I think it’s more punishing than Silverblade Paladin. If mirror matches do pop up, you want Fencing Ace. However, Fencing Ace can’t double as a surprise pump spell the way Silverblade Paladin can, which makes it worse in a lot of matchups. But the 1W casting cost makes Fencing Ace appealing, and whenever it didn’t die, it usually killed them. The same could usually be said of Silverblade Paladin, but it was harder to cast and a turn slower.

In order to facilitate the Fencing Ace kill, I needed a way to protect it from removal. Turn 2 Ace, turn 3 Ethereal Armor plus Simic Charm in response to their removal, turn 4 kill them isn’t out of the ordinary. Without Simic Charm or a similar “counterspell,” suiting up a Fencing Ace is a lot riskier.

My sideboard has ways to beat removal, hate for Reanimator, and additional life gain for aggressive decks. I didn’t see a need for anything else.

The only other thing of note is the Overgrown Tombs—which would otherwise be Forests—that help cast Gift of Orzhova.

Another sample list:

Bant Hexproof

BrianFRESHlop

Test deck on 03-31-2013

Standard

Creatures (24)

Lands (20)

Spells (16)

Sideboard

This list is eloquent in its simplicity. My version always felt a little threat light or at the very least light on threats that didn’t do enough on their own. Sublime Archangel lines up poorly against a lot of cards, but if left unchecked, it will end the game quickly.

What about a different color?

U/W/R Hexproof

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 03-31-2013

Standard

Creatures (16)

Lands (24)

Spells (20)

Sideboard

Overall, I was not impressed with this build for two reasons. The first is that it was much worse against aggressive decks. The second is that while Boros Charm is very good, it wasn’t worth giving up the green cards.

Despite the addition of Boros Reckoner (which seemed better than Silverblade Paladin), U/W/R Hexproof is significantly worse against aggressive decks than its Bant counterpart. Without a mana accelerator, U/W/R’s best draw can only cast a creature on turn 2 and a Gift of Orzhova on turn 3. With a mana accelerator, that turn 2 creature could be a Geist of Saint Traft, and it could have an Ethereal Armor attached to it as well.

Without the potential for explosive starts, U/W/R is likely much worse off than Bant. Because of that, the sideboard Supreme Verdicts and Electrickerys are necessary to slow the aggressive decks down. After a Supreme Verdict, you can play a Geist of Saint Traft and start suiting it up.

Anthony Lowry made Top 8 of the Super Series event at Grand Prix Pittsburg with a similar list, so clearly the deck has some merit. At the moment, I prefer Bant.

If I can figure out a way to make these decks work (like by cutting them down to 40 cards and removing the chaff, heh), I will play one of them. That’s unlikely, so I’m looking into other decks.

Attack You

Of course, the Hexproof decks attack as well, but they are more focused on building a battleship that ignores interaction. What I’m talking about now is pure aggression. Every single point of damage I inflict matters, and if you stumble the slightest bit, you are probably going to die.

According to the Magic Online results, Naya Blitz is the best aggro deck.

Naya Blitz

Samuele Estratti

4th Place at Grand Prix on 03-10-2013

Standard

Creatures (36)

Lands (20)

Spells (4)

4 Searing Spear

Sideboard

Since Samuele Estratti’s Grand Prix Verona Top 4, most Blitz decks have resembled his. It’s incredibly fast but also vulnerable to things such as Boros Reckoner and Electrickery. Brad Nelson latest technology is a Threaten effect, like Traitorous Blood, to deal the final blow once the Reanimator opponent uses Angel of Serenity to wipe out your team.

Much like Hexproof, there is some variance involved in playing Naya Blitz. Sometimes, you just crush them, and sometimes, you mulligan a bunch or miss some land drops. Regardless, Naya is probably the most consistent of the aggressive decks—at least for what it does. You probably won’t beat any turn 3 Angel of Serenity draws from Reanimator like Hexproof can, but Reanimator rarely has that draw anyway.

Another option is to get creative:

R/G Aggro

Scrubaroo

Test deck on 03-31-2013

Standard

Creatures (28)

Lands (18)

Spells (14)

Sideboard

This is a very exciting deck and just goes to show there are some hidden gems out there. While Scrubaroo has since cut his Rush of Bloods, the Flings and Slaughterhorns remain.

If you’re looking for a traditional R/G list, I suggest something like this:

R/G Aggro

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 03-31-2013

Standard

Creatures (32)

Lands (22)

Spells (6)

2 Rancor
4 Pillar of Flame

Playing Experiment One isn’t out of the question either, but the real takeaway should be that Thundermaw Hellkite and fighting mana creatures is where you want to be. Thundermaw is always good for five damage against Reanimator, and that’s often all you need. Again, a Threaten effect is usually good for the same amount of damage.

Then again, maybe it’s time for Ash Zealot to return and do some dirty work.

Another hidden gem is Thatcher Revolt:

Naya Blitz

Mathisje

Test deck on 03-31-2013

Standard

Creatures (28)

Lands (18)

Spells (14)

Sideboard

As Sam Black already pointed out in his Daily Decks column, this version pushes the Human theme in order to be faster. In exchange, they are worse against opponents who can kill Hamlet Captain and Mayor of Avabruck, therefore breaking up the synergy.

For Jund Aggro, I would look at playing roughly the same thing that Ari Lax developed for Pro Tour Gatecrash:

Jund Aggro

Ari Lax

108th Place at Pro Tour on 02-17-2013

Standard

Creatures (31)

Lands (22)

Spells (7)

Sideboard

The only interesting new things I’ve seen are Arbor Elf or Wolfbitten Captive instead of or in addition to the already present one-drops. Both have their own strengths. Much like the R/G deck above, I’d want some Thundermaw Hellkites somewhere, and I’d want to kill mana guys on sight.

Control

Who would I be if I didn’t mention control decks? Going forward, I will be looking at Esper for my Sphinx’s Revelation deck of choice. U/W/R Flash is passable against Reanimator—and perhaps it’s better than I’m giving it credit for—but there is no denying that Esper matches up better against it. If you insist on sticking with Flash, switch your counterspells to Dissipates and play relevant graveyard hate.

Here’s the Esper list I’ve been working on:

Esper Control

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 03-31-2013

Standard

Creatures (8)

Lands (27)

Spells (25)

Sideboard

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a completely different list by the time you read this. I am in the beginning stages of tuning the deck for the new metagame.

For now, I prefer the minimalist approach to splashing black. I see lists with all these dual lands dealing them a bunch of damage they don’t need to be taking, and for what? Obzedat, Ghost Council? That guy is great against Jund and the mirror, but how prevalent are those matchups?

Right now, I’m more interested in tuning the deck to beat Reanimator, and I’ll shore up the other holes eventually. From my initial testing, it appears that aggro is a good matchup, while Jund is likely difficult. For example, I have very few ways to grind through them if they Slaughter Games my Sphinx’s Revelations. Perhaps a more counter-heavy, Angel-less build is the right answer, as long as I have some sideboard Jace, Memory Adepts.

As for the Reanimator matchup…

Dear G/W/B Reanimator Players,

Please don’t kill my lands with Acidic Slime. I can’t beat you when you do that.

Sincerely,

An Esper Control Player That Needs To Make His Land Drops

The Reanimirror

Does nobody remember this deck?

Reanimator

Morgan Chang

8th Place at Grand Prix on 11-18-2012

Standard

Creatures (18)

Lands (24)

Spells (18)

Sideboard

Wasn’t this the Japanese take on Reanimator that was supposed to beat the mirror match? Why can’t we just update that?

Reanimator

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 03-31-2013

Standard

Creatures (17)

Lands (24)

Spells (19)

Sideboard

Obviously, this list is a little rough, but a tuned version should shore up problems in the mirror match. The first problem is the lightning fast decks, but you can play as many Centaur Healers and Supreme Verdicts as you’d like. The second problem is the mirror match, where things like maindeck Deathrite Shaman and sideboard Evil Twins would help out.

***

Hopefully, next week I’ll have some tuned versions of these decks! Either that or some clever souls at the StarCityGames.com Open Series in Orlando will provide us with the answer.

GerryT

@G3RRYT on Twitter