Joshua decided to take this week out to look at some of the most underplayed cards in the Standard format, and maybe give someone some inspiration to make a killer deck. Who knows… maybe the next tier 1 deck is lurking within…
I hate beating a dead horse. I know that I lost the Battle Royale match to Talen a couple of weeks ago, and that’s fine. I got played, it happens. However, I thought that the deck I brought to table could be nurtured into a competitor in this Standard format, so I kept beating the proverbial dead horse. I should have given up. A lot of time could have been spent in a better way, like tuning the Solar Flare mirror match, or actually doing homework for a math class that I am sure to fail.
Joshua, determined to improve his Limited game, presents an admittedly-disastrous triple-Coldsnap draft experience… and begs for your help. Where did it all go wrong? Where could Mr. Claytor have salvaged things? And what could be done with the resultant forty-five cards of shame? Come to the forums and share your views!
Dear Joshua,
Hi! I was hoping I would never have to actually tell you this, but holy Christ on a cracker are you ever awful at this game!
Dear Talen Lee,
Hi.
I hope things are going well.
I know last week you took a tight match with Goodman, but this edition is going to be awful for you. I’m going to beat up on you like so many a fattie before me has beaten up on an all-you-can-eat buffet.
NOTE: This match has been moved to Saturday July 29th, 7pm EST, in the Anything Goes room on MTGO. Be there!
Josh takes a look at a base Green/White Glare deck that utilizes Blue for some of the more powerful format-defining spells. It has game against a number of the Standard players, especially the Aggro decks that are smashing local metagames the world over… but does it have enough to be a true Tier 1 contender?
I’ve received more tickets into the Top 8 because of the ridiculous Sealed decks I have gotten back, and have not had to build a deck out what I thought was a mediocre or suboptimal pool in a long time… Was Champs the time for me to pull the bad stuff?
Man, I am so glad that Mirrodin is going to rotate out of Standard in the coming weeks. Gone will be the days that anyone can tap three Urza lands and two Forests and beat you. So long Sword of Fire and Ice, I’ll see you again in Extended season! Goodbye Vedalken Shackles. Two fingers to you, Troll Ascetic! Now it’s time to focus on what decks are interesting for States. You might be surprised to find Hondens is near the top of my list.
Josh turns his fascination towards off-the-wall decks on Blue/Green Beats – a deck that has been flying under the radar until today, but one that Mr. Claytor says has a lot of power ready to be harnessed.
So what are you supposed to do if you want to play Standard, but absolutely abhor the idea of having to play one of the established boring decks? I know casting a Vedalken Shackles and taking control of a dork is not a lot of fun to me, nor is casting a Plow Under, and hoping to draw an Eternal Witness. What else is there? What decks are exciting, and powerful and let you not play with nine-mana sorceries? What decks can you play with that are different – that can take the tournament by surprise and let you have fun while winning matches?
The constructive feedback in my last article was surprisingly good and many of the changes the forums suggested to Green/Black Control have been incorporated into my latest version. Sadly, I’m not really here to discuss my favorite deck in the Standard format, but a new version of an old favorite that has stormed the Kentucky Magic scene: Proteus Staff Control.
Josh takes a look at the deck that made him State Champion for the new Standard environment. Now that Affinity is gone, what changes need to be made to the deck and what decks in the metagame are going to cause problems for Sol Malka’s favorite colors?
Fifth Dawn is all the rage, and the banning of Skullclamp now makes this deck an even more serious contender. The eminent death of Elf and Nail (remember that is this deck’s hardest matchup) will allow this mono-Red control deck to wreak havoc on the newly formed metagame. If the Fifth Dawn became legal today, this is what I would be playing with from the new set.
Even with the hundreds of hours of play testing underneath my belt, I have yet to actually do particularly well at any Regionals, with this year’s 6-3 record being far from qualifying. What you came here for was a decklist, and a story explaining how after starting the day with five straight match wins, it all came crashing down around me, so let’s get started.
If the Regional championships were being held this weekend, do you know what deck you would be playing? Is it going to be something fun because you’re a casual player that likes to cast Eater of Days and Stifle the come into play ability? How about something aggressive so you can maximize the amount of relaxation you get in between rounds of the grueling all-day tournament? Whatever you choose to play at Regionals, you have to be well informed, and hopefully I can present to you a version of Astral Slide that has been devastating in my own testing.
