So here is another deck tech I came up with after a few discussion with the teammate with his Aetherborn Improvise deck for Standard. The game plan starts with regular aggro creatures to chip on opponents’ life total and it is then followed by a late game value card in the form of Underhanded Designs. The enchantment activates ‘Extort’, an Orzhov mechanic that triggers for each artifact you control that enters the battlefield and sources for those triggers are available most of the time. Scroungers, schematics, Fabricate and even Aethersphere Harvester etb are your best examples.

Here below is the first version of the deck:

4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Syndicate Trafficker
4 Weaponcraft Enthusiast
4 Chief ofthe Foundry
4 Sweatworks Brawler
2 Weldfast Engineer

3 Aethersphere Harvester
4 Servo Schematic
4 Underhanded Designs
4 Unlicensed Disintegration

4 Smoldering Marsh
4 Foreboding Ruins
9 Swamp
6 Mountain

Pro Tour Aether Revolt is on the books, and the deck that dominated the Standard portion of the event was Mardu Vehicles Aggro. Even with the loss of the Smugglers Copter, the replacement card Heart of Kiran proved to be a better choice, with a 4/4 flying vigilant body over card advantage. Mardu did not faced any problem crewing the vehicle as more of its creatures have three power such as Veteran Motorist, Depala and Scraphead Scrounger. The deck is also equipped with efficient spot removals like Unlicensed Disintegration and two new cards from Aether Revolt, Fatal Push and Shock, both efficient in killing opponents’ relevant creatures.

Overall, the power level of the deck is beyond that of regular aggro and with a Pro Tour Champion finish, we will expect a high number of these in the metagame this week. The next question is: how do we deal or stop the aggressiveness of Mardu Vehicle? Here are the ways (as I have referenced from previous experiences of the deck matchup prior to the recent Standard banning):

1. Play Cheap Mass Removal – Specific cards like Radiant Flames and Flaying Tendrils are low-cast cost ways to deal with the early aggro curve of the deck. The flames deals three damage for three mana, given that you cast it with three different colors whereas the tendrils let you exile the scrounger and destroy their shenanigans on it. I remembered last time that a spot removal on the copter followed by a Flaying Tendrils is almost a game over for them.

2. Artifact Removals – Note that they rely on Vehicles to deal large amount of damage (Heart of Kiran, Cultivators Caravan) and so your ideal move is to destroy them as they crew that particular vehicle. Also, the new AER card Release the Gremlins made a name in the last Pro Tour as it was the winning move to turn the game to the champion’s favor. Sky Sovereign and another artifact destroyed and replaced by two 2/2 Gremlins under your control is truly a magnificent play.

3. Use Creatures with Board Advantage – Two words, Ishkanah, Grafwidow. Black Green Delirium once again provides a way to maximize mother Spider on your fifth turn. Noxious Gearhulk is another example.

So far these three points are your solutions in fighting the matchup with Mardu Vehicles. It might look obvious that we are gearing to the return of BG Delirium Control in the metagame as the deck to keep Mardu in check. Even without the presence of Emrakul, I think the deck is still viable to play. I am also thinking of splashing Red for access to Release the Gremlins. I might be brewing a list this week before Friday. We shall see how it goes.

That is a wrap for this post and expect your next FNM to be a car show. Until next time.

We were recently brewing some Standard decks with my friend Rey Victor and he mentioned of a Green Black version of the Pummeler Energy deck. Aether Revolt offered some new gears for the deck and the need for Red is somehow not that important. The Black replacement opens the access to effective spot removals like Fatal Push as well as discard spells like Transgress the Mind, not to mention the Winding Constrictor. I made an initial decklist of the build below.

4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Winding Constrictor
4 Longtusk Cub
4 Electrostatic Pummeler
4 Bristling Hydra
3 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
2 Verdurous Gearhulk

4 Attune with Aether
4 Blossoming Defense
4 Larger than Life
3 Highspire Infusion

4 Aether Hub
4 Blooming Marsh
6 Forest
6 Swamp

The first major Standard tournament after Aether Revolt became legal to play in the format was the SCG Standard Open last weekend which was held in Columbus. One the deck archetypes that held a respectable finish was Black Green Aggro, powered by the Winding Constrictor, Walking Ballista and Rishkar, Peema Renegade. I made a Jund Energy version of the deck before but the straightforward two-color build was looking more effective and the preferred choice by most of the players.

Here below is the decklist piloted by Andrew Skorik which finished 3rd in the tournament.

Maindeck
Creatures (23)
4 Verdurous Gearhulk
4 Walking Ballista
3 Catacomb Sifter
4 Sylvan Advocate
4 Winding Constrictor
4 Rishkar, Peema Renegade

Planeswalkers (5)
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
4 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

Spells (8)
2 Fatal Push
4 Grasp of Darkness
2 Heart of Kiran

Lands (24)
8 Forest
6 Swamp
4 Blooming Marsh
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Hissing Quagmire

Sideboard
2 Distended Mindbender
3 Tireless Tracker
1 Natural Obsolescence
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
3 Flaying Tendrils
3 Transgress the Mind