Okay, I might confuse you with the title. I will not be posting any new deck ideas I came up with (as if I have formulated any) but rather I’ll just share with you the two decks I’m choosing to pilot for this Saturday’s Standard Tournament.

The primary cause of this very late decision was the lack of time we had to meet up and do some deck construction. We were only able to do so just hours before my shift last night. I just can’t blame my card pool buddy because of the busy schedule. Oh well, moving on the decks…

Deck Option No. 1 – Boat Brew

I always wanted to recreate a Boros (Red White Guild in Ravnica) type of aggro deck but wasn’t able to come up with a good list until this deck rose in popularity (and fulfilled my dream. lol). This deck is no doubt the number one choice of most players in the current Standard. Thus, as any economic principle would apply, popularity means more demand and that lessens the supply (availability) of the cards, which of course would lead to scarcity and higher prices.

To make it short, I couldn’t find anyone in our area who is selling their non-foil Ajani Vengeant. I would only resort to borrowing cards, which makes it unsure if the deck will be completed. I tried doing some substitutes, like using “Ajani in his Lorwyn days” (Ajani Goldmane) to fill up the two slots of his vengeant self, but that would really alter the deck’s performance.

For example, I will be sitting on a board position in our test play with my friend’s Bant Aggro deck. He was on the play, summoned a Rhox War Monk on turn three and had Rafiq on turn four. He bashed for 8 lifelinking double striking damage. I wasn’t holding any spot removal that time and got instead an Ajani Goldmane in hand. My fourth turn would have been a good play if that was Ajani Vengeant instead. The sequence would be playing Ajani and helixing Rafiq so that my 4/4 Figure will deal with the War Monk, until I swarm the board with Siege Gang Commanders. Okay enough with this rant. I know you get the idea.

Wanting to complete the deck, I messaged a few friends if they would be able to lend me their Ajani Vengeants. They said maybe they could and that made me doubt if I could complete the deck just in time, which led me to my second option (plan B)…

Deck Option No. 2 – Blightning Aggro

This is the deck that I’m definitely a fan of (obviously with the months of pilot) except for the card in the deck name itself, Blightning. I’m not sure what’s the real deal but my reason is that discarding your opponent will only do little effect on his/her board. I’d rather replace it with Puncture Blast or other burn spells.

The deck though has surprisingly become one of the top decks after Conflux. Maybe its because of the Fae hate cards Banefire and Volcanic Fallout. I’m not sure. Also, I have read that the deck can defeat 5 Color Control, in which my Blightningless build became a pawn. That led me to curiosity to try the deck in the tournament.

I looked for several lists and it was good to know that Conflux has given the deck quite a lot of card options, some worth mentioning are Shambling Remains, Hellspark Elemental and the pro-white Goblin Outlander. With these options at hand, I can go with fast aggro like what Matt Nass piloted at Superstars Standard or go with the usual build of early beats and late-game finishers like Demigod or Siege-Gang Commander. I think I’ll go with the latter and create an initial list.

BR Blightning
by Mark Ian Alloso
Main (36)
4 Boggart Ram-Gang
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Shambling Remains
4 Siege-Gang Commander

4 Blightning
4 Flame Javelin
4 Incinerate

4 ??? (I’m choosing between Stigma Lasher, Goblin Outlander and Magma Spray)

Lands (24)
4 Auntie’s Hovel
4 Ghitu Encampment
4 Graven Cairns
6 Mountain
2 Reflecting Pool
4 Sulfurous Springs

I haven’t come up with the sideboard yet but the cards I’m looking forward to adding are Infest, Thoughtseize, and Volcanic Fallout. No Banefires because I have none at the moment and no plan of buying with its current overpriced value.

So there, the two-deck options I needed to finalize and decide which to choose. If you would be asked, which of these two would you prefer?

I have been observing the prices of Conflux since it was released and I was a bit overwhelmed with the prices. They are so freaking expensive. The top Conflux cards based on the prices are Nicol Bolas Planeswalker, Noble Hierarch, Banefire and Maelstrom Archangel. The elder dragon got the highest price, ranging around 20 dollars a piece. (Wtf!) Banefire also experienced the hype with a price of 10 to 11 dollars, equivalent to around 500 pesos here in my area. I’d rather take my chances in buying booster packs instead.

I don’t know the real reason why they cost at such a high price but I’m certain that it was the hype. Because of that, I decided to write this topic. To be honest, Banefire is my favorite card in the set. Its really good if you got six or more mana to play it. That doesn’t mean that the price will be that much. The uncounterable and unpreventable spell is awesome but you can always find ways to deal with it. Here are my suggestions.

Discard – Blightning, Esper Charm and Thoughtseize will come in handy on this. Vendilion Clique can also be considered. You just have to observe if you’re opponent is going for a Banefire finish. Perfect timing is the key.

Redirection – This covers all the target changing spells in the current Standard (Swerve, Shunt, Wild Ricochet, etc.). This is perfect especially if both of you are in low life. Just imagine the look in your opponent’s face as his Banefire kills himself.

Play Fatties – Banefire will be commonly used as a game ender, dealing the final damage to your face. What if you play a threat? A fatty creature, a Colossus for example. He would probably aim the sorcery at it. That is what I noticed when I play against red burn. Diverting their attention to your threat instead of your face is a good strategy.

Mana Disruption – This would probably mean going into land destruction mode and prevent them from reaching six mana. The bad side is that this strategy is lame and ineffective in the current metagame. You can stick with Manabarbs and Mistbind Clique though.

Runed Halo – Just name “Banefire” and it will do all the job for you. An all-in-one package deal.

This is so far what I can think of and suggest. I’m hoping these can be convincing enough to put the price of Banefire in a normal and acceptable level. We’ll see if it will happen. (crossing fingers)