Last weekend’s Starcity Games Standard Open in Washington DC featured the first ever major MtG Standard event with Fate Reforged. The Champion was Gerard Fabiano piloting a control deck with the Sultai clan.

Here is the decklist:

Sultai Control by Gerard Fabiano
1st Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 1/24/2015

Maindeck
4 Satyr Wayfinder
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Garruk, Apex Predator
2 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
4 Bile Blight
4 Dig Through Time
2 Disdainful Stroke
3 Hero’s Downfall
2 Murderous Cut
2 Sultai Charm
2 Crux of Fate
1 Interpret the Signs
2 Rakshasa’s Secret
2 Thoughtseize

2 Island
3 Swamp
2 Llanowar Wastes
4 Opulent Palace
4 Polluted Delta
2 Temple of Deceit
4 Temple of Malady
1 Temple of Mystery
2 Yavimaya Coast
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Sideboard
2 Rakshasa Deathdealer
2 Feed the Clan
2 Negate
2 Pharika’s Cure
1 Sultai Charm
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Drown in Sorrow
1 Thoughtseize

For another round of the possible deck archetypes in Fate Reforged Standard, here is a creation that I found from the MTG Salvation forums that was built upon the M15 card: Waste Not. The added card from Fate Reforged was Dark Deal which looked to be the best discard combo for the enchantment.

Their version was Blue Black to have access to Ashiok and counterspells, along with Delve cards like Treasure Cruise. Though that version looks solid, I think going to just Mono Black will turn out fine. Here is my initial decklist:

Mono Black Discard by Mark Ian Alloso
Standard

Creatures
3 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Spells
3 Bile Blight
1 Despise
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
1 Empty the Pits
4 Waste Not
3 Sign in Blood
2 Rakshasa’s Secret
4 Dark Deal
4 Crux of Fate
3 Hero’s Downfall
3 Murderous Cut
4 Thoughtseize

Lands
4 Dismal Backwater
1 Island
12 Swamp
3 Polluted Delta
4 Temple of Deceit

I have decided to include the UB lands as for access to activate Tasigur’s ability. He is a pseudo Tarmogoyf because of Delve and he’s reliable in the late game, returning relevant removals or discard spells to fuel Waste Not.

Your win conditions if the Waste Not plan fails are via Tasigur beatdown, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon and casting a large Empty the Pits end-of-turn.

Let me know what you think of this decklist. Just comment them on the box below. I’d be happy to hear your thoughts.

Last Friday was another usual Friday Night Magic Standard tournament for the local Ilonggos who would feel to spend that night shuffling cards before the Fate Reforged Prerelease the next day. There were ten participants so that means a four-round tournament.

I piloted White Blue Heroics, with the list based on my previous post and hoped for some lucky draw and curve. That was not meant to be in the first round as I got crushed by Red Green Monsters in two games. One Game 1, I kept a risky hand with scry lands and a Defiant Strike and a few ordeals but with no creatures. I am on the draw but the high chances were there and drawing at least one heroic critter would surely win me the game. There was no site of one after many turns and I just died from a large creature and some burn spells. Game 2 was mull to six with one land, one Favored Hoplite, and again Defiant Strike and Gods Willing. I kept and the second land was just too late and again I was overwhelmed by the opponent’s board.

I was hoping for luck in my second Round as I was faced again on another Red Green matchup, this time against my teammate Arthur. The starting hand was favorable this time and I was able to win both games cruising with a huge unblockable Hero of Iroas or any of the two hoplites.

Round 3 was against Jeskai Ascendancy combo which I needed a god to draw to be able to finish him before he goes off with the combo. Good thing he didn’t get the right cards after a few cantrips and a Dig Through Time. I boarded in my Erases, Glare, and Stubborn Denials to counter his enchantment but in Game 2 he was able to pull off by turn 5. In the decider game, I had my first play on a second-turn Hero of Iroas while he missed his third land by one turn though he got Rattleclaw Mystic to mana ramp. I then just chained from strike to Ordeal of Thassa to hit for large damage to force him to either block or bounce my creature with helix. After a few cantrips and spells with the Jeskai Ascendancy in which he didn’t find a zero to cast artifact, he finally decided for the helix bounce but I got the Gods Willing for protection and he extended the hand.

Round 4 versus Mono Red was a do-or-die match for me to get into the Top 4. He started fast but I was able to recover with a timed Ordeal of Heliod, gaining ten lives. I followed it up with a pilgrim tutor for Aqueous Form to deal lethal damage. My sideboard list has enough cards for life-gain purposes so I just needed to draw one so to be safe from the initial assault. I also boarded the trailblazers for more consistency on turn one. Good thing there were no blunders on my starting hand on Game 2 so it was just elementary: Heroic creature into protection spell into lifegain into unblockable damage.

My final record was 3-1 and made it on fourth place. It was another foil Frenzied Goblin for the card pool and an additional virtual point bonus for the team. Next up would be a report of the Fate Reforged Iloilo Prerelease (which almost never happened because of courier issues) though I might need some time to detail that one.

That is a wrap and until the next post.

Since a lot of the pros on various MtG sites have been doing their respective brews and update as well as discussion of the current top tier decks in the Standard metagame, I have decided to just post a decklist of a possible look of a deck in post-Fate Reforged Standard.

Today’s deck feature is Abzan Aggro. Here is the decklist:

4 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Rakshasa Deathdealer
4 Siege Rhino
4 Warden of the First Tree
3 Wingmate Roc

4 Abzan Charm
2 Bile Blight
4 Hero’s Downfall
3 Thoughtseize

2 Caves of Koilos
2 Forest
4 Llanowar Wastes
2 Plains
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
3 Temple of Malady
3 Temple of Silence
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Windswept Heath

*list referenced Adam Yurchick’s TCG Player article.

It is the deck brewing season once again and this time it is for the upcoming release of Fate Reforged. From what I see it, it is more like upgrading the current deck archetypes as almost all of the deck strategies have already been revealed. My deck of choice for today to brew/upgrade is the Red White or Boros Aggro deck that was played by Sam Pardee from Grand Prix Denver 2015.

Here is the upgraded list:

Mark Ian Alloso’s R/W Aggro
FRF Standard

Lands
5 Plains
11 Mountain
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Battlefield Forge

Creatures
3 Seeker of the Way
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Heliod’s Pilgrim
1 Monastery Mentor
1 Soulfire Grand Master
4 Stormbreath Dragon

Spells
4 Chained to the Rocks
2 Collateral Damage
3 Hordeling Outburst
4 Lightning Strike
4 Stoke the Flames
1 Valorous Stance

Planeswalkers
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

The new inclusions are Monastery Mentor, Soulfire Grand Master, Collateral Damage and Valorous Stance. Here are the cards for reference:

I have decided on having only single copies of the two Jeskai monks as they fit to shine in the late turns like turn five or six wherein you just cast them and have mana for your burn spell which you can cast in response to their removals. A late game with Soulfire Grand Master in play looks devastating as you can reoccur your burn spells with his ability, while gaining life in the process.

Collateral Damage as they called as the new Lightning Bolt fits well in the deck as you have lot of token creatures to sac to cast this card. This replaced Magma Jet for an extra damage.

Valorous Stance has a dual purpose in the deck though I am not sure if I will be having another copy maindeck. Sure it can kill off coursers on which you wouldn’t waste your burn spell but then again it is always a situational removal. It also cannot protect Stormbreath Dragon as it is pro-White and you can’t stop spells like Utter End and Abzan Charm from killing your critters.

I have also added Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker maindeck to power up the deck’s flyer count which can quickly get your opponents into the burn range.

I’d be happy to hear your thoughts on this deck version of Red White Aggro coming in Fate Reforged Standard. Post them on the comment box below.

That is a wrap. Until the next post.

We started last time on the discussion of the basic Magic: the Gathering Standard decks with the Aggro archetype which is probably my favorite in my years of playing Magic: the Gathering. Our topic for today is about the Midrange decks. This is probably the most popular deck archetype based on the current Standard metagame.

Midrange decks are a balance between the fast aggro decks and the defending nature of control decks. They tend to start slow but can easily adapt to any given situation. They have the capacity to hold off fast aggro decks with efficient removals or hard-to-kill critters and at the same time gain an advantage on control matchups with value cards and discard spells.

Ideal builds of this archetype are based on Green for mana fixing and acceleration and Black for access to the best card removals.

The best example of this deck archetype is Ari Lax’ Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir winning deck, Abzan Midrange. The deck’s versatility makes it a huge plus against the other decks in the metagame. Here is the decklist for reference:

Planeswalker (7)
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
3 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion

Creature (16)
2 Elvish Mystic
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Siege Rhino
2 Wingmate Roc

Sorcery (4)
4 Thoughtseize

Instant (9)
4 Abzan Charm
3 Hero’s Downfall
2 Utter End

Land (24)
3 Forest
2 Plains
4 Windswept Heath
4 Temple of Malady
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
2 Llanowar Wastes
2 Caves of Koilos
1 Mana Confluence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Temple of Silence

Sideboard (15)
1 End Hostilities
1 Duneblast
1 Mass Calcify
3 Drown in Sorrow
3 Bile Blight
2 Murderous Cut
1 Unravel the Æther
1 Liliana Vess
2 Nissa, Worldwaker

Other Midrange decks in Khans of Tarkir Standard include Mardu Mid, Sultai Whip, Black Green Constellations, and Abzan Whip. My past favorites of these decks were Jund and Naya Midrange which got me two Top 4 finishes from the World Magic Cup Qualifiers last year.

Overall, this is the preferred deck of most Pro players though you should devise a way to deal with mirror matches as it tends to be grindy and the better draws always win in the late game.

The next post will be the focus on the ‘control’ side of things or archetypes. Thanks for reading and until next time.

References:
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I have been a fan of Red and Black decks and the Rakdos guild ever since Satanic Sligh became popular way back in the first edition of Ravnica block. My successful finish on those colors was BR Vampires in Zendikar and my recent take was the Devotion to Black splash with Red for Mortars and Rakdos’s Return. This next endeavor is a workaround for Theros’ Murder King, Tymaret.

I initially tried to fit him in a Mardu Midrange build but he’s more of a game finisher which is not the main strategy of the deck. I thought that the list will just be a plain and simple Black Red aggro strategy. Below is the list I have come up with after scouring various references.

Creatures
4 Ashcloud Phoenix
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Spiteful Returned
4 Tymaret, the Murder King

Spells
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Lightning Strike
2 Necromancer’s Stockpile
4 Stoke the Flames

Lands
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Temple of Malice
1 Mana Confluence
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Bloodfell Caves
10 Mountain

The main combo of the deck is Tymaret and Bloodsoaked Champion’s Raid ability. You can either go with the straightforward beatdown route or whittle the opponent’s life with Tymaret and Purphoros ‘ping’. The best play is to resolve and untap into Purphoros, God of the Forge as you can quickly finish off the opponent if you had a starting curve of Bloodsoaked Champion, a two drop and Rabblemaster/ Outburst.

The support creatures are Goblin Rabblemaster, Ashcloud Phoenix and Spiteful Returned. Rabblemaster is already a standard three-drop for Red decks whereas Ashcloud Phoenix is a pseudo-removal evasive four-drop four-power flyer. Both also benefits from the ‘ping’ plan. Spiteful Returned was my other creature of choice because of an Enchantment which I’ll explain later on.

As for the spells, we have Red’s two best burn spells in the current Standard: Lightning Strike and Stoke the Flames. Hordeling Outburst is another creature source which fuels Tymaret, and deal six damage to opponents with Purphoros. Also, the 1/1 Goblin tokens are pretty much a nuisance to spot removals and can attack into Caryatids and Elvish Mystics.

The one card that is somewhat a peculiar choice in this deck is Necromancer’s Stockpile. First of, Tymaret is a Zombie so it can be discarded to the stockpile to draw a card and generate a 2/2 Zombie token. That is also the same with Spiteful Returned. If he was drawn into an awkward situation, you can just cycle him to a new card while having a token at the same time.

Necromancer’s Stockpile can also be activated if you have drawn into multiple copies of Tymaret or Purphoros. Against midrange decks, you can use it to draw into your finishing burn spell or removal to their best creature.

The twenty-three lands looks decent to accommodate this build (four Bloodstained Mires for mana fixing and to filter the draws). You would not worry on flooding out as the extra mana can be used on Purphoros’ pump ability or to power Tymaret’s recurring ping. Your long game plan revolves around these two cards.

As a wrap-up, I think the deck has a potential especially in this current Standard metagame of three-color strategies. You can quickly punish them for a few turns of mana stumble and take advantage of their slow start.

I might have missed a few things on this build which you can then point out on your comments and suggestions. I’d be glad to hear them from you.

Until next time and thanks for reading.

It is a yearly routine for Wizards of the Coast to release a Holiday Gift Box product for every October big set. This product actually started two years ago in the Return to Ravnica set. I bought mine for that set and also for Theros that was released last year. This year was for the Khans of Tarkir set and I decided finally to get one as Rei has one gift box available. Here is the design of the Khans of Tarkir Holiday Gift Box:

Here we have a closer look of the box as we removed the design paper wrap.

Opened the box and we have the sticker sheet to be used as labels for the dividers and also for designing your deck box or card album. The gift box also includes the four KTK booster packs, a foil promo card and some basic lands.

Here is the foil promo card Sultai Charm. I was hoping could have Abzan Charm instead as the Abzan decks were more popular in the current Standard metagame.

The four Khans of Tarkir booster packs and the basic land art designed dividers.

I was hoping for some good pulls on the four packs and was never disappointed. Here are my gift box booster loots.

Is the product worth it? I think so, not because of the booster packs (Khans is a good set) but having a box to organize your collection is pretty much a big deal to help protect & secure your cards and just have it in one place.

The Jeskai clan once again made a showing in the Standard metagame scene as it made a champion finish in the latest Starcitygames Standard Open in Richmond, VA. It was not a typical tempo burn deck as this version utilizes Jeskai Ascendancy to gain advantage of Prowess creatures and also pump up the Goblin and Soldier tokens. The deck was piloted by Harlan Firer and he defeated a powerhouse opponent in Shaheen Soorani playing Esper Control.

Here is the winning decklist of Jeskai Combo:

Maindeck
3 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Monastery Swiftspear
3 Seeker of the Way

2 Dig Through Time
4 Jeskai Charm
4 Jeskai Ascendancy
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Retraction Helix
3 Springleaf Drum
4 Stoke the Flames

2 Mystic Monastery
2 Mana Confluence
2 Temple of Epiphany
2 Temple of Triumph
3 Flooded Strand
2 Plains
2 Island
3 Battlefield Forge
3 Shivan Reef

Sideboard
4 Mantis Rider
2 Oppressive Rays
3 Gods Willing
1 Glare of Heresy
3 Magma Spray
2 Negate

Recap of the SCG Open tournament in Richmond can be found here.

In preparation for the weekly FNM tournament and the upcoming Grand Prix Manila, I have been constantly updating the Standard decks of the card pool. The recent deck that I have worked with was the Red Green Monster, which was the converted deck from the Temur Monsters list.

I reverted to the two-color version due to its consistency and efficient mana curve. Here is the list that we’ll be playing on this weekend’s Standard tournaments:

Red Green Monsters by m3l0q
Standard

Lands
7 Forest
7 Mountain
4 Temple of Abandon
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Mana Confluence

Creatures
4 Heir of the Wilds
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Fanatic of Xenagos
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Boon Satyr
4 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Rattleclaw Mystic
1 Polukranos, World Eater

Spells
3 Chandra, Pyromaster
3 Crater’s Claws
4 Lightning Strike

Sideboard (subject to changes)
2 Arc Lightning
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Fated Conflagration
4 Magma Spray
3 Xenagos, the Reveler

Link: http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=8490&d=248736&f=ST

I was looking at the crap rares in my Khans of Tarkir opened booster packs pile and came upon a card and wondered if I could make it work in a Standard deck. The card I am referring to is Retribution of the Ancients. Too bad it just missed Simic’s Evolve ability.

The nearest archetype that I have found for the card to be utilized was the Heroic deck. The popular builds are placed on White and Blue mana base but in this version, we will use Black as the second color. Referencing from various WU Heroic builds, here is my initial list of White Black Heroics:

Creatures
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Hero of Iroas
2 Eidolon of Countless Battles
1 Abzan Falconer
4 Phalanx Leader
2 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer

Spells
4 Defiant Strike
2 Feat of Resistance
4 Gods Willing
1 Launch the Fleet
4 Ordeal of Erebos
1 Ordeal of Heliod
4 Raise the Alarm
2 Retribution of the Ancients

Lands
4 Caves of Koilos
1 Mana Confluence
1 Windswept Heath
7 Plains
4 Flooded Strand
4 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

The list looks to be built on an easy replacement of Blue Ordeals to its Black counterpart, changing Temples and adding Caves of Koilos but this build is slightly different.

First of all is the inclusion of four Raise the Alarm to make sure you have at least two creatures to pump by turning three on your Phalanx Leader’s Heroic trigger. In the same way, that loads up your Retribution of the Ancients wherein you have now sources to remove +1/+1 counters. The alarm also benefits your Eidolon of Countless Battles which you can hard cast with no remorse.

Maindeck removal might be irrelevant but access to Black opens up your sideboard to a lot of discard choices like Thoughtseize to support Ordeal of Erebos and decent spot removals like Dark Betrayal and Murderous Cut. Your other option might be Sorin for control decks and Hushwing Gryff for Constellations and Siege Rhinos. I won’t list a specific sideboard plan for now but I think you already get the idea.

Wrapping up, the deck should look decent enough in the Heroics archetype line though don’t expect it to be at par with its White Blue cousin. Each list has its pros and cons and I just wanted Retribution of the Ancients to have a spot in Standard. Again, your comments and suggestions on this build are very much welcome so just hit them in the comment box below.

Until the next post.

So here I am, thinking on another Standard deck to brew on a boring night. I decided to browse through the Khans of Tarkir spoiler list for ideas and came upon the card named Abzan Ascendancy. I initially thought of a Convoke tokens list that the enchantment can pump, but its second ability will be pretty much useless. Since the clan’s mechanic is Outlast, I scoured and sorted creatures from the clan’s colors with that ability.

After a few minutes, the list is now composed of mostly White Outlast critters and a few of them from the Green pile. So the deck’s core colors will be White and Green with Black splash for ascendancy and maybe Abzan Charm. A few deck statistics analysis and choosing the right creature while discarding unnecessary ones, here is the first version of the deck, Abzan Outlast:

Creatures
4 Abzan Falconer
4 Ainok Bond-Kin
4 Elvish Mystic
4 High Sentinels of Arashin
2 Soul of Theros
4 Sunblade Elf
3 Voyaging Satyr
3 Wingmate Roc

Spells
4 Abzan Ascendancy
4 Abzan Charm
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes

Lands
3 Sandsteppe Citadel
3 Temple of Plenty
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Plains
2 Forest
4 Llanowar Wastes
3 Windswept Heath

There were only two Outlast creatures that made into the list: Abzan Falconer and Ainok Bond-Kin. That is because their ability is the only relevant type in most of the combat situations. First Strike gets you advantage against most blockers and Flying for bypassing late game threats. The rest are mana creatures that you’d need to ramp into your sentinels or rocs as wells as mana dump for Sunblade Elf’s pump (+1/+1) ability.

The sleeper card in the list is High Sentinels of Arashin, a four drop flyer that gets big coming into play as a follow up for Abzan Ascendancy plus it’s is a late game pump source which also triggers Outlast’s static ability as well.

Soul of Theros is the deck’s top of the curve and can give your team a huge swing once you have untapped into it. It is also a 6/6 threat on its own and can even be used from the graveyard if ever it is killed.

Aside from the ascendancy, your other +1/+1 counter sources are the Abzan Charms and the lone planeswalker in the deck Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. I was thinking of having Dictate of Heliod in his spot but then he can provide gas by digging into your relevant creatures and filtering redundant cards.

This is still an experimental build so I won’t expect it to perform well against the current Tier 1 decks in Standard, though I will still be testing it on Magic Workstation and maybe I will post some match results soon so stay tuned for that.

That’s about it for Abzan Outlast deck tech, thanks for reading and until next post.