Friday Night Magic has been one of the local Magic: the Gathering events where the players try their deck brews firsthand. One major reason would be that it is usually cheap on the entry fee and the competition level is somewhat lax.

In one of the recent FNM events conducted online through Magic Arena and hosted by Final Turn Hobby Shop (a game store in Bacolod City), there is a decklist that may get my interest because of my following on the Boros Cycling deck that I have featured in a previous blog post. This version, however, tapped on the third color Green to make it that of the Naya shard. The purpose might be that of the metagame call, but also because of the options on the sideboard for easy changes later on.

This deck was played by a fellow good friend and Magic Pro Player Craig Garces of Cagayan de Oro and the full decklist below:

Companion
1 Lurrus of the Dream Den

Main Deck
4 Drannith Healer
4 Drannith Stinger
4 Flourishing Fox
4 Valiant Rescuer

1 Gods Willing
2 Wilt
4 Footfall Crater
4 Frostveil Ambush
4 Go for Blood
4 Startling Development
4 Zenith Flare
3 Memory Leak

6 Plains
4 Mountain
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple Garden

Sideboard
2 Fight as One
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Glass Casket
1 Lurrus of the Dream Den
1 Redcap Melee
2 Shadowspear
2 Soul-Guide Lantern
1 Blazing Volley
2 Scorching Dragonfire

Reference:
https://mtgmelee.com/Decklist/View/22374

I had played the Standard Boros Feather deck back in the local tournaments last year and I can attest that this archetype is very powerful once you get to set up the card engine of Feather, the Redeemed and another ‘Heroic’ creature. This can be done in as early as turn 3 if you untapped with a two-drop creature and you can protect it with one-mana buff spells.

The new set Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths has offered a new comrade in the line-up and has ‘joined’ the list with Winota, Joiner of Forces. For the card reference,

Here below is the decklist referenced from Cardgamebase.com.

Creatures:
3 Dreadhorde Arcanist
4 Feather, the Redeemed
1 Tajic, Legion’s Edge
4 Tenth District Legionnaire
4 Winota, Joiner of Forces
2 Haktos the Unscarred
3 Legion Warboss
2 Robber of the Rich

Spells:
1 Chance for Glory
4 Defiant Strike
4 Fight as One
2 Gods Willing
2 Samut’s Sprint

Lands:
3 Fabled Passage
6 Mountain
9 Plains
4 Sacred Foundry
2 Temple of Triumph

The list of creatures somewhat has a variance in the card choices. It doesn’t rely on the main strategy but rather has other standalone options. For instance, Legion Warboss is already a threat itself and can generate an army of Goblin tokens if unchecked. Haktos the Unscarred’s etb protection can randomly give you a defined board advantage if you got lucky with the chosen number.

The way I see this list is more of a creature aggro that can sustain on built-in abilities to gain a board presence and that the buff spells are there only to protect them at the right moment. The two key cards are just what you need: Feather and Winota. Curving to these two can be pretty devastating for opponents.

Aside from the popular Boros Cycling deck in the current Standard metagame, I am pretty sure this deck shows up in some of the major tournaments on Magic Arena but probably a second choice as the former is easier to build and complete.

That is a wrap for now on this Standard deck feature. Until the next blog post.

Reference:
https://cardgamebase.com/new-standard-arena-decks-ikoria/

One of the current Standard decks in the Ikoria metagame that caught my attention after checking on some of the latest decks in the tournaments in the past month is the Boros Cycling deck. I was not able to foresee this deck to be a reality, maybe because I lacked the time to thoroughly read the set spoiler. I only mentioned before that Cycling archetype will be back in this Ikoria Standard format.

This decklist was taken from a local tournament called Weekly Season XI – Episode 3 at The Gentry Magic League and was played by Quinten Cauwelier. He finished in 1st place and bested the other deck, Gate Control, in the finals. The rest of the top 8 includes Dimir Control, another Boros Cycling deck, a bunch of Mono-Red Aggro, and an Azorious Control deck.

Here below is the full decklist of the Boros Cycling archetype.

20 LANDS
6 Mountain
11 Plains
1 Raugrin Triome
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Savai Triome

16 CREATURES
4 Drannith Healer
4 Drannith Stinger
4 Flourishing Fox
4 Valiant Rescuer

20 INSTANTS and SORC.
1 Boon of the Wish-Giver
2 Frostveil Ambush
4 Go for Blood
4 Memory Leak
1 Raking Claws
4 Startling Development
4 Zenith Flare

4 OTHER SPELLS
4 Footfall Crater

Sideboard
1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den
2 Cosmotronic Wave
3 Light of Hope
4 Scorching Dragonfire
2 Shock
3 Shredded Sails

As a short recap of its functionality, the deck strategy is pretty basic: cast creatures that benefit from cycling cards and beat them opponents’ life totals down while you are cycling cards. Finish them with a Zenith Flare to the dome. Cycling cards only cost one generic mana so it is likely that you get to start the engine as early as the 3rd turn. With about twenty Cycling cards in the deck, I am pretty sure that the engine will keep on running with the trigger effects and few attacks to finish your opponent.

The deck’s companion is Lurrus of the Dream-Den which is a late-game card advantage and lets you return your two-drop creatures that were dealt with in the early turns.

I will be trying this deck once the tabletop gaming is allowed in our local game store. For now, I will check on its gameplay on various streams of Magic Pros on Twitch or replays on Youtube.

That is a wrap for now. Until the next blog post.