Good day, the newest set Tarkir: Dragonstorm is set to hit the various formats this weekend, and the new card and deck strategies are added in particularly to Standard which I am to discuss another archetype. Today’s deck archetype blog post highlights a previously existing deck build that revolves around recursion and sacrifice effects.

If you are a regular grinder on MTG Online or Arena, I am pretty sure that you have encountered this deck. The build’s core colors are Orzhov (Black and White) and is mostly composed of small critters that benefit from ETB lifegain and sacrifice trigger abilities. My new deck build suggests adding a third color, Red, referring to the Mardu clan that has been reintroduced from the new set. It opened a whole new 3-color card components with potential synergies with the core gameplay of the deck.

Do check out the deck tech video below and also don’t forget to like and subscribe to my Magic: the Gathering Youtube channel, Deathmarked TV.

Thanks for reading and until the next blog post.

In my observation of the past Magic: the Gathering Standard rotations, one of the archetypes that are easily adopted in the metagame is the Mono-Red Aggro deck. It might be a given that the R&D of Wizards has been continually making Red cards either creatures or spells that are efficient in supporting their nature of being aggressive and fast and dealing damage as early as possible.

That may be the primary reason why as I was browsing through the Dominaria United card spoilers, I can spot easily the potential Red cards for an updated Mono-Red Aggro deck after the rotation. In that regard, here below is the deck tech video I made for the archetype and uploaded it on my Youtube channel.

Do check it out below.

The first deck archetypes that are usually considered whenever a new Magic: the Gathering set arrives in the Standard format are the Mono Color type. This is because of the simplicity of building the deck where you just check the card functions, its mana curve, and probably the late-game strategy and win condition. Today we will check on the build of the Mono-Red Aggro Standard deck with Kamigawa as its new card components.

Looking at the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Card Image Gallery at the official website, here below is the partial list of the possible components of the deck:

We consider the deck build strategy to apply Equipment Creatures for the modifications and also with Red Auras from the older sets. We can then add Red stapled in the format such as burn spells and go-big Dragons like Moonveil Regent.

Lizard Blades & Simian Sling are noted on this build and maybe Bronzeplate Boar though we will possibly make changes once the full set spoiler is out. The Hoverbike is a good two-drop to add as it can tempo a relevant blocker and also has evasion which is important in situations of board stalls. I am also looking at Surgehacker Mech but the Crew cost is just expensive. Maybe having one copy only.

Wrapping up the other deck options and cutting subpar cards, here below is the initial build of the Mono-Red Vehicle Aggro.

Any comments or suggestions on this deck build? Please add them in the comment box below.

Magic: the Gathering Standard deck brews for Strixhaven update are usually found in popular MTG websites wherein they also present a whole batch of decklist in an article. One decklist that I will reference today is the one I found at MTGA Zone and the archetype is Selesnya Counters.

I usually encounter these colors as a powerhouse in the tokens strategy and I can attest when I played a similar deck back in Return to Ravnica Standard.

Going back, the deck got improved with a few Strixhaven cards and you can find the full list below.

Reference list.

What makes a Magic: the Gathering deck unique is how it interacts with other deck archetypes in the format. For instance, it can be just straightforward casting cheap creatures and attacking with them or go slowly developing their mana base for their big spells while controlling the board.

For today’s Kaldheim Standard deck feature, I can probably say that this is the best deck in the current metagame. I have posted before a list of this build but I was not able to detail how it works and interacts. The deck is Boros Cycling or let us call it Jeskai because of a little Blue in the main deck and sideboard.

18 CREATURES
4 Drannith Stinger
4 Flourishing Fox
4 Irencrag Pyromancer
2 Rielle, the Everwise
4 Valiant Rescuer

19 INSTANTS and SORC.
4 Boon of the Wish-Giver
3 Frostveil Ambush
4 Go for Blood
4 Startling Development
4 Zenith Flare

4 OTHER SPELLS
4 Improbable Alliance

19 LANDS
4 Hengegate Pathway
1 Island
2 Mountain
4 Needleverge Pathway
4 Raugrin Triome
4 Riverglide Pathway

SIDEBOARD
2 Disdainful Stroke
4 Glass Casket
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Negate
3 Redcap Melee
2 Soul-Guide Lantern

The Cycling mechanic was reintroduced in Ikoria and whole bunch of cards with those abilities along with interactions whenever you cycle a card is what mostly composed the deck. The steady flow of the cards for every cycle basically just replaces your hand while gaining advantage such as pinging your opponents, or creating a Faerie token.

Why it became popular? It is because of how this cycle advantage outlast other Standard deck matchups. Irencrag Pyromancer is a threat against UB Rogue, Mono-White Aggro and also consistently works against Temur and Naya Adventures. A turn-two Improbable Alliance is doom omen against control as the sprout of 1/1 Fearies can continuously pick of their life totals.

Boros or Jeskai Cycling decks had been garnering top finishes in the recent major and local Magic: the Gathering Standard tournaments and is expected to perform in an above average rating if not answered with the other decks boarding in graveyard removal or enchantment destruction for the Improbable Alliance.

We shall observe in the next weeks if the deck popularity will continue or the metagame adoption against this archetype will be effective.

That is a wrap. Until the next blog post.

While I did not make any preorders for the Throne of Eldraine set, I presumed some specific card components in the set in my preferred deck builds. One of which was my plan on the Tribal Knights that has been one of popular talks during the spoiler season. I expected it to be of Mardu colors of course mainly because of the land Tournament Grounds though I am also considering other build options in a linear approach such as Boros (Red-White) or Rakdos (Black-Red).

The recent Standard results from the Mythic Championships V saw one Knight deck in the Top 8, a Mardu version and piloted by Japanese Pro Player Ken Yukihiro. That enticed me that his list is the ideal build at the current. I then immediately contacted my card poolmate who is in charge of the team’s Standard decks to check on the current components that are available. I gave him the T8 list and we made comparison to the other build which was made by Team Channel Fireball.

I’d still be using Embercleave but maybe just two copies to give way for Murderous Rider. I think that the deck lacks removal and the rider is the perfect card that can also be dug by Acclaimed Contender. I liked the weenie aggressive build of Team CFB but will need a few equipment to get through or trade with high toughness creatures.

There is no final decklist atm yet but the hint is it will lean more on the CFB build. Hopefully by next week it will be completed as the additional components bought from Manila arrives.

The strategy of taking extra turns for a Standard deck can be a chore, especially if there are not enough card components to back it up. With the release of Ravnica Allegiance, that is not the case. The newest set provided enough artillery including mana fixing with shock lands to build an efficient deck. The card highlights of the build are Wilderness Reclamation and Growth Spiral. Thus, the deck name Nexus Reclamation. Here below is a decklist, provided by MTGO username spiralprince.

24 LANDS
1 Arch of Orazca
4 Breeding Pool
3 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hinterland Harbor
1 Island
4 Sunpetal Grove
3 Temple Garden

27 INSTANTS and SORC.
3 Chemister’s Insight
4 Depose / Deploy
4 Growth Spiral
4 Nexus of Fate
4 Opt
4 Revitalize
4 Root Snare

9 OTHER SPELLS
3 Search for Azcanta
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
4 Wilderness Reclamation

SIDEBOARD
2 Crushing Canopy
4 Hydroid Krasis
3 Knight of Autumn
2 Lyra Dawnbringer
4 Negate

I was thinking about and looking for a possible home deck archetype for the M19 Legendary Bear Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma. Sure it is an auto Green stompy deck but I wanted to explore more on other colors. I have found one Mono-green sort of but splashed with Red for Sarkhan’s Unsealing. I have checked the possibility of being a base decklist reference. I then added White to access the Elder Dragon Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner. Here below is what I have come up with:

Main Deck
Creatures
2 Demanding Dragon
3 Draconic Disciple
4 Llanowar Elves
3 Carnage Tyrant
1 Ghalta, Primal Hunger
3 Glorybringer
4 Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
3 Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner
1 Rhonas the Indomitable
3 Territorial Allosaurus

Spells
3 Adventurous Impulse
3 Ixalan’s Binding
3 Sarkhan’s Unsealing

Lands
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Sunpetal Grove
2 Sheltered Thicket
2 Scattered Groves
6 Forest
5 Mountain
1 Plains

The reprint or maybe an upgrade of Outpost Siege in the form of Vance’s Blasting Cannons got me thinking of its uses not only in Ramunap Red but also in a Blue Red (mostly) Spells deck. The build goes on a pseudo-Burn route with Blue for cheap card draws like Opt and Chart a Course. The low curve is prioritized for a higher chance of transforming Vance’s Blasting Cannons.

Here below is the first version of the U/R Blasting Cannons deck:

Creatures
3 Bloodwater Entity
1 Angrath’s Marauders
3 Glorybringer

Spells
2 Abrade
2 Chart a Course
4 Lightning Strike
2 Open Fire
4 Opt
4 Repeating Barrage
1 Glimmer of Genius
4 Vance’s Blasting Cannons
2 Magma Spray
4 Shock

Lands
4 Highland Lake
4 Spirebluff Canal
2 Sheltered Thicket
2 Fetid Pools
4 Ramunap Ruins
2 Sunscorched Desert
2 Mountain
4 Island

As the Standard metagame continues to evolve in dealing with the Red menace, a few previous archetypes also needs to adjust even if the deck popularity is low. One of which is the Black White Control deck which has been in Standard since the time of Collective Company decks. Here is one recent decklist I’ve found from Reddit:

Orzhov Control

Creatures
3 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
3 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
1 Archangel Avacyn

Planeswalkers
4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Liliana, Death’s Majesty

Spells
4 Fatal Push
4 Grasp of Darkness
3 Blessed Alliance
3 Anguished Unmaking
3 Never//Return
1 Cast Out

Lands
8 Swamp
6 Plains
4 Shambling Vent
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Forsaken Sanctuary

Sideboard
3 Succumb to Temptation
3 Collective Brutality
3 Yahenni’s Expertise
3 Lay Bare the Heart
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

Mono Red Aggro is back in the spotlight in this Hour of Devastation Standard format with the addition of viable components from the recent MtG set. The fast curve and hasty critters proved that the deck can take down other Tier1 archetypes. Here below is one of its recent deck list:

4 Ahn-Crop Crasher
4 Bomat Courier
4 Falkenrath Forger
4 Village Messenger
4 Earthshaker Khenra
2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
2 Reckless Bushwacker
2 Hazoret, the Fervent

4 Shock
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Cartouche of Zeal
1 Trial of Zeal

13 Mountain
4 Ramunap Ruins
4 Sunscorched Desert

Sideboard:
1 Mountain
1 Chandra’s Defeat
2 Magma Spray
3 Abrade
2 Akoum Firebird
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Sand Strangler
2 Glorybringer

Being a fan of Black Red or Rakdos aggro deck builds, I am happy to share the recent version of this strategy featuring creatures from the plane of Kaladesh. The deck was piloted by Jacob Hagen and finished in the Top 4 of StarCityGames.com Standard Open – Indianapolis. Here below is the decklist:

Maindeck
4 Aether Hub
4 Foreboding Ruins
11 Mountain
4 Swamp

4 Bomat Courier
4 Inventor’s Apprentice
4 Pia Nalaar
1 Reckless Bushwhacker
4 Scrapheap Scrounger

4 Fiery Temper
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
2 Key to the City
4 Smuggler’s Copter

Sideboard
2 Call the Bloodline
4 Galvanic Bombardment
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Lightning Axe
1 Reckless Bushwhacker
4 Transgress the Mind

Source