A tokens deck in Magic: The Gathering is one of the renowned deck strategies that revolve around creating a large number of creature tokens to overwhelm opponents through sheer numbers. I remembered it as one of my iconic decks in the past during my competitive prime as a Magic: the Gathering player.   

Here is a quick info about the tokens deck. Unlike traditional decks that rely on casting individual creatures, tokens decks focus on generating multiple creatures at once, often through spells, abilities, or permanents like Secure the Wastes, March of the Multitudes, or Elspeth, Sun’s Champion. These tokens often have low individual power but become formidable when combined with effects that boost their strength or numbers. The main strategy to take note leverages the efficiency of token generation to quickly build a threatening board state, enabling aggressive attacks or defensive stalling, depending on the deck’s build.

One of the key strengths of a tokens deck is its ability to synergize with “go-wide” strategies, where cards like Intangible Virtue or Anointed Procession amplify the power of an army of tokens. Additionally, many tokens decks incorporate anthem effects (cards that boost the power and toughness of all creatures, such as Glorious Anthem) or other synergies like Cathars’ Crusade, which can turn even small tokens into massive threats.

I am happy to see a familiar deckbuild upon watching the Day 1 coverage of the SCG CON Atlanta on YouTube. See this decklist preview below by Devon O’Donnell.  

You can check the deck’s gameplay during the SCG Con Main event tournament here below. Enjoy!

The God Pharaoh Nicol Bolas in the set Hour of Devastation has proved that he is the supreme being of the plane garnering the champion trophy in the Starcity Games Standard Open in Cincinnati. The deck is a Four-Color Control rendition with powerful spot removals like Abrade and Fumigate backed up by counterspells in Supreme Will and card draw like Glimmer of Genius. The deck was played by Michael Hamilton and he defeated the popular UW Monument deck piloted by Jonathan Rosum in the finals of the tournament. Here below are the two decklists:

4-Color Control
Creatures (2)
1 Torrential Gearhulk
1 Linvala, the Preserver

Planeswalkers (5)
2 Dovin Baan
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
1 Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh

Spells (26)
2 Cast Out
2 Abrade
1 Blessed Alliance
2 Censor
2 Essence Scatter
4 Glimmer of Genius
2 Harnessed Lightning
2 Magma Spray
2 Negate
1 Pull from Tomorrow
3 Supreme Will
2 Fumigate
1 Radiant Flames

Lands (27)
2 Island
2 Mountain
3 Plains
4 Aether Hub
1 Fetid Pools
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Irrigated Farmland
2 Port Town
2 Spirebluff Canal
3 Wandering Fumarole

Sideboard
3 Glorybringer
3 Spell Queller
1 Chandra’s Defeat
1 Dispel
1 Essence Scatter
1 Forsake the Worldly
1 Jace’s Defeat
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Confiscation Coup
1 Radiant Flames

U/W Monument
Creatures (24)
4 Bygone Bishop
4 Cloudblazer
4 Hanweir Militia Captain
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Spell Queller
4 Thraben Inspector

Spells (11)
2 Stasis Snare
2 Metallic Rebuke
4 Oketra’s Monument
3 Dusk

Lands (25)
4 Island
9 Plains
1 Irrigated Farmland
4 Port Town
4 Prairie Stream
3 Westvale Abbey

Sideboard
3 Angel of Sanctions
2 Nimble Obstructionist
2 Stasis Snare
3 Negate
3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Fragmentize

One of the less-deck choice from the recent Starcity Games Standard Open last weekend that did finished in the Top 32 was this build by Dan Jessup. He decided to go all-White despite of the variance of the two-color decks in the format. Here is his version of Big White which he finished to a 22nd place in the tournament.

Maindeck
Creatures (20)
4 Eldrazi Displacer
4 Knight of the White Orchid
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Archangel Avacyn

Planeswalkers (4)
4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

Spells (10)
2 Secure the Wastes
4 Spatial Contortion
4 Declaration in Stone

Lands (26)
14 Plains
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Foundry of the Consuls
2 Westvale Abbey

Sideboard
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Reality Smasher
1 Quarantine Field
2 Silkwrap
1 Linvala, the Preserver
1 Planar Outburst
2 Tragic Arrogance

The current major Standard tournament this weekend is the Starcity Games Open at Baltimore and one of the deck tech feature in this event is the Green Black Delirium played by Robert Wright. The deck’s main strategy is to benefit from self-mill effects by Delirium and creatures that comes back from the graveyard like Deathmist Raptor.

Here below is the decklist:

Maindeck
Creatures (17)
4 Deathmist Raptor
3 Den Protector
4 Gnarlwood Dryad
4 Grim Flayer
2 Ishkanah, Grafwidow

Planeswalkers (4)
4 Liliana, the Last Hope

Spells (15)

3 Dead Weight
4 Grasp of Darkness
2 Murder
3 Ruinous Path
2 Transgress the Mind
1 Traverse the Ulvenwald

Lands (24)
6 Forest
8 Swamp
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Hissing Quagmire
4 Llanowar Wastes

Sideboard
1 Den Protector
3 Aerial Volley
1 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Dark Petition
2 Duress
1 Infinite Obliteration
2 Languish
2 Transgress the Mind

Last weekend’s Starcity Games Modern Open garnered a huge variance of decks in the top 16. From aggressive Zoo decks to control-ish Jeskai, I can still say that Modern is still a fun format to play. One of the deck archetypes that got my attention was the Blue Moon deck played by Jack Kiefer. It appears to be a regular Blue Red Counter deck but can lock opponents with the enchantment Blood Moon.

Below is his complete decklist:

Maindeck
Creatures (8)
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Thing in the Ice
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar

Spells (30)
2 Batterskull
4 Blood Moon
2 Burst Lightning
2 Cryptic Command
2 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mana Leak
3 Remand
2 Spell Snare
3 Ancestral Vision
4 Serum Visions

Lands (22)
8 Island
1 Mountain
1 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls

Sideboard
2 Spreading Seas
2 Dispel
2 Negate
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Ancestral Vision
3 Anger of the Gods
1 Roast
2 Vandalblast

Source

From the recent success of the MtG Standard Seasons Past deck, the archetype then evolved to a traditional or let us say straightforward approach of a control deck. This build piloted by seasoned pro Ben Stark finished at 18th place at the recent SCG Standard Open in Orlando, I think that was last weekend.

Here below is his decklist:

Maindeck
3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
4 Sylvan Advocate
2 The Gitrog Monster
4 Tireless Tracker
2 Woodland Bellower

2 Ob Nixilis Reignited
2 Dead Weight
4 Grasp of Darkness
2 Languish
4 Oath of Nissa
4 Ruinous Path
3 Ultimate Price

4 Evolving Wilds
6 Forest
4 Hissing Quagmire
4 Llanowar Wastes
6 Swamp

Sideboard
2 Dark Petition
2 Duress
2 Infinite Obliteration
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Languish
1 Seasons Past
2 Transgress the Mind
1 Ultimate Price
2 Virulent Plague

Source

StarcityGames.com Standard Open regular Ross Merriam has added a Championship trophy to his list of accomplishments as he won the SCGCLE Standard Open last weekend. He piloted Bant Heroics which was before popularized by Tom Ross and he defeated the lines of Gerard Fabiano’s Esper Dragons in the semis and Brad Fallen’s Red Green Dragons in the finals.

Here is the winning decklist of Bant Heroic by Ross Merriam:

Maindeck
Creatures (17)
1 Battlewise Hoplite
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Hero Of Iroas
2 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 Monastery Mentor
4 Seeker of the Way

Spells (21)
1 Ordeal of Heliod
4 Ordeal of Thassa
2 Ajani’s Presence
4 Defiant Strike
4 Dromoka’s Command
4 Gods Willing
2 Treasure Cruise

Lands (22)
1 Forest
1 Island
4 Plains
4 Flooded Strand
4 Mana Confluence
2 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Temple of Plenty
4 Windswept Heath

Sideboard
2 Aqueous Form
3 Encase in Ice
2 Ordeal of Heliod
2 Disdainful Stroke
3 Stubborn Denial
2 Treasure Cruise
1 Island

SCG Pro player Chris Van Meter is on the spotlight once again as he won this weekend’s SCG Standard Open in Syracuse. The deck he played was the DTK upgraded rendition of Red Green Aggro or I should call it Midrange because of the fatty Dragons. His Finals opponent was Abzan Aggro, piloted by Jesse Grogan and he was able to win the match two games to one.

Here is his winning decklist:

Maindeck
Creatures (24)
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Thunderbreak Regent
4 Courser of Kruphix
2 Dragonlord Atarka

Planeswalkers (3)
3 Xenagos, the Reveler

Spells (9)
4 Draconic Roar
3 Crater’s Claws
2 Roast

Lands (24)
6 Forest
3 Mountain
3 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
2 Mana Confluence
2 Rugged Highlands
4 Temple of Abandon
4 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard
2 Arbor Colossus
2 Hornet Nest
2 Destructive Revelry
2 Wild Slash
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Nissa, Worldwaker
1 Mob Rule
1 Roast
3 Seismic Rupture

You can check the coverage page of the event here.

The StarcityGames Invitational Season One was the first major event wherein Dragons of Tarkir becomes legal to play in Standard. One of the deck archetypes that got an update from the set is Esper Control with the obvious inclusion of Narset planeswalker, and below is a decklist that performed well from the tournament.

Esper Control by James Buckingham

Maindeck
3 Dragonlord Ojutai
1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death

4 Silumgar’s Scorn
1 Ojutai’s Command
1 Foul-Tongue Invocation
2 Narset Transcendent
4 Anticipate
2 Crux of Fate
4 Dig Through Time
1 Utter End
3 Bile Blight
4 Dissolve
4 Hero’s Downfall

2 Dismal Backwater
3 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Temple of Deceit
3 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Polluted Delta
4 Island
3 Swamp
2 Caves of Koilos

Sideboard
1 Dragonlord Silumgar
1 Ojutai’s Command
1 Foul-Tongue Invocation
2 Arashin Cleric
2 Utter End
3 Drown in Sorrow
2 Negate
3 Duress

The Sultai clan gained another achievement just last weekend, this time in the Modern format. The deck was piloted by pro player Gerard Fabiano and was able to take the trophy in the Starcitygames.com Modern Open in Baltimore. His Finals opponent was Seth Manfield’s Blue Red Twin. To recall, Manfield made the Top 8 of Pro Tour Fate Reforged though he was playing Burn at that time.

Here is the winning decklist of Sultai Midrange:

Maindeck
Creatures (11)
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Thragtusk
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Planeswalkers (3)
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Jace, Architect of Thought

Spells (22)
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Cryptic Command
1 Golgari Charm
3 Mana Leak
1 Compulsive Research
2 Damnation
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Serum Visions
1 Thoughtseize

Lands (24)
1 Forest
2 Island
1 Swamp
2 Breeding Pool
2 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Darkslick Shores
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Polluted Delta
1 Sunken Ruins
3 Verdant Catacombs
1 Watery Grave

Sideboard
2 Spellskite
2 Fulminator Mage
1 Sower of Temptation
3 Disfigure
2 Feed the Clan
1 Nature’s Claim
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Night of Souls’ Betrayal
1 Damnation
1 Thoughtseize

Reference

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.

Here is an interesting take and combination of the two deck archetypes in the current Khans of Tarkir Standard. It was played by Ivan Jen and got the first place in the event. The list looks like a regular Heroic aggro deck but can combo off if left unchecked. Check out the deck below.

Jeskai Heroic Combo
by Ivan Jen
1st Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 11/1/2014

Creatures (16)
4 Akroan Crusader
4 Favored Hoplite
2 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
2 Seeker of the Way

Spells (26)
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Dragon Mantle
4 Jeskai Ascendancy
4 Defiant Strike
4 Gods Willing
2 Jeskai Charm
4 Retraction Helix

Lands (18)
4 Battlefield Forge
3 Mana Confluence
4 Mystic Monastery
2 Shivan Reef
1 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Temple of Triumph

Sideboard
3 Chasm Skulker
2 Seeker of the Way
2 Ajani’s Presence
1 Disdainful Stroke
3 Erase
2 Magma Jet
2 Negate