As we congratulate the United States on the success of their Presidential Elections, I could not help to think about the USA-color or Jeskai decks in the past and the current Standard format. In this regard, I am featuring today a Jeskai Control deck archetype and this list is from the MPL November grand event and played by a well-known Japanese Pro player Shota Yasooka.

Here below is the decklist:

Maindeck
24 LANDS (28)
2 Fabled Passage
3 Island
2 Ketria Triome
1 Mountain
4 Needleverge Pathway
2 Plains
4 Raugrin Triome
4 Riverglide Pathway
2 Temple of Triumph

13 CREATURES
4 Bonecrusher Giant
1 Brazen Borrower
2 Dream Trawler
2 Ox of Agonas
4 Skyclave Apparition

14 INSTANTS and SORC.
3 Emeria’s Call
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Mythos of Vadrok
2 Negate
4 Scorching Dragonfire
1 Shatterskull Smashing

9 OTHER SPELLS
2 Elspeth Conquers Death
3 Glass Casket
2 Shark Typhoon
2 The Birth of Meletis

SIDEBOARD
2 Brazen Borrower
1 Elspeth Conquers Death
3 Giant Killer
2 Glimpse of Freedom
2 Mazemind Tome
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Negate
1 Ox of Agonas
2 Shark Typhoon

Source: https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=28050&d=422300&f=ST

The Magic Pro League and Magic Rivals League is here with the October Zendikar Rising League Weekend as the kickoff event for the 2020 to 2021 season. This recent major Magic: the Gathering event was streamed last weekend (October 24^th and 25th) wherein I got to watch some of the featured matches on the Magic Twitch channel.

One of the decks that got featured in the list of the metagame archetype in the tournament was the Blue White Yorion Blink which played by Pro Players Andrew Cuneo and Javier Dominguez. See the full decklist below.

Companion
1 Yorion, Sky Nomad

Main Deck
4 Charming Prince
4 The Birth of Meletis
2 Dream Trawler
4 Skyclave Apparition
4 Solemn Simulacrum
3 Yorion, Sky Nomad
4 Elspeth Conquers Death
2 Glasspool Mimic
4 Emeria’s Call
3 Essence Scatter
4 Glass Casket
2 Mazemind Tome
1 Negate
4 Omen of the Sea
1 Omen of the Sun
2 Shatter the Sky
2 Sublime Epiphany
2 Castle Vantress
4 Fabled Passage
10 Island
8 Plains
2 Raugrin Triome
4 Temple of Enlightenment

Sideboard
1 Dream Trawler
1 Essence Scatter
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Negate
4 Shark Typhoon
2 Shatter the Sky
1 Giant Killer
1 Heliod’s Intervention
1 Yorion, Sky Nomad

You can check the rest of the MPL decklists here.

The local players are still having a grip on the Standard metagame even with the minor change on the Wizards of the Coast’s banning of Uro. Omnath Ramp is still the expected top tier deck archetype but a few other decks have made adjustments and for today’s Standard deck feature, we have a deck build that has evolved far from its Sacrificial strategy before the rotation.

Check out the Zendikar Rising Standard Rakdos Aggro.

19 LANDS 
1 Castle Locthwain
4 Fabled Passage
4 Mountain
6 Swamp
4 Temple of Malice

22 CREATURES
4 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger
4 Magmatic Channeler
4 Mire Triton
2 Murderous Rider
2 Nighthawk Scavenger
2 Rankle, Master of Pranks

13 INSTANTS and SORC.
1 Agadeem’s Awakening
3 Bloodchief’s Thirst
2 Hagra Mauling
2 Heartless Act
3 Shatterskull Smashing
2 Spikefield Hazard

6 OTHER SPELLS
2 Liliana, Waker of the Dead
4 Tymaret Calls the Dead

SIDEBOARD
3 Agonizing Remorse
2 Cling to Dust
1 Embereth Shieldbreaker
2 Nighthawk Scavenger
1 Ox of Agonas
2 Shredded Sails
3 Skyclave Shade
1 Soul-Guide Lantern

Reference: https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=27586&d=419193&f=ST

The new Zendikar Rising cards Magmatic Channeler and Nighthawk Scavenger benefit from cards placed in the graveyards and the deck has various mill effects to boot. Magmatic Channeler basically “channels” your draws, letting you get the needed card or removal for certain situations. Nighthawk Scavenger is the pseudo-Tarmogoyf for Black and an upgraded Vampire Nighthawk.

The deck’s instants and sorceries also acts as mana sources so you can’t basically screw on your resources in the 19-land based. This also makes them efficient late game top deck cards.

Liliana and the saga enchantment are your utility cards which might not be a standalone but can help out in dealing with threats and opponents’ life totals.

The deck placed second in a 75-player tournament so the gameplay is quite viable for the Standard metagame. It can have a slow starting hand but setting up on removals and discard effect can make it survive the early turns versus another aggro deck.

I guess that is a wrap for this Zendikar Rising Standard deck feature today. Until the next blog post.

Local game stores are usually the venue for beginners of the game and for those who would like to try their recent Standard deck brews. I myself usually have my experiment decks piloted during FNMs where the fun of Magic: the Gathering gameplay is prioritized over the competitive environment. I had these blog posts before the deck brews which you can backread under the tag “Deck Techs” and “Deck of the Week”. Just check on them on the sidebar.

For today’s Zendikar Rising Standard Deck Tech, we have a build that utilized the set’s Party mechanic of the Rakdos colors. Also, it appears to be an intro-level budget deck build. Check it out below.

23 LANDS
4 Bloodfell Caves
1 Castle Locthwain
9 Mountain
9 Swamp

25 CREATURES
4 Acquisitions Expert
4 Archfiend’s Vessel
3 Fireblade Charger
4 Fissure Wizard
4 Grotag Bug-Catcher
1 Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger
4 Malakir Blood-Priest
1 Robber of the Rich

12 INSTANTS and SORC.
4 Call of the Death-Dweller
2 Deadly Alliance
2 Feed the Swarm
4 Village Rites

SIDEBOARD
1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den
4 Duress
2 Feed the Swarm
1 Mind Drain
2 Scorching Dragonfire
3 Shock
2 Shredded Sails

Reference list: https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=27551&d=418988&f=ST