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Main » Articles » Five Decks You'll Play This Weekend

Five Decks You'll Play This Weekend

Brandon Isleib
Posted on August 12, 2015
 Reddit

Welcome to Gathering Magic's weekly quintet of Magic Online decks you should be aware of this weekend, whether you're playing a major online event, going to a Grand Prix, or hitting Friday Night Magic. In an era of big data, Magic Online provides some of the biggest data, so even a quick-and-dirty snapshot of recent activity gets you ahead of the competition. This week, with Grand Prix London around the bend, it's a look at Standard, with a peek at how Magic Origins is starting to affect Pauper.

Three Decklists (Magic's Coming Home)

As an extreme Anglophile, I wish I could be in London this weekend—not just for the Grand Prix; I generally want to be in London. And the English are quite competitive, from football to impersonations to Street Countdown to Mornington Crescent. So what might they face at the Grand Prix? Here's what 4–0'd at least twice this last week (Bold = won a Daily):

  • Abzan Control: 4 (won 2)

  • Abzan Midrange: 4

  • Blue-Red Ensoul Artifact: 4

  • Red Aggro: 4

  • Abzan Aggro: 3

  • Red-Green Devotion: 2

  • Bant Heroic: 2

  • Naya Heroic: 2

  • Green-White Constellation: 2

  • Green-White Devotion won a Daily in its only 4-0 appearance.

Abzan is robust enough to put three slightly different version of itself on the list. Here's one that I'm classifying as midrange, although it has several elements:

Abzan Midrange ? Standard | Petrolit

The main differences from last week's control deck are Fleecemane Lion and Bile Blight in the main deck and a reconfigured sideboard. Reclamation Sage has increased in metagame importance even as it's almost out the door, and Agent of Erebos can delay Dig Through Time, turn off Starfield of Nyx's card advantage, reduce Den Protector's options, and address several random decks. As the format progresses, I expect Reclamation Sage to increase further to address the most offensive permanents from recent metagame entrants. While Abzan doesn't have overt synergy with it the way, say, the Elf deck does, Den Protector provides synergy with everything, so one Reclamation Sage is likely to be cast twice in this deck.



U/R Ensoul Artifact continues to succeed without changing much, while Red Aggro has a little more variation among its members. Friday's winner:

Red Aggro ? Standard |Phillythekid

Sunday's 4–0 build had Firedrinker Satyr instead of Eidolon of the Great Revel as well as Satyr Firedancer and Arc Lightning in the sideboard. Roast, Outpost Siege, Goblin Heelcutter, and Smash to Smithereens are the agreed-upon cards, the last dealing with Ornithopter/Ensoul Artifact just as it occasionally does in Modern (it's really weird to see Modern import to Standard).

A couple other points about this version:

  • From what I saw judging Game Day, a first-turn Molten Vortex rains on several archetypes; and

  • Molten Vortex helps explain the Mountain in the sideboard; and

  • If, given the ubiquity and overwhelming popularity of this column, your life's dream is to get me to feature your deck, go 4–0 with a land in your sideboard. It's basically the clubhouse password.



Dragons can blow the doors off any clubhouse, and this 4–0 deck from Sunday is similar to the Grand Prix deck that joined the Top 8 club:

B/R Dragons ? Standard | moris

The cards are slightly different—Sign in Blood and Murderous Cut basically replace Outpost Siege and Hangarback Walker, and Foul-Tongue Invocation replaces Draconic Roar—but the idea is the same: Reap most of the advantages of the Mardu Dragons shell without having the mana problems. As Dan explained in coverage, Bile Blight is among the biggest reasons for making the change; as great as Crackling Doom is, Foul-Tongue Invocation is at least half as good, and Bile Blight powers down several tough decks.

Clearly worried about aggro, moris has Pharika's Cure in the sideboard, whereas Dan had Crux of Fate, sticking Hammer of Purphoros in for control matchups. And don't ignore Chandra, Pyromaster with a Kolaghan's Command deck; unlike most copy effects, Chandra's ultimate targets a card rather than a spell, so each of the three Kolaghan's Command copies may have different modes. If that isn't a reason to try this deck . . . okay, there are many reasons to try this deck. But that's my favorite.

One Spicy Metaball

If these creatures got to live in Gavony, they'd be supremely happy:

G/W Warriors ? Standard | 11_jaguar_11

Instead, these creatures largely live in Tarkir, where they get to form companies and give power and toughness bonuses based on how many of them exist. Much like Silverblade Paladin was annoying in the Gavony Township days, Arashin Foremost makes this deck hit hard, and with Might of the Masses and Dromoka's Command, there are great combat tricks. Temur legend Yasova Dragonclaw is here in G/W; outside the two Mana Confluences, there's no way the triggered ability will be paid for, but as a 4/2 trampling Warrior with Arashin Foremost's double strike, she's still terrifying.

Meditation Puzzle isn't a sideboard card I was expecting in a deck that also can run Feed the Clan (and already runs Arashin Cleric), but it has two advantages over Feed the Clan: First, it always gains 8 life as opposed to sometimes 5 and sometimes 10; second, Eidolon of the Great Revel doesn't care about it, so 11_jaguar_11 can't die from casting a life-gain spell. And with convoke, it's rarely costing the full 5 mana in this deck anyway. Thinking through which sideboard card a deck can best leverage out of a range of options is a major part of turning a good deck great, and it's cool to see Meditation Puzzle have specific utility.

(Also, as I named Sunblade Elf, I'm happy to see it get another chance at glory since its auspicious debut.)

Webring Bully

I've been looking at Pauper Dailies every week, hoping to find some Magic Origins cards. It took me until this 3–1 deck to find any, but I like what it's attempting:

Red Heroic ? Pauper | Jhon354

Squadron Hawk was good enough to be a part of one of the most broken decks of all time for its card advantage. Infectious Bloodlust isn't Squadron Hawk by any means, but it replaces itself more often than not in similar fashion. And if you gain benefit out of targeting things, such as with Akroan Crusader and Satyr Hoplite or by casting noncreature spells, such as with Mage-Ring Bully (the most efficient prowess creature in Pauper), Infectious Bloodlust becomes useful. This type of deck's willing to play cantrips like Crimson Wisps and Panic; having a card like Infectious Bloodlust gives the deck a new resiliency angle. Kiln Fiend's also here; it appears that prowess, Kiln Fiend, and heroic are intermingled under the assumption that the deck will draw something and apply it to the creature most able to use whatever can best use it. That might be too many moving parts to win consistently—3–1 might be a fluke—but it's certainly worth exploring in a format where the new set hasn't made a splash.

Conclusion

San Diego showed a metagame reacting to the Pro Tour, putting London into an intriguing follow-up spot. Will London look like Vancouver, San Diego, a mix of both, or neither? All four options seem possible right now, and that's a great place to be. I'm sure Rich Hagon is hoping for the next local star to arise from this Grand Prix and one day give England its first Pro Tour champion. As the song linked above says (almost), nineteen years of hurt never stopped him dreaming.

You think this article's all over . . . it is now!

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TAGS articles, standard, metagame, constructed, magic online, analysis, mtgo, decklist, pauper, brandon isleib, 5 decks, five decks, five decks you'll play this weekend

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