For a while now, Standard has ground to a halt, mostly due, of course, to the release of Modern Masters 2015 Edition and the Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier season. With a new set on the horizon this week, it should shake things up a bit, and I expect to see a plethora of new decks at the Pro Tour. But what if you are not looking to reinvent the wheel? Maybe you are just looking to tune up that Abzan list you have been jamming since September. Well, fear not; this set certainly provides some tools for existing archetypes to play around with as well.

I am not going to be able to list every deck that is currently viable going into Magic Origins; as I am sure you can imagine, there are a great deal. I am going to cover some that I believe secure more tools than most, and I’ll even highlight a few decks that may have fallen out of favor but could look to make a resurgence before rotation.

Abzan is the most logical place to start, as that has been the bread and butter of Khans of Tarkir block since day one, and it is still a pillar you must be prepared for. Since there are a few versions of Abzan, I am going to stick to the main two: aggro and midrange. Control looks a great deal like midrange outside of the late-game shell, of which I see little change from this set anyway.

Abzan Aggro ? Magic Origins Standard | Ryan Bushard

• Creatures (19)
• 1 Gilt-Leaf Winnower
• 4 Fleecemane Lion
• 4 Rakshasa Deathdealer
• 4 Siege Rhino
• 4 Anafenza, the Foremost
• 2 Kytheon, Hero of Akros

• Spells (16)
• 1 Murderous Cut
• 4 Abzan Charm
• 3 Hero's Downfall
• 4 Bile Blight
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Lands (25)
• 1 Forest
• 2 Plains
• 3 Caves of Koilos
• 3 Llanowar Wastes
• 3 Temple of Malady
• 3 Temple of Silence
• 4 Sandsteppe Citadel
• 4 Windswept Heath
• 2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
• 2 Evolutionary Leap
• 2 Nissa, Worldwaker
• 1 Gilt-Leaf Winnower
• 4 Drown in Sorrow
• 2 Glare of Heresy
• 3 Back to Nature

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Though I am a much bigger fan of Gilt-Leaf Winnower in the midrange version, I would like to still fit at least one in the main or ’board, as it plays very well in a number of matches and can create the two-for-one you are looking for at the midpoint of the game to set your tempo too far ahead for the opponent to recover.

Though I am certain many decks want Liliana, and though I can see this one included in that list, I am just not as excited about her in this build as I am in those tailored to her. For 3 mana, I want something like Anafenza coming down; I can certainly see the build adapting to her in some ways, but at that point, it is hardly the same deck.

The last new card I would like to explore in the ’board of aggro is Evolutionary Leap. I am still not sold on this card, but it does seem useful against control variants as a way to keep pressure coming even though removal. I do not like having to leave the mana up early in the game, but late game, it is just another mana sink to which you can spin bad creature draws while also avoiding being attrition’ed out.

Abzan Midrange ? Magic Origins Standard | Ryan Bushard

• Creatures (17)
• 2 Den Protector
• 2 Gilt-Leaf Winnower
• 4 Courser of Kruphix
• 4 Siege Rhino
• 2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
• 3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

• Spells (15)
• 1 Dromoka's Command
• 1 Ultimate Price
• 2 Bile Blight
• 3 Abzan Charm
• 4 Hero's Downfall
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Lands (25)
• 2 Forest
• 2 Plains
• 2 Caves of Koilos
• 2 Llanowar Wastes
• 4 Sandsteppe Citadel
• 4 Temple of Malady
• 4 Temple of Silence
• 4 Windswept Heath
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Self-Inflicted Wound
• 1 Mastery of the Unseen
• 1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
• 3 Languish
• 1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
• 2 Drown in Sorrow
• 2 Tragic Arrogance
• 1 Ultimate Price
• 2 Duress

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The other addition, Tragic Arrogance, seems to be more of a casual card than anything, but it’s still something I want to test with. I can see this being a reasonable response against the devotion-based strategies while also being very playable in matches such as Abzan Aggro, where Fleecemane Lion can normally be a pain. Languish serves many of the same purposes and is probably better in most spots, but I am not willing to dismiss this as unplayable just yet.

Moving away from Abzan, I want to talk about some of the new tools Mono-Red has received. I am not too excited about much in the set, and though I do see Chandra as playable, I am not as excited to play her in a blitz deck so much as in a midrange R/G variant or something along those lines.

Mono-Red Goblins ? Magic Origins Standard | Ryan Bushard

• Creatures (18)
• 3 Goblin Heelcutter
• 3 Goblin Rabblemaster
• 4 Foundry Street Denizen
• 4 Goblin Glory Chaser
• 4 Goblin Rabblemaster

• Spells (19)
• 4 Lightning Strike
• 4 Stoke the Flames
• 4 Wild Slash
• 3 Dragon Fodder
• 4 Hordeling Outburst

• Lands (23)
• 23 Mountain

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Roast
• 4 Outpost Siege
• 1 Scouring Sands
• 3 Scab-Clan Berserker
• 3 Arc Lightning

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The only other new card I saw that may be of use in a build such as this from Magic Origins is Scab-Clan Berserker. I am not sure if he is quick enough to be relevant, and he may still be better suited as Eidolon of the Great Revel, but I can certainly see at least testing him for the spot as a great swap card with Goblin Heelcutter against control.

Subterranean Scout earns an honorable mention just for getting my inner Timmy excited for a moment. It plays well with both Rabblemaster and Piledriver, but beyond that, it comes with a lackluster body and a miserable feeling when you top-deck him late.

I am going to spend at least next week concentrating on more lists to update the metagame with Origins, and I hope to have some new tech to follow shortly, but for this week, I want to wrap up with a facelift of one of my favorite decks this season: Heroic.

I am not sold this is any more playable than it has been for the past few months, but with the addition of another Hero of Iroas of sorts in the Bant build, I think it may be time to take another look. I think if we are looking to focus more on enchantments, it may be best to look back toward the beginning of the season for some inspiration, but Origins does bring some new tools.

Heroic ? Magic Origins Standard | Ryan Bushard

• Creatures (16)
• 4 Battlewise Hoplite
• 4 Favored Hoplite
• 4 Herald of the Pantheon
• 4 Hero of Iroas

• Spells (22)
• 2 Dromoka's Command
• 3 Stubborn Denial
• 4 Gods Willing
• 2 Treasure Cruise
• 1 Grasp of the Hieromancer
• 2 Ordeal of Heliod
• 4 Ordeal of Thassa
• 4 Stratus Walk

• Lands (22)
• 1 Forest
• 2 Island
• 5 Plains
• 3 Windswept Heath
• 3 Yavimaya Coast
• 4 Flooded Strand
• 4 Mana Confluence

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If you have a more impressive build on some of the madness that can be created with Hero of Iroas and Herald of the Pantheon in these few short months, I am all ears, as I would love to find something both entertaining to play and competitive for the summer, and as always, I am leaning back toward Heroic. I hope everyone has a great prerelease weekend. I will not be participating in the festivities this time, but I look forward to all the stories after. Until next week, keep brewing, and enjoy the weekend.

Ryan Bushard

@CryppleCommand