Today I will be talking about some of my favorite Magic decks and Magic cards that are currently in the Standard format. Let's start out with my favorite cards from each of the five sets that are currently in Standard:
Zendikar (common):
Journey to Nowhere
Steppe Lynx
Zendikar (uncommon):
Vampire Nighthawk
Flying, deathtouch, lifelink, all in one tight little package. This guy should have been rare.
Arid Mesa
There are plenty of cards that are cooler than Arid Mesa, but few that are more useful. Search my library for a land of either of the two best landfall colors which I can immediately tap for mana, trigger a double landfall, thin my deck by one, all for the cost of one life? Yes please! This card is extremely useful in any Boros (red and white) deck, but borders on ridiculous in Boros Landfall. Goblin Guide and Pyromancer Ascension were runners up for being the most damaging and the most fun rares, but Arid Mesa does so much for so little in so many decks that its economy could not be ignored. This one will be useful long after it has left Standard.
Zendikar (mythic):
Obsidian Fireheart
Maybe not the best mythic ever made, but he wins for having the best reminder text of all time and because I'm just a sucker for burn.
Worldwake (common):
Halimar Depths
A land and a Ponder in one! In most cases it will be identical to playing a land and then a Ponder because you will have one extra card in your hand in the slot Ponder would have occupied instead of filling that slot with the draw from Ponder. The advantage is that it only takes up one slot in your deck and you get to see that one extra card in your opening hand instead of waiting until you draw it. Also, its value improves significantly if you can repeatedly bounce it back to your hand.
Worldwake (uncommon):
Canopy Cover
So much fun with infect.
Worldwake (rare):
Joraga Warcaller
Joraga Warcaller might be in Standard, but it is best used elsewhere, "elsewhere" being an Extended elf tribal deck. I enjoy pairing him with Immaculate Magistrate because things get out of hand really fast and the game usually ends with someone grabbing a calculator to find out just how dead they really are.
Worldwake (mythic):
Admonition Angel
Jace and Avenger of Zendikar are both far more powerful, but Admonition Angel is more fun, oozes flavor, and has some killer art.
Rise of the Eldrazi (common):
Kiln Fiend
I throw this guy into all of my burn-heavy decks. In most situations he will double the effectiveness of your burn spells, but unlike many burn doublers such as Fire Servant and Pyromancer Ascension, Kiln Fiend comes out on turn two and is online turn three (okay, Ascension can do that, but usually doesn't). But why quibble over which card is best at doubling the burn when you can throw them all in the same deck together? Disortion Strike was a close runner up, and incidentally is awesome with Kiln Fiend.
Rise of the Eldrazi (uncommon):
Forked Bolt
In Standard, this is usually the first burn spell I throw into a deck after the ubiquitous Lightning Bolt. This card at best is a two-for-one, and at worst is a Shock, neither of which is shameful. I consider it a better card that Staggershock only because it has a cost of one as opposed to three, which is very important in a burn spell, but I usually wind up running both if I run either.
Rise of the Eldrazi (rare):
Student of Warfare
My favorite leveler (sorry Kargan) and one of the best white weenies around. If you have any leftover mana at the end of your turn, this card is the perfect mana sink. Double-strike makes it one of the best targets for equipment.
Rise of the Eldrazi (mythic):
Linvala, Keeper of Silence
A 3/4 flyer for four mana ain't half bad, shutting down the opponent's activated abilities is crazy. Also, the first mythic I ever opened at a draft (before ROE I wasn't drafting, just playing with friends).
Magic 2011 (common):
Lightning Bolt
Nothing else even comes close.
Magic 2011 (uncommon):
Reassembling Skeleton
This might wind up being the only black card in my list. Reassembling Skeleton is awesome because he assures you never run out of blockers, he's a wonderful target for sacrifice effects, and he's just so adorable. Also fun when someone mills him into your graveyard for you.
Magic 2011 (rare):
Mitotic Slime
My token deck loves Mitotic Slime. In that deck he is more powerful broken in pieces than he is if he's kept whole, so he's an automatic four damage per turn since no one will block him. For a mere five mana, you get at least 12 attack damage, so he is very efficient.
Magic 2011 (mythic):
Inferno Titan
Lightning-bolt-on-a-stick!
Scars of Mirrodin (common):
Ichorclaw Myr
Infect at its finest. He's cheap, he's infectious, nobody wants to block him, but everyone has to. This card really should have been uncommon, but I'm glad it's not.
Scars of Mirrodin (uncommon):
Myrsmith
The heart and soul of my myr deck, but overlooked by most opponents until it's too late. The myr tokens pumped out by Myrsmith get most of the same benefits as the other myr, but don't cost nearly as much.
Scars of Mirrodin (rare):
Livewire Lash
Makes for many fun combos in my infect decks. Pairs well with Distortion Strike or Assault Strobe. Tempered Steel is a close runner up for fun in myr decks.
Scars of Mirrodin (mythic):
Molten-Tail Masticore
Repeatable burn and very hard to get rid of. I really like the art as well. I find it's best to wait until turn six to bring him out in order to keep mana open for regeneration.
Here is my current favorite Standard deck assembled from many of my favorite cards. It has a pretty good track record thanks to its high power for such a low mana curve:
David's Boros Landfall
Land
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Marsh Flats
4 Teetering Peaks
4 Mountain
4 Plains
2 Evolving Wilds
Creatures
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Plated Geopede
4 Goblin Guide
4 Kiln Fiend
Other
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Forked Bolt
3 Staggershock
4 Journey To Nowhere
3 Adventuring Gear
Sideboard
4 Revoke Existence
3 Arrest
3 Ricochet Trap
3 Tunnel Ignus
2 Kor Firewalker
Here is another deck that I have been using quite a bit lately. It's a rather successful deck, but it often wins on turn 3 or 4, which isn't much fun for the opponent. I enjoy it though because it's not a typical infect strategy. This deck will try to pump the infect creatures to get a ton of poison damage through on turns 3 and 4, then it uses Canopy Cover or trample damage to get the remaining poison counters in:
Gangreen
Land
22 Forest
Creatures
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Ichorclaw Myr
4 Blight Mamba
4 Cystbearer
4 Putrefax
Other
4 Vines of Vastwood
4 Primal Bellow
4 Groundswell
4 Canopy Cover
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
Sideboard
3 Asceticism
4 Nature's Claim
4 Autumn's Veil
4 Corpse Cur
The next deck is all about burn and multipliers with blue cards that help to set up the combos needed to win. Fire Servant can be used in place of Pyromancer Ascension:
Disco Inferno
Land
4 Halimar Depths
4 Teetering Peaks
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Terramorphic Expanse
6 Mountain
2 Island
Creatures
4 Kiln Fiend
Other
4 Assault Strobe
4 Burst Lightning
4 Forked Bolt
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Distortion Strike
4 Preordain
4 Foresee
4 Pyromancer Ascension
Finally, here is a myr deck that has been reasonably successful, but is mainly just a ton of fun to play with:
Myrage
Land
24 Plains
Creatures
4 Myrsmith
4 Gold Myr
4 Palladium Myr
4 Myr Galvanizer
4 Darksteel Myr
4 Steel Overseer
2 Myr Battlesphere
Other
4 Journey to Nowhere
4 Tempered Steel
2 Myr Reservoir
1 comment:
Gotta love lightning bolt.
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