Hi guys, I’ve recently returned to Standard after a few years of absence (my Lord, Modern is addicting), and I’m trying to brew up something in the RUG Midrange field. With that in mind, here’s what I’ve got so far:
Creatures: 19
4 Dire Fleet Daredevil
4 Drover of the Mighty
4 Deathgorge Scavenger
2 Rekindling Phoenix
4 Ripjaw Raptor
1 Regisaur Alpha
Instants: 18
4 Opt
3 Unsummon
3 Spell Pierce
3 Abrade
2 Negate
2 Magma Spray
1 Glimmer of Genius
Strategy
The deck wants to play a tempo game turns 1-4, setting the opponent back as much as possible until we can use cards like Dire Fleet Daredevil, Ripjaw Raptor, Regisaur Alpha, and Rekindling Phoenix to generate card advantage. I’m considering -4 Scavenger, adding a 2nd Regisaur and 3 Sweltering Suns to give the deck more game against Go Wide decks, but then I’d also want to remove Magma Sprays for more resilient threats.
Obviously the deck is nowhere near competitive yet, but this is where I want to start. The Daredevil is extremely powerful agains the Grixis Energy decks, rebuying their kill spells in the mid-late game can be a blowout, especially if they’re relying on a Scarab God to pull them ahead. Unsummon incidentally has great game against Scarab God and God-Pharaoh’s Gift, while the 5 MB counter spells should help us combat on-curve Approach or Fumigate.
Cards I’m Considering
Glorybringer - Haste, kill Spell, solid creature. Isn’t very effective against Grixis Energy
Nimble Obstructionist - Flash, Flying, occasionally relevant ability. Weak body, but Vendilion Clique has very similar stats and sees great success
Sweltering Suns - makes the hyper aggro decks a bit easier, but also means we would want to cut the Scavengers, and likely the Sprays too.
Lower curve, aggressive creatures (Branchwalker, Longtusk, et al) - replaces the 4-5 CMC creatures, but I think the Temur Energy deck is just better at that game. Ripjaw, Phoenix and Regisaur give this deck a more potent mid-late game, especially when combined with all of the tempo plays
Servant of the conduit - play 6 or 8 mana dorks to ensure we go from 2 mana to 4 mana, would likely play 4 Phoenix and 0 Scavenger if I went this route. Busting out a T3 ripjaw of t3 Phoenix should be huge against most creature decks, both are pretty hard to handle efficiently. On the play, they can then be backed up by Spell Pierce and Negate to prevent Contempt/Fumigate from resolving.
Conclusion
I don’t have a clue what I’m doing in standard yet, I’ve only played in 2 events and I’ve brought my take on RG Dinos to them both (5-3 ain’t too shabby for having to read every card LOL). I know I want to have more game against U/x decks, especially Grixis Energy and Temur Energy, so this is where I’m starting. I’m much more comfortable in Modern, but I feel like this standard has a ton of potential — someone with standard experience, hop in here!!
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Creatures: 19
4 Dire Fleet Daredevil
4 Drover of the Mighty
4 Deathgorge Scavenger
2 Rekindling Phoenix
4 Ripjaw Raptor
1 Regisaur Alpha
Instants: 18
4 Opt
3 Unsummon
3 Spell Pierce
3 Abrade
2 Negate
2 Magma Spray
1 Glimmer of Genius
Lands: 23
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Botanical Sanctum
4 Spirebluff Canal
3 Sheltered Thicket
3 Mountain
2 Forest
3 Island
Strategy
The deck wants to play a tempo game turns 1-4, setting the opponent back as much as possible until we can use cards like Dire Fleet Daredevil, Ripjaw Raptor, Regisaur Alpha, and Rekindling Phoenix to generate card advantage. I’m considering -4 Scavenger, adding a 2nd Regisaur and 3 Sweltering Suns to give the deck more game against Go Wide decks, but then I’d also want to remove Magma Sprays for more resilient threats.
Obviously the deck is nowhere near competitive yet, but this is where I want to start. The Daredevil is extremely powerful agains the Grixis Energy decks, rebuying their kill spells in the mid-late game can be a blowout, especially if they’re relying on a Scarab God to pull them ahead. Unsummon incidentally has great game against Scarab God and God-Pharaoh’s Gift, while the 5 MB counter spells should help us combat on-curve Approach or Fumigate.
Cards I’m Considering
Glorybringer - Haste, kill Spell, solid creature. Isn’t very effective against Grixis Energy
Nimble Obstructionist - Flash, Flying, occasionally relevant ability. Weak body, but Vendilion Clique has very similar stats and sees great success
Sweltering Suns - makes the hyper aggro decks a bit easier, but also means we would want to cut the Scavengers, and likely the Sprays too.
Lower curve, aggressive creatures (Branchwalker, Longtusk, et al) - replaces the 4-5 CMC creatures, but I think the Temur Energy deck is just better at that game. Ripjaw, Phoenix and Regisaur give this deck a more potent mid-late game, especially when combined with all of the tempo plays
Servant of the conduit - play 6 or 8 mana dorks to ensure we go from 2 mana to 4 mana, would likely play 4 Phoenix and 0 Scavenger if I went this route. Busting out a T3 ripjaw of t3 Phoenix should be huge against most creature decks, both are pretty hard to handle efficiently. On the play, they can then be backed up by Spell Pierce and Negate to prevent Contempt/Fumigate from resolving.
Conclusion
I don’t have a clue what I’m doing in standard yet, I’ve only played in 2 events and I’ve brought my take on RG Dinos to them both (5-3 ain’t too shabby for having to read every card LOL). I know I want to have more game against U/x decks, especially Grixis Energy and Temur Energy, so this is where I’m starting. I’m much more comfortable in Modern, but I feel like this standard has a ton of potential — someone with standard experience, hop in here!!
@Robo_Memer on Twitter, Twitch, Reddit, and YouTube
Feel free to PM me about Affinity decks in any format!