Figured I would share this list, since I have made back-to-back PTQ top 8's with it. (real PTQs, not Pre-TQs... Flint, MI and Chicago, IL, for those wondering). Warning: this list ramps a lot harder than most of the ones I've seen on here.
This deck has a surprising amount of play to it for what looks like a straightforward ramp deck. You have a good early game, being able to hit hard with Polu and Stormbreath early, and the lategame reach of Crater's Claws is INSANE in this deck.
FWIW, I've been testing Shaman of the Great Hunt and Whisperwood Elemental as post-rotation additions, and they've both been performing pretty well, although figuring out what to cut to fit them in has been hard.
Long story short, I highly recommend this deck, and I firmly believe it is one of the absolute best decks in the format. I consider all of the Abzan decks (Aggro, Midrange, or Whip) to be favorable matchups, as well as all of the Hordeling Outburst decks (Mardu, Jeskai, and RW). Among the major decks in the format, the only matchups I consider unfavorable are UB Control and UW Heroic. Other than that, this deck has been awesome for me over the last month.
I thought about that, but in my experience so far, ascendancy has been bad in multiples, and spirit bonds does a similar job of saving creatures, while also being better vs spot removal nod making more tokens for our butcher.
My build is similar to a lot of the builds here. I've tested maybe 20-30 games already, and this is the sixth or seventh revision of the list, lol. No brimaz because I don't want to have to stretch to accommodate double-white early in a heavily 3-color deck. The removal choice is Suspension field main because it takes out the important dumb green blockers, and provides devotion for Athreos while keeping the curve from loading up at the 3-spot, which is what happens if you go with downfall or charm. In the board there are other options. The maindeck has minimal interaction, instead focusing on being proactive in a relatively unknown format: just hit them till they die! Sideboard is built to fight other aggro (magma spray, murderous cut), midrange Courser/Caryatd/Polukranos decks (seize, murderous cut, act of treason), and removal-based control (seize, spirit bonds). Thoughts?
I've been testing some new standard already, primarily the Temur ramp deck vs Mardu tokens, and I've got what I think is a very strong Mardu midrange aggro deck. The deck has a lot of moving parts, so I kind of want to break it down piece by piece. Essentially, there are three components: a tokens component, a warrior tribal component, and a sacrifice engine. First, the deck, then explanations:
First up is the sacrifice theme. The deck was originally built to maximize Butcher of the Horde, which is not in any way a realistic magic card. In order to fuel him, we have tokens from Rabblemaster, Charm, and Ascendancy, as well as recurring Champions. To further take advantage of the sacrifice goodness we have Tymaret, who can cycle Champion for 2 damage for 4 mana in the mid- to late-game. Even better is if you have a Grim Haruspex out, then you can draw a card for each iteration. This interaction gives the deck a surprising amount of staying power.
Tymaret is also a Warrior, which brings us to the Chief of the Edge. This guy interacts with a ton of our other creatures and creature tokens, and he lets us attack for lots of damage early, plus he lets our 1-drops hit through a sylvan caryatid. Mardu Ascendancy is often amazing and never really bad, although its usually win-more in multiples. The nuts draw here is one drop into Chief into Ascendancy, which hits for 3 on turn 2 and 8 on turn 3, with basically any follow up being lethal.
The token theme is pushed first as a way to fuel Butcher, but secondly as a way to benefit from the anthem effects: Chief and Sorin. Mardu Charm plays into the token theme as well as just killing Courser, which is important. Finally, Mardu Skullhunter is almost always value city because you attack so often, and he gets pumped by the Chief as well.
Overall, this deck seems to be performing well, and is quite smooth. No sideboard yet because I want to see what the format shapes up as, but I can imagine things like magma spray, crackling doom, thoughtseize, and heroe's downfall as options worth thinking about.
I built this one to abuse Butcher of the Horde, and accidentally discovered that Mardu Ascendancy is absolutely insane. Maybe want the 4th, not sure. Rest of the deck seems to play well so far.
Here's the latest version, with Surrak as a 2-of. I'm also interested in trying prophet of Kruphix, maybe in the board against other midrange monsters decks
On further reflection, I think I'd just like the guaranteed uncounterable card advantage of genesis hydra instead of the conditional wrath insurance of hooded hydra. One other idea I want to try out is a one-of Prognostic Sphinx - it is a good threat vs control, and it matches up well against all the hasty 4/4s in the format. Nissa actually seems ok as a 2-of "hasty" threat, especially against black decks (a la current mono black (Thoughtseize/removal decks), but Temur charm seems weak since this deck probably taps out on the regular, which means it's hard to leave up 3 mana just to threaten Mana leak. Honestly, if it gets some play, people will respect it even if you don't have it... Maybe that's an argument for having just one? Anyway, I'm currently thinking something like this:
I agree that Nissa won't be great in the new format, mostly because she gets owned by all the other 4/4 hasty guys in the format. Temur charm is good but not great, and I certainly think it is cuttable. Stubborn refusal is not as good as Negate, and the morph-enabling enchantment is casual only (small chance I could be wrong there, but I doubt it).
The card nobody is talking about yet is Hooded Hydra - this guy is sweet! He provides wrath insurance, and even having just 1-2 in your deck, along with rattle laws and mailers, means your morphs can disguise each other. I'm thinking something along these lines :
This is sort of a hybrid monsters/planeswalkers build. Between monstrous, morph, knuckle blade (aka RUGling), and the X in the hydra, you have tons of relevant plays at basically every point on the curve. You make a ton of mana with the 12 accelerators, and you have a way to use it all, along with some very resilient threats. Maybe there wants to be some other sort of card advantage in the deck, but overall I like the idea of just hitting them till they're dead using huge dudes, lol.
I would be super-excited about this, as Vengevine is one of my all-time favorite cards (he and I had good times back when we were hanging out with that fauna shaman chick...), plus also Vengevine fits exactly in the kind of Sultai graveyard deck Wizards is obviously pushing, and it reprints a somewhat expensive card that is occasionally relevant in modern... Seems win-win for just about everyone.
Also, it's not impossible for it to take a green RARE slot, although I seriously doubt it.
I posted this in its own thread, but I think it is relevant here too. You can take the deck in a super-friends direction, the walkers are all insane. Behold:
No sideboard yet, want to see the format a bit first. I'm not sold on this mix of walkers, but you can only run so many 5- and 6-cost walkers before your mana gets clunky. Thoughts?
I know that obviously the wedges are going to be pushed pretty hard in Khans, but honestly one of the first decks I'm excited about for the upcoming standard season is Naya Superfriends, basically a port of the Naya Elspeth decks from the block PT. This deck is built on a similar shell to the Jund Monsters deck of current standard, and is designed to take advantage of Courser of Kruphix (arguably the best card in new Standard) in conjunction with the RIDICULOUS set of planeswalkers available to this color combination. Also, I think both Polukranos and Fleecemane Lion are poised to be very wel positioned going forward; both were strong in block, and I see no reason for that to change. Behold:
No sideboard yet, want to see the format a bit first. I'm. I'm not sold on this mix of walkers, but you can only run so many 5- and 6-cost walkers before your mana gets clunky. Thoughts?
In his most recent article on tcglayer.com (link below), Craig Wescoe's responded to a reader's question in the comments section by saying that, "Vengevine may change that." When he was asked to clarify what he meant or if he had knowledge of a reprint, he never replied again. It is not impossible that Wescoe might have knowledge of this via a preview card situation, so there may be something to this. Thoughts?
I can agree particularly with the idea of a graveyard matters theme and an artifact theme. Seems like a Shatds-style wedge set with 5 mechanics for 5 wedges, these are two of the areas they play in?
I really like the look of the list that won the Grand Prix last weekend... I had independently been testing out a 1-of Vraska in the main, which has been going well. Here's the list I plan to register for Grand Prix Cincinnatti this weekend:
The one scavenging ooze made it back in the deck as an acknowledgement that RW burn is a real deck. Garruk in the board instead of the 3rd Return because they're both good in the same matchups, but drawing multiple Returns can be bad, and Garruk is a better draw when both players are in a top deck war. 1 Ultimate Price in place of the 3rd Putrefy as a concession to mana cost.
4 Temple of Abandon
9 Forest
5 Mountain
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Hornet Queen
2 Genesis Hydra
4 Crater's Claws
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Genesis Hydra
2 Nissa, Worldwaker
3 Lightning Strike
1 Arc Lightning
2 Reclamation Sage
2 Destructive Revelry
3 Hornet Nest
This deck has a surprising amount of play to it for what looks like a straightforward ramp deck. You have a good early game, being able to hit hard with Polu and Stormbreath early, and the lategame reach of Crater's Claws is INSANE in this deck.
FWIW, I've been testing Shaman of the Great Hunt and Whisperwood Elemental as post-rotation additions, and they've both been performing pretty well, although figuring out what to cut to fit them in has been hard.
Long story short, I highly recommend this deck, and I firmly believe it is one of the absolute best decks in the format. I consider all of the Abzan decks (Aggro, Midrange, or Whip) to be favorable matchups, as well as all of the Hordeling Outburst decks (Mardu, Jeskai, and RW). Among the major decks in the format, the only matchups I consider unfavorable are UB Control and UW Heroic. Other than that, this deck has been awesome for me over the last month.
4 Goblin rabblemaster
1 Mardu ascendancy
4 Grim Haruspex
1 Athreos, God of Passage
4 Tormented Hero
4 Bloodsoaked champion
1 Sorin, solemn visitor
2 Tymaret, the murder king
4 Mardu Skullhunter
4 Chief of the edge
3 Suspension field
1 Obelisk of urd
3 Mana confluence
4 Bloodstained mire
3 Swamp
1 Mountain
3 Nomad outpost
3 Battlefield forge
1 Temple of silence
1 Temple of Triumph
4 Magma Spray
4 Thoughtseize
2 Act of treason
2 Murderous cut
3 Spirit bonds
2 Nomad Outpost
2 Temple of Triumph
2 Battlefield Forge
3 Mana Confluence
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Mountain
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Tormented Hero
4 Mardu Skullhunter
4 Chief of the Edge
3 Tymaret, the Murder King
4 Grim Haruspex
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
2 Mardu Ascendancy
2 Mardu Charm
Planeswalkers: 2
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
First up is the sacrifice theme. The deck was originally built to maximize Butcher of the Horde, which is not in any way a realistic magic card. In order to fuel him, we have tokens from Rabblemaster, Charm, and Ascendancy, as well as recurring Champions. To further take advantage of the sacrifice goodness we have Tymaret, who can cycle Champion for 2 damage for 4 mana in the mid- to late-game. Even better is if you have a Grim Haruspex out, then you can draw a card for each iteration. This interaction gives the deck a surprising amount of staying power.
Tymaret is also a Warrior, which brings us to the Chief of the Edge. This guy interacts with a ton of our other creatures and creature tokens, and he lets us attack for lots of damage early, plus he lets our 1-drops hit through a sylvan caryatid. Mardu Ascendancy is often amazing and never really bad, although its usually win-more in multiples. The nuts draw here is one drop into Chief into Ascendancy, which hits for 3 on turn 2 and 8 on turn 3, with basically any follow up being lethal.
The token theme is pushed first as a way to fuel Butcher, but secondly as a way to benefit from the anthem effects: Chief and Sorin. Mardu Charm plays into the token theme as well as just killing Courser, which is important. Finally, Mardu Skullhunter is almost always value city because you attack so often, and he gets pumped by the Chief as well.
Overall, this deck seems to be performing well, and is quite smooth. No sideboard yet because I want to see what the format shapes up as, but I can imagine things like magma spray, crackling doom, thoughtseize, and heroe's downfall as options worth thinking about.
Thoughts?
4 Goblin rabblemaster
3 Mardu ascendancy
2 Brimaz, king of oreskos
2 Athreos, God of Passage
3 Thoughtseize
1 Spirit bonds
4 Soldier of the pantheon
4 Bloodsoaked champion
2 Sorin, solemn visitor
2 Tymaret, the murder king
4 Mardu Skullhunter
2 Stoke the flames
4 Mana confluence
2 Bloodstained mire
2 Swamp
3 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Urborg, tomb of yawgmoth
3 Nomads outpost
3 Battlefield forge
4 wooded foothills
3 yavimaya coast
2 temple of epiphany
1 temple of abandon
3 mana confluence
2 shivan reef
4 forest
1 mountain
4 sylvan caryatid
4 rattleclaw mystic
4 savage knuckleblade
4 courser of kruphix
3 polukranos, world eater
3 genesis hydra
2 sagu mauler
2 surrak dragonclaw
3 xenagos, the reveler
3 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
1 nissa, worldwaker
4 wooded foothills
3 yavimaya coast
2 temple of epiphany
1 temple of abandon
3 mana confluence
2 shivan reef
4 forest
1 mountain
4 sylvan caryatid
4 rattleclaw mystic
4 savage knuckleblade
4 courser of kruphix
3 polukranos, world eater
3 genesis hydra
2 sagu mauler
1 prognostic sphinx
3 xenagos, the reveler
3 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
2 nissa, worldwaker
The card nobody is talking about yet is Hooded Hydra - this guy is sweet! He provides wrath insurance, and even having just 1-2 in your deck, along with rattle laws and mailers, means your morphs can disguise each other. I'm thinking something along these lines :
4 wooded foothills
3 yavimaya coast
2 temple of epiphany
1 temple of abandon
3 mana confluence
2 shivan reef
5 forest
1 mountain
4 sylvan caryatid
4 rattleclaw mystic
4 savage knuckleblade
4 courser of kruphix
3 polukranos, world eater
3 Stormbreath Dragon
2 hooded hydra
3 sagu mauler
3 xenagos, the reveler
3 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
This is sort of a hybrid monsters/planeswalkers build. Between monstrous, morph, knuckle blade (aka RUGling), and the X in the hydra, you have tons of relevant plays at basically every point on the curve. You make a ton of mana with the 12 accelerators, and you have a way to use it all, along with some very resilient threats. Maybe there wants to be some other sort of card advantage in the deck, but overall I like the idea of just hitting them till they're dead using huge dudes, lol.
4 wooded foothills
4 yavimaya coast
3 temple of epiphany
3 mana confluence
4 forest
1 mountain
4 sylvan caryatid
4 rattleclaw mystic
4 savage knuckleblade
4 courser of kruphix
4 polukranos, world eater
3 genesis hydra
2 sagu mauler
3 xenagos, the reveler
3 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
2 nissa, worldwaker
I really like something along these lines - I think genesis hydra will be insane in this new format, and the planeswalkers are all super strong.
Also, it's not impossible for it to take a green RARE slot, although I seriously doubt it.
4 wooded foothills
4 windswept heath
3 mana confluence
4 forest
2 plains
2 mountain
3 temple of triumph
2 temple of plenty
4 elvish mystic
4 sylvan caryatid
4 fleecemane lion
4 courser of kruphix
4 polukranos, world eater
Planeswalkers:
3 elspeth, sun's champion
3 xenagos, the reveler
2 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
2 nissa, worldwaker
1 ajani, mentor of heroes
3 banishing light
2 setessan tactics
No sideboard yet, want to see the format a bit first. I'm not sold on this mix of walkers, but you can only run so many 5- and 6-cost walkers before your mana gets clunky. Thoughts?
4 wooded foothills
4 windswept heath
3 mana confluence
4 forest
2 plains
2 mountain
3 temple of triumph
2 temple of plenty
4 elvish mystic
4 sylvan caryatid
4 fleecemane lion
4 courser of kruphix
4 polukranos, world eater
Planeswalkers:
3 elspeth, sun's champion
3 xenagos, the reveler
2 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
2 nissa, worldwaker
1 ajani, mentor of heroes
3 banishing light
2 setessan tactics
No sideboard yet, want to see the format a bit first. I'm. I'm not sold on this mix of walkers, but you can only run so many 5- and 6-cost walkers before your mana gets clunky. Thoughts?
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=12037
Moved to Speculation - Wildfire393
2 Temple of Malice
4 Stomping Ground
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blood Crypt
2 Mutavault
4 Forest
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Scavenging Ooze
4 Courser of Kruphix
2 Ghor-Clan Rampager
1 Reaper of the Wilds
4 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
1 Vraska, the Unseen
2 Dreadbore
2 Mizzium Mortars
4 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Golgari Charm
2 Slaughter Games
2 Rakdos's Return
1 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Putrefy
1 Ultimate Price
The one scavenging ooze made it back in the deck as an acknowledgement that RW burn is a real deck. Garruk in the board instead of the 3rd Return because they're both good in the same matchups, but drawing multiple Returns can be bad, and Garruk is a better draw when both players are in a top deck war. 1 Ultimate Price in place of the 3rd Putrefy as a concession to mana cost.
Wish me luck!